Secret Investigation (4)
Having completely subdued the basement, we soon had the support of the Warp Watch.
Since the academy has already talked to them in advance, the dispatch is quick.
However, seeing the face of the commander who had grown accustomed to it was not reassuring.
He pretends not to see our reaction and greets him with a welcome expression on his face.
“Thank you, Count Elcloud. Capturing a rebel cadre… It’s a great achievement.”
The commander of the watchman smiled as if he was genuinely excited to see Baron Edon captured by Sylvia.
Since the baron is in charge of recruiting the rebels, it is natural that he should be regarded as an officer.
Persia, who was sitting on the sofa with a proud expression, tilted her head and asked.
“Isn’t this the first time you’ve captured a rebel?”
“It’s the first time I’ve had an executive rank like this. Most of those who tried to capture it during the battle committed suicide… At best, it was difficult to get a proper result because the rebels were defeated.”
“Aha. You lost the battle, so you threw everything away and ran away?”
But we have completely conquered this basement.
The rebels don’t even know that Baron Edon has been captured yet.
The baron imprisoned next to the table struggled with a pale face, but…
It was no ordinary rope that tied him up.
A tool for trapping specially made by the handmaiden.
It is made of hard yet tough material, and because it has a simple but strong structure, it can easily bind opponents.
It limits the opponent’s use of mana, and it’s smaller than handcuffs, so it’s easy to carry.
Soon after, the watchman who raised Baron Edon began to take care of his accomplices as well.
Thanks to that, I felt quite uncomfortable.
First of all, Charlie, who is a citizen of my territory and contributed to the capture of the rebels, is of course excluded from the arrest target.
It was very easy to prove innocence because they also filmed a video for collecting evidence.
Baron Edon is an officer of the rebel army, so it doesn’t matter how it’s disposed of…
Other students are a little different.
I don’t know the guy who killed Newton Green by putting the forbidden book in the library, but the rest of them are a little vague.
In fact, some of them quickly became crying and started protesting.
“Come on, wait a minute. I just invited Charlie here, for any other role…”
“I was intimidated by these guys! Trust me! I didn’t even care about revolutions!”
“I’ll tell you everything I know, please!”
“You guys betrayed me so easily…”
Very cooperative attitude from the start.
From the looks of it, it seems that there is no one who has been seriously active except for Baron Edon and the third-year suspect.
Somehow, he was able to entice him… but he probably didn’t have enough time to solidify their beliefs.
Of course, the watchman didn’t even listen to them.
He had his subordinate open the portal again, but he noticed my gaze and turned around shyly.
“Sir Count?”
“Where are you guys taking them? Somewhere else, like a concentration camp…”
“It’s confidential…”
“It’s not even funny. Don’t you know that Howard Tersia, whom you captured last time, appeared as your master’s enemy?”
When one of the crew cuts in, Sylvia cut the other person’s words with a sharp look and a voice.
Thanks to that, the dimensional watchdog was confused.
The commander of the guard sighed in the tense atmosphere, moved to a corner seat and explained to me.
“The rebel camp you mentioned has long since been destroyed by Russell’s raids. They are important informants, I will interrogate them in the dungeons of the palace.”
“The royal prison?”
“Yes. It’s completely separate from the normal thugs and the entrance. You can also tour it if you wish.”
It was treated as someone I knew enough to already know, so it was surprisingly easy to get permission.
I pondered for a moment and then nodded.
Since you’ve worked hard enough to catch them, it’d be nice to see how they’re treated.
“Okay. Charlie, go back to school. Don’t tell anyone about today.”
“Yes, Count.”
Elena was trembling with anxiety with a slightly uncomfortable expression near me.
She also has a royal family name, so she must have known about the dungeon.
Of course, accompanying other people was prohibited.
I understood it without difficulty and followed the prisoners and the guards through the portal.
Immediately after the sensation of my body leaning forward, as darkness fell over my entire field of vision, Persia tightened my neck even more.
Even the basement that had just been there wasn’t a lot of light at all… but it’s a shame to compare it to this place.
The watchman who finally passed through the portal flicked his finger to turn on the light.
However, rather than brightening the atmosphere, it became even more terrifying as the gloomy yet damp interior space was revealed.
Dilapidated stone walls lined up under the magic lights hanging on the left and right.
Moss and soot in the not-so-wide aisle.
The unknown liquid, which I did not want to know, filled the gap in the stone floor.
The musty stench and endless moans are a bonus.
The unpleasant magic mixed in the atmosphere is a kind that limits the use of summoning and repatriation.
Perhaps it is possible to open the portal at an authorized time and only in an authorized place.
The guards arrived at a space that looked like an entrance and began to transport the prisoners without delay.
Elena, who had her arms around me even tighter, trembled a little and moved forward.
It feels like a kind of luck that the light is so dim that you can’t see the inside of the iron grate properly.
Fortunately, this is only because we came to see, and the prisoners who are leading the way are not able to move properly.
‘Why did you build such a facility in the basement of the royal palace? Of course it’s security, but…’
While I was walking, I was thinking of a natural question.
Suddenly, a strange flow from the left and right began to stand out.
As a summoner, I am very familiar with it, but it does not suit this place very well.
The thick and clear links unique to high-grade pets pierced through the iron bars and soared to the ceiling.
“Uh, that one?”
“Why do the prisoners in the prison link… ah?”
Persia, who noticed the truth just like me, hurriedly shut her mouth.
There were very few opponents that the underworld Persia could shut their mouths on.
I looked at Elena in the seat next to me again, and remembered the link she wore when she was the first in line to the throne.
The links that the prisoners in this prison are holding are undoubtedly Eshas’s.
Unlike normal Link, a variant that only has the ability to exploit magic power.
but. If it’s about Eshas, even if it’s a genuine summoned beast, the amount of magic consumed would be no joke.
I wondered where they were paying for that huge consumption… Apparently they were using the prisoners here.
The captain of the guard, noticing our gaze after us, smiled bitterly and affirmed the suspicion.
“It is Essha-sama’s will to use resources wisely…”
“That’s right.”
The sinners, who later realized the same thing, cried out in front of the ranks.
The guards, who silenced them with ruthless beatings, move forward without hesitation.
If Medusha had seen it, she might have laughed at it because it was ugly… but I didn’t have that kind of pulpit.
While walking through the painful moans, silently. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind the iron bars.
“Eh… Elena?”
“yes?”
He pushed her aside at the sudden call and stood among the prisoners.
Fingers clinging to the thick iron bars.
The owner of the bare hands calls Elena desperately and shouts as if begging.
“Helena… kill me! Please kill me!”
“You, maybe…”
What appeared out of the darkness of the cell was an unfamiliar yet somehow familiar face.
He was very thin, but he had definitely seen him.
I spit his name out disgustingly at the unbelievable change.
“Elpentus?”
“That’s right. It’s me. Elcloud! Don’t dare ask me to take it out. Please me…”
“this.”
The captain of the guard let out a small sigh and kicked the body of Elpentus that came out of the iron bars.
Elpentus rolls across the stone floor with a loud noise.
I thought I would have been executed at best, but it must have been something like this!
Originally, the human body was made to constantly generate magical power, but…
The prisoners in this prison are being abused to a level far beyond their original performance.
Even the energy to be used for life activities is concentrated on the generation of magic power, so it is only natural that the hair is peeled off, the skin is chapped, and the nails are pulled out.
The bad guys among the prisoners would have already lost all their teeth.
The newcomers, who had seen the old prisoners with their own eyes, could not even scream properly.
The commander of the guard, who lit up the lights to reveal the inside of the cell and the condition of the prisoner, clicks his tongue as if to listen carefully.
“If you manage it like that, it won’t last long. I’ll have to warn the guards later.”
“Wow…”
The commander of the guard who reached the interrogation room inside the passage soon locked the suspects one by one and turned to see us off.
“Don’t worry too much. Except for the two main culprits, I’m just going to scare you…”
“…Are you going to share the results of the interrogation?”
“Of course. Because Eshas-sama has already given permission to cooperate with His Excellency Count.”
I went back to the basement where the other members were waiting, trying to be as casual as possible.
While I was on a field trip, the maid and Sylvia had already finished researching the basement.
It seems that this place was used as Baron Edon’s residence and as a contact point for the rebels… Unfortunately, there is no specific information left.
“All correspondence presumed to have come from the rebels was burned as soon as I read it. It looks like he wrote a lot of letters… There is nothing that is supposed to be ciphertext. He’s more thorough than he looks.”
“So, I must have been able to work without getting caught up until now. Shall we just go back then?”
After handing over all the scarce harvest to the watchman, he returned to the villa.
It seems that Christine and Maria took care of the report to the academy.
When I heard the news that the condition of the clerk I had left with Ersa had stabilized, I left the basement and the sun was already setting.
“What, I came out this morning and already…”
“I followed people three times, and by the evening, it was over quickly.”
“But I’m glad tomorrow is Sunday.”
As I was walking along the moderately crowded night road, I slightly left the ranks and headed towards Maria and Christine.
The sun has already set, so we should see off him.
But, aren’t they moving towards the villa very naturally?
Sylvia, who noticed the same thing as me, asked in a slightly stiff voice.
“Aren’t you going to the academy? The road at night is dangerous, so I’ll see you off…”
“Ah, at the most, why don’t you treat me to dinner on Saturday and invite you to dinner? Doesn’t it seem like El Cloud’s hospitality was not that good?”
“I’m sorry, but I’d like a bed for you.”
In a familiar tone, not only Christine, but also Maria, for some reason, helped.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been invited to a villa, so it doesn’t matter.
As I nodded without much thought, Sylvia, who had a scary expression on her face, whispered while holding her body tight.
“Master. I will ring it properly today.”
“Why are you here, really…”
As we crossed the gate while listening to the joke that made our bones shiver, Medusha and Laurier, exhausted from waiting, were waiting for us in the yard.
I would have looked around through the link, but I think I was very bored.
As I look at their angry faces, the gloomy landscape of the dungeon is washed out of my mind.
I entered under the lights of the main building, listening to the hum of a winter fox, excited by the smell of food.