Where... Am I...?

With her mind still wandering in the border of consciousness, that question was the first thing which came to Hilda’s mind. Her eyelids were still too heavy to open, but she could feel the softness of a bed and a pillow beneath her body and head. However, she knew something was not right because she didn’t remember going to bed. Moreover, both the bed and the pillow were softer than the ones at the inn. Wherever she was right now, it was not a familiar place.

The sense of urgency Hilda gained from the realization incurred a jolt on her mind, but it wasn’t enough to fully open her eyes yet. The darkness in her sight slowly turned to a blur, and finally the blur turned to a clear image. What she saw first was the fact that she indeed was lying sideways on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The fact quickly settled in her mind, and her first reaction was to get up.

However, she couldn’t

H-Huh...? I can’t move my arms. And my legs too.

At this point, Hilda’s consciousness had returned enough for her to notice that her arms were bent in a way that would be too uncomfortable for sleeping, and on top of that she also felt the sensations of pressure on her wrists, upper arms, ankles, and right above the knees. That was the very second she fully realized her situation.

I’m tied up inside an unfamiliar room. I’ve been kidnapped!

Hilda’s breath instantly increased in pace and the pupils of her eyes dilated, having fear, shock, and panic settling in her mind. Tears started welling up and they would soon burst. She would scream on top of her lungs at any second, especially that her mouth was not gagged. However, all the overwhelming emotions she felt were suddenly extinguished and she calmed down, albeit not completely.

“Highly unfavorable state of mind detected, automatic deployment of countermeasure hormones has been carried out.”

Hilda heard the whispers of her own nanomachines, and that was the last missing piece she needed to fully regain her calm. Even though it had been merely her nanomachines instead of a person, hearing a familiar voice in her distress situation had been a huge help. Still, it was too bad that she couldn’t talk to her nanoms because her hands were tied behind her back, thus the wristwatch was effectively inaccessible. Brainwave mode was a no go either because she was not a trained soldier and therefore she had no authority to access it.

Okay..! Okay... First thing first... I’m Hilda Gardner, I’m 24 years old, 144 cm, 40 kg. I work as one of Miss Renne Alphen’s assistants. My fellow assistants are Sandra Park, Audrey North, and Anton Virtanen. Okay, I still remember.

Hilda recalled a number of things in order to confirm whether she still retained her memories, and she still did.

What’s next...?

The question was immediately answered by Hilda herself, whose eyes glanced around to each direction as far as possible in an attempt to assess the room she was confined in. For a brief moment her eyes were blinded by the ceiling lights she mistakenly glanced directly to, and thus she shut her eyes. After a few seconds, she slowly opened her eyes again and felt that she had gained a decent grasp of the room.

Hilda was lying on her left side, and what she could see with the limited viewing range was the fact that this room was decorated in luxury. There was a beautifully carved nightstand next to the bed with a porcelain vase on top. The curtain hanging on the wall was glittering from the reflected light coming from the room’s illumination, which was a crystal lamp.

Hilda could notice a carved wardrobe at the corner of her vision, but that was all she could see without moving her body. For all she knew, whoever kidnapped her could be behind her and for the time being she didn’t want to know what they would do if they noticed that she was awake.

With that in mind, Hilda decided to assess the bindings on her body next. She glanced down on her body, moving her head as slowly and discreetly as possible until she got a decent look. She first noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes she last remembered wearing, which was the ceremonial suit.

A few lines of rope were coiled around Hilda’s body above and below her chest, pinning her arms to her sides. She could not see it, but she could feel that her wrists were crossed and tied together behind her back. Beneath her skirt, her legs were pinned together by the same type of rope coiled around them right above the knees and at the ankles. Her boots had been removed, but her over the calf socks were still there.

There’s no way I can get free by myself. What should I do...?

However, Hilda didn’t get to think for too long after asking the question in her mind. Little by little she realized that she was not alone, and someone was behind her as she feared. What made her notice was the faint dry sound of friction, akin to someone scribbling on paper. For some reason the scribbling sound became clearer gradually, and Hilda couldn’t tell whether it was because her hearing adjusted to the faint sound, or the person came closer. Nevertheless, she figuratively dripped cold sweat down her face, fearing the worst.

As seconds passed, the sound Hilda heard kept becoming louder, and a different sound began accompanying it. The new sound was definitely the sound of footsteps, and that alone confirmed Hilda’s worries. Knowing the fact, fear once again began setting in.

W-What is he writing? Is he calculating my worth? A-Am I going to be sold? No..! I don’t want to..! Someone, help!

No psychological help came from her nanomachines this time because the automatic intervention had a cooldown period for health safety reasons. Therefore Hilda opened her mouth trying to scream as loud as she possibly could. However, the insides of her mouth and throat felt so dry she couldn’t produce any voice. Was it truly the cause, or her overwhelmed mental state instead?

“Uuhh..! Hic..!” Hilda weakly sobbed. The despair in her helplessness drove Hilda’s body to shiver and leak tears from her eyes.

“Be not afraid.” A deep voice of an adult man was heard, which surprised Hilda and made her body twitch. Following the spoken words, a sound of paper sheet being flipped was heard along with the slow tap noise of footsteps which greatly implied that a person was walking around the bed towards the side Hilda was facing.

Soon, a figure of a man entered Hilda’s limited field of vision. She only could see the man up to his neck at first, noticing that his attire was a suit themed around black and gold color with small decorations befitting a noble. Mustering what was left of her courage, Hilda tried to turn her head in an attempt to see the man’s face with her teary eyes. However, it turned out to be futile because the notebook in the man’s hand was large enough to completely cover his face from Hilda’s sight at this angle.

“Soon, it will be over.” The man spoke from behind the notebook while his hands continued scribbling on it. “And nothing in this room will remain in your memory.”

Hilda lowered her head and her teary left eye touched the bed, soaking the sheet with her tears on that spot. In her despair, she hoped that this man was the rumored serial kidnapper who would let her go by morning.

***

Earlier in the afternoon, the group of ten consisting of Renne and her crew along with Nathan and the Storm Squad were walking down the streets after their visit to the duke’s residence. They were intending to go home, but Storm One stopped and spoke up.

“Miss Alphen. I think my team should take our leave.” Storm One said. “The house of the client I mentioned is that way, and the sooner we start working on this quest the better.” He continued while his right hand gestured towards a road to the left, which was not the direction to the location of their inn.

“Alright then.” Renne said with a small nod. “Good luck and don’t push yourselves.”

The Storm Squad left the group and took the road to the left while Renne and her crews along with Nathan kept walking straight. As the group walked down the mildly busy street, Renne kept turning her head left and right looking at various shops lined up in the area with an excited face.

“Leader, we toured the town just yesterday, didn’t we?” Audrey asked with one hand on her hip upon noticing Renne’s behavior.

“But not all of it!” Renne replied, facing Audrey with both hands doing a fist pump right in front of her own chest. She was also smiling wide as she spoke.

“Right! Right!” Sandra chimed in with a similarly excited tone. “Just imagine! An entire civilization of humanity on this pla- hmmph!”

Sandra’s speech was halted because Anton handgagged her swiftly while looking worried. “Hush! Watch your words!”

“Oops, my bad.” Sandra said with her tongue sticking out after Anton let go of her mouth. “But you know why Leader and I are excited.”

“Yes, yes. I know.” Anton said. “This is my first time too, so I’d be lying if I said I’m not excited.”

“Alright! That’s decided!” Renne said while raising her hand high. “City tour round two!”

“W-What?” Hilda asked in her surprise. “You mean... right now, Leader?”

“Yes, right now.” Renne said with a grin while directing her eyes at a stall across the street which seemed to be selling trinkets and other small-sized accessories. “Nathan, you go home first!”

Nathan stopped and turned around before replying. “I frankly recommend that you have me stay with you and your crews, Miss Renne.”

“Nah, the mood will definitely become dull if you’re around.” Renne said. “Just go home and rest yourself. We got back home safely yesterday and today will be just the same.”

“Are you sure with your decision, Miss Renne?” Nathan asked. His facial expression remained unchanged, straight and stiff as ever.

“Yes, I’m 100% sure!” Renne replied with a grin and both hands on her hip.

“Affirmative, then.” Nathan said, raising and putting forward the space suitcase he has been holding. “Do you need anything from this before I leave?”

Renne turned her head towards her crew. “Anyone?” She asked, to which the response from all four of them were negative, shown by them shaking their heads briefly. “That’s settled then!”

“Remember my instructions, Miss Renne.” Nathan said after a mild sigh.

“Yes, always stick together, I know.” Renne replied with her arms folded and her eyes averted upwards. “Now shoo!” With a playful grin, she gestured at Nathan to go away.

“Stay sharp, Miss Renne.” Nathan said before walking away.

“Umm, Leader.” Hilda called. “Are we going to walk around wearing... this?” She asked, anxiously clasping her hands in front of her skirt.

“Yeah, nothing wrong with it, right?” Renne asked back. “In fact, in the case any of us gets separated, wearing uniforms like this will make it easier to identify our group.”

Audrey looked down on her own body and legs before speaking. “Well, you have a point. But still, I would have preferred our field work clothes.”

“I like it, though.” Sandra said. “After wearing those for so many days in a row, this uniform feels fresh!”

“I honestly would prefer this suit too, if only...” Hilda said before a brief pause. “If only I had the leggings. Showing my legs off feels weird...”

“I already told you earlier, didn’t I?” Audrey said with a playful smirk. “Some girl adventurers nonchalantly show off not only their legs but also their arms and belly buttons. You’re still far from those.”

“A-Anyway!” Renne said, averting her eyes from Hilda. “Let’s go touring again!” She continued, acting as a lively tour guide, leading her crews from one shop to another.

***

Knock! Knock!

Storm One knocked on the door of a house in the suburban area. He immediately heard the sound of footsteps which came closer, confirming that someone was home.

Click!

The door opened, revealing a woman seemingly in her thirties. Upon seeing Storm One and Storm Three, she showed a reaction of surprise. Therefore Storm One quickly spoke up while showing his guild card to lower the tension.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.” Storm One said. “We’re adventurers on a quest. My name is Joseph and this is Margaretta. Is this where Francette lives?”

“Oh, yes. But what do you need with my daughter?” The woman said, still partially hiding behind the door.

“We heard that Francette once disappeared for a day, and we want to ask some questions if you would let us to.” Storm One replied.

The woman briefly averted her eyes, seemingly having a bout of hesitation. But she soon opened the door wide. “Come in.”

“Thank you.” Storm One said as he and Storm Three carefully walked in with their body leaning forward a little.

Soon, Storm One and Storm Three were seated in the parlor of the house, which naturally was not up to par with the parlor of the duke’s residence, being much smaller and less furnished.

“Would you like a drink?” The woman asked while still standing.

Storm One shook his head with a smile on his face. “Thank you, but no. We would like to only ask some questions and then leave, so we won’t disrupt your activities too much.”

“Ah, I see.” The woman said with one hand clenched in front of her chest, and then she sat down on the remaining vacant seat. “So, what do you want to ask?”

“Well, first, what was Francette doing when she disappeared?” Storm One asked.

“She was playing outside with her friends. They said they were playing hide and seek, and they couldn’t find her. So they thought she’s gone home by herself. But she didn’t...”

“And then she was found the following morning, not remembering anything. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” The woman nodded weakly. “No matter how many times we asked her, she only remembered nodding off in her hiding place.”

“I see.” Storm One said while Storm Three scribbled on her notebook. “By the way, are you aware of an ongoing rumor which might be related to what happened?”

The woman lowered her head with a little sigh through her nose. “Yes... and now many other parents give her the cold shoulder because of that, telling their children not to get near the hexed child.”

Storm Three’s pen stopped moving, and she now gripped it in her palm tightly. She gritted her teeth with her eyes frowning. Storm One noticed and immediately gave her a light pat on her shoulder before looking back at the woman.

“Now that’s something new for us.” Storm One said. “So far we only know that the rumor speaks about a serial kidnapper without any mention of a hex. Would you tell us about this particular part of the rumor?”

“Some people believe that this has been the act of a specter.” The woman covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes right after she finished her reply. “I once heard the story myself about a woman who lost her mind after knowing that she could never have a child. She repeatedly brought home someone else’s child against their will, and even though she never harmed any of the children, families started getting restless.”

The woman stopped briefly, letting out a notably bigger sigh than before as Storm Three continued writing notes.

“In the end, her husband left her for another woman. In her despair, she took her own life by burning herself along with her house. It was said that her soul remained and became a specter which brings children into her realm by sundown and takes care of them like a loving mother before letting them leave in the morning, with a hex which makes the children forget what happened during the night and tells the specter where they are so it can easily look for more children.”

After the woman finished her story, neither Storm One nor Storm Three said anything immediately. A deafening silence engulfed the parlor for at least ten seconds.

“That’s... sad and heavy.” Storm One said, folding his arms and leaning back. “It sounds like a folktale, but it matches with the pattern of the kidnappings. Still could be just a coincidence, though.”

“Tch!” Storm Three clicked her tongue and gritted her teeth.

Storm One noticed Storm Three’s behavior, so he quickly spoke up to resume the conversation. “One last thing. May we see Francette?”

“Why?” The woman asked back.

Storm One replied with a straight, professional tone of speech. “The motive of whoever, or whatever, is doing this is still uncertain. We’re hoping that by comparing the looks of the children we may get some clues. Would you be so kind as to cooperate with us?”

The woman was silent for a while, possibly thinking hard seeing how she frowned while looking down with her right hand covering her mouth. But then she looked away towards the inner part of the house and called.

“Fran~! Come here for a moment!” She called out.

A reply to the call was immediately heard. “Yes, mom! Coming!” Seconds later, a young girl skipped through the door and approached her mother. “What is it, mom?” She then looked at Storm One and Storm Three. “Who are these people?”

“They are adventurers.” The mother replied.

“Adventurers?” Francette asked with wide eyes and a big smile on her face. “Are you going to dispel the bad magic on me?”

Storm One, with a bit of regret written on his face, replied to Francette. “Sorry kid, but no. We’re here for something else.”

“Aww...” Francette lowered her head, visibly looking disappointed.

Storm Three immediately closed her notebook and chimed in. “Don’t worry, Francette. We will catch whoever put the bad magic on you and make them undo it themselves!” She spoke with a confident smirk.

Upon hearing Storm Three’s encouraging words, Francette raised her head and her smile returned. “Really!? You will?”

Storm Three nodded in response. “It’s a promise.” She put her gloved right hand forward with her pinky finger raised. In response, Francette did the same gleefully and the two interlocked their pinky fingers.

“Promise!” Francette said before returning to her mother’s lap.

“Now you’ve seen Francette. Do you need anything else?” The mother asked, looking visibly in a brighter mood than before.

“One last question.” Storm One said. “What was Francette wearing on that day?”

The mother took a quick glance at Francette before replying. “Well, it just happens to be exactly this. Come down, Fran. Let the adventurers have a good look.”

The mother put Francette down from her lap, and the latter stood straight in front of Storm One and Storm Three. Francette’s attire was a brown suspender short skirt worn over a yellow shirt which contrasted her dark brown high twintail hair. On her feet, she wore simple boots which matched the color of her skirt and covered half of her calves.

“Alright. I think we’re done here.” Storm One said, standing up from his seat. Storm Three immediately followed, and finally the mother also did. “Thank you for the cooperation.”

“Remember your promise, okay?” Francette said with her hopeful eyes straight at Storm Three.

“Leave it to us.” Storm Three replied with her clenched right hand put over her chest.

Soon later, Storm One and Storm Three walked away from the house. They didn’t say anything to each other until half a minute later.

“I guess that went well.” Storm Three said while walking.

Storm One turned his head to Storm Three with a bit of frown on his face. “That was an unnecessary show of emotion, clicking your tongue out of the blue.”

“Apologies, sir.” Storm Three said after an audible sigh.

“Look, I know and understand that you have a past of being ostracized so you couldn’t help reacting, but keep your reaction subtle.” Storm One said. “Miss Alphen just said this morning that she’s proud of your professionalism, right?”

“Yes, sir...”

“Still, in the end it was your empathy which won Francette’s heart. So good job there.” Storm One said before giving Storm Three a gentle pat on the back.

Storm Three let out another, smaller sigh. But this time she smiled after. “Thank you, sir.”

“By the way, you were lucky that the people here know pinky promise like us. Otherwise that would have been awkward.” Storm One said with a slight grin.

“Oh, right.” Storm Three said before laughing a little, wryly.

***

The sun was about to set, and the Storm Squad had done a significant amount of legwork, having walked all over the city to gather information about the rumor and also to interview the supposed victims whenever possible. As of right now, the two sub-groups had rendezvoused in the town square area where there was a fountain, and also benches for them to sit down. Storm One and Storm Three were sitting on a wooden bench, while Storm Two and Storm Four had just arrived recently so they were still standing.

“How did it go for your group?” Storm One asked while sitting and drinking water from his personal bottle. His breath was a bit short and his face was slightly wet from his own sweat.

Storm Two replied swiftly. “We managed to find the house of two different victims, but we only managed to ask questions to one. The other's parents declined our request.”

“I see. In our case we got two as well and fortunately none of them declined.” Storm One said. “On our side the rumor has evolved into an urban legend of a specter instead of a serial kidnapper.”

Storm Two folded his arms. “We heard no such thing. Guess it only spreads around certain parts of the town.”

“Or it’s still new so it hasn’t spread far yet.” Storm Three chimed in. “We better hurry before it does.”

“Why?” Storm Four asked the one-word question.

Storm Three leaned forward on the bench, resting her arms on her knees with hands clenched and clasped together. “The kidnapped children are getting ostracized by other parents and children for having been hexed by the specter.”

“Okay, that’s... messed up.” Storm Four said while frowning.

“Right? That’s why we must hurry before it spreads far and wide.” Storm Three said, standing up from the bench. “I don’t want more children getting the cold shoulder for something that was never their fault!”

Storm One stood up and gave Storm Three a light, harmless smack on the head with his water bottle. “Keep your cool. At this rate your emotions will cloud your judgment.”

“But, sir!” Storm Three retorted, but then she didn’t say a word. Instead, she lowered her head and took a deep breath. “I apologize, sir.” She said, reluctantly.

“For now, let’s return to the inn and have dinner.” Storm One said. “After that, we’ll discuss all the information we’ve got so far.”

“Yes, sir.” Storm One, Two, and Three replied in unison before the group of four began walking away from the place.

The town square area was located within viewing distance from the front side of the city hall, meaning that they wouldn’t have to walk much to return to the inn where they were staying. At their normal walking pace they would arrive in about 15 minutes.

However, before long...

“Hey, Joseph! Going home?” A cheerful familiar voice belonging to none other than Renne called from the left.

Storm One stopped walking and turned his head, and so did all three of his squad members. What they immediately saw was Renne waving her right hand in delight, and all her crews behind her.

“Indeed, Miss Alphen.” Storm One said as Renne’s group came close. “And I highly recommend that you do too.”

“Yes, yes. I know.” Renne said with both arms on her hip. “Let’s walk home together then.”

The group of nine soon resumed their walk back to the inn. The streets were now less crowded than they had been earlier in the afternoon and the streetlights were now on, illuminating the town bathed in vermilion light of the setting sun.

“How did your work go?” Renne asked while walking. “Got any good hints?”

“We managed to ask some questions to a few kids or their parents, but so far we got little more than what Jin has already told us.” Storm One replied.

“Indeed.” Storm Two added. “The notes are already in the nanom drive and I’m skimming through it as we speak. All three of the children really don’t remember anything from the time of their disappearance, either according to the parents or themselves.”

“Already in the nanom drive, huh?” Renne said. “I’ll take a look.”

Upon hearing Renne’s words, Anton and Audrey immediately moved forward and positioned themselves so that Renne was between and slightly behind them. Renne seemed to pay no heed, probably having already been absorbed by the notes projected into her sight which nobody else could see. The group then kept walking down the streets without much talk, especially Renne who had been silent the entire time. One could say that Anton and Audrey didn’t need to cover Renne since there was no other pedestrian in sight outside the group, only the occasional carriages striding through the middle part of the road.

“Okay, that’s messed up.” Renne suddenly spoke while squinting. “Hexed child? Really?”

“Yes, Miss Alphen. It’s unfortunate.” Storm One said. “But we’re in a world where magic and monsters exist, so it’s still possible to be true no matter how much we don’t like it.”

“This warrants a quick action.” Renne said, turning her head to Storm One. “Utilize everything in your disposal to catch the perpetrator quickly. I can’t stand this baseless part of the rumor lasting for too long.”

“Affirmative, Miss Alphen.” Storm One said, silently glancing at Storm Three. The latter was subtly smiling, and so did the former upon noticing that.

“By the way...” Renne said with her right hand covering her chin. “You took some pictures of the children you met, huh?”

Storm One nodded. “Yes, I thought that perhaps we can find some similarities which may lead us to the kidnapper’s motive, so I instructed everyone to take a few pictures if possible.”

“Yeah, I concur.” Renne said. “Serial crimes typically have a certain pattern or similarities between targets, after all.”

Out of the blue, Audrey chimed in with one word. “Hilda.”

“W-What is it?” Hilda asked while being startled.

“I mean, all three children in the picture kinda look like Hilda to some extent.” Audrey said, pressing some buttons on her wristwatch. “Short hair, similar body shape, though Hilda is still taller than them. Not much, however.”

“Is the last part really necessary to mention?” Hilda pouted briefly before her facial expression turned towards fear and worry, looking left and right anxiously. “But does that mean... I’m in danger...?”

“Don’t worry, Miss Gardner. We’ll keep you safe.” Storm One said with a confident smile on his face, and that seemed to work in calming Hilda down.

“By the way, are these girls wearing the clothes they wore during their disappearance?” Renne asked while moving her right index finger around, browsing through photos only she could see herself.

“Yes.” Storm Two replied while still keeping his eyes on the notes displayed by his nanom, all without forgetting to watch where he was walking among the group. “It was a convenient coincidence that all three were wearing their respective outfits when we came.”

“Hmm...” Renne once again put her right hand under her chin while resting her right elbow on her left hand. “I want to try using Hilda as bait, but there’s no way anyone would approve, right?” She said with a wry grin on her face.

“What? Of course everybody is against it, Miss Alphen!” Storm One said in a pretty tense tone. “That’s deliberately putting her in danger! If President Gardner ever gets to know, he for certain will have us executed by firing squads!”

“Hey, I wasn’t serious about it.” Renne said with a playful grin. “I’m just saying that if, once again, if, Hilda gets kidnapped, tailing her and the kidnapper will be a cinch with all the tech we have in our possession.”

Sandra then chimed in. “Then we will easily find their hideout, and catch them red handed!” She then made a finger gun gesture and pointed her harm forward. “Freeze! You’re under arrest!” She said while grinning wide, followed with a laugh.

Storm One lowered his head and facepalmed with a sigh. “This is no laughing matter, Miss Park. Please be considerate to Miss Gardner.”

“You know, you definitely can rival Nathan in being a wet blanket.” Sandra said while squinting with her arms on her hip. “Isn’t that right, Hilda?” She looked back, but then she stopped walking and her facial expression turned grim within a second. “...Where’s Hilda?”

“What? She was right beside me just a second ago!” Storm Three said while frantically looking left and right, causing everyone else to halt and do the same.

Storm One immediately raised his right hand near his mouth and spoke. “Locate Hilda Gardner!”

“Hilda Gardner found.” The nanom inside Storm One responded, followed by projecting a glowing green dot in his vision along with distance number.

“The distance is increasing fast.” Storm Three said, having said the same command to her own nanom. “Storm Four!”

“I know! Deploying scout drones!” Storm Four replied as he pulled out a bunch white egg-shaped objects, each being as large as a peanut, and threw them up. Every single one of them immediately flew high up and disappeared from sight as Storm Four pressed a number of buttons on his custom bracer. “Target successfully designated. The drones are keeping track of Miss Gardner’s location now.”

“Alright! Let’s go in pursuit!” Storm One said before turning to Renne. “Miss Alphen, please go back with the others to Vice Captain Brevand and wait for us there.”

“A-Alright!” Renne said with a nod. “Please bring Hilda back safely!”

“It’s either that or firing squad for us.” Storm One said before pressing some buttons on his wristwatch, which was followed by the boots of all four Storm Squad members glowing blue. “Let’s go!”

Whoosh!

The Storm Squad left the place running in the fastest pace humanly possible, leaving a gust of wind in their wake. Renne, Sandra, Anton, and Audrey just stood still watching The Storm Squad until they disappeared from sight.

“Miss Renne!” A familiar voice called from behind. Renne immediately turned back and saw that it was indeed Nathan, running down the streets towards the group, space suitcase in hand, with his boots glowing blue just like the Storm Squad.

Whoosh.

Nathan stopped abruptly right in front of the group, and a gust of wind blew against them as a result. His facial expression was pretty tense and his breathing pace was slightly faster than normal. At this very moment, Renne’s courage had completely faded away from guilt, and thus she couldn’t look at Nathan in the eyes.

“Let’s go home right away. The street’s not safe anymore.” Nathan said in a straight tone, with no audible signs of vexation. However, it was the lack of signs which made Renne even more anxious.

Mustering up her courage, Renne spoke to Nathan right after the group began walking with Nathan watching them from behind. “Nathan... Did you hear... everything?” She asked without looking back.

“Yes, Miss Renne.” Nathan said without stopping his walk. “From the moment you entered the linking range.”

“Aren’t you... mad at me?” Renne asked while lowering her head. “It was because of me that Hilda was-”

“No.” Nathan intervened. “The felon somehow could snatch Miss Gardner past the watchful eyes of the Storm Squad.” Nathan said. “You adhered to my recommendation and stuck to it. It wasn’t your fault, Miss Renne. It was ours, for not being good enough.”

In Renne’s ears, Nathan’s voice from behind her was audibly tense compared to before. She didn’t feel like looking back even more now because she didn’t want to see the expression on his face. Despite his reassuring words, Renne still didn’t feel any better hearing that. Her throat felt dry and her chest weighed a ton.

With all her heart, Renne hoped that the Storm Squad would manage to bring Hilda back.

***

The Storm Squad blazed through the empty streets which was getting darker by the minute due to the setting sun. The active lamp posts still provided illumination but it wasn’t quite enough for the naked eye, thus all four squad members put on their night vision goggles while still running.

“Report! Target just stopped moving!” Storm Four reported.

“Good! That’s probably the hideout.” Storm One said. “Ready your weapons!”

“Yes, sir!” The other three responded in unison, and all four squad members pulled out a small cube from their combat suits which then unfolded into an assault rifle within a second.

The squad kept running down the streets with Storm One in the lead, monitoring the distance remaining to Hilda. However, he soon noticed something and raised his hand.

“Halt!” He said, and all four of them immediately stopped near a pretty dark corner. “Let me confirm. Are we sure that we are monitoring the location of Miss Gardner?”

“Yes, sir.” Storm Four said, followed by Storm Two and Storm Three confirming the same.

Storm One frowned while looking forward. “That means Miss Gardner is inside that mansion.” He said while eyeing a mansion in the distance. Despite the darkness of night, it was still easy to eyeball the size of the mansion. It was nowhere near as large as the duke’s residence, but the fact that the supposed hideout of the kidnapper was a mansion created a bad implication.

“It doesn’t look abandoned. So the one behind the serial kidnapping is probably a noble.” Storm Three said with a sigh. “Figures.”

“This means going in guns blazing is a no go.” Storm Two said, putting down his gun.

“Right.” Storm Four said. “We have no idea how much influence this particular noble house has. Acting recklessly may make things difficult for Jin in the future.”

“But Miss Gardner’s safety is our top priority.” Storm One said without taking his eyes off the distant mansion. “It’s time for a stealth mission.”

“Roger that.” The other three responded in unison and everyone’s combat suit immediately changed color into a much darker one, close to jet black. They also unfolded and put on their full face helmets, thus nobody could tell them apart now, aside from body size.

“Let’s go.” Storm One said in a lower voice than before, and the Storm Squad began making their move to infiltrate the mansion where the one behind the serial kidnapping resided.

***