A Fool"I said, let go of me! Do you have any idea who I am!"
Greg screamed at the soldiers from the Knight Tower as they dragged away everybody who was responsible for the incident.
With trustworthy witnesses like Mercedia and Chester, things would turn out this way, even for criminals like Jasper. Greg would obviously also receive a trial of some form, as well as the people who were close to him.
I decided to go to the Castle by myself, as an involved party, and state my conditions, and Sheila agreed to return to the house.
As for me, only one person was needed for the job, and I could present some evidence to them.
"How did you get to the scene of the crime?"
"My companions noticed that they were being shadowed by Jasper"s group, so I decided to tail them.
"…Although you"re saying that like it"s natural…it is quite unfortunate for those guys."
The expression of the soldier, who listened to my circ.u.mstances, twitched as he smiled.
If this were modern j.a.pan, I would be asked about every single detail regarding this case, but thanks to the existence of Magic Trials, the interrogation would end quickly without spending too much time on unnecessary investigations. Well, I was grateful for it at a time like this.
"Understood. We"re already finished. I’ll guide you out of here, so would you please come with me?"
After asking several other simple questions, the soldier brought me to a room within the reception hall.
"I don’t think you will do anything rash, but please wait inside the castle for a while longer. If there is anything that you need, you can ask the servants for help.
"Understood."
After I relayed my thanks, the soldier retreated from the room.
After some time, Mercedia and Chester came into the room, as if to replace that Soldier.
"Ah, Theodore-dono, so you were here?"
I’m glad that the two of you didn’t receive any injuries."
"I deeply regret getting caught like that."
Mercedia shook her head and let out a small laugh. Although they were ambushed, the fact that they became prisoners was a disgrace to them.
"Anyway, Theodore-dono is mine and my subordinates" benefactor. Allow me to express my grat.i.tude."
"I would like to give you my thanks as well."
With that, the two bowed.
"Since it coincided with my interests, you don"t need to be so formal."
"You mustn’t say it like that."
Mercedia smiled bitterly. Although Mercedia’s att.i.tude and speech were light, I could tell that she was feeling quite down.
"I ended up causing you trouble, even though I promised myself to not get involved… Allow me to be excused. I have a lot of things to think about."
With that, Chester left the room.
After seeing him off, Mercedia shrugged and looked at me.
"It seems like the way you fought had a big impact on him. I was surprised, too, you know."
She said
At the very least, what Chester had heard earlier was probably something that went directly against his policy. Compared to Mercedia, it was a bigger shock for Chester.
However, with the way I was, I considered myself to be an extreme case, so it would be troublesome to even think about standards too much. The duties required of Knights and Magicians were completely different.
"Although it was indeed severe… I do think it was the right thing, doing it like that. It also corresponded to the instructions we received from the Knight Captain previously."
"Speaking of the Knights" Captain, is he really that terrifying?"
"He isn’t as scary as you were during that time. Right now, though, you appear to be acting your age."
I could only let out a vague laugh.
After talking to Mercedia about the Labyrinth for a while, I heard a voice coming from the corridor that said, "That guy returned!" Noise began to fill that corridor, and outside the window, too.
After looking at the Training Grounds from the window…what I saw was Fernand, who had come from the Labyrinth, walking around. He had a wide smile plastered on his face.
"To go so far as to come here… does this mean that he wasn’t captured?"
"Since there was a risk of him causing a commotion in town in order to get away, it appears that they have lured him into the palace in order to cut off all of his escape routes before arresting him… It seems he has truly incurred His Majesty"s wrath."
Mercedia shot a glance towards the Tower. I followed her gaze and saw King Melvin on the balcony.
"Your Majesty, I am very humbled and grateful to be able to have an audience with you."
After Fernand noticed King Melvin"s presence, his smile vanished. Perhaps he had realized that this was a chance of reporting directly to the King, and so spoke in that manner.
"Oh, Sir Fernand. Did something interesting happen?"
King Melvin asked Fernand after receiving his retainer"s bow. While the corners of his mouth were raised, his eyes bore no hint of cheerfulness as he looked at Fernand. It appeared that the matter regarding Greg and Fernand had made the King quite angry.
"My liege, the information I have isn’t good."
"Speak."
"I met with a soldier in Miss Mercedia"s search party that had departed for the Labyrinth Search. He said that they were attacked by a swarm of Monsters in the Twilight Forest within the Labyrinth, and fled with the Dimension Stone."
Right beside me, Mercedia, the person in question, closed her eyes and shook her head.
Was this it? Was this part of King Melvin"s plan to enforce law and order? By giving an explanation in public, and displaying this disgraceful behavior, it seemed he wanted others to take heed of this as a warning.
"I headed into the Labyrinth with him in a hurry…However, we were too late, and they had already disappeared. Only pools of blood remained in the place he guided me to, and the search party lead by Miss Mercedia was nowhere to be found. I wandered around the Twilight Forest searching for any signs of them."
Fernand placed his hand on his forehead as if he were feeling dizzy, and lamented quite melodramatically. Although he appeared to be quite the skilled actor…it was rather deplorable to watch.
"Although I spent quite a long time searching, in the end, I couldn"t find any sign of Miss Mercedia"s presence. The soldier, who guided me, was also killed by a Monster while we were searching, sadly… Thinking about his regrets constantly hurt my heart. Although, if possible, I wanted to conduct a search for her in the Twilight Forest with some very capable people, I returned with a compelling reason that awaits your decision."
"…Hou, did you now? What is this reason?"
Although King Melvin"s voice was rather calm, if one listened attentively, it seemed as though his voice was slightly trembling in anger. Fernand, who found his way here, continued his performance without noticing this subtle detail.
"Yes. Although it was a tough decision, this Fernand rushed over quickly to the Palace to report this matter to Your Majesty first, since an important discovery was made. I"m also very worried about Miss Mercedia"s safety…"
Fernand said boastfully.
"The Royal Order has been accomplished. This lowly Fernand has come to report the matter that a Sealed Door was discovered in the Twilight Forest."
"Hoho, you"re saying that you accomplished Our order?"
"Yes, sir. The door engraved with that Relief is without a doubt one of the Sealed Doors that we have been searching for. Although the fellow Adventurers that were with us tried to touch the door and open it…it appeared that their hands were burned."
"Fumu. May we ask you something then? What kind of Relief did it have?"
King Melvin faced his adviser, and reached out his hand. At his gesture, the adviser respectfully presented a piece of paper.
"Yes. It was engraved, and looked like several elliptical shapes had overlapped one another."
"Isn"t it, for example, just like this?"
King Melvin faced Fernand and handed him the paper that was in his hands. Fernand"s expression froze.
This paper had recently been created by me, after coming to the Palace. Although it was a replica made by Caduceus, it was pressed firmly in his hands. This was not to show evidence that the door have been discovered earlier…but the one that I handed to Mercedia was taken by Greg"s group, so I created a new one, since the old one was probably thrown away.
"Were you thinking that We didn"t know anything?"
King Melvin glared at Fernand, who froze in place.
"Mercedia, as well as Chester, have already returned to Us. We already know about Greg"s betrayal. Now then, Fernand, do you have any excuse for this?"
"Ah…eh? W-What?"
Fernand finally realized the fact that there were veins bulging out of King Melvin"s temple.
He restlessly surveyed his surroundings as if he was bored…then noticed that he was completely surrounded by armed soldiers. His face turned pale.
"It"s unnecessary to hold a Trial. Take him away. It doesn"t matter if you cut him down if he resists."
Soon after King Melvin said that, he brandished his cloak and went back inside the building, as if he couldn"t stand looking at Fernand anymore. As if taking that as a signal, the soldiers moved altogether.
"U-Uooooh!"
I was a bit worried after the outcome had been decided, but after thinking about it, it turned into a peculiar situation for some reason. Fernand, who tried to find a way to escape, somehow fled towards the reception hall where I was, while avoiding the soldiers who brandished their swords at him. I unintentionally exchanged a glance with Mercedia.
Well, since there were several men positioned in this place and there wasn"t a lack of them, it would probably be the end of the line for him once he came into this building. His common sense vanished after being driven into a corner…