“Well, er... I was thinking they might’ve woken up and was coming to check when I heard a whole lot of shouting. ‘Why’re we locked up? What did we do?’ and the like. ’Course, I go on to explain they’ve been taken on account of attempted murder, but—”
“We did nothing of the sort!”
“You’re mistaken, officer! That isn’t right!”
“Please, just let me go home!” They began shouting over one another.
“Well... But then there was an uproar just like you’re seeing now,” said the guard with a troubled expression. It might have been his job, but that couldn’t have made it any easier to lock up a crying woman and ignore her pleas.
Favel turned to their cell.
“You conspired with Verrick to attack these three. There’s more than enough witness testimony to corroborate that too. It’s too damn late for your crocodile tears.”
“I’m not faking it. How could you say that?”
“It’s true! Please, you have to believe us!”
Favel sighed before turning to look through the bars of Verrick’s cell instead.
“And how about you, Verrick? Will you spin me the same yarn as these girls, or do you have something else to say?”
“If there are witnesses, then there’s no mistaking it: I attacked Kaito. Just like you say,” Verrick said, but then he paused. “Still... I doubt you’ll believe me, but I don’t remember a damn thing.” He looked at me. “When I attacked you,” he asked with a pained expression, “did...I hurt you?”
“No, I don’t think so...”
“Really? Well, then you’re as strong as they say,” Verrick said, letting out a sigh of relief. His calm expression, the gentleness in the air—all of it was the same as during our first meeting. The man who sat before me was completely unlike the one who had attacked me last night. The same could be said of the women: none of the prisoners seemed anything like our assailants. Their once-vacant eyes were full of emotion. Last night, they’d acted suicidal, but now they were trembling, clearly distressed by captivity. If they had truly been ready to die just for a chance to take me down with them, would they really be crying over their capture?
None of what I saw looked like a performance. Maybe they really didn’t remember the incident.
But then...
If they hadn’t attacked me of their own volition, then I had to assume that they were being controlled by somebody else. Manipulated, for instance, by some sort of brainwashing drug administered via injection to their hands. If so, that would explain the wound they all shared. That would beg the question, though, of why the marks would be on their hands. If whoever was manipulating Verrick and the rest had stuck them with the needle discreetly when they crossed paths downtown, it seemed likelier they’d have gone for the shoulder or the arm. The five could have been knocked out by some sort of sleeping pill equivalent and given the shot while indisposed, but if so, I couldn’t think of any reason that their palms would have been chosen as a point of entry.
I thought to myself in silence. Suddenly, I was reminded of something I’d seen in my previous world. I’d seen espionage dramas broadcast late at night in which characters got pricked in their palms by needles. The villain would have a tiny poison needle on a ring they wore so that a simple handshake could induce a comatose state in anyone who fell for the trick. If that was what had happened here, then our five attackers must have shaken hands with the real culprit at some point. If that figure really had been wearing a poisoned ring, then we might be able to prove Verrick and the others innocent.
I turned toward the women who were sobbing in their cell.
“Everyone, calm down and listen to what I have to say. If my hunch is right, I may be able to get you all out of here.”
“R-Really?”
“You... You can get us out of here?!”
“Y-You can’t just make promises like that!”
“Favel, you’ll want to hear this too,” I said.
“Hmmph,” he grunted. “I’ll hear you out, but only because I owe you one for protecting everyone last night.”
I thanked Favel and then turned to begin my inquiry with Verrick.
“Verrick, what’s the last thing you remember before waking up?”
“Night,” he started. “It was night. I parted ways with my pupils and went to call on Vlad at his home. Then I woke up here,” he said.
Yesterday Verrick had said he was going to honor a three-month-old promise to go visit Vlad. It was safe to assume, then, that he had been acting of his own accord up until entering the adventurer’s home.
“N-Now that you mention it,” said one of the women, stifling sobs, “I was meeting Vlad too.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’d bought a bunch of fruit at my store and asked if I could deliver it to his home, and...”
“And then you woke up here?” I asked. She nodded.
The other three women also said they had seen Vlad just before their gap in memory. Every story had one detail in common: they had been asked to visit him at his home.
“He definitely did something to us!”
“That bastard!” Oltea shouted indignantly. “Just the other day he was ready to bury us over a stupid grudge.”
I nodded. “Exactly. I think Vlad manipulated these five into making an attempt on my life.”
“But... There’s a problem with the premise here. It isn’t possible to just take over someone’s mind like that.”
“If we want to understand how he did it, we might as well ask him directly, then.”
“But even if we did, there’s no way he’d just confess. For one thing, there’s no evidence that points to him!”
“If Vlad is the culprit, then he’ll be wearing a ring with a hidden needle,” I said.
“Oh, I get it!” Oltea said. “That way he could stick someone when he shakes their hand!”
“That’s why they have marks on their hands!” Frieze said, the pieces falling into place.
The two of them were convinced, but Favel still looked displeased. “Even if Vlad was wearing such a ring—hell, even if we can prove he’s able to brainwash people with it... It doesn’t change that A rank adventurers have special privileges. With his permits, I just can’t investigate him for anything short of murder,” he said. Even the Public Safety Regiment lacked the authority to do anything more than ask the man a few questions. If they approached to inquire about brainwashing, Vlad would surely just deny everything.
Only Verrick, who held the same special privileges, would be set free.
Unless...
“Don’t worry. If my assumptions are correct, you’ll be able to investigate Vlad after all. However, if this is going to work, then we need to arrest him before the guildhall opens for business. For that, I’ll need a guide to Vlad’s house...” I said.
“Sorry, I don’t know where he lives,” Favel said.
“I do,” said Verrick. “I’ll take you there.”
The old man could be released due to his rank privileges. It seemed I’d be traveling with him to Vlad’s.
Favel nodded and said, “All right. I’ll accompany you as well.”
With that decided, I turned to the women.
“I’m going to prove your innocence, I promise. I ask only that you endure a little while longer. I’ll get you out of this,” I said gently, hoping to ease their fears.
Their faces brightened just a little.
“Th-Thank you...”
“Please, Kaito. We’re counting on you.”
“Even though we were so terrible to you... I’m sorry.”
“If we get out of here, I promise to make it up to you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I just want to catch the person who’s really behind this—the person who hurt my friends. That’s all.”
Having assured the women that they need not feel responsible, we left the dungeon and returned to the surface.