Chapter 347
Chapter 347. The Suspicious Ones
【Previous Chapter Summary】
Alex: “I’m leaving early in the morning to avoid meeting anyone!”
??? “That’s a bit cold, isn’t it? Sneaking out without a word…”
――――――――――――――――
Under the dim dawn sky, Edgar stood alone in the street with a gentle smile, wearing the same white priest outfit as last night.
However, there was one noticeable difference.
It was his shiny breastplate.
“Oh, this? I can’t let my guard down just yet, so it’s just in case,” he said.
Noticing my gaze, Edgar stroked his breastplate. It bore some small scratches from actual combat but was well-maintained armor—
He subtly scanned his surroundings. The city was still quiet, and there were no shadows of other people.
‘No signs of unnatural magic being concealed… at least, not in close proximity.’
Ante warned me, but since it was from him hiding within me, honestly, I couldn’t rely on it much.
…This intense alertness I feel is kinda sad. But that’s because I have something to feel guilty about…
“…You’re wearing a face that says ‘how did you know,’ Alex,” Edgar said, breaking the silence with a wry smile.
“Well, half of it is intuition,” I replied.
So you’re saying half of it was certainty…?
“When I mentioned, ‘I’ll cover the lodging fees,’ you were initially like, ‘No problem, don’t worry about it,’ right? But last night you joked, ‘Then should I change it to the finest room?’ That’s when I thought, ‘Ah, so you’re planning to disappear tomorrow,’ and ‘You must have intended to pay and leave, that’s why you answered so casually.'”
Uh…
‘Eh…’
Ante and I’s bewildered thoughts overlapped.
Well, it was indeed my intention…
“So, you came to see me off so early in the morning?”
All I could do was laugh wryly. I thought about making a joke like, “Just taking a morning stroll,” but carrying an absurdly large load for three people made that excuse too hard to pull off.
“Ah, of course. The hero who wiped out the Night Elves of Todomarl and saved the innocent mother and daughter. To leave without a send-off would be so lonely…”
Edgar shrugged.
“Alright, let’s go.”
—To my surprise, he turned his back to us and began to walk away. Leila, who had been silently prepared for battle beside me, looked equally taken aback.
“…What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?”
“Ah… no. I’m going.”
Turning back to Edgar, I snapped out of it and adjusted my heavy load.
In the capital, Todomarl, the sound of our footsteps echoed on the dew-soaked cobblestone road.
“Outluke has been captured, but the interrogation is going smoothly.”
As Edgar walked ahead of us, he spoke again.
“I could even say too smoothly. He’s started babbling about things we didn’t even ask him. There’s so much information that it’s tedious to confirm if he’s mixing in any lies.”
Oh? He surprisingly has some grit in him, even before dawn. I thought he’d spill it as soon as he saw the sunlight…
‘For a species good at torture, he sure has a loose tongue.’
It’s the opposite. Precisely because they’re good at torture. They understand just how futile resistance is. No matter how firm your will is, it’s powerless against constant excruciating pain.
Thus, rather than maintaining silence, it’s much more—
“He’ll likely attempt to confuse us with false information nine times out of ten.”
“Exactly,” Edgar nodded deeply at my words.
Information obtained through torture is surprisingly unreliable. Sometimes, in an effort to escape pain, one may spew nonsense, or conversely, act cooperative while deceitfully lying.
You could say the true strength of the Night Elves lies in that deception.
“The opponent is the infamous Night Elf. We can’t take their words at face value. Still, if he becomes muddled due to sleep deprivation, the consistency between lies and truths might falter. In this regard, we’ll have to be patient.”
Edgar shrugged.
“However, it seems Outluke has quite a grudge against the Demon Lord Kingdom—no, against the Demon Race. When I ask about Night Elf society or its intelligence network, he’s rather evasive, but he speaks eagerly about information related to the Demon Race.”
Ah—
Thanks to the Vila incident, the alliance’s alert level skyrocketed, and eventually, they were decimated. Even without the Vila’s matter, he would’ve been destroyed by me anyway, but from Outluke’s perspective, it’s understandable for him to be furious.
“Moreover, he’s not just an ordinary Night Elf but an informant with a high level of training. The previously shrouded operations of the Demon Lord Kingdom might be revealed. In that sense, capturing him was fortunate.”
The true nature of the Demon Lord Kingdom is about to flood into the Holy Church and the alliance territory. I hope we can finally fight decently…
“If things were normal, Alex, the one who played a key role in capturing him would deserve recognition. The Bishop also mentioned wanting to thank you personally.”
“Hahaha…”
I laughed to brush off Edgar’s playful words.
“…………”
Leila, walking beside me, tugged at the hem of my clothes.
…Ah, I get it.
Before I knew it, we had strayed from the main street.
—We were led into a narrow alley.
“Without a doubt, Outluke holds a deep hatred for the Demon Race,” Edgar continued speaking in his unchanged tone.
“For my part, I suspect the information he reveals out of spite will have some degree of credibility.”
He continued walking ahead of us.
“What particularly intrigued me was the information regarding the exiled Demon Lord’s Prince.”
He glanced back at me.
“According to Outluke’s testimony, the Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias—”
His gray gaze pierced through me.
“—is said to be able to use [Transformation Magic].”
