The moment he saw that figure, Tarania froze.
It was partly true that Elena's beauty captivated him, but that alone did not explain his reaction. After all, if beauty on Elena's level was all it took, Marina and Vihera, who stood at Rei's side, already qualified.
The real problem was that the person standing there was Elena.
...Yes, Elena Kerebel — the woman who could be called the very symbol of the Noble's Faction, bearer of the alias Princess General.
Elena's father, Duke Kerebel, was, needless to say, the man who led the Noble's Faction. And the faction to which the noble who had dispatched Sablusta's Local Deputy belonged was also the Noble's Faction.
In other words, the woman now standing before Tarania could, without exaggeration, be called the daughter of his own boss.
From Elena's perspective, Tarania was a subordinate of a man hired by her father's subordinate — several layers removed from her inner circle. He was by no means someone she could afford to disobey.
Moreover, while the information had never reached Tarania himself, Duke Kerebel had even issued a directive forbidding any interference with Gilm's Expansion Construction.
Whether he knew of these circumstances or not, Rei appeared utterly oblivious to Tarania's distress. No — rather, seeing Tarania stiffen at the sight of Elena, he seized the opening and spoke.
"This is Tarania. Apparently a direct subordinate of Sablusta's Local Deputy. He claims the bandits we captured were just hunters who happened to be in the forest, and that we're illegally capturing men like that to sell as slaves. That's his argument."
"...I see."
Elena glanced at the bandits the adventurers had captured, then at the ones Ara was leading in — their own group's catch — and finally turned her gaze on Tarania.
"Then you are saying the bandits I captured are also hunters? And that we captured them illegally to sell as slaves — is that what you claim?"
Tarania was at a loss for words. He understood full well that anything he said in this situation would only dig his own grave.
...Of course, the captured bandits would be punished after questioning, and barring special circumstances, the majority would be sold off as slaves. In fact, the adventurers captured bandits not only for the subjugation request reward and the hoarded treasure, but also for the money from selling the bandits themselves into slavery.
In that sense, what Tarania was saying was not entirely wrong. But there was no way he could possibly admit as much here.
"That is... well..."
Elena's gaze prompted him to continue, but Tarania only stammered vaguely.
Seeing him like that, Ara — who had finally led her bandits to Elena's side — fixed him with a searing glare. What burned in that gaze was pure displeasure.
Even from a slight distance, Ara had naturally heard the entire exchange between Elena, Rei, and Tarania. To treat Elena, whom she revered above all others, as an illegal slave merchant — that was something Ara could never forgive. And while it did not compare to the offense against Elena, the fact that Tarania had cast the same suspicion on Rei and the others was equally unforgivable.
"You said you were a direct subordinate of Sablusta's Local Deputy. Does this deputy know of this matter? Or, heaven forbid, does his superior know as well?"
Subjected to a gaze so cold it seemed to regard him not as a person but as a thing, Tarania scrambled for some way to smooth over the situation.
(Why is Lady Elena in a place like this!)
That was Tarania's one and greatest miscalculation. He had received intelligence that Elena was staying in Gilm, but the information indicated that only adventurers were moving in response to this incident. Of course, Tarania had only learned of the matter quite recently. That was why the possibility that Elena was traveling together with Rei and the others had been completely beyond his expectations.
...Had he been slightly better informed, he should have been able to learn that Elena was traveling with Rei's group, but unfortunately, Tarania's ears were not that well-connected.
"Kyui? Kyukyui?"
"Guruu."
Even if he wanted to speak, he could not. A short distance away from the paralyzed Tarania, Set and Ielo were cheerfully exchanging cries. Those standing around Set watched the two creatures' interaction with warm feelings, but... the air, the world, the very atmosphere in Tarania's vicinity was entirely different.
"It seems you have not answered Ara's question. Does your superior know of this matter?"
"...It was my own initiative."
In response to Elena's repeated question, a voice barely above a whisper escaped Tarania's lips.
It was not that the thought of shifting blame to his superior had never crossed his mind. But doing so would earn him the resentment of a man in a position directly above him — someone close, powerful, and vindictive. If that happened, he might survive for now, but it would without doubt prove fatal in the future... possibly even a threat to his life. Or so he judged.
Considering what lay ahead, it would be better to take the fall himself.
...In fact, the majority of the profits from this incident — if they succeeded in seizing the treasure the bandits had hoarded from the adventurers — had been promised to Tarania, half of the total. So in the sense that he had been the one pulling the strings, those words were not entirely untrue.
"Does that mean Tarania, of his own will, attempted to interfere with our actions?"
"Yes."
Trying to obfuscate any further would only worsen his position. If so, it would be better to answer Elena's questions quietly and try to leave a good impression. That was the reasoning behind his demeanor.
"Then why did you attempt such a thing?"
"That is... I acted with the intention of seizing the treasure and valuables the bandits had accumulated."
"...I see. I was under the impression that you were connected to the bandits."
"That is not true!"
Tarania denied Elena's words without a moment's hesitation. He could admit to trying to steal the bandits' treasure for himself, but he could not admit to being connected to them.
For the former, even if punished, the worst would likely be reassignment to a sinecure post. But for the latter, if it became public, he could lose his head — and not merely in the figurative sense of being dismissed. He meant it literally. Execution.
Being executed for ties to bandits would mean a complete loss of honor and reputation. What was more, depending on the circumstances, the blame could extend to his family as well.
That was why the one thing he absolutely could not let anyone discover was his connection to the bandits.
"Oh? ...This man says so, but is that true?"
Elena turned her gaze toward the bandits held by the adventurers and asked them directly.
Tarania desperately signaled the bandits with his eyes. Say nothing about me. That was the message he tried to convey.
But the relationship between Tarania and the bandits had, from the start, been connected solely through money. On his end, Tarania would fabricate various pretexts to pressure the Guild into not carrying out bandit subjugations, and if the bandits found ideal targets, he would tip them off. On their end, if the bandits provided information about individuals who were inconvenient to Tarania, he would have them target those people first, and a portion of the proceeds would flow back to him.
There was no trust between them. It was a dry, transactional relationship built on mutual exploitation, so even when Tarania signaled desperately with his eyes, few of the bandits understood what he meant.
And those who failed to understand concluded that Tarania had cut them loose — and they voiced their resentment without hesitation.
"Don't screw with us! You've been taking our money all this time, and the moment things go south, you throw us to the wolves first!?"
"That's right! If you're going to abandon us, you're going down with us! Hey, all of you! Tarania was working with us! He had us attack people who got in his way!"
"He even had a man killed because the guy was in the way of a woman Tarania had his eye on!"
"I was hired by Tarania to kill someone who opposed him!"
From several other bandits, shouts erupted one after another, detailing everything Tarania had asked of them over time.
Originally bound by nothing but money — no trust, no loyalty — and now convinced that Tarania had discarded them, it was only natural that his desperate eye signals failed to get through.
"Y-you... you bastards!"
Tarania, dragged down with them, shouted frantically, desperate to somehow twist the narrative.
"Just because you committed crimes doesn't mean you can drag me into this when I had nothing to do with it! Stop spouting nonsense!"
Tarania shouted with his face turning bright red, but that very outburst only confirmed that the bandits' words were true.
Those most troubled by Tarania's display were not Rei and his group, nor Elena and hers, but the Guards Tarania had brought with him.
Among the Guards were those who could be called Tarania's private soldiers, but the majority were ordinary Guardsmen. In other words, if what the bandits said was true, they were the ones obligated to arrest Tarania.
But anyone who knew how much power Tarania wielded in Sablusta could not afford to act recklessly here. Even if they managed to arrest him, what would happen if, by some error, he were found innocent? Anyone familiar with Tarania's character would fear for their own safety — and that of their family.
In fact, a considerable number of people had suffered terribly for crossing Tarania. Including those whose fates had never become public, how many that amounted to required no calculation. However...
"Now then, whether what the bandits say is true or not will become clear once we interrogate them in Gilm. Naturally, you — Tarania, was it? — given that your name has come from the bandits, I will have your custody secured as well."
"Wha!? W-wait, please, Lady Elena! I am an official serving in Sablusta. Even you, Lady Elena, cannot simply—"
Detaining me without authorization is not permitted.
Tarania tried to shout as much, but the moment he met Elena's eyes, the words died in his throat.
It was not that he was entranced by her extraordinary beauty. Rather, despite possessing such beauty, there was not a trace of emotion in the eyes that looked at him. If anger or irritation had been there, Tarania might have found some way to bear it. But what he saw in Elena's gaze now was the look one might give a stone lying by the roadside.
The moment he saw that look upon him, Tarania was utterly overpowered. He could say nothing more.
Elena glanced once at the now-silent Tarania, then turned her gaze to the Guards behind him and spoke.
"You are to return to Sablusta and report this matter to your superiors or the Local Deputy. After that, it will become clear how they intend to proceed. However... inform them that I will have the report of their actions forwarded to my father — truthfully, without lies or obfuscation."
All the Guards could do was acknowledge her words. They understood that showing any carelessness here would inevitably result in being labeled as Tarania's accomplices.
At the same time, those among the Guards who were effectively Tarania's private soldiers did not act, recognizing that there was nothing they could do in the current situation. Of course, even if they had some means at their disposal, taking action against an opponent known as the Princess General would likely have been unthinkable.
While they held the position of Tarania's private soldiers... or rather, precisely because they were private soldiers, they were bound not by trust, duty, or loyalty, but purely by money. In that sense, there was little difference between them and the bandits in terms of their connection to Tarania.
Certainly, the private soldiers had been better treated than the bandits, but that was not enough to change anything here... or to salvage the situation later.
"Then this matter is concluded. Does anyone have any objections?"
"I—!"
"I did not ask you. Be silent."
Tarania, who had tried to protest, was cut down by Elena without a second thought. With that, no one else had anything to say, and the disturbance came to an end.
Of course, it was certain that Tarania's superior — the Local Deputy — and the noble who had dispatched that deputy would face consequences for this matter in the days to come.