Jerome's POV

“All of you stay back and don’t you dare try do anything funny,” the woman said as they all tied us up on one corner of the room.

Never have I thought that I’d be involved in a ransom-hostaging case, especially not after I snuck out of the academy grounds. I only wanted to take a break from the academy, why do I have to be caught up into this mess?

The woman introduced herself as Vana Farasol, the sister of Storm Farasol. I know who she is; she is a member of our rival guild, Green Serpent. And she’s known in another name. The Cold Killer. From what I’ve heard, she was rumored to have killed her father.

But that is not what I’m supposed to be concerned about right now. Half of the passengers in the ship are held hostage in the upper lounge. The other half is held here in the lower lounge, where I am also currently at. As far as I’m concerned, if I don’t’ do something now, something worse will happen to us later.

I lifted my eyes up on the bandits within the room, counting them. There are three bandits surrounding us from the inside and two on the outside. I gazed at Vana who stood in front of us, her eyes fixated on the necklace she stole from one of the passengers.

“This looks perfect on me,” Vana said, smiling from ear to ear.

I bit my tongue down to contain the snort inside me. This person is clearly not the real Vana. And she’s also not the leader of the gang, judging by how carefree she is. Someone else is leading their gang inside the ship.

If I have to guess, that person would be in the upper lounge or in the ship’s control room. Vana—or maybe I should call her Vana wannabe—explained minutes ago their goal. Their goal was to demand money from the four kingdoms. A ransom in exchange for our safety and freedom.

I find it quite suspicious that these people only wanted ransom money in exchange for our lives. I thought of our current location on the map of Sorbius, pinpointing which part of the sea we are. I have memorized the map in my head because of one of our homework at the academy. It would be a piece of cake for me to identify the exact location of the ship.

I closed my eyes as I imagined the map, navigating myself on it. I gasped, abruptly opening my eyes as I realize where we’re at. Jasper Island is off on the east of Fortis, and north between Norn and Clove. The ship had been at sea for more than a day…

Which means that the ship is sitting in the middle of the four kingdoms. In the border where all kingdoms meet and share the territory. The perfect place to ask ransom from the kingdoms.

This is more than just a bandit gang’s attempt to demand money. They’re trying to sabotage something. Or someone.

I moved my arms behind my back, feeling the cold shackles cuffed around my wrists. How should I go my way around this? I clearly can’t just break it, and wreak havoc with my magic. I can easily deal with the bandits by myself, but there are hostages in the lounge and on the upper lounge.

“If you’re here, doesn’t that also mean that you snuck out of the academy, Vana Farasol?” I wondered, calling out the Vana wannabe.

We may not know each other personally, but as one of the only few S-class level wizard of the academy, I know most of the students’ names. I don’t know how much this wannabe knows about the real Vana Farasol, but if she knew she was a student of Jasper Academy, she would have done a better job at pretending to be Vana.

“The higher ups wouldn’t know,” the wannabe Vana replied. “Besides, staying there is pointless when I have nothing to do.”

She didn’t call me out. Most of the students in Jasper Academy would recognize me at one glance. She never reacted when she looked at me, not a hint of recognition on her face. And Vana and I shared a few classes together before.

“It seems my brother would also need me upstairs. I shall be leaving now, bye bye,” the wannabe Vana mused, waving a hand before leaving.

And the real Vana is certainly not as cheerful and enthusiastic as she is.

I heaved a breath, searching my surroundings. She said that her brother is upstairs, does that mean there’s also a wannabe Storm with them? Should he be their leader?

I wriggled my hand behind me, checking if it’s made of anti-magic stones. The shackles were made of normal metal, which means that I could break it with my magic. But if I use my magic now, the bandits will realize that I’m a wizard. I can’t let that happen.

They also took my gun away from me after they searched my body. They may be thinking that I am some kind of police or mercenary travelling alone. Using force to break the shackles won’t work either, unless I wanted to create an uproar.

I glanced at my surroundings, looking for an item that I can use to free myself from these shackles. I can’t do lock picking, but I could try in this situation. All I need is a piece of hairpin, or anything long and tiny enough to fit through the shackles’ keyhole.

I shot a glance at the little girl next to me, seeing black hairpins hidden in her lump of hair. The little girl was silently sobbing instead of bawling, keeping her voice down out of fear that the bandits might hurt her.

I approached the little girl, moving closer as I lower my head to talk to her. “Shush, don’t cry. This kind brother will help you,” I hushed, comforting the little girl. “Where’s your mom or your dad?”

The little girl sniffled, sobbing as she inhales her snot. “I-I don’t know. I was separated from them,” she bawled, crying with a little voice.

I comforted the girl, easing her fear as I reach for her back to caress it. She must be frightened and devastated of the situation. Her body was shivering so much that it’s like she’s having a seizure.

“All right, this kind brother will help you find your mom and save all of you. But I need your help first, will you help me?” I explained, gently explaining my intentions to the poor soul.

The little girl stopped crying, her tears halting from falling out of her eyes. She sobbed, nodding at me. “Will you really help us?” the little girl asked.

“Yes. I’ll help you because I’m a wizard,” I said, winking at her. A swift sign of determination showed through the little girl’s eyes. She’s not bad. The kid has guts. I kind of like her. “Okay, then will you lend me your hairpin?” I asked, pointing my lips on the hairpin on her hair.

“Sure, you can have it!” she exclaimed in a low voice.

I reached for the little girl’s hairpin, crouching down as I reach the pin with my mouth. I won’t be able to reach the pin with my hands, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be seen as suspicious by those bandits.

I bit the hairpin from the girl’s hair, slowly pulling it off her hair. I kept one eye on the bandits inside the room, making sure they wouldn’t notice my movements. I dropped the pin intentionally on the floor, picking it up with my hands.

I turned my back away from the bandits’ eyes, leaning against the wall as I properly hold the pin in my hand. I inserted the end of the pin in the keyhole, tinkering with it as I try to loosen up the shackles. I gritted my teeth as I ended up tightening it instead of loosening it.

I sighed, fiddling longer until I finally managed to loosen and remove the shackles. I held the shackles before it falls to the ground, preventing myself from being caught. I removed the shackles off my wrists, placing the shackle gently on the floor.

Good, I’m out. Now what?