Somehow, this happened — suddenly, I was already in an empty place.
This place was white, and only white everywhere. It was just like the lobby that connects between games, the place I usually get transferred to when the game is over.
But why did this happen so suddenly? I still haven't completed my initial mission.
And I didn't do anything that violates the rules of this game.
Well, if it's about the hostage, maybe that's Rosa-chan. Because marrying her was my mission from the start. So, why?
——
(A few minutes earlier...)
My condition and Vern-san's were very dangerous right now, especially since Vern-san's weapon had been taken by that man.
Don't expect anything from me; I didn't bring anything except myself.
Moreover, I still couldn't use the Vision skill. Rosa-chan also hadn't been seen anywhere.
Maybe Rosa-chan was being held captive by them in some room.
That's why Vern-san and I had to move quickly and search this bar down to the smallest spots.
There's also a possibility that Rosa-chan's position had already been moved by them.
But most importantly, how could the two of us get out of this unpleasant situation?
——
(Vern side)
Of course, I felt angry. And how could I not be?
These people just said they wanted to play with me and the princess.
Maybe it's fine if they insult me, but not the princess.
The princess is a young girl whom I've always regarded as an angel every day.
Then, they said they wanted to ruin the princess's beauty.
From the beginning, I already suspected that all the men inside this bar were perverts with no self-control.
From the start, I realized that many of them were watching me with lust. They seemed very focused on me — on everything I was doing.
Especially when I took out my small knife earlier; I was sure they were staring at me with perverted thoughts.
But... what about now...
I no longer had a weapon; that was the only weapon I always carried wherever I went.
I never thought about bringing two knives, because I believed everything would be fine.
I also still hadn't found out where the princess was being hidden — maybe in this place, or perhaps somewhere else I didn't know.
——
(Yukito side)
I looked at Vern-san — she looked so panicked and worried.
But if she were to give up, what would happen to me? I could only stand behind her.
"I'll surrender myself... but return the princess first," said Vern-san.
That shocked me; I didn't expect Vern-san to say something like that.
The man smiled widely, then clapped his hands together — as if giving a signal or command.
After that clap, the door beside the counter opened.
The person who bumped into me earlier after buying water — I saw him again.
In his hand, he was carrying Rosa-chan, whose whole body was almost completely tied up with ropes.
Of course, Rosa-chan couldn't fight back. Moreover, she had been exposed to sunlight earlier.
It's possible that her condition had gotten worse.
That man stood in front of Vern-san and dropped Rosa-chan onto the floor as if throwing away an object.
Immediately, Vern-san grabbed Rosa-chan's body.
She looked very happy to see that Rosa-chan hadn't been harmed.
"I've given you what you wanted, haven't I? Now... it's time for you to fulfill your promise," said the man.
Vern-san stood tall, looking at everyone in front of her.
She knew she had to keep her promise to save the princess.
But suddenly, she turned to me quickly.
"TAKE THE PRINCESS AND RUN AWAY FROM HERE!" shouted Vern-san at me.
I immediately ran toward Rosa-chan's body lying on the floor and carried her out of the bar.
I didn't know whether what I did would succeed or fail.
——
(Vern side)
This was the best choice I could think of right now. That boy could surely take the princess to a safe place.
Then... all that was left was for me to hold these men off.
Wait... they were a group of people who hated the royal palace — in that case, their real target was indeed the princess.
I could survive here, maybe even make them change their minds about toying with me.
—
After that boy ran out of the bar, the man who carried the princess earlier immediately chased after him.
I fell because my shoulder was hit by his running body.
Some other people also stood up and joined the chase after Lotte.
Quickly, I got up and tried to escape as fast as possible.
But unfortunately, someone behind me managed to grab my hair.
"Akhh... L-let go, bastard!" I said, trying to free my hair from his grip.
He gripped my hair even tighter; it felt like it was being ripped out of my head.
Panicking and in great pain, I hit the man's arm that was pulling me.
The punch made him release my hair, and after that, I immediately rushed out of the bar.
I ran in the opposite direction from Lotte to draw their pursuit toward me.
As I predicted, most of them chose to chase after me instead of the princess.
If I led them to the palace, that would be terrible.
The palace was currently guarded only by maids because all the royal guards had been sent to search for the princess throughout the city.
If I went to the palace, things would only get worse.
Maybe... I'd just keep running and hiding until I collapsed from exhaustion.
——
(Yukito side)
I kept running without knowing where I was going, carrying the weight in my arms — Rosa-chan's body.
Because of how sudden the situation was, I hadn't had the chance to untie the ropes binding her body.
She still hadn't regained consciousness, so I had to take her somewhere first.
Behind me, there were many people chasing. Most of them were big-bodied and definitely had high stamina.
In contrast to me — my stamina was far worse compared to them.
Moreover, while running, I had to keep Rosa-chan's body from slipping out of my grip.
——
I entered narrow alleys with many branches, hoping they'd get confused looking for me.
Feeling that I had gone far enough, I put Rosa-chan down on the ground.
My arms hurt so much and felt sore — I had never carried a girl while running before.
In my opinion, her body was light, not as heavy as I feared.
Usually, girls get offended when their weight is mentioned, right?
Well, it depends on the girl — but if it's someone like Rosa-chan, she really is light.
If I calculate it, the age gap between us is maybe around five years. Quite far.
It's like if I were in the second year of high school, she'd be in sixth grade... in the real world, that'd already be a harassment case.
But in this world, it seems like even a ten-year difference doesn't matter.
As long as no one's being harmed, society would probably see it as normal.
What's not normal are those old men who marry much younger girls. (Maybe those girls are just tempted by money.)