The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Noble in a World with a Skewed Gender Ratio - 34-35

Chapter 34: Well-Prepared

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“Tch…. Storms are brewing, huh…”

The leader of the enemies who had abducted me muttered in annoyance. It had been five days since then. How did I know? Well, because they didn’t blindfold or tie me up. In exchange, I always had one particular girl standing by my side, acting as a guard. It was the tanned women that Miinya had fought against. Maybe… They were confident she would be able to catch me anytime I tried to escape. Well, to be fair. I doubted I could escape from her either. 

Then, where was I now? I was in the middle of the sea. Right. I was on a ship. The ship was quite big. It looked like those pirate ships you could see in movies. As far as I strained my eyes on top of the deck, there were no islands or anything nearby. Just the vast blue ocean.

Just where are they taking me to…

Nonetheless… These women were incredibly well-prepared. After they abducted me, they rode north on horseback and along the way, many other women came joining their group. It seemed those women were being prepared as a blockade. They were meant to handle those who came to rescue me. I couldn’t do anything else but hoping the people who were coming to rescue me were safe… 

On the second day, they boarded me on a ship. It seemed impossible for them to be able to prepare the escape this meticulously. This kidnapping didn’t seem like a mere kidnapping. These people must had the help of another country, but… There were too many things I didn’t know. 

Only one truth prevails! 

…Or so. 

“What are you thinking?”

“Just wondering where we’re going.”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

“Don’t waste your breath. The ship is already rocking too much and it’s only going to rock even more. Make sure the boy doesn’t get hurt. I don’t care even if you need to hold him down or tie him.”

“…I understand.”

Just like what the leader said, the ship was already swaying horribly. If the ship were to rock even more… It’d be bad. I would get seasick for real. I was grateful the tanned woman was holding me down so I wouldn’t get rocked in the ship, but..

I’m sorry if I end up throwing up on you, okay?

I apologized to her in my heart. After all, this woman was my enemy. I didn’t want to apologize to her out loud.

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~Side Maria~

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the news that El was kidnapped. It sounded like a joke. A bad joke. Upon learning the truth, I really didn’t know whether to praise or scold my son. But… I was proud of him. He exchanged himself in order to save Miinya, Erin and the other knights’ life. 

I immediately rode my horse to meet up with Miinya halfway.

“Madam… I…”

Miinya stammered. She was clearly blaming herself for the kidnapping. 

“El is safe, so pull yourself together!”

“-?!”

“From what I’ve heard… It’s highly unlikely they’re hurting El. It seems whatever their purpose is, they need El alive. Besides… I know El did what he did because he was thinking the same thing as me.”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s chase after them! We will bring El back! Do you think you can come with me, Miinya?”

“Yes!”

After reuniting with Miinya, we rode our horses toward the direction where they were taking El to. However, our path was littered by enemies. Our enemies were lurking everywhere, blocking our path. While we were busy fighting them off, Teresa and the others also came joining us. 

We captured those who were still alive and tied them up to ensure they wouldn’t commit suicide. We couldn’t afford to make a mistake here after all. 

“I didn’t expect they would’ve prepared so many forces to hold us back…”

Teresa said and I also share the same sentiment. 

“Let’s hurry up! We need to get to El-sama…”

“We can’t rush. If we do, we might make a mistake, Miinya.”

“…I’m well aware of that, but Teresa-sama…”

“…In any case… I don’t think we can make it in time…”

One of the enemies we had cut down told us before she said. Their comrades were heading north, to the sea. 

“Teresa!! Miinya!! The enemy is already on the ship!!”

“”-!!””

Even though we knew where they were heading off to, but we kept being ambushed by the enemies. They kept getting delayed and in the end… By the time we reached the northern coast of the continent… We saw the ship had already sailed away. El must be on that ship. 

“ELLLLL!!!!”

The ship sailed off, leaving my scream to be swallowed up by the ocean. 

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T/N: Definitely didn’t expect pirate route this early in the game 

Chapter 35: Halloween SS 

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“Good grief… El never ceases to surprise me.”

“…Is that a compliment, Tia?”

“Fufu~ What do you think?”

Back in my original world, Halloween was a famous event to celebrate. I tried to incorporate Halloween into this world and to my surprise, Halloween quickly gained popularity. The people in this world also started celebrating Halloween in no time.

That being said, I first started introducing Halloween by holding it in our territory. Thanks to the promotion done by our merchants, our territory was overflowing with people from all over the world, eager to celebrate Halloween. 

But still… The people’s enthusiasm was more than I expected. All the inns were full and some people were even willing to camp outside. 

No, but, you don’t need to go through that much trouble just to celebrate Halloween, okay?! There’s no need to go that far!!

And also, Tia and the others also came to celebrate Halloween. 

“Just for your information… I’m here too, okay?”

“Huh? I know that… Why do you need to say it like that, Lance?”

“Well… It seemed like you two were entranced in your own little world…”

“Fufu~ In our own little world… It’s not like that, though?”

“That’s right, Lance. We’re going to see a lot of stuff! Us three together! Right, Tia?”

“Mmphh!! (El, you idiot!)”

“Huh?! Why are you sulking like a pufferfish, Tia?!”

“I knew it… I’m just being a nuisance to you two… Maybe I should’ve gone with Mother instead…”

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We looked around various stalls together. Us three together. By the time I realized it, it was already dark. Time always passed by quickly when we were enjoying ourselves like this. But still, it really felt like Halloween when the sky got dark. It seemed Teresa-san was going to come to pick Lance up, so I decided to escort Tia back to her inn. 

“Ah, can you wait here for a bit?”

“Hm? Sure.”

I was standing in front of the door to Tia’s room when she asked me to wait here. After waiting for a while, I could hear Tia’s voice coming from inside the room. 

“Come in, Kai…”

Huh?! Is it really okay for me to enter a girl’s room?! Especially when the girl is Her Highness herself?! She’s a literal princess though?!

“…El?”

Tia’s voice seemed to be urging me to come quickly. 

“…I’m coming in.”

Upon entering the room, I saw Tia with bandages wrapped around her bare skin. She was trying to dress up as a mummy. 

“I-If you don’t give me candy, I-I will play a trick on you…!”

I was so captivated by her appearance that I ended up finding myself hoping to be tricked by her.

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T/N: I thought Tia is going to dress up in a maid outfit… But mummy is cute too!