Vol 3: Chapter 16
By the time I noticed, there was no one at the reception. The first floor was unmanned. I could probably find the people who worked on this floor behind the door at the back of the reception, but they all seem to be holding their breath.
In such eerie silence, a stout Lev entered through the entrance of the building.
Mimino-san stood up in a hurry, but I stood in front of her, ready to pull out my dagger at any moment.
「Hmm, are you the members of Silver Balance?」
The Lev’s dark ocher-colored skin was wet for some reason, and the unusually fat body reminded me not of a reptile but a toad – a japanese toad, specifically.
His shirt was unbuttoned, and as he took off his hood, he exhaled heavily. He had a chopstick-like stick in his mouth, but then took it out from his mouth, and dipped it into a metal jar hanging from his waist belt and pulled out something sticky – according to【World Ruler】, it was “syrup” – and sucked on it.
「Chupa. I’m Abba, the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. I’d like to inquire about Chief Lulusha. That, and I heard that you and your friends scammed the Rororo Company that is run by my cousin. So, if you have any defence for that, let’s hear it. Chupa.」
「There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding in that statement, so I’m not even sure where to start. First and foremost, let’s resolve this misunderstanding. We did not scam anyone.」
「The chairman of the company said that he was deceived by 1,000 gold coins? Chupa.」
「Huh…? It’s the company who said that they wanted to buy the automaton we defeated for that amount of money.」
「Chupa. Is that so? Then this will be a little troublesome. A lawsuit, huh.」
Although the toad-like Lev called Abba said it like it was someone else’s problem, for us, however, this was no joke. Or rather, I wonder if Muge-san, who went to Rororo Company, is okay?
「And, the reason we are surrounded by a large number of people, is it related to Lulusha-san?」
「Chupa.」
He pulled out the stick and dipped it in syrup once again.
「Yes. That’s the main subject. She is suspected of national treason. We wish to talk to you regarding that, so please follow us without resisting.」Abba said, and sucked on the syrup stick again, with a “Chupa” sound.
Although I was worried about Muge-san, refusing to follow Abba would only increase the suspicion. So we followed him and headed to the Foreign Affairs Bureau, which was two blocks away.
Sure enough, there were more than 100 armed guards outside of the building. The general public was watching from a distance, seeming to not know what was going on. It was as if we were real terrorists.
Unlike the Labyrinth Management Bureau, the Foreign Affairs Bureau had a stylish appearance with tiles on the outer wall, terrace seats, and sculptures on the pillars that support the roof.
Perhaps because we didn’t say anything, Abba was also silent on the way to the Foreign Affairs Bureau.
The guards did not follow us inside. We passed through a spacious lobby and came to a room that seemed like a reception room.
There I saw the first decorative plant in this country. Potted trees, lined at a distance of about three paces from each other.
We sat on a rattan couch and Abba sat down across us.
「What is the relationship between you people and Lulusha?」
「I know Lulusha-san’s mother.」I said.
「You look quite young, though?」
「The bond between survivors of the Forsha Kingdom is tightly bound.」
I intuitively thought it would be better not to reveal my relation to old man Hinga. He said something along the lines of as if he had sinned and came to the Sixth Mine… and Priest El had only described the old man as an “excellent researcher.”
「More importantly, why is Lulusha-san charged for treason? And why is the Foreign Affairs Bureau – the department that negotiates with foreign countries, as I’m guessing from the name, holding us here?」
「Hey, watch your words, you. Chupa. If I hadn’t negotiated, you would have been arrested by the security team, you know?」
「Well, thank you for that.」
I wouldn’t have let myself be caught obediently, though.
「So why did you decide to get involved?」
I asked with caution. He was connected to the Rororo Company which has a very high possibility of trying to trap Muge-san, after all.
「Well, forget about me. The real problem is the national treason.」
Abba said as he refilled the stick with syrup, and sucked on it.
「Chupa. She has been accused of using the capture team assembled by the country for her own profit. After venturing into the labyrinth, she never once sent out the compulsory regular report, and also lost a lot of people.」
「She doesn’t look like such a reckless person, though.」
「Only because you know her, right?」
「…………」
「If you are handed over a military force, but then don’t report on your whereabouts, that would clearly raise suspicions no matter what.」
I have an uncomfortable feeling.
I finally met Lulusha-san—of course, there is the fact that she is old man Hinga’s granddaughter, but Lulusha-san was sincerely trying to capture the labyrinth, and it makes no sense that she would go into a labyrinth to rebel against the nation. And she also gave top priority to the treatment of her subordinates.
(Was the labyrinth trip set up from the beginning to get rid of Lulusha-san? No, that’s too troublesome… Then, is someone planting suspicions to frame her?)
The latter is more likely. However, this is not the time to be proving a conspiracy theory. I have to help Lulusha-san.
「Abba-san… yes? What kind of method is there to clear Lulusha-san’s suspicions?」
「Hmmm…… Chupa.」
He pulled out the stick in his mouth.
「She says she hasn’t missed a single regular report, but the one who was sent to deliver the report is missing. Not just one but seven people. If anyone at all finds them, the situation may change, but… there isn’t much time left, you see. Cases of national treason goes to trial early. The shortest is 5 days. And the sentence is executed in 10 days at most.」
There was no syrup left on the stick anymore.
「The death penalty.」
Abba’s thin tongue, as he licked his lips, was eerie.
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