In the Special Assignments Support Section building, the four of Lloyd held a meeting around a table. Section Chief Sergei had something to leave, and Yu Tatsumi was still busy with his own affairs, so the four of them decided to clarify their thoughts before Yu Tatsumi came back.

The so-called case is nothing more than time, place, victim, murderer, and motive. These basic information.

The time was undoubtedly the night five days ago. Both the Serpents and the Sacred Book Society explicitly mention this time. Assuming that both parties are not lying, then the victim is a member of the Sword and Serpent Gang and the Holy Book Society. And the location is two relatively hidden paths in the old town. The locations are far apart, it can be said that one east and one west.

Lloyd analyzed this, pasted a piece of paper on the message board, and simply drew a map of the old town, and marked the time, place, and information about the victim on one side. The murderer and motive columns are???。

"If the murderer is a third party, right? It doesn't look like a thug can do it. Randy suggested.

If it is the thugs who maliciously provoke the dispute, then neither their own people have been injured, nor the speed of retaliation of the attacked party is unreasonable.

Well, one can only believe that the testimony of both sides is true, and that there is another force intent on provoking the dispute.

"Let's just assume that." Lloyd crossed out the ???。 behind the killer

"This third party...... You've got a name, right? Ellie said, looking at Lloyd. Regardless of whether you think of it or not, you must give the initiative to the captain, not only respect, but also the meaning of not disturbing the captain's train of thought.

Lloyd replied and added the words "Rubacher Chamber of Commerce".

"According to Miss Grace's information, about half a month ago, members of Rubacher were seen wandering around the Old Town. I don't have the time to confirm the authenticity of this information, so let's assume that they did it. ”

Hypothetical method. Simulating the course of a case through hypotheses, and switching hypotheses again if there is inconsistent information, is a common way of reasoning in police stations.

"The next question...... Sure enough, it's the motive. Theo.

No matter how you look at it, the mafia has no reason to provoke a fight among bad teenagers.

"So, let's think differently, everybody." Lloyd said in his chest. "Abandon the previous reasoning, what if we don't stop this deathmatch?"

"Probably, one side will be completely defeated, right?" The topic changed so quickly that Ellie didn't react for a moment.

"Well, that's right. So, what should the delinquent teenagers on the losing side do? ”

"Uh, leaving the autonomous region? …… Sorry, I don't know. Randy casually utters his guess, but immediately discovers a loophole in his guess. These delinquent teenagers are all residents of Crossbell, and they have been completely defeated, so I'm afraid they can only go to the streets all day looking for trouble, right?

"Well, let's change the question. If the Black Moon wants a piece of the pie from Crossbell, then what might Rubacher do? ”

"Huh? Maybe it's to buy weapons, increase troops, or something...... Yes! Randy immediately reacted to what Lloyd meant. I can't help but have a good impression of this teenager with a weak face. It's so sharp that I can connect these clues so quickly.

"That's right. As a mafia, Rubacher must have his own channels in the arm. But how can the number of combatants be increased? ”

"Recruit the delinquent boys of the defeated side to become your own subordinates - that's what you mean?" Ellie reacted quickly.

"Well, while the common method is to hire hunters, that doesn't work in Crossbell. Because of Cross Bell's peculiarity, it was impossible for Rubacher to do something out of the ordinary. So, these strong-blooded teenagers with a certain degree of organization are the best source of soldiers, aren't they? ”

"Because neither of the leaders of the two sides has joined him......" Theo said silently, contacting Waji's rashness and Varudo's self-esteem, neither of them would want to join Rubacher, right?

"So, Rubacher designed this incident and provoked it, so that's it, what a ploy......" Randy said meaninglessly, a look of disdain in his eyes.

"That's just one of the possibilities. It's just a synthesis of the available information. Lloyd induced his teammates to figure out the ins and outs of the matter, and he was relieved, and it seemed that his speculation was not too far off.

"So...... Would you have a different view? Lloyd suddenly said this.

"Hmm...... Maybe, after all, he has a lot more experience than us. Ellie also had to admit it, but in terms of her ability to handle things, there was still a considerable gap between her group and the guerrillas.

"By the way, why hasn't he come back yet......" Randy muttered with some dissatisfaction. Or is he already back, just in his room? ”

"Uh...... It's possible. Lloyd couldn't refute it for a while, thinking about it, it wasn't rude to wait in his room to wait for someone, maybe he would have come back after dealing with things?

Yu's room was on the fourth floor, which was strange and not on the second floor like Lloyd. Moreover, just when Lloyd and a few people responded to the section chief before, he intervened so inexplicably, and he didn't seem to move his luggage? Then that day, he was basically outside and didn't come back......

"Speaking of which, when did you move in?" At the door of room 401, Lloyd suddenly asked.

"Smack!" Suddenly, there was the sound of something breaking in the room.

"Look, he's back." Randy said this, turning the handle, but it didn't turn, and locked it. "Huh? What's the lock? You're in there, right? ”

"Wait, Randy, are you going to slip your hand and drop the cup?" Lloyd asked suddenly.

"What are you kidding, you're going to die of laughter if you make a mistake like this, right?"

"Well, that one just now!" A bad picture immediately came to Lloyd's mind: Yu Tatsumi was restrained, struggled constantly, and when he heard his own voice, he smashed a cup with all his strength to give him a signal......

Whatever the reason, I'd rather believe it! Lloyd thought, took a step back, and slammed the door open.

Then, he froze.

――――――――――――――――――

The separation from the Grace reporter was 5 minutes ago, and the departure from the Karuman consortium was 15 minutes ago. It was 79 minutes before I entered the Karumon Consortium......

Yu Tatsumi thought as he walked towards the Special Mission Support Division, his face pale.

Although it was only less than two hours of interviewing, Yuki Tatsumi always felt that a whole day, or even three or five days, had passed.

The feeling of being targeted by a hungry carnivorous beast made him live like a year, and the sweat completely soaked his tights, and it was a little cold when the wind blew him.

"I almost thought I wouldn't be able to come back alive......" Yu muttered to himself, pushing open the door of the Support Division. Five people were sitting at the conference table waiting for his return.

Wait a minute?

Lloyd Bannings, Randy Orlando, Ellie McDowell, Theo Prato...... and a dark-haired teenage girl.

"Ah...... If possible, I wish you could break into someone's room. You said this, walked towards the five people, and cooperatively cut his hands behind his back. Let Lloyd and Randy hold his shoulders left and right, restricting his movements.

"Sorry...... Master. The black-haired girl apologized softly as if she was about to cry.

"No, it's not your problem, Rui." Yu-Tatsumi smiled and encouraged her, hoping to ease her timidity.

Yes, the fifth girl is Miss Rui, who had a relationship with Lloyd on the guide train. At this time, she was wearing a long cheongsam with a very oriental sense, curled up and hid in a chair, Ellie and Theo accompanied her, whispering comfort to her.

However, Rui just blindly shook her head with an expression that was about to cry, and did not respond to the two.

"Can you explain? Yu・Tatsumi. Lloyd's voice was cold and unforgiving.

Human trafficking is a felony, and even Crossbell cannot tolerate such a crime.

"Okay, I'll explain for sure." You didn't have the consciousness of a criminal, and he still had a smiling expression.

"You're so calm......" Randy sighed, he didn't expect his companion to do such a thing. Hiding a girl in her room is not something that a normal person can do.

However, Randy often fantasizes about this thing......

"Well, the more dangerous it is, the more you have to laugh calmly." You said this, and laughed even more happily.

"Alright, let's be honest." Lloyd said coldly.

"So, can you take it off?"

"Huh?!" Completely unexpected answer. Lloyd couldn't keep up with his train of thought at all.

"I mean, blouse, can you take it off?"

"Does it have anything to do with your reasoning?" Lloyd asked, a slight relaxation in his voice.

"Well, trust me."

Hearing this, Lloyd couldn't help but think of the last time he heard this sentence, Yu Tatsumi's serious face.

"Okay. But don't play tricks. Lloyd and Randy let go of their hands, but they were on their guard, confident that they would be able to react quickly, whether Yu was preparing to take hostages or obscuring his view with his clothes.

"Seriously, Lloyd." Yu's hand pressed to his neck, and the whole tights were strangled by a silver metal ring around his neck, and when he opened it, the tights were completely unrestrained.

"If I want to leave, the four of you can't stop me at all, and if I want to kill your mouth, it's easy." The black tights lost their restraint and slid down at will.

"And you shouldn't let me take it off myself, you should tie me up, and you should help me take it off."

Lloyd was unmoved, but he wrote it down anyway - after all, he was right. Under normal circumstances, it should be.

Then, in the amazed gaze of everyone, Yu Tatsumi completely exposed his upper body.

Slim body, the contours of muscles are clearly visible. And then there'...... Scar. All sorts of scars. Knife wounds and stab wounds are forty or fifty miles long, and more than ten miles away from short ones. There was only one scar, on the left rib, which did not seem to have completely healed, and it was a little bloody, and it could be seen that it was a recent injury.

The most terrifying thing is that on his right shoulder, two big words "slave" are branded, which are very clear, dark red color, shocking.

"Well, here's the problem, Lloyd. Where did I come from? Yu Tatsumi said, showing a nonchalant smile.

Lloyd's expression darkened, and he had vaguely guessed it from the moment he saw the mark on his shoulder. In a deep voice, he said, "It's Saiaru." The only slave state on the continent ......"

"Wise judgment. It's an interesting story, so I'll tell you slowly. ”

――――――――――――――――――――――――－－

My name is Yuki Tatsumi.

is a slave.

Perhaps in other countries, this is an unimaginable identity, but in Saiaru, it is an ordinary identity that cannot be more ordinary.

In Saiaʹaʹaʹaʻiʹ slaves were the absolute majority, followed by commoners and most recently nobles. Not to mention royalty.

In my country, the emperor is not hereditary, but inherited. The law of Saiyalu clearly stipulates that whoever kills the emperor is the next emperor, and this is the case with any position, and whoever kills can replace him.

However, this does not include slaves. A slave is a slave from birth, and there is no possibility of reversal.

It's not a terrible thing, and if you don't know what it's like to be free, it's easy to live in such ignorance.

The terrible thing is that the slaves of Saiaru have no mind of their own, they have not thought of revolt, they have not thought of freedom, for us, this is very normal, slaves, they should be slaves.

Iron and blood, violence and killing, this is Saiaru.

Strictly speaking, I am a slave sword fighter, fighting hard in the gladiatorial arena to please the nobles.

I started exercising at the age of four, holding a sword at six, and at the age of seven and a half, I started my first killing—and it was nothing like that, and in Saiaru, men and women basically follow that pattern. The brutal law of the jungle, though cruel, produces the most ferocious warriors. This is also the main reason for the strength of Saiaru's army.

Then, when I was eight years old, I was saved.

It's strange to say, but it was the goddess of the sky who saved me, with dazzling long blond hair and a Valkyrie-like figure. For some reason, she wiped out my slave sword fighting group, and then I started to run.

There is no purpose, no desire, just like Rui now. So, I chose to follow the goddess. She liberated me, so I deserved to be her slave. However, it seems to have caused her a lot of trouble......

We marched hastily for two days without saying a word. There was no food or sleep, and for the slave, the master was unhappy, and this level of punishment was only the usual level.

However, two days later something changed. A man in black came to challenge the goddess, and was defeated by the goddess - right? Human beings cannot win against God under any circumstances.

Then the goddess said to me, "Go and do what you want to do, and if you feel that you are my slave, then I command you that you are free." ”

Then, the goddess handed me over to the man in black and entrusted him to escort me to a relatively peaceful country. Yes, in the end, the place of peace that the men in black identified is Liber.

However, the Man in Black simply sent me to Liber's border and left, and I started walking in the direction of Liber until I met my teacher, Cruz Naldan.

Then, I became a guerrilla, and although I was officially called a guerrilla when I was sixteen years old, I had been working with Mr. Cruz on missions in the Liber Kingdom until then, and I was half a guerrilla.

After that, I went back to Saiaru once, but unfortunately, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I went back, I didn't feel angry or sentimental, just a feeling of "oh, this is my hometown."

The encounter with Rui is also here.

I was sixteen years old, she was a year younger than me, and she was sold as a slave maid of a declining aristocracy, so I bought her by the way. Well, when you think about it, it's an interesting encounter.

After that, I became a guerrilla and settled in Luan, where Rui was unable to adjust to the feeling of freedom. Even, he began to become timid and afraid of life, and he didn't like to communicate with outsiders. We settled in Luan for more than a decade, until I met my junior, my good friend, we traveled together, and we finally solved the story called "Liber Mutation" together.

However, because my identity was exposed, I quit my job as a guerrilla and began to travel the mainland. First Calvard, then Crossbell.

Well, that's pretty much the rest of you, and that's the end of my confession.