Chapter 407 - Episode 390: Interrogation
"...Now then, shall we get to the main point. Yuri, Pence, I'm counting on you."
""Yes, sir!""
The two men called by Noein moved. Yuri took a step closer to Igor, while Pence moved right next to him. In doing so, as a substitute for a greeting, Pence kicked Igor's shin hard, causing Igor to let out a small groan at the unexpected pain.
"Igor, a member of the Milleritz Company... As His Excellency Arqvist stated, it is likely a pseudonym, but for now, we shall call you that. You are suspected of trespassing and theft within the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, property damage for defacing walls, and assault and battery resulting in death of a citizen of the Grand Duchy."
Yuri read out Igor's charges in a flat, heavy voice, as if attempting to crush the opponent's heart with sheer pressure.
"Furthermore, we are aware that the Milleritz Company provided false information regarding your territory of origin and other details during the entry permit application. Considering this alongside your suspicious behavior, we deem that you, along with the other two, were conducting espionage activities within the Grand Duchy of Arqvist. Therefore... we will conduct an interrogation until you spit out the information."
"...I'm not going to struggle when I've been caught at the scene of the crime. But we were supposed to be careful not to get noticed. I'm impressed you bothered to investigate all the way back to the Milleritz Company over an incident of that scale."
At those words from Igor, it was Noein, not Yuri, who spoke.
"If it were just graffiti and some assault brawls, we might have settled for simply increasing patrols at this stage. But a citizen died. It may have been an unplanned blunder even for you, but it's a different story once there's a fatality."
"...? The one who died was just a single beastman, wasn't he?"
Why did they move this much for something of that level? A look of doubt appeared on Igor's face.
"Just a single beastman, huh... I suppose that's how it feels to you. However, to me, it doesn't matter if they are a beastman, a human, or a demi-human. Every single one of them is a precious citizen. A precious subject who loves and admires me has died. He will never come back. I cannot completely heal the sadness of the family and friends who lost him."
Noein's voice sounded sorrowful, but his eyes were cold. He pierced Igor with a freezing gaze. Receiving that look, Igor's expression showed tension.
"That is why, Igor, you must take responsibility. By telling us who ordered you to do such a thing. Or, with your life."
Once Noein finished speaking, Yuri took over.
"Someone like you who handles dirty work should know about the magic tool for the psychological magic [Insight]. The Grand Duchy of Arqvist Army possesses one. We will use it during the interrogation."
Among the many types of magic, psychological magic—which acts upon the human heart—is considered one of the most mysterious. Among its techniques, only [Insight], which discerns whether a person is lying, has a magic tool because its effect is relatively simple.
The Grand Duchy of Arqvist Army had acquired a single one of these extremely expensive tools, which few people can create, in preparation for such situations.
"From here on, we will make you and your two companions spit out information about your employer through interrogation. We will continue until you tell the truth. And, only the first person to spit out the true information will be kept alive and let escape... Think about which is the better strategy: dying after long suffering, or speaking what needs to be spoken and becoming free."
"Tch, as if I could believe conditions like that. No matter what, once I spit it out, I'll be ki—gobuh!"
Pence punched Igor in the cheek, stopping him from speaking. Then Yuri spoke again.
"What we want is information on the employer. No one said you could talk about unnecessary things."
"..."
While glaring at Yuri, Igor shut his mouth.
"Ahaha, as expected, he won't talk easily. You seem to be the toughest one. But if you're going to reconsider, you'd better do it quickly. At this rate, the other two will probably spit out the information first."
Matching Noein's words, Pence moved toward a table placed against the wall. Seeing various things resting there—knives, needles, tools, cloths—Igor apparently imagined what would be done to him using those items, and his face finally turned pale.
"Your Excellency. Would you prefer the method that takes about three days but guarantees the information, or the cruel method that can get the information in as little as one day?"
At Pence's question, Noein appeared to think for a moment, then spoke with a smile.
"Let's go with the one-day option. The sooner we know the facts, the better, and with your skill, you should be able to interrogate him skillfully while keeping the wounds to a minimum."
Pence, a former mercenary who had handled a wide range of jobs in his group by utilizing his dexterity, had a fair amount of experience in interrogations to extract information by tormenting enemies.
Even after becoming a retainer of the Arqvist house, he had lightly showcased those skills several times against uncooperative prisoners during the battle of Bezel, the Betumia War, and last year's war with the Kingdom of Virgo.
"Hahaha, exactly. Leave it to me."
Pence laughed as he took a small, slender knife from the table.
Then, he crouched at Igor's feet and grabbed his left leg.
"Well then, I look forward to working with you for a while..."
As he said this, Pence plunged the knife into a single point on Igor's left leg.
"Guaaaaah!"
Igor, who had been clenching his teeth with an expression resolved to be tormented, still screamed at the sudden, intense pain.
Despite Igor's expression of agony, not much blood came from the leg. This was because he had been stabbed while avoiding the major blood vessels.
"Ugh, guuu..."
"Ahaha, that looks painful... Well then, it's a competition among the three of you to see who gets to be at ease and saved first. Good luck."
Leaving those words behind, Noein left the cell, taking Yuri and Matilda with him. Once the door closed, the groans of Igor inside the cell could no longer be heard.
Noein and the others walked down the corridor leading outside from in front of Igor's room at the deepest part of the detention area. They passed by, ignoring the muffled screams coming from the room where a man who looked like a veteran merchant was held—the cell closest to the exit—and went up a short flight of stairs to leave the semi-basement detention area.
Two Guard soldiers stood at the entrance as sentries, and they saluted as Noein and the others passed.
The soldiers guarding Igor. The soldiers conducting the interrogation of the veteran merchant-like man. And the soldiers handling the young man who was judged to be the least dangerous and was placed in a room in the warehouse rather than the detention area. All of them were composed of the Guard. As Noein's so-called private army, they also had the role of performing such dirty work.
"...With this, if Igor and the others say the same thing as the information that young man gave, it'll be confirmed."
"The merchant-like man likely won't last half a day. As for that mercenary, if Pence is the opponent, he'll be lucky to last a full day."
Yuri answered from Noein's side.
Among the three from the Milleritz Company, the youngest man had spit out information early on after having a single nail pulled. Through the [Insight] magic tool, it had been confirmed that the man did not intend to lie.
In other words, the words Noein told Igor—"At this rate, the other two will probably spit out the information first"—were a lie.
However, the [Insight] magic tool only detects fluctuations of the heart; an excellent operative with a trained mind could speak without being caught by the tool. Additionally, since the young man seemed to be lower in rank than the other two, there was a possibility he had been given false information about the employer or only partial information.
Therefore, Noein decided to wait for all three to spit out information after interrogation and judge whether it was true by cross-referencing that information.
"Then, while we wait, let's give Ludo his reward. Also, I need to discuss with Bart and make preparations to investigate the information those three spit out."
Without doubting for a moment that Pence and the others would finish the interrogation quickly, Noein planned his future schedule.
By that evening, a report was delivered from the Guard that the veteran merchant-like man had spit out information, and early the next morning, Igor had done the same.
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