Chapter 14 : Kidnapping
Chapter 14: Kidnapping
After Marcus left, the four remaining underlings trembled with fear in their eyes.
“I will give the ones left a chance. I’ll let you go, so work here until I tell you to stop. If you work diligently until the end, I’ll pretend nothing happened today.”
Robin and Jeremy untied the underlings according to Burt’s gesture.
Jorge, Mickey, Scott, and Aidan cleaned up the broken plates and the scattered items on the floor that Marcus had made a mess of.
“I won’t keep watch. Prove your repentance on your own.”
“Ah, understood!”
“There’s an empty warehouse outside. Handle your lodging and meals there. Robin, Jeremy. Guide them.”
“Yep.”
In place of Burt, who limped, Robin and Jeremy took the lead.
Behind the general store was a warehouse where no sunlight reached and no ventilation existed.
When he opened the door, a musty smell greeted Robin.
“Figure out your own sleeping arrangements. Work starts at 7 a.m. Lock the door well and don’t be late tomorrow.”
Without waiting for an answer, Robin turned his body away.
Jeremy glanced at the underlings standing awkwardly in the warehouse with a complicated expression, then stepped out.
“Robin, do you think those punks will listen to the boss?”
“No. They won’t. I don’t know what Boss Burt is thinking, but unless they’re forced, those guys can’t do anything on their own.”
The weakest child at the orphanage. Had he expected to show such a humiliating appearance in front of Robin?
Neither Robin nor Marcus’s gang knew.
“When the boss acts like this, he’s secretly a warm person.”
Robin agreed with Jeremy’s grumbling remark.
Perhaps he didn’t hand the punks over to the guards because he wanted to give them a chance.
Before falling asleep, Robin thought of the days at the orphanage.
‘It really was a life I never wanted to recall.’
In tune with the regular routine, Robin’s eyes closed and morning arrived.
The next day, when Robin checked the warehouse, not a single person remained.
“Boss Burt, Marcus’s gang disappeared. Will that be okay?”
“I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.”
Burt ate soup with meat in it, unfazed as if he had expected this.
Perhaps because of unexpected extra income, breakfast had become luxurious.
He had given Robin and Jeremy meat.
“Come to think of it, those guys were impressive. If the boss hadn’t controlled his strength, they could have died.”
“Jeremy.”
At the low, thick voice, Jeremy closed his mouth.
‘Killing someone with a coin?’
Robin found himself seeing Burt differently.
There were so many things he was curious about Burt.
Stabbing a fork into the roasted meat from the hearth and bringing it to his mouth, Robin spoke.
“How did Boss Burt and Jeremy meet?”
He wanted to ask if it was true he had been an adventurer, why he ran a general store, and how he lost his leg.
He mentioned the thing he was most curious about in passing.
The relationship between Burt and Jeremy had peculiar aspects that didn’t quite fit a boss and employee.
He had thrown the same question at Jeremy, but he only said, “Ask the boss yourself,” and moved on.
“I knew Jeremy’s mother.”
“…And then?”
“She left.”
‘That’s it?’
A short and simple answer. Robin couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened from such a condensed reply.
Only the sound of spoons clashing against bowls surrounded them.
“If you’re done eating, get to work.”
“Yep.”
Burt stood up first.
Only after they had cleaned their bowls completely did Robin and Jeremy go outside to wash the dishes.
“Did that clear up your curiosity? I didn’t know the boss would answer like that either.”
“Uh… sorry.”
Robin belatedly regretted it.
Feeling he had asked something he shouldn’t have, he watched Jeremy’s expression.
“No need to be sorry. The boss is right. My mom left me with him and went off.”
Jeremy’s expression remained the same as he washed the bowls with drawn water.
Feeling the atmosphere grow slightly awkward, Robin changed the topic.
“About the Red Dagger. They say it split into two factions—don’t you think we had something to do with that?”
“You’re probably right.”
After returning to the general store, Jeremy lowered his voice.
“Timmy doesn’t know who raided the orphanage. The trouble spread somewhere else, and maybe that’s why it grew this big.”
“Ugh, I feel bad for the market people.”
Robin felt guilty, thinking he had contributed to the current situation.
“You don’t need to feel bad. The problem is those punks causing trouble.”
They began cleaning, and the general store was especially quiet today.
Just as they were finishing arranging the display shelves, the first customer arrived.
“Burt, it’s been a while.”
“Welcome, Karmin.”
Karmin was an elderly man who ran a blacksmith shop.
He was one of the few people Burt treated with considerable respect.
“The Perinium I ordered still hasn’t arrived?”
“No. The merchant company that should’ve delivered it long ago hasn’t come. I’m sorry.”
“I wanted to complete this old man’s final work, but even the gods are indifferent.”
“Don’t say that. You’re still going strong.”
Karmin was elderly, and his illness had worsened.
Burt’s brow tightened.
“Business hasn’t been good lately. I’ll have to close the forge soon.”
“If you need anything, I can help.”
“No need. I’m not short on money. I just regret not learning to read. It pains me that I can’t leave behind the skills I mastered through a lifetime.”
Robin’s ears perked up.
“I’ll help!”
All eyes shifted to Robin.
“Ah, if Boss Burt allows, I can write for Karmin in his place.”
“A kid who looks like a young noble. You can read and write?”
“Yes. I learned the Imperial Common Language.”
Karmin turned his gaze to Burt.
“Take him, sir. The child is sharper than he looks.”
“He seems to work here. Will that be alright?”
“I’ve run the general store by myself before. One child missing won’t cause trouble.”
“I’ll help too.”
When Jeremy raised his hand, Burt nodded.
“That kid will be helpful as well.”
“If you say that much, I’ll borrow him for a bit.”
Robin believed the market had lost its vitality because of him.
He wanted to help as many people as possible.
Besides, a forge was a place where swords were made, so Robin’s interest was piqued.
“Follow me.”
Robin and Jeremy followed Karmin outside.
Karmin’s forge was in the north.
When they opened the shabby door and stepped inside, scorching heat enveloped them.
At the center of the workshop sat a blazing furnace, and chisels and hammers were lined up around it.
Sparks crackled, and the scent of molten iron filled the air.
“Ah, you’ve finally come.”
“And who might you be.”
“I’m looking to get myself a decent weapon.”
A man who looked to be in his thirties pointed at a sword hanging on the wall.
It was a blade mounted without a handle attached.
“You have a good eye. It’s unfinished, but it’s a sword I put great effort into.”
The man grabbed the tang and swung the sword through the air.
Karmin’s brow furrowed.
“I said it’s unfinished.”
“Looks like all it needs is a handle.”
“…….”
The man kept moving his hand, seemingly unaware of Karmin’s expression.
“What are those kids? They don’t look like they work here.”
“They’re children who came to help me. Would you mind putting the sword down now.”
“Children, huh. Good.”
Vwoong.
The man lowered the sword after cutting through the air in a long arc.
“May I see your weapons? I’d like to look mainly at daggers.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Karmin disappeared into the workshop to fetch a finished piece.
The man’s gaze landed on Robin.
“First time in a forge, I take it.”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name.”
“Robin.”
The man’s mouth curved into a smile.
But the eyes looking at Robin remained unchanged.
“What sort of help did a child come to give at a forge.”
“I came to put Mr. Karmin’s craft into writing.”
The man watched him as if urging him to continue, but Robin did not open his mouth further.
“Know how to handle a sword.”
Robin hesitated to answer.
He had never learned proper swordsmanship. He was only studying on his own.
Still, he did not want to be completely honest with the man before him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
The man drew a black dagger from his waist.
Tossing the dagger from hand to hand, he walked toward Robin.
Jeremy hurriedly pulled out a metal bar, but the man’s hand was faster.
Klang.
The man’s eyes flew wide.
He had stabbed the dagger toward Robin’s nape, but the direction had shifted.
Instead, Robin’s Black Sword shot toward the man’s heart.
When the man twisted his torso to dodge and grabbed Robin’s arm with force, the Black Sword fell to the floor.
Clang.
“Aaagh!”
Robin could not ignore the strength of an adult man.
He heard the sound of bones cracking.
The man kicked up the fallen dagger with the top of his foot and snatched it.
“Where did you get this dagger.”
“Let go of him!”
Jeremy swung the metal bar toward the man, but one kick sent him flying.
“Guhhuk.”
“Don’t tell me you brats were the ones who stole old man Timmy’s Black Sword.”
The man’s eyes flared as if about to spew fire.
‘Strong.’
Robin’s instincts screamed.
He had to escape from this man.
“As much as I’d like to slit your throat here, I’ll have to hand you over to the old man.”
The man struck the back of Robin’s head with the dagger hilt.
With the dizzying sensation of the world spinning, his vision went dark.
Robin’s eyes slowly opened in darkness.
He opened them, but nothing entered his sight.
It was a basement without a single hint of light.
“Hrk… h-hic…….”
The sticky breaths and sobs of children reached Robin’s ears.
Those sounds only made Robin’s mind whirl even more.
He tried to move, but he was tightly bound with rope.
He struggled to pull his hands free, but each attempt only tightened the rope further.
“Ah… ah…….”
He tried to speak, but his voice was buried under the children’s cries.
The cold, suffocating air made his body curl.
His mouth was dry, and his throat stung as if cracked.
“R-Robin?”
“Jeremy? Where are you?”
“I’m right here…….”
Somehow Jeremy must have heard his voice, and he answered.
Robin crawled toward him like an insect.
The rough floor scraped his skin raw, but he didn’t care.
“Jeremy, are you okay?”
“I-I’m… fine.”
His voice lacked strength, but Jeremy was alive. Robin let out a breath.
Just being with Jeremy eased the despair a little.
“That man dragged us here, right?”
“Yeah. He’s the boss of the Red Dagger—Vishak.”
“No way……”
Robin had never imagined that the man who subdued him in the forge was the ruler of the back alleys.
He was someone who never acted publicly, so almost no one knew his true identity.
“Robin, turn around and lean against me.”
Robin’s back touched Jeremy’s.
A blade rubbed against the rope binding Robin’s hands.
“So there was a way after all.”
“Shh!”
Jeremy lowered his voice to the faintest whisper.
Robin waited silently until the rope was cut.
The rope tightening his wrists gradually loosened and snapped apart.
“There! Now I’ll untie the rest.”
“No. Stay still.”
Step, step.
Robin’s heart pounded fiercely.
Tension froze his body, and sweat slid down his fingertips.
He stared into the darkness toward the direction of the approaching footsteps.
Creak.
The door opened, and lamplight spilled into the basement.
Even though it was weak, the dim light illuminated the scene.
“Hrrk… hwaaahng…….”
Dozens of children were strewn about.
Among them were bodies that no longer moved.
In a place filled with blood, feces, urine, mud, and worms, Robin and Jeremy sat back-to-back.
The children’s sobs grew louder.
“Ugh, the smell. Who’s supposed to be managing this place.”
“…No one.”
“What? No one’s managing it?”
“The boss ordered that no one approach.”
“Ah, that was me. Makes sense.”
‘Vishak and one of his underlings.’
Clap.
Vishak clapped and yelled toward the outside.
“Old man! Come see this. Check whether my words were true or not.”
Light footsteps approached.
A white-haired old man appeared behind Vishak.