“By the way, did you have any results today?”
At the gaze full of anticipation, Taeyon shook his head.
“We didn’t find the child.”
“Ah…”
A low sigh spread through the group. The beastkin at the laundry area, who had already caught on to what was happening, put down their clubs and listened to their conversation.
The biggest issue in the underground city of Centanid recently was kidnapping. Including the child kidnapped this morning, hadn’t as many as eighteen children already disappeared? Especially this time, the fact that the culprit was a monster had been revealed. So there were rumors going around that all the kidnapped people had been eaten and killed by monsters.
A monster that came inside the city to kidnap beastkin—they’d never heard of such a thing.
“Is the lord present? I have something to discuss with him.”
At that question, the security force member shook his head.
“The lord is away. Our lord handles business while touring four cities in this area, and he left three weeks ago. He won’t return until next week.”
“I see…”
The lord tours four cities?
It was a unique and strange governing system. Lord mages existed on the Floating Island too, but there were no lord mages who operated multiple territories, and in the first place, the meaning of the word ‘lord’ was different from the Surface. They traditionally used the word ‘lord,’ but on the Floating Island, a lord was merely an elected position. Of course, it was a position that high-ranking mages passed around among themselves.
Anyway, if the lord didn’t guard his territory and toured around governing directly like that, wouldn’t holes appear everywhere? The lord would have to annoyingly go around, and meanwhile the other territories would seem to be neglected.
Kaniel felt puzzled, but kept his mouth obediently shut. There might be some reason, and now wasn’t the timing to ask such questions.
“What is the matter?”
“We found one corpse inside.”
“A corpse?”
Only then did the security force member’s gaze turn to the large bundle Arkan was carrying. Until now, Arkan’s build was so huge that his gaze hadn’t reached what he was carrying.
Tension spread across the security force member’s face when he saw the shape of the large bundle rolled up in a cloak.
“You and you. Inform the security captain and the butler of this fact.”
After the two designated members scattered in different directions, Arkan carefully lowered the corpse he’d been carrying. When set down on the floor, the human form was clear above the cloak.
Kaniel’s complexion paled as he recalled the appearance of the corpse he’d seen earlier. How sad would family or friends be if they saw the corpse’s expression? If only the expression had been peaceful at least…
While Kaniel was worrying about such things, someone felt relieved seeing the corpse. Because seeing that the limbs and head were intact, it seemed they hadn’t been eaten by a monster.
Just then, some woman who came running in a fluster rushed toward the corpse. Arkan quickly grabbed and stopped her, but she struggled and shouted.
“My younger sibling, it might be my younger sibling!! Show me the face!”
She seemed to be the sister of a kidnapping victim.
Even while being held by the bear beastkin with a build like a mountain, she struggled wildly, and those movements were violent enough to injure her own body.
“No, it’s not your sibling.”
“How do you know that?!”
“I’ve read all the kidnapping case investigation reports. The characteristics don’t overlap with any known victims.”
“Ah…”
The woman who had been thrashing about, tense enough for her fur to stand on end, collapsed. She bowed her head and began to cry, seemingly relaxed, but whether it was from joy or sadness was unknowable.
In that somber atmosphere, Kaniel felt somehow frightened and lightly grabbed Taeyon’s clothing. Taeyon, who felt it and glanced back, put his arm around Kaniel’s shoulder, squeezed it tight, then let go. Then amazingly, his incoherently trembling heart calmed down a bit.
About ten minutes passed like that. The security force members who had run to the security headquarters and lord’s manor respectively returned with the people they’d aimed for.
The butler arrived first, followed by the captain.
“So you’re the knight who found the corpse. I am Dorbella, who is in charge of managing Centanid on behalf of the lord.”
“Is it true that you found a corpse?!”
Cutting off the greeting butler Dorbella’s words, Captain Oderic asked. Dorbella frowned, but the captain didn’t care. The relationship between the two didn’t look very good.
Still, showing it this openly even in a place like this was not good. Kaniel secretly shook his head.
“It’s over here. It seems to be an unknown victim, so please check.”
Taeyon removed the cloak wrapping the corpse. Then shocked and horrified groans spread through the group.
“Young master…!”
Dorbella, who shouted loudly, rushed to the corpse and collapsed in front of it. Even though an unrotted corpse wouldn’t be a pleasant sight, Dorbella touched the cheeks and body without any sign of reluctance.
“Good heavens, young master…! Like this, in such a state… It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense!”
The surroundings became entirely noisy. It went beyond simply being shocked that a young master of precious status had died—it was because of the fear that if he had died, their own relatives or friends might have died too. And in such a dried-up dead state at that.
Uncontrollable fear spread among the people like wildfire.
“Enough!”
It was Oderic who quieted the people. He shouted loudly to gather their gazes, then quietly commanded.
“Residents, return to your homes. You’re interfering with the investigation.”
At that stern appearance, people hesitated a bit then soon began to disperse.
He usually seemed like a debauched cat who drank catnip tea during work hours, but he appeared to be a more influential figure than expected.
After that, Oderic approached Taeyon and carefully asked.
“Was that the only corpse?”
“What do you mean?”
“The young master accompanied the lord on his tour!”
At those words, Taeyon, who had an idea, took out the item Arkan had said earlier seemed like a relic.
“This was also found near the corpse, could it be…?”
“Good heavens…!”
Hearing that sound, Dorbella jumped up and approached.
“This is the lord’s brooch. The sword is the young master’s…”
If this was the case, this wouldn’t be a simple kidnapping case by a monster beast. All lords were knights. A lord not only governed their territory but also protected it, and the story that there was no lord meant that for the time being, there was a hole in the safety of this area.
As a result of hastily sending dispatches, the lord wasn’t in any of the other three cities either.
Then the story was that the lord had also been kidnapped. There was a high possibility that the very first kidnapping victims of this kidnapping case were the lord and his son.
Then where was the lord now?
Would he even be alive?
***
Tssssss…
In the thick darkness, the raccoon beastkin girl covered her mouth with her hand and clung to the wall. The girl wasn’t the only beastkin doing so. In that narrow cave, about a dozen beastkin of various ages were crouched close to the wall, enduring their fear and holding their breath.
Tssssss…
The cave they were hiding in was actually more like a large closet than a cave. The closet door that would have been made of wood had long since rotted and crumbled, so the front was wide open.
Tssssss…
And in front of it, something gigantic walked slowly.
The two legs moving slowly, dragging along the floor, weren’t easily distinguished as human or beast. Looking at how it walked with only the front of its feet raised and heels up, it seemed like a beast, but looking at the shape of the feet, it seemed human, and looking at the size, you could only say it was a beast.
If forced to describe it, it had a bizarre appearance that suited the expression of being half-mixed between human and beast.
Beastkin did have two forms—an animalized form and a beastkin form. However, neither was strangely mixed like that.
“……”
Just then. The monster’s steps, which had been moving back and forth as if measuring something, stopped right in front of the raccoon girl. The girl was startled, her body trembled violently, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her breath came in gasps.
The squirrel beastkin youth beside her was startled as well and looked at the girl. The youth, who had been blankly watching the tiny girl who didn’t even look seven years old crying with dripping tears, suddenly slapped his own cheek, then pulled the girl’s shoulder into an embrace.
“Huuk…”
Soon the monster’s hand came inside the closet. The fingernails were sharp and the joints were bumpy, with coarse fur thinly covering them.
The monster’s hand, tapping the floor as if groping and gradually entering deeper inside, was getting closer to the girl’s feet.
The youth who gulped down his saliva slyly extended his foot forward. His foot was trembling. No, it wasn’t just his foot. With a face pale from fear, the youth gritted his teeth.
At that moment, the monster grabbed his ankle and pulled.
“……!!”
