Dright Coatzpert was first taken to the Torom Mine Cave-In Countermeasures Headquarters on the outskirts of Torom.
There, he would be subjected to questioning.
The most dangerous-looking object in his workshop had been a half-finished large quadruped beast golem.
It was more than twice the size of the previous models. If it had been complete and Dright had chosen to resist, securing him would have been difficult—or so thought everyone except No. 9, who was actually Regulus 45.
"It's a relief he didn't have any comrades with him either."
The lack of any real resistance had been fortunate for both sides.
They arrived at the countermeasures headquarters at 5:00 a.m.
For the time being, everyone, including Dright Coatzpert and the intelligence operatives—apart from the night watch—decided to take a three-hour nap.
Then came 8:00 a.m. local time.
After waking from their nap and having a light meal, the group finally set about extracting information.
No. 0 led the questioning, while Nos. 5 through 9 sat in on the session to provide security.
"There are many things I would like to ask, and I hope you will answer them truthfully."
When No. 0 spoke, Dright nodded meekly.
"Yes, I understand."
"Well then... let's see. Why a 'Golem wolf'? What was your purpose in creating it?"
"That's because I was inspired by the marvelous Golem horse made by the Magi Craft Meister in the past, and I grew to admire it."
He explained that he had wanted to try making one himself, but due to budget constraints, a horse was far too large and impractical, so he settled on a wolf of manageable size.
Laojun has already investigated that part, No. 9 thought.
"Why did you go out of your way to cover it with Rock Wolf pelt?"
"It was to test how close I could get it to look like the real thing. Fortunately, Rock Wolf pelts can be acquired relatively cheaply."
Since Rock Wolves were pests, a large number of them were hunted.
Though their hides were processed into pelts, the fur was coarse and unpopular compared to fox-type pelts like the frost-dappled fox, making it inexpensive.
"I hear you made around thirty of them. Were you satisfied with the results?"
"They're better than the first ones, but I'm still not completely satisfied."
Listening to No. 0 lead the question-and-answer session, No. 9 of the Quinta felt it was a rather clever approach.
Rather than diving straight into the main topic, No. 0 started with subjects Dright could easily answer, visibly attempting to lower his guard.
"How much were you given for development expenses?"
"Let's see... it was about five million Toll."
Roughly fifty million yen in Japanese currency was quite a large sum for an individual researcher.
"And who gave you that money?"
They were finally approaching the core of the matter.
"A man in his mid-forties. He introduced himself as Meagi Ides."
"What did this man look like?"
"He was tall and slender, if I recall. Gray eyes. Brown hair. He had a slight Kingdom of Franz accent... I think."
Having let his guard down through the initial questions, Dright Coatzpert answered smoothly.
"Did you meet with that man several times?"
"I met him about four times. However, I've only seen him once since the start of this year."
He stated that he met him on January 15th and handed over ten Golem wolves.
"With that, things were considered concluded for the time being. So I don't know if that man will ever return."
"I see... And how was the performance of the final product—if that's what we should call it—the thirtieth unit?"
At this question, Dright Coatzpert's eyes lit up, and he answered while leaning forward slightly.
"While I'm still not fully satisfied, it is my best creation yet....Its running speed is about one hundred kilometers per hour. It can break through a steel door one centimeter thick."
"Oh?"
"Likewise, it can bite through steel plating up to about two centimeters thick."
"That's quite impressive."
"Isn't it?...Furthermore, it can act autonomously to a certain extent, and it is capable of supervising the prototypes from No. 21 through No. 29 that were made before it. Unfortunately, those prior to No. 20 have very little autonomy and poor control cores, so it cannot supervise them."
Those are quite impressive specs, thought No. 9 as he listened in, along with Laojun, who was listening through No. 9.
"...By the way, are you aware that there was a cave-in at the mine here in Torom the other day?"
"No, I didn't know."
It was a typical reaction for a researcher—completely indifferent to outside affairs.
"...I see."
At this point, No. 0 hesitated slightly.
However, in the end, it seemed he decided to verify it.
"Take a look at this."
First, he presented a glass bottle containing fur.
"This was found at the site of the cave-in. There is no doubt that it is Rock Wolf fur....What do you think?"
Hearing this, Dright Coatzpert panicked.
"Wh-What?! S-Surely you don't think I'm the culprit?!"
No. 0 calmed Dright down.
"Settle down. I am not saying that....Here is another thing: footprints found near the site."
This time, he showed a rubbing of the footprints.
"They appear to be footprints from several beasts, but they all look identical to me."
"Th-This is..."
Dright turned slightly pale.
"Without a doubt, these are the footprints of the Golem wolves I crafted..."
"I see."
Dright slumped his shoulders, hanging his head dejectedly.
"...Am I a criminal?"
No. 0 spoke to Dright in a gentle, quiet tone.
"No, you merely crafted them in response to a commission, right? If that can be proven, you will likely not face severe punishment."
Hearing those words, Dright seemed to regain some of his spirit.
"First, I would like you to tell me as much as you can about the man who commissioned you for the Crafting."
"Yes..."
The entire interrogation, masked as a routine Q&A session, was relayed to Laojun via No. 9, or Regulus 45.
At the stage of this testimony, we cannot definitively conclude that this is the work of the Magic Federation.
This was because there was no way of knowing who the client, the man named Meagi Ides, truly was from Dright's words alone.
However, Laojun had already discovered the man using a Peeper telescope, and from the identification card he carried, Laojun knew he belonged to the Magic Federation.
It would be difficult to have Regulus 45 discover him, however...
Right now, Meagi Ides was in Kawaha Village in the Kingdom of Franz.
Kawaha was a small village located between the royal capital Sanjerton and the town of Sanfoze to its south.
What does he intend to do in the Kingdom of Franz using those ten Golem wolves...? Should I crush him before a commotion arises?
Viewing the situation as somewhat grave, Laojun opted to nip the danger in the bud before any trouble could occur.
I shall issue orders to Regulus 10 and Deneb 5, who are dispatched to the Kingdom of Franz.
Deneb 5 was stationed in the royal capital Sanjerton, while Regulus 10 was assigned to the area near Sanfoze, south of Sanjerton, making them well-positioned to be deployed to Kawaha Village.
Having only the two of them might be a bit precarious.
Therefore, Laojun ordered three units of the land combat unit—Land 55, 56, and 57—to stand by, ready to be sent out via transporter immediately if necessary.
The situation was drawing toward its resolution.