Chapter 17: The Name

“Name.”

Again I asked, but the man said nothing.

The one who had suddenly appeared and blocked my path.

Anyone could tell he was connected to the bandits.

He knelt there, tears streaming down his face in silent misery.

A massive mountain of a man crying like that looked genuinely pitiful.

But my iron gavel knew no mercy.

BAAAM!

“GRAAAAH!”

“Stop wasting my time and answer already. Name!”

The short hammer smashed into his skull, drawing a muffled scream.

Still, silence.

“Hah! You’re really pissing me off. Fine. Today either you die or I do.”

I rolled up my sleeves and wound my arm back wide.

The gavel immediately spat out crimson light.

Beast’s Heart had activated reflexively.

The man frantically shook his shoulders left and right.

It looked like some kind of weird dance.

From another angle, it resembled the cringiest aegyo imaginable.

“Don’t want to get hit? Then just say it. Is giving your name that hard?”

“Urrgh! Nngh!”

All that came out were groans from his swollen, red face.

Someone quietly approached from the side and offered a timid suggestion.

“Um… I think he can’t speak…?”

“Oh? That’s what it was?”

His face was so swollen from the beating it looked like he’d been stung by hundreds of bees.

No wonder only strange noises came out.

The cute shoulder-shaking was probably because both arms were bound.

“If you had that kind of disability, you should’ve said so earlier.”

“Could he even say anything in that state…?”

“Oh! Who are you? You’re quick on the uptake.”

Only then did I turn to the person who had approached.

He posed no threat, so I had left him alone; seemed useful at reading the mood.

“Hehe! Please call me Kolber.”

「The name does not match.」

A sudden system message made me frown.

The status window system was downright fraudulent; it caught most lies instantly.

It had just perfectly detected another attempt to hide his identity.

I grabbed him by the collar.

“Where do you get off giving me a fake name? Real name. Now.”

“T-That would be… Kishon.”

Immediately a hologram window popped up.

<Person Information> 

Name: Kishon 

Identity: Runaway Serf 

Position: Bandit Gang Underling 

Relationship: No prior acquaintance 

Status: Doubts about bandit life, fairly good survival instincts 

Overall Ability: B

Kishon was short and plain-looking.

But his eyes sparkled with intelligence.

His stats were decent too.

A mere runaway serf turned bandit underling is B-rank?

Higher than any bandit I’d seen so far.

He didn’t look combat-oriented, so he must have some hidden talent.

“Now you’re finally being honest. Answer my questions.”

“Ask anything.”

“First, that guy’s identity?”

“You mean Boss Tairi?”

“A bandit gang with a ‘boss’? Just call him the leader.”

“Haha! Y-Yes, exactly.”

Once Kishon gave the name, the status window finally appeared.

<Person Information> 

Name: Tairi 

Identity: Professional Bandit 

Position: Leader 

Relationship: No prior acquaintance 

Status: Extreme fear, massive resentment toward the backer, slight resentment toward the lord 

Overall Ability: A

The fear was obviously because of me; I ignored it.

Wait; backer? Lord?

Two people whose titles ended in “lord” just popped up.

The lord had to be Baron Lelbrant, so who was the backer?

I tapped Kishon’s shoulder.

“Someone’s funding this guy?”

“The Tairi gang has deep ties to the lord’s castle.”

“Really? And the backer is in the castle?”

It was a yes-or-no question anyway.

Tairi nodded furiously.

“Who is the backer… ah, you can’t answer that one, right? Kishon, who do you think it is?”

Kishon thought hard for a moment, then answered confidently.

“Probably the lord himself. Lately he’s been dealing with other bandit gangs too.”

“So before it was limited?”

“Yes, only with the Margot gang.”

The moment I heard that name, my mind cleared instantly.

I had definitely heard it before.

And it belonged to someone crucial in this case.

The defendant’s name was Margot, wasn’t it?

A bandit leader doing exclusive deals with the lord, then storming the castle and committing assault?

What kind of nonsense was this?

New facts had surfaced, but the questions only multiplied.

Why would Baron Lelbrant deal with Margot?

How could he trust a bandit?

And why the hell did she storm the castle?

The answer to everything lay with the lord.

This is definitely not some petty slush-fund scandal. Something much bigger is hiding behind it.

I turned to head back to the castle.

Of course, I wasn’t going alone.

Letting the freshly caught bandit leader go would defeat the whole purpose.

Tairi had to scramble to keep up.

If he lagged even slightly, an ear might come off.

“GRRRRR!”

“Ow! It hurts!”

Suddenly a surprisingly clear scream rang out.

After all the beatings, I thought Tairi had lost the ability to speak properly.

Kishon helpfully translated.

“I think that roughly means ‘it hurts.’”

This guy’s hilarious.

Might be fun to keep him around and use him.

“You’re coming too.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Back at the castle, I immediately looked for Baron Lelbrant.

He was nowhere to be found.

I even barged into his bedroom; same result.

Where the hell did he go?

A lord vanishing in the middle of the night?

While searching every corner, a servant appeared carrying an oil lantern, returning from somewhere.

Night patrols could be done by servants too, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

When we passed in the hallway, the servant bowed.

“Ah, the honored guest.”

“We’ve never met, have we? How about an introduction?”

“Why would someone like you need the name of a lowly servant?”

“I can’t keep calling you ‘servant.’”

“Then please call me Irving.”

It was just a question to fish for any clue.

But then something astonishing happened.

I casually nodded and tried to activate the system…

It won’t open?

Second time in Lelbrant territory.

This was way too weird.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Irving.

I couldn’t understand what trick he was using.

If it was a fake name, the system should have told me; like with Kishon.

Yet this time, nothing.

Hadn’t there been one other case with the same result?

“Baron Lelbrant.”

“Y-Yes?”

I had only muttered to myself, yet Irving answered reflexively.

Even though he wasn’t the baron.

I smiled brightly and extended my hand.

“Just wondering where he is.”

“Shouldn’t he be in his bedroom at this hour?”

“Probably. Anyway, fate brought us together; let’s shake hands.”

“It is an honor, Your Highness.”

Irving bowed deeply with an overwhelmed expression.

The moment our hands touched, crimson ghost-fire erupted.

TSS TSS TSS TSS TSS!

“ARRGHH!”

Irving’s whole body shook violently.

Beast’s Heart activated.

He thrashed, trying to escape the extreme pain.

Then, astonishingly, his face began twisting wildly.

The change spread across his entire body in an instant.

Skin warped and turned mottled dark red, eyes became golden.

A demonic appearance straight out of hell.

“GGRRHH! H-How…?”

“There’s a way to know everything. By the way, does anyone here know what this is called?”

I turned and asked.

Kishon immediately piped up.

“Looks like a doppelgänger.”

A monster I knew well; famous for impersonating people.

Ah! That explains why no status window appeared.

I had never tried it on monsters or animals before.

I only deduced it from what just happened.

“You’d better answer properly. Where is the real Baron Lelbrant?”

“Y-You think I’d just…”

“This bastard really doesn’t listen.”

“GRAAAAAAAAAAH!”

TSS TSS TSS TSS TSS!

I pushed Beast’s Heart to maximum.

The flames grew tenfold.

Pure energy ravaged his entire body.

Human or monster, no one could withstand that transcendent pain.

The perfect, effortless torture method. But… is this really okay?

A man who swore to uphold law and justice doing this…

No, this thing isn’t even human.

So I don’t have to play fair.

“URGH! ACK!”

“Talk fast, or you’ll die.”

“T-The underground prison…”

The doppelgänger finally surrendered.

Whatever it was protecting couldn’t be more important than its life.

“Lead the way.”

We reached the deepest part of the castle.

Way inside the underground prison; a damp, yet strangely luxurious…

Why did the atmosphere suddenly change?

Spotless floors and a long sofa caught my eye first.

Magical lamps everywhere cast warm, mystical light.

Far too comfortable for a prison.

“Hah!”

I let out a hollow laugh and kept scanning the area for anything odd.

The doppelgänger rubbed its hands together and gave a meaningful smile.

“His Lordship is in perfect health. If anything, the problem is that he’s too healthy.”

“The real Baron Lelbrant is in there?”

“Yes.”

“Then you go in first.”

“Of course. There are no traps here.”

Bound with rope, the doppelgänger strode forward confidently.

I watched closely and followed.

Then an even more absurd scene appeared.

A middle-aged man scarfing down food and grinning like an idiot; unmistakably the real Baron Lelbrant.

He was fatter, but the face was nearly identical to the fake.

And you call this ‘healthy’? Anyone can see this is abnormal.

I smacked the back of the doppelgänger’s head.

BAAAM!

“I don’t care what you did; release him now. Unless you want to end up like that?”

“URGH! You plan to undo doppelgänger secret arts without even knowing how?”

“Why not? Smashing your head halfway seems like it would do the trick.”

“…I’ll release him.”

Strange-colored powder instantly glittered through the air.

Tobias and Kishon, who had been standing behind me, collapsed limply.

THUD! THUD!

But I just stared blankly at the doppelgänger.

“Why the hell am I still standing?”

“Because I figured you’d do something like this.”

A lunatic who imprisoned the real lord and pretended to be him would obviously have an ace up his sleeve.

The moment I saw the powder, I held my breath.

I twisted my lips into a smirk and clenched my fist.

“I’m going full power a lot today.”

BAAAAAAAAAAM!