Chapter 194: Kidnapping

Qiu Nuoya had been busy shopping as soon as they arrived in Cider Orchard, but the main reason he had come to this city was for the food! And, more importantly, fresh seafood!

He had come hoping that he might finally be able to eat sashimi, but judging from the food stalls, it seemed that sashimi was not being sold after all.

Well, sashimi was raw food, so selling it at a street stall did raise some concerns about hygiene. Even in a lakeside city, fresh raw fish was not something they sold casually on the streets. Qiu Nuoya had overheard that fresh fish was sold at a market along the shore of Cider Lake from the early afternoon onward.

The moment he heard that, Qiu Nuoya became even more excited. He absolutely had to go see that market.

"Nuoya, going to the market is fine, but before that, we need to have the sword appraised so we can determine the true nature of its curse."

"Ah..."

Come to think of it, that was right.

Qiu Nuoya had already discovered the sword’s true identity using his own Appraisal Skill, so he had completely forgotten about it.

But an appraisal...

If the sword’s true identity were discovered here, would that cause all sorts of problems?

After all, there was currently a reward of ten platinum coins for the recovery of the Divine Sword Velikorya. In other words, Warren was essentially walking around carrying a huge fortune on his person. That seemed far too dangerous.

Then again, would knowing what the sword really was actually make things safer or more dangerous than simply carrying it around without knowing?

Perhaps it would be wiser to have the sword appraised as soon as possible, then bring it to the Church or the guild and put an end to this whole matter.

"What is it, Nuoya? Why are you making such a serious face? Is there something bothering you about that sword?"

"Ah, no, it’s not that... Wait, where’s Xiao Tao? And Warren too?"

Qiu Nuoya looked around and realized that Xiao Tao, who had been with them just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. For some reason, Warren was missing too.

"They were both around here just a moment ago... Could they have gotten lost? No, surely not..."

Just as Igor began looking around, a commotion suddenly broke out behind them. It sounded as though two people were arguing or fighting.

When Qiu Nuoya turned toward the noise, there was no mistaking one of the figures involved. It was Warren. And behind him, Xiao Tao was once again crouched on the ground with a tearful expression.

"Whoa, what’s going on?"

Igor hurriedly ran toward the two of them. At that moment, the person who had been fighting with Warren suddenly turned and tried to run away.

"You’re not getting away!"

Igor accelerated as he shouted those words. Qiu Nuoya immediately moved to help, casting Wind Magic at the fleeing figure’s feet.

The figure’s legs became tangled, and he went sprawling dramatically. Igor quickly caught him.

"Are you two all right?"

"I’m fine, but..."

Warren brushed the dust off himself as he answered Qiu Nuoya, but Xiao Tao remained sitting beside him, trembling slightly without saying a word.

"What happened?"

"I’m not really sure myself. I noticed this guy was trying to kidnap him, so I tried to help, and then things turned into this."

"Kidnap him?"

"I guess so... If that’s what happened, then this is pretty serious."

Qiu Nuoya sat down beside the still-trembling Xiao Tao. There were finger-shaped marks on Xiao Tao’s arm, apparently left behind when the man had grabbed him tightly while trying to take him away.

Those are definitely going to turn into bruises.

Qiu Nuoya gently rubbed the marks and healed them with Holy Magic. That should probably keep them from becoming bruises, but there was nothing magic could do about the emotional scars.

"That must have been scary. It’s all right now."

"Uuu... I don’t want this anymore. I want to go home..."

Xiao Tao clung to Qiu Nuoya and cried, while the would-be kidnapper continued struggling in Igor’s grip, held by the back of his collar. Amid his shouting, Qiu Nuoya could make out phrases like, "I was only hired to do this" and "It’s not my fault."

What is this guy even talking about?

Kidnapping someone was already a serious crime. Thinking that "someone told me to do it" was a valid excuse was ridiculous. Could he really not realize how selfish his excuses sounded?

"Hmm, I understand what you’re saying. Now, who exactly hired you? And why were you targeting a child like this?"

"I don’t know why! I was only told to kidnap a black haired child!"

A black haired child...

That description certainly fit Xiao Tao perfectly. Black hair seemed to be surprisingly rare in this world, so perhaps someone like Xiao Tao could be sold for a high price because of it.

Qiu Nuoya’s own hair looked black at first glance too, even though it was actually a deep indigo, so he would have to be careful as well.

"Who hired you?"

"..."

"Are you planning to play dumb!?"

"N-No! It’s not like that! I really don’t know anything! You’ve got to believe me!!"

Igor tightened his grip slightly, and the man quickly gave in. Not long afterward, perhaps because someone had alerted the city guards, the man was taken away.

"Tch. Something about this doesn’t sit right with me."

"Nobles’ sons also visit this city as tourists. It is possible that this was an attempt to kidnap a child for one of them."

"Huh? But the target was a ’black haired’ child. And Xiao Tao obviously looks like a commoner. There’s no way anyone would mistake him for a noble’s son..."

"No, that is precisely why. They may have wanted to capture an unusual looking child to serve as a noble’s plaything. In this case, I suppose you could call it a source of amusement. The more depraved noble sons would have no qualms about doing something like that."