Chapter 100 – Hidden Madness – 7
“Everyone has gathered.”
We were guided by villagers and moved to the hall.
The village chief and I sit on chairs as representatives of each other and look at each other.
Behind the village chief, the villagers who knew about the bandits in some way were called and gathered, watching us with uneasy faces.
You will have different thoughts.
I can’t help but feel nervous at the thought that we might be attacked by bandits following the kingdom’s soldiers.
But even I couldn’t be anxious.
I took a deep breath and started talking.
“As you know, we are hero candidates from Melbourne.
I’m here to catch the bandits. My name is Decal.”
The village chief bowed his head deeply.
“Thank you for taking care of the sick. How should I repay this favor…
I’m really sorry that I couldn’t even welcome you properly.”
“It’s okay.
More than welcome, we want things to work out effortlessly. Information about bandits.
It’s fine even if it’s trivial, so I’d like you to tell me anything.”
“Of course, we will cooperate as far as we can.”
“I heard that bandits take alcohol, food, and women. Please tell me the situation at that time.”
“At first, I took whatever I saw.
The woman who wandered around took all the married women and children, and swept what was for sale.
Later, they decided to set a period, and until then, they told me to dress up the woman and prepare…”
“So are you ready?”
“Yes… I have no choice but to…”
The village chief’s voice trembled.
I waited silently, then continued my question.
To figure out the size of the bandits.
Combining the series of events, it was clear enough that they didn’t move deliberately.
In order to stir up the town and enjoy the pleasures.
Later on, it would be annoying to poke around, so he would have made the woman ready.
Those who resist are killed, and those taken away are raped.
In the end, the functioning of the village falls into a state of complete paralysis.
Kepa was no longer able to function as a village.
“Do you know anything about the base of the bandits?”
“The thieves’ stronghold is in the forest.”
“To the forest?”
“Yes… They are the remnants of the Northern Front.
After absorbing the escaped soldiers one by one, the size grew and now it has become a large band of bandits with over 30 people.”
Did you touch the military supply?
And then I didn’t manage to hit the mace.
Is it because it is a country that strives to raise regular candidates who have more experience than military in the first place?
Anyway, this is useful information.
I don’t think I can underestimate each of the thieves.
If you weren’t a starving peasant, but a soldier who once fought against the Demon King’s army, you’d be used to fighting.
“All right.
Next question. Anyone here is fine.
In fact, we are tracking the Red Soul Stone.”
“Red soul stone…?”
Everyone is looking at each other and laughing.
“Stia. Let me explain.”
Stia nodded her head slightly, and took a step forward.
“The red soul stone is the remnant of the demon lord. It is an extremely dangerous and unstable substance.
We expect that some of the thieves have absorbed the soulstone.
Have you heard anything about this?”
Right.
As soon as Stia finished talking, I snapped my fingers and hypnotized everyone in the hall.
“Everyone, “Answer the hero candidate’s question without lies””
Match.
Clap your hands, wake up my comrades and villagers.
“Come to think of it…”
One of the villagers said.
“There was someone who was strangely excited during the first raid.”
“Yes. People who are exposed to the demon lord’s soul run wild and act irrationally.
Could you elaborate more?”
As Stia questioned, the villagers groaned and searched for memories.
“…Yes. Now that I think about it, it was definitely strange.
The thieves were all excited, but the man had bloodshot eyes and was speechless.
It was like a monster. Other thieves also avoided it.”
“…”
Good. Obtained sighting information.
“Has anyone seen more of them?”
“I think I saw it too. He was on a horse, and he had scars on his face.”
“Me too…”
After meticulously gathering the witness information, it seemed that there were two thieves who absorbed the red soul stone.
“Have soul stones ever been brought into town?
Where did the thieves get it…”
“I don’t know. Soul stones are handled by the Saints. They have no ties to our village…
Maybe it’s something I got on the northern front. There are many lost monsters there.
It is a place that is almost neglected even in the capital city, so support only goes very occasionally.”
“…”
Then,
Caught a monster that absorbed the red soul stone and got it?
If this guess is correct, this directive is too dangerous. It was obvious that a person with that level of skill would have become even stronger if he had absorbed the red soul stone.
But I haven’t been able to draw any conclusions yet.
There is no information about the red soul stone.
I don’t even know what the northern front is.
I just guessed that it would be a battle front between monsters and humans.
My guess is too weak.
I guess I need to hear what other guys think.
“All right.
That’s it for today.
We ask that you behave as usual. So that the thieves don’t get any strange impressions.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“When is it time to hand over the next woman?”
“The day after tomorrow, it’s midnight.”
“…”
Rather than us going into the thieves’ stronghold.
It’s good to catch them when they crawl.
It’s even better if you can find the exact location of your base and launch an ambush.
If a human who has absorbed the red soul stone becomes unable to make a rational decision,
The thieves coming to the transport station will be fine.
Then you can hypnotize him.
“We will think of a way.
First of all, please prepare as scheduled. So that the thieves don’t notice the abnormality.”
“All right.
You’ll be tired, so I’ll prepare a place for you.”
“Thank you.”
That night, we received the favor of the villagers
We were able to eat sumptuous meals and take the best lodgings in town.
The room was divided in two. The men’s room for me and Ava to stay. The women’s room where the rest of the women camp stay.
Then we got together in the all-men’s room.
It was to organize what I heard today.
Everyone took off their uniforms and changed into comfortable clothes and sat on the bed.
“Stia. What do you think?”
“It’s going to be harder than I thought. It might be a difficult task for us to handle.”
Stia took her rhyme off with a cold, fact-faced statement.
“The soldiers of the northern front have a lot of combat experience and a high average level.
Thirty such people gathered to form a gang of bandits, so that alone wouldn’t have been easy.
But there are people who have absorbed the red soul stone, so it’s too disadvantageous.”
Ava nodded her head.
“It might be better to be satisfied with the investigation and go back.
If you explain the circumstances to Melbrit, we will appoint you to a higher rank.”
“So you’re giving up?”
Diana said in an annoyed tone.
“We’re Melbrit’s hero candidates. We can’t just pick and choose the easy ones.
There are people who need help here, and the opponent is a thief who does ugly things.
He was also a soldier at one time, but turning around and stealing made him even more angry. Are you going to give up because there are a few crazy people in there?”
“The red soul stone… It’s not just about destroying the mind and body.”
Stia suppressed her emotions and murmured quietly.
“… Humans who have been consumed by the demon lord’s soul walk with a calm face even if dozens of her spears are inserted into his body.
Ignore the magic no matter how much you hit it. You can’t knock it down like that. When such an enemy comes running, if we don’t all join forces…
One must die Either bite his neck, or have his eyeballs gouged out…”
“How do you know so well?”
At Diana’s question, Stia said with a blank face as if she had detached herself.
“Because my father did it. He touched the Red Soul Stone.”
“What? I heard he died during the war?”
“That’s not true. The Harpe family fell under the false accusation of being a member of the Demon King’s family.
The truth is, he didn’t even have the strength to get up on his own…
I’ve seen all of that Please remain committed to this order. But I know it’s just as dangerous.”
“…”
Everyone has a serious expression on their faces.
It’s hard to put the words of giving up because you know what kind of predicament people are in.
Naturally, I knew it was my turn to speak.
“It’s too early to put it down. There’s no harm in imagining it, so let’s discuss it some more.
If you hit that band of thieves… On the subject.”
“That’s right. I’m sorry… I ruined the atmosphere by talking about things I didn’t ask.”
“Thanks to you, the people here correctly knew about the Red Soul Stone.
That it is very dangerous.”
“…Huh.”
“How many people do you think it will take for the bandits to take the tribute prepared by the villagers?”
“Hmm?”
At the question I suddenly posed, everyone fell into trouble.
Stia opened her mouth first.
“Seven.
There must be at least seven people, including the porter and the guard.”
“Okay.
How would you feel if you could eliminate those seven people with certainty beforehand?”
“Are you sure to remove it…?”
“Our side suffered no damage.”
“Ah!”
Karen suddenly looked at me and her eyes widened.
“My older brother is Choi…”
I shut Karen’s mouth.
“Choi?”
“What is Choi?”
When she removed her hand, Karen blushed in embarrassment.
“…Never mind.”
“…”
Diana stared at me without stopping her suspicious eyes.
“There is something effective, but you can’t tell us?”
“…Is that so?”
The two women look at me with curious eyes.
“Hmm…”
If so, it would have been better
You can get away with hypnosis without going into detail.
“Okay.
But this could endanger everyone you know. Understand me.”
“… Karen knows.”
Stia muttered sadly.
“How would you feel if you could subdue all the thieves who came with the carrier and steal the information they had?”
“Information? Is it possible for a decal to do that?”
Stia asked, widening her eyes.
“That’s when I assumed.
When things worked out and when things didn’t. Let’s think of both.”
“…This is when things went well, right?”
“Yes. Whether you torture or bribe, it’s as if you’ve subdued the bandits cleanly.
I also got information about the base, who is ambushing around me, and how many people are on guard.
So what do you think?”
“…”
Stia quickly came to a conclusion.
“It’s worth a try.
If there is an informant on this side, it can greatly break the opponent’s numerical advantage.
If you aim for the time zone where the opponent is unarmed and approach, you can strike it down.”
“I’m talking about when things go well.”
Diana said curtly.
“There’s no way that’s possible in the first place. They’ll definitely pick up strange information and be disturbed.
Or try to subdue it, but one escapes and all the others arm themselves and ravage the village…
This is quite possible.”
“That’s when it didn’t work out.”
“Worst case scenario, you may have to fight thugs on horseback in the streets.
I can take them down, but aren’t you guys going to be able to stand it?”
Diana snorted.
It’s a very biased opinion, but there was a point.
It is easy for a wizard to attack a rider even on horseback, but it is not easy for a swordsman.
But I am a hypnotist.
From capturing thieves to stealing information.
Perfectly. No, we can do more than that.
The problem was how to accurately convey this to the allies.
Just hypnotize me and tell me to believe it anyway?
That I hate
I don’t know if it’s to make you believe in order to have sex.
“I think it’s reckless to go attack now. Everyone agrees?”
“Of course. Things are different now than when I was talking in the carriage.
Since it has been confirmed that the number of opponents is large, it is a bad idea to attack without any countermeasures.”
“Thanks for the explanation, Diana.”
“Hmph. If I had just blindly asked to charge, it wouldn’t have been so disappointing.”
“Let’s get in touch when they come to get a drink with a girl.”
The operation itself had already been recalled before coming to the inn.
Just doing what I’ve been doing all my life.
I don’t feel sorry for the thieves.
