Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 82

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Chapter 82

While preparations to go to Mou'nan were still being made, I didn't have much to do except wait on Kain to give me the green light.

Lately, Loraine had been practicing a lot of baking recipes in hopes of one day opening up her own shop. Me being me and wanting to support her, I ate everything she made without complaining, but apparently that wasn't what she wanted at all.

"Try this." Loraine placed a twentieth cookie on my plate and waited eagerly for me to eat it.

"I, uh… don't think I can eat another bite here…" I said, feeling like this next bite was the biggest challenge of my life.

It wasn't that Loraine's cooking was bad. Hell, she could probably make a killing off all this. The problem was my stomach couldn't handle all this damn food, and both Ethel and Roma were already the first casualties from helping this morning.

"You promised to taste test my cooking for me! You're not going back on your word, are you?" She pouted.

Shit. When Loraine made that face in that tone, it was game over.

"H-How about this: we take the cookies over to the guild? Those guys could use something nice to eat, right? Ain't fair to just let me stuff it all myself." I said.

She beamed. "Good idea! In that case, I'll go grab something to put everything in!"

As soon as she left, Ethel and Roma, who were KO'd in the first hour and had cookie crumbs all around them, raised their heads to thank me.

"You guys did good hanging in there." I nodded approvingly.

Loraine and I carried the large batch of cookies to the guild only to find a commotion going on. Over at the reception area, Frey and Oaks were trying to calm down a mob of angry rich people.

"Please, stop talking over each other! I can't write all this down otherwise!" Frey shouted over them.

"Where is Prince Kain?"

"Or the guild leader?"

"We need help, damn it!"

I was about to go over when Yui kicked the guild door, it flew out of the building.

"Ora ora ora! I'll never get anything done with all of you blabbering! Shut up, or I'm sticking my nunchucks up your asses!" Yui yelled.

That shut them up for a second if not the entire guild.

"Th-This is a dire matter, and we won't be bullied into silence!" A brave human man foolishly confronted Yui.

"What the hell's going on here?" I asked, stepping in before things got any more out of hand.

"I am Lord Aralorn Winthorn, first son of and head of the—"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, this is stupid. Next!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Aralorn got right up in my face. "There has been a recent string of kidnappings. My daughter— the daughters of the other nobles have been kidnapped. King Alto and Prince Kain haven't been able to answer our requests for audiences. We're at our wits end!"

"The kidnappers sent the guild ransom letters, but…" Frey sighed.

"We do not negotiate with criminals! That is why we have come to the Cynderace Branch. The entire guild must be mobilized. The armies of Scoth as well should it come to that!" the noble declared.

As if Kain would do something like that. Princey-boy was probably too busy to be able to help if he wasn't even hanging around the guild.

"Alright. If ya won't negotiate with criminals, how much ya willing to pay me to get the job done?" I asked, rubbing my thumb and index finger together.

The group of nobles recoiled.

"S-Surely you must be joking. Who are you to make monetary demands of us?" a woman clutching her pearls asked.

Yui came over to my side and grinned "It's money you were gonna fork over anyway if you want to see your loved ones back. Now how about we step into my office to discuss terms?"

"Kuh…"

"Preposterous! I will go straight to King Alto if I must!" Aralorn said before storming out of the guild.

With nowhere to turn, the ones who remained followed Yui into the guild leader's office. Oaks had to go retrieve the door.

"Ransoms and kidnappings. Those poor girls must be scared out of their minds." Loraine frowned.

"Cases like these are unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence," Frey added. "In a city as big as Cynderace, it's easy for bandits and syndicates to conduct kidnappings on people in the higher echelons of society."

Even though petty crime was at an all time low, it seemed there were some people who still wanted to fuck around. Well, they're about to find out what happens mucking up my turf. First, we needed someone who had connections to the underworld to get some sort of clue— and I had just the guy.

"Oaks!"

"Yes, Boss?" Oaks returned to the counter after fixing Yui's door.

"What do you know about kidnappings in Cynderace? Think these are your old boys?" I asked.

"Hmm…" The giant lion man rubbed his chin. "We pretty much wiped out my syndicate a few months back. It's possible this is by a group from outside the city and likely aren't amateurs. Maybe we can glean something from the descriptions in the ransom?"

Frey showed us the multiple ransom letters. All of them, as the nobles described, were young women from affluent families. The amount of gold being asked wasn't an absurd amount. Those stingy bastards could probably pay it, but doing so might encourage more kidnappings in the future.

Aside from that, we didn't know much else like who the kidnappers were and how they operated from just the letters alone.

"Think we can get Kawa to sniff them out from the letters?" I asked.

"Oaks and I already tried that, and our noses are pretty strong." Frey shook her head.

"I have an idea, Boss. These are all young women around your age. What if you dressed up as a noble lady and bait them to—"

"Wait! Shut up!" I dragged Oaks down by the collar of his shirt, then threw a look over to Loraine who was fidgeting with anticipation to put me in a dress. "You piece of shit. I'm getting you back after we're done."

"S-Sorry, Boss…"

Loraine took me straight home to coordinate my entire outfit with the help of Ethel and Roma. A stupid, frilly red dress with floral patterns and a wide brim hat that flops around as I walk. If that wasn't bad enough, high heels. Holy fuck, high heels suck shit to wear.

"Ooooh! Lady Micchi, I never knew you could wear dresses so well!" Roma exclaimed.

"You're like a princess!" Ethel chimed in.

"Guh… Why the hell am I wearing this? Why can't we just get someone else to wear it, and I tail 'em?" I asked, red in the face and reevaluating my life choices.

"Because then I wouldn't get to have fun dressing you up. You look so pretty like this! I wish you would wear dresses more often!" Loraine smiled.

Grit your teeth through it, Micchi. Channel the frustration on those kidnappers and Oaks later instead.

We went to a park at night where several of the kidnappings took place several days before. So as to not bring suspicions to me, Loraine stayed at the guild, but I was followed by the two maids to give the impression of a spoiled, rich girl.

The three of us were the only ones here. Frey informed the guards posted here ahead of time of our plan, so it would be less defended and more enticing to kidnappers.

"Uhm… Lady Micchi, it might be best not to look so angry. You might terrify the kidnappers before they even attempt to kidnap you," Ethel warned.

"That's right, that's right! You should act more refined and regal! Smile with your nose in the air," Roma urged.

"Like… this?" I forced myself to smile.

"Geh," they uttered together.

"Maybe the haughty, no-smiling demeanor is better," Ethel said, stifling a laugh.

Roma, the feline beastling maid, cocked her head in the direction of nearby bushes.

"I think we're being followed." She grabbed my hand and feigned panic. "My lady, I don't think it's safe to stay here. Let's be on our way!"

We didn't get more than a few steps before armed thugs shrouded in cloaks and masks jumped out to surround us.

"Not so fast, ladies!" A scarred elven man brandished a dagger in our faces.

"Hahh? The hell do you think you are?" I snarled.

"E-Eep!" He almost lost grip on his weapon.

"L-Lady Micchi, you shouldn't antagonize them!" Ethel tugged on the back of my dress.

"Don't scare them off. We're supposed to be captured on purpose," Roma whispered.

"Ah, shit… Acted on instinct." I cleared my throat to put on a distressed voice. "Please, don't hurt me or my maids. We'll do anything…"

The elf backed away to one of his companions, and several of them huddled up to talk amongst themselves.

"S-Something about this chick is off."

"Who cares. They ain't taking us seriously. Show 'em we mean business!"

They came back to us, pointing whatever weapons were in their hands.

"Alright, get a move on. Don't make any sudden movements and don't make any sounds lest we wanna get gutted."

We had our hands tied behind our backs, mouths gagged, and led through the back alleys of the city. Oaks' instincts were right on the money. These guys weren't amateur. They had clearly done this many times and became efficient at it. Only, their biggest mistake was being new to this city and not knowing who I was.

A dilapidated house in the slums just outside the city gates was our end destination.

"My lord!" The elf rapped his knuckles on the door.

Lord?

It was the human nobleman Aralorn who answered it.

"What took you?" Aralorn asked impatiently. "The longer you stay outside, the greater you risk being caught."

"Sorry, but you will be glad to see that we captured another well-to-do. She has a bit of a feisty side to her though."

When the noble raised his head he was met with my glare and choked on his spit.

"Yo. Fancy meeting you here." I broke the rope bindings on my wrist and threw the hat away.

"Eh? W-W-What are you doing here?" he stammered, then turned to his accomplices. "You idiots, restrain her!"

Everyone tried to mob me, but I laid a smackdown so hard no one was getting up. Aralorn was eventually the last one left. He tried to run away, but Ethel stuck a foot out to trip him.

"Trying to scam people, huh? No wonder you didn't care to pay to find your missing daughter." I grinded my heel into his back as he tried to get up.

"Wait, please! I'm the first son and head of the—"

Ignoring Aralorn's cries, I picked him up and slammed him against the decrepit shack he came out of.

"Okay, I'll tell you where the girls are… just don't hurt me!" he cried.

"Oh, you're gonna tell me where they are alright. But first, I'm putting you in this dress I was forced to wear because of you, then beating you into a mess."

After getting my hands soaked in blood and tears, we found the captured women in a locked room behind the house. The maids fetched a wagon to wheel the unconscious thugs and Aralorn back to the guild, where he fessed up to everything to escape my wrath.

Apparently, the Winthorn estate went broke. In order to make money, he used what little wealth he had left to hire some foreign goons to kidnap noble families' daughters for ransom.

"Formerly Lord Aralorn Winthorn will have to answer to the king for his crimes of treason. I don't know how you came to unravel this, and quite frankly, I rather not know, but thank you for doing so nonetheless." Kain bowed, then departed with the disgraced noble in custody.

Yui exited the guild hall, clapping her hands clean after a day's worth of office paperwork.

"Anego! We got a fat paycheck from all the rich daddies and mommies!" she said, clamoring down the steps.

Loraine emerged as well, seemingly disappointed that my dress was gone. "Aww. The dress is gone? At least I still have the memory burned into my mind."

"Oh, you guys just reminded me— Oaks! Get your ass out here for your whoopin'!" I shouted to the guild.

"Uh… Boss," Oaks peeked out of the building just as I was storming up to him. "Can't we just call this a job well done? Boss— wait!"