CH 53

Surrender

“Her Highness’ whereabouts– spit it out already!”

My back is struck hard by a whip.

Crack! Together with a violent sound, pain coursed throughout my body. For an instant, my vision is enveloped by a blinding light.

In the cold prison, I was hung up with chains around both of my hands, and I was interrogated over a long period of time.

But I am accustomed to pain. And so, interrogating me like this is pointless.

However, I’m worried about Mize. In her condition, she would probably spend several days being unable to get up. In the meantime, I’ve left behind enough food and water so she could barely survive, but… it’s her we’re talking about. Since I’ve disappeared, there’s the possibility that she would recklessly search for me.

As I was thinking of such things, my back was whipped once more.

“Haah, haah… This b-, I’ve told you to spit it out already!”

“Oi, leave it at that. If you continue with that, he’s going to die.”

Another man’s voice calls out from outside the cell.

“… Damn him. He’s looking down on us.”

The man who’s holding the whip leaves the prison, panting.

Clank. The lock of the prison was fastened.

“But still, have we really been struggling, against a man like this?”

“Heh. I don’t know if he was a hero or something during the Great War, but now he’s just a worn rag. If we leave him be, then he’ll die sooner or later.”

Both men blatantly looked down on me.

As Mize had said previously, the Kingdom of Arcadia also had an intelligence unit. These men seemed to be members of that unit, so they knew who I was.

Within the Kingdom of Terraria, I may have been hailed as a hero of the Great War, but in other countries, the situation was different.

To the Kingdom of Arcadia, I was nothing more than a dangerous person.

“The, King…”

I opened my mouth and uttered in a raspy voice.

“Call, the King…”

After telling them this, the man grew enraged.

“Like hell we’ll call him! I’d rather beat the shit out of you until you fucking die–”

“– Did you need me for something?”

A single man appears at the entrance.

At the appearance of this man, who had donned a red mantle of high quality, the man who had been interrogating me until a while ago instinctively dropped his whip.

“Y-your Royal Majesty! Why are you here!?”

“What of it? It’s only natural to want to see the one who has been troubling us so.”

Lord Reten Arcadia.

The reigning king of the Holy Kingdom of Arcadia spoke while staring at me from outside the prison.

He is tall and well-built. His upright back and the wrinkles etched on his face exude dignity, indicating that at the very least, he is not merely a decorative king.

However, his eyes were somewhat murky.

Rather than the confident eyes of one who stands above others– they are ugly eyes, looking as if they seek the weak in order to ridicule them.

“Are you… Mize’s father?”

“Yes. I am certainly that thing’s father.”

The way he said that made me involuntarily make a wry smile.

“Did you call your daughter a thing?”

“Unfortunately, I have never treated that thing as a daughter. Once, I had hoped that it would grow into a tool to make the country prosper… but now, it is merely the gunpowder that could ignite another war.”

Lord Reten says with a coarse smile.

“In order to protect the peace of this country, that thing’s corpse is necessary. So… quickly spit out its whereabouts!”

Lord Reten reveals his anger.

The struggle for <Wisdom Road> will not end until Mize’s corpse is presented. Lord Reten had already made the decision to sacrifice Mize for the sake of the country.

“I want, to negotiate.”

“What?”

“I want to discuss, a way to prevent killing Mize.”

At my words, Lord Reten bursts into laughter.

“Fufu, Fuhahaha! It seems that you aren’t capable of reading the situation, you bastard!”

Lord Reten stares at me with glassy eyes.

“We are also coordinating with a unit from the Kingdom of Terraria… It seems that before you reached this point, you’ve fought many intense battles, am I right? Bastard, even if you don’t tell us anything, that thing is already on the verge of death. The only reason I even deigned to ask you of its whereabouts, is merely to save us the trouble of searching for its corpse. There is no room for negotiations… Since that thing will die anyways.”

Lord Reten says with a pleasant smile.

“… I see.”

This was the first time I met Lord Reten, but it seems that my prediction of his personality was right on the mark.

Nobles are moved by benefits rather than emotions, was what Chris had once told me. Lord Reten might be a typical example of that. An appeal to his emotions isn’t likely to work on this man.

At this point, I don’t want to resolve things peacefully.

I looked up and spat the stone I held in my mouth at the chains that bound my arms.

◆

Shortly before Tweight and Lord Reten met face-to-face.

Chris was being guided by someone from the army of the Kingdom of Arcadia to where Tweight was being held.

“Did 28 really surrender?”

“Yes. He is currently being held in prison. But Her Royal Highness, Princess Michelliaze is nowhere to be found…”

If he’s not with the target of his escort, Michelliaze, at this point in time, then the fact that he had surrendered is an outright lie.

Chris thinks as her military uniform sways.

Perhaps, Michelliaze is still trying to escape somewhere. Or, due to some circumstances, she is unable to move. If so, then Tweight might be keeping silent during his interrogation in order to draw the attention of the search for a while.

“It’s this way.”

A man from the army, around 30 to 40 years old, continued to guide Chris in a polite manner.

He led her to a large mansion.

“It’s considerably extravagant.”

This city, located on the eastern edge of the Kingdom of Arcadia, was said to be rather rural and not very well equipped. However, the interior of the mansion that Chris was taken to was extremely extravagant and clearly not meant for commoners.

“After all, His Royal Majesty has been staying in this mansion for several days now.”

“His Royal Majesty is?”

“We cannot give custody of Her Royal Highness, Princess Michelliaze to the Second Prince’s faction. In order to keep them in check, His Royal Majesty has personally visited this place… Thanks to the efforts of Chris-sama’s unit, we were able to drive 28 to this place. And for that, you have our gratitude.”

The Kingdom of Arcadia isn’t stupid. While Chris and Oz were steadily pursuing Tweight, they had apparently developed a strategy to drive Tweight into this city.

It was clear from their tracks that Tweight was aiming to reach the Republic. Since that was the case, it wasn’t a bad strategy to wait for Tweight here, halfway between the Kingdom of Terraria and the Republic. Even if Tweight hadn’t surrendered, they probably would have been able to capture him somewhere.

“So, where is the crucial person, His Royal Majesty?”

“His Royal Majesty is currently meeting 28 in the dungeons.”

“… Huh?”

At the military man’s carefree words, Chris’ eyes widen.

“… Don’t tell me, is he meeting with him directly?”

“Hahaha, don’t worry. We placed 28 in prison, bound his arms and legs, and injured him. There are many soldiers like us on standby in the dungeon, so there shouldn’t be any problems with talking to him through the iron bars.”

“No! That isn’t enough!”

It would have been fine if they had captured him with their own hands, but this time, he had willingly submitted himself to them.

He is definitely hiding something. His mouth, his eyes, his ears, his nose, and everything else should be secured, otherwise, it would still be possible for him to do something.

A moment later– the area beneath their feet violently shook.

The sudden earthquake brought Chris to one knee.

“What was that shaking!?”

“This was… no way, the dungeons!?”

Chris ran past the panicking soldiers and headed toward the dungeons.

She descended the staircase, and when she had finally arrived at the end–

“Hiih!?”

The king of the Kingdom of Arcadia, Lord Reten, let out a terrified voice.

And behind him, was a man with terrifyingly cold eyes.

“Chris, huh… You’re a bit too late.”

Tweight says as he draws a blade closer to the king’s nape.

“I will say this again– Lord Reten Arcadia; I want to negotiate with you.”