“So heavy...” Kaoru complained as she dragged the cart. It was around the second daytime bell, or three in the afternoon, and she was on her way to serve food at the orphanage on the outskirts of town. She couldn’t show up empty-handed, so she had to bring some cooking supplies and ingredients for the trip. Her large stock pot had been made on Kyoko’s mothership with a special alloy; it was a perfectly crafted pot with many tiny air bubbles in the metal parts, making it light, strong, and corrosion-free. Its thermal conductivity was top-notch as well. Vegetables had been loaded on the cart so that they were in plain view, but the meat was still in the Item Box to prevent it from going bad. She’d planned on taking it out right before reaching the orphanage.
The cart was beyond this world’s standards, but it looked like a normal large two-wheeled wagon at first glance, so it wouldn’t draw any suspicion unless someone inspected the material and build quality in detail. It would be one thing if she was dealing with merchants or engineers, but her kidnappers and the people at the orphanage wouldn’t care to look carefully.
“I’m visiting them on short notice this time, so I doubt I’ll get attacked on the way there. If anything, they’ll show up on the way back once they get their men ready for an ambush. I wouldn’t mind if they did try to get me on the way to the orphanage, but all the food I went through the trouble of preparing would go to waste. Yesterday, I secretly had Ishris let the orphanage know I’d be coming by, so I don’t want the kids to be disappointed,” Kaoru said to herself.
If she’d shown up completely without warning, they may have already begun preparing their meal or eating, so prior notice was necessary; Kaoru had enough common sense to know that. She’d had the Blazing Valkyries sneak there to inform them of her visit, so the chances of her enemies knowing about it were close to zero.
“They sure are professionals, though. They’re so cautious that they sent three people to do different tasks with only one of them going to the orphanage. The enemy’s only after me, so I don’t mind them going somewhere temporarily. I doubt they’ll attack an inn in the middle of town when it’s still early evening anyway, because the guards, hunters, and mercenaries would be all over them if they did. Some thugs looking to earn a reward might even join in.”
Indeed, thugs who were looking to make some coin weren’t necessarily limited to joining the enemy’s side.
“Thank you so much, priestess lady!”
Kaoru left the orphanage to the sound of the children shouting in unison as they enthusiastically waved goodbye.
It was the same story every time: a god or goddess brought the orphans money and food, because that was what the children believed.
The ambush should be coming up soon... The orphanage is on the outskirts of town, but it’s not too far away. The area where the houses start getting sparse is considered the outskirts, and it’s just a bit farther from there. The land away from town can be used for growing vegetables, and the children don’t get bullied there. Plus, it’s not too distant, so they can still go into town to make some money. But anyway, the enemy won’t wait for me to get back when they finally have an opportunity to catch me out of town...
These were the thoughts on Kaoru’s mind as she pulled the cart, which had become much lighter now that the food had been consumed and heavy objects and things that would be a pain to remake later—such as special alloy cookware with air bubbles built into it—had been stowed away in the Item Box. There was no sense in expending extra energy lugging all that around, and she didn’t want any of it getting destroyed in the attack.
The meal had been dinner, and since she had taken some time to clean up afterward and deal with the children who wanted her attention, it was already dark outside. Just as Kaoru was thinking they should show up soon, a group of men appeared up ahead. She was a good distance away from the orphanage, and there were trees and other obstacles between her and the town. If there was an ideal spot for an ambush along her route, this would’ve been it. When she turned around, she found that there were several men standing behind her too. Grown men should’ve had no problem catching up to a little girl even without cutting off her escape route, but it went to show just how cautious they were.
There’s about ten of them in total... Seems overly careful for capturing a little girl. I guess they decided not to show up with all fifteen of them. Maybe some of them are waiting on the road ahead so whoever carries me can run over there and hand me off like a relay baton.
While Kaoru mulled that over, the men closed in on her from both sides. However, they still hadn’t said a word, so there was a nonzero chance that they were completely unrelated to her situation and just happened to be walking by...though that chance was probably several decimal places less than one percent. So, Kaoru pulled her cart off to the side of the road, making way for the others to pass. However, the men obviously hadn’t just happened to be walking by, so they regrouped from both sides and stood facing her.
Yeah, I figured!
She had been expecting this, so she was hardly surprised.
“You’re Edith the priestess?” the man who seemed to be their leader asked.
“No, I’m not,” Kaoru said.
“Whaaat?!” they said in unison.
She had no obligation to truthfully answer a question from a group of unknown men. However, she was simply messing with them and wasn’t actually making an effort to deceive them and get away. Besides, she hadn’t expected the other party to be so stupid that they’d take her word for it and leave.
“Don’t lie to me! We already know who you are!” the man said.
“Then why did you ask? Are you stupid?” Kaoru shot back.
“Gah! Sh-Shut up!”
“Getting mad because I pointed out your stupidity makes you look really pathetic, you know?”