Chapter 26 – Kidnapping (1)

  "You almost had her. It's rare to hear of a normal person defeating a noble, at least outside of legends." The receptionist smiled at me as we navigated the tunnel, prompting me to return her smile while I paused my inspection of my cards.

  "You know, it really is impressive. You didn’t even question it, even after System-chan dropped a hint," the goddess remarked, causing my smile to waver. I was puzzled until my surroundings shifted abruptly from a hallway to a room filled with girls.

  [Luck has intervened to prevent interference. Luck has altered your teleport destination.]

  The system ceased toying with her new cards, her eyes now gleaming as she began hopping around, exciming, “Bonus, bonus, bonus!”

  [Luck has activated a bonus date.]

  “Hey, Lilite, you messed up the teleport location,” one of the girls remarked to another. Her appearance suggested she was overworked, as she leaned wearily against a partially emerged pilr.

  “Well, y'all have already seen what he can do, you knew this might not be easy,” the receptionist said in a casual tone to one of the girls, continuing to move forward as if we were still navigating the halls.

  “Shut it you two,” a woman in only a sleek bck open suit like top commanded.

  “Yes, boss,” they both responded in unison.

  "Sorry, kid, but we're going to have to rough you up a bit," the boss said, turning her attention to me.

  “So, the fabled kidnapping is finally upon us,” the goddess remarked, her tone brimming with excitement about my imminent abduction.

  “Bonus date starto!”

  [Target: A date with a kidnapper.]

  [Name: ??? Level: ??? Affection: 199Hasn't had a job in a long while. Pnning to start your price at 100 million cores.]

  It took me a moment to process what was happening, but once I did, I couldn't help but ugh. “I am not getting kidnapped,” I decred, activating Shadow 13’s card and unching a dagger. The weapon passed through the supposed boss's shoulder, turning into smoke as it did.

  “Sorry, kid, it's useless,” she said with a cocky smile, her shoulder gradually solidifying again.

  My ughter only grew as I slowed down time around her. In an instant, Yuno materialized, her fist connecting with the kidnapper's stomach, folding her in half.

  Yuno let her unconscious body slide off her fist as she stood up. For the first time, I saw emotion on her face—a surging rage—as her golden eyes scanned the room. When her gaze finally locked onto mine, her expression returned to its usual stoicism.

  She must have used one of her abilities to regain her composure, but I was gd to see her concern for me.

  ‘Are you okay, brother?’ Her voice echoed in my mind.

  ‘Yeah, I just got here, really. She seems to be the only tricky one,’ I responded mentally as I finished surveying the area, using my Enhanced Speed to discern all the relevant information while simultaneously slowing everyone but Yuno.

  ‘Still they require… lessons,’ she replied, her gaze sweeping the room again as if committing each girl's face to memory.

  "Yeah, let's make it clear that I'm not one to be kidnapped," I said, gncing at the minute left on my card timer.

  “And see here, System-chan, this is what's called a 'fg',” the goddess expined, tapping her pointer on a chalkboard while the system, with a notebook and pen, sat attentively at a desk taking notes.

  “Yes, Mother,” System responded to the pleased-looking goddess. Abruptly, the goddess ceased her lecture and materialized behind me, pointing accusingly at Yuno. “Can you believe what she just thought about me?”

  "Good," I muttered, activating Deceive, not having the time to entertain this stupid goddess.

  We must have vanished right before their eyes, judging by the shocked expressions that were just beginning to form around us.

  “We—” she was the first to be struck by the back of my dagger, which I had pulled from my inventory and thrown.

  “Activ—” she was next, as I followed the pattern Yuno projected into my mind, showing me each girl's next move before she could act.

  None of them saw the back of the dagger coming before it rendered them unconscious, and I was being merciful. My strikes were precisely calcuted to incapacitate them with a single blow, while Yuno moved from girl to girl, hitting with enough force to shatter bones and send bodies crashing into each other.

  The few left conscious screamed in agony until her follow-up strike quieted them. It became clear that Yuno wasn't as composed as I had believed; I double-checked to ensure they were still alive—fortunately, she hadn’t killed anyone.

  I found myself uncertain whether to be impressed more by Yuno's ferocity or by the resilience of the people here.

  The entire battle felt like a massacre; the girls barely had time to panic before they were knocked out.

  Finally, Yuno reappeared in front of me just as my dagger connected with the st girl, the timer still showing plenty of seconds to spare. In just ten seconds, more than fifty girls were incapacitated. Checking my inventory, I noted that I had thrown thirty-three daggers.

  [Bonus date end]

  With that, I knew it was over. In the system's hand was a new card of the boss, but before she could do anything further, she froze and gnced at Yuno, then hurried towards one of my daggers. I watched it reappear in my inventory before she continued retrieving the rest, one after another.

  'I didn't know she could do that,' I thought, watching her work. When she finished, she smiled at Yuno.

  “Isn't that great, System-chan? She praised you,” the goddess said, rubbing her head, and then System happily went back to pying with her new card.

  “Could you always communicate with my system?” I asked Yuno.

  “No, she is here now, exists,” she expined, indicating that the system was in this world and could be interacted with, at least verbally, or in Yuno's case, mentally.

  “Of course she exists; it's take your daughter to work day,” the goddess quipped. After finishing, she appeared behind me again, peering over my shoulder at Yuno. “Can you believe the kind of nguage she's using? You should wash her mouth out with soap!”

  I used my Observe to look around, but I couldn't find an exit from this seemingly enclosed room. I did notice another sealed room, likely where I was originally supposed to be sent, but it offered no way out either.

  ‘Hmm, now how will we get out of here?’ I pondered as I began to scour the store. I had plenty of points to spend, and I certainly didn't pn to just wait for someone to find us.

  "Sorry, brother," she apologized, unable to simply teleport us out, while helping me methodically search the room.

  ‘Not like I'm much better,’ I mused, scanning the shop for potential items. There were plenty of tools that might work, but understanding what was trapping us was needed to choose the right one. So, I switched to searching for something to secure the girls, since it looked like we might be here a while. Yuno, sensing my intentions, began to move the girls, showing no care as she dragged them across the floor.

  “Target confirmed,” a girl suddenly appeared in front of me, making me jump and prompting Yuno to sh out. In one fluid motion, Yuno was pinned down, and another girl appeared, tapping her and knocking her out.

  Just as I was about to use my goddess points to reset Shadow 13’s card, the girl spoke.

  "Understood. Sorry, sir, we came to secure you by royal decree. We were unaware that your sister was also involved. We will be evacuating both of you to a secure location until we can be certain there are no further threats," the ninja-like girl reported before time froze.

  [Chain date end.]

  "Well, that's a wrap, and little System-chan is tired; it’s been a long day," the goddess reported, accompanied by a yawning system.

  “Come on, System-chan, let Mother tuck you in. Say goodnight to Daddy,” she said while picking up the silhouette.

  ‘Night, Daddy,’ she yawned again, waving at me. Then it quieted down, and I could finally think without interruptions. She was right; today had been a long day. I couldn’t wait to get home and crawl into bed with the rest of my family.

  Allowing time to resume, I was escorted out and into a room where I received a full check-up while a woman documented the day’s events. Not long after, I was cleared to leave, and we were teleported to my house where my family was waiting.

  As soon as Sakura saw me, she jumped into my arms, quickly followed by Mom who enveloped both of us in a hug. She even pulled Yuno into the embrace, praising her for her hard work. Miki, the other Worrywart, stood slightly apart from our group, her drink absent, but her bastard sword was at the ready.

  Alice, the least worried of all, had fallen asleep while waiting. Angelica, on the other hand, was not worried; she was absolutely livid. Her expression could give an angry Yuno a run for her money as her wings attempted to materialize behind her.

  I'm starting to think angels might be even more bloodthirsty than Oni. But man, it feels good to be cared for.

  [Card]

  Spoiler

  [colpse][Name: Smira Level: 170Affection: 213Trait:Goddess: Goddess of Deceit.Primary Blessing: World of Smoke tier 5Lesser Blessings: You Almost Caught tier 6, Trip tier 4, PaperWork tier 2, High tier 3, Double Take tier 4]

  [World of Smoke: Your world is made up of smoke.]

  [You Almost Caught: Grants a significant boost in eluding capture or detection.]

  [Trip: Ability to make a target stumble or fall unexpectedly.]

  [PaperWork: Enhances efficiency and effectiveness in administrative and bureaucratic tasks.]

  [High: Provides a tactical advantage when positioned above the target.]

  [Double Take: Receive double the intended amount from any yield or outcome.]