Chapter 121 Let'S Go
"Ugh, I'm in a terrible situation..."
In the Caduceus family's villa in Zepardia.
Chloe returned to her room, letting out a deep sigh as she muttered to herself.
She had been kidnapped by Aaron Gale and his group, and they had discovered that she was secretly "Lady Rose". Although Fiona had become a fan, which wasn't entirely bad, overall it was a huge minus.
Not only that, but they had also discovered her biggest secret: that she didn't have a single friend.
However...
"What should I do now..."
It wasn't the fact that they had discovered her secrets that was bothering her.
"It's just that I've figured out that the Caduceus family is suspicious, so maybe Mr. Aaron and his group are involved... But if that's the case, why didn't the family say anything? That's not right, is it...?"
She tried to talk , but they didn't say anything.
Maybe someone at the scene had made a [Testament (Contract before God)] and was hiding it, or maybe they were just pretending to be someone they're not. If that's the case, then the person who made the contract would make sure to have alone time with the other person.
But that didn't happen, so maybe Aaron and his group were different.
"Are Mr. Aaron and his group irregulars? If so, can I just leave them alone...?"
Chloe couldn't make a judgment.
"...No, it's not my place to think about that."
Her role was simple: to teleport certain people to certain places at certain times.
She shouldn't do anything extra that would increase the uncertainty.
"Yeah, that's right."
As she came to that conclusion, Chloe nodded to herself――,
"Oh, by the way, I told them to leave the guards outside, didn't I? ...Uh, how do I explain this...?"
She remembered what she had been told before returning here. It turned out that she had been kidnapped just before, and the guards had been left outside, bound and gagged. They were still on the premises, but she was worried about how to explain the situation after releasing them.
If she were to honestly say something like "I was just kidnapped a little," it would cause a huge commotion, and if today's events were to reach the master's ears, it would be bad for Chloe too. So, she has to cover it up...
"Would they believe me if I said I fought them off myself...?"
She thinks it's probably no good even if she say it herself. But since she can't think of a good excuse, she might have to force it through.
"Well, anyway... let's search for them."
In any case, the first priority is to release the bound people. They might catch a cold or something.
Chloe readied her staff and activated her [Space Perception] magic. She spread her magical energy throughout the villa's grounds, grasping the layout and the positions of people within... and then――
"......!!"
She was taken aback, holding her breath in surprise.
All the guards and servants inside the villa were 'asleep'.
That's not all.
There were 2 outsiders inside the villa. They were on the first floor, in the entrance lobby.
"...!!"
It seemed they had noticed the faint magical energy of [Space Perception], and the two people in the lobby looked up—at her, who was on the second floor. Chloe, who was still sensing with her magic, knew that.
From the faint magical energy she sensed, she realized that these two people were expert explorers of the highest level. She thought she had to respond to this obvious abnormal situation, but her head was in disarray due to the sudden turn of events.
A slight delay in judgment.
But, before she could even blame herself, the two people on the first floor moved swiftly and unpredictably.
"————!!"
Magical energy appeared right in front of her.
The next instant, she realized that the magic had already been activated.
——Teleportation magic.
The two people's figures vanished from the first floor, and in the next instant, 2 people wearing robes and hoods appeared before her eyes.
The two of them were wearing white masks that carefully concealed their faces. The masks seemed to be rejecting magical energy, making it impossible to see through to their real faces even with [Space Perception].
(Waaah!? This feels really dangerous!!)
Feeling uneasy, Chloe hastily constructed a teleportation spell to escape the crisis.
However, before Chloe could teleport, one of the masked individuals spoke up.
"Wait, Chloe."
"――――What?"
Chloe stopped moving at the familiar voice.
The person who spoke took off their mask, revealing their true face.
Chloe's eyes widened in surprise.
"M-Mr. Ail...?"
Ail Hermit, the legendary explorer who had served the Caduceus family for a long time.
Of course, Chloe, who was adopted by the Caduceus family, knew him by sight.
"W-what are you doing here..."
But even though she knew him, Chloe's wariness didn't dissipate.
Ail was supposed to be on a different side, and more importantly, Chloe couldn't judge which side he was on.
"Chloe, won't you cooperate with me?"
On the other hand, Ail's serious face pleaded with Chloe, ignoring her wariness.
"I need your help to grant Sir Jilva's wish."
The words were too sudden. Normally, it would be unclear what he meant. However, Chloe had a hunch.
To confirm, she interrupted her teleportation magic and turned to face Ail.
"Umm, can I ask one thing... Which Sir Jilva are you talking about?"
Ail's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then nodded as if he had expected it.
"You knew, didn't you?... No, it's not strange. ...I'm talking about the old Sir Jilva, you know?"
"Yes... I understand."
Chloe nodded quietly, her determination set.
The time had finally come.
Even so, Chloe didn't let her guard down. There was still something she needed to ask to confirm.
"Mr. Ail, what do you want me to do for you?"
"...There's probably a facility somewhere underground in Necronia. I want you to find that place and make it possible to teleport there at any time. It's probably impossible to search for it from anywhere other than the Caduceus family's estate."
Chloe had understood everything. She told Ail the unspoken words he dared not say.
"――Is it the [Temple], then?"
In an instant, Ail's face twisted.
It wasn't joy or relief. He was shaken.
"Why do you know that...?! Could it be that you're under the influence of the [Testament (Contract before God)]?!"
Chloe nodded silently.
Ail slumped to his knees, his expression close to despair.
"Damn it... That means it's pointless...!!"
The [Testament (Contract before God)] is a powerful contract magic that imposes various restrictions on the contractor. If Chloe was restricted from taking action because of this, she wouldn't be able to take anyone to the [Temple]. That's why Ail, who had his hopes crushed, thought it was impossible.
However, Chloe continued, saying it wasn't so.
"Don't worry. My [Testament (Contract before God)] only has transmission restrictions, and it doesn't have action restrictions."
"What...?"
"It was Sir Jilva who gave me the [Testament (Contract before God)], 8 years ago."
"Did Sir Jilva have a hand in it...?"
It was 8 years ago, when Jilva still had a clear consciousness.
Chloe had been given the [Testament (Contract before God)] by Jilva's hand, and at the same time, she was told about the Chronosphere and secretly recorded the coordinates of the [Temple] site.
Since then, she had no connection with the secret society Chronosphere, and lived only as a member of the [Four Great Families of the Seals].
[Four Great Families of the Seals] had failed to dismantle the secret society Chronosphere for self-preservation, and as a last resort, Chloe was left behind.
Chloe gave Ail a strong gaze and said,
"The coordinates of the [Temple] are already recorded. So, until the teleportation becomes necessary, I'll hide my whereabouts."
"...Is it dangerous?"
"...Probably."
"I understand. But don't the Four Families have magic to track someone's location?"
There was magic that could quickly track someone's location, even if a member of the Four Families was kidnapped.
At least, that's what they claimed.
"I'm fine."
Chloe asserted. In this era, people found it hard to explain, so they just called it magic, but in reality, it wasn't magic.
The person, probably still wearing a mask, from the Four Families must have known about this, but they hadn't taught anyone about it.
Maybe they just found it too bothersome to explain.
"It can't track someone's location without their consent, after all."
It was just one of the many functions of a magical tool, a transmitter application.
(――Transmitter Application, Stopped)
With just a thought, the function that sent Chloe's location stopped.
"...I'm fine now. Let's go."
And with that, Chloe disappeared from sight, along with Ail, that day――.
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