Chapter 94: Rescue

The next morning, when I arrived at the campsite in the undeveloped lands, the number of people had increased. “Eh? There are more people?” “Gilbert, what happened?” “Good morning, Lord William, Senior Ophelia. Actually, bandits appeared during the night.”

According to Gilbert, it seems there were those who waited for darkness to fall before attacking. “It seems they attacked after seeing us looking relieved upon finding the Crosspoint. They’re a cunning bunch.” “It looks like they noticed us a while ago, and since there are many Elves, they were aiming to kidnap them.” James made a bitter expression. “It must have been tough on everyone.” “Well, they were no match for knights and Elves.”

It seems the Elf on watch noticed them early, and the exploration team lay in wait to counterattack, overwhelming them thanks to their high level of training and good equipment. “So, was everyone on the exploration team safe?” “Yes. One Elf was injured, but otherwise, it was just scratches.” “They couldn’t have imagined that the interiors of the tents were expanded, so they assumed we were a small group and tried to brute-force it. Thanks to that, we were able to fight them easily.” “The fact that we were able to rest well thanks to Lord William‘s tents was also significant.” Hearing that, I sighed in relief.

I had considered that there might be bandits or thieves in the undeveloped lands. But I couldn’t have predicted they would attack at this timing. I realized once again that it was good James kept everyone focused yesterday. As expected of a reliable veteran knight. Also, although it was useful in a different way than I intended, I’m glad the tents were helpful.

“So, what about the increase in people?” When I asked about the circumstances, it seems that after defeating the attacking bandits, the knights interrogated the captives and found out they were hired by illegal slave traders. So, they launched a night raid on the slave traders’ base and liberated the people being held there. Apparently, there were 29 captives in total: 14 Elves and 15 human women and children.

“I see. Everyone, you did a great job even though you must have been tired from the exploration.” “We are happy that we were able to liberate our brethren.” Aulasneal smiled.

After hearing the general situation from James and Aulasneal, I decided to immediately transport the injured Elf to the Elf Forest using Teleportation Magic. The injured female Elf introduced herself as Erenruel. It seems she is an Elf who came from another land, not from the clan that lived in the Sea of Trees. The bandage wrapped around her left leg looked painful.

“I knew my younger sister was being held captive, so I pushed myself a little too hard.” “Is that so? Was your sister safe?” “Yes, she was rescued. Our village was attacked by the slave traders’ private army, so we fled to the Fairchild territory.” “You went through a terrible ordeal.” Because there are bad humans, Elves become wary of humans.

“You might dislike humans, but we need to hold hands to teleport. Is it okay to hold my hand?” “No, no, the Lord Savior is an exception. Besides, the people of the Fairchild territory are kind to us, and exploring with these knights made me realize that good humans exist too.” “I’m glad you think so. Then, I’m teleporting.” I held Erenruel‘s hand and teleported to the Elf Forest.

“Lord Savior, what happened?” Seeing Erenruel injured, the gathered Elves looked worried. “She was injured fighting to rescue her sister who was captured by slave traders.” When I told them that the exploration team was attacked by the private army of illegal slave traders but repelled them, then counterattacked and liberated the captured Elves and humans, the Elves rejoiced. Leaving her treatment to the Elves, I teleported back to the undeveloped lands.

“I’ve sent the injured Erenruel safely to the Elf Forest.” “Now the issue is how to transport the kidnapped people to the Fairchild territory. Walking takes time, and not everyone can ride horses.” James is right. “I’ll try renting carriages in Northernford and seeing if I can transport them with Teleportation Magic. Can you wait a little?”

Teleporting to the workshop, I immediately visited Father‘s office. When I explained the situation, Father was happy about the discovery of the Leyline Crosspoint and showed anger toward the slave traders who had captured the Elves and human women and children. “So, are the captive people safe?” “Yes. It seems they intended to sell them as slaves, so they weren’t treated too terribly and were given food.” “I see, that is good. We will take those people in.” Of course, “those people” included the Elves.

“By the way, I would like to borrow carriages to transport the rescued people.” “I see. What kind of carriages would be good? With Will‘s magic capacity, you could probably store large ones.” Father prepared large carriages for me. When I tried storing them, I was able to store three carriages that could seat 12 people each without any issues. They seem to be the type pulled by two horses. Since there are 29 people including children, splitting them among three carriages should be fine. Apart from the carriages, I borrowed one large cart, also pulled by horses. This one is to carry the private soldiers of the slave trader captured by the exploration team.

Incidentally, I heard from James that the slave trader is dead. It seems the slave trader used a tool excavated from ruins called a “Bracelet of Sealing Magic” to seal the Elves’ magic. Apparently, only the owner can remove the bracelet, but they made the trader remove the bracelets put on the Elves. James said, “Don’t ask how we made the trader remove them. Dirty work is necessary, but it’s not something that should reach your ears.” James is being considerate so I don’t have to hear about cruel things. There are many kind people in this world, but there are bad people too. I must not forget that peace is maintained because there are people who do the dirty work.

After storing three carriages and one cart, as well as the preserved food needed for the increased number of people, I teleported back to the undeveloped lands. I’ve been going back and forth via teleportation several times today. My magic power has decreased quite a bit, but Teleportation Magic and Storage Magic sure are useful.