NOVEL NEXT Chapter 261: The Condition of the Children (2)
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The thugs looked unnerved by the sudden entry of the soldiers, and Desmond’s unit would not let that opening pass them by. Just like they had been told, the thugs were strong, but they were heavily outnumbered, so Desmond and his soldiers succeeded in restraining them all.
Once things calmed down, they checked on the first thug who had fallen. He did not seem outwardly hurt, but after closer examination, they realized that the bones in all his limbs had been broken.
「I’m sure Christina would’ve been able to take out all the men there without any help, but I think I know why she didn’t do more. She probably didn’t want the children to watch such a violent fight, considering the state in which she left that one thug.」
Desmond praised Christina’s care for the children’s mental wellbeing, while lamenting, 「Meanwhile, we didn’t even think about that when we fought.」
The fight had been rather bloody, as the thugs fought back ferociously.
「We really made those children watch a brutal scene… And yet they called us heroes.」 Desmond gave a bittersweet smile as he said that.
No one had lost their life in the fight, but the thugs had ended badly hurt, and regardless of the blood and violence, Desmond and his men still looked like heroes in the eyes of those children.
「Children are honest to a fault. If those were their words, then you’re definitely a hero for them.」
It was common for all men to dream of becoming a hero, so Mira could relate with Desmond’s smile at the thought.(Still, I wasn’t told about any of these details. I knew it was worth it to ask someone else.)
Christina had not mentioned anything about holding back to not shock the children. All she had said was that they successfully restrained the men.
(She can be unexpectedly modest at times.)
Christina gave the impression of being someone who would gloat about how hard she worked and mention every single detail, but that was not her true personality. So Mira decided that it was worth telling Alfina about it.
Mira also decided to learn from that example, and would try to be mindful of who was watching her in the future.
「And so, what’s happened with those children now?」
Sipping some milk tea, Mira asked the question that had been in her mind the entire time. She already knew largely what had transpired in the underground pipeways, so she was mostly curious about where the children had ended up.
「They’re all safe. They’re staying in a government institution for the time being while we search for their parents so we can bring them back home.」
That was likely all according to Fuzzy Dice’s plan, leading the guards to the children so they could be taken in by the government, which would take over the hassle of tracking down their parents and sending them home.
「And luckily, they were all in good health and unharmed.」 Desmond added that, looking happy for the children. Then he continued detailing their current state.
They had been rather scared when they were first found, but after a night’s sleep they had calmed down and were properly listening to the people watching over them, and their mood had improved greatly. While they had no physical injuries, the experience had clearly left a gash in their innocent minds, and from time to time, they would look crestfallen.
「Only time and kindness will slowly heal that. All we can do is work hard to find their parents as soon as possible.」
There was little Desmond could do about their trauma, but he seemed convinced that they would recover eventually. After all, Christina had been with them from the moment they were found until she was sent away, and she had greatly comforted them.
She had left such a strong impression that they kept talking about wanting to become cool knights in the future when they had breakfast.
「I had no idea that happened…」
Mira was impressed by Christina’s kindness, and started regretting sending her home so soon. Overall, Mira’s impression of Christina was improving dramatically.
「One of my men who’s off duty is currently teaching them the basics of using a sword.」
One of the soldiers in Desmond’s unit volunteered to help the children get closer to their dream, and Desmond laughed as he said he hoped they would get enough time to learn the basics of using a sword before they were returned to their parents.
After that, Mira spent around half an hour helping Desmond write his report, mostly helping with detailing Fuzzy Dice’s movements. By the end, Mira also got to learn more about the people living in the mansion and the thugs.
The thugs were all mercenaries who tended to do shady work. They had not been interrogated in depth yet, but the guards assumed that they only followed orders and did not know much about the whole slave trading organization.
Meanwhile, the proprietor of the mansion, Viscount Denbarole, had mentioned his involvement with a bigger organization, and he was scheduled to be investigated more deeply the next day.
「So it was all part of a bigger organization?」
「Yes, according to those who heard the Viscount’s comments, it’s a pretty big one at that.」
A bigger organization. In other words, the proprietor was not the only mastermind behind that. Ideally, they wanted to investigate more as soon as possible, but his position as a noble created many hurdles, and Desmond seemed annoyed by all of it.
「Sorry for taking your time when you’re so busy.」 Mira had learned everything she wanted to know, so she stood up after downing the remaining black tea in her cup.
「Not at all, I’ve been drowning in paperwork here and you really helped me get through it in a breeze.」
There were many details in his report that had been ambiguous or missing, but Mira had helped him fill the voids. So he thanked Mira as he happily held up his completed report.
Mira was also glad to know the children were in good hands now, so she left the guards’ station satisfied.
Still, she had been asked to keep things secret if she could, mostly because there was a noble involved. The country’s reputation could get easily tarnished if people found out that a high ranking noble was involved with a slave trading organization.
「An organization… I’ll never forgive people who prey on children like that.」
She had learned that the Viscount was only one member of a larger organization, and she felt like she needed to do something to stop the rest of them. As she thought of that, a certain thought crossed her mind. Maybe Lastrada had not only been tracking down that noble’s crimes, but was already tailing that organization.
(Hmm, I’ll have to ask him when I can.)
He had promised to see Mira again soon, so she just needed to wait until that happened to ask about the organization. Making those plans, she headed to her next destination.
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