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I run into the alley where I saw the couple disappear with the girl and, with a quick glance, I find them again.
It's not difficult, considering that the couple and the girl are the only people in the alley.
They both have their backs to me, distracted by tying up and gagging the girl with ropes that they apparently had prepared in advance.
This leaves me a little baffled by the amount of planning and efficiency that can be seen behind their movements.
It was only a few seconds ago that I saw the kidnapping begin, and they already have their victim almost completely gagged and tied up.
I don't know if she was their target or if they didn't care who the victim was, but these people are clearly professionals.
And the people who were distracting the Knights were surely accomplices in the operation.
Be that as it may, they had the misfortune of 'working' in front of me.
'Haa...
It's really annoying, but...
I can't kill two people in front of a little girl...
But I can't let them make too much noise either...
I have to act fast.'
Activating my Agility profile, I move to stand in front of the two kidnappers and deliver a quick hook to their jaws.
The blow leaves them momentarily unconscious, and, seizing the opportunity, I begin to untie the girl and tie up the kidnappers with the same ropes they had prepared here.
Once I have them tied up, I remove the gag from the young girl and begin to apply it to the middle-aged man and woman.
"Are you okay?" I ask the young girl with ash-colored hair and golden highlights, who looks at me with confusion.
"Y-yes... I... thank you... Did you kill them?" She asks me with childlike innocence, looking fearfully at the people who tried to deprive her of her freedom.
The girl's eyes are blood red, and that, combined with the color of her hair and her pale skin, gives her a very striking appearance.
'I guess that's why she was wearing the hood...
Hmm, the kidnappers went straight for her...
It's obvious they knew who was under the hood...
Shit...
This girl must be part of some important family...
I was supposed to go unnoticed...
I have to get away from her as soon as possible.'
"No. If I had killed them, there would be no need to tie them up. I just knocked them unconscious. Now you can go call the knights and explain what happened. I'm sure they'll be able to take you home," I say and make a move to leave the scene.
"Don't go! D-don't leave me alone," says the little girl, raising her voice dangerously.
'Shit, shit, shit...
I can't let her start screaming in this place...
Should I knock her unconscious too? ...
What the hell am I thinking?...
She's just a little girl!'
"You won't be alone. When you get back to the main street, look for the knights and they will accompany you home," I say, trying to sound convincing.
"The knights didn't realize these people were kidnapping me. If it weren't for you, now I... I..." she says, her voice breaking as she speaks, her lips and eyelids trembling, threatening to burst into tears.
'She's younger than I thought...
How is it possible that a girl her age, from an important family, has been wandering alone on a crowded street? ...
It doesn't make sense...
I judged her and the situation too quickly.'
"Haa... How old are you?" I ask, kneeling in front of her so that my eyes are level with hers.
"I'm... like this," she says, showing me her two little hands with six fingers extended.
'Haa...
I don't have time to babysit...
Besides, she might not even be telling me her real age'
[Jasmine Lucent Lvl 6] [Class: None]
'It seems she's not lying…
Haa… I have to stay calm...
If I can get her to calm down, she'll probably agree to leave me and go with the knights...
That will be my chance to disappear from this place...
The last thing I need is for the knights of Drial Cenit to start asking me questions.'
"That's six years..." I say slowly, and the girl nods affirmatively.
"...And what was a little girl your age doing walking alone on the street?"
"I'm not little!..." she says defiantly.
"... I... I slipped away from home..."
After those words, her eyes drop to the ground in shame.
"... My cousin challenged me and I... I'm not a coward."
'Her nose is slightly upturned...
She almost looks like a porcelain doll that has come to life...
This little girl is not the daughter of a commoner...
Haa... It looks like I'm going to have to accompany her home...
Or I could run away from here and forget about the situation...
But...
Considering the professionalism of the kidnappers, I can't leave her alone if she doesn't want to go with the knights...
Haaa...
How difficult it is sometimes to be a good person.'
"What is your name?" I say, and she looks up to meet my eyes again.
"Jasmine... Jasmine Lucent."
"I agree with you that you are not a coward, Jasmine. Someone else in your place would probably be crying inconsolably," I say, and a shy smile appears on the girl's face, revealing a missing tooth.
"I hardly ever cry…" says the young girl proudly.
"... I'm not like my cousin Valentine."
"Aha... but not being a coward isn't something you can prove by taking stupid risks for no reason..." I say, looking her seriously in the eyes, and she frowns a little under my gaze, probably weighing up whether it's in her best interests to contradict me.
"... And that's precisely what you did when you slipped away from home."
"I suppose you're right..." she says, and a slight blush begins to color her face.
"... I was a fool to accept that crybaby's challenge."
"Well, since I can see you understand that you did wrong..." I say with a smile.
'Haa... I'm an idiot...
Zariche was right after all.'
"...I'm going to personally escort you home. I hope it's not too far, because saving and escorting damsels in distress back to their homes wasn't part of my plans for today."
"It's not far. I only got a few blocks away when... when... What are you going to do with them?" she says, looking at the kidnappers fearfully.
"... Are you going to kill them?"
In all this time, the kidnappers have shown no signs of regaining consciousness, but it is better that way.
If they woke up, I would have to knock them unconscious again, and to do that I would have to risk hitting them once more with just enough strength not to kill them.
"Do you want me to?" I ask curiously.
"No... I don't like violence," she says, biting her lower lip with concern.
"Then don't worry. I'm not going to kill them. I'm just going to leave a note tied to them explaining why they're tied up..." I say, taking out a piece of paper and something to write with, after which I scribble a few lines briefly explaining the crime the couple tried to commit.
"... And I'm going to move them a little closer to the main street so that someone can find them more easily."
"Ahh... That sounds good to me," says Jasmine, and now that she knows we're going back to the main street, she puts her hood back on, as it seems she also wants to try to attract as little attention as possible.
'She's quite smart for her age...
At least in some aspects.'
"Before we leave them, I want you to look at them carefully. Are you sure you haven't seen them before?" I ask the girl, as I'm still very curious about the efficiency and planning with which the two handcuffed and unconscious people carried out their kidnapping attempt.
"No, I mean, yes. This is the first time I've seen them," she says, looking at them intently, which elicits a shudder of fear from her small body.
'The fact that she doesn't know them doesn't necessarily mean anything...
The important thing is that they seemed to know her well...
Most likely, those people had her specifically as their target...
The reason for that...
I don't know...
I really don't know anything about her...
And it's not my responsibility...
Haa...
But I can't tell a little girl that she's become the target of a criminal group's kidnapping attempt...
I don't want to scare her, but...
There were surely many more people involved in the 'operation' than I could see...
Haa... I'm going to take her home... whatever happens after that is not my problem...
The Hero class... it's really annoying sometimes.'