Lane's escaped?

　Arios received the report the day after Rain had escaped from his prison.

　Everything is progressing as I envisioned it.
　It's time to bring Rayne to justice.
　And make him repent for the folly he has committed.

　The thought of such a thing put Arios in a good mood, but....
　When I visited the Knights' headquarters to check on Rain, I received the report and my mood dropped sharply.

''I haven't heard anything about that, but... what do you mean?''
'Ha, it's just that...'

　Arios stares at him and the knight becomes sluggish.
　Seemingly unable to see such a subordinate, a high ranking knight takes care of Arios.

'Yesterday, the suspect escaped. If the citizens find out that the murderer is hiding out in the city, there will be widespread unrest. Therefore, it is necessary to handle this matter in secret...
I'm not a citizen. I'm a brave man. And I'm involved in this. So why don't you report it?
'....my apologies. The suspect didn't simply escape, he was confused because he caused so much trouble ... and the report came later.
'Problem?　What's that?
This way.

　The knight led him to a private room, and Arios moved to a private room.
　It must be a confidential conversation.

''In fact........the suspect took the princess who came to visit him hostage and escaped.
...what?

　Arios pouts.

My apologies.
Is this Rain's guy holding the princess hostage?　Is it really?
Yes, I'm sure. Several of my men saw the incident. I have a gag order in place at this time, but I'm afraid it's a matter of routine and will be revealed sooner or later.
I see.

　Arios ran a hand over his mouth and made a gesture as if he were thinking.
　It was meant to hide a smile.

　Of course, breaking out of jail was a felony.
　A more serious charge would be given.

　Not only that, if he took the princess hostage, he would no longer be exempt from treason.
　Even if he was very lucky, hard labor in the mines and other places for the rest of his life.
　Usually a death sentence.

　Arios was troubled.
　Although he had tricked Rayne, the charge was murder.
　It's not always possible to put him to death for sure.

　However, if you kidnapped the princess as a hostage, then the death penalty is already a certainty.
　I didn't expect him to strangle himself.
　How grateful I am.

　Arios struggled to hold back the laughter that was building up.
　If it were true, he would like to burst into a high-pitched laugh right now and call Rain out for being a jerk.

''As for that, I would like to ask for Arios-sama's help, but...''
'Hmm. Well it's a big problem. Of course I can help you.
''Thank you. We're in the process of gathering information while searching for the princess-sama, so as soon as we get it together, we may ask for Arios-sama's help.
This time, I want a proper report and no delays.
Ha!

　After being seen off by the saluting knights, Arios left the Knights' headquarters.



----------



Oh, it's Arios. Welcome back.

　When I returned to my room in the castle where I was staying, I was greeted by Leanne.
　Seemingly with nothing in particular to do, Leanne was trimming her nails.

　Mina and Aggus were also in the room.

　Mina was reading a book.
　It's a book published by the church on the teachings of God.
　Aggus was quietly tending to his armor.

　Monica was nowhere to be seen.
　Even though she is a watchman, she is not with him 24 hours a day.
　When they go out, they act together, but when they don't, they are often separated.

　Arios took Monica out of his consciousness without paying much attention to her.

'I didn't see you for some reason, where have you been?'
'We've been taking it slow lately, but isn't it time to get active?'

　Mina closes the book with a snap and asks Arios that question.
　In response, Arios grinned and showed her a grin.
　........It was a very ugly smile, as if it was a concentration of malice.

'Yes, we need to do some activities.
Hmm?　What do you mean?
Lane's escaped.
Huh?　That garbage worm?
And I hear he's taken the princess hostage for no apparent reason.
Seriously?

　Leanne was surprised to hear a loud voice.
　Mina rolled her eyes and Aggus stopped tending to his armor and looked at Arios.

'I hear they're in the process of gathering information right now but I'm sure we'll have to make a move eventually.
He didn't tell me he was going to kidnap a princess... does that make him desperate?
Either way, it's unforgivable, isn't it?

　Leanne and Mina verbally accused Rain.
　

''Let's rescue the princess with our hands. And then we will defeat Rain. No problem, right?
Yeah, it's good.　You'll be a great stockholder for us if you can help the princess. Can you give me a gold seal or something?
'Leanne. To talk about money at a time like this....
That's good, that's good. It's not a good thing that we've had a few good things happen in the past it's a chance to do some good and make a fast rise. We can't let this opportunity pass us by.
Leanne is right, it's a good opportunity to change people's opinion of us. Let's make sure we don't make any mistakes, shall we?

　And.........let's kill Rain.
　Arios added quietly in his mind.

''........hahaha.''

　Leanne and Mina began to exchange stories about how to capture Rain.
　When they were asked for their opinions, Aggus, who had been silent, joined the conversation.

　Arios was pleased to see his motivated companion.

　As much as he hated to admit it, Rain was a powerful opponent.
　He has the power to have defeated himself once in the past...
　The fact that we have the strongest species in tow is also tricky.

　When you fight, you have to bring all your forces together.
　So it's good that our friends are motivated.
　To punish Rain.
　To satisfy their own needs.
　Let's let them do their best.

　........Arios was thinking about that.
　There was no compassion for his companions in that thought.
　What there is is only how to make them useful.
　That's all.

'Wait and see, Rain I'm going to end it this time.

　That day, that time....
　Arios lost to Rain.

　That's when everything started to go wrong.
　As a brave man, he was neglected, and Rain, who was supposed to be useless, was lifted up.
　Strange.
　That shouldn't be the case.
　Mistakes must be corrected.

　And then ... the opportunity to do so came.

　In other words, Rain is a clown.
　I'm going to need you to dance for me in a very funny way...
　And let's get the place up and running.

　By using Rain as a springboard for such a stepping stone, we will move to the next level.
　A spectacular future is promised.

　.........Arios smiled with unconcealed amusement as his dark thoughts ran through his mind.