“… My sister, has been kidnapped.”

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Johnny Winte’s expression was quite pale as he uttered the last words.

As soon as he brought up the word that Seneran Winte had been kidnapped, he shook his body anxiously.

At least, judging from Johnny’s hypersensitive reaction, I was able to infer that he wasn’t lying.

Always smiling or expressionless with an unknown intention, the fact that he showed his true feelings through his expression to this extent meant that he had no time to hide his feelings.

With this state of mind, of course, you wouldn’t be able to afford to lie either.

Of course, apart from that, it was a little strange that he was so convinced that his sister had been kidnapped.

“Can you tell me why you think your sister was kidnapped?”

“Until this morning, my sister was happily preparing to go out, looking forward to today’s meeting. We also confirmed that you were inside the Wintemire building by mid-morning.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that I couldn’t check his appearance. Since he didn’t show up at the restaurant, I didn’t think much about skipping meals because of his afternoon schedule, but about 30 minutes ago, an unidentified letter arrived from Wintemire.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… This is the letter.”

Having said that, Johnny carefully took out a letter from the envelope containing something and showed it to Delfina.

“Senneran has Winte with him. If you want to get it back safely, hand over the ledgers and magic contracts of the Wintemire Company that have been traded over the past year.

The moment you try to negotiate a clumsy deal, next time I’ll enclose this woman’s finger instead of something like this.”

The letter Johnny showed was clearly a threatening letter directed at the Wintemire Company.

Since Seneran Winte is with him, he tells him to hand over the ledger and magic contract.

And below that, the place and method of handing over the trade goods were written in detail so as not to be tracked.

Some of the letters seemed to have some red marks left on them.

“This, this… .”

“Yes, it’s a blackmail field.”

On the premise that this letter brought by Johnny was indeed sent to the Wintemire Chamber, it seemed certain that Seneran Winte was kidnapped.

Seeing our reaction, Johnny hurriedly hid the threat letter we had shown him.

“That’s why most of the people in the Wintemire Company, including the older sister I was supposed to meet with today, are busy dealing with this incident.

So, I’m sorry, but I think the meeting we were supposed to share today will have to be postponed to another day. I am here to tell you this.”

Does this mean that he thought of me and Delfina, who would be waiting for him even in the midst of all this, and moved to the meeting place?

He was a person who had no choice but to feel that he was a merchant to the core.

“… What is public opinion within the Wintemire Company?”

Delphina asked Johnny with a look of genuine concern.

“At the last meeting of high-ranking officials I saw, the public opinion was about half and half.”

“Half-and-half is… .”

“The public opinion is that even if it means handing over a year’s worth of ledgers and magic contracts, my sister, Seneran Winte, must be returned safely.

And as soon as the magic contract is handed over, the right to contract with other business partners is also transferred, so the existence of the business is at stake, and the possibility of Seneran Winte returning safely is low, so the public opinion is that it should be abandoned.”

“then… .”

That’s usually the case.

The scariest thing about the kidnapping threat was that the other party had the initiative in the transaction from beginning to end, even if the other party’s conditions were met.

Even if the other party obediently accepts this condition, the other party may make other threats.

It would be a natural result for the opponent who achieved his goal to end the life of a hostage who could later become a witness.

Still, the fact that about half of the public opinion of the higher society insisted on saving her probably means that Seneran Winte was that much of a key figure in the Wintemire High Society.

“Johnny, which side were you on?”

“… I was on the side of having to save my sister.”

“Then, the conference hall where your seat is empty is now… .”

“… Public opinion is probably leaning toward giving up on sister.”

Could this be the reason for his restless attitude, as if he had to go back as quickly as possible?

“I have said everything I have to say, so let’s go back now. I hope the meeting isn’t over yet.”

In a previous life, it was said that the reason Johnny Winte fell into disbelief in humans was probably because his sister went missing.

If so, there was a good chance that this situation was an incident that triggered his sister’s disappearance.

If I can save a character named Seneran Winte, won’t I somehow prevent Johnny Winte from becoming the ‘money fiend Johnny’ of his previous life?

Maybe it’s already too late, but it was worth a try.

“Mr. Johnny.”

“I’m sorry, but I really have to go back now, Mr. Conrad.”

“There is a way to find out where your sister is.”

stop. His returning footsteps stopped.

“I know one person who is as talented as finding missing people.”

“… … In the absence of any evidence, do you think that is possible?”

“He is the one who can do that. You are probably trustworthy enough.”

“Brother… ?”

“Don’t you know that even if you go back now, it’s too late to convince the members of the company?”

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Johnny, who had been standing there quietly without saying a word, slowly turned his steps backwards.

“… I don’t like gambling very much.”

“… … .”

“… Since all options are gambling, I have no choice but to bet on the one with the highest probability.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

On the same day, in the basement of an unknown building.

shit. The sound echoed long below the empty cellar.

The sound of strong skin-to-skin clashing.

In the very center of the basement, the source of the sound, a brown-haired woman was sitting on a chair.

Her limbs were completely immobilized, tied to the chair, unable to move at all.

shit. With a groan, her head turned from right to left again.

Her right cheek, already flushed red, was emitting a tingling, slight fever.

“… … .”

“Wow, f*ck. This toxic bitch.”

“… … .”

“You said it would be easier if you just opened your mouth? Why can’t you understand the language, huh?!”

shit. The sound resounded once more, and at the same time, Seneran’s head turned to the right.

Her left cheek, which had been flushed no different from her right cheek, was radiating red.

“Tell me where the books and contracts of the Wintemire Company are kept.”

“… peel, … ah.”

“Oh, are you ready to say a little now?”

“no. F*ck you, asshole.”

“… … .”

“Wintemmere doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, you son of a gun.”

pug. With a sound, the man’s fist plunged into Seneran’s side of the head.

“Aagh!!”

Unable to bear the pain this time, she fell to the floor with the chair tied to her.

“Is this crazy bitch invisible? Why do you keep punishing me with a hawk!”

“Keugh, hahahahaha… !!”

Before long, the man kicked nervously at her body lying on the floor, and Seneran let out a muddy scream every time his shoes touched his body.

“Hey, bitch. As long as the Wintemire Company has chosen to abandon you, this is the only way for you to live!”

“Keuhuk, kaugh… !!”

“Is it really your wish to search? Can you just kill me here if you want to? yes?!”

After several kicks and several moans, Seneran spat out a mixture of blood and saliva from his mouth a couple of times.

With a trembling voice, she cautiously opened her mouth as if proposing to a man.

“… Hey, can you promise me?”

“What?”

“If you tell me the location of the Wintemire Co. contract, as you wish, will you guarantee my life?”

“Huh.”

Thinking Seneran finally had room to speak, the man changed his expression and answered her with a smile.

“Yes, of course I promise.”

“… … .”

“I don’t even want to use violence anymore. But what if the situation is like this?”

“It sucks… .”

“… As long as you behave calmly, I will never use violence against you again and let you go safely. Shall we make a promise with our pinky fingers, huh?”

In the end, no matter how cold-hearted a woman was, her heart would weaken when faced with a crisis.

Rather, it could be said that he was brave just by holding on until this point.

Of course, there was no possibility that the man would save Seneran, who had spit out all the information.

Thinking he had the upper hand, the man straightened the chair to which Seneran was tied and brought his face close to her eyes.

“Yes, tell me. Where are the books and contracts of Wintemire Corporation?”

“The books and contracts are all managed by Blanche… .”

“… Blanche?”

The man tilted his head at the name of Inseon from Wintemire Company, which he had never heard of.

I wondered if there was another person who had accumulated so secretly that even the spy planted inside the company could not be found.

“Who is that?”

“Wintemire store, 1st floor yard… .”

“Yes.”

“Cattle farms, goat pens… .”

“… … yes?”

“The oldest goat there, that kid is Blanche.”

“… … What?”

“All of the books and contracts of our Wintemire Co. are managed by that child.”

“… … .”

“Pu-sup, mee-eee-ee~.”

Seneran laughed impatiently and mocked the man with a goatee noise.

“… This bitch is real.”

After listening to the end, he realized that he had been manipulated, and the man’s kicks touched Seneran’s body again.

“… … Kyaha!!”

The kick, which had a rather strong impact, sent her rolling half a turn across the floor again, tied to the chair.

“Since this bitch comes out like a gentleman, have you lost your coward head?”

“Sir, have you searched all the shrines? I think Blanche is far more polite than you. At least he doesn’t kick people.”

“yes? If you want it that way, you should do what Blanche can’t do again.”

Having said that, the man took out something made of steel from his pocket and held it in front of her eyes.

Knowing what it was, Seneran’s body trembled.

“What? You pretended to be strong, but it must have been hard to bear, huh?”

“… … .”

click. click. Along with the sound, Seneran tried hard not to be conscious of the sound the metal was making in front of him.

The pain in the three fingers of his right hand, which had already been hit by it, seemed to be throbbing.

Seeing that reaction, the man smiled happily.

“From what I’ve heard so far, they say that the thumb and little finger hurt the most, huh?”

“… … .”

“So I intentionally left only those two and chose them, but you volunteered so don’t blame me?”

Seneran desperately moved her hands and tried to get away from the man’s reach, but even among women, she was small, and there was no way she could overcome the man’s strength.

Her right hand, which was tied to the chair in the first place, had nowhere to escape.

Seneran’s right thumb slipped into the man’s hand all too easily.

“Be quiet, if you don’t want your fingers pulled out.”

“Come on, sleep… .”

click. With a sound, a thin nail was pulled out of Seneran’s thumb.

The basement was filled with the painful screams of a woman.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The place where I took Johnny was an Orthodox church building attached to the dormitory of the academy’s theology department.

“… This is a church, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you trying to tell the church something strange about my sister being kidnapped?”

I shook my head and replied to Johnny’s words, which became somewhat aggressive as the incident was an incident.

“No, there is someone in this church who can track Seneran Winte’s location.”

“Yeah?”

“I will bring Saint Clare. Please wait a moment.”

“… Saint Clare?”

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Johnny had a look on his face as he didn’t know how he was going to bring her back right before the afternoon service started.

I left him and Delphina in front of the church and walked into the church building.