Chapter 362: Thief
Jōjirō Takajō didn't utter a sound.
He did, however, think that since Mizuno-kun hadn't officially transferred schools or joined the Student Council yet, it wasn't a big deal if he didn't follow the Student Council President's orders.
Of course, he only dared to think this; saying it aloud was absolutely impossible.
"He's activated his ability," Nao Tomori suddenly said.
Jōjirō Takajō's gaze sharpened, and he pushed up his glasses, looking intently.
Sure enough, he saw the Student Council President of Yano Mori High School unusually tear the poster in his hand to shreds.
The next moment, the Student Council President pushed the door open and entered.
Jōjirō Takajō quickly followed, pulling the door shut behind him.
...
Goblin Slayer's world, Alpina.
A magnificent castle building.
"Bastard!" a furious roar echoed from the study.
Accompanied by a crisp, shattering sound.
In the study, a middle-aged nobleman with curly golden hair and a gloomy expression was roaring.
Before the desk, a knight in full armor knelt, his face filled with shame, remaining silent under the golden-haired man's scolding.
"I've wasted my time raising you useless people!
So many of you, yet you couldn't even protect Lisa.
What good are you?
You bragged so much, saying even Bronze-ranked Adventurers were no match for you, yet a few petty thieves managed to defeat you so utterly?"
The middle-aged golden-haired man grew angrier the more he thought about it, wishing he could send all these knights to mine in the north.
"Master, the top priority now is to ransom the young lady back!
The young lady is naturally beautiful, with a stunning appearance.
It would be terrible if those few thieves got bold and did something!"
The butler beside him said worriedly.
The young lady who had been kidnapped by thieves was someone he had watched grow up; he couldn't be more worried.
He wished he could take her place.
He was just afraid that those thieves would be audacious and lay hands on the young lady.
If they took her innocence, it would be ruined.
The golden-haired middle-aged man took a deep breath upon hearing the butler's persuasion, then looked coldly at the knight kneeling on one knee on the ground and asked, "How much ransom do those thieves want?"
"Replying to Master, their leader said he wants ten thousand gold coins before he'll release the young lady."
The knight said.
"Ten thousand?
Why doesn't he just rob us!"
The golden-haired nobleman was shocked by the figure and cursed loudly.
The knight bowed his head and said nothing.
The butler's face also turned pale.
Ten thousand gold coins—even if they sold everything they owned, it wouldn't amount to ten thousand gold coins; a thousand would be the absolute maximum.
They weren't some great Earl; they merely held a Baron's title, living in the most remote border region of the country.
They didn't even receive recognition or respect from other nobles in the country.
It was only in this border town of Alpina that they called themselves nobles, and no one exposed them.
The entire family ran a business, transporting some local specialties from Alpina to the neighboring capital city, providing exclusive supplies to those shops.
The day before yesterday, the young lady had a sudden idea and wanted to accompany the family's caravan on a trip to experience it.
Their caravan had hired a knight squad, each member stronger than a Bronze-ranked Adventurer.
Edel, the golden-haired middle-aged man who was currently cursing, thought there would be no problem, as there hadn't been any major issues for over ten years.
Before he hired the bodyguard squad, they had been attacked by Goblins, but after he took over and hired a knight squad at great expense, there were basically no more problems.
Even if they passed through a forest and encountered Goblin attacks, the hired knight squad would easily kill or drive them away.
Originally, Edel didn't agree to his precious daughter accompanying the carriage.
Traveling such a long distance, wasn't that just asking for trouble?
Didn't he, as a father, know his beloved daughter's personality?
She'd probably get tired after a day on the road and cry to give up and go home.
But he couldn't resist his adorable daughter's repeated requests and reluctantly agreed.
Before their departure, he specifically instructed the knight captain of the knight squad, the one currently kneeling on one knee, to absolutely protect his precious daughter.
He also ordered that if the young lady couldn't bear it and wanted to go home, half the men should be sent to escort her back.
Although it would cost half the knight's manpower, the knight captain was clearly confident, stating there would be no problem and that the remaining half of the knight team would be sufficient to safely escort the caravan to its destination.
However, what they didn't expect was that shortly after they left Alpina, while passing through a forest, they were suddenly attacked.
At first, they didn't see anyone and thought it was Goblins from nearby, drawn by the scent.
But after a moment, a group of powerful masked individuals appeared, completely overwhelming their knight squad.
They were all knocked to the ground without any chance to fight back.
The good news was that these suddenly appearing attackers didn't kill them; most of them were just knocked unconscious, making them lose their combat ability.
The bad news was that they claimed to be bandits, kidnapped the young lady, who was dressed the most luxuriously and held the highest status, and said that if they wanted to ransom the hostage, they should come here within three days with ten thousand gold coins, or face the consequences.
Although the knight captain was also shocked by the amount of ten thousand gold coins, he chose not to provoke the bandits and immediately returned to tell his employer, the Master, everything that had happened.
"These bastards, demanding ten thousand gold coins right off the bat!
Didn't you try to bargain?"
Edel glared at the silent knight captain.
The knight captain was somewhat helpless, not expecting that even by pretending to be dead, he would still be noticed by the Master.
He said helplessly, "They left too quickly; I didn't even have time to say anything, and they disappeared."
"Useless!"
Edel fumed.
He couldn't possibly gather ten thousand gold coins.
"Go to the Adventurer's Guild and post a request: whoever rescues Lisa, I will reward them with 1,000 gold coins!
Only Silver-ranked Adventurers can accept this!"
Edel refused to believe it; although Alpina was very remote, there were Silver-ranked Adventurers in the town.
Since Bronze-ranked knights couldn't defeat those bandits, surely bringing in Silver-ranked Adventurers would be fine, right?
"Master, if they have an inside accomplice in the city, will they harm the young lady?"
The butler said worriedly.
Hearing the butler's reminder, Edel immediately calmed down.
He only had this one precious daughter, so if there was such a risk, it had to be avoided.
"Forget it, then don't post the request."
Edel pondered for a moment and said, "Barmon, quietly go and contact Brad.
Ask him if he can rescue my daughter for 200 gold coins."
The butler asked in surprise, "Master, is that the Silver-ranked Adventurer, Lancer Brad?"
"Yes, that's the Silver-ranked Adventurer who claims to be the strongest in the borderlands."
"Alright, Master, I'll go right away."
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