Chapter 64: Tale of the Chuunibyou hero ( 3 )

Ruijerd’s POV

…

In the dark with dim torchlights sat Ruijerd. His hands were cuffed, and currently he was helpless. For the past week he had been here, all Ruijerd had heard were screams.

At first it was the screams of young children being captured against their wills, as well as the shouts and violence of those kidnappers. Then, it became the panic shouts and horrified screams of those bastards. Now, only silence remained.

Ruijerd looked up at the perpetrator of this silence. From the boots drenched in the scent of blood to the air that seemed as sharp as blades, the man Ruijerd saw had the presence of a highly skilled swordsman. And yet he carried no sword.

Chains on the right arm and a cane on the left, both hands wore handguards. Long white hair covered his right eyepatch, and his left eye glowed a deep color of purple despite having more than half his silhouette within the shadows.

With a devilish smile, the man leaned on Ruijerd’s cage.

“Oh, my~ What do we have here?”

He was definitely a swordsman, but he exuded the grace of a thug. Ruijerd would’ve mistaken him for one had it not been for the huge silver puppy next to him.

“Woof! Woof, woof woof!”

“Huh? Buddy, slow down; I don’t speak dog that well.”

“Woof, woof woof.”

“What? You found seven kids? And they’re all nake- wait, never mind that. Where are they? Are they safe?”

Ruijerd let out a sigh of relieve as he let his guard down. Ruijerd was wrong to doubt him; he was an honorable man.

“Woof, woof.”

“That’s good news, I guess.”

The man stared back at Ruijerd and spoke. Looking at the man closely, he seemed slightly young. His voice was young as well. And something about him felt oddly familiar.

“Seeing that you’re in a cell, I don’t suppose you’re with these guys. Wanna join hands?”

“Sure.”

“Great!”

The young man said, his hand passed the prison bars and the sound of iron being cut like butter was heard. Just like that, Ruijerd was freed. But the young man’s next words shocked Ruijerd.

“By the way, now that I’m looking at you closely, you’ve got emerald hair.”

“...”

“Don’t mind me if I’m mistaken, but are you perhaps one of the Forest People?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, nothing much. I heard there was a race of people with green hair living in Biheiril, so I thought you were from there.”

Green hair people? Ruijerd thought. Could it have been people from his tribe? Ruijerd should probably look into it more once this is over.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself. The name’s Laurel.”

“Woof woof woof.”

“... He said he’s Leo. And you?”

“Ruijerd.”

Superdia, he thought to add, but he hesitated. If the man knew he was Superd, it would just put him on guard.

“Alright, Mr. Ruijerd. Glad to be working with you.”

Just like that, the three rescued the seven beastfolk children. Judging from the way Laurel treated the children, he seemed quite gentle. Ruijerd thought as he cut the curtains to make clothes.

“Phew, good thing the magic circles work. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to deal with a broken bone.”

“Woof, woof!”

“Aw~ Thanks, but save the compliments for when we get outta here.”

As Laurel took the kids out, Ruijerd could see them giving Laurel weird gazes. Well, considering Laurel was having a conversation with a dog, Ruijerd could somewhat understand them.

“Anyway, kids?”

“Yes, Mr. Hero, mew?”

“...”

“Mr. Hero, mew?”

“Yeah… Kids. Let’s not call me that; it sounds awkward. Just call me brother or something.”

The young man coughs awkwardly. It appears that this kid was soft on compliments. Well, he’s young, so it’s understandable. The young man turned away and blushed, but then calmly turned towards them again.

“Anyway, you guys know the way back home, right?”

The kids looked at each other and nodded. Just like that, even Ruijerd’s little concern became pointless. Ruijerd was a man poor with words, after all. Luckily, Laurel was someone who was both good with words and had a good head on his shoulders.

Ruijerd’d faced similar circumstances many times before. He would rescue children from slave merchants and attempt to return them to the city, only to be mistaken as a kidnapper himself.

Suddenly his third eye sensed someone rapidly approaching. Their speed was incredible, and their aura was strong. They came from the direction of the building they’d left behind.

“Get back.”

Ruijerd had the children take cover behind him as he readied his spear. Laurel was in the middle, seemingly prepared to both attack and defend them if needed. Fortunately, it was unnecessary.

“Ah, Grandpa, mew!”

The cat girl called out to the older warrior and rushed to him.

“Tona! You’re all right!”

The old warrior welcomed the girl into his arms, a look of relief crossing his face. The dog-eared girl also seemed to know him and dashed over to him.

“Tersena, you’re safe too. I’m glad.”

“Woof!”

When the beast barked, Gyes took a knee before it.

“I apologize. We should have moved with more haste, but instead we were late in our rescue.”

“Woof! Woof woof woof woof woof, woof!”

“What? Is that true?”

“IT’S NOT! Well… Technically I did, but… that’s a bit of an over-exaggeration.”

“I see. Laurel, was it? I’m Gustav Dedoldia. I will repay this debt to you without fail. First, I must return these children to their parents.”

“Yes, you should.”

“But it’s dangerous to make children walk at night. I’d like you to explain exactly what happened.”

“We might not have time for that. The last ship leaves tomorrow. I know the location, but I can’t guarantee they’re still there.”

“Understood, hero. I’ll finish quickly on my side and join you.”

As he said that, the elder started walking toward the town.

“Wait,”

Ruijerd called after him.

“What is it?”

“Did you look inside of the building?”

“I did. A depressing place that reeked of blood.”

Ruijerd pressed on with his questions.

“And no one was there?”

“There was one. A male appeared in the form of a child. It seemed that he had a perverted grin on his face.”

Ruijerd realized who it was immediately. Rudeus. So the kid still gets that grin on his face, he thought.

“Wait, no way. Is he by any chance named Rudeus?”

Laurel’s words shocked Ruijerd.

“Ah, that, I have no idea. I had him taken to our village so we could interrogate him about the location of his co-conspirators. But I will have him released immediately.”

“Bah! Ignore him then. No one could stop him if he really wanted to leave anyway.”

… Rudeus, that idiot, had let his guard down. That said…

“What’s your relationship with Rudeus?"

Ruijerd asked. And to everyone’s surprise, Laurel gave the most thug-like grin ever.

“He’s my older brother.”