Episode 64 – Shall we talk now?
64. Shall we talk now?
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“Sit comfortably, sit comfortably.”
From Noble mtl dot com
This is what Leon said, leaning back on the leather chair and crossing his legs.
This is the conference room located on the 3rd floor of Freeville City Hall.
The people inside the conference room are Leon, Hera, Aria, Riel, and Fenrir.
And they were people who held important positions such as Freeville’s mayor, city council member, and security chief.
It took exactly 5 minutes for this situation to occur from the time I entered City Hall.
The guards were waving their spears at the top of the stairs.
They are ordinary people who have not even realized mana, let alone being a warrior.
When Hera shed her life, one by one she fell.
After that, I went all the way up to the third floor.
I discovered that Freeville’s managers were gathered together and holding a meeting.
······The guards who were supposed to protect the city were gathered here.
After that, well.
Crusiv, Mukwoldae.
I was immediately overwhelmed by these two names and was in a state of cold sweat.
“Um, are you really here to help?”
Asked Merrick, the mayor of Freeville, pushing her haggard face.
I’ve already asked this question for the third time.
Leon’s head felt hot.
“Oh, that’s right! So do you think I came all the way here in the rain just to have fun and eat? What’s so annoying right now? Huh?”
“Yes, yes!? Oh no! “I just can’t believe it…”
When Leon lost his temper, Merrick was shocked and shook her hand.
She was easily unbelievable.
The famous Mukwoldae suddenly came to this shabby place, offering to help.
Even the major and sub-owners stepped forward.
“Let’s hear an explanation of the situation first.”
And the one who led them all.
Leon, the third prince of the Cruciv family, beckoned as he lit a new candle.
“······I understand.”
There is a map spread out on the table with a detailed view of Priville.
And there were numerous red dots on the map.
It was a marker of the location where the victims occurred.
“As of now, there are over a hundred, no, two hundred victims.”
Merrick spat with a sad expression.
Sighs and sighs naturally came from the people in the city.
On the other hand, Leon and the others did not blink.
They just keep staring at me with blank expressions on their faces, asking me to explain.
At that attitude, Merrick cleared his throat and continued speaking.
“Hmm. “They have been targeting five people every night for the past three weeks.”
“Always?”
“Sometimes not. Representatively…”
When the guards were patrolling.
When several people gather in one place, that is, one room.
Or it was when someone escaped out of the city.
“So people are confined to their homes?”
“······Yes. They caught people leaving the city like ghosts and displayed them in the middle of the square as if they were proud. So citizens have no choice but to be scared.”
What if every single one of those who went out came back with a terrible egg?
There’s no way I could ever have the courage to leave the house.
It’s something that can’t be helped.
Marick lowered his gaze and appealed.
“Hmm, really?”
Leon continued her question with her slightly sunken eyes.
“Then what about them? In the mountains…”
“I am an owl in the forest.”
“Yes, an owl in the forest. I heard they disappeared altogether? “Where did that come from?”
“They didn’t disappear from the city.”
Merrick took out another map.
It was a map depicting the geography around the city.
His finger pointed to the forest located east of Priville.
“This place. “We went out to search the forest… But we lost contact after that.”
“Did you think they were staying in the forest?”
“Yes. That’s our opinion too. As you can see… There is absolutely no room to hide inside Freeville.”
The terrain nearby was also flat and hilly, excluding forests, so it was not ideal.
There were limited places to hide in tiny Freeville.
The inference that they were secretly operating in the forest seemed reasonable.
After that.
After Leon and Riel took turns asking a few questions.
“I understand first of all. “Let’s discuss it among ourselves.”
“Are you going to solve it?”
“As much as possible. First, let’s pack up some things at the accommodation. “Wait here.”
Leon and the others left the conference room for a moment.
And then we headed to the accommodation lent by the mayor.
First, I had to hand over the horses, unload the luggage, and check the equipment.
Once the distance widened to a certain extent, they all opened their mouths.
“Is something strange?”
“It looks like he’s hiding something.”
“I felt that way too.”
“I felt a little uncomfortable.”
There was no disagreement.
The group all sensed something suspicious while talking to them.
There were many aspects of the situation in the city itself that I did not readily understand.
First things first.
“Citizens try not to go out too much.”
Only about 10 citizens attempted to leave the city.
If such disaster-like situations continue to occur.
There must be a movement to panic and go out as a family or as a group.
Such a large-scale exodus did not occur at all.
This didn’t make sense unless someone controlled or incited it.
Second.
“It is also questionable that the Forest Owl mercenaries entered the forest from the first day. “I think I would spend a night in the city and observe the situation.”
As soon as the Forest Owl Mercenaries reached this place.
It is said that the eastern forest was suspicious and they rushed there.
This was a reckless and unusual decision compared to their reputation.
Hasn’t someone asked or recommended that they investigate that place?
Third.
“It doesn’t make sense to call a group of mercenaries and do nothing. Anyway, in a city with a population of 3,000, is there really not that much money?”
Even if they are a well-known mercenary group.
You ran out of money after calling it once?
That can’t be possible.
The entire city is currently in a state of emergency and unable to do anything.
I had to raise all the money I had and ask for help.
Even if it wasn’t just city funds, citizens would certainly have contributed money.
Of course, there may be places that reject the request due to the scary rumors about Freeville.
“This is a place overflowing with people who will do anything if you give them money. “Although it would be impossible to get to the first class, it would have been possible to get enough employment even if it was only between the second and third class.”
It was just as Riel, an authority in the mercenary industry, said.
Fenrir, who had been listening quietly with his mouth open, asked.
“Then shouldn’t we just kill those guys first?”
“Well, it seems likely that they are collaborators rather than members of the same group.”
This does not mean that the mayor or city council members are blood donors.
They didn’t seem to be cruel enough to tear people to death like insects.
In the first place, he had eyes that had never killed a single person.
Even Fenrir, who has some mercenary skills, agreed to this.
“Still, if you shake it off, something won’t come out, right?”
“Actually, I was going to do that, but someone already took the player.”
“······?”
“Let’s go in first and finish talking. “I think Aria figured something out.”
Fenrir rolled his eyes in confusion for a moment.
“······Oh, I see.”
Before she knew it, she realized that Hera was gone and shook her head.
* · * *
Crack, crack.
In the conference room where Leon and his group left, the sound of him biting his nails repeatedly rang out.
“What should I do, Mr. Mayor?”
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“Mayor…!”
“Shut up…!”
Merrick looked back at the congressman with bloodshot eyes.
“······Hit! “What should I do?”
The congressman flinched for a moment, then gritted his teeth and spoke again.
“This is Crusif, Crusif! Even Mukwoldae! “It would be better to cooperate obediently even now.”
“Ha, what? Cooperation? “Aren’t you thinking about your family members who are being held captive?”
“······Well, if they solve the problem…”
Merrick distorted her face.
“That is absurd… They’ll do a good job of keeping the hostage alive until then. Damn it, I have my wife and children captured!”
“······.”
After seeing her get angry for a moment, Merrick picked her fingernails again and muttered.
“I can’t help it, I can’t help it… I have no choice but to do as they tell me. And whatever it is, I can only hope it succeeds.”
The nobleman, and especially the name Crucip, was truly intimidating and gigantic.
A high-ranking noble whose face it is difficult to see anywhere in one’s life.
If you are caught cheating without telling them the truth… That would be ruin for everyone.
However.
“I can’t help it…”
Yes, I had no choice.
If you think about what they have done so far.
Even if I told the truth, I could not guarantee my life.
The situation is truly a sign.
You die this way, you die that way.
Merrick decided to take a gamble that had even the slightest chance.
“You mean like the mercenary group that came last time?”
“That’s right. How can I just get through this time? “They said they would finish their work in just a little while.”
The guard captain who was listening groaned.
“I’m concerned. “I wonder if they will release them as promised…”
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It’s not that Merrick didn’t feel that way, too.
“······But that doesn’t mean there is another way.”
I tried to ignore that hypothesis.
Even though the odds were slim, I did not give up hope.
For his family, he could do anything.
Even if it means driving hundreds of city residents to death.
······Yes.
Mobilize guards to prevent people from leaving the castle gate.
From Noble mtl dot com
Announced that people should stay indoors with doors and windows closed.
Inciting to create fear by falsifying death records and intentionally gathering corpses into a square and displaying them.
I lured the hired mercenaries towards the forest as instructed.
Even if it means embezzling funds collected from citizens.
Everyone was fine.
It was something that could be done.
Merrick turned to his watch and checked the time.
“7 O’clock… “Because today is Friday…”
“The meeting time will be 9 o’clock.”
“Hmm~ So?”
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“······?”
“······Who just…?”
A moment of silence.
“””······!”””
And then the realization came all at once.
The intestines became cold.
The eyes of everyone present grew wide as if they were about to tear apart.
My whole body became stiff as if I had been struck by lightning.
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They roll their only moving eyeballs lazily.
I looked to the side.
“How can it be so different from what was expected?”
Since when?
A corner seat in the conference room.
Lick your lower lip slowly with your tongue.
The pale-skinned beauty was sitting seductively with her long legs crossed.
“Tsk tsk.”
Hera stands up from the chair with exaggerated movements.
Teook-
I lightly put my feet on the table.
Blame, blame, blame-
And she began to walk slowly on it.
I scanned my eyes and looked at each person one by one.
With your right hand on your waist.
“Umm~.”
Blame- Blame- Blame-
People’s heartbeat and breathing become rough.
My breath did not go down the back of my throat.
I couldn’t even blink.
My forehead and the back of my head are itchy.
It feels like something might explode at any moment.
A creepy, creepy atmosphere that is difficult to describe in words.
They were so overwhelmed by her strength that they couldn’t even hear her breathe.
“There’s not much I want to know… You guys don’t know much either…”
—Tak.
As she was chanting, her feet suddenly stopped.
It was right in front of the mayor, Merrick.
Merrick’s body began to convulse like crazy.
“There are too many mouths to speak…”
As soon as she finished speaking.
Shut up!
The sword light popped out, and a solid red line was engraved on Merrick’s neck.
“······?”
A step later, the solid lines spread up and down.
Puhuaaa!
A long fountain of blood spurted from her neck, which had been cut exactly in half.
The table and Hera’s feet were warm and wet.
“······!”
Merrick’s hands went up and groped my neck.
A look of disbelief and astonishment jumped out at her face.
“Kkeok…! “Kruk…!”
I opened my mouth, but no voice was produced.
“Krrr torrr…!”
The hand that was desperately holding on to the affected area fell down.
His eyes became unfocused and the light faded.
The new model collapsed helplessly on the chair and drifted away.
Pusheee-
Grunt, growl-
The sound of wind escaping, the sound of bubbles boiling.
And then, red blood flowed down his chest.
“hahahaha.”
Hera, who had been standing silently watching the scene, took her steps again.
Blame- Blame- Blame-
“Now, shall we have a conversation?”
With an innocent, mischievous smile.
She waved her sword playfully.