Abduction

It was only about noon when Laurellius left the repair shop, so he figured that he'd have a bit of checking whether there was something he could get for Nell when he returns. He had received his pay before he left, so he wasn't exactly tight in finances.

Laurellius looked around, as he searched for any who might have a device for checking the time but didn't find anyone. He sighed as he muttered to himself: "I should have bought a pocket clock. Asking a random stranger for time every time it conveniences me doesn't sound nice."

Seeing that he wouldn't be knowing what time is it soon, he just decided to go on along without knowing it. He didn't want to waste more time just to know what time is it.

Laurellius then took out the courier call-on device and requested for a courier, and waited. Sure enough, a courier then arrived to pick him up. However, the courier this time seems to be. . . in a hurry?

I'm probably just imagining it... Laurellius thought as he waited for the courier to close in.

"Where to, sir?" the courier asked, but for some reason, impatience was in his tone.

An ominous feeling welled up within Laurellius as he spoke: "In a hurry, sir? If you are, then I can just find another one. I don't wanna waste your time after all."

The courier shook his head to deny Laurellius, but him looking around somewhat warily, certainly did not help. He spoke: "N-No sir. It's alright. I just have a bit of insecurity in this place."

Laurellius was enlightened by his words.

So that's what it was... He thought as he remembered that robbery was quite common here.

Laurellius smiled in sympathy as he spoke: " I see... Then, to the Residential district, please."

The courier gave him a relieved smile as he spoke:  " I understand, sir. Is there any particular address you'd stop by? I'd be happy to comply with a good man like you, sir."

 Laurellius' eyes widened in pleasant surprise, as he then nodded: " Alright. I plan on stopping by the Bearcat's Inn. The one by the gates. Is that fine?"

The courier made an even deeper smile and grinned from ear to ear. He then spoke in compliance: "Okay, good sir. Please leave it to me."

• • •

The device which was apparently called a vehicle, moved along the road as it passed through countless people. Laurellius did not know why, but the vehicle moved slower than he thought. Although the courier seemed to be in a hurry earlier, the vehicle moved at a pace that was only a bit faster than the average.

The ominous feeling in Laurellius' chest intensified further. . .

Laurellius suppressed the chill in his chest as he asked the courier: "Umm, is there something wrong? I thought you were in a bit of a hurry earlier."

The courier eyes widened for an instant, but then returned to normal quickly. He then raised a brow:  "In a hurry? What made you think so?  Didn't I tell you that I was a bit insecure about the place?"

Laurellius scratched his head and apologized:  "No, it was just a gut feeling. I'm sorry if I offended you."

Perhaps he was just imagining things too much.

The courier smiled at him: " It's fine. I wasn't particularly offended. If anything, I'm amazed by your consideration. Not a lot of people is still considerate of other people nowadays."

Laurellius scratched the back of his head, as he smiled a wry smile. He then spoke with wry laughter:  "Ahahaha... Is that so?  Thank you, I guess?"

Their conversation ended there as the trip continued in silence. Although Laurellius was a bit bothered by the cold feeling that was now crawling at the back of his neck, he decided to ignore it.

'Maybe it's just because of the lack of rest lately'... Laurellius thought as he minded his own business.

However, as they continued along the road, something unexpected happened...

Laurellius' eyes widened as he turned to the courier in a hurry:  "U-Umm, I think you just made a wrong turn. The way I knew was it the opposite direction of this one."

Indeed. The courier had suddenly taken a turn into a road that Laurellius had never heard of before. The cold feeling was beginning to give a chilling feel behind his neck, as a grim foreboding was being transmitted to his mind. He had been trying to ignore it, as he hadn't experienced this before.

'What is with this weird chill?! It's a bit. . . creepy.'

He was confused by the situation, however, he was interrupted as the courier answered his earlier question:  "Please don't worry, good sir. I heard there was a parade near the gate, so we are going on a different route."

Laurellius' wariness shot through the roof as he began to manipulate mana inside his body. Laurellius was certainly a good guy, but he wasn't an idiot.

Laurellius' brows furrowed as he asked in a sharp tone:  "What are you planning to do?"

The courier didn't look at him as he continued to focus on the road. There were barely any people in sight, and the buildings that they passed by were becoming even more damaged the more they moved on. Laurellius knew he was being brought to the slums.

The courier spoke after a big of silence:  "Silence him."

The next instant, a hand suddenly grabbed Laurellius' hand from below as it pulled him further, slamming him down the floor.

BANG!

" Ugh!.." Laurellius groaned in pain, as he tried to pull himself away, but the one pulling seemed to be much stronger than he was.

And the person who was grabbing him seemed to be inside the inner chassis of the vehicle.

Laurellius felt the vehicle stop, then he felt something sharp make contact with his back. And after that, the courier's voice came: " Don't move. This dagger is tipped with Manabane liquid. You know what would happen if this gets inside your skin, right?"

Laurellius' eyes instantly widened as a sense of crisis welled up in him. It was different from the feeling of danger from earlier. It was the feeling that he was about to lose not just his own life, but also something very important.

And it was only natural. He knew what Manabane liquid was. It was an illegal substance that dissipated and prevented the accumulation of magical energies when injected inside a person, which meant that he would be crippled the moment the dagger fell. And that was a fate hundred times worse than death.

Laurellius didn't mind dying, but he couldn't let himself be crippled nor die. He wouldn't allow himself to.

" W-Wait! Stop!" Laurellius pleaded with desperation and panic in his voice:  " I'll do as you say, so just spare my magical prowess! I'm begging you!"

His voice crackled as he felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't let it end here. There was no way he could. He still had yet to fulfill one of the countless promises he'd made to the people back home, and everyone had sacrificed so much just to take Laurellius to where he currently was.

His life wasn't just his own now. He had countless debts to pay.

The courier grinned a bright grin, as he laughed loudly: "Ahahaha! As expected. You're a really good person, aren't you? Good sir?"

Laurellius' expression darkened as he grit his teeth in anger. How could he be so stupid? The signs were already there, so why did he deliberately ignore them?

He wanted to punch himself from half an hour ago.

But there was no pill for regret, so he swallowed his anger, and spoke weakly:  "What do you want with me?"

The courier approached Laurellius and bound his arms with magic-sealing chains. Laurellius felt his mana slip out of his control.

The courier then lifted Laurellius from the floor by grabbing his collar, and spoke to his face:  "You're a mage, you get it? Even though it might not seem like it in this place, mages are a rarity. In other words. . ."

He paused and then grinned a wide, twisted grin:  ". . . you are worth a lot of money."

Laurelllius' eyes widened once more, as his face turned ashen:  "Y-You're slave traders. . ."

The courier's grin, twisted further, as he then stomped on Laurellius' body, slamming him once again on the floor.

BANG! A metalling bang resounded.

Laurellius groaned in pain once more, but he kept his rationality from slipping away from the pain. If he wanted to save himself, he needed to be as sharp as he needed to.

However. . .

" Ugh... Agh!" Laurellius let out a shrill cry from another sudden stomp on his back.

" You know what, your personality's pissed me off ever since the beginning," the courier snapped:  " Acting like a normal person even though you're a damn mage... You think I don't know you're looking down on me, huh?!  You're all the same, you damn magic freaks! You all think of yourselves as you look down on common folks like us!!"

Laurellius' mind was flooded with pain as it blanked out. His consciousness began to fade, as he suddenly felt himself being lifted once more. After that, he heard a voice.

"Knock him out."

A piercing pain suddenly hit the back of his neck, and he passed out.

• • •

•   •

• • •

Darkness. . .

Laurellius didn't know where he was, but all he saw was nothing was black. He also didn't feel any floor on his bare naked feet, so maybe he was dead?

Thinking that way, Laurellius couldn't help but pale in expression. His chest tightened as he subconsciously grit his teeth. He felt like he's failed in life.

In which he really did though. Quite spectacularly at that.

(Calm down, plebeian. You are not dead yet.)

A voice suddenly entered his ears.

Laurellius was shocked: "Who's there?!"

He then turned to various directions, trying to find whoever was the one who spoke, but only saw total darkness. His chest raced further, as he began to grow anxious.

(Have I not told you to calm down, plebeian? Or do you not understand what I meant? If that is the case, forgive my ignorance of a plebeian's language.) the voice came again, sarcastically.

Laurellius' eyes widened, but he took notice of her words and began to calm down. He sighed, and spoke again: " Who are you? And why am I here? And where is this place?"

The voice hissed:  (You will not talk to me like that, plebeian! You have yet to earn the right to know my name, nor ask questions!)

Laurellius was shocked once again. The voice sounded fairly young and feminine. Yet despite that, it was way more prideful than the young noble lady that Laurellius had only seen once. He asked:  "Then how do I earn the right to know your name?"

(The Royalties of the Profound Celestial Palace values the code of receiving equal to what is given, and giving more than equal to what is received.)

Laurellius pondered, and then realized something. He asked:  "Does that mean I need to introduce myself first?"

The voice didn't answer.

Taking it as a signal for affirmation, Laurellius introduced himself:  " I'm sorry for being rude. I'm Laurellius, and just as you say, I am a commoner from a small town outside the Empire."

He then paused, and asked:  " Can I ask for your name now?"

The voice stayed silent for a while until finally answering: (Avarosa. A former princess.)

Laurellius was surprised a bit by her answer, as he was curious what she meant by "Former". However, he figured it might not be a good memory, so he went silent on the matter.

Instead, he just asked the point of the matter: " Then, can I ask about my situation, please?"