Chapter: 17
Clop, clop.
As soon as the horse started moving, Emilia tensed her legs and bit her lip.
“You can hold onto my arm if it makes you more comfortable.”
He acted courteous, yet everything was completely on his own terms.
Having no other choice, Emilia grabbed his arm tightly.
The man spoke again.
“You could lean back a little more too.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Emilia refused in a cold voice.
“Why not? You said it’s your first time riding a horse. Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall?”
“I’m more worried about someone who’s so quick to abuse his authority.”
Her reply made the man burst into amused laughter.
“Me? That’s a new one.”
Even as he laughed, he urged the horse into a slightly faster pace.
Riding together, Emilia and the man entered the forest.
Before long, she spotted the section of ground marked by zigzagging cracks.
If they went a little farther in, there should be a sinkhole formed by the disrupted flow of mana beneath the earth.
“I think it was around here.”
“Is that so?”
The man pulled on the reins, bringing the horse to a stop.
The sudden motion caused Emilia to bump lightly against him.
“Up you go.”
With an exaggerated grunt, the man jumped lightly off the horse.
Then he spread both arms toward her.
“Come on.”
Emilia frowned.
She already disliked the fact that he’d forced her onto the horse in the first place, so obediently accepting his help now somehow irritated her even more.
Instead, she gripped the saddle tightly with both hands and carefully climbed down by herself.
The man lowered his outstretched arms, crossed them over his chest, and watched her with an amused expression.
Emilia spoke curtly.
“Let’s go.”
“Certainly.”
Shrugging once, the man tied the horse to a nearby tree.
Then he followed behind Emilia as she walked ahead.
After confirming the deep mana sinkhole, Emilia turned to the man behind her.
“This is the place. The strange spot I saw.”
Though, technically, she’d only seen it in the original novel.
Mana naturally flowed deep beneath the Empire’s land.
According to the novel, the sinkhole had formed because of the ore used to create this hunting ground.
It reacted with the mana beneath the earth and caused an explosion.
It had especially affected areas beneath the capital where mana was heavily concentrated.
The house she had lived in just happened to be built over one of those places.
Looking at it this way… I really was incredibly unlucky.
As Emilia was thinking that to herself, the man spoke.
“Hmm… this really is suspicious. The flow of mana underneath seems tangled too.”
Hearing that, Emilia secretly brightened.
Unlike her, he was a knight. He could actually sense something.
Walking around the edge of the sinkhole, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Emilia crouched nearby and looked down into it.
It’s pretty deep.
It looked to be about two meters to the bottom.
Its diameter was nearly as large as an entire room.
Just then, the man glanced at her.
“So, how did you end up coming here?”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard, Emilia blinked.
She hadn’t expected him to ask that, so she hadn’t prepared an excuse.
“Well… I was just exploring the capital.”
“Exploring the capital?”
“I only arrived in the capital recently.”
Emilia gave an awkward smile and avoided his gaze.
Then she straightened her knees and stood up.
“Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you could investigate it. I’ve shown you the location, so I’ll be heading ba—”
At that moment, the ground beneath her feet trembled.
“H-Huh?”
Just as she was standing up, Emilia suddenly lost her balance.
At the same time, her body lurched toward the inside of the mana sinkhole.
She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.
Considering the height, if she fell from here, she was bound to be seriously injured.
Scrraaaape!
Just then, accompanied by the harsh sound of something scraping against the wall—
“Ah!”
She felt powerful arms wrap tightly around her.
She could tell they were falling, yet thankfully there was no painful impact.
A moment later, the force holding her disappeared, and Emilia slid down onto the ground.
“Are you alright?”
Hearing the voice above her, she looked up.
“Ah…”
The man who had been standing on the opposite side of the sinkhole only moments ago was now right in front of her.
Still somewhat dazed, Emilia spoke.
“Th-Thank you. But how did you…?”
How had he reacted so quickly?
Reading the question on her face, the man smiled.
“I heard a tiny explosion beneath the ground just now.”
“Oh.”
Emilia nodded.
After calming her racing heart, she looked upward.
From down here, the sinkhole looked even deeper than it had from above.
“…We can get back up, right?”
“Of course.”
He shrugged as if it would be effortless.
That’s a relief.
If she’d fallen down here alone, not only would she have been hurt, but climbing back out would have been extremely difficult.
Just then, the man leaned casually against the wall.
“Although… if I don’t help you, getting back up won’t be easy, will it?”
Apparently he’d reached the same conclusion.
But there was something strange about the way he said it.
Emilia looked at him.
Unlike before, there was something dangerous in his eyes.
The playful, cheerful atmosphere had disappeared.
The man pushed himself away from the wall.
With slow, measured steps, he began walking toward her.
No way…
Suddenly, Kaiden’s earlier warning flashed through her mind.
“Kidnappings happen frequently too.”
Emilia instinctively stepped backward.
Of course, the man closed the distance much faster.
She clenched the hand pressed against the ground.
Rough, dry dirt filled her palm.
If he showed any sign of trying something, she would immediately throw the dirt into his eyes.
After that…
If she stepped on his back while he was writhing in pain, escaping this place shouldn’t be difficult.
Watching him cautiously, Emilia said,
“I don’t have any family… and I don’t have any money either. I’m completely broke.”
The moment she said it, she regretted it.
Wait… wouldn’t that make me sound even easier to kidnap and sell?
The man suddenly widened his eyes.
“Hmm. What’s with that introduction? Are you trying to set up a blind date with me out here in the middle of nowhere?”
The corners of his lips curled upward.
“I’m Lucas.”
Before she realized it, he’d already walked right in front of her and bent down.
“Ah, if you’re worried I might try something funny, you don’t have to be. Once I satisfy one little curiosity, I’ll escort you safely back up.”
At some point, he’d casually switched to speaking informally.
“What… curiosity?”
“It seems like you know quite a bit about this ground collapse. Not just a random guess, either.”
Emilia flinched.
“So, would you mind telling me how you came by this information?”
“That’s…”
Not knowing how to get herself out of this situation, Emilia trailed off.
The man leaned even closer until their faces were only inches apart.
“As a member of the Capital Guard, I think I need to get to the bottom of something this suspicious. Who knows? Maybe you’re the one who caused this collapse yourself, and then reported it while pretending you knew nothing about it.”
