Chapter 70 Yuruyana's Safety
Yuruyana woke up in a pitch-black room.
"...?"
His head was foggy, and he couldn't grasp the situation.
He slowly got up.
He absently scratched his head.
His forehead and face were sticky with sweat, making him feel gross.
He felt a thin mat under his hand on the floor.
"Um..."
He tried to recall what had happened to him.
But no matter how hard he thought, his memory was from the moment he had planned to return to his shop with the herbs.
He remembered someone calling out to him, then being suddenly snatched away from his past experiences.
"Where am I? Here..."
The room was cramped.
He noticed lines of light high up on the walls, which seemed to be coming through the gaps in the curtains.
He stretched and grabbed the cloth, sliding it to reveal a night sky through the iron bars.
The dial of the wristwatch Tsukumo had given him was barely readable in the moonlight.
It was 8 o'clock in the evening.
"Have I been sleeping since noon? ...No, I was knocked out for the whole day, huh?"
He tried to assess the situation calmly, feeling the dryness in his throat, the emptiness in his stomach, and the ache in his body.
"Hmph."
He stretched his body, took off his shoes, and jumped to reach the iron bars, hanging and peering outside the window.
"...Suuroi?"
The silhouettes of trees and plants loomed in the darkness, revealing a vast plain.
It was a view Yuruyana had seen often just half a year ago.
There was no mistaking it.
"I see."
Unfortunately, the window was tightly sealed, so it didn't seem possible to send a message for help.
He climbed down from the window.
The thought of Suuroi and being kidnapped brought back a trauma, making his spine chill.
Yuruyana hugged his own shoulders without thinking.
But then, he felt something was off.
He had been able to move freely around the room all this time.
As his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness inside, he noticed a water jug next to the mat where he had been sleeping.
"Oh, my bag!"
Furthermore, he noticed his precious Arcane Art bag lying on the ground.
It was the bag he always carried and had received from Elmer when he set off for the capital.
First, relief that everything was okay, then a tight hug to confirm it.
A quick check revealed water, food, wallet, and medicine──nothing missing.
"I'm saved!"
First things first: hydration.
The water jar didn't seem tampered with, but just in case, he didn't touch it.
He moistened his throat with his own water and chewed on a hard bread softened with water.
His head started to clear a bit.
"Good... I'll be okay."
Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he took another look around the room.
He saw a door across from the windowed wall and moved silently towards it, listening.
"────How is he?"
"Still seems to be asleep."
A muffled voice spoke.
A man seemed to be on guard outside.
Trying not to be noticed, he gently twisted the doorknob.
Of course, it was locked.
The iron door looked tough to break.
"I don't get it... they don't seem to want me dead..."
If he was taken as a hostage or goods, they'd surely shackle him to prevent resistance.
But considering the mat spread out and the untouched luggage beside it, it seemed they meant to treat him with a sort of respect.
Though being kidnapped and locked in a dark, cramped room wasn't exactly considerate.
"Which brings us to the Silven family's problem?"
Was it a kidnapping for ransom?
The thought led Yuruyana to a sigh, similar to Tsukumo's usual schemes.
"That nice guy must be searching for me by now."
Lately, Tsukumo had been getting better, but still unstable.
Yuruyana felt bad for causing unnecessary worry.
By now, Luka and Thomas were probably contacting them, flying to Suuroi in the same Arcane Car they used to reach the volcano.
For some reason, Yuruyana couldn't shake the thought that Tsukumo was still searching the capital.
There was a feeling they were close to catching the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Even with just a faint hope that Tsukumo would come to the rescue, thinking about it brought some calm to his nerves.
"Well, even if Tsukumo doesn't show up, Suuroi's got his master."
If he can just get away, he'll figure something out.
He fills his lungs, smacks his cheeks──snaps himself awake.
"Not a princess, you know. Sitting around for rescue? Not my style."
He digs out a tiny flashlight from his bag, draws the blackout curtain tight so no light leaks, then clicks it on.
Time to work out a real escape plan.
* * *
Some time passes.
Footsteps echo outside the door.
Looks like it's shift change for the guards.
Voices now, then the rattling clatter of a key in the lock.
At last, the door open──slow and careful.
"Excuse me. I'm here with your meal. I apologize for locking you up in a dreadful place like this──wait, what?"
The man steps in, tray in hand──sees the empty mat, freezes in confusion.
"Uwah!?"
Mask pulled low, hiding behind the door──Yuruyana jumps out, spraying a mist right in his face.
The tray crashes to the floor with a wild clatter.
"What──!? Gah!?"
For the other guy turning back for the swap──his head pops in, gets a full blast right to the face.
"What is this──my eyes!"
The sudden sting makes him drop his flashlight──and the keys──slapping at his face in panic.
Yuruyana slips out the door while they're blinded.
He'd been listening to their footsteps; he knows which way they came from.
"Someone! The 'prince' escaped!"
Behind him, coughing, the guard shouts for help.
Instantly, frantic footsteps thunder from up ahead.
The chili powder spray only works up close; facing a crowd with just this is a losing fight.
Yuruyana clicks his tongue, digs deep into his bag.
"Try this instead!"
He hurls 2 bottles──each with a different chemical──straight at their feet.
Glass shatters with a sharp crash──then smoke bursts up from the mix.
"What the hell!?"
"Could be poison──don't breathe it in!"
The homemade bomb stinks, but it's harmless──still, it's enough to make the men hesitate.
He slipped through the smoke, and even though the view was a mess, he managed to blast the shadowy hand reaching for him with pepper spray.
As he ran, he kept pulling things out of his bag──oil, detergent, thumbtacks──chucking them behind him to slow whoever was chasing.
No time to be stingy.
Use it all.
"Why is there a place like this──who builds a building in the middle of nowhere!"
Yuruyana had been locked up in what looked like an abandoned hospital.
Doors, all the same, lining both walls.
A long hall, no windows going outside.
He muttered curses at every turn.
Every so often, he tossed another smoke grenade.
He followed the flow of the smoke, doubled back, darted around corners.
Finally, beyond an open door, he saw daylight spilling in.
The guards who were outside before?
He must've run right into them a minute ago.
That probably means there aren't too many kidnappers after all.
Outside the warehouse, an Arcane Car was parked right at his side.
"Shoulda made Tsukumo teach me how to drive one of these things!"
Even Arcane Machinery──super handy, if you knew what you were doing.
But now, it was just a useless hunk of metal.
Yuruyana glared at it, full of regret, then hurried past.
Through a busted-up gate, he finally broke free of that place.
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