Chapter 32 "Frenetic in Glafelden Town I"

It has been two days since Anggi and her small team left Glafelden. For a town with nearly 10,000 residents, the loss of three people was no big deal. In fact, it seemed trivial. The people wouldn't care about everyone coming and going from this town.

But this time, it was different. One of the three who left was the most wanted person in the country. It was because the Crown Prince of this country himself had passed the order. The Royal Capital, Lurich, deployed a platoon of special forces on this searching mission. That was why the Glafelden Town became noisy with this army. Almost every time, they patrolled all over the city, making the townspeople worried about what would happen to their town.

The special forces questioned many residents and even interrogated some of them intensely. They continued to do this all day from dawn to midnight. The whole town now knew that they were looking for a girl with long ears in Glafelden. Of course, the people knew nothing about the girl. Because if it was true that an Elvian girl lived here, then it would definitely be uproar long ago. That didn't stop the special forces from looking for her.

The mayor's office of Glafelden, where the troops were temporarily staying, seemed to be busy with the movement of troops in and out. Each member submitted a report every once in a while, then went out again looking for information.

In one of the study's halls sat a stout man who looked to be in his forties. His eyes read one by one the reports on the table given by his members.

"Captain Guffy! This is the latest report from the investigation results," said a man while carrying several pieces of paper. "Here's a list of some suspicious people."

Guffy immediately grabbed the report that had just been placed on the table and read it. After a while, he let out a long groan. "Either the girl we are looking for is good at hiding, or we who are too stupid can't find any trace of her."

The man straightened his back against the back of the chair and made himself comfortable. Then sip a cup of tea that has been served earlier. The scorching sun shining on him from behind slightly roasted the nape of his neck, but Guffy paid no heed to such a trivial matter.

"Allow us to find out more! It's only a matter of time!"

"Well. I leave it to you, Second Sergeant Fritz!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Fritz sat on the sofa in the middle of the room. His expression was slightly tense, his facial muscles looked stiff. Maybe because he heard voices of discontent from his superiors. The man in his twenties promised to find someone they were looking for, though he wasn't sure he could do it as quickly as he said.

"Captain!" cried Fritz, breaking the several seconds of silence.

"What?"

"Prince ordered us to find a Haier-Elvian girl in this city. But does Haier-Elvian really exist? Or is it just some kind of hidden code?"

"I don't know. I really don't know either." Guffy twirled his long mustache. It seemed that he really didn't like having his groomed mustache exposed to even a little tea. He took a handkerchief from his uniform pocket then wiped his mustache. Then cast a glance at Fritz. "At first, I thought it was just a silly Elvian myth. But I believe Prince Alucard. If he said that, then I can't help but believe it."

Fritz's expression loosened, then lowered his gaze to the floor. "Captain, what kind of creature do you think Haier-Elvian is?"

"Like you read in history books. They are mixed creatures between humans and Elvian who have enormous magical powers. I've never seen magic with my own eyes, but it seems like a pretty powerful thing. Maybe that's what the prince wants." Guffiy paused and then looked out the window. "I don't know what he will do to that girl. Prince Alucard will likely recruit her as his exclusive subordinate. That's why we were ordered to take the girl by force but treat her gently."

Fritz was momentarily stunned by the brief explanation and deduction from his superior. The young man then squeezed his hand. "If the prince intends to do so, isn't there a possibility that he might use it to start a war with neighboring countries?"

"Honestly, I don't even know. But if that's the case, all we have to do is fight under his name, don't you think?"

Hearing Guffiy's words, the young man just nodded heavily. In his heart, he was worried that the war scenario would actually happen in the future. All he thought about was the fate of his siblings.

A second later, his thoughts flew away to the pseudo-future, where war was raging, destroying the city where his younger siblings lived. The buildings were almost completely leveled to the ground. The fire burned houses, streets, gardens, livestock, as well as innocent civilians, including his two younger siblings. While Fritz could only kneel and mourn the bodies of his brothers who were burned to ashes. The smell of his two brothers' charred flesh pierced his nose, making him want to vomit. But the torment was not commensurate with the pain of losing the person he loved so much.

Slowly Fritz fell into the abyss of darkness, where no one could reach him. The young man would have sunk to the bottom there forever if his boss had not called his name out loud.

"Fritz!!" snapped Guffiy, after several times the young man had not heard his call.

"Y-Yes, Captain!" Fritz flinched. The loud voice of his superior made him straighten up reflexively.

"From now on, I want you to arrest everyone whose movements are suspicious. Suppose until now the girl's whereabouts are unknown to the townspeople. In that case, this girl is likely good at disguising herself and blending in with the residents."

"Yes, Sir! I've already taken that into account," said Fritz.

"Good, keep going! Please note that our target has the ability to use magic, so don't let your guard down!"

"Yes, Sir! Then I'll pass this message to all soldiers!"

Fritz stood up and saluted Guffy, then turned toward the large doorway opposite the sofa. Having just made a few steps, he was immediately startled by a loud noise from the window, likewise with Guffy, who immediately turned towards the source of the sound.

It turned out that the sound was caused by a dove hitting the window pane. Maybe because it was so clear, the bird didn't notice the presence of glass blocking its path. It was still standing outside the window as if waiting for someone to let him in.

Guffiy might have ignored it if the dove hadn't had a roll of paper at its feet. The man walked over and opened the window, letting the dove perched on the wooden frame. The special forces captain named "Elite Knight" took a small paper scroll from the bird's leg, then opened it and read its contents. His expression was a little dumbfounded but a moment later turned into a rage until he squeezed the paper tightly.

Fritz, confused by the change in his captain's facial expression, wondered in his mind. "Captain! What exactly was the content of the letter?"

But Guffiy ignored him and was lost in his own thoughts. His mouth was cursing incessantly, though softly, but Fritz could hear it clearly because of the room's silence.

"Idiot! How could he just send me this important information? If I meet him in person, I'll break his head on the spot!" Guffy cursed.

"Captain!" cried Fritz quietly. "Is everything okay?"

Guffiy glanced at his subordinates, who seemed curious about the contents of the letter.

"I just got information from a secret informant in this city, and it's very important."

"What is it, Captain?"

"The identity of the Haier-Elvian girl we are looking for. From now on, order the troops to find and capture all the girls named Anggi in this city!"

"Okay, Captain!" replied Fritz firmly.

In that instant, the entire platoon of the "Elite Knights" troops received a new order. That way, the range of their search criteria was getting narrower. At first, the Crown Prince ordered them to capture the 'Haier-Elvian girl' in Glafelden and bring her back to the capital. Now the order became more specific to capture the 'Haier-Elvian girl named Anggi' in this town.

With the identities of their target revealed, making their quest mission easier, too easy, in fact. Because 'Anggi' was an unusual name for this town. Of course, because that name didn't come from this world. Only a handful of people have that name in this city, let alone the name of Anggi Nandatria. It was now only a matter of time for the Elite Knights to smell her scent all the way to the outskirts of the city, to the 'Dark Night' base from which she came.