The interrogation of the suspicious man Reiko had captured was still ongoing.
Even so, because the man had resorted to stone-faced silence, they were making no progress.
"This is troubling. If you won't talk, we can't clear you of suspicion, you know?"
Sergei, the village chief, was the one currently confronting him.
"..."
Just then, the sunlight suddenly dimmed.
"Oh, it's here."
Looking up, an enormous airship hovered in the sky.
"J-Jin-san, wh-what is that?!"
Village Chief Sergei cried out in a flustered voice.
"It's Deus Ex Machina's Aristotle. I called for reinforcements."
"I-I see."
Speaking of Deus Ex Machina, Sergei recalled that he was the figure who had come to their rescue alongside Nostalgia when Guillermo Markitus attacked.
Officially, the relief efforts had been handled primarily by Nostalgia, while the confrontation with Markitus had been handled by Deus Ex Machina.
"D-Deus Ex Machina, you say?! Why is he in a backwater like this?!"
Hearing the name, panic flashed across the captive's face.
"Oho? So you know Machina."
Jin wore an intrigued expression.
"Well, that works out conveniently. You'd better confess everything you know before Machina gets down here, you know? Unlike us, Machina isn't the soft type."
"Guh, ngh..."
His face turning pale, the man hesitated for a moment before finally opening his reluctant mouth.
"...Fine. I... might be what you call a bandit."
"However, there was a reason we raided Fan Village."
"And that is?"
"In order to achieve our Revolutionary Party's noble purpose, we required provisions."
"A noble purpose, you say?"
Jin pressed him on the phrase—one he hadn't heard in a long time.
"That is right. There is no one other than His Majesty Vladimir Hangazone Melkana fit to unify and rule this continent!"
"Vladimir Hangazone Melkana?"
It sounded like a name Jin had heard somewhere before.
"Address him as His Majesty, you scoundrel!"
The man flew into a rage, barking at Jin for omitting the title.
"He might be 'His Majesty' to you, but to us commoners, he was merely a dictator—nothing more than a tyrant."
Kachea spoke up.
"What did you say, you little brat?!"
The man grew even more furious, but Kachea pressed on regardless.
"Revolutionary Party? Don't make me laugh. Aren't you just bandits?"
"We are not bandits! Our purpose is—"
"The end does not justify the means, you know."
Kachea cut in over him, cornering him further.
"Besides, the purpose itself is anachronistic. It's a moldy, obsolete relic of the past."
She deliberately goaded him with every word.
"What could someone like you possibly understand?! Don't speak about us like that! We had the continental hegemony we painstakingly built up snatched away before we even knew what was happening, only to be branded as mere thieves!"
Kachea let out a loud, exaggerated sigh.
"Well, if you tell me not to speak, I won't. That kind of reaction is what people call a 'mental shutdown.'...Though I suppose that's fitting for someone incapable of discerning right from wrong on their own."
"You impudent little brat..."
"And what does that make you, losing an argument to such an impudent little brat?"
"D-Dammiiittt!"
By this point, even Jin could see what was happening. Kachea was intentionally provoking the man, having calculated that anger would make him spill information more easily.
However, for the usually quiet Kachea to push things this far was clearly straining her nerves. Looking closely, her legs were trembling slightly, and sweat beaded on her forehead.
Jin decided to step in and take over from there.
"In the first place, harming the populace you're supposed to protect and stealing their food—what else would you call that if not a tyrant? Ah, right, we call them bandits, don't we?"
"You bastard! Are you mocking us as well?!"
"Well, yeah, because you're doing things worthy of being mocked."
Jin followed Kachea's lead, piling on the provocation.
"Ah, wait, maybe I shouldn't make fun of a fool. You're inherently an idiot anyway, so it's not like you could get any stupider. My apologies."
"You baaastard...!!"
Seeing the man looking as if steam were about to vent from his ears, Jin seized the moment to cast his line.
"Your comrades are probably a bunch of nobodies too, right? What could a meager dozen or so people even hope to accomplish anyway?"
At that, the man puffed up with self-importance.
"Hmph! Among our ranks are magi skilled in magic, and we even have engineers! There are plenty of former knights as well! You would do well to tremble in awe before our Revolutionary Party, which numbers over fifty strong!!"
Just like that, he blurted out the exact intel Jin had been looking for.
Meanwhile, Kachea seemed relieved to be off the hook, slipping behind Jin to hide.
At that moment, Reiko gently tugged on Jin's sleeve.
Having gotten the information he wanted, Jin decided to step back for now and walked a short distance away with Reiko.
"What is it, Reiko?"
"Yes, Father....Regarding that man's behavior, doesn't it seem remarkably identical to the reaction of someone under the influence of Hypno magic?"
"I thought so too....So you noticed it as well, Reiko?"
"Yes. Laojun shares the same opinion."
"I see..."
Jin thought back to the past, before he was widely known to the world as the Magi Craft Meister.
While traveling to the Shouro Empire alongside Reinhard and Elsa, an archaeologist named Lucol whom they had encountered at some ruins had displayed a very similar reaction.
"In that case, do you think we can dispel it with Wecken?"
Wecken was a spell developed by Elsa capable of lifting the effects of Seduce and Subliminal states.
"Yes, I believe it is worth attempting."
"Right."
However, Jin himself couldn't cast Wecken. So, through Reiko, he called for Enju 2.
"Did you call for me, Master?"
Enju 2 arrived without delay.
"Try casting Wecken on this guy."
"Understood. Wecken."
"Gah!...!"
The great advantage of Wecken was that, unlike Stun or Shock spells, it did not administer an electric shock.
In other words, there was virtually no physical pain, and once the hypnotic state was broken, the target could function immediately.
And just as anticipated, the man appeared to have been under hypnosis or the sway of a powerful Seduce spell.
"...Wh-Where am I...? That's right... I was dancing to the tune of those bandits..."
The manic gleam had vanished from his eyes.
"So he really was brainwashed after all..."
Jin let out a heavy sigh.
"This enemy is going to be trouble..."
Based on past experience, an opponent capable of wielding brainwashing magic was troublesome in the extreme. In fact, whoever was casting it was likely their true adversary.
Deciding he needed to confer with Deus Ex Machina, Jin waited for the airship to touch down.