âHugh, Iâve got a security detail for tomorrow and onwardsâŠâ
âWhat!?â
Dianaâs loud voice, which smashed Benedictâs ears as soon as he opened the door to the party room, was not directed at Benedict, however.
Inside the room, Diana was grabbing Hugh by the collar.
âWhatâs the matter, Diana? Having a fight?â
âBenedict, did you not hear? Iris has disappeared!â
ââŠWhat did you say?â
Diana shouted, her face turning blood red. Benedictâs blood boiled when he heard this.
âWe didnât see her, so we went all over the castle. I even asked the maid to check to see if she had collapsed in the bathroom⊠The last time we saw her, she was walking on the walls of the castle⊠The gatekeeper hadnât even seen her, and then she was gone.â
Hugh, still clutching his chest, said, and Benedict was caught up in his thoughts.
âOn the castle walls âŠ? The guild sent a sealed letter to Iris, and I gave it to her as she walked along.â
âWhatâs that?â
âSo the Guild called her âŠÂ and even if they did, itâs strange that she left without saying anything to us.â
âYeah, and itâs odd that the gatekeeper didnât see her. I could understand if she had used a «Fly» or something to get out, but I donât know why she would have done that for.â
Iris was not the kind of girl who would just wander off on her own. Even when going out for a short trip around the area, she would tell her party members where she was going if she was going out alone.
Her sudden disappearance seemed like something out of the ordinary.
Even so, normally they would not have been so worried.
If it had not been for the assassination attempt on the Earl and the attack on the family members by the Night Pythons strike team, they would not have been so worried.
Iris disappeared under these circumstances. It was natural that disturbing imagery would come to mind.
âBenedict, canât you find her with your nose?â
âDonât be absurd, without a smell attached to the soles of her shoes, it would be hard to find her outside. And even then, it depends on how you walk on your own feet.â
âOh, already! Whereâs Irisâs stuff?â
âHereâŠâ
âGive me that!â
Diana turned over a large backpack. An avalanche of items burst onto the bed.
Rummaging through the items for magical purposes and a few cute little miscellaneous items, Diana pulled out a set of Irisâs clothes.
âStay close by, be on time⊠âȘSeek Personâ«!â
Diana used magic.
This was a magic spell to search for people by using objects and other clues. This is the holy magic version of it.
Closing her eyes, Diana focused her mind as she traced the seams of a shirt.
A stifling silence.
Eventually, Diana opened her eyes.
âThere she is!â
âWhere is she!?â
âThis isnât good. Not in the city! Thatâs weird!â
âCalm down, if sheâs out of Eltaref and headed somewhere else, where is she!?â
Diana thought for a moment, then nodded to confirm her own thoughts.
â⊠I think itâs⊠Vonnay.â
âNo wayâŠâ
The commercial city of Vonnay.
It was the hub of the trade routes connecting the surrounding territories, and is the busiest town in Earl Keelyâs territory, which has no resources or industry worth mentioning. There was also a branch of the Adventurersâ Guild, and the âDragonâs Throatâ made frequent visits there.
But the information that Iris was on her way there was more than enough to support a disturbing assumption.
âThe Night Pythons headquarters, which the Earl is trying to raid. It is in Vonnay.â
âItâs ⊠a bit of a sickening feeling that you killed me and you continue to suffer. But I still feel sorry for you. Surely you have nothing left but revenge, and yet that revenge makes you suffer.â
âIâm not going to sufferâŠ
Cut off their heads, pierce their chests, split their bellies. Burn them, tear them, hang them out to dry, and kill them. Kill them in fear. Kill them in humiliation. Kill them in despair. I will kill every last one of them. I donât know if there will be salvation or not, but ⊠it will be fun. I canât wait just to imagine it.â
The black flames of resentment that continued to burn in her heart. The pain, the sorrow, the determination and urge to beat it all back.
It was a living hell to stay still with such a starving desire.
The only way to be free from this pain was to take revenge, and that must be fun. The time she spent killing in the capital right after her rebirth as an Undead was short, but it was great.
Her body was cramped and constricted. She was bound with ropes all over her body, gagged, and even her fingers were tied so that she could not make marks. On top of that, she seemed to be stuffed into a sack and laid in between some luggage.
The floor was shaking violently. She was probably on a carriage.