I Sell Bottled Water for Gold in Another World!-Chapter 224: Frantic Nathan!

Alex appeared in the staging area, where Lucy was still unconscious, just as she had been when he’d parted ways with her.

The mountain lay quiet except for the wind rushing through the treetops. No sounds of pursuit. No sign that anyone had yet found the unconscious bandits yet.

He knelt beside Lucy and carefully lifted her into his arms. She had become lighter than when he had held her before.

"Time to go home," he said quietly.

He held her in his embrace tightly and concentrated in his mind once more.

White light enveloped them both.

Then, after a moment, the ancient world disappeared.

They appeared in the master bedroom of the Lotus Crown Villa in modern Mumbai. The recognizable environment was a strange déjà vu experience after the mountain cave and the bandit camp.

But Alex did not linger. If not for the system limitations that allowed him to travel only one world at a time, he would have taken her to Hartwell estate directly—the system ability was not teleportation after all.

Lucy had to return to the ancient world, return to the Hartwell manor where she belonged, where everyone was frantically worried about her.

He carried her through the villa and focused once more on the transition. The system responded immediately.

White light.

Transition.

The ancient world.

But not the warehouse this time. Alex had deliberately chosen a different arrival point....the woods near the Hartwell estate, close enough to reach by foot but at a safe distance that no one will saw him appearing suddenly.

-----

Hartwell Estate Study

The atmosphere was heavy with tension, tension that had accumulated without lessening for the four days straight since the kidnapping of Lucy.

Mr. Hartwell was seated behind his large wooden desk, his weathered hands clasped tightly before him, the knuckles white with tension. His eyes had dark circles around them, and it was clear that he had not had a proper night’s sleep since Lucy’s disappearance.

Nathan was pacing back and forth across the room like an animal trapped in a cage. His young face was twisted with worry and pent-up anger over his sister’s disappearance. He would pause every few seconds, turn abruptly, and start pacing in the opposite direction once again.

Jacob remained silently in the corner by the window, his imposing physique motionless and calm.

"Nothing!" Nathan burst out loudly, banging his fist against the wall. "Four days! Four entire days and we have managed to know nothing about Lucy! How is that even possible? How can they just disappear into thin air."

Mr. Hartwell looked up at his son with grave concern. "Nathan, you must calm yourself. Anger will never help you find Lucy."

"Calm?" Nathan whirled on him. "Calm? My sister has been missing for four days, Father! You don’t know what those bandits might do to her!

And with the power that I have gathered all this while, and yet I do not know where they have taken my sister. What is the point of all this power?"

Nathan took a shaky breath and forced himself to stand still. "I have ordered everyone I can...Tory and his men have been searching the eastern mountain passes for the third time. Rick took a group north toward the canyon areas for the fourth time today. Dick and Harry are similarly searching the southern and western directions."

He returned to frantic pacing again. "We have had more than two hundred men searching day and night and yet we have found nothing about her."

"And Alex?" Mr. Hartwell asked cautiously. "Is there any news about him yet?"

Nathan’s face contorted with confusion and frustration. "No! That is the worst thing that can happen today! Boss has also gone missing after being informed of her kidnapping by Jacob!"

"From the warehouse?" Mr. Hartwell frowned heavily.

"Yes! Jacob said Alex was inside the warehouse when he told him about Lucy’s kidnapping. But when we went to check on him hours later, the warehouse was empty. He was just gone!"

"But that doesn’t make any sense," said Mr. Hartwell. "The warehouse was under surveillance, so how could he leave without anyone seeing?"

Nathan threw up his hands in frustration. "I do not know! It is impossible that no one saw him leaving! But he did. We have looked everywhere for him too. It is as if he has disappeared into thin air!"

From Jacob’s corner, Jacob finally broke the silence. His voice was soft and meaningful. "It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have told about it to Boss Alex in such a rush at the warehouse," Jacob explained.

Nathan turned quickly. "What are you talking about?"

Jacob’s look held almost a tinge of regret.

"I told him about Miss Lucy being captured. The look on his face at that time.... Maybe Boss Alex decided to rescue her on his own," Jacob said.

"Himself?" Nathan stared at him. "Alone? That is suicide! As much as I believe in Boss’s strange abilities, the bandits have at least a dozen men with them! Even Boss cannot take on those numbers alone with his limited martial arts!"

"Perhaps," said Jacob. "But I believe he will succeed anyway."

Nathan looked at him like he had lost his mind. "How can you possibly believe that? You saw what happened to our guards; they are trained guards carefully selected from the syndicate to protect her, and yet they were overwhelmed! How could Brother Alex, one man, possibly succeed in such a situation?"

Jacob met his gaze steadily. "Because I have faith in Boss Alex."

"Faith?" Nathan’s voice rose. "This is not about faith, Jacob! They are simply butchers. Where is your confidence coming from?"

Jacob was silent for a long time.

He could never forget what he saw outside the warehouse that day. It was imprinted in his memory, and he could not rationalize or forget about it either.

One moment Alex was standing there, the next moment he was gone, replaced by a flash of white light so bright Jacob had to shield his eyes.

As he blinked rapidly to see clearly with his eyes, the space where Alex had stood was empty.

No footprints leading away. No sounds of running. Just... nothing.

Jacob had stood there in shock for several minutes, trying to understand what he had witnessed.

Alex was simply gone.

There was no way to explain the situation to them. If he described what he had actually witnessed outside the warehouse three days ago, they would think him insane.

Jacob had stood immobile for a full minute, his mind reeling with what he had just seen. And then he had rushed to where Alex had been standing moments before. Nothing, no trace, no explanation for his strange disappearance.

At that moment, Jacob’s understanding of reality had broken apart and been remoulded, but one thing was clear his boss was no normal human being. Whatever Boss was, whatever his power was...

Jacob had seen magic with his own eyes. Or something beyond magic. Something that defied all explanation.

"I don’t know how to explain," Jacob said, shaking his head. "You won’t believe me if I tried anyway. But what I do know for sure is that Boss Alex will return with Miss Lucy safely. Nothing will happen to them."

"How can you be so sure?" Mr. Hartwell inquired gently.

"Because I know what I saw," Jacob said. "And because of that, I have no doubt."

"Just a minute!" Nathan opened his mouth to begin an argument, but Mr. Hartwell held up his hand. "Jacob has never been one to speak without reason. If he says Alex will succeed, perhaps we should have some faith in—"

The study door suddenly swung open at that moment.

One of the members of the gang stumbled in, puffing for breath, his face flushed with exertion. "Boss! We spotted Big Boss and Miss Lucy—"

"Where?!" Nathan burst out before he finished. He crossed the room in two strides and seized Harry’s shoulders. "Where did you spot them? How many bandits? Do they have any arms?"

"No, wait, I—"

"Tory! Rick! Dick! Tom!" Nathan was already yelling before Harry could elaborate further. "Get in here! NOW!"

The footsteps thundered in the hall right away. Four men burst into the study seconds later, all of them looking lively and alert.

"Boss?" Tory said quizzingly.

"Harry has spotted Lucy. We are going after the bandits immediately!" Nathan had already started to move towards the door. "Get all the members we have. Encircle the place. We are going to wipe out the bandits once and for all!"

"Nathan, wait—" Mr. Hartwell tried to stop him as well.

"Don’t worry, Father, I’ll bring them back safely," Nathan interrupted. "Tory, get the weapons! Rick, ready the horses! Dick, get everyone at the gate! Tom, assemble the—"

"She is here!" Harry yelled loudly enough to override Nathan’s urgent orders.

Everyone froze in an instant.

"What? What did you say?" Nathan slowly turned around.

"Miss Lucy," Harry panted. "She is here. She is at the estate. Right outside. I just saw—"

Nathan didn’t wait for more information again. He dashed out of the study, pushing Harry out of the way, and sprinting for the front of the estate.

Mr. Hartwell struggled to his feet and hurried along as quickly as his elderly legs would carry him.

The five members of the syndicate looked at each other in confusion before rushing to follow their boss.

Nathan burst into the main entrance and into the courtyard. His speed propelled him a few steps before he came to an abrupt halt.

His eyes went wide with shock.

Why?

Because there, walking through the open gates of the estate as if returning from a Sunday afternoon stroll, was Alex.

And within his embrace, unconscious but obviously alive, was his sister Lucy.

Mr. Hartwell appeared from the house and settled beside his son, one hand pressed to his chest as he processed this impossible sight.

The five members of the syndicate were crowded right behind them, all gazing at her in stunned silence.

Alex moved forward with steady steps.

There was no sign of violence or struggle on him. He was carrying Lucy carefully, her head on his shoulder, her torn dress and dirtied face shows evidence of what had happened to her.

But she was alive.

Nathan’s mouth opened and closed a few times in silent motion. Tears of relief filled the eyes of Mr. Hartwell.

Alex reached them and halted.

He gazed at their shocked expressions and tried to lighten the mood. "Good to see you all too. Now, before you ask your hundred questions—Nathan, take her. I’ve carried her three miles and I’m fairly certain my back will never forgive me."