Chapter 93 : Chapter 93

Chapter 93 - Prison Break and the Detective's Interrogation

History is made at night.

Most things in the world were like that.

Those things were mostly about transformation and revolution.

The prison break trio also waited until night.

Now it was time to enter the prison.

Thud─

One of them stopped walking in the alley overlooking the place.

He stopped just before reaching the ground illuminated by the moonlight.

“…Young Master? What is it?”

“This is as far as I go.”

A question mark appeared above Reggie’s head.

This is as far as I go?

Isn’t that something a comrade who can’t follow his fellows due to injury says?

But the Youngest Son said it calmly, as if he were perfectly fine and it was a matter of course.

“Didn’t I tell you? In a prison break, the roles of you two are the most important.”

That meant.

“You two will be the ones breaking out of prison.”

“……”

Reggie remained silent and lifted his head.

Only the moon was pointlessly bright.

“Don’t make a face like you hate your life. Look at Lubosch over there. Isn’t he already preparing to go in?”

“Put on your mask.”

Without a single complaint or a hint of surprise, he held out a jet-black mask.

Taking it in a daze, he asked.

“…Did you receive word from the Young Master that it would be just the two of us?”

“No? I just heard it now too?”

“But what… you’re not asking any questions? We have to rescue someone from the deepest part of the prison by ourselves?”

“Hahahat.”

Lubosch burst out laughing.

The Youngest Son also chuckled softly.

Only the one who didn't understand the meaning looked back and forth between the two.

“I have other business, so when you succeed in the prison break, go to the Maxman Merchant Troupe’s branch. If you wait there, you can board an airship to Eclipse.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Good work.”

He disappeared into the shadows he had first walked out of.

Going back to what we were talking about earlier.

“The frontline guards you led, Sir Reggie. And the knights. Did they question you when you gave them an order?”

“…!”

His pupils dilated.

The faces of his subordinates, which he couldn't forget even in his dreams, seemed to appear as afterimages.

Lubosch nodded slowly.

“They probably didn’t, right? The reason is that they trusted you as their commander. Didn’t the soldiers follow you with the belief that you would not lead them to their deaths?”

He put on the mask.

He was a promising talent in the Intelligence Department, but today he covered his face for a prison break.

“I am the same. The Young Master always seems to be running towards deadly situations, but you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel from the middle of the cave, can you?”

“…But the Youngest Son can see that light. That’s what you believe.”

“It’s much easier to believe in the Youngest Son than in a god from some unseen book who is said to have created mountains or parted seas.”

“Hahahat.”

Reggie laughed.

He put on the black mask with a laugh.

“I understand what you mean.”

“Then shall we go? Are we not on our way to see an old friend?”

“That’s right. An old friend.”

His eyes under the mask looked at the prison wall with a complicated expression.

It was complicated enough thinking about how to get over that wall right now.

It was also complicated thinking about what to do after meeting his old friend.

I didn't know. At least, it wasn't a problem that could be solved by worrying about it now.

‘…First, I’ll take him to the Youngest Son. Then things will work out somehow.’

The thought, simplified to a single line, broadened his field of vision.

And into that broadened vision came Lubosch.

‘What, what is he? Wasn’t he just a messenger…?’

For a mere messenger, his movements were extraordinary.

Whether it was the shadows cast by the building roofs or the spaces between carriages passing on the main road, he moved stealthily without hesitation.

‘There was never any time for other thoughts in the first place.’

He had brought a lot of magazines and bombs because he heard it was a prison break.

It seemed he would be following the messenger's back without even a chance to draw his gun.

The Head Maid was like that too.

‘The skills of someone I thought was just an errand boy are amazing. At this rate, I’m the one getting in the way.’

Indeed, Lubosch corrected the timing that was slightly off.

“If you stick your body out now, the guard will see you. We have to get over the wall at the moment the guards’ lines of sight create a blind spot for each other.”

“…Yes?”

“Did you think we were just going to blow up the wall with a bomb and take out one prisoner?”

‘Yes.’

The answer he couldn't say out loud remained inside him.

He had been a former prince, a frontline officer, and later a gun shop owner.

Remembering the rough soldiers, he had lived as an ordinary person in Dusk Citadel.

A life where it was hard to think of doing things secretly.

But now, there was no time for other thoughts.

“Look up…!”

“You have to duck.”

“…Stop now.”

“Go.”

“Just go quickly. Don’t be a coward.”

Gradually, his words became shorter.

The tone was one of command.

The officer scurried about like a new recruit who had just joined the military.

As long as he wasn't caught, he moved as if he would stick to the wall.

Then, when he had a moment to catch his breath.

A thought raised its head.

‘Young Master…. I know why you bailed.’

I get it.

I finally get it.

Just a minute ago, I felt like I was sticking my body in a mudflat, and now I think I get it.

‘…Because it’s fucking hard.’

He looked up at the sky.

It seemed as though the Fifth Son's face was reflected in the moon he had seen a little while ago.

He was smiling.

***

I passed the inner walls of the capital.

Near the outside of the inner walls, it was full of forest.

But there was no sign of people.

The outer edge of the forest.

On that outskirts, there was a building.

Knock knock─

“Is anyone there?”

I knocked on the door.

Then, not long after, someone opened the door and came out.

It was a man with a bushy beard that hadn't been groomed for a long time.

“Who are you….”

His eyes were blinking as if he had just woken up.

The smell of alcohol was foul.

It was obvious that he had been drinking and passed out until just a moment ago.

“Why is a forest keeper here and not watching the forest?”

The well-built man chuckled.

“Well, there’s only one person who goes inside, so what use am I? There have to be people going in for there to be people who get lost.”

The king had forbidden entry into the forest.

Therefore, commoners, except for the one person with an entry permit, could not enter the forest.

“But if you stay here, you’ll miss those who try to sneak in.”

“I’m not the only forest keeper or watchman. And well…. I have to do this at least.”

Whether from the alcohol or from having a lot on his mind.

The forest keeper let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth below his reddened nose.

“Everyone’s bloodshot these days. They say if they find someone who went to the forest because they were hungry, they’ll catch them and offer them up no matter what.”

“Is it for their performance record?”

“It’s to look good to their superiors and get a promotion or a reward. Hic.”

Even while hiccuping, a sigh escaped.

“These days, everyone’s eyes are red with that. I heard some even get killed by small monsters in the forest, hit from behind. Hic. A few bodies have turned up, and there’s something strange about them.”

“If you say strange.”

He continued, stroking his rough chin.

“Their mouths were wide open, but the contents that should have been inside their bodies were all gone…. It was truly gruesome.”

“Hmm.”

“More importantly, who are you? I forgot to ask.”

A rather late question.

It would be better to think about that after sobering up.

“It will be more comfortable for you to continue sleeping than to listen.”

Tok─

The tip of my index finger touched the forest keeper’s forehead.

Simultaneously, his blood pressure dropped, and the blood flow to his brain decreased.

His head spun in an instant, and he fainted.

“Excuse me.”

I entered the building, which could also be called the forest keeper’s duty post, a branch office.

What I needed to find was his duty log.

“It’s usually in a desk drawer.”

Wondering who would come in here, he didn't seem to have hidden it particularly well.

Especially a straightforward-looking man like the one from a moment ago.

D-reuk─

I opened the drawer and found it quickly.

[Why are you suddenly reading a book like this?]

“There’s a lot I don’t know.”

It was a matter of course.

But if it were the Golden Palace, the main residence of the southern great family ‘Lan’.

Or if it were the Sword Army Hall, the main residence of the northern sword family ‘Winterbringer’.

I could navigate it with my eyes closed as if looking at the palm of my hand.

“I do not know the geography of some forest in some kingdom. A log like this is no different from a condensed version of that forest.”

Also.

“The strange phenomena that were said to have started recently would also be described in detail.”

The forest before me, which in the current kingdom was difficult for even the king to enter, let alone Elder Kian.

In that forest, there was an altar for the demonic realm transformation, and the corpses were used for human sacrifice or practice.

It was written in the log.

─Not a single pubic hair of a small-sized monster has been seen recently. But seasoned watchmen keep dying. Even when I report it up, all I get back is a warning to be careful.

─Recently, Hank went missing. I earnestly requested that a rescue team be dispatched, thinking he might have been dragged into a cave of small-sized monsters, but I was ignored.

Small-sized monsters. How could such things be found?

“They would have been the first things put on the altar.”

The man named Hank would have had a similar end.

I continued to scan the log.

From the peculiarities of the geography that had recently appeared, to the native small monsters, and even shortcuts.

The log contained the forest keeper’s usual private talk and know-how that was good to remember.

Furthermore, at the end.

“There’s also the location of the elder, which the king strictly forbade entry to.”

In the first place, the forest keepers or watchmen probably couldn't even go deep into the forest because of that area.

The dead were those who got greedy while looking for commoners who had sneaked in.

And the Youngest Son was thinking of being greedy as well.

“I’ve figured it out enough, so now I’m going in.”

[Are you planning to fight if you meet him? That Elder Kian.]

“He won’t be here by now. All the elders are like that.”

Why was that?

The reason came to me not long after.

[…The invitation.]

“Correct.”

I smiled as I closed the log and came out.

“The elders won’t be coming separately, so I set the date for the prison break to match the day they would all come to the Dark Moon Grand Castle at once.”

It was to keep the elders, who might be present during the prison break as well as the forest investigation, out of the way.

“For figures of the elder class to gather and go at once, they must all be gathered at the Pantheon at least. The absence of one of them would be quickly known.”

[So tonight is all the time we have.]

“Considering the time it takes to get to the Dark Moon Grand Castle, it’s even shorter. Let’s make the most of it.”

I looked up at the moon in the sky for a moment and entered the forest.

That incomplete full moon was already about to descend from the center of the sky.

***

Land Development Department.

An unwelcome guest entered this place that smelled of men.

“Wow! What’s with all the muscles?”

Far from smelling of men, to the land-diggers here, it was a boy who even smelled of baby powder.

But they could never say that.

“Fourth Son. What brings you to the Land Development Department without any notice?”

The Land General Manager bowed deeply and paid his respects.

“Hmph.”

The Fourth Son laughed through his nose and clasped his hands behind his back.

Even though Felson was bowing deeply, he was still a head taller now.

The boy, without realizing it, stood slightly on his tiptoes and continued.

“It’s nothing much! I came here because I wanted to ask a few things.”

“If you had called, I would have rushed over in an instant. Thank you for making the trip. First, I will show you inside.”

“Uh-huh!”

The corners of his eyes curved beautifully like a crescent moon.

With such an eye-smile, the Fourth Son entered Felson’s office.

Shovels were casually placed in a container made for storing umbrellas.

“So there are offices that look like this~”

The Fourth Son nodded as he looked around the office with his hands clasped behind his back.

Then his gaze fixed on one side.

A map of the entire eastern region that took up one entire outer wall.

Of course, there was no need to look at the entire map just because the entire east was drawn.

There was only one place name visible now.

“Hojeopgung in the Fantasy Gorge! It was spectacularly destroyed recently, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes. A madman committed such a fearless act.”

“Yes. A truly mad man.”

The green eyes, which had been on Hojeopgung, moved to Felson.

“A truly mad man.”

The hands clasped behind his back were also released by now.

“A powerful figure who holds a key position in the family.”

His body was walking towards the owner of the room.

“Informing the enemy of the location of the maternal family, another sky of the family.”

The pitch of his voice gradually lowered.

As it did, the green eyes and the back of his neck gradually grew hotter.

“And then feigning ignorance, evading responsibility and censure.”

“...I believe there has been some misunderstanding.”

“Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

His lips trembled and his voice trembled.

The pupils, resonating with rising anger, stared at the sinner without a single deviation.

“Land General Manager Felson. I command you as a direct blood relative. While I am still letting you live. Voluntarily report to the Execution Department.”

“I am sorry, but.”

Felson bowed his head once more.

“As I have committed no crime, there is no reason for me to go to the Execution Department. That command is the only one I cannot obey.”

“Ha.”

The corner of the Fourth Son’s mouth twisted.

How far he could go if he went all out as a direct blood relative.

It was the laugh of someone who knew well.

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