In the backyard of the mansion, which was still trapped in absolute silence due to the time manipulation magic, Calian and Wolvin did not waste a single second. They immediately split up to carry out their respective tasks before the flow of time was resumed.
At a spot in the yard not far from the position of the kidnapped people, Wolvin immediately brought Thomas's lifeless body back out from his dimensional storage necklace and placed it on the grassy ground.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the yard, Calian, carrying the alchemist's body that had now shrunk into the figure of a six-year-old child on his shoulder, quickly climbed into the slave transport wagon that was parked there.
Once inside the wagon's cabin, he sat the tiny man in a corner that could not be seen from the outside.
"Wait here for a moment." Calian whispered in a very gentle tone. "We will soon free you from this cruel slavery."
After ensuring the man's position was safe and well hidden, Calian quickly jumped down from the wagon. He turned toward the center of the yard, looking at his spouse who had finished arranging Thomas's corpse.
Wasting no time, the purple-haired youth walked swiftly toward Wolvin and immediately took his position exactly where he had last stood when he froze time.
"Everything is ready! Come, hug me right away like before, Wolvin!" Calian instructed in a straightforward voice.
Hearing what his husband said, Wolvin immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him, hugging his beloved's broad back tightly from behind, replicating the pose of both coddling and frustration from moments ago.
Upon ensuring everything was perfectly back in its original position, Calian took a slow breath. His eyes stared straight ahead.
"Release Area." he whispered softly.
Instantly, the flow of time in the mansion's backyard resumed normally.
All the captives in that place, who were previously frozen like statues due to the 'Stasis' authority, suddenly jolted. Their consciousness reconnected exactly at the second Thomas was slashed.
When the kidnapped people were finally able to move their bodies, the silence of the night was instantly shattered. They all saw the expanse of corpses of armed kidnappers, corrupt soldiers, and the noble family covered in blood around them.
They were all shocked, trembling in fear, and at the same time amazed at what the two young adventurers had done, having slaughtered everyone, including the city's ruler.
However, the fear of imperial law soon took over their common sense.
"W-Why did you two kill them all?!" exclaimed a female captive with a trembling voice and a deathly pale face. She stared at Thomas's corpse in horror. "He is the ruler of this city! If this is discovered by the city's security forces and imperial soldiers, you will definitely be hunted down and executed!"
Hearing the panicked exclamation born out of concern, Calian turned his head. Behind him, Wolvin immediately let go of his embrace and stood firmly by his husband's side, looking at the crowd calmly.
"In that case, please keep everything that happened in this place a secret." Calian answered casually, his tone of voice sounding so calm and flat, as if he had never committed the murders. "Can all of you keep tonight's events a secret from everyone?"
Hearing the request from the purple-haired youth, the dozens of captives looked at each other. In their hearts, these two adventurers were heroes who had saved them from kidnapping and slavery.
For the sake of their two saviors' lives, and as the most tangible form of gratitude, they all nodded in unison, agreeing to keep their mouths tightly shut about the events they had witnessed.
"But... then what about their corpses?" asked an Elf woman, pointing at the bodies sprawled on the grass. "If these corpses are just left lying here like this, and are seen by the maids and servants inside the mansion, this incident will definitely cause a public uproar."
"Yes, this Elf woman is right!" chimed in another young woman with a worried expression. "If that happens, the authorities will be deployed to investigate this case. Sooner or later, the two of you will certainly be in great danger."
Hearing the highly logical concerns from the kidnapping victims, Wolvin smiled faintly.
"You all don't need to worry about that, Miss." Wolvin answered in a casual and confident tone. He then began to walk slowly toward Thomas's body lying near them. "I can handle it!"
Once he was right near the noble's body, Wolvin crouched down. He aimed his palm directly over the corpse and immediately focused his mana.
Zip!
In the blink of an eye, Thomas's body was sucked in and disappeared without a trace before the dozens of pairs of eyes standing in the mansion's backyard.
"What?! W-Where did the city ruler's body go?!" exclaimed one of the young male captives, his eyes widening in disbelief at the phenomenon.
The spontaneous question made Wolvin fall silent for a moment. He wracked his brain. Of course, he did not want to reveal the fact about the dimensional storage necklace currently around his neck. Exposing that magic tool would only incite a commotion.
"I used special magic to store that man's body into my dimensional storage space. And I will also do the same to the other corpses." Wolvin answered casually, stringing together a logical lie and deciding to keep the existence of his necklace a secret. "That way, there won't be a single body or trace left when morning comes, right?"
And fortunately, seeing the tangible proof that had just occurred right before their eyes, those people immediately believed the explanation the Night Wolf youth gave.
"Considering our time is running out, it is better if you all leave here right now!" Calian suddenly said, taking control of the situation with an authoritative voice. "Leave the rest of the cleanup in this place to the two of us. The presence of so many of you gathered in this mansion's yard will only attract the suspicion and attention of the people in the city."
The logical words uttered by the purple-haired youth instantly brought the captives to their senses. They realized that they were victims of kidnapping, and none of them wanted to be dragged into, let alone interrogated regarding, the murder case of an imperial noble.
"Are you absolutely sure you will be alright, Mr. Adventurer?" the Elf woman asked once more, her eyes radiating both gratitude and deep concern.
"Yes, I am absolutely sure!" Calian answered without a shred of doubt, looking at them one by one. "Leave while the sky is still dark. And please, keep this incident a secret for our mutual safety. If heaven forbid this incident is discovered by outsiders and you are caught and interrogated... just answer that you don't know anything. Say that at the time of the incident, you're all drugged until you fainted. And when you woke up, there was no one else left in this place, so you fled."
Hearing the clever alibi devised by their savior, the people who had been freed from the kidnapping nodded in understanding. To them, it was a very safe and plausible lie. They promised in their hearts to strictly adhere to the scenario the purple-haired youth had taught them.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Adventurer!" they said almost in unison, some of them shedding tears of emotion.
Calian nodded. "Yes, you're welcome. Please, leave now!"
And then, the people who had been freed from the kidnapping immediately took their leave. They ran through the shadows of the night, climbed the fence, and sneaked away, leaving the backyard of the city ruler's mansion.
Now, only Calian and Wolvin were left standing in the yard, surrounded by a dozen corpses still waiting to be cleaned up.
After the freed people left, Calian turned to his spouse.
"Wolvin, can you drive a horse wagon?"
Wolvin turned toward the wagon and then looked back at his husband's face. "I can control it a little. Do you want us to leave here using that wagon, Darling?"
Calian nodded, confirming his spouse's guess. "Yes, you're right, Wolvin! Because right after you finish storing all the rest of those corpses into your necklace, we will immediately leave this place and head to Eralio's house using that wagon!"