Mess 191
by Cristae191.
Regrettably, the situation was far from favorable for a heartfelt reunion.
“What about the others?”
At Pura’s question, the man hurried to share what he knew.
“The other Glakes, aside from me, are split between here and the warehouse across the way. Check on the people over there as well. The office of the men running this place is right upstairs.”
“Can you walk?”
A mage, having removed his shackles, asked.
The man stood shakily. Pura and the other Glakes quickly supported him.
“Lara, your father…”
“He’s alive. He’s helping the elder in our village now.”
“That’s a relief.”
With tears welling in his eyes, the man continued,
“There are other Glakes here with me.”
“How many, in total?”
“Eighteen, counting myself.”
They had killed twenty mercenaries outside earlier, and five more had been found and subdued inside the factory. There were eighteen Glakes.
‘So that leaves…’
Pura mentally tallied the numbers.
‘…Six remaining.’
A moment later, word arrived that people had been found in the warehouse across the way.
There, too, were people bound in shackles.
Thus, all eighteen Glakes were confirmed alive.
And even two imperial subjects, abducted for reasons unknown, had also survived.
“…….”
Pura and the other Glakes stood in silence, lips tightly pressed.
It was a damned, wretched situation.
‘Damn it.’
She hadn’t dared hope all the Glakes would be alive. She knew well enough what that Crown Prince bastard was capable of.
But to find only eighteen survivors.
‘Then the rest…’
The “what if” she so desperately wanted to deny was gradually taking form.
The others must have thought the same; their faces were grim. Some cursed in their own tongue and kicked at the walls in frustration.
“…That’s odd,”
Er, also checking the numbers, cocked her head.
There was no trace of the four with no vital signs.
“Sir.”
Pura questioned the man.
“Is anyone gravely ill or on the verge of death?”
“They’re all in the basement.”
“Do you know how many?”
“If any are still alive, there should be four…”
Hearing this, Pura hurried to the basement.
As soon as she descended, she was hit by a nauseating stench. The unfamiliar and offensive smell caused uneasy dread.
“…Lara, stay back here.”
Just in case, the Glakes kept Pura at the rear.
Carefully, they opened the door. Its rusted hinges gave a strange screech.
‘Huh?’
That wasn’t rust…
Pura furrowed her brow as she noticed something odd.
“Ugh!”
“My God…!”
The source of the stench revealed itself as the door opened.
Inside lay a decomposing corpse. Its swollen red form left no question—whatever had happened, it had been gruesome.
“Damn it, they’re all dead…!”
Those who entered quickly covered their noses and mouths with sleeves and handkerchiefs.
The realization that these bastards had treated human life so callously made them curse aloud.
“…….”
At that moment, something caught Pura’s eye.
“Mage!”
She spotted a tiny speck of dust beside the corpse’s nose, quivering slightly.
“There’s someone alive here!”
At her shout, Er and another mage sprang into action. They took the pulse of the body, pressed an ear to the chest.
“…The pulse is faint but present!”
“They’re alive! We need to administer first aid immediately!”
“Check the others too!”
“Shit, this one’s alive too!”
Against all odds, two of the four were clinging to life.
“Use this!”
Pura pulled the ring off her finger.
“This…!”
Er’s eyes widened.
A pure, noble magic radiated from the ring—White Mage Lilia Alveolos’s healing spell.
“Count Validus gave it to me.”
Er was stunned by Pura’s words.
‘Could she have foreseen all this?’
Awed to the core, Er quickly activated the magic.
Using the energy stored in the ring, emergency aid was administered; the two people’s faint breathing grew visibly stronger.
“Ugh…”
“Hack!”
They gasped in heavy, retching breaths.
“Can you hear me?”
“U-ungh…”
“The magic I used was only emergency treatment. I’m sorry—I’m not a medical specialist…”
“Mage, you just saved a life.”
Pura clapped Er appreciatively on the shoulder.
A faint smile appeared on Er’s previously clouded face.
“Let’s get moving.”
“Climb onto my back if you must. It may hurt a bit, but bear with it.”
“Lara.”
Before leaving the room—
“What about the bodies?”
“……”
One Glake asked, and Pura hesitated.
“This room… don’t you think it’s strange?”
The door they’d entered caught her suspicions.
She pointed out dried, crusty substances caked around the edge and hinges.
A mage used a handkerchief to gently pick a sample and studied it curiously.
“…Grass?”
Just then, one of the victims regained consciousness and started mumbling.
The surprise attack on the factory had succeeded, but the Glakes and mages now faced another issue:
How to move.
Descending the mountain immediately would be too risky.
The recently rescued victims were exhausted. The illegal mercenaries, kept as witnesses, were all tied up and barely mobile.
They could hardly leave the factory behind; if they left now, Tifeon could burn the place and destroy all evidence.
“What now?”
Er asked Pura.
“…We wait.”
“But when the sun rises, people might come here right away.”
Another Glake objected.
Tifeon already suspected the Kia company. If, in the morning, he realized members of the company or the mages were missing from their lodgings, he would send armed men in force.
‘If there were illegal mercenaries employed here…’
They’re likely not stationed only at this factory.
There could be other troops hidden in the territory.
“……”
Still, Pura’s decision did not change.
“We’ll wait here.”
“Are you sure?”
Er and the others were uneasy with that choice.
But Pura stood stock-still, only watching the path they had climbed.
“…They’ll come.”
And sure enough.
After a while, just as she had predicted, unfamiliar presences began to approach from below.
The Glakes instinctively glared down through the darkness, tension crackling; the oncoming movement was ominous.
The source soon revealed itself from the gloom.
A group of a dozen or so people appeared, clad in dark infiltration gear. The leader at the front called out,
“…Who’s ‘Pura’?”
“I am.”
Pura stepped forward, and the man removed his mask.
Even in the dark, his vivid red eyes, silver hair, and strikingly handsome features—singular amidst the situation—stood out.
Pura’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
“I’m glad to meet you.”
The Empress greeted her.
“I’m a married man, former Captain of the Imperial Guard. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“Why are you here… sir?”
“First, take this.”
The Empress handed her something.
It was a neatly folded note, inside of which a few lines were written in a familiar hand.
[Lara, don’t be alarmed.
My father will help you.
I knew you could do it.
You’ve done well.]
“…Ha.”
Reading this, Pura finally relaxed, letting out the breath she’d been holding.
“Someone from the Imperial family has come to help us.”
Pura announced this, assuring the anxious crowd that they could be at ease now.
“There’s a factory just up ahead,” she explained.
“There are two bodies inside. There’s also abundant evidence of fake gold being cast. All of these people can testify. And we’ll need medical help…”
As Pura explained, the Empress silently gave orders to a nearby knight.
He and several others started down the mountain.
“Let the victims stay here. The healers we brought will tend to them,” said the Empress.
“What about the territory?”
“It’s already pacified.”
As the Empress’s lips curled into a soft smile, Pura was reminded of X’s cheerful grin.
Soon, the knights began assisting the victims down from the mountain.
“Could I ask you to remain here with me a bit longer?”
As Pura prepared to help with the descent, the Empress courteously detained her.
“About those two corpses you mentioned…”
Pura’s eyes narrowed.
“…Do you suspect something?”
“It’s not my suspicion,” he replied.
“Count Validus raised the question.”
Pura’s eyes went wide with surprise at the Empress’s words.
Her transparent reaction amused the Empress, who continued to smile warmly.
“No wonder my youngest is so fond of you.”
“So, she really does like me.”
“Haha.”
“So, what is it my lord suspects?”
“Wasn’t the location where you found the bodies a sealed space?”
“……”
Pura instinctively swallowed hard and took a cautious step backward.
She could feel it in her gut.
‘Ah, this is…’
Something incredibly dangerous.
Soon, the knights who had gone down the mountain returned with a physician from the capital.
“Shall we go?”
The Empress, Pura, and the knights entered the factory.
Their expressions grew even darker as they inspected the interior.
By lantern light, the inside was truly appalling.
“There’s going to be a bloodbath,” the Empress muttered, gently tapping a mold used for casting fake gold bars with his boot.
“This way,” said Pura.
She led them to the basement where the bodies had been found. Even with the door left open, the stench was near unbearable, causing even the most stoic knights to grimace.
“Can we perform an autopsy here?” the Empress asked the physician.
“There is only one suspected cause of death.”
“I’ve brought the necessary reagents and tools to confirm it.”
The knights carefully carried one of the bodies up to the ground floor.
The Empress arranged a table, fashioning a makeshift examination slab.
Pura covered it with a sheet taken from the warehouse where the Glakes had been held.
“Count Validus told me this,” the Empress commented, watching the autopsy.
“He said that the bodies of Count Loria’s wife and children, even after several days, still had skin as lifelike and rosy as if they were alive.”