She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

AN HOUR AND A HALF had passed since they’d begun the operation to complete the deal and use it as evidence.

A lone carriage headed toward the baron’s mansion on the outskirts of town. They’d confiscated the vehicle from the traffickers’ hideout, and a disguised Union member drove it. Inside the rattling carriage, Mira was dressed up like a maid.

Figuring she was free to relax until the carriage arrived, Mira stared at the getup she’d been forced to wear and sighed. “I never thought they’d make me dress like this…”

The confiscated contract had specified this maid outfit, since the human traffickers even added incentives to their disgusting sales. The contract included several additional services with delivery, such as a maid costume. Specifically, the maid uniforms were Victorian-style ones characterized by long skirts. 

Hurriedly searching the mansion, the security guards had discovered the outfits prepared for the girls. Naturally, Mira had to wear one.

“Still, I never cease to impress. Everything looks good on me!” Mira clearly wasn’t too bothered to see herself in the outfit. It was a shame how unladylike her grin was.

After she’d been jostled in the cart for a while, the driver called out, “We’ll arrive soon.”

“Right. Thanks,” Mira replied. 

She lay down on the mat inside her crate, preparing to feign sleep again. Thus, they finally arrived in front of Baron Ardoloris’s mansion.

The driver spoke with the gatekeeper. He had to include a number of code words in the chat, but he handled them with aplomb. Thanks to Kagura’s interrogation magic, they’d learned everything they needed for the deal and more, so the carriage got through the gate without rousing suspicion.

Entering the property, they circled around back. The baron had requested that the deal be finalized behind the mansion, not in front. In a place where no other eyes could see, one man awaited.

“Ooh! You’re here, you’re here. This way. Come, come!” He tried to keep his voice low, but his excitement was mounting.

The man was plump, and his face left much to be desired, but he was at least well dressed. He was none other than Baron Ardoloris. Given that he’d come to greet the carriage in person, he obviously couldn’t contain himself.

The driver bowed. “I brought the wine and flowers you ordered. Please ensure they’re to your liking.” This was another required exchange.

“Perfect, perfect. Let’s see…” Unable to bear waiting any longer, the baron ran over and peeked into the carriage expectantly. Displeasure immediately became clear on his face. “Hey! What the hell is the meaning of this? There’s only one box. I ordered three minimum! Where are the others?!”

They obviously wouldn’t endanger the other girls. Bringing the particular ones he’d named was especially out of the question. Mira was the only sacrifice, so there was only one box. But since the baron had ordered at least three children, requesting more than one by name, the discrepancy enraged him.

“Yes, we’re quite aware. Those items are prepared, but due to a recent burglary, security is tight in the area where they’re stored. Delivery posed too much risk. We’re working on a work-around, so we’d appreciate patience for the time being,” the driver replied readily, almost in a whisper. 

They’d prepared this response to the baron’s complaints well in advance. The security chief came up with the script, hoping it would hoodwink the baron temporarily.

“Hmm…I see. Well, fine.” Ardoloris remained dissatisfied but seemed convinced for now. “When will that delivery arrive?”

“Tomorrow, I swear,” the driver said.

Although he’d told the baron to wait, he’d promised to deliver the girls sooner than Ardoloris expected, which returned his mood to normal. “Ooh, good, good. I can hardly wait. What about this one, then?” His lips curled into a lascivious grin; he no doubt hoped to sate his needs with this girl until others arrived.

“Consider this an apology for keeping you waiting. We procured some of the finest flowers from another location, so I brought them to see how you like them.” The driver’s performance was excellent. His expressions and speech were truly like those of an actor, proficiently raising the baron’s expectations.

“Well, why don’t I have a look?” Ardoloris practically lunged at the box in lust.

The driver tried to take the lid off the crate properly, but before he could do so, the baron wrenched it open. When he saw Mira “sleeping” inside, his eyes widened. With trembling hands, he gently put down the lid and looked Mira over with bated breath.

“Exquisite…” he mumbled in an undertone. His eyes saw nothing but Mira now—the man was fully charmed. “Marvelous, just marvelous. Well done, getting your hands on such a product…and bringing her to me! I assure you I’ll patronize your business again. I’ll tell you what—name your price for this one, and I’ll pay it.”

He must’ve really liked Mira. He seemed over the moon. When the driver suggested ten million ducats, the baron swiftly replied, “Of course, my good man!”

That was pricey, but he apparently considered Mira worth it. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation on his face; in fact, he grew more elated by the second.

“I’ll have the money ready tomorrow. Come back then. I’m afraid I’ll be busy for the rest of the evening!” Rattling all that off quickly, the baron snatched Mira up and buried his face in her chest. He took a few deep breaths and smiled in ecstasy. “Aah, that’s the stuff!”

Overwhelmed by disgust, the driver clenched his fist, ready to strike. But when Mira opened her eyes slightly to look at him, he stopped himself. Raising a hand now would doom the entire operation.

“I understand your excitement, my lord, but would you please sign this now? My superiors won’t be happy with me otherwise.” The driver did his best to hold back, and once he’d regained his composure, he feigned calm and handed over a contract. 

This document would be necessary to prove that the transaction had occurred.

“Gracious… Fine, fine. I understand.” With Mira in his arms, the baron accepted the pen and signed the contract. He didn’t pay his signature much attention, apparently too interested in what was to come. As soon as he finished writing, he stepped off the carriage and carried Mira away.

“There.” The driver gingerly stored the contract in a tube. Gazing at Mira for a moment and praying for her safety, he turned the carriage around and left the baron’s mansion.

***

Baron Ardoloris entered the building and headed downstairs with carefree steps.

The stairs seemed to go downward forever. When he finally reached the bottom, he went through several doors. At the end of all those was the final room; the baron placed Mira in a bed at the center.

“Now we’re here… This is a special room for our love to blossom in. Nobody will interrupt us, and there’s no escaping,” he whispered ecstatically, lighting what looked like incense burners in the meantime. After a while, odd-colored smoke began to rise.

That explains why there were so many doors along the way: They prevent escapes. Ugh! He’s so disgusting, it makes my skin crawl.

An impenetrable, inescapable secret basement. No doubt the baron had it built just for these horrors. Disgusted by his awful tastes, Mira used Biometric Scan to search her surroundings for any other poor girls he might’ve victimized. No signals nearby fit the bill.

Upstairs, perhaps? Or somewhere else…? She wanted to save any others as soon as possible. 

While she pondered, the baron continued his preparations. He chained Mira’s hands to the bed to keep her from resisting. To make matter worse, he’d groped her many times by now.

You bastard. You perverted little baron. Remember what you did to me today. I’ll kick your ass harder for every time you touched me! 

Suppressing her rising disgust and rage, Mira waited for the signal that it was time to act.

The plan went as follows: Security guards would wait in front of the mansion under the pretext of patrolling. When they were ready, Mira would escape. Naturally, the baron would give chase. She’d flee the mansion and beg the guards for help. The baron would follow quickly after her, and since he’d be pursuing her, he couldn’t deny what was happening.

They’d even asked another noble living in the city to help them as a witness. He’d “just happen” to watch the scene, making it impossible for the baron to use his authority to hush this up.

According to First Pupil’s regular reports to Mira, however, there was a problem. It was apparently taking that noble time to ready his personal guard, forcing Mira to wait and withstand this torture. She was running out of time; the baron’s breathing grew heavier, and his eyes looked crazier by the second.

“Good morning, my princess. Awaken, awaken!” He started shaking Mira back and forth. 

Apparently, he wanted her to wake up now, which meant he was “ready.” Based on this act, the baron liked to see girls struggle at his mercy as he violated them.

He’s the worst of the worst. No doubt about it.

After he’d shaken her a few times, Mira naturally opened her eyes. She quickly surveyed the room, spotting an exit in no time.

“Meh heh heh… You look confused. It’s fine, though. Everything will be wonderful soon.” The baron’s lips twisted farther as he put something in the incense burners. Even more smoke poured out.

That sickly sweet scent… It’s got to be some drug.

The more the smoke spread, the more lust reddened the baron’s face. Mira had to assume the incense smoke was an aphrodisiac, but she was unaffected, since the drug would be classified as a status effect. Mira had a high resistance against those, and she’d downed a resistance potion from Kagura just in case. As such, she remained perfectly calm while she witnessed the baron going mad with desire.

He was now practically hyperventilating, and his eyes burned like those of a ravenous beast. When Mira saw that, she realized that she was running out of time. If she kept waiting for the others to be ready, she’d be in danger.

“Ooh, I can’t get enough of that frightened look!”

Mira was actually more disgusted than anything, but maybe that looked like fright to the lust-crazed baron. He screeched as if he couldn’t take waiting anymore and closed in to have his way with Mira.

She hadn’t received the signal yet, but she knew that she had to act now. She bent her right leg, ready to kick the baron away when he approached.

Then, in a room which should’ve contained only Mira and the baron, a third person’s voice echoed: “That’s enough!” At the same time, all the smoke spewed by the incense burners blew away.

What?! Mira stopped her leg.

“Who goes there?!” the baron screamed, outraged by the disturbance.

Both turned around and saw a single man. He looked like a hero making a dashing appearance in the nick of time to save his heroine—except that he wore almost nothing besides a pair of white pants. His upper body was bare, save for a white cape and red scarf. A towel with a cute drawing of a cartoon character covered his face.

Okay, who the hell is that?! Mira screamed mentally. The intruder was no ordinary weirdo; he looked like he might even be a bigger pervert than the baron.

“Who are you?” the baron demanded. “This is our love nest, and you don’t belong. How did you even get in here?!”

The baron had claimed that nobody would enter, yet someone had, so perhaps that worried him more than the man’s appearance.

The half-naked man sauntered over dramatically. “As you can see, I’m simply an everyday ally of justice,” he declared theatrically. “I heard screams for help and came rushing to provide aid.” 

He stopped in front of the baron, flipped his cape, and struck a pose. His bearing was incredibly smug, yet clearly backed by genuine confidence. Behind him, in the corner of the room, was a big hole Mira could just barely see from her perspective. No doubt he’d entered through that.

I don’t remember screaming for help, Mira thought. This wasn’t the time to comment, though, so she stayed silent.

The baron wouldn’t do the same, however. “Bah! Justice? You’re merely a pervert!” he said, expressing Mira’s thoughts as well.

The intruder’s outfit was so bad that even the perverted baron was calling him lewd. If someone dressed like this “hero” had been walking down the street, the police would probably have arrested him in no time. That was how weird he looked.

“Appearance means nothing in the pursuit of justice,” the interloper retorted, brushing off Ardoloris’s insult. Seemingly wanting to avoid being lumped in with the baron, though, he clarified, “Besides, my regular costume’s in the wash right now.”

So he did have clothes that suited a hero…or a man hoping to play one, at least. How much would those garments differ from his current indecent outfit? Mira couldn’t imagine, given how dire he looked at that moment. She ultimately decided that he’d be a weirdo either way.

“More importantly, are you ready?” Presumably trying to move the conversation away from his clothes, the half-naked man struck another pose and issued a threat. “You’ll pay the price for the sin of making such an innocent little girl cry!”

I wasn’t really crying either… She hadn’t screamed or cried. 

As the situation unfolded, Mira glanced at the man. He smiled and nodded back as if to say, There’s no need to fear now.

His eyes peeked from the gaps in the cartoon-branded towel; they had a trustworthy gleam, despite belonging to a pervert. It was just a shame that everything else about him ruined that impression.

“Damn you… Flirting with my girl now, are you?!” Apparently misunderstanding, the baron grew even more enraged and grabbed a staff from the wall. He pointed the tip at the half-naked man and roared, “Diiie!”

Intense light suddenly burst from the staff. It was no magic of the baron’s, however; rather, the staff seemed to be a magical weapon. Not a normal one either. Based on the quantity of mana pouring from it, it seemed powerful enough to fight a high-level monster.

The staff struck a direct hit, causing an intense boom as dazzling light shone forth. Taking such a blow without shielding herself might’ve been fatal even for Mira. Was the half-naked man okay? When the light faded, she looked for him.

He indeed stood there as if nothing had happened at all. The only change was that he’d calmly stretched his hand out in front of him. He hadn’t evaded; he’d caught the destructive beam of light in his hand.

“Fear not, young lady. I’m not so weak as to be defeated by such tricks.” Pervert Number Two clenched his outstretched hand, raised his index finger, and wagged it tauntingly. He even winked through his towel mask.

If Mira were a real child—and if the intruder weren’t dressed so outlandishly—she might’ve seen him as genuinely heroic. Unfortunately, his over-the-top act just exasperated her.

“It’ll be better for you in the long run if you just give up now,” he declared, striking another pose. Despite his appearance, he had impressive abilities indeed. “What will you do?”

Watching the confrontation, Mira planned her next move. Just now, she’d finally received a “ready” signal from First Pupil. 

Circumstances had changed, however. If she continued with the strategy as planned, she could potentially get this well-intentioned(?) third party hurt. If Mira ran away, the baron followed, and the half-naked man followed him, things would look awfully bad for the latter. Given his current appearance, one could easily assume he was the baron’s accomplice, and anyone could imagine what would happen to him next.

Hrmm. What to do…?

At this rate, their strategy would fall to ruin. Knowing that she couldn’t discount this intruder’s sense of justice, she explained what was happening to First Pupil and told him to put things on hold for now.

Meanwhile, the men’s confrontation escalated. The half-naked one didn’t back down. Far from it, he continued to defend himself flawlessly against the baron’s myriad attacks.

“Damn you! Damn you! What is your problem? Who are you?!” the baron roared, even more flustered than before.

“As I said before, I’m simply an everyday ally of justice.” The half-naked man struck another pose. Perhaps it symbolized his sense of justice? Unfortunately, to a third party, it only looked like he was egging the baron on.