Chapter 360 - Interrogation (2)

Raven climbed the stairs to the deck and hurried to the ship's officers' quarters. The assistant adjutant she had sent ahead was already there, along with all the corps' platoon leaders.

"Deputy Commander Raven! You're safe! What a relief! You were taking so long to return that we were just about to organize a relief force ourselves—"

"I need to submit a report. Everyone, please leave."

"... Pardon? Ah, yes!"

Seeing her urgency, the assembled officers set aside their questions and obeyed. Within seconds, the officers' quarters were empty.

"..."

With a conflicted expression, Raven placed her hand on the military message stone installed in the cabin.

"Nia Raphdonia. This is Allua Raven, deputy commander of the Third Magic Corps. Securing a retreat route for my personnel delayed my return. I have just arrived. Please brief me on the current situation."

["Nia Raphdonia. This is Eltora Terserion, chief of staff of the Third Army Corps. I was concerned when I heard you'd gone to stop the Blood Knight. I'm glad you're safe."]

"... Forgive me, but why are you responding instead of the corps commander?"

["Because I am second in command and assume authority in the supreme commander's absence during wartime."]

"His absence...?"

["Lesser Count Ramleond has fallen in battle. After ordering all units to assemble, he was ambushed en route by a band of criminals led by the Traitor, Ricardo Luhenpraha."]

"How could this..."

["The attacks ceased once all our forces had retreated onto the lake, but we cannot be certain what will happen next. Until further orders, take charge of your unit and remain vigilant."]

A brief, clear account followed of the losses confirmed so far and the enemies responsible for the attack.

Then...

["That should cover everything you need to know. Now, let us hear your report. Was it truly the Blood Knight?"]

In response to her superior's question, Raven delivered a concise account of what had happened: how they had stayed behind to stop the Blood Knight, how enemy reinforcements had arrived while they were pushing him back, and how they had killed the Lighthouse Keeper in the ensuing battle before retreating through Mass Teleportation magic. She glossed over the details in a few words, reporting only the results.

It wasn't simply to save time. If it had been, she wouldn't have fallen awkwardly silent at his next words.

["You disposed of the Lighthouse Keeper... Welcome news indeed. Well done. Please inform the Blood Spirit Marquis that she will be rewarded for her achievements in due course."]

Her superior assumed that the Blood Spirit Marquis was responsible for this achievement, but the truth was entirely different.

Rihen Schuitz.

He was the reason no one had been hurt by the infamous Blood Knight, and he was also the one who had finished off the Lighthouse Keeper.

But...

["That will be all, then."]

Raven never managed to tell him, right to the end. And that wasn't all.

'Amelia Reinweils.'

She hadn't mentioned the woman who had contributed just as much as the Blood Spirit Marquis during the battle, either, despite being certain she was the woman from Noark whom she'd met on Parune Island.

She had deliberately withheld information. Even if she hadn't lied, she had undeniably neglected her duty as a soldier.

"Hah..."

Having always performed her duties diligently, she felt deeply guilty. But what else could she do? She needed time to sort out her thoughts first.

'Rihen Schuitz...'

The man who had introduced himself by that name.

Until then, she had thought Erwin had found someone who resembled him and was keeping that man by her side. But seeing [Gigantification] had made her wonder.

What if he wasn't merely a look-alike? What if that was why Erwin called him "Mister"? What if he really had been alive all this time?

"... I don't know."

It was confusing. She couldn't be certain of anything. One moment she thought it really was him; the next, she wondered if he was simply someone with many similarities. There were plenty of obvious differences, too.

'His height and face.'

And...

["Your... b-b-back...!"]

When she had unconsciously reached toward his wound, the blood she touched had only been hot and sticky. If it were his blood, it should have stung.

There was another difference, too.

'... He's too strong.'

A body that could withstand the Blood Knight's Aura. That strange ability to reflect magic. And the Ability that used wind to draw enemies toward him.

The Jandel of the past could never have displayed such might against opponents that formidable.

But...

'Time has passed.'

He could have absorbed new Essences and grown stronger. After all, both she and Erwin, now one of the Seven Powers, had changed considerably over those two years.

'In that case...'

The more Raven sorted through the flood of information she'd received in such a short time, the more she found herself leaning toward the possibility that Bjorn Jandel was alive.

Amelia's presence was the deciding factor. Though she had ultimately uncovered nothing, unresolved questions about his death had remained. And now the person who had disappeared with him was alive and well? That was as good as evidence that he might have survived, too.

The problem, however, was...

'If he really is Mr. Jandel, what do I do?'

Bjorn Jandel was an evil spirit. The royal family had officially declared as much, and she had known it even before the announcement. After all, she had seen that expression.

["You said there would be rumors that Mr. Jandel was an evil spirit. But... they're not just rumors, are they?"]

Misha, who had known Jandel longer and shared a deeper bond with him than any of their companions, hadn't answered. But the truth had been there in her trembling eyes.

CLICK, CLICK.

For the first time in ages, Raven bit her nails—a habit that only surfaced when she was under psychological pressure. Unlike usual, she couldn't look at herself objectively at all. Part of her wanted the man to be Jandel, while another part hoped he wasn't.

But...

"Well, what else can I do? I'll have to find out."

At last, Raven made up her mind. She knew that no matter how frightened she was, she couldn't put off what she had to do and run away.

* * *

No. 399, Cage of Silence.

A trap-type Numbered item that activated when a spatial transportation ability was used within a certain radius.

"That woman... She's not going to leave us here forever, is she?"

"She'll come. Probably very soon."

"How can you be sure?"

"These bars won't last forever."

To be precise, once activated, they lasted two hours. And yet the cooldown was ridiculously long.

'Besides, you can't beat someone up while they're locked inside.'

That was the Cage of Silence's critical weakness. You could call it an item designed solely for confinement. Once activated, it blocked all attacks from outside, too. Usually, you trapped someone with it, surrounded them, and ganged up on them when it wore off...

TAP.

The moment a footstep sounded from down the corridor, the soldier acting as our jailer saluted in that direction.

"Nia Raphdonia!"

Right. She was here.

"Thank you for keeping watch. I have something to discuss with them. Would you give us a moment? Oh, and please keep everything that happened here confidential."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Raven had returned alone after about an hour, and she even dismissed the soldier to remove any listening ears. It was a positive sign, but it was too early to relax. As she stopped before the bars and silently studied us, I spoke first.

"... What do you intend to do with us?"

"Are you still going to speak like that?"

Huh. Coming on strong right out of the gate, weren't we? Would it be better to reveal my identity now and try to persuade her to help?

As I pondered that, Raven continued.

"... Take off your helmet."

I'd already shown her my face once, so I obediently removed the helmet, still stained with the Lighthouse Keeper's blood. Surprisingly, Raven's expression didn't change.

"... Your armor, too."

Well, well. What did she take me for? Hadn't the old saying forbidden boys and girls from sitting together after the age of seven?

"I cannot comply with an improper sexual demand. Would you make such a request if I were a woman—"

"What are you even talking about?"

I tried to explain logically why I couldn't take off my armor, but Raven merely stared at me, her face dead serious. Okay, that was a little scary...

"I haven't reported anything about you yet. Or about Ms. Reinweils beside you. But if you refuse to comply, that will—"

"I'll take it off."

"You've... dropped the formalities?"

What was she on about? There was no way out of this anyway.

Rather than give her a lengthy reply, I removed the armor with its ruined back.

And...

"...!"

For the first time, Raven's expression changed. Her shaken gaze was fixed on the tattoos my armor had concealed.

Whew. Honestly, this was a relief.

"It's been a while, Raven."

"..."

"What? Hadn't you more or less guessed?"

At my question, Raven worried her lip and glared at me.

"Even so... I hoped it wasn't you."

"Because I'm an evil spirit?"

"Yes. It would have been better if you'd just remained a fond memory..."

Raven trailed off bitterly. I felt my heart tighten, too.

Right. So you were someone who couldn't accept that I was an evil spirit.

"Wait!"

"...?"

"Raven, this business about me being an evil spirit is a misunderstanding."

I hurriedly launched into persuading her.

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yes. I'm not an evil spirit."

"Then why do you look like that?"

Raven clenched her fists as she looked at me.

"From the looks of it, you absorbed an Essence like the Bone Knight one Ms. Aynar had to reduce your height... If you aren't an evil spirit, you have no reason to go that far to conceal your identity, do you?"

Right. I'd known that question was coming.

"By the time I returned, the royal family had already made that announcement. I looked into it and found a lot of things that didn't add up. That's why I decided to hide my identity for the time being."

"... I'll admit there are plenty of suspicious things about that announcement. But 'for the time being'? And what do you mean, you returned? What on earth are you talking about?"

Okay, looked like I'd managed to pique her curiosity.

"It's a long story. There's something called the Stone Fragment of Records—"

"Wait!"

Just as I was about to explain what had happened, Raven interrupted.

"There's no need for a long-winded explanation. This will be enough."

She was holding a familiar object.

No. 7234, Broken Trust.

An item with limited charges that, when activated, made it impossible to lie within a ten-meter radius.

"You should know what this is, Mr. Jandel. It's the item we received from Mr. Hwang in Doppelgänger Forest. We had some military funds left over a while ago, so I replenished its spent charges."

Good grief. She really had come prepared.

WHOOOOM!

She must have already pressed the power button, because the hour hand embedded in the compass-sized disk began to move.

With it running, she asked, staring straight at me,

"Now, tell me. Is it really a misunderstanding?"

'... This will work, right?'

Even as I thought that, I was fairly nervous. I'd never actually checked whether Auriel Gabis's "gift" worked properly. My plan had been to buy Broken Trust or something similar and test it before submitting myself to verification.

But...

"Raven, it really is a misunderstanding. I'm not an evil spirit."

Right. If I could say that, then the "gift" was working proper—

CLICK.

The hour hand, which had been moving perfectly well, stopped.

"... What did you just do?"

"Uh..."

As I trailed off, the hour hand began moving again.

Had it just glitched for a moment?

"I'm not really sure myself..."

I hurriedly stuck to playing dumb, and Broken Trust stopped working again with a tick.

And then...