177 177 – The Wooden Box
I sent Ciel to scout the carriage accompanied by those few people. When the scout bees entered the vehicle, I found a wooden box half an adult’s length and width, less than half a meter high.
“Why do we have to send something like this?” One of the carriage guards complained.
The other guard grumbled, “I’ve told you many times. You don’t have to question that anymore. You still want to work, right, new kid? So, shut up.”
Suddenly the box shook, and I ordered Ciel to circle it. The scout bee found several finger-sized holes in the box. Ciel couldn’t enter it and just peek from the outside. However, all I could see in my pond was darkness.
“Interesting.” I hissed, continuing to stare at my magic pond. I doubt it contains drugs. Maybe it contained forbidden animals or something the city guards weren’t allowed to see.
“Forbidden animal?” Anja asked. “What kind of animal do you mean, sir?”
I shrugged. “We will see later.”
***
Gina nodded after listening to my explanation delivered through Yua.
p<ᴀɴᴅᴀ>-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ、ᴄᴏm “Perhaps what your master said is true. That the things that were brought were not opiate drugs.” The woman responded. “However, that does not mean they are safe. Perhaps they hid it in their supplies.”ᴀɴᴅᴀ>
“I see.” The kunoichi responded.
“And one more.” Gina glanced at Elise, who was already focused on lurking among the rocks. “Don’t kill anyone unless we ensure they bring the opium.”
I added. “Follow what Gina says, Elise.”
The female warrior didn’t respond.
The carriage group drew closer to the group that Gina was leading. The vehicle was surrounded by men on horses. Like Gina’s group, they also came from different job classes.
Gina gave a signal, then her group and Raymund’s servants left, except for Kimi and the other ranged attackers.
The carriage guards were forced to stop and prepare with their weapons. The group leader, a man with long hair and carrying a magic staff, sighed.
“My name is Douglas, and we don’t want bloodshed.” The man said in an unenthusiastic tone. “So please leave us.”
He raised his staff, and a strong wind came to where Gina’s group was. It wasn’t the wind that could bounce your body off, but enough to make your hair flutter.
And, of course, it also fluttered Gina’s robes, exposing her bare lower body. The members of the carriage guards immediately gaped. Some even had nosebleeds. Meanwhile, Gina’s group giggled.
Elise, Yua, and Kimi were utterly unaffected. They’ve seen more than that, after all. The three women met almost naked people just a few missions ago in public.
“Wow, her ass is nice now, too,” Raymund commented, making his servants look up.
Gina cleared her throat with a blush on her face. “We will not rob you. We just wanted to check what you guys brought. If you don’t bring a cursed object like opium, we won’t bother you anymore.”
Douglas, the leader of the carriage group, sighed. “Ah, you’re the drug-fighting organization they were talking about, aren’t you? All right, you may check our supplies, but please don’t open what’s in the wooden box.”
“Why?” Gina raised an eyebrow. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴ(O)ᴠᴇl
Douglas dismounted and sighed a third time. “Please, don’t ask that. This is for you too.”
“Then we have no other choice.” Gina hissed with piercing eyes. “We have to resort to violence.”
Douglas shook his head, then motioned for the others to dismount. “Please, miss. We don’t want to do this….”
Douglas’ words were cut short by Gina, who stomped her foot, sending a boulder flying towards the man. Douglas shattered it with a single shot of strong wind.
The fight is inevitable. They all attacked each other with their own weapons.
“Don’t let anyone get killed!” Douglas gave the order after blowing away one of Gina’s group members with wind magic. “We don’t want to be on the bad side of this group.”
In a relatively short time, the carriage guards could be primarily incapacitated. With her body lightening skill, Yua could soar through the air like a feather to kick people’s heads hard, knocking them out instantly.
Meanwhile, Elise tackled one of them, sat on the man’s stomach, then started beating his face. The woman’s face looked so brutal and full of a murderous aura. Seeing that, Yua immediately caught her partner’s hand.
“Stop it, Elise!” The kunoichi warned. “We’re not killing them!”
The female warrior choked.
“S-Sorry…” She hastily got up from the body of the man whose face was starting to get bruised.
Seeing that his men had been defeated, Douglas raised his hand. “We gave up! You can check our carriage!”
The other carriage guards knelt down and raised their hands like the leader. The members of Gina’s group swiftly tied their hands.
“Ah, maybe I’ll be fired.” Douglas laughed bitterly. “Maybe it’s about time I quit this absurd job…. But, I need a lot of money for my lifestyle.”
While the others were checking the items in the carriage and guarding the horses, Gina, Elise, Yua, and Kimi boarded the carriage, surrounding the wooden box.
“I can’t have any kind of mental connection with what’s in here, sir,” Elise explained. “I can’t control it. I can’t figure out what animal is in it.”
“Then, lower the box and be alert around it.” The god of hope gave orders.
They, assisted by two group members, lowered the box to the ground. Then, they all kept their distance from the crate and had already raised their weapons. Only one person was assigned to open the box with several large locks on the lid.
They gasped loudly when they realized what was in the box: a naked woman with black hair who appeared to be in a very uncomfortable position, with her hands and feet tied with ropes and her eyes blindfolded.
“What does this mean?” Gina hissed at Douglas.
Instead of answering Gina, Douglas screamed frantically. “Don’t untie the knot, or we’ll be fired!”
“Holy shit.” Raymund could not hide his surprise. “She deliberately asked to be locked up like that.”
“Please, close this box again.” The woman in the box sighed with heavy breaths, flushed face and sweaty body. “I was the one who asked them to take me in this condition.”
“Why?” Instead of being surprised, Gina made a disgusted face.
“Because this is my desire.”
Without thinking, Gina closed the box and locked the lock again. Smacking his forehead, she said. “Please tell me at least you take her out when she eats and pees.”
“She doesn’t want to go out. She ate and drank using a straw inserted into one of the holes. We prepared a special porridge for her.”
“How does she pee? How does she defecate?”
“we clean her once a day.” Douglas averted his gaze. “You guys are lucky to open it when we’ve cleaned her.”
“What the fuck!!!”
“She asked for it herself!!!”
Gina was about to yell again but chose to restrain herself and wiped her face. “How long will she be transported like this?”
“Four days, and it’s still the first day,” Douglas answered again in an increasingly uncomfortable tone. “Actually, she asked for a week, but we’re worried about her.”
Gina looked at the guards with narrowed eyes. “And she is only accompanied by men?”
“Again, that was also her request.” Douglas shook his head. “Hey, please let us go. You didn’t find what you were looking for, did you? I don’t want any mess if this thing gets out. So, I beg you to stay silent.”
“I will pay you a lot of money.” The woman in the box finally joined in. “And you discussed this with Douglas. I’m done with talking. It makes things less fun.”
No one understood the woman’s last words. Raymund’s servants stared at the box in silence, except for Kimi, who seemed to be sleeping in a standing position.
One of the members then came to Gina and gave a report. “We didn’t find any prohibited items in this carriage.”
“Okay, let them go.” Gina massaged her forehead.
“Hmmm….” Raymund muttered. “Perhaps I can use this for further punishment. You guys will be put in boxes and tied up like that when we travel to visit other gods.”
Yua and Elise immediately looked up again. The kunoichi chuckled bitterly and shook her head. “Please, don’t be joking, sir.”
Never getting a response from her master, Yua gulped. “Sir?”
While the carriage guards were being released, Gina approached Raymund’s servants. “So, what are you going to do after this?”
Before the women answered, a cloud of mist appeared above Gina’s head. Elise and Yua immediately widened their eyes. Their bodies don’t float, meaning Raymund will send something instead of taking his servants.
“No, sir. Please, give it to me in a quiet place like usual.” Elise pleaded. “I’ll wrap it up.”
“I agree with Elise, sir.” Yua grimaced for being uncomfortable. “There are still a lot of people here.”
However, a giant penis-shaped device fell and hit Gina’s head. Raymund’s voice came out as soon as the communication device landed on the ground. “Hi, Regina. I am Raymund. Nice to meet you.”