The cleanup was swift and efficient.
Seeing the overwhelmingly powerful Ludrik become Ludrik and get drained of blood, the vampires belonging to the Security Maintenance Force felt a sense of disillusionment and surrendered without much resistance.
Of course, there were a few who tried to sneak away, but after I executed those who made any foolish moves, the rest seemed to have given up all thoughts of resistance.
As a result, all 63 vampires, including Marquis Ludrik Marcus, returned to their lord.
…Did I say they would be spared if they surrendered? I said I’d kill anyone who acted foolishly; I never said anything about sparing those who surrendered.
Resources must only be utilized where they have value. Resources that incur maintenance costs beyond their existence value should rightfully be discarded.
The only value of the vampires here was to distract attention during hunting. So, aren’t those who didn’t even seek to hunt from the start worthless?
After they brazenly tried to kill Eleonora, why should I spare them? No reason if I squint to look for one.
Of course, there might be some among them who could change their ways and earnestly fulfill their role as a meat shield.
But I don’t care about such uncertain possibilities. Once a hunting dog shows its teeth, there’s no guarantee it won’t do so again; from my point of view, there’s no need to leave any uncertainty.
So I killed them all. Just to be merciful, I gave them a last chance for self-PR, but in the end, no one could prove their worth within a minute, so it was legal to kill them.
It may feel a bit rushed, but Eleonora is seriously injured, so it can’t be helped. Besides, it was those guys who hurt her, so they shouldn’t have any complaints.
After quickly disposing of the turned vampires, I immediately picked up Eleonora.
The Dragonkin Girl, with her whole face swollen and bruised, closed her eyes as soon as she was in my arms, as if she had ran out of strength.
For a moment, my heart sank, but even though she felt slightly weaker than usual, the regular rhythm of her heartbeat and breath helped me regain my senses, and I started running as smoothly as I could to avoid transmitting the shock to Eleonora’s broken left arm.
I was heading not towards the vampires but in the direction of the Beastmen’s barracks.
While her injuries were not life-threatening, they were quite serious, and since there were no basic medical supplies among the vampires, it was a necessary choice.
After all, those who just continue to live wouldn’t have things like bandages.
Therefore, the first reason for heading to the Beastmen’s barracks was to treat Eleonora. However, there was another reason as well.
“Kanak, come out.”
No matter whether the passing Beastmen looked or not, I dashed straight for the command barracks, kicking the entrance door open the moment I sensed Kanak’s presence inside.
Since there was only a cloth hanging as a door, the shattered door panel didn’t go rolling on the floor, but there was no denying that barging into someone else’s house like that was rude.
But right now, I had no intention of making excuses, you beastly bastards.
I was holding back only because Eleonora’s treatment was still pending, and they should be thankful that I didn’t immediately start cursing at them.
Sure enough, Kanak greeted me with a frowning face. He had just returned and hadn’t even taken off his armor yet.
Kanak seemed like he was going to say something weighty as he got up from his seat, but he halted upon seeing Eleonora in my arms and grimaced in silence.
“…She’ll need treatment.”
That’s a different reaction than I expected. Is that calmness an act, or is it a sign of innocence?
According to what Eleonora said after the battle, there was a traitor among the Beastmen colluding with the Security Maintenance Force. There were also testimonies that the vampires bribed a Beastman to lure Eleonora, so it’s clear that there’s someone here that needs to be dealt with.
To what extent should we go after them?
Is this the act of a single individual, or were there multiple collaborators involved?
What if the perpetrators were all of them? What about those who noticed something was off but didn’t actively intervene?
Did Kanak receive this information? Did he just sit back, knowing that Eleonora didn’t return after going to do the task he assigned?
You’d better give me a good answer. You’ll be a far more difficult opponent than someone like Ludrik, but if necessary, I’ll make you pay for it by any means necessary.
But right now, Eleonora’s treatment comes first. I carefully followed behind Kanak, paying close attention to make sure he didn’t show any suspicious behavior.
Surprisingly, Kanak kept silent until Eleonora’s treatment was nearly wrapped up.
I expected him to have some sort of excuse or complaint, but he simply found a medic, instructed them to give Eleonora emergency treatment, and didn’t ask me anything.
After the medic treated her wounds, stopped the bleeding, set her broken bones, and wrapped her up with bandages, only then did Kanak finally turn to me and demand an explanation.
“So, what’s going on? You look furious, so it seems like this isn’t a matter that doesn’t involve us.”
“The Security Maintenance Force took Eleonora hostage and challenged me to a fight. Got it?”
“That Ludrik Marcus? I suppose I don’t need to ask what happened to him. You wouldn’t have spared him.”
Kanak glanced at my blood-soaked appearance, and seemed to come to a realization as he nodded.
“So what does that have to do with us? Wait a moment, how did they manage to take her hostage? As long as she’s under the protection of the barrier, they couldn’t have dragged her out by force.”
“There’s a collaborator among the Beastmen. They took her away, claiming they needed to move a wagon, handed her over to them, and got paid.”
“…Tell me more in detail.”
I’d kind of been jokes here, but Kanak’s expression hardened.
While it seemed he didn’t fully believe me, seeing Eleonora wrapped in bandages, lying unconscious, made it something he couldn’t outright deny. So he listened carefully to what I had to say.
I succinctly explained what happened today, based on the testimonies from Eleonora and the vampires who returned to their lord.
Kanak’s face visibly soured when it got to the part where one of the Beastmen claimed to be moving a wagon and took Eleonora away just as she was about to return.
As the representative of the Beastmen, Kanak would want to dismiss my claims, but if what I was saying was true, there were plenty of witnesses, so he wouldn’t be able to not verify it.
Without saying much, Kanak grabbed a nearby soldier and issued an order.
“Go call the supply officer. Right now.”
*
“Failure said he came back alone, said the plan changed, and that the Dragonkin just saved a wagon that fell into a slope and went back immediately! I really didn’t know!!!”
The supply officer, Clever, who was called in and appeared with a confused look, turned pale and slammed his head to the ground as soon as he heard the explanation.
The cold sweat pouring down him clearly revealed that he was thinking, ‘this is bad.’
“Why didn’t you report any irregularities when I returned from the battlefield?”
“Yes! After all, the number of wagons we were supposed to return was correct, so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem! I’m sorry!!!”
Even though Clever was not in a low position within the resistance, he didn’t hesitate in confessing.
But just because he apologized didn’t mean his life in the resistance was over. In most cases, if one admits their mistakes, they can prevent things from getting worse, but there are some spills that can’t be cleaned up.
Meanwhile, Aria fidgeted with her right foot, feeling displeased.
So it basically means you didn’t check because it was too much of a hassle? You just heard the culprit say, ‘the plan changed. The kid can go home alone,’ and thought, ‘oh, I guess that’s that?’ It really was a day perfect for dying, that was what Aria was currently thinking.
“Is the last will done?”
“…First, bring in Failure. Don’t explain what happened.”
After a whirlwind of curses and slander occurred in her mind, a remarkably tamed expression slipped out of Aria’s mouth as Kanak sighed and issued his command.
Hoping it wasn’t true, but once it was confirmed, it seemed like they had no idea how to handle the situation.
“Right, you should’ve managed your subordinates better. You guys are in deep trouble.”
Even with the biting criticism from someone who was exempt from military service in the previous life, Kanak couldn’t reply.
Seeing him rubbing his forehead hard enough to pull his hair out, it seemed pretty clear that there was at least some degree of fault on the part of the Beastmen.
Just in case there would be any attempts to weasel out, Aria was planning to smash the food store as a warm-up before truly beginning her negotiations.
After a while, the soldier Kanak sent off earlier returned, accompanied by another Beastman.
The Beastman followed along without any apparent guilt or talent for acting, but when he saw Aria’s face beside Kanak, he flinched and turned pale.
This was the Mist Labyrinth. Of course, it was impossible to physically restrain others here. However, Failure did not resist.
‘Is there some special reason he can’t resist?’
With a suspicious gaze, Aria stared at Failure.
Seeing him walk like a cow being taken to the slaughterhouse made it clear that there were many things weighing on his conscience. It was puzzling that if he had something weighing on him, he’d follow along without hesitation, but there must have been circumstances for the resistance.
In any case, the initial securing of a suspect was successful.
“Failure. I’m very disappointed.”
The captain of the unit, now possessed by the resistance leader Kanak, opened. The interrogation began in an intense atmosphere.
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