Chapter 221: Chapter 222: Going to School! (2)

“Have you seen a child with black hair? About this tall?”

Tywin asked around about Naru and her sisters’ whereabouts.In Freesia, Naru’s black hair was a distinctive trait that easily caught people’s attention.

“Black hair? You mean those little ladies who often wander around here? I saw them getting into a carriage heading outside the city with some people earlier.”

Thanks to her training from Cariote, Tywin’s investigation was precise and efficient. She quickly pieced together where the children were headed.

“They got into a carriage heading outside the city?”

It was now 8 AM.With the entrance exam starting at 10 AM, there were about 2 hours remaining.Though she wasn’t sure why the children left the city, there was a risk they’d be late for the exam, so Tywin decided to put her skills to use.

“I didn’t want to expend energy this early in the morning.”

Pat— Tadat— Tat—Following Salome’s teachings, Tywin nimbly climbed up to the roof using nearby walls and windows.Her movements were so graceful and acrobatic that they drew everyone’s attention.

“Look at that child.”“She’s so pretty. Is she a princess?”“What is she trying to do up on the roof?”

While people stirred below, Tywin slowly closed her eyes.She gradually awakened the magic power dormant within her body to make herself light as the wind. According to her theory, her body should float up into the air riding the breeze─but it didn’t.

Even for the genius Tywin at age 12, flying magic proved difficult.But that wasn’t surprising.After all, those who could use flying magic were rare even on this continent.

‘Can’t be helped.’

“Ingingi.”

━Ingingyaing.

“Take me to the outskirts of the city.”

━Gyuing.

Tywin gently pulled Molumolu Ingingi’s sky blue cloud-like body from side to side. Then Ingingi’s form, which was initially the size of a soccer ball, expanded to about the size of a mat.

Suk—When she settled onto that fluffy surface, Ingingi soared into the air with a Bwoong—

“The carriage likely went that way.”

Swoong—As Tywin spoke, Ingingi moved.After about 10 minutes.Tywin landed in the forest near Freesia.

While this forest seemed ordinary and unremarkable, it had recently earned the name “Fairy Forest”.The reason was simple, nymphs frequently appeared here.Since nymphs began visiting this forest, the vegetation had grown lusher and the air clearer, increasing wildlife and transforming it into a wonderful forest.

“I heard the treasure that Sifnoi and the nymph thieves are searching for is in a cave somewhere in this forest…”

Having crossed deserts and pyramids with the nymph thieves before, Tywin knew what kind of treasure the nymphs sought.Though she wasn’t particularly interested, her characteristic genius intuition sensed that Naru and the children coming to this cave must be connected to that matter.

“I have a feeling this will be troublesome.”

A slight throb pulsed through Tywin’s head.In truth, she had anticipated the children would cause some kind of trouble. That’s why she departed with plenty of time - about 2 hours before the entrance exam.

“They’re such a handful.”

While muttering those words, Tywin surveyed the area to read the karma left on the forest floor.Following Cariote’s teachings, when she focused her senses through her eyes, she could make out familiar footprints heading in a specific direction.

“Naru, Cecily, Hina…”

The children’s tracks stayed together.It was fortunate they hadn’t scattered and caused separate troubles.It was fortunate─but there was a concerning detail.

Alongside the children’s footprints were rather worrying tracks from a group.Most likely male.Large build.And from one of them, the aura of quite a ‘major villain’ could be sensed.

“Kidnapping? Were the children taken?”

Tywin considered this possibility, though small.Traditionally, Graham Academy’s entrance ceremony and new semester were like festivals for thieves around Freesia.It was common practice for them to kidnap children arriving from all over like a buffet and demand ransom.

“But such incidents should have vanished completely after Molumlus appeared.”

Since Molumolus began appearing in children’s shadows, kidnapping cases had decreased yearly to almost none currently.So the current situation left Tywin puzzled.

“Maybe it’s not kidnapping…”

No, whether it was kidnapping or not wasn’t the key issue.What mattered was getting the children to the exam site before 10.

# # #

Naru.Cecily.And Hina.The three children already recognized these five masked men were suspicious characters.

Having the most suspicious person in the world as their father meant they had quite a talent for detecting lies.But because they were such perceptive children, they could tell that not everything these suspicious men said was false.

‘The part about an amazing treasure being in this cave is true!’

Naru desperately wanted to obtain that amazing treasure.It was because she lacked confidence about the exam.While interviews and practicals were manageable, Naru had barely met the minimum requirements in all the practice written exams.

Interview, practical, and written.Falling below the minimum requirement in just one of the three meant failing the exam.

‘Hnng, Naru can’t be the only one to fail!’

Naru yearned to attend school with her sisters.Plus, her dear friend Elizabeth was at school, along with her sister Tywin.The thought of going to school made Naru tingle with excitement.

‘Naru loves school lunch!’

To enjoy the school lunch she adored, passing the exam was absolutely essential. But this written exam had a subject called ‘Literature’ which Naru didn’t particularly enjoy.The name ‘Literature’ felt like something rough-looking men would prefer.So she was barely maintaining the minimum requirement.

“I hope there’s a treasure in this cave that lets you peek at other people’s exam papers!”

Naru planned to pass the exam using the cave treasure’s power.Cecily spoke to such a determined Naru.

“I hope there are pretty glass slippers too.”

Cecily actually disliked the red shoes she wore today.Her mother Cariote had her wear red shoes but today Cecily felt like wearing a different color.Among the cave’s treasures, there might be magic glass slippers that automatically adjusted to fit people’s feet.So Cecily also ventured through this cave.

However Hina felt slightly worried.It seemed they might be late for the exam time.Hina simply followed Naru and Cecily without real interest in the cave itself.

“…What if we’re late for the exam?”

“It’s fine. I heard magic glass slippers can teleport you wherever you want when you click the heels together. Once we get those we can reach the exam site in 1 second!”

Though Hina doubted the existence of these 「Magic Glass Slippers」 in the cave, she remained quiet.If needed, she would escort the children out herself─just as she considered that.A small passage appeared before them.It was so narrow that the children would barely fit crawling through.

“Ch-Children, the treasure chamber must lie beyond this passage. You should be able to squeeze through here, right? Hmm?”

The masked man inquired.Naru examined the passage and nodded.

“Naru can definitely crawl through this!”“Hmph, I, Cecily, dislike dirtying my clothes. As an honorary duchess and refined noble lady, I do not crawl on the ground carelessly.”“……”

The thief Zoro realized he had brought quite unusual children. But his ‘intuition’ rarely failed him.How many crises had that ‘intuition’ helped him overcome?Among countless children, there must be some fateful reason why he was drawn to these particular ones.

Suk— Suk—Zoro rubbed his palms together and said.

“Now then, please go through that passage quickly.”“Naru will be right back!”

Pasuk—As Naru scurried through the passage walls like a small raccoon, Zoro’s subordinates tugged at his sleeve and whispered.

“Um, boss. What if something goes wrong and the children miss their entrance exam? And what if there’s some terrifying monster beyond the passage!”

Having a fearsome guardian in the treasure chamber was standard procedure. While the underlings worried about the children, Zoro let out a deep sigh.

“Whether the kids are late or not isn’t my concern. And even with monsters or traps, the children will be fine since they have Molumolus.”

Zoro decided that after this big score, he should first replace these rookie-like subordinates. Right at that moment.

─Meow—

A strange sound echoed.When they turned, they saw a pink-haired girl holding a ball of fur in her arms.It was a truly terrifying Molumolu.@@novelbin@@

“Molumolu, these people are bad guys. We don’t need their guidance anymore now that we’ve found the passage, so please punish them.”

Hina declared.With her keen ears, Hina had been eavesdropping on all the thieves’ conversations. She had merely been using them to locate the passage since they needed it to find the treasure.

━Grrrr—

When Molumolu bristled its fur, Zoro realized the children had deceived him. But he couldn’t believe it.To think that he of all people had been outwitted by mere 6-year-old children?

Pat—Molumolu sprang into the air.

“Hiiiek!”“It-it’s a Molumolu! Run away!”

As the underlings scattered in panic─Zoro clicked his tongue and produced something.

“Tch, I didn’t want to use this yet! But you leave me no choice!”

It was a black crystal.The Molumolu that had been charging at Zoro holding the pitch-black crystal flinched-startled then trembled-and backed away.

“What in the world…?”

Hina found it quite strange that Molumolu retreated before a villain. Then Zoro, thinking he had gained the upper hand, laughed “Puhaha—“ and shouted.

“This is a fragment of Nocturne that scattered across the world on the day of the Disaster! Even a ball of fur seems to feel repulsion to Nocturne’s power!”

Zoro’s plan was to use this Nocturne fragment to neutralize Molumolu and seize the treasures from the children when they returned from beyond the passage with the ‘Thief’s Code’ and ‘Skeleton Key’.Though that plan was slightly disrupted now, the overall framework remained intact so there was no problem.At least that’s what Zoro believed.

“Hehehe, little ladies. Don’t you know you get punished for defying adults? Now it’s time for your punishment.”

Zoro approached Cecily and Hina while brandishing the crystal.That’s when.

Srung—Hina drew something from her waist.It was a blade that gleamed red in the torchlight.This throwing knife was called 「Rai Setsu, an item that only thieves of the highest caliber could handle.

As Zoro puzzled over the appearance of metal unsuited for a child, the throwing knife vanished from the child’s hand.

Suk— Pat—At the same time, all the torches the men held went dark.A perfect blackness with no sunlight.

“─Hina Style, Surprise Attack!”

Soon the men’s screams echoed through the cave.

“Argh!”“W-We’re under attack! These kids are insane!”“Run away!”

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