Volume 20 Chapter 6 Confession
"Shall we suggest surrender?"
Gustave, after observing Al widening the crack in the underground cave for a while, proposed this to Al and his followers.
However, Al tilted his head in confusion.
Surrendering would be easy, but considering they were operating in such a place, they must have a certain resolve; it felt like a waste of time.
"We'll deal with it when it happens. According to Alfred, we can drink water from the magic tool, but that alone won't last a week. We can take turns keeping watch, so it may take time, but it's safe. Isn't that enough? First of all, he might still be pretending to sleep. It's dangerous to go inside. Even if he kills himself, it won't be a problem for us."
Indeed, Gustave's words might hold truth.
For now, as soon as a hole large enough for a single person to crawl through opened, Al switched places with Gustave.
Al kept the 'Floating Eye' inside as he continued to observe the man's condition.
"Hey, wake up!"
Gustave shouted while half of his body was awkwardly in the hole.
The sleeping man jerked awake, startled, and began to look around in confusion.
"Wake up, quickly!"
It seemed the man finally realized the voice was coming from the hole.
He hurriedly grabbed his sword.
"Give up resistance. The mage has been defeated. We are members of the Margrave Rain Knight Order. Drop your weapon and come out. Otherwise, you'll stay there forever."
"Don't lie! Lord Emmanuel would never be outdone by a mere knight!"
"I'm not lying. I'll show you the proof."
It seems the mage's name is Lord Emmanuel.
At Gustave's words, Al exchanged glances with Neville and Orville.
They hurriedly pulled the corpse from the magic bag, tore off the blood-stained jacket, and handed it to Gustave.
"Look at this!"
The man rushed over to the jacket Gustave threw in, picking it up carefully.
He examined it meticulously.
Then, he slumped his shoulders in defeat.
"I understand. I will not resist. I'll come out."
* * *
"Well then, let's hear various things from you."
The man, who had been fitted with the handcuffs and gag prepared for magicians just in case, nodded weakly.
The gag for magicians prevents conversation at a speed sufficient to cast spells, but allows for slow pronunciation, making some communication possible.
However, the conversation speed is significantly reduced.
"First, from you. Who are you?"
"I... am... Cyril..."
After about 5 minutes, he conveyed that his name was Cyril and that he served Lord Emmanuel.
He was a bodyguard and could only use light spells for now.
After another 5 minutes, Cyril pleaded to have the gag removed, stating he would not resist.
Gustave looked at Al's face.
It certainly felt like it was taking too long.
While it was fine for simple questions, if they wanted to delve deeper, it seemed they would run out of daylight.
"Isn't it fine? I'll be ready to intervene if he tries to cast a spell."
When Al responded that way, Gustave decided to instruct Neville to remove the gag.
"Thank you very much."
Cyril said this and bowed politely.
"Who is this Lord Emmanuel, and what were you doing here?"
"Lord Emmanuel was the Grand Mage of the Third Magician Corps of the Marquis Prentis family. However, he was demoted from Grand mage to a regular mage after failing a mission. He was ordered to investigate the cause of that failure and came here. He detected traces of a path recently cleared by people nearby and speculated that it might be related to his failure. Therefore, he had been keeping watch in shifts for about a week."
Gustave tilted his head.
The only story he knew was that mages serving the Marquis Prentis family seemed to be acting in the shadows around here.
"Do you have any companions?"
"No. I was told that if we were investigating the cause of the failure, having just me, a novice, would be sufficient."
Cyril's tone carried a slightly careless air.
Was it really true?
However, that made it understandable why Cyril didn't seem very enthusiastic about the mission.
"What was that failed mission?"
"The mission was..."
Cyril hesitated, struggling to find the words.
"What was that failed mission?"
When Gustave asked again, Cyril began to speak slowly.
"I wasn't the one ordered to do it, and I didn't actually see it myself, so I can only speculate, but I think they visited a settlement of Barbarians and provided them with food. The goal was to indirectly destabilize the situation in this area by increasing the number of Barbarians."
Gustave clenched his fist tightly.
Al, Neville, and Orville also bit their lips.
"So it was true... And what was that failure?"
"I don't know about that either. It seems there was some situation that prevented the continuation of the operation, but Lord Emmanuel didn't discuss it."
That failure might have been the loss of over 2 thousand gold coins...
Al thought secretly to himself.
Given the situation, it was likely that providing food to the Barbarians had been halted.
As a result, although he was attacked, it might have been correct to seize the gold coins.
Gustave looked at Al, shaking his head as if he found it hard to accept.
"Alfred, do you have something you want to ask?"
Cyril glanced at Al, looking startled, and seemed to mutter something in a small voice.
"He's looking at Al, whispering 'Blond-haired brat'. Did you do something to this guy?"
Glee whispered.
No, this was the first time they had met.
It might be overthinking, but perhaps it was worth confirming.
"That Lord Emmanuel shot magic at me without question, but why do you think that is?"
"...I think it was because he believed you were the cause of this failure."
"Huh?"
Al involuntarily asked back.
That assumption wasn't entirely wrong, but...
"There are whispers within the Third Magician Corps about a figure known as the golden-haired brat. It is said that this skilled magician has interfered with the plans of the great mage, Lord Veil. Rumor has it that another operation also failed due to this golden-haired brat. Young and with his blonde hair tied back... yes, just like Mr. Alfred? Perhaps Lord Emmanuel thought of you as the golden-haired brat."
Gustave stared intently at Al.
Not just Neville and Orville, but Cyril was also gazing at Al's face.
How did they conclude he was a magician, despite his attire resembling that of a scout?
Perhaps they inferred it from the discussion about whether to remove the gag.
"Me? Hmm, I can't recall..."
Cyril is also present.
He had no choice but to play dumb.
But is there really such a story?
While attempting to shake off Lord Veil and the others with Patricia, he had tried to keep his face hidden as much as possible, but perhaps his back had been seen.
"If that's the case, I don't know. I can only say that was my assumption."
For now, the questioning ended there.
If there were any doubts, they could be addressed once they returned to the mansion.
Cyril was bound again.
Neville entered through the rift and brought back Cyril's belongings.
The bag contained clothes and food.
Among those was a small, oval magic tool about the size of a duck egg, which came in pairs.
One was a Falling Control magic tool that Al had seen before, but the other was unknown.
The one left behind was, as Al predicted, a water magic tool.
"What is this?"
Al asked Cyril about the unknown magic tool.
"It... can... tell... direction..."
A magic tool that indicates direction?
"How do you use it?"
"P...u...sh...the...middle...pro...trusion..."
So, it's pushed at the central protrusion.
It would be dangerous to test it since he wasn't sure if what was said was true.
Better to check the magic circuit first.
In any case, when handing over Cyril, they would have to submit it as part of his belongings.
"Alright, shall we head back?"
Everyone nodded at Gustave's voice.
He couldn't use the magic bag in front of him, and it was impossible to carry the 5 of them──Gustave, Lord Emmanuel's corpse, the restrained Cyril, Neville, and Orville──at once.
They decided to transport them in 2 trips to Channing Village using the 'Carrier' spell.
* * *
That night, the entire family gathered in the mansion's living room.
The hostage who introduced himself as Cyril was hastily locked in a makeshift cell in the basement with shackles on.
It must be cramped, but since they planned to escort him to the capital first thing in the morning, they decided he would have to endure it.
"So, I want you to tell me exactly what you did."
Gustave held a cup of homemade ale in one hand and questioned Al.
It seemed the mages of the Marquis Prentis family wanted to know exactly how Al was connected.
Nelson, who knew the circumstances, occasionally glanced at Al, but his silence suggested uncertainty about what decision was best.
"Hmm, well then, I'll talk, but please don't share this with anyone outside our family. This may involve many lives," he prefaced.
Al set the stage with his introduction, recounting how he rescued Patricia last summer and delivered her to her aunt, Viscountess Tara, the first wife of the lord of the border city of Lester.
He talked about how they left border city Lester together to save her from being targeted by the Marquis Prentis family's spy, who later turned out to be the Grand Mage Veil from the magician corps, and how they repelled pursuers with magic during their escape.
"Perhaps that's why I disrupted the plan of the Grand Mage Lord Veil, as Cyril mentioned. There are rumors of a connection between Lord Veil and a noble from the Margrave Rain family, and I chose what I believed was best for Lady Patricia. To avoid causing trouble, I concealed my identity and crafted a facade that I had come to Channing Village. Maybe there was something that alerted them. And the other operation likely involved helping Sir Naresh with a mission to thwart the collaboration of the second and third magician corps of the Marquis Prentis family in establishing clandestine intelligence and military bases at border city Parker. I hadn't hidden my presence there, but somehow, I didn't become their primary target."
Listening to Al's story, Gustave and Jasper, the two older brothers, remained frozen with their mouths agape.
In contrast, the sisters Lucy and Mary sparkled with their wide-open eyes.
"How old is that Lady Patricia?"
"She's 2 years younger than me."
"Could it be that Alfred... thought the best thing for Lady Patricia was to leave the border town of Lester together, in other words... run away..."
Lucy let out a scream and covered her mouth.
"No, it wasn't just the two of them; Lady Patricia had a knight with her."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Mary frantically asked Lucy, appearing unable to follow the conversation.
Lucy whispered something in her ear.
Mary blushed and let out a scream.
She stared intently at Al.
"So, where is this Lady Patricia now?"
"She is currently hiding in a safe place. Sorry, but I can't tell you where."
"Oh, I want to meet her and talk! What kind of person is that Lady Patricia? How tall is she?"
"Um, she's a bit shorter than me..."
Lucy's questions showed no signs of stopping.
Al, feeling overwhelmed, managed to respond.
"Al, there have been rumors about Princess Patricia within the Knights. Have you told anyone about the princess?"
Gustave, who had been deep in thought, interrupted with his inquiry.
"Well, I told Sir Naresh. Sir Naresh is cousins with Lady Patricia. He keeps secrets well. Once, Lady Patricia and Sir Naresh actually met and spoke. I hope the dispute with the Marquis Prentis family subsides soon, but given the situation, it is dangerous for her to reveal herself from her hideout."
"Sir Naresh and... I see. Understood. It certainly doesn't seem like a conversation for outside. It's no surprise that the mage of the Marquis Prentis family holds a grudge because of that blonde brat. What a surprise. I'm curious about the noble connected to Lord Veil, but unfortunately, it's difficult for me to investigate. I suppose I'll just have to listen closely to the rumors."
Gustave smiled brightly.
Good, it seemed he was satisfied.
"So, what is Lady Patricia's hair color?"
Feeling that her conversation with Gustave had come to an end, Lucy began to ask questions again.
She still had many questions left to ask.
Al answered her questions with a slightly troubled expression.
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