This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 505

I couldn’t really rebel properly and ended up getting caught in vain, but I guess I wasn’t completely oblivious.

The woman, who suddenly became the subject of interrogation, didn’t get flustered at all even when I was about to spiral into despair thinking everything was a complete mess.

Maybe she thought there was no need to unnecessarily suffer here since the path ahead was going to be tough anyway.

Regardless of her reasons or true intentions, thanks to her active participation, we were able to extract substantial information quite early on.

And the information we gathered was neatly organized on paper and arrived in front of Yoonseo.

Thus, the paper in Yoonseo’s hands was filled with all kinds of information.

Among that was information about new higher-tier entities we hadn’t encountered yet and their habits.

“Is this… reliable information?”

I asked that while shaking the paper that contained information obtained through interrogation.

If, I mean, if what was written here was true, it would have indeed been a windfall for the expedition team. After all, it wouldn’t have been possible to gather such information with bare hands in just a couple of expeditions.

At least it would have taken five or more attempts to fill the paper now held in my hands.

Perhaps even more attempts might have been necessary.

Yet here we were, as if we just picked it up off the street… So, naturally, the RK Guard folks would be grinning from ear to ear.

Was that why?

The team leaders from RK Guard who were in charge of interrogating the woman, Riruka Shaki, were in a mood that firmly believed in the authenticity of the information they obtained.

You could tell just from the expressions they were making.

“To be precise, it’s more like they want to believe that.”

In fact, considering that all of them were affiliated with RK Guard, that belief was somewhat unavoidable.

For them, there was simply no choice but to act that way because if the information they obtained this time turned out to be true, it would surely be recognized as a major achievement.

And that achievement would serve as the driving force that would help RK Guard get a significant advantage in the competition against the other two companies scheduled to be deployed after them.

So, isn’t it natural for everyone to be so cheerful?

In such a situation, my remarks doubting the authenticity of the hard-fought information they gathered must have naturally led them to feel unpleasant.

Just a moment ago, their cheerful faces turned stiff as if they had been solidified.

However, perhaps realizing they lacked a justifiable reason to confront me openly, their subsequent voices were calm and steady, in contrast to their expressions.

“Are you suspecting that she deliberately gave false testimony?”

“…Well, it’s just something we can’t know for sure.”

Right, it was literally a case of not knowing.

Even my sister Chae-rim once said something along those lines.

No matter what it might be, don’t trust easily and instead be suspicious first.

And the additional advice she gave was to never trust anyone too recklessly.

Of course, my sister probably didn’t say that specifically in anticipation of this scenario… But knowing that there were entities among the Another Ones capable of perfectly mimicking humans, her words felt profoundly significant.

Honestly speaking, those capable of perfectly imitating a human form wouldn’t seem incapable of pulling off such deception.

“So perhaps…”

There’s a real possibility that this entire situation is being orchestrated by someone.

If the Another Ones were as simple-minded and ignorant as they used to be in the past, I wouldn’t have thought of such a suspicion, but the moment any possibility emerges, I felt the need to keep all options open.

Of course, if I voiced that, everyone would probably laugh it off as nonsense.

Instead of adding lengthy explanations, I pushed it forward subtly using authority.

And this method, learned from watching my sister Chae-rim, surprisingly proved to be quite effective.

“Ah, right… It’s hard to take the word of an experienced person at face value when the identity of the other party is honestly a bit concerning.”

As evidence, the initial response from the other party shifted from discontent to a nod of agreement.

“We were also troubled by that part, so we called the ones who went out to explore for a cross-verification. The information listed here is only what was deemed true after that verification process.”

Does that mean we can trust what’s listed here?

The RK Guard members seemed to want us to believe that, but regrettably, it didn’t seem possible.

That’s because even if we conducted explorations, we had only been playing around nearby, and the information we owned was highly limited compared to the vast amount of information that Riruka Shaki possessed.

But given the significant disparity in the quality and quantity of information each party held, can we truly say that the cross-verification was legitimate?

“And more importantly…”

As my sister said, someone is more effectively deceived when lies are cleverly hidden within truth than when everything is covered in falsehood from start to finish.

“I understand what you mean.”

“Then…”

“However… before sharing this information with the Association, I would like to conduct a few more verifications.”

“Verification, how…?”

“Oh, I don’t mean to do it right now.”

“Then…?”

“How about we take a pause of an hour or two, then revisit Riruka Shaki and ask her reverse questions based on the information listed here?”

That way, discrepancies might emerge compared to what she initially claimed.

And in such cases of inconsistencies, we could note them down, reference them to some extent, but treat them with suspicion.

“Uhmm… indeed, that could help filter out the parts she merely made up to answer.”

Although it meant I’d end up taking on a troublesome task, I suppose it wasn’t something I had to directly involve myself in.

The representative from RK Guard didn’t seem to mind the newly suggested verification method, and it’s like they welcomed the change.

Well, it makes sense.

Handing over the minimally verified information wouldn’t have been as beneficial as passing the thoroughly validated information when seeking recognition for the achievements.

Furthermore, since this party proposed such a method first, they could reasonably expect to gain support as soon as verification was complete.

And with the agreement from the representative of RK Guard regarding the proposed new verification method, the verification of the information secured this time began anew.

After conducting a few more rounds of verification, I could reliably distinguish which pieces of information seemed trustworthy from those that should be approached with caution.

“Indeed… True to her infamous reputation, she mixed a few falsehoods in with her truths. If I had reported the original version to the Association, it could have caused quite the disaster.”

“And so, what has been conclusively verified?”

“Oh, regarding that, I specifically categorized it in this file.”

Thanks to that, among the information that had been somewhat validated and arrived in hand, there was…

“This is…?”

“Being someone with the ability to turn invisible, it seems she has been all around.”

“This wasn’t included in the initial list you provided, was it?”

“Yes, that’s right. It definitely wasn’t. However… during the interrogation process, we got the feeling she was hiding something, and after taking some ‘measures’, she held out for a while, but eventually spilled the beans.”

“And the basis for believing this information might be true?”

“Currently, there isn’t any.”

If there’s currently none, why is this information included at all?

Of course, from our perspective, this information was undeniably eye-opening, but only if it were true; if it was concocted under duress, it would hold no meaning.

“Using people for wishful torture isn’t the way to go…”

That made my mood sour instantly, and I reflexively made a sharp expression.

“However… we rate the reliability of this information quite highly.”

Despite my clearly intense reaction, that calm voice flowed into my ears.