Chapter 71

"Chief! Chief!"

"Cromwell!?"

Sarell Captain and I shouted at the same time. Nild immediately moved away from the door and stood protectively in front of Sarell Captain with the other four.

However, everyone was wide-eyed and flustered.

"Have you finished your scheming?"

The Deputy Chief said calmly.

He didn't seem to be pleased that we had reached the mastermind, but rather regretful that Sarell Captain was here.

"What do you mean by 'scheming'?"

Sarell Captain raised her chin proudly, and the Deputy Chief responded without showing any emotion, remaining calm.

"You want to overthrow me, Sarell Captain."

"…To say I want to overthrow you is a terrible thing to hear. You just made a mistake by letting the Spirit Child be kidnapped and fell from grace."

"He wasn't kidnapped."

Interrupting, the Chief, with a scary face, stepped in.

The Chief also seemed angry and frustrated that Sarell Captain was here and that the men in black were all knights.

Behind the Deputy Chief and the Chief, Tina was standing by, but the one-eyed knight and Kicks were nowhere to be seen.

"The Spirit Child went as a decoy to follow these five. I had suspected that the men in black were knights, but it's disappointing."

When the Chief glared at the five, they shrank back a step.

"A decoy…?"

"A trap…?"

The five murmured, but they didn't seem to disbelieve it. Perhaps because they had been puzzled by the way the Spirit Child and I were allowed to walk around the city alone, they were grinding their teeth at the word 'decoy.'

In the midst of this, Yorg spoke up.

"Chief, I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but those men in black are certainly not us. We failed to catch them, but we did manage to protect the Spirit Children. That's all there is to it."

"But I saw the three of them change from black outfits to knight's uniforms."

"Me too."

There's still evidence in the back room.

As Kugal and I spoke in turn, Yorg glared at us with a demonic face.

I'm sorry.

But no excuse will work now.

Kugal and I saw and heard everything.

"Haha… It seems even the young Spirit Child is confused. You must be disoriented from the fear of being kidnapped by the men in black."

Wanz indirectly suggested that we weren't to be trusted.

But then, Hyalith spoke up from behind.

"Then what about my testimony? Not credible?"

Hyalith had somehow returned to her colorful form and was perched on the fireplace at the back of the room.

When did she come in?

Sarell Captain and the Deputy Chief, who had been facing each other near the door, turned their gazes to Hyalith.

"…A Wind Spirit? Why are you here?"

Sarell Captain furrowed her brow in disbelief.

Hyalith winked at her.

"Long time no see, Sarell! I'm sad to hear you planned the kidnapping of the Spirit Children."

Wanz, confused, said,

"A Wind Spirit…? Why is a Wind Spirit…?"

"Isn't it natural for a cute junior spirit to help? I've been following you all along, so I'd know if you were lying. It's better to confess."

After Hyalith finished speaking, the Deputy Chief spoke.

"There are still witnesses. The five men you hired with money. They attacked us as we were leaving the city of Chedas, and we captured them. Even though they were hiding half their faces, they saw the faces and heard the voices of the men in black up close. If we bring them here and have them meet you, they'll recognize the same faces and voices. Grail and Kicks are bringing them here now. They should arrive soon. Are you going to keep denying it until then?"

The five clamped their lips shut, unable to respond.

Sarell Captain, looking confused, spoke up.

"Wait a moment, Cromwell. What are you saying? My excellent subordinates kidnapped the Spirit Child? You're saying this whole incident is a fabrication by my subordinates? What nonsense…"

The Deputy Chief raised an eyebrow.

"…Why are you so shaken? Are you the mastermind behind this?"

"You, the mastermind!? What a misunderstanding! I don't understand."

"But—"

"Cromwell! You're trying to frame me, aren't you!? Because you heard I'm after your position!?"

"It's not true."

As the excited Sarell Captain and the calm Deputy Chief took turns speaking, I turned my face to each of them in turn.

I thought Sarell Captain might be pretending not to know to escape the blame, but seeing her confusion, it seemed different.

The Deputy Chief also looked a bit perplexed.

"However, without the permission of their superior, Sarell Captain, these five knights could not leave the capital."

"Let me clarify. I did indeed allow these five to leave the capital. But it was to go and fetch Cromwell and the Chief."

Sarell Captain adjusted her crooked glasses.

"Fetch us? Why such an order?"

"Why?!"

She then intensified her tone and glared sharply at the Chief.

"Because of this heavy drinker! I expected he would make excuses to drink in every town he passed through and not return for a long time! He would take five or six days for a journey that should take four!"

Glanced at by Sarell Captain, the Chief turned away, sweating coldly. If Kugal and I hadn't been with him, he might have really intended to drink his way through the towns.

"I see, so that's why…"

While listening to the conversation between the Deputy Chief and Sarell Captain, the Chief hunched his large body and muttered, "It's good to take a break once in a while…"

"Then just now, today. Yorg and Gordon rushed into my office. They said the Spirit Child that Cromwell and the others were escorting had been kidnapped. But then they reported that they had tracked the criminals in place of Cromwell and the others and successfully rescued the Spirit Child. And they led us here."

Sarell Captain explained, spreading one arm wide.

"The criminals escaped, but isn't this their hideout? Weren't the Spirit Children imprisoned here?"

Sarell Captain was asking the Deputy Chief, but the Deputy Chief silently pointed to Wanz and the other four with his gaze.

Sarell Captain followed the gaze and turned to her subordinates.

"What's going on? I think you're all excellent subordinates. You wouldn't do something so foolish. Right? If you deny it, I'll do everything I can to protect you. Come on, please…"

Her eyes were pleading for them to deny it.

But the five just bowed their heads in silence.

Seeing Sarell Captain's trembling fists, I thought she really didn't know anything.

She had nothing to do with the fabricated kidnapping. Everything was done by these five on their own.

I had slightly suspected that the clever Sarell Captain had calculated everything and given Hyalith the information about Kugal and me, but that was a misjudgment. Hyalith's involvement was just a coincidence.

We had wanted to catch the mastermind behind this incident, but there was no mastermind at all.

"You…."

Sarell Captain pushed me towards the Deputy Chief and suddenly shouted at the silent five.

"What have you done! What were you thinking! My reputation will be ruined! It's all your fault!"