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Mile Novel (Cliffhanger 3/9) Chapter 195: Mysterious Kidnapper 3

 

『… … So what is Mile-chan doing?』(Telyucia)

 

From here onwards it’s hunter’s work, amateurs would just get in the way and slow them down.
The girls tell the innkeeper, Dafrel-san father and daughter to go back and wait for the news in the inn.

After the《Goddess’ servant》briefly introduced themselves…

They have met each other in the guild before,
However at that time, because the《Goddess’ servant》only wanted to say what they meant to say,
They did not introduce themselves yet.

And then,
As they saw how Mile kept walking ahead without checking the ground,
The leader of the “servant of the goddess”, Telyucia and also the eldest person 19 years old, asks the question.

 

『… trace the scent, you know』(Rena)

『『『『『Trace the scent?』』』』』(Goddess’ Servant)

 

As they heard Rena’s explanation, the members of the 《servant of the goddess》shout together.

 

『A dog!』(Firii?)

『Is Mile-chan half-beastkin as well?』(Tasia?)

『Sorry, I had a fart a while ago…』(Raselina?)

『Will you please shut up!』(Mile)

『Ah, she is angry …』(Willine?)

(T.N: I don’t know who are talking)

 

Mile was getting angry.
It is unreasonable.
Mile was worried about Faril-chan with elapsed time.

 

[ I don’t think that they harmed Faril-chan yet,
But the more we delay here means that the risk Faril-chan gets hurt will be greater.
And we are not allowed to fail in this,
I shouldn’t panic and lose my head so I will carry out necessary works carefully.
But I can’t waste time with some unnecessary thing ] (Mile’s inner thought)

 

Mile has visualized olfactions while enhancing her physical abilities,
but that doesn’t mean the olfaction cannot be lost.
It was just 《transform olfaction into vision》

If by chance, the olfaction was lost, the vision would be lost as well.
Mile accurately distinguished Faril-chan’s odor from others and tracked it with《vision from the scent》

 

『From here, the odor was getting thinner.
Maybe she was carried on the back of a carriage or something』(Mile)

 

As she went into a slightly wider road, Mile stopped and reported to everyone.

 

『Eh, so …』(Rena)

 

Rena raised a voice of worry about Mile’s report that they might no longer have a lead, but Mile immediately denied it.

 

『No, it’s okay … however…』(Mile)

『However?』(Rena)

『From here, we will speed up a little!』(Mile)

 

Rena’s trio desperately followed Mile that ran ahead as she said so. The same goes for《the servant of the goddess》
Yes, 《Mile》is running quite fast.

 

『It’s not a box-type carriage,
it’s like a wagon because there are plenty of smell’s traces』(Mile)

 

If Faril-chan was carried on the Earth’s passenger car or the like, there might be no scent leaking or any scent that would remain here,
But if it was the back of the cargo or wagon, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Also, the wagon isn’t designed to run as fast.
Traveling at full speed means that the wheels, axles, and wagon itself might get damaged.
People often avoid doing so, and it only happens when they are desperately running away from bandits and monsters.
Also, when the wagon runs to fast, it will be suspicious and conspicuous.

 

[ I don’t think the kidnappers would take such actions, and the horses will quickly become fatigued if they run too fast in the first place.
So, if we run with this speed, we should be faster than a wagon ] (Mile’s inner thought)

『Why did the scent get weaker?』(Mile)

Mile said so as she was pondering about it, but as she saw the front, she immediately understood the reason.

 

『The city gate …』(Mile)

 

Yes, the kidnappers need to go through the gate to get out of the capital,
so Faril-chan probably was hidden in a box or barrel.
However, after leaving the gate, the carriage made a turn to the single road.

And, even though Faril-chan’s scent was fading,
Mile wouldn’t lose sight because there are kidnappers, the carriage, and the horses. Unless Faril-chan was unloaded from the carriage.

So, for now, Mile continues tracking like this!

 

『Okay, just as expected!』(Mile)

 

After passing a town gate for a while, Faril-chan’s scent became stronger again.

They might put her into a small box or barrel, and when they thought they were safe,
Faril-chan would probably be taken out of a barrel.

 

[ I don’t know if it was the right choice, but it’s good that things happened like I expected] (Mile)

 

And as Mile kept running…

 

『Here it is!』(Mile)

 

After running on the highway for a while, Mile stopped at a side road that bypassed the forest.

The area is getting dark.
Although the moon already comes out, however, if you go into the forest, the moonlight won’t be enough.

 

『From here, Faril-chan and three people got out of the carriage and went into the forest,
And the carriage kept traveling along the road as it was.
They may do this in preparation for a change of carriage or try to lose any possible people chasing after them, and any eye witnesses』(Mile)

 

Yes, in fact, Mile was also tracking after the carriage just now.

 

『But now, we don’t have to worry about the carriage,
It will be enough to capture the kidnappers here and rescue Faril-chan!』(Mile)

 

Eight girls nodded silently to Mile.

 

『From now on, I don’t know what will happen, so be prepared』(Mile)

 

The girls nodded again.

 

『Let’s go!』(Mile)

 

From now, they wouldn’t just follow after Mile but must be cautious as well, because they don’t know when they will encounter the enemies.
Mile is now traveling quietly and quickly while paying attention to the whole area.

 

『I do not think that there will be a large hideout in the forest close to the capital.
This isn’t really a deep forest, because hunters ranked D to E often come to hunt and collect frequently, this might be a temporary relay point… or…』(Mile)

『Or?』(Telyucia)

 

Pauline replied to Telyucia, the leader of the 《goddess’s servant》

 

『Did they choose this place as a crime scene?』(Pauline)

『『『『『…………』』』』』(goddess’s servant)

The crime scene.
Considering what that word means, everyone’s facial expressions become stiff.
And as everyone kept silent for a while, they heard an owl or something crying.

 

Hou~ hou~ hou~ hou~ hou~ hou~ hoo~ (SFX)

『… we have been spotted』(Mile)

 

Heard Mile’s calm voice, the so-called 《five servants of the goddess》nodded,

However, the three girls of 《Red oath》had dumbfound faces.

 

『How did you know?』(Rena)

 

Rena inquired so on behalf of the three people’s thoughts.

And Mile calmly answered.

 

『There were no bird’s cry until now,
However, as we approach, the bird’s cry is at a close range, which isn’t a constant cry.
So that means, it isn’t a bird’s cry, but someone like a lookout imitates the nocturnal bird squeaking to warn his allies in the forest.
They might decide the signal by mimicking the cry of a bird,
With the code represent 1 to 4, and 5 and 10 to inform the number and type of intruders.
For example, Hou~ Hou~ is 5 to 10,
Hou~ is 1 to 4, and so on.
And at the end, the sound code that represents the threat level.
If the intruders are the soldiers, Hou~ hou~ hoo~,
if the intruders are the veteran hunter, hou~ hoo~,
if the intruders are the female children, hoo~
Something like that…』(Mile)

 

Rena, Mavis, and Pauline were dumbfounded.
On the other hand, the five people from《servants of the goddess》heard the explanation with a natural face.

 

『Wha…what’s wrong, do you have a fever?』(Mile)

 

If it is usual, Rena-san should (tsukkomi) shout back,
Mile thought Rena’s trio were behaving strangely.

 

『… they are coming, 4 groups, 4 peoples each, 16 peoples in total!』(Mile)

 

This time, it involved the life of human beings and also Faril-chan’s life.
Mile couldn’t ask nano-machines to relay the enemies’ thought to her which is a prohibited matter.
However, she could still《scan the enemies by search magic》
It was an average thing for Mile.

《Red Oaths》and 《Servants of the Goddess》changed from the moving formation to battle formation immediately with Mile’s signal.
Even though they have a joint party, they can’t create an appropriate formation together.
If they don’t know each other’s abilities, there’s no way they can have cooperation properly.
That’s why each party formed their own formation.

《Red oath》, Vanguard is Maevis and Mile, Rear-guard is Rena and Pauline.

《The Servant of the Goddess》’s formation with the warrior Firii at the center,
The Spearman and the swordsmen Telyucia and Willine will cover the left and right,
Tasia, the bow and dagger user will be middle-guard,
And the youngest party member with the age of 14, to make it sounds nice “Jack of all trade” but actually “master of none”, the magician Raselina.

Tasia will fight with a bow, but when the Vanguard is pushed back, or when an ambush appears from the left, right, or the back,
she will throw away the bow, and protect herself and the magician Raselina with the dagger.

In that case, it will be a great loss if the thrown away bow gets crushed in the battle,
So at the time she throws it, she has to judge 《a place that she can throw lightly and won’t break by battle》
Besides, the dagger has a shorter reach than the sword.
It was the worst scenario.

 

『Maevis-san, concentrate the power of your mind to the eyes with the chant 《Let my eyes become stronger than average(normal) so that I can see even in the darkness》!』(Mile)

『Oh, I understand』(Maevis)

 

As Mile told her so, Maevis obediently followed.

 

『Oh? My visibility is somewhat brighter …』(Maevis)

 

Mind power theory. Geez, we will not be surprised anymore.

Yes, Rena and Pauline are watching with casual eyes.

 

『『…………』』(Rena + Pauline)

 

Anyway, they are ready to intercept!

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