Chapter 6 : Kidnapping (1)
The festival in Herrington Village continued late into the night.
Most of the villagers had gone to the square, leaving the inn run by Kanna’s parents unusually quiet. Kanna wanted to go to the square herself, but since her parents had left her in charge of the inn, she had no choice but to stay and keep watch alone.
Still, Kanna was satisfied.
Today’s festival was to celebrate Daisy’s recovery, and the reason Daisy could recover was thanks to Ariel and Lu bringing back Patricia.
And the one who guided Ariel and Lu to Herrington Village was…
“It was me.”
Kanna believed she had made a significant contribution to today’s celebration. No one particularly acknowledged this, but Kanna still felt a sense of pride.
Jingle.
The inn door opened, and someone entered. Kanna turned her head toward the door.
“Welcome… Oh!”
The person who came in was Ariel.
Ariel, with the same expressionless face as when they first met, seemed somewhat displeased.
“Ariel. Why are you back already? Wasn’t the festival fun?”
At Kanna’s question, Ariel nodded and walked quickly over to a table in the inn’s dining area.
Kanna approached Ariel.
“Would you like something to eat?”
“Cream bread.”
Ariel spoke, putting peculiar emphasis on her words.
Kanna chuckled.
“Didn’t you eat anything at the square? I’m sure there are things tastier than cream bread there.”
Ariel quietly stared into space. She had asked the village chief for cream bread but was ignored. Moreover, the villagers only expressed their thanks without offering any food.
What Ariel didn’t know was that the villagers had been sternly warned by the village chief. They were told to express their gratitude but never to mention rewards or compensation, as that would insult the pure hearts of the elves…
“Huh? Where’s Lu?”
When Kanna asked, Ariel rummaged in her pocket and placed something on the table.
It was Lu.
Lu was sound asleep, his face flushed red, having drunk fruit wine to his limit and getting thoroughly intoxicated.
Kanna chuckled again and spoke to Ariel.
“Anyway, I’ll get you some cream bread. Just wait a bit.”
“Heheh~”
Kanna hummed a tune as she prepared the cream bread.
She felt a bit bored not being able to go to the festival in the square, but being able to stay at the inn with Ariel was much better.
Besides, with Lu passed out from drinking, perhaps she could afford to be a little bold.
She was thinking of slyly asking Ariel if she could touch her ears while she enjoyed her cream bread and milk. If not the ears, maybe she could stroke that shiny silver hair. If not that, at least her cheeks…
“Ooh, smells good, doesn’t it?”
At that moment, someone entered the kitchen and spoke. Startled, Kanna turned to see a familiar face.
“H?”
It was Jack, the blacksmith’s son.
Jack was about five years older than Kanna, making him a young adult in the village.
However, Jack seemed still immature. He wasn’t diligent at work, and he was always busy drinking or chasing after women.
Jack often complained about how he was fed up with living in a backwater place like Herrington Village.
He dreamed of someday going to the city and living a splendid life, but Kanna didn’t think he had much chance. Jack wasn’t particularly skilled at anything.
In short, Jack was the village loafer who always harbored unrealistic dreams.
“That bread, you’re giving it to that elf, right?”
Jack pointed to the cream bread Kanna was preparing, looking quite delinquent with one hand in his pocket and a swaggering stance.
“So what? Why?”
“Give it to me. I’ll take it to her.”
“Why would you? No. Why are you even here? The festival is happening in the square right now.”
“Who cares about that? Who pays attention to such a boring festival? Just give it to me. I have some business with that elf.”
Jack’s lip curled up for a moment, and seeing that, Kanna felt uneasy.
That curling lip was a habit she often saw whenever Jack was about to cause trouble.
Before he set fire to the village fence in a fit of anger after being scolded by the adults or before he sneaked into the village chief’s house to steal valuables, he definitely had that expression.
“Hello, Kanna.”
Someone else entered the kitchen.
This time, it was two people.
Tom and Susan.
Both were part of Jack’s gang.
Tom was a chubby, timid, and naive guy who followed Jack around just because they were friends.
He was like Jack’s foolish subordinate.
And Susan was another troublemaker in the village. She was always flirting with men and trying to cause problems.
Once, she even went to the village chief’s house at night, and though no one knew what she was up to, she got severely scolded by the chief.
Susan was similar to Jack. She found Herrington Village boring and dreamed of one day going to the city to live a splendid life.
Susan was always confident that she could seduce a nobleman if she made it to the city, but Kanna thought it seemed unlikely. Objectively, Susan wasn’t particularly pretty.
Anyway, Jack’s gang, the troublemakers of the village, had crowded into the kitchen. They were clearly up to something.
Kanna turned to leave and call for help. She thought of slipping out the back door of the kitchen and running to the square to alert the adults.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
But before she could, Jack grabbed her.
Kanna’s mouth was covered with a cloth, and her hands and feet were tied with rope before she was shoved into the kitchen storeroom.
“Then you can take a nap in there, Kanna. Stay quiet.”
Jack chuckled as he closed the storeroom door. She heard the sound of the door being bolted from the outside.
Kanna was now completely trapped in the dark kitchen storeroom.
“Hi there?”
Susan placed the cream bread and milk on Ariel’s table and sat down herself.
“I heard you saved Daisy’s life. Thank you so much.”
Even though Susan said this, Ariel didn’t respond. She simply grabbed the cream bread with a slightly moved expression and gazed at it, paying no attention to Susan at all.
Susan felt a bit annoyed but decided to hold back for the sake of her plan. The cream bread and milk contained a large amount of sleeping medicine.
It wasn’t as potent as fairy sleeping powder, but it was strong enough to treat insomnia.
They had mixed plenty into the cream of the bread and thoroughly stirred it into the milk. Once eaten, Ariel probably wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow morning.
Ariel began eating the cream bread, stuffing it into her small mouth with great relish. Then, perhaps because her throat felt blocked, she took a sip of the milk.
Susan smiled quietly, and Jack, watching from the kitchen, also smiled.
Good. It was a success. This elf would soon fall asleep. Then they could proceed with their plan.
It was Jack’s plan.
The plan was to kidnap the elf and the fairy.
The villagers of Herrington didn’t seem to know, but elves and fairies were worth a lot of money. It was enough to buy a noble title.
Jack had learned this from a mercenary who had once stopped by the village.
So, he came up with this plan.
It was reckless, but if they succeeded, their lives would change forever. They would no longer rot away in this backwater village and could live a splendid life in the city.
Jack told Susan and Tom about the plan.
Timid Tom hesitated, but he had no choice. He would do whatever Jack told him to do.
Susan was thrilled. Since she often thought like Jack, it was only natural.
Jack’s plan was simple.
They would somehow kidnap the elf and run away to the city. The necessary items were rope, cloth, and the sleeping medicine that Tom’s mother took.
Jack thought it would be best to carry out the plan today. The opportunity was perfect since people were busy celebrating the festival.
While everyone was distracted with drinking, they would discreetly kidnap the elf and the fairy, steal the village’s shared carriage, and flee to the city.
Having made his plan, Jack loitered around the square, keeping an eye on Ariel.
And the opportunity soon presented itself.
Ariel had put the fairy in her pocket and was heading somewhere. The destination was the inn.
Jack felt as though luck was on his side. The village’s shared carriage happened to be at the inn. They could escape immediately.
Moreover, all the villagers were at the square. The only person in the inn was Kanna.
Jack took Susan and Tom to the inn, which led to the current situation.
As Jack waited at the entrance to the kitchen, Susan came over.
“That elf ate the cream bread and milk and fell asleep. The fairy is completely passed out drunk.”
“Is that so?”
Jack’s lips curled up once more. It was his plan, but it seemed too perfect. He felt frustrated that his brilliant mind had been wasted in this rural place for so long.
“Let’s start. Tom, bring the elf over. Make sure her hands and feet are properly tied. She might struggle if she wakes up. Susan, secure the fairy. Put her in a glass jar or something. Make sure to poke some air holes; we don’t want her to die.”
“Got it.”
After giving his orders, Jack went out the back door of the inn.
While Tom and Susan handled the elf and the fairy, Jack intended to steal the village’s shared carriage.
To steal it was easy; he just had to take it. There was no lock or anything.
Jack brought two horses from the inn stable and hitched them to the carriage.
The carriage was a valuable communal property of the village, but he didn’t care.
He had no intention of ever returning to this place again.
A little later, Susan and Tom emerged from the back door of the inn.
Susan was holding a large glass jar, and Tom was carrying the elf, who was tightly bound with ropes.
“Let’s go.”
Jack climbed into the driver’s seat, and Susan and Tom got into the carriage.
Jack tugged on the reins, and the horses whinnied as they set off.