Chapter 32
Jake had found the person he wanted.
But he showed no reaction.
There was no reason to create unnecessary trouble here.
He could wait until they reached their destination before making his move.
The fugitives consisted of...
A middle-aged noblewoman.
A young girl.
A handsome teenage boy.
Several young women who appeared to be maids.
And knights with their squires.
Their dirty clothing attempted to hide their identities...
But anyone could tell what kind of people they truly were.
Jake found it impressive that they had escaped this far at all.
Still...
At the moment...
They were simply their clients.
"They're a capable party I know well."
Jessica introduced Mac's group to the disguised Amber.
"They're all skilled, so you don't need to worry."
Amber examined them and nodded.
Even to her...
They looked like veteran mercenaries.
The women behind her watched the conversation nervously.
The young noble boy...
However...
Was staring at Jessica with an intrigued expression.
Jake sent her a Message.
-I think that young noble has realized you're a Mana User.
Jessica stole a glance at him.
Mana Users could generally recognize one another at close range.
But that usually required getting fairly close.
The knights and Jessica had not yet approached one another closely enough for them to notice.
She had assumed that meant she was safe.
Yet somehow...
A mere boy had seen through her.
-Count Toledo's second son survived.
Jake continued.
-He becomes an incredible knight in the future.
-Even now, he's already famous as a genius and the youngest knight in the empire.
-It's not surprising that he noticed.
Jessica complained inwardly.
The first person to discover she had become a Mana User...
Was a noble teenager.
Her identity would eventually become public anyway.
Still...
The second young noble she met turning out to be a genius swordsman felt deeply unfair.
While Jessica was thinking that...
Laurel Toledo...
The Count's second son and the empire's youngest famous knight...
Looked satisfied.
He had never seen a female Mana User before.
Much less a female mercenary who was one.
Jessica seemed to have become a Mana User only recently.
Even so...
The fact that the Duke of Lutetia had sent someone like her made Laurel feel somewhat better about the escort.
Thanks to the noble boy recognizing Jessica's ability...
Things moved smoothly.
The fugitives accepted Jessica and the other mercenaries.
And the group immediately left the village.
Once they disappeared...
Villagers who had been hiding silently inside their homes slowly emerged.
Fugitives or not...
Living in the same village as nobles had been incredibly stressful.
Once the nobles were gone...
The villagers finally let out sighs of relief.
The village appeared to return to normal.
Before dawn the next morning...
A new group entered the village.
They wore ordinary leather armor and looked like common mercenaries.
But their movements were far too silent and precise.
They visited house after house without speaking.
Each time they entered one...
A small scream could be heard from inside.
Later...
They gathered in the village's central square.
A sharp-faced man wiped blood from his hands as he reported.
"They were staying here until yesterday."
"They left with mercenaries."
"They're probably escaping through the Great Forest."
The others nodded.
One man turned toward their large leader.
"Should we withdraw?"
"We seem to be too late."
These men were the empire's hunting dogs.
They had followed the fugitives all the way here.
After the new emperor's ascension...
They had been overwhelmed with work.
That was why they had only now caught up with this group.
"No."
The leader answered firmly.
"We continue the pursuit."
His subordinate frowned.
"It'll be dangerous."
"They're only remnants."
"Following them into the Great Forest seems excessive."
This was the infamous Great Forest.
The subordinate advised caution again.
The leader raised a hand.
"The order came from the very top."
"Among them is one person who must be captured..."
"And one who must be eliminated."
"If capture becomes difficult, we were told elimination is acceptable."
He narrowed his eyes.
"In this situation, killing both is the correct answer."
"Troublesome."
The subordinate sighed.
"Understood."
There was only one person who could be called the very top of the empire.
These men handled the empire's dirtiest work in the shadows.
They had no option to refuse an imperial order.
The hunters quickly moved toward Lutetia City.
After their departure...
No more sounds came from the village.
By the time the pursuers left the village...
Jake and the fugitives had already spent their first night inside the Great Forest.
They were now preparing to move again.
The mercenary party Jessica had chosen was highly competent.
Their thief specialized in pathfinding.
He moved through the Great Forest as though it were his own backyard.
The other party members protected the group from front and rear.
Several disappeared into the undergrowth from time to time.
They continuously scouted the surrounding area.
Jake had mostly seen disorganized mercenaries during his previous dungeon expedition.
Watching a real professional mercenary party now was genuinely impressive.
Even better...
By good fortune...
They did not encounter a single monster on the first day.
Morale remained high.
Of course...
Walking through the Great Forest was still exhausting for the women.
They were already visibly tired.
Still...
The simple fact that they could continue walking meant the journey had been relatively easy.
"You haven't developed some kind of monster-avoiding ability after just a few days, have you?"
Mac asked Jessica.
The party thief guided most of their path...
But several times Jessica had suddenly stopped everyone or changed direction.
Every single time...
There had been a group of monsters nearby.
Mac naturally wondered whether Jessica had developed some strange new ability.
"Of course not."
Jessica laughed awkwardly.
"I'm probably just lucky."
"Luck that works repeatedly is basically skill."
