Kukuku ...... kuhahaha ...... hahaha ......

　Reflexively, he looked back to the corner of the hall.

　The brave Falcon, who should have been lying there in his restraints, had somehow risen and was sitting in the corner of the room with his winged back resting on the corner of the room.

　Although he was being held up by the magical restraints of the Black Wizard (Noir) and the physical restraints of the Mechanical Engineer (Alexia), he did not lose his usual pompous attitude.

　Fearless or overconfident, I'm almost impressed with him in a roundabout way.

'My story?　Dattara I'm a mixed bag. Nah, I'm a third-rate person.
Don't move!

　With a shout from Captain Hazel, the four knights all swung their weapons at the Falcon at once.

　Large swords, stabbing swords, riding spears, and axe spears - while being poked with a wide variety of cutting edges, no impatience appeared on their half-scaled faces.

'Brave Falcon ...... No, the Falcon of the Multiple Layer City. Your heroic accreditation has not been withdrawn even now, but that's only because the truth of the series has not been discovered.

　With an attitude that was no different than when he faced the Demon King's army, Captain Hazel continued his pronouncement to the Falcon.

''We, the Golden Fang, recognize you as the Demon King's army's fighting force. Whether you betrayed us of your own volition or your personality has already collapsed, that is of no concern to us.
"Nah, it's a killing machine.
There's a lot to be gained from a live one. That's it. Nothing else matters. If you resist, you'll be brought back to the body as quickly as possible.

　Captain Hazel's attitude towards the Falcon was no longer that of a member of the Order to a brave man.

　The reason was just as he had just said.

　Falcon's brave title had yet to be officially revoked for the reason that the circumstances leading to the conversion and his condition after the conversion had not been fully clarified.

　It seems that revoking the hero status is a politically troublesome matter, and with only me and Noir's testimony as evidence, it's difficult to push forward quickly.

　However, that only means that the process of making a final decision on whether or not to deprive them of their status has been suspended.
　In fact, it seems that the conclusion has already been decided.

　As you can see from Captain Hazel's response, they are already being treated as an enemy force at the field level.

''I will conduct a simple interrogation on behalf of the Golden Fang. First of all, you'll have to give an explanation of how you turned against the kingdom. Since it will be used as legal testimony, at best you will answer carefully.
"He can go to ...... and ask for help.

　In a noisy and inaudible manner, Falcon begins to recount his testimony.

　According to him, Falcon was restrained by a living curse mark - probably a mimic of the curse mark that was also applied to Noir - from acting freely.

　It wasn't so much that he was being manipulated at will, but that he was being blocked from violating orders or attempting to remove the curse mark, and was forced to become a weapon for the Demon King's army.

　The situation changed when they fought me.

　I was pierced in the chest, and scorching flames (breath) flooded out of the wound, unintentionally burning the curse seal mimic to death.

　After being knocked down into the subterranean lake, he had already regained his freedom and had just crawled up to retaliate against the Demon King.

''That's a convenient excuse. You want me to believe that to the Golden Fang (us)?''
Masaka. Daga, is there any other explanation for this?
"...... I will only record it as his claim. I won't be able to verify its authenticity until after I escape the Demon King's Castle.

　There was not a single person here who innocently believed that there was such a situation.

　This is Falcon's own claim.
　It was nothing more or less than that.

　After that, Captain Hazel asked a few more questions, but none of the replies seemed to satisfy her.

'Miss Noir, Miss Alexia. I would like additional restraints, please. A minimum amount of walking is fine.
...... I get it.
'Ha, yes!'
'And, Master Luke. I recommend the second plan of escape. The first plan would be more dangerous if this man were to run interference.

　Captain Hazel cut off the interrogation and returned the agenda to the escape from the Demon King's Castle.

　The first plan is an escape route through the narrow foothold between the walls of the Demon King's Castle and the cliffs, where it is difficult to be detected, but the slightest thing could cause you to fall to your death.

　I can't take the Falcon on such an operation. ...... Captain Hazel must have thought so.

　The other strategy of 'poking a hole in the city wall with [disintegration] to break through where the defending troops are few,' is also a big one, but he decided that this one was relatively better.

''Nanda, mou question ha end warika?''
Well, can I start with you?

　Alexia takes a step forward with an emotionally stifled look on her face.

'Falcon. Do you remember me?
Who are you?　Knowledge Lanna
'...... Alexia in the multi-level city. She was a friend of Julia's.
"Oh, ...... Sojueva, Julia, it's the weeping bug that pulls you in. Sonna's name is Datta no ka.

　Despite being assured that she wasn't interested in you, Alexia continued to act blissfully calm.

'Julia wasn't the kind of girl who would do something like that ...... to cut off Luke-kun. What the hell happened?

　However, the Falcon's reply was only extremely simple.

''There is no righteousness in the answer. Golden Fang, is this a questioning question?
...... I understand. I won't be looking to you anymore.

　Alexia gave up trying to get a testimonial from Falcon and assembled the metal parts she took from the large case she always carried with her and attached additional fetters.

　Furthermore, she cast a spell while Noir avoided eye contact with her, making Falcon's restraints even tighter.

　It's so tight that even a felon wouldn't be subjected to such restraints.

　It's as if - no, in fact, as the Golden Fang, they must be restrained with the intention of capturing the traitor.

''Yo, Noir. Masaka, Rooke, change your saddle for a new one.
............

　After silently finishing casting his magic, Noir left the scene.

　The four knights supported Falcon's body, which was half turned into a dragon, and forced him to stand up.

''It's time for us to leave. Even though it's an uninhabited residential area, we can't stay here too long.''
...... Do you have a minute?
Yes, Master Luke?
How about at least [repairing] the Falcon's throat while you're at it? It seems like he's been having trouble answering questions from earlier.

　When I suggested that, Captain Hazel was a little troubled and then agreed.

　Of course, the reason for making this suggestion is not out of pity or sympathy.
　It's because I thought it would make things easier for things to go smoothly.

''Here, take it out of your throat. You know very well that my [restoration] is not the same as it used to be.
...... hmm.

　Falcon looked uncomfortable, but he looked up and exposed his throat whistle.

　He put his hand there and poured in the magic power of 【Restoration】.

　Apparently, it seems that his language function has not been reduced due to the modification.

　The condition of his throat was close to that of a human, and normally he should have been able to speak normally, but that's why it seemed to have been burned out, unable to withstand the repeated flames (breath).

　With this, 【Restoration】 is easy.
　Just as I was pouring more magic power into it and trying to quickly complete the 【Restoration】 process--

(...... dammit, it's that feeling again: ......!)

　--Memories of the [Restoration] target flowed into my mind and my vision was painted over by a completely different scene.