Someday I will learn

Chapter 25: Missing children (Part 2)

“Yumi is kidnapped… These past few days there is news about the missing children. Kaoru comes to warn me earlier about it. I didn’t think that Yumi will be falling victim.”

“Yumi will be kidnapped? It’s Yumi we’re talking about here. That girl is quite strong. Her being kidnapped is unbelievable on its own.”

“Anyway, the truth that Yumi was taken away will not go away. I need to go and search for her.”

Yumi might be creepy and odd, but she is my friend. In the hands of the evil people. I must go and save her.

The problem is about tey tracing. I don’t know the place where she was taken away. We here not so long ago there is a possibility that the kidnapper is not that far from the town yet.

I then walked and pick up the hairpin and put it in my pocket.

Taki looks at me and grins briefly.

“You have really taken a liking to Yumi… I’m quite envious Laura.”

“Yumi is my friend. It’s the same way to Taki. You are also my friend and if something horrible happened to you. I will come to save you too.”

Hearing my word. Taki smiled and then gives me thumbs up.

“Then, I will become the same way as you. Be grateful the genius apprentice is helping you… Now how do we start searching for her.”

Taki is right, where are we going to start searching.

We then go out in the flower patch garden and searched on the street. We also talked about the knights in patrol and report the sudden disappearance of our friend.

Arriving in the knight's station. We’re told that the knights are investigating the happening. Just like that, we left the station.

Taki and I are both disappointed with what they told us.

While we are walking in the street a carriage passed by. It’s a carriage full of wood logs.

Taki turned her head to the carriage.

“That horse cart seems to be making noise.”

Now that I think about it. Taki had a highly sensitive sense. She can see from a very far range. Smell from very far range and hear from very far range. It’s like she is born with it.

“Noise?”

“Yes, it’s like someone is singing.”

“Hmm…?”

It’s weird though. That carriage was made to carry logs. It’s not a rare sight in the city which is surrounded by forest.

If it made a sound it means that the inside is hollow. Nobody would buy such goods. Although the horse cart carried a lot of them.

Wait…

“That carriage is suspicious... I need to investigate.”

I said and chase the carriage. Taki followed my back.

“Wait for me, Laura.”

The carriage carrying the logs passed through the gate of the city. Taki and I run through the gate, but the knights come to stop us.

Stopping us by lifting us from our both arms. Taki and I were immobilized.

“We can’t let both of you go outside. The sun is already setting and the rumored kidnappers might target both of you. If you both wanted to go outside. Wai for tomorrow when the sun is high up in the sky.”

The knight said.

Holding it until tomorrow.

Arguing with the knights is useless because they won’t believe what the kids are telling them easily. Looking at the map of the city. This is only the place where I can exit.

“Laura, let’s go tomorrow morning.”

…

That night, even after we had finished eating dinner. I still can’t sleep thinking about what happened to Yumi. The kidnapper and their victims are probably still not found.

I’m so still very worried over Yumi.

Taki looks at me earlier with dejected eyes. Like she's saying that there’s nothing we can do but to wait for the sunrise tomorrow. We then went to our bedrooms and went to sleep.

Thinking deeply.

I take off the blanket covering my body and stood up.

“There’s no way I can ignore the kidnappings after all!”

I prepared myself and get my white sword. Putting the sword on my waist. I sneak out of the Inn and go out.

It’s evening and even so, there are not many people. So the rumors are spreading. I’m curious about the direction the cart is heading.

The hollow logs that Taki pointed out. If they’re like coffins that have they're inside carved out. The kidnapped kids are hidden inside.

Even though it is f*******n. It’s not like there is now a slave trade going on. The insatiable demand for orphans and slaves as a sacrifice. It keeps the business going. Even if that’s the case, doing transactions inside the city would be risky. They probably do it outside the city.

It would make sense because traveling at night time when the monsters are the most active is dangerous.

If so then their hideout would be close to the city gate. On top of that, the direction those logs were carried to…

“The wood stockpile.”

I manage to sneak out on the gate and now wandering outside. Looking around I saw a small cabin in the forest. Beside the cabin is the carriage we saw earlier.

There is light on the cabin. Is there someone inside?

No one would steal logs in a city where forests are everywhere. It’s a waste of resources trying to keep watch.

The carriage earlier still had the log behind its back.

I walked closer silently to the carriage and then check the wood logs. I put my hands on the log and I notice the cut in the middle on each log.

Are they two pieces of the same log? If my guess is correct.

“Help… Help…”

Inside the log, I heard a voice.

“?!”

This weird wood stockpiled. The weird big hollow log. The missing children. As I thought the culprits are here.