Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 77

 "Uwaao..."

I looked at my right side, which must have been punched, and it was beautifully purple.

Pretty sure my liver was around here, so yeah, I got punched and passed out.

What am I supposed to do about this?

Just in case, I had some decent potions stocked in the fridge, but...

Do I just pour it on?

"Cold!?"

I had some stock, so for now I tried splashing it on, but what is with this coldness?

It’s not just because it was in the fridge, or anything like that.

It felt similar to the alcohol disinfectant they use for injections, but the coldness wasn’t even comparable.

...Is something vaporizing?

When I got shot down by magic at “Ragyuola’s Claws,” I didn’t have the leeway to feel how cold it was, and with the Demon, it sounds like I was asleep... I don’t know.

It’s working properly, right?

I got anxious, so I cautiously touched the injured area—still purple—with my finger.

"...Oou."

There was still a little pain left, but it seemed like the fracture had healed.

"Hmph."

Just to be thorough, I also activated 【Prayer】.

It wasn’t to the point of being completely healed, but this was probably enough for the injury.

After that... it was what to do about this situation.

For now, I’ll turn on the monitor and keep watch outside!

Kyururu~.

My stomach growled.

And while I’m at it, I’ll fill my belly too!

◇

"Hmm..."

It had been about an hour since I entered 【Hideout】.

While savoring the cookies and tea I’d prepared as preserved food, I kept watch on the monitor.

The thing I’d been thrown into was a covered wagon, and there were four guards around it, each riding a horse.

They kept riding at a pretty good speed, but how far were they going?

It was completely night now.

I think I’d been unconscious for about one to two hours, but at this pace, we should’ve already left the royal capital region.

There was only one monster attack along the way, and it turned into a fight.

Well, they swatted it aside.

These guys were strong.

And there was one man who used magic.

From the first time I saw him, I felt like I somehow recognized him, but when I saw him using magic something clicked, and when I rewound the recording, I figured it out.

He was the mage from the Holy Coin Recovery Squad who I slipped past when I left the town of Lortle.

I didn’t recognize the other four, but were they connected to the church?

From what I’d heard, the recovery of Holy Coins was apparently done by elite adventurers kept by the church.

Was he demoted or something, to be doing dirty work like kidnapping?

...Is it because of me?

Sorry, okay?

While I apologized in my head and kept watching the monitor, lights came into view.

It looked like a village, and that seemed to be the destination.

I’d put a small trick in place, but would it work?

Well, up until now nobody but Seriana had noticed, and even if it didn’t work, as long as I stayed in here I’d be fine.

◇

The group entered the village, but passed through it, and went into a large building right by the forest at the edge of the village.

It was a bit too crude to call it a mansion.

There were lookouts, and it must be in use, but...

"Hey, she’s not here!!"

The man who climbed onto the wagon bed to carry me out noticed I wasn’t there and raised his voice.

I don’t know what was inside, but was it for camouflage?

There were a lot of bags like the one I’d been put into—did they have some kind of marker?

Hearing that, a couple more came over, but they still hadn’t noticed 【Hideout】.

"...Look at this."

Another one who came over found a bag with a hole in the bottom, left in the corner of the wagon bed, and the rope that had been used to tie it up.

"Impossible... She didn’t have any kind of blade, and she wasn’t using magic either."

Was this the guy who stripped my clothes?

I made sure to remember your face.

"She might’ve had a blessing that isn’t in our information... Let’s change horses. We’re going to catch him."

"Can we track her!?"

"The only time everyone let their guard down was when there was a fight. From that spot, if we push them, we’ll be there in no time."

"I see! Around there, there’s nowhere to run and hide. Hurry!"

"Yeah. Hey!"

Maybe they’d decided on a plan, because they called out to the lookout man who had come close by.

"Y-yes."

He was tense—was there a hierarchy, too?

"We’re going to catch her, so you tell the people inside. Let’s go!"

As soon as he said that, they headed toward where the horses were tied up, mounted right away, and galloped off.

And the man who was told to do it went into the building.

There was nobody around the wagon.

After confirming that, I left 【Hideout】.

"Fuhihi...!"

It feels good when things go this smoothly!

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Sera・【Hideout】【Prayer】【Mira's Blessing】・【Floating Orb】【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】・7 cards

Seriana・【Range Identification】・【】・19 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】・1 card

Alec・【】・【Red Shield】・2 cards