"That was surprisingly difficult. I thought I could get there in about half the time. ......

It's been a long time since I've done anything like this. I didn't realize assassins were such sensitive creatures. ......

Lake and Mathias murmured to each other as the assassins were captured and piled in a corner of the room.
Apparently, they didn't like the fact that it took ten seconds to capture the assassins alive.
If they had been allowed to kill him, it would have taken less than a tenth of that time.

Incidentally, most of the assassins were unconscious, and even those who were conscious seemed to have completely lost their will to fight.
One of them, the one who was talking about taking credit when he came in, suddenly began to suffer as if he was mumbling something.
According to the information manipulation analysis, he seems to have taken poison. I wonder if he had it in his back teeth.

"Okay. Let's interrogate him first.

As I say this, I invoke the recovery spell and force the assassin to recover from the poisoning.
The other assassins don't seem to be trying to kill themselves, so he's the one most likely to have information.
In addition, I used a magic tool to prevent any sound from leaking out so that they can't talk to each other later.

...... What did you do?

"It's just recovery magic. You can't get any information if you're dead.

Recovery spell?　Why?　If you took that potion, why do you have magic?

Why, you ask? ......

I don't think that's the right thing to say after you've given me a potion that doesn't work at all.
It was hard for me to know when to act.

"If you want the magic potion to work on the maple, bring a mug of the undiluted potion. If you mix it in the well, even we won't be able to kill it.

"Is one mug enough?

...... I feel like I'm being told what to do, but I don't care, I'm going to keep talking.

Well, never mind the drugs, let's get to the interrogation.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.　It's useful, but it takes a lot of time.　There's a good chance you won't make it on arrival day.

I don't think it's a good idea to use ...... too risqué a method in the inn.

No. It's a very peaceful way. It's just a question.

I take out a set of mages from the item box.
It's just a bunch of different kinds of magic tools, so it's not exactly the same structure as the ones on Earth. ...... Its function is to mimic the lie detector that we had on Earth.
Well, it measures your pulse and the current flowing through your skin to see how you react, so it's not really a lie detector.
I don't have any experience using such a thing, I just know the principle, so it won't work unless the results are easy to understand.
Well, if it doesn't work, you can try decibatraining or questioning.

"Was it Zoemers who gave you the orders?

I'll ask the question under an appropriate name.

The assassin waits a moment, but gives no answer.
But since Zoemers is not from this country and should have been executed by now, it's probably a bad answer.
That's fine. It is only when you know the reaction to an incorrect answer that you can distinguish it from a correct answer.
After that, I continue to give the appropriate names and the names of the nobles and merchants of the country.

The most noticeable reaction to the magic tool was when Mercia mentioned the name of Gengar, a candidate for the main suspect, as she had predicted.
There was a slight change in the reaction of the magic tool that detects the pulse, but the biggest reaction of all was the device that detects magic power.
As magic is triggered by images, magic power may have a strong connection with the mind.

"Kaede, you haven't answered any of my questions, but if I ask you a ...... question, will it tell me anything?

"Yeah. I can't use it as evidence, but I think it will help you gather information.

While answering Mercia's question, I continued to question the assassin.
After naming all the candidates, I asked about the organization behind them.
According to the magic detection response, the client seemed to be Gengar and the organization behind him.
Also, it seems that there are similar assassins lurking in the town next to this one.

You're a mind reader, aren't you?

As I explained to Mercia and the others what I had found out, the assassin opened his mouth for the first time in a long time.
From the reaction, it seems that this lie detector (although it's really just a magic detector) is doing its job.

"Well. For now, all we know for sure is that you're going to be tortured in the Decibatore style after this.

"Kaede, it's not torture, it's questioning.

@.

"Well. It seems that the magic tools Kaede brought are quite reliable.

Next day.
After having a meal in a neighboring town to check the authenticity of the information obtained from the lie detector, we fought off the assassins as we had done yesterday, and watched as the second team of assassins was taken away by the guards.
The process of repelling the assassins was almost the same as yesterday. It was so uninteresting that there was no change at all.
The medicine still didn't work, and Mercia's acting skills were still zero.
The only thing that had changed was that the time between the start of the battle and the completion of the capture had been reduced by about two seconds.
Well, now the authenticity of the information is doubly confirmed.

"Now that the culprit is almost certain to be Gengar, ......, how should we destroy him now?

"Gengar is a nobleman, even if he is corrupt. I'm sure they've taken measures to prevent him from being treated as a bandit.

If he was a bandit, we could kill him with a single stone. ......

As Mercia and Lake are discussing, it is true that defeating a Gengar that has not been treated as a bandit will be quite a hassle.
But killing Gengar isn't the only way to destroy him.



"Hey... Gengar's been having money problems lately, hasn't he?

"Yes. Originally, Gengar's territory was so desolate that he was almost running at a loss. He's probably making a small fortune now by brokering backroom deals.

"Then why don't you attack the organization that's doing the brokering? 　They're probably a bunch of bandits, aren't they?

Sabotage is a hindrance and a hassle because it is done by people with money and power.
If you destroy the source of the money and the organization, the fool with the money becomes just a fool.
Thanks to the kind assassins, I now know where Gengar's backers are.

That's a crazy idea. ....... But if we push them too hard, they might try to attack us with abandon.

If that happens, we'll just have to turn the tables on them. Right now, the Kaede Chamber of Commerce is full of Desibatoreans guards.

Mathias answered Mercia's question immediately.

"Good. Okay, let's go with that plan.

It's a good idea.　...... By the way, wasn't today the day we were supposed to arrive at King's Landing?　If we don't leave soon, won't we be late getting there?

You're right, we won't make it if we don't. ......

We took an early meal (with an ineffective potion) so that we could get to the raid as soon as possible, but it was already evening.
It seems that the audience is the day after tomorrow, but what about an audience the day after we arrive?

...... Well, we've invited the raid, and we've got the information. We don't need to travel by carriage anymore.

You're right. No more horses. I'll just leave it somewhere else.

The suddenly sacked horses were taken to the lake with puzzled expressions on their faces.
A few moments later, Lake returned and announced in a high-pitched voice.

"We'll ride from here to King's Landing!

Well, I'm not from Decibatore, and I'm not a very fast runner. ......

"Don't worry. Mercia can just ride in that carriage. The carriage is unnecessarily sturdy to handle situations like this. And it has a strong suspension.

"What ...... is the function of this carriage, I wasn't really involved in its design?

Of course, it's for getting around like this!　That!

As soon as Lake called out, the three of us grabbed the carriage and the three of us lifted it .
No, it's not a carriage anymore. It's a rickshaw, the Desibatore version.

All right!　Let's go!

Yeah!

We speed up, keeping in sync with each other.
The vehicle is quite light and the road is suitable for running, unlike the Desibatore movement, so it is very easy to increase the speed.
Although the demons sometimes spotted us, they must have seen our speed and decided that they couldn't catch up with us. They didn't even chase us.
Well, even if they did, the demons would be the victims of a traffic accident.

"Hey!　You're fast! You're too fast!

Don't worry!　This thing is using a lot of Metal Lizard Metal to withstand the speed we're going!

I don't think that's the problem!

We hurried on our way to the royal capital, listening to Mercia's cries echoing vainly in the evening sky.
It was about two hours later that the twelve-hour journey to the capital was completed.