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"—And so, this is the thief I bagged the other day."
In the morning, Birgitte summoned us to the dining hall. Standing before us was a demon man, firmly ensnared within a barrier.
His eyes were closed in resignation, and he remained motionless, his head hanging low.
"His name’s Zen. Apparently, he’s one of those Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army or whatever."
"The Four Heavenly Kings...!"
A wave of unease rippled through the room.
"Does that mean he is a being on par with Ganjit, whom we faced back in that village?"
"He was incredibly strong... Um, did you really defeat him, Lady Birgitte? And all by yourself...?"
"Pretty much."
The crowd grew even noisier at Birgitte's nonchalant confirmation.
It was no wonder they were shocked. Lately, so much had been happening that my senses had grown dull, but in reality, even an ordinary demon was absurdly powerful.
A member of the Four Heavenly Kings was an existence far, far beyond that.
Since even I had struggled quite a bit against one, it was only natural everyone was stunned that Birgitte, who appeared for all the world to be an ordinary person, had successfully captured him.
Amidst the commotion, only Albert remained composed.
"Well, Big Sister Birgitte possesses a vast collection of outrageous magic tools she’s gathered from across the globe. In a one-on-one fight or under specific conditions, she wouldn't easily fall behind regardless of her opponent."
"Now, now, what’re you saying about a helpless, beautiful young girl like me?"
"A beautiful young girl...?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"No—no, not at all! Not a thing, my beautiful older sister!"
Griped by Birgitte's glare, Albert hurriedly corrected himself.
I didn't really care about the banter, but this magic tool piqued my interest. As I approached and touched the barrier, sparks crackled at the point of contact.
"Oh, this is impressive. It’s an exceptionally hard barrier."
Even though I was channeling a fair amount of mana into my fingers, I was being repelled.
Moreover, it seemed to reject all mana reactions; no matter how I attempted to apply Nature Transformation, I couldn't breach it.
With a tool like this, it certainly was possible to take a demon captive.
"This here’s a magic tool used by some ancient civilization, Master. Most of 'em were made specifically to deal with our kind, and they gave us plenty of trouble back in the day," Grimo whispered.
"The ancient Sandro civilization... A most scandalous city that pursued taboo research without a shred of fear for the heavens. Still, even their craft wouldn't be a match for Master Lloyd's power," Jiriel added.
Of course, if I applied a bit more force, I could probably shatter it, but this barrier seemed to be linked to the physical integrity of the magic tool itself. If I forced it open, I’d likely destroy the device.
...I really want to try it. I debated the impulse for a moment, but I decided to hold back.
I am merely an ordinary magic enthusiast, after all—I can exercise self-restraint. A barrier capable of capturing one of the Four Heavenly Kings is surely beyond my meager skills to break. Yes.
"...Kill me."
Zen muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on me.
"I went into this battle prepared for death. I have no intention of living in disgrace. Just end it quickly."
"Hahaha! What’re you talking about, man?"
Birgitte immediately laughed him off, then fixed him with a sharp look.
"You really think a loser like you gets that kind of freedom? Let me tell you, I ain't plannin' on killin' you that easily. You've caused me a massive financial loss, after all. I’m gonna make sure I get every cent’s worth of use out of you. In all sorts of ways."
"My older sister is right. There is still much we don't know about demons. Opportunities to take one alive are rare, so we shall have your body answer all sorts of questions for us."
"...Ugh."
Zen's face twisted at their words.
Ohh, I don't quite know what it is, but it sounds like the two of them are planning to do something very fun.
I should definitely join in.
"Albert-niisan, I want to—"
Just as I started to speak, Albert placed his hand on my head.
"It's too early for you, Lloyd. Leave this to us."
He had a gentle smile, but when Albert made that face, it meant he was prepared to shoulder the burden of something unpleasant.
In other words, he intended to gather information through interrogation, experimentation, and threats.
There was no way he would show such things to a child like me.
Darn it, my act of being a normal magic lover has backfired. Is there some other way... Oh, wait.
"Birgitte-neesan, can you narrow down the output sections of that barrier? For example, could you deploy it only around his neck to give him some freedom of movement while still restricting his actions?"
"Hmm? Well, I can do that, yeah."
I thought so. Otherwise, it would be impossible to interrogate him while he was stuck inside a solid box.
I figured the shape of the barrier could be manipulated.
I gave a mischievous grin and continued.
"How about this? Why don't we have him help out with the school festival?"
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. The school festival is starting soon, but I've received reports that there have been various delays due to the commotion this morning. If we let the guests in and the stalls aren't even open, won't they be disappointed?"
Noah had sent me a Telepathy message saying that tents and other structures had been blown away during the skirmish with Birgitte and her subordinates, so it would take time to open for business.
"These stalls are the face of this festival. Without them, the people who were kind enough to come will be very let down. So, how about we have him perform some kind of act and make it the opening ceremony!"
Everyone in the room froze at my suggestion.
"What are you saying, Master Lloyd!?" Grimo hissed in a low voice.
"Indeed! No matter how many shackles he has, you cannot simply set one of the Four Heavenly Kings free! We have no idea what might happen!" Jiriel protested.
However, I wasn't saying this without consideration.
"You two, think about it. What kind of interrogation can Albert and the others actually do against a demon?"
No matter how much they restricted his movements, physical attacks generally didn't work on demons.
If they didn't even know what kind of attack would deal what level of damage, meaningful interrogation would be difficult.
Rather than that, we would likely gain more information by giving him some freedom and letting him move under our surveillance.
"Besides, that demon Zen seems like he might actually be reasonable. There might be information we can draw out through simple conversation."
Even if he went on a rampage, I could handle it as long as I was there.
For me, it was like killing two birds with one stone, as I might get to see the magic of the Four Heavenly Kings up close.
It was a brilliant idea, even if I did say so myself.
Albert and Birgitte also seemed to catch onto my "intent" immediately and fell into deep thought.
"Hmm, ain't that a pretty good idea?" Birgitte eventually nodded.
Good, good, she took the bait.
"An opening ceremony using a demon's power... There’s probably a ton of guests gathering about now. Some of 'em might be gettin' irritated that it ain't opening yet, so if we set off some massive fireworks—BAM!—the guests'll get hyped up instantly. Hmm, hmm-hmm... Yeah, it ain't bad at all. If the guests flow into the stalls while they're all hyped up, they'll be flush with cash and ready to spend. Nihehe, it's good, real good."
Birgitte had a predatory smile on her face, but Albert still looked troubled.
"...I'm against it. It's true there are benefits, but in the worst-case scenario, it could result in a catastrophe. If it were just us, we could still cover it up, but in front of a crowd, that would be impossible. It's far too dangerous."
As Albert argued back, Birgitte draped an arm over his shoulder with a smirk.
"Heh, you're still wet behind the ears, Albert. Don't you get what Lloyd's tryin' to say?"
"W-What do you mean, Sister?"
"Lloyd's sayin' all that 'cause he doesn't want us havin' to do the dirty work. Think about it. If the people found out that famous folks like you, the first candidate for the Right of Succession, and a super-rich mogul like me were interrogatin' someone—even a demon—it'd be a total uproar, wouldn't it?"
"I understand that much. But..."
"Besides, Albert, you ain't used to that kinda thing anyway. Your hands were shakin', weren't they? It was plain as day."
"...So you noticed..."
"Course I did. Who do you think I'm an older sister to? More importantly, if we can use him well, the school festival's success is guaranteed. Even if we're found out, havin' one of the Four Heavenly Kings under our thumb would just add to our prestige. Look, if anythin' happens, I can just snap 'em shut with my barrier in a flash. Lloyd's sayin' all this while lookin' that far ahead."
"I see... Lloyd is such a clever, thoughtful child. It wouldn't be strange for him to understand that much. And yet I, without even realizing... How foolish of me. I was about to trample over Lloyd's feelings...!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're a bit stiff in the head sometimes. But bein' able to admit your mistakes is a good trait."
The two of them were whispering something to each other. Just as I was wondering what was going on, they turned back toward me.
"...I understand. However, putting us aside, I doubt this man will listen to us obediently—"
"Very well."
Interrupting Albert, Zen spoke up.
"As a loser, I have no right to refuse anyway. And although it was to fulfill my mission, I do feel the need to make amends for disturbin' the festival of these unrelated youths. I'll cooperate that much... But don't get the wrong idea. I may have been defeated, but don't think for a second that my spirit has yielded. Don't expect me to ever do anythin' like sellin' out my comrades!"
Seeing Zen glare with a sharp, proud gaze, everyone exchanged looks.
"...He doesn't seem like such a bad person?" Ren mused.
"He is likely what they call the warrior type. A personality that loathes dishonesty and stays true to his convictions... So that previous statement was made after seeing through all of that. As expected of Master Lloyd."
Ren and Sylpha were muttering something to themselves, but more importantly, does this mean he’ll do everything else I ask?
I feel like my experiments will progress quite well this way.
Maybe I'll try asking him for various things personally later.
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"—Hmm, not bad, Zen."
Watching the scene through a crystal, Sheraha of the Four Heavenly Kings nodded to herself.
"When he was caught so easily, I wondered what he was thinking. But I see—he's planning to wait for an opportunity to approach the Girl of the Vessel by pretending to obey. I thought he was just straightforwardly honest, but he’s quite the tactician... Fufu."
Sheraha had a faint smile, but then she froze.
It was because, rather than appearing to be a facade of honesty to outwit the humans, it looked more like he was simply doing exactly what he was told out of a sense of duty.
"...Right, Zen? I'm trusting you, okay? I'm counting on you, alright?"
Sheraha stared at the crystal as if to reassure herself, looking increasingly anxious. Regardless, the school festival was about to begin.