(Yukito side)
"Where are we going now?" I asked them while continuing to run to escape from those people chasing us.
"Forget it! Let's just follow this path. At the very least we need to get out of this underground room and reach the surface. After that, we can escape with the horse carriage if possible," Luke replied while running slightly ahead of me.
Hime and Yuu-chan could only run behind us. It was understandable—sooner or later they would get exhausted if they kept running without any clear direction.
But that's true! We also have to think about our horse carriage that is still parked in the yard of this house, otherwise those people might take it.
Our party doesn't have enough money to buy a new one or return to Necvalion with the money inside Hime's Alter box.
What we have now might not even reach hundreds of gold coins, maybe only dozens. Even then, it's a combination of silver and bronze coins, ah!
I thought that after getting out of that confinement, the four of us could immediately leave this place, but instead we were chased by them.
Seriously, just how big is their group?! They even seem as if they are the ones ruling this city!
—
After running for almost ten minutes, we finally saw from afar a staircase that should lead us upstairs.
Hime suddenly stopped running and took out her magic staff. Was she planning to attack the enemy?
"Hime! Hurry, do you even have time to do that?" I asked, forced to stop as well.
Luke and Yuu-chan briefly glanced at us, but I immediately told them to go ahead and leave the two of us behind.
The distance between us and the group members was probably no less than dozens of steps. Fortunately, earlier we had forced ourselves to run as fast as we could.
Hime closed her eyes for a moment before beginning to chant a spell to attack them.
"Form a wall before me, emerge sharply, third-level earth element magic, Earth Wall!"
I could feel the ground tremble slightly, and suddenly the earth in front of us slowly rose upward.
The ground truly became a wall that separated us from them. Hime really used the right magic in this situation.
"Nice one, Hime! Let's get out," I said, which she answered with a nod.
—
Drap, drap.
The two of us climbed the wooden stairs and finally arrived in a room whose floor was made of cement.
The room wasn't very large, but there were many tiered shelves with boxes on top of them.
Luke and Yuu-chan were peeking out through the door in this room. I suppose they had to check the situation outside before we could escape from this place.
No one knew where the leader of their group had gone, but I hoped he wouldn't appear before we were free from here.
Because of that, the four of us had to leave as quickly as possible before that boss returned. If he knew that we had escaped, he would surely sell us immediately, or even kill us without a second thought.
The two of us approached them who were still hiding behind the door.
"Luke, how's the situation outside?" I asked.
"Not good, there are too many people outside. We won't be able to get out without being noticed," he replied while still staring outside.
I peeked outside after asking to switch places with Yuu-chan.
That door gap couldn't possibly be seen by many people at once. What kind of door could be peeked through by that many people anyway?
Ah, no wonder it was difficult for us to get out of here besides the fact that there were many people outside.
When I looked outside beside Luke, I finally understood where this room was located when seen from outside.
This room was near the main entrance, the place where the four of us were knocked unconscious before.
This door was beside the stairs, allowing anyone to see what entered and left this room.
However, there was an empty space beneath the stairs that was quite dark, and there were no items placed there nor any door leading to another room.
If only I could make use of that empty space, maybe I could confuse them and the four of us could escape—
Wait a moment, I think I just came up with another plan. I don't know how, but ever since being in that confinement, my head has been able to come up with many new plans.
"Luke, listen to this," I said.
The two of us stopped peeking outside, and I began whispering several things quickly into his ear.
"Ah, I suppose there's no harm in trying. Our situation doesn't give us much time, we have to try your plan."
"But what about you, Yuu-chan?" Luke asked while looking at Yuu-chan after hearing my whisper.
Yuu-chan looked confused when she realized that both of us were staring at her, soon followed by Hime.
"Yes, I need your help. But... can you do it? Hime too, the key to this plan lies with you," I said.
Hime immediately pointed at her own chest, perhaps not expecting that she would play a role again this time.
After explaining the plan to both of them, they quickly understood this simple plan, and we immediately began.
———
I peeked outside again, but this time only I did it.
Upon closer observation, those guards were merely walking back and forth through the corridor toward other rooms in this house.
They almost never looked toward the stairs, let alone toward this room.
"Y-you all! This is dangerous, I feel that the magic I used to create the wall is almost broken by them. Hurry!" Hime said, making me slightly startled.
My heart beat faster because if we were even a little late, we would be surrounded and perhaps none of us would be able to live as normal humans.
No, no! I have to stay calm. They're all following my plan, I have to make it succeed as its creator.
This is it, none of them are guarding the area near the stairs. Time for me to go out.
I opened the door wider and quickly stepped outside, hiding beneath the stairs.
I signaled Yuu-chan inside the room to come out and approach me here.
She checked the situation carefully before immediately coming out and standing beside me.
Yosh, the initial plan to get out worked. Now, it's time for the main event.
"Yuu-chan, you're ready, right?" I asked to confirm once again.
She nodded while smiling sweetly at me.
"Of course, just do it, Yukito-sama!" she said.
Yosh, let's do this!
—
I immediately stepped out from beneath the stairs and attracted the attention of the guards who were not too far from me.
I walked very slowly toward the exit door, making the guards immediately approach me.
"Ehmm... where is this place? Is that the exit? Maybe I can go back home. This place feels a bit too luxurious. At least I already delivered that girl here—"
I suddenly stopped when two swords blocked my movement. The guards were truly baited now.
"Who are you, huh? You're not a member of this place. Don't tell me you're an intruder?!" one of them said.
"Wait, didn't he just mention a girl? Maybe he's one of the messengers the boss talked about that day," said the other.
Slowly, the other guards began to gather. There were probably dozens of them. That meant I had successfully made the first floor completely unguarded, right?
They surrounded me, making it impossible for me to escape if I turned out to be just an idle stranger in this place.
"A-ah yes, I delivered a girl here earlier, maybe—"
"What kind of place is this? It feels like someone's palace, ah there are so many people there~!" Yuu-chan began to lure them after my action.
The guards immediately shifted their attention to Yuu-chan who staggered near the stairs as if she had just come down from the second floor.
They quickly approached Yuu-chan, of course with malicious intentions that I absolutely hated.
Hime and Luke immediately came out of the room and approached me.
"Yukito, I'll bring the horse carriage to the front. You just get on later," Luke said while holding my shoulder before heading outside.
Hime remained standing beside me and immediately began chanting a spell to attack them.
"Hey little girl, are you lost in this place~?"
"Don't you know about this place? If so, let me teach you many things, okay~?"
"How about these uncles? We're all ready to accompany you anytime you want~"
"Don't be shy, we'll enjoy the night scenery, of course with some liquid that will make you delighted~"
Yuu-chan fell silent after hearing those temptations, before walking toward the door, making the guards give her way.
"But... won't I trouble you~? I don't think I deserve to be with you," Yuu-chan said.
Some of them immediately smiled as if seeing delicious food before their eyes, even their cheeks slightly flushed, perhaps fascinated by Yuu-chan.
"It's fine~" "That's right! No one here minds~"
"Wow, I'm very happy then! But... sorry, okay? I have a promise with—" before Yuu-chan finished her sentence, Hime immediately used her magic to attack them.
She used earth element magic and created hardened material from the ground, causing the gathered guards to collapse to the floor.
Of course, their bodies were slammed by the hardened earth. Their bodies must be in pain now.
W-wait, what is Yuu-chan doing?!
She walked toward one of the guards and stepped on his head with her right foot while smiling happily.
"Hey, mister? Why are all of you sleeping? If it's like this I—"
"Oi, get over here quickly, you idiot! Enough, we have to escape now," I said.
Yuu-chan looked at me while puffing her cheeks. I guess she wasn't happy because I interrupted her moment of enjoyment.
The guards who had been trapped beneath the earth earlier had already come out from the room where we had been peeking and realized that we were still here.
Fortunately, Yuu-chan was already beside me and the three of us immediately left the place.
The door had already been closed from the outside by Hime so they had to open it first before they could chase us.
Drag, drag.
Luke arrived at the perfect time while bringing the horse carriage. He could handle two horses at once, incredible.
"Hurry up and get on!" he said.
Hime and Yuu-chan quickly got into the carriage, while I sat beside Luke to handle the other horse.
Without saying anything more, we immediately left the yard. Moreover, the outer gate was open, allowing us to successfully escape.
From afar, the guards could only stare at us in silence, realizing that their future slaves had escaped.
But well, I didn't expect the gate to be open. This was truly a fortunate coincidence for us.