Chapter 117 Hinmigar Makuganti
After securing Chloe, we left the Caduceus family's villa using Lady Eva's teleportation magic.
We ended up in an underground room where we had previously used a teleportation circle to jump to Zepardia. The room was dimly lit, with the glowing teleportation circle as the only source of light.
Lady Eva quickly pulled out a chair from her storage ring and then took out a sturdy rope, the kind you'd find in any household, to restrain Chloe. She tied Chloe's hands and feet, then sat her down in the chair and secured her torso and backrest with the rope.
As we looked down at Chloe, who was now tied to the chair, we couldn't help but think about how we got to this point.
To be honest, I was sure we'd have to fight at least once or twice, but in the end, we managed to kidnap Chloe without a single battle.
It was only a short while ago that I was discussing this with Io and the others, still in shock from the fact that we had succeeded.
But then Lady Eva, who had been in a bad mood for some reason, declared that she would begin interrogating Chloe, and finally, we were getting to the main event.
"Let me go... please let me go!!"
Chloe, who was still wearing her glasses, was crying pitifully, her usually neat 3-braided hair now a mess of wet black locks.
At first glance, she looked like a scared, innocent girl who didn't know anything.
But I knew better. This was all an act.
(Damn, she's good... if she weren't born into one of the [Four Great Families of the Seals], she might have become a famous actress somewhere.)
Her performance was so convincing that even I, her enemy, couldn't help but be impressed. If I weren't the one who knew the truth, I would have been fooled. In fact, the women in our group, including Lady Eva and Fiona, were already showing signs of sympathy for Chloe...
"Now, Ms. Chloe, please tell us everything you know. Don't hold anything back."
"If you lie, it won't end well for you."
――That's no way!
Of course not! If these two get looked down on, it's gonna be a problem! There's no way Lady Eva and the others would fall for Chloe's acting and feel sorry for her!
"U, uuuh... W, what do you want me to say...!!"
I took a glance at the other members...
Garon was looking at Chloe with a pitiful expression, and Io had an awkward look on her face. And Glen was...
"Hehehe...!"
She had a lecherous grin on her face, staring shamelessly at Chloe's well-developed chest, which was accentuated by the ropes binding her.
This guy, is she really a woman biologically? Or is she just a perverted old man on the inside?
"Ms. Chloe, we've already investigated and found out that you're one of the masterminds behind the Stampede."
"E, eeh!? N, no way! That's absolutely not true!! It's gotta be some kind of mistake!!"
Lady Eva's assertive tone made Chloe panic and shake her head wildly.
It looks like she's flustered because she's been caught, but it's weird. She's still acting like a weak-willed girl. Maybe she's trying to keep up the act because she can't use her powers due to the Anti-Magic Ring and is trying to deceive us.
By the way, Lady Eva's words were a lie. While it's highly likely that Chloe is one of the masterminds, we don't have any concrete evidence yet.
"We already have evidence! Spill the beans about the masterminds! Depending on the information, we might consider treating you better!"
"N, no way! I don't know anything!! I, I'm not related to those masterminds at all!! What evidence do you have to accuse me of this crime...!!"
Chloe still didn't crack under Fiona's questioning, following Lady Eva's.
What evidence do we have...?
When Lady Eva and Fiona looked at me, I nodded and stepped forward.
"Chloe, do you remember...?"
"W, what are you talking about...?"
"Remember that time you got kidnapped and I was called to rescue you, and I almost got killed in the Harem Wilderness?"
"...Huh? What are you talking about?"
――Huh?
We were both taken aback.
It was because Chloe's face was genuinely expressionless, like she had no idea what I was talking about. I mean, I didn't expect her to deny it at this point.
But Chloe's acting skills are the real deal. This must be another act.
"Hey, you were kidnapped, right?"
"I'm being kidnapped right now, but..."
"No, not this time. I'm talking about after Logan and Ail went missing. Um, let me see...the date was..."
I recalled the exact date and told Chloe.
"Um, I'm sorry...but I was on a business trip to the Empire around that time...and of course, I wasn't kidnapped or anything."
Why?
Why is she lying?
I was taken aback, but I tried to expose Chloe's lie.
"Don't lie!! I was almost lynched by a group of about 30 people while trying to rescue you! And then I carried you on my back for 5 days to get to Necronia! You even threw up and had an accident on my back, and I washed your dirty underwear for you! Are you saying you forgot all about that?"
"Eh, no, no, no, no! That's not true! I didn't do any of those things! What's with the throwing up and having an accident? And what's with the underwear?! Mr. Aaron, please don't lie!"
Chloe, are you trying to play dumb...?!
Ha! Got it!
"Hinmigarumakuganti!"
"...Huh?"
"Remember when you were kidnapped and you cried about how 3 of your guards were killed? John, Mike, and Hinmigar Makuganti!"
"W-who's John? Who's Mike? I don't have any guards with those names! And what's with Hinmigar Makuganti? That's a weird name, and I'm sure no one with that name exists!"
"""......"""
Chloe's cry made Lady Eva and the others turn to us with a "certainly" expression on their faces. Their eyes, however, were starting to show a hint of doubt.
Wh-what...?!
Could it be that I'm the one being deceived...?!
I had to say something...!!
I opened my mouth.
"A-apologize to Hinmigarumakuganti!!"
"Huh...?!"
"Apologize to all the Hinmigarumakugantis in the world!! It's rude not to!!"
"Eh, eh, eh...? S-sorry...?"
"Louder!!"
"S-sorry!!"
"With more sincerity!!"
"H-Hinmigarumakuganti, I'm sorry!!"
"Again!!"
"Hinmigarumakuganti, I'm really sorry!!!"
For a while, only my and Chloe's rough breathing could be heard.
"......"
I turned to Lady Eva and the others, a transparent smile on my face, and said,
"...As you can see, Chloe is reflecting on her actions. ...Can you please forgive her...?"
"""......"""
* * *
"Hinmigarumakuganti is of no concern to us."
Lady Eva said in a fed-up tone.
Come to think of it, that's true, I nodded in agreement.
Whether Hinmigarumakuganti exists or not isn't a big deal. What's important now is how to get Chloe to tell the truth.
That's when I had an idea.
"Hey, Lady Eva, did you collect Chloe's Storage Ring?"
"Of course."
Lady Eva took out the Storage Ring from her robe's inner pocket.
"Let's check what's inside. The rings we collected from the labyrinth and the wilderness didn't have anything important, but this time we counterattacked. Chloe didn't have time to organize the contents of the ring. There might be something that connects to the masterminds."
"Indeed, that's true."
It seemed like she had planned to do that from the start. Just as Lady Eva agreed and tried to take everything out of the storage ring,
"Heyyyyy! Stop it, please stopppp!! Don't touch that, I'm begging you!! I won't forgive you if you do!!"
Rattle, rattle!! Chloe's body, tied to the chair, shook violently as she screamed, her face pale with cold sweat.
"""......"""
We exchanged glances and nodded silently to each other.
This reaction suggests that there's something inside that she doesn't want us to see. Bingo.
"Then, I'll take everything out."
"Stop, stop, stop, please!! I'll do anything, just pleaseee!!"
Ignoring Chloe's desperate pleas, Lady Eva dumped the contents of the ring onto the floor.
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