“Gyaaaaah... ah... ah?”
Boluntar screamed as the flame compressed to about 1cm was embedded into his body. But in the next heartbeat, he realized he felt no heat at all. He stood up, checking his limbs in confusion.
Mult, who had been pinning Boluntar down with his halberd until just a few seconds ago, had already backed away, likely sensing the danger in Rei’s magic. He watched the scene from a distance.
“There’s... nothing?”
Boluntar checked his entire body. There were no burns, not even a scorch mark on his clothing, even though he had clearly witnessed magic being used on him.
“What did you do to me?!”
Confusion fueled his rage. Unable to comprehend the situation, Boluntar surrendered to a short-sighted impulse.
Rei stood before him, the Death Scythe resting over his shoulder, looking at the merchant as if he were a piece of trash. To Boluntar, Rei looked like little more than a boy—and he reflexively swung a fist at him.
“Gafuh!”
Rei easily sidestepped the punch and slammed the Death Scythe's shaft into Boluntar's stomach, sending him sprawling.
“Calm down. It’s not a lethal spell. As the one who cast it, I can guarantee that much.”
(Well, every night at midnight, he’ll feel like his body is being incinerated from the inside out. He’ll experience a pain worse than death, but he won’t actually die. If he’s about to go mad, the spell will force a recovery to keep him sane. So, technically, I’m not lying.)
Rei continued his explanation aloud.
“The flame embedded inside you will ignite at a set time, causing agonizing pain as if your body is burning up from within. I’ll say only this: you will be released from that pain once it is judged that you have atoned for your sins.”
“Wha—!”
Boluntar was speechless. He knew exactly how many crimes he had committed throughout his life. Despair washed over his face as the realization sank in.
Even Brasso and Phron furrowed their brows at magic that could only be described as vicious. Yet neither objected. They understood the depth of the depravity Boluntar had displayed throughout his life.
“During the day, physical pain from interrogators and torturers. At night, mental agony as if your soul is burning. It is the harvest of the life you’ve lived. Savor it to your heart’s content.”
As Rei spoke, someone burst into the reception room.
“Master! Are you safe?!”
An old man, perhaps slightly older than Boluntar, scanned the room the moment he entered. He spotted Galahat and glared at him with fury.
“Galahat! How dare you show such insolence to the master to whom you owe everything! Know your place!”
The shout of the old man in the butler's uniform echoed through the room, making nearly everyone present wince.
“Who’s this guy?” Phron muttered.
Mult answered, his eyes fixed on the old butler with distaste.
“The head butler of this mansion. I heard he’s been assigned to Boluntar since they were children.”
“...Ah, I see.”
Phron understood. This man had literally grown up with Boluntar as his personal attendant.
(So, this guy spoiled him rotten, and that’s how we ended up with this personality.)
She could easily imagine how Boluntar had been raised, and she reflexively clicked her tongue. It should have been a butler's role to admonish his master, but clearly, he had failed—or never tried. One look at the Azoth Firm's history and the old man's current behavior confirmed it.
“Galahat, what do we do with him? Hand him over to the Knight Order as well?”
Boluntar was currently catatonic with despair. Rei turned his attention to the butler still glaring at Galahat.
“Ah... yeah. Right. Is that... is that the best thing to do?”
Galahat was in a state of shock himself. Learning that his mother’s illness—the staged disaster that had bound him to Boluntar in debt—had been orchestrated by his brother had shattered his world. He barely knew what he was saying.
Rei sighed and looked at Mult.
“Since Galahat is like this, you know the mansion’s staff best. What should be done with this butler?”
“Well... he was Boluntar’s right-hand man. I’m sure he knows plenty of the firm’s secrets.”
“Indeed,” Brasso added. “Even for a city on the frontier, it’s best if fewer people know that the largest firm in town was connected to the Bestia Empire.”
“Heh... hahahaha! It’s useless! Useless!” Postgera, still tied up, laughed arrogantly. “Capture me or that doll in the garden if you want, but I’m not the only one meddling in this kingdom. I’m just a lizard's tail—the tip of the iceberg.”
The room met his boast with cold, indifferent stares. Realizing he wasn't getting the reaction he wanted, Postgera clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked away.
(Is he stupid? Why go out of his way to tell us there are other spies? ...Then again, Gilm is far from the border. It’s common sense that if they’re here, they’re in other cities too.)
Rei figured a Kingdom-wide hunt for Bestia Empire operatives was about to begin. Spies were one thing, but agents nested near high-ranking officials was another matter entirely.
“What are you doing?! Release me! How dare you mere adventurers touch the butler of Lord Boluntar with your filthy hands!”
“Yeah, they might be filthy,” Phron said, a vein throbbing on her forehead. “But saying that to a woman is a great way to get hurt.”
She swung her longsword—still in its scabbard—and slammed it into the butler’s thigh. Whether she intended to keep it sheathed or simply forgot to draw it didn't matter. The butler collapsed, rolling on the floor and groaning in pain.
Just then...
“In here?!”
A man in his 30s shouted as he entered the reception room. Everyone turned toward the door, sighing in relief when they saw the armor of a knight belonging to the Knight Order of the City of Gilm.
“Mu...?” The knight blinked, surprised by the collective stare. He looked around the wrecked room. “Uh... someone explain the situation.”
The servant who had fetched him clearly hadn’t given any details. Phron and Brasso looked to Galahat, but the man was still staring into space.
“Mult, Galahat is out of it. You explain it,” Brasso ordered.
“Eh? Right. Can I leave Boluntar to you for a second?”
“Umu.”
Rei stepped in before Mult could start.
“One thing first.”
“Hm? You’re... Rei, I believe? I’ve seen you visiting Lord Daskar several times.”
Rei nodded at the man who fortunately recognized him, then pointed to the hole in the wall.
“Look through there. There are two people down in the garden. You need to secure them immediately.”
“Why? I haven’t heard the full story yet, but I can’t imagine anyone being more important than Boluntar.”
“Even if they’re the Bestia Empire's secret weapons?”
“...What?” The knight froze.
“Secret weapons. More specifically...” Rei hesitated. He didn't want to discuss the Ritual of Inheritance in front of the alchemist. (I’ll just tell Margrave Larkus later.) “They’re chimeras of humans and monsters created by Bestia’s alchemy.”
“What?!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the knight rushed to the hole. He saw the woman with scales and the monster with the crab-shell torso and tentacles. Set was standing over them, guarding the prisoners.
“It’s exactly as Rei said... Those Bestia Empire alchemists. To resort to such inhuman methods.”
“Hahaha! What are you talking about?” Postgera piped up. “Technological progress requires failure. We build the future on a foundation of experiments, don’t we?”
The knight glared at him with suspicion. “And this one?”
“He just told you,” Postgera smirked. “I’m the ‘inhuman’ one.”
“A Bestia Empire alchemist?!” The knight was more shocked by this than the Beast Soldiers. “How... how did this happen?”
“In short, the Azoth Firm—” Rei glanced at Galahat, then corrected himself. “Boluntar was in league with the Bestia Empire.”
“No! No, no, no!” Boluntar screamed. “I didn’t know he was an alchemist from the Empire! I never betrayed the Kingdom of Mireana!”
It was a hollow defense. With Postgera sitting right there, his words were nothing more than noise.
The knight thought for a moment, then sighed and looked at Mult.
“I need paper and something to write with. This is too big for me to handle alone. I have to report to my superiors and Lord Daskar. I’d go myself, but I can’t leave this scene.”
“Ah, right. I think there’s some over here.”
Mult found writing supplies. The knight scribbled a rough report about capturing a Bestia Empire alchemist and sent the servant back to the Lord's Mansion.
He turned back to the group.
“My superiors will want the full story, but for now, give me a summary of what happened here.”
“Galahat-san is... incapacitated. I’ll tell it,” Mult said.
As Mult explained the internal strife and its conclusion, Rei sheathed the Death Scythe into his Misty Ring and walked over to the dazed Galahat.
Galahat's eyes were glassy. Rei sighed and balled his hand into a fist.
“Snap out of it!”
It wasn't his full strength, but it wasn't a gentle tap either. It was a punch that would make any normal man double over in agony, and it landed squarely in Galahat’s gut.
“Guh!”
Galahat collapsed to his knees. Rei grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him back up.
“You knew better than anyone how much of a bastard Boluntar was. You’ve seen what he’s done to others. Are you really going to hide from reality now that it’s your turn?”
Rei began slapping his cheeks—not hard, but enough to sting.
Mult saw this and started to rage, but Brasso and Phron held him back.
Slap. Slap. Slap. Slap.
The sharp sound echoed through the room. Gradually, Galahat’s eyes cleared. He reached out and caught Rei’s wrist.
“...I'm okay now. Sorry for worrying you.”
“I wasn't worried. I might have been the catalyst for this, but you're the one who started it. See it through to the end.”
“Yeah. You’re right. A lot of things didn't go as planned, but I'm the one who began this. It's only right that I take responsibility.”
Galahat had been betrayed and exploited by the brother he once loved, and though he was far from healed, he regained enough of himself to begin explaining everything to the knight alongside Mult.
Rei, Brasso, and Phron watched them, finally breathing sighs of relief. Their job was done. It was finally time to rest.