by Funa
“Yes, that’s right.”
I wasn’t going to get all ultra-formal with him, even if he was the governor. Roland and Francette would get angry at me if I did, probably saying something like, “No matter how much you may be pretending, I can’t allow a Goddess to debase herself by conforming to human customs!”
...Especially Francette, to be frank.
I mean, I was pretending to be an aristocrat’s daughter right now. There probably wasn’t any need to act so humble to another noble in the first place, and he probably already thought I was only about twelve or thirteen years old, anyway.
“Then explain to me what’s happened here!”
Seemed he didn’t care about the public eyes that had gathered around us. Actually, there was probably a better chance that he’d already heard about how the guards were working with the kidnappers, and he was getting ready to cover that by making sure everyone could hear what he had to say about it. He might actually be one of the more clever governors I’d met.
The reason he might not have already tried hauling us away was probably because he heard the talk about the Goddess appearing and believed it; or he didn’t and was only taking the appropriate action on the off chance it might be the truth.
There wasn’t anyone in this world who didn’t believe in the Goddess Celestine. She actually did show up from time-to-time, and there were plenty of big shots from other countries present when she appeared just four years prior. It’d come as a bit of a shock if there were anyone who thought she didn’t exist.
Celes was also known for being pretty severe with her divine punishments, even going so far as getting innocent people caught up when she dished out her judgment. There were even stories of her easily ignoring those in need. There wasn’t anyone in this world who had the guts to tell lies using her name, including criminals.
That was why it’d be obvious for him to believe my story. I was pretty sure he must have heard about the wash pan that fell from the sky, too...
So while he’d heard the whole story, I’d imagine the main reasons he’d want to hear what happened from my own mouth wasn’t just to confirm what went down, but to use it as a way to appeal to the people as well. The crowd was filled with merchants from his own territories and other fiefdoms, and even other countries. And not just merchants, of course, but perhaps even spies as well...
Even if he did find out, I doubted the governor would immediately try to strip us of our status or put everyone involved with us to death or anything. There wasn’t much benefit to doing anything as dangerous as that, and the governor in charge of an area like this should be easily able to figure out how to handle dealing with a single, cute girl like me.
That was why it was probably a safe bet the governor didn’t have any connections with the kidnapping ring. So in that case, I’d settle this peacefully.
...So long as he was ready to remove the corruption at the source.
“We’re all with the household of Earl Adan from Balmore. When I was out in town, I was suddenly abducted and forced into a cell in the basement of one of the houses here. This morning, I was being taken away to be sold into slavery... I called for help from the guards by the town gates, but they only smiled and ignored me, all the while chatting with the kidnappers...”
“What...did you say...?” the governor breathlessly responded, recoiling in a grand fashion. He had to have heard that much already. This guy really knew how to play it up.
Or wait, maybe he really was freaking out when he realized one of the victims was from an earl’s household from another country. I mean, yeah, that’d be pretty bad for him.
“Right before I was spirited away from this town, the Goddess appeared and shouted, ‘How dare you try to make slaves of such cute girls!’ before delivering divine punishment to the kidnappers.”
“Th-Then what happened with the Goddess afterward?!”
“After speaking with me a little, she went back up there,” I replied, giving the governor the answer I’d already thought up beforehand.
“Hrm... But are you sure the guards were in league with these criminals? Perhaps they just didn’t notice your cries for help?”
“I broke through the lid of the barrel I was in and yelled for help right in front of them. If they didn’t notice that, then they’d probably let an entire enemy army go marching straight on through the front gates. Is that the sort of rumor you want spreading around about them?”
The governor fell silent. There was no way he could claim the guards weren’t involved in the crime now.
“I’d say the fact that the guards earned the wrath of the Goddess serves as proof more than anything, wouldn’t you?”
The governor could only reluctantly nod as shouts of agreement came from the crowd around us. I didn’t know if he truly wanted to make it so the guards had nothing to do with this, but now he’d completely lost the chance to say the soldiers weren’t to blame.
“According to the kidnappers, their buyers were regional governors and middle-class traders. They weren’t dealing with royalty or higher up nobles, or even the bigger merchants.”
“...What was that?”
The color began returning to the governor’s face. If those types of people were involved, things would get much more complicated. It could unravel into a scandal that shook the very foundation of the country. Worst case scenario, those in power could try to push the blame on whoever was in charge of the town where this was happening—the governor.
But if the culprits were lower-class aristocrats or slightly well-off merchants, then it was up to the royal family to decide whether to wipe them out or not. There wasn’t anything the governor could do directly about this, but it could be taken care of if he went through them instead.
More than anything else, the ones at fault were the aristocrats and merchants trying to buy the little girls. If the governor arrested the guards responsible for facilitating such sales, then instead of this being a black mark for him, he’d be on the side of justice. If he cooperated in exposing the other corrupt governors, he might even earn the favor of the king himself.
He’s probably seeing the light at the end of the tunnel by now, so I’ll just give him one more push...
“Also, I’m supposed to pass along a message from the Goddess Celestine...”
“““Wh-Wh... WHAAATTTTTT?!”””
Not just the governor, but everyone within earshot let out a cry of astonishment. Clergymen and even the pope themselves would rarely get a chance to hear the words of the Goddess, so I could see why a simple governor receiving an honor as great as this would come as a shock (even if it was just me giving it to them as a message).
But considering why she came down, there wasn’t anyone here who’d think this was going to be good news. The look on the governor’s face definitely made it seem like he was a little on edge about it.
All right, let’s get to passing on this message then.
“She told me: ‘It is absolutely outrageous to capture poor, innocent girls and sell them as slaves. The kidnappers and those who received bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to them all bear the same sin. Give them all the harshest of punishments for their crimes. If not, I shall dole out the punishment myself.’ That’s what she said, but...”
“But...?”
I figured I’d take the chance to put the fear of the Goddess into the governor.
“Lady Celestine isn’t a very detailed-oriented goddess, you see. She doesn’t really care about each and every human, unless it’s someone she’s really taken by. When she mentioned ‘punishment,’ she meant she’d flatten an entire estate if it meant taking out a single, irritating kidnapper hiding there, or engulf all of Selinas in a sea of flames to destroy the kidnapping ring at its roots.”
“Wh-What...?”
All the color drained from the governor’s face. Everyone else who’d gathered around had also turned white as ghosts.
“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh...”
It alm
ost sounded like the governor was practicing his beatboxing. He was probably trying to force out either, “What should we do?” or, “Why?”
I think I’ll go ahead and reassure him a little.
“There’s need to worry. All you have to do is make sure to catch every single person involved in that kidnapping ring, from underlings to ringleaders, and that should be the end of it. Just arrest them all and make it so they can’t kidnap or sell anyone into slavery ever again, and you’re done.”
“B-B-B-B... But...”
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess he’s trying to say, “But what if we can’t?”
“All you have to do is put the pressure on the members of the kidnapping ring you already captured and make them spill the beans for everything they know: their fellow kidnappers, their bosses, where they were supposed to send all of us, where they’ve sold slaves before; all of it. If you can arrest the ones who bought those slaves and bring those children back to their parents, the Goddess might be willing to forgive you for missing an underling or two that aren’t actually rotten to the core. Might be willing...”
This was an order from the Goddess herself, so the royal family should be willing to throw everything they had into helping out as well. There was no room to question whether it was true or not. There were already this many witnesses, and there had to have been plenty more who just heard the explosions and saw the golden clouds.
Not to mention that they were dealing with a Goddess who was ready to squash not only a territory or two, but an entire country in order to wipe out the kidnapping ring’s foundation. No amount of connections or bribes could save them now. The only road left for those involved with the kidnappings was the one that led to their downfall.
“A-Arrest them! Arrest every last one of those on the ground and tie them up! We’re going to make them spill everything they know. Don’t let them escape or try to off themselves! Failure will not be tolerated—it’s not allowed!”
The lives of everyone who lived here were at risk—including the governor’s own—so I could see why he was so desperate.
Oh yeah, I wonder if that little “present” I left behind a while ago is working its magic right about now...
“Mr. Governor, the Goddess said she’d let us know the location of the kidnapper’s hideout by marking it with red smoke. I think she said it was somewhere in the slums...”
I was, of course, referring to the “parting gift” I left behind before the kidnappers took us away. I made it so it would release a sleeping gas that would instantly knock anyone out. After it did that job, it was set to incrementally release more and more red smoke that was lighter than air. If everything had gone according to plan, the kidnappers there should all be knocked out cold right about now, and red smoke should be rising from the house they’d turned into their hideout.
It wasn’t like it was a billowing pillar of smoke or anything, but it should be easy enough to find if you looked for it. This was my first town in a new country, and I’d been shoved into a barrel in the back of a wagon when they tried to spirit me away, so I wasn’t able to lead anyone back to the house they’d kept me in. The smoke was just my own way of finding it again later. It should all work out in the end if they made the other kidnappers cough up what they knew, but this was “all just in case” on my part.
“...Get going!”
“Right away!”
At the governor’s orders, one of the higher-ranking soldier took about half of the soldiers gathered here before rushing back into town.
As I watched them go, I saw a different group approaching from the exact opposite direction the soldiers were heading. They looked to be people who’d lived in this town. They were being led by a handful of different soldiers.
Ah... Those must be the families of the children that had gone missing.
Just as I’d predicted, the soldiers that swapped places with the ones who left for the slums had brought the families who were suspected victims of the kidnapping ring.
“Litheresa!”
“Sara!”
“Charlise! Where are you, Charlise?!”
“Yusef! Yuseeef!”
“Mommy!”
“Mother!”
Four calls to four different children, yet only two responses. This wasn’t the first kidnapping incident, and there were plenty of other reasons why children would go missing, criminal or otherwise. Two of the families embraced their children while the other two desperately searched to find their own children. They clambered onto the back of the wagon stopped at the gates, almost half-crazed as they went through the empty barrels. The crowd could only stare at the ground in silence when faced with the cruel distinction between the two scenes.
Judging by the name they called, it sounded like the fourth family was looking for a boy. The kidnappers had only set their sights on cute little girls this time, but they may have gone after boys in the past. After being sold, they must be alive and well wherever they were now, and when they were finally found, they’d be able to see their families once more. That was what I wanted to believe.
“Governor...”
“I know! I know...” the governor said through gritted teeth as he furrowed his brow, already guessing at what I wanted to say.
I’ll put my faith in the governor here. If anyone can take care of it, he can.
After some time had passed, the four families returned to town; two of them smiling and laughing, the other two silent, eyes cast to the ground.
The only one left here was a five- to six-year-old girl, standing all by herself.
“Huh?”
After some back-and-forth, I learned that Layette was six years old, the youngest child of a family of five out in the countryside, and had been sold by her parents. Apparently, this sort of thing happened all the time. Since human trafficking was a serious crime, it had been done under the guise of a “long-term, indentured servitude,” and they paid her wages up front for a term of eighty years.
She was supposed to at least be treated as a person that way, but, in reality, it was the exact same as being an actual slave. When she was being taken on her way to the buyer, she’d been kidnapped instead.
“So...what happens in a situation like this?” I asked.
She’d already been sold, so of course there were going to be problems if they tried returning her to her parents. The buyer might be thinking that she’d run away and would come after them, seeking compensation. Most worrying of all, though, was that these were the type of parents who sold their child for a profit. There was a chance they’d just end up selling her to another buyer.
“I wonder?” the governor pondered aloud. When you think about it, he probably wasn’t as well-versed on these sorts of matters.
The governor called up one of his subordinates and asked him the same question in my stead.
“Her parents signed a contract and received payment, so they have no right to take her back. If we were to return her to them with no strings attached, there’s a chance it could lead to strife between the other jealous families who let their children go in the same way. There’s also the possibility they could end up selling their own child once again...”
“So what you’re saying is that it’s impossible to return her to her parents... No, that it’s not in her best interests to do so.”
“Exactly, sir. Also, there’s the matter of the person who bought—uh, I mean, paid for her service to them. Not only is this against her wishes, but this is a suspect agreement at best that is extremely similar to human trafficking,” the subordinate explained. “That’s why they won’t want the details that they were involved in this to go public. They won’t submit a claim for damages, and will most likely cut their losses after not being able to receive the girl they paid for cheap instead of risking this blowing up in their face. I would imagine they have already left town and are heading to their next destination by now. In short, trying to find and deliver her to her contractor would not only be extremely
difficult, but not in her benefit whatsoever.”
“Then what’s going to happen to the child?”
“The best option for her would be to enter an orphanage,” the subordinate answered. “I’m sure she would be much happier that way instead of dying an early death living in the slums. It’s a very difficult institution to get into, but I would imagine it to not be a problem if you gave the order.”
Layette listened to the discussion between the governor and his subordinate, eyes cast downward. It looked like she knew what that meant. I could see her shaking.
“Very well, then I’ll write to them later. She’s a child saved by the Goddess, so I’m sure they’ll take good care of her there. All that’s left is—”
“Hold on a minute!”
Before I knew it, the words had forced their way out of my mouth.
“I’ll take her myself!”
“““What?!”””
Everyone was surprised to hear that, but the ones who’d vocalized their shock were Roland and the others.
“M-Miss Kaoru, you can’t!” Francette balked.
“That may be a bit too much to ask for...” Roland agreed.
Belle and Emile, on the other hand, didn’t comment on my decision. They thought of me as a Goddess they’d sworn their eternal loyalty to. It felt like that loyalty was weighing a little heavier on me lately... Not to mention that they were orphans themselves. They’d lived their lives scrounging around in the streets, being treated as less than human.
“Is there a problem with that?” I asked, turning to the governor and his subordinate.
There certainly wouldn’t be any problems with my companions. They’d probably give in if I pressed hard enough. And if they didn’t? Then I’d just have to tell them it wasn’t working out and we’d have to go our separate ways. It wasn’t a threat, I’ll have you know, just a clear declaration of my free will.