宅男天堂

Most of the dead were prisoners. Those who survived were once again dragged back to the prison under the control of the soldiers and knights.

Grobel also managed to survive and was part of the procession being dragged away. The faces of the prisoners looked as though none of them were truly alive, but Grobel\'s eyes were still clear.

Perhaps that resolve was what kept Grobel alive.

"Right. You had something to believe in."

A knight approached me. It was the man who had bet on my death today.

"You seem to be in a good mood. You lost the money you bet."

"Well, I lost the money. But still."

The man looked around. He observed the knights examining the corpses, the knights managing the prisoners, and the knights checking the weapons.

"Really, no one died."

"......"

Yes, no one died. At least not among the knights.

For now, I suppose I\'m winning the bet.

"There are guys in the knight order I\'ve grown fond of. I thought it was worth some money to see them again tomorrow."

The knight chuckled and left.

Still a vulgar laugh, still a vulgar tone.

But I called out to his retreating back.

"……Sorry, what\'s your name?"

"Huh?"

Without stopping or turning his head, the knight answered as if leaving.

"Hector Dutoit. A name that will be remembered throughout the continent for a long time."

Hector... Hector.

I racked my brain wondering if I knew the name.

And then I knew.

The White Lion, Hector.

\'......The son of Ludwig.\'

Although Hector introduced himself as \'Dutoit,\' he is undoubtedly the son of Ludwig von Urfa.

And he would take over this Tyburn, succeeding the position left by Ludwig.

"Hector, the White Lion," they call him, the one who howls as he stands before a great beast.

True to his name, it will surely spread far and wide across the continent.

* * *

I headed to the prison.

"A visitor?"

The officer asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes. Is that not allowed?"

"No, it\'s not that, but it\'s the first time a knight has come to visit."

Apparently, I was already known as a knight in the prison.

Was it because I participated in the recent battle?

"Who are you here to see?"

"A man named Grobel."

"What\'s your relation to him?"

I chuckled.

"We\'re sworn enemies."

"Haha, I see. This way, please."

The officer guided me courteously.

Well, I told the truth, so it\'s not my fault.

I saw him sitting on the other side of the partition window. Grobel entered the room, opening the door as soon as he saw my face.

Grobel grimaced as soon as he recognized me.

Creak, creak. He sat down on a chair and picked up the phone.

[What is it, sir?]

He remembers me. I smiled.

"So you\'re still alive."

It wasn\'t meant to be sarcastic, but Grobel glared at me.

[Do you think I\'d just give up? I have a younger brother. There\'s no way I\'d die in a place like this.]

That\'s right, he does.

This guy has a younger brother named Rokbel.

He tried to stab me too, but he was found not guilty because Serf was the one controlling him.

However, by the time the truth came out, Grobel had already been sent to Tyburn.

[Ever since I was caught, I\'ve been stuck here, so I have no idea what happened to my brother.]

"He probably went to an orphanage."

Apparently, Grobel and Rokbel were orphans. Rokbel\'s only guardian was his older brother, Grobel. It was only natural that he would end up in an orphanage after his brother was sent to prison.

[I can\'t believe this.]

I tilted my head in confusion at his words, spat out as if he were grinding his teeth.

"Children are treated decently in Constel. Besides, Rokbel was innocent. There shouldn\'t be a problem."

[That\'s not it. The problem is that bastard Gregory.]

Gregory.

The name sounded vaguely familiar, then it clicked.

He was the one in charge of scouting and espionage within Indus. He had a knack for controlling animals, using their eyes and ears to relay various kinds of information back to Indus.

"How do you know Gregory?"

Grobel was just a mercenary hired by Serf. Gregory, being a member of Indus, should be unknown to him.

[Serf introduced us to Gregory when he hired our mercenary group. He showed us his abilities, saying they could be helpful if we ever needed to escape. Though, I know now it was all a lie.]

Grobel clicked his tongue in annoyance.

I asked again.

"But why Gregory? He only moved as a crow back then, he himself was in a safe place, wasn\'t he? Isn\'t he active in Indus again?"

Grobel countered my question.

[Don\'t you know? Gregory went to Serf\'s place not knowing Serf had died and got caught. Well, it was the controlling crow that got caught, not him. So, they are looking for him but haven\'t caught him yet.]

Not caught yet.

That made me frown.

[So, he\'s a fugitive then. Indus is good at cutting ties, so they won\'t take him back.]

Only Serf and Gregory were members of Indus involved in the cabin incident.

Serf is dead, and Gregory is on the run. Knowing what Gregory knows about Indus, they wouldn\'t just leave him be, so he must be dodging both the police and Indus.

[Yes, that\'s right. It\'s certain he\'s not in the center of it all.]

Gregory knows as much about the surroundings as he can gather, even the places beyond his line of sight, likely with the help of animals to avoid others\' eyes.

"So, you think Gregory will approach Rokbel?"

"Yes. The money Serf gave me as a commission has just floated away, hasn\'t it? I\'m the only one who knows where that money is. But since Gregory wouldn\'t know about that, if he becomes desperate for money, he might remember the money I received and come looking for my brother."

That bastard, I\'ve never liked him from the start. Even from the times he\'d mutter behind our backs, borrowing the mouth of a crow…, Grobel was talking eagerly without being asked.

He talks more than expected.

It\'s mostly my fault that he came to Tyburn, but his hostility towards me is lower than I thought.

Maybe it\'s because he can\'t think of anything else due to his brother\'s situation.

Hmm. I pondered for a moment.

Grobel seems to be quite worried about his brother\'s situation, and this could be a good bargaining chip for me.

However, the phone in the visitation room records all conversation, so I can\'t blurt out anything careless.

But Grobel is a man from the underworld. He probably has a good method.

I looked at Grobel with my \'Analysis\' skill.

[Grobel]

- Former leader of the mercenary group \'Regid\'. Hired by \'Indus\' member \'Serf Daniel\', but currently imprisoned.

- Cherishes his brother \'Rokbel\' terribly.

- Learned \'Sign Language\' and \'Poison Resistance\' for confidential communication with Indus members.

As expected.

I slightly moved my head to hide my face from the guard behind Grobel.

Although I moved naturally, if I keep this up, I\'ll be caught, so let\'s hurry up and talk.

-Grobel, shall we make a deal?

I moved my lips without making a sound.

Grobel\'s eyes snapped open.

-I\'ll protect your brother, so help me escape from the rampart.