Chapter 51

In the dimly lit room, about ten men were seated in a row. Their posture, sitting cross-legged on the hard floor, made them look like ascetic monks.

In front of these ten men, a woman sat in a chair, bound with ropes. She was the tall woman who possessed assassination skills.

The woman clenched her teeth and glared at us, her chin pulled back.

Some of those who needed medical attention had been taken to the academy's medical facility, but the rest were all brought to my laboratory.

I had asked Rox to let me handle the interrogation, promising to extract the necessary information.

I was concerned about Rox's pale face as he saw us off, but it was good that I could finally speak with the apparent masterminds of the incident.

The dim lighting made everyone's faces appear dark and somber, but I tried to ask my questions in a normal tone.

"Let's start with the questions. You are the Neviss family, correct?"

"…Yeah, I guess."

The woman answered, surprisingly straightforward.

"Then, please state your position and name."

Upon hearing this, she crossed her legs while still bound and glared at me.

"Karila Neviss… I'm the boss of the Neviss family."

"If you lie, the consequences won't be pleasant, you know?"

I thought she couldn't be the top of the organization and tried to intimidate her a bit, but Karila, who claimed to be Karila, frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

She asked with a threatening voice. I sighed and shrugged.

"I thought the leader of a major criminal organization in such a large city would be older and more powerful."

Upon this remark, Karila and the men behind her slumped their shoulders and looked down.

"…We've been operating with a small, elite group. We're one of the more powerful factions in this city…"

"Huh?"

Thinking I had misheard, I tilted my head, and Karila, with a red face, opened her mouth.

"You're the one who's weird! I've never seen anyone block magic with their bare hands before!?"

"I use a body-strengthening spell."

"That's not what I mean! If that's true, then all of my men should be able to block magic with their bare hands!"

Karila shouted, breathing heavily. I replied, trying to encourage her.

"You can do it if you try hard enough. It's all about training."

Karila, however, just slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"…Fine. I understand you're abnormal. Tell me why you didn't hand us over to the guards. If you don't kill the men behind me, I'll cooperate with anything."

With a sense of resignation, Karila muttered, looking tired. She seemed to have a strong sense of camaraderie, protecting her subordinates.

Hmm. If she's willing to say that much, she's mine. Just as planned.

I smiled gently and took a step closer to Karila.

Karila flinched and held her breath.

"W-What? What are you planning? You have a cruel smile…!"

"…Cruel? That's rude. No, I won't say more. You must be scared being captured, right?"

"No, I'm scared of you…"

She seemed to want to say something, but when I looked at her, she clamped her mouth shut and averted her gaze.

Observing her profile with half-closed eyes, I moved on to the main topic.

"…Let's get back to the topic. Assuming you are the boss of the Neviss family, if you have a stronghold and such influence, you must know information about other organizations and their locations, right?"

"…Other organizations? We don't have any horizontal connections…"

As Karila's eyes darted around and she hesitated, I frowned and tried to intimidate her.

"I won't tolerate lies. If you lie, you know what will happen…"

I said, gradually lowering my voice.

Karila let out a strange sound in the middle of my sentence and shook her head violently.

"A-Ah! I remember! A few months ago, the leaders of the factions met to discuss territories!"

"Boss! That talk…!"

As Karila suddenly started speaking honestly, the men behind her let out cries. Karila frowned and shouted at them.

"Your lives are on the line! Shut up!"

"Ugh…"

Karila said she was doing it for their sake, and the men fell silent, looking down.

I nodded and looked at Karila and the men in turn.

"Good judgment. Please, continue."

Karila nodded seriously in response to my words.

"…This city is a gold mine. If you want, you can get a foothold to expand into other countries and neighboring small states. But there are many who are thinking the same thing, and we end up checking each other, so we're not making as much profit as we'd like. Still, compared to other cities, it's like heaven."

She chuckled and continued.

"…This city is being targeted by large organizations from various countries. Among them, the most influential are…"

She then revealed the names of the organizations one by one.

The organizations from the major countries indeed had a large number of members. As expected, they all seemed to be making a fortune through gambling, illegal slave trading, and stolen goods.

Among them, was it only gambling that was affecting the academy students?

"What exactly is this illegal slave trade?"

"…It's simple. They kidnap orphans or abduct people and force them into slavery to sell. Skinny, poor people might die at any moment, so the children of merchants or nobles are the most profitable. There are many nobles from other countries in this city, so they can be sold quickly without much risk of being caught."

"…Nobles from other countries, who attend our academy…"

"We don't do that! The ones who do that are from neighboring countries with established markets! It's easier to avoid detection if they're sold to different countries!"

As Karila hurriedly started making excuses, I glared at her and pondered.

If a child from another country was kidnapped, one would expect the knight order to storm in, but I had never heard of such a case.

I'll ask Rox about it later.

"…I see. Then, the last thing is the locations of these organizations."

"N-No, I really don't know that. The only thing decided is the territory. The content of the business is generally left alone. There's no shortage of money to be made. So, at the meetings, we mainly discuss territory confirmation, conflict resolution, and information about the knight order and guards."

Karila answered with a sigh. After talking this much, she wouldn't lie at the end.

"I see."

I smiled, and Karila shuddered and flinched.

"W-What? I cooperated! Keep your promise, please!"

She pleaded with a face that looked like she was about to cry, and I frowned and narrowed my eyes.

"Rude. I will keep my promise, but only after I confirm that what you said is true."

Upon hearing this, Karila gasped, tears welling up in her eyes.

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