Sutrena’s night sky was even darker than normal under the storm. Amid the slanting downpour, Lord Nazel and I were flying across the sky on Geni’s back. He was riding behind me, holding me and gripping the reins. Wyverns and pegasi weren’t liable to be affected by the night of the new moon when manabeasts went on a rampage. Lord Nazel had created a wall of plants on both sides and above, wrapping Geni up and protecting us from the rain. Unfortunately, my magic that reinforced the air repelled even the rain, so in the end, we only used it for emergencies.
Sutrena’s soldiers were also flying through the sky on their pegasi. Their coordinated movements were superb. Ever since Lord Nazel had come here, the quality of Sutrena’s soldiers had definitely improved. Mister Henry was also riding on the same pegasus as Torre and searching for Mrs. Holly. His face was even paler than usual. I’d secretly reinforced the bodies of everyone present.
I doubt there’s a high chance of anyone getting hurt, though.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t also defend against Master Robin’s magic. My magic worked on things’ physical aspects, not psychological ones.
“In any case, the weather really is terrible,” I told Lord Nazel.
“That’s true. Are you all right, Agnes? Are you cold?”
“It’s a bit chilly, but we have Geni’s barrier, so I’m fine.”
When mountbeasts flew in the air, they created a barrier in front of them that negated air resistance. It was difficult to completely block the rain, but the barrier made our flight a little better.
However, my words didn’t get through to Lord Nazel.
“That’s terrible! You’ll catch a cold!” He was in a panic as he wrapped his coat around me, completely covering me.
Now we were wrapped up together inside his coat; it was so warm...
“We’re almost there,” he gently encouraged me.
Just as I was feeling all warm inside, the sound of thunder rumbled nearby.
“Eek!”
I was scared of thunder because of childhood trauma. I had been locked in my family’s storage room during a rainy day, and the terrifying experience had left lasting effects on me. Lord Nazel knew about this, so he hugged me close to protect me.
“It’s all right. Geni has his barrier out and I’m also protecting you with my magic.”
I used both my hands to tightly grip the hand Lord Nazel was holding the reins with.
“Yes, I’m Solis’s mother, so I’m okay. I can’t be scared of something this trivial.”
“Every single thing you do is adorable. If we weren’t in this kind of place, I could give you so much more attention...”
The beautiful voice whispering in my ear made my heart skip a beat despite the situation we were in.
“Lord Nazel, please look in front of you and steer Geni.”
Geni’s flying tended to be a bit shaky, but he was unaffected by the storm thanks to his barrier and kept flying ahead rapidly.
It seemed that the townspeople had safely evacuated, as there was no one out in town under the heavy rain. It also looked like there hadn’t been any damage caused by manabeasts so far. I was relieved for now.
But amid all this, there was a single big private residence with its lights on that looked out of place.
“That’s strange. This district is in danger of flooding, so all of the residents should have evacuated to the manor... Let’s go check it out,” Lord Nazel said.
“Yes!” I replied. If there were any people who hadn’t evacuated in time, we needed to take them to the manor, and if it was Master Robin, we had to arrest him.
Lord Nazel and I, as well as Torre and Mister Henry flying next to us, started descending toward that residence.
“Agnes and Henry, stay behind me, just in case,” Lord Nazel said.
“Y-Yes, understood.”
With Torre—who was holding the lantern—and Lord Nazel taking the lead, we headed toward the building’s entrance. The mud from the road stuck to the soles of my shoes.
“Good evening! Excuse me!” Torre knocked on the door several times, but there was no reply. “That’s strange. Is there no one here?” Even when he called out, there was no response.
But I can feel something like a person’s presence. There was undoubtedly someone inside.
Next, Torre started turning the doorknob.
“It’s a little early, but maybe they’re asleep... Oh, it looks like the door is unlocked,” he said.
“It’s an emergency. Let’s go in.”
Once Torre opened the door, we heard a baby crying loudly inside. I got startled and looked far to the back of the building.
Solis?
Whether this was my son or not, we had to get the baby out of this house. This area was in danger of flooding, and there was also the possibility of manabeasts attacking.
There was no one in the room right in front of us, but light was coming out of a different door.
Over there! Unable to contain myself, I rapidly headed deeper into the house.
“Agnes?” Lord Nazel hastily took the lead and opened the door.
Inside the lit room, a crying infant was on the couch, with Mrs. Holly and Defi sitting next to him, both of them restrained. The two adults had old shackles on their arms, which were the same kind we had in our prison.
Those restraints are in such poor condition that there should have been discussions on replacing them. In any case, this was a shocking sight. But for now, I’m glad we found everyone. It seemed that none of them were seriously injured.
However...why was even Defi here, when he should have been in prison?
In fact, he’s also restrained, but he can unlock the shackles with his absolute release, right?
As I stood surprised at the incomprehensible sight, Defi shot me a meaningful look. Since he was also restrained, it didn’t look like he’d been involved in Solis’s kidnapping.
What does this mean? Is something on his mind?
I felt perplexed, when I noticed someone’s presence nearby. I hurriedly took a step back, and Lord Nazel unleashed his magic at the same time.
“Whoa there.” The person targeted by the magic instantly dodged it and moved back, then stood next to the couch Solis was lying down on. Solis started bawling even louder. Even though he was a baby, perhaps he realized that the person next to him was dangerous.
“Oh no, noticed little ol’ me already? You really are one nasty guy, Nazelbart.” As expected, the voice belonged to Master Robin, who’d broken out of prison. He combed his light pink hair upward and looked at us in an easygoing manner. He didn’t seem particularly worried even though he was outnumbered.
“How did you break out of prison, Robin? Your magic should have been sealed.” Lord Nazel’s voice was deeper than usual. Just like me, he was angry that his son had been exposed to danger.