■ The hero has been defeated. □
After Beautiful Girl Mask was neutralized by the Storm, silence fell over the square.
Tens of thousands of people witnessed the brutal defeat of what they thought to be a symbol of new hope.
It’s understandable that they would end up disappointed.
The police rushed in to arrest the unconscious Beautiful Girl Mask, but I had them pushed aside as Barnett moved her personally, just in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Even if she were in a state of mana depletion, she’s still an Aura Master after all.
She could have easily subdued and escaped from ordinary people, so it was necessary to take precautions.
Barnett, who carried the unconscious Beautiful Girl Mask like a sack of goods, looked at me.
It seemed like she was asking what to do next, so I told her to wait a moment before speaking to Ozma, who stood on the podium.
“Ozma, I apologize, but I must leave first. I cannot entrust the interrogation of an important thief to someone else. Please proceed with the execution as planned.”
“That’s fine. Sir Partarth. I’ll handle things here.”
Having received the approval of Ozma, the highest authority present, all that remained was for us to make a swift exit.
I left alongside Barnett, while the police officers watched us with a mix of awe and respect.[[#]]Under the Governor’s Office, originally the palace intended for royal use, lies an extensive underground prison.
Its scale is incomparably larger than the one I saw in the Demon King’s Castle, allowing it to comfortably house the thousands of political prisoners and members of the Resistance we’ve captured recently.
In truth, prisons in this era are quite dire.
Not only is waste management ambiguous, but there’s also a general disregard for the food consumed by criminals.
As such, most common criminals or thieves, unlike nobles whose ransoms can be lucratively negotiated, die in unsanitary conditions after falling ill during their imprisonment.
“I never enjoy coming here.”
This was Barnett’s assessment, having once been the warden of the Demon King’s Castle dungeon.
It was indeed true, so I readily agreed with her statement.
“There’s nothing much we can do. This place rarely gets cleaned.”
When I joked about it, the soldier leading our way laughed and said,
“Still, the facilities have improved significantly compared to before. Back then, sewage would often backflow, leaving stagnant dirty water on the dungeon floor.”
“Ugh…”
Upon hearing this, Barnett frowned and glanced down at the floor. She’s always been someone who dislikes dirt, meticulously cleaning every corner of her home, so this story clearly troubled her.
Anyway, as we walked while listening to the explanation, it felt like we’d reached quite deep into the underground prison.
“This is the torture chamber and solitary confinement cell for serious offenders.”
The soldier opened the door, revealing a space far brighter than other cells due to the hanging luminescent stones.
However, the atmosphere was menacing due to the array of movie-like torture instruments lined up across the room.
The soldier closed the door and said as he left,
“The soundproofing is thorough, so no one will know what happens inside. I’ll wait outside; please call me when you’re done.”
“Thanks for your work.”
After dismissing the soldier, I locked the door.
Meanwhile, Barnett secured the unconscious Beautiful Girl Mask onto the bed in the center of the room, binding her hands and feet with shackles.
“Is this made of adamantium? Do they have too much money?”
“It wouldn’t do if it broke easily.”
With a shrug, I replied, and Barnett nodded, saying, “That makes sense,” before turning the winch beneath the bed.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
The unpleasant sound of the spring tightening slowly tilted the bed upwards.
Finally, the bed became completely vertical and was wheeled against the wall.
With this, all preparations for the interrogation were complete.
Though I wanted to wake her immediately, there was still something I needed to confirm.
I placed my hand on the unconscious face of Beautiful Girl Mask.
Most of her face was obscured by the black butterfly-shaped mask, but even just looking at the jawline revealed, it was clear she was an extraordinary beauty.
I carefully examined the jewel-encrusted black butterfly mask before tearing it off without hesitation.
As the string securing the mask loosened, the delicate features hidden beneath were revealed.
“…What?”
Unexpectedly confronted with this face, I couldn’t help but falter in speech.
After all, the true identity of the bound Beautiful Girl Mask was none other than Countess Sophia von Glorious, the host of the party I attended not long ago.[[#]]Countess Sophia von Glorious.
She left a strong impression on me during our first meeting.
But I had merely regarded her as a newcomer to high society, a naive chick passing through.
Turns out, this chick wasn’t a chick at all but rather a great roc.
Completely unexpected, I was flustered when Barnett beside me asked,
“What’s wrong? Caldlasth? Do you recognize her?”
“Yeah, I guess… She was the host of the party Ozma and I attended recently.”
According to Agnes last time, she was the adopted daughter introduced by the previous Count Glorious, who died in the Seven-Day War. Surely it can’t be a twist where she’s just a twin with the same face.
Assuming it’s the same person, the behavior pattern of Beautiful Girl Mask starts to make sense now.
She wasn’t a journalist by day and a phantom thief by night but rather a noblewoman by day and Beautiful Girl Mask by night.
No wonder I couldn’t find any traces of the hero despite searching everywhere; the previous Count Glorious must have hidden her away beforehand.
“What should we do?”
“If we want to interrogate her, we need to wake her up.”
With that, I nodded, and Barnett scooped water from a bucket in the corner, splashing it on the unconscious Countess Sophia.
Splash!
An Aura Master being hit with water—just imagining it hurts.
“…Urgh.”
Nevertheless, the effect was excellent, as Countess Sophia groggily opened her eyes.
“…Where am I?”
Before she could fully grasp the situation, she noticed me and startled, twisting her body.
Clang! Clang!
But no matter how skilled she might be as an Aura Master, she couldn’t break adamantium, the hardest mineral in the world, with her bare hands.
“Kk!”
Realizing escape was impossible, Countess Sophia stopped moving and bit her lip.
Seeing her finally calm down, I approached her and asked,
“So, how do you feel now? Should I call you Papillon Noir…or Countess Sophia von Glorious?”
“…Kill me.”
She glared at me with a line straight out of a cliché.
There was no trace of the pure girl I met at the party before.
It didn’t seem like her earlier demeanor was an act; perhaps this is another side of her.
I waved my hand at her aggressive stance.
“Whoa, calm down. I’m not here to harm you right now.”
“…”
But she continued to glare at me without stopping, which apparently irritated Barnett.
“Step back. Partarth, these kinds of guys become obedient quickly if you give them a taste of punishment.”
She must still hold a grudge from last time, making her more proactive.
“Barnett, wait.”
But I stopped her.
Turning around with a tool of torture in hand, Barnett hesitated.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“Using violence can wait until after we’ve tried talking. I’d prefer to persuade you with words if possible.”
At this, Barnett alternated her gaze between me and Countess Sophia before sighing and stepping back.
I thanked her and turned to look at Countess Sophia, who was still growling.
“I mentioned earlier in the square that I knew one of your secrets.”
“…Didn’t you already reveal my identity?”
“Unfortunately, the identity you think of and the one I know differ somewhat.”
Approaching the immobile Countess Sophia, I continued,
“I know that you are the new hero who has arisen to follow in the footsteps of the previous hero, Arthurius. Sophia.”
Her eyes widened dramatically upon hearing this.
“How do you know that…?”
It seems my conjecture was correct.
Well, unless that level of strength could appear out of nowhere, it made sense.
“Since it’s no fun knowing only your secrets, I’ll share one of mine as well.”
With that, I dispelled the Polymorph magic I constantly used outside.
“I am Caldlasth, the Great Mage who was in the same party as the previous hero.”
