Chapter 161: Lynas Blockade

“Your Excellency, may I speak with Heinz alone?”

“Do you have something in mind?”

“Well… I can’t say I don’t.”

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I looked down at Heinz, who lay collapsed on the floor, and used Appraisal.
[Appraisal: Remaining physical strength… moderate fatigue]

Honestly, what a pathetic man—to be deceived this easily… or perhaps I should call it impressive acting.
Without Appraisal, even I might not have seen through it.

“Could you put him on the table?”

“Ropes?”

“Untie his legs only. Once he’s on the table, bind him to the table legs.”

The interrogators and knights around us looked confused, but I had no intention of letting my guard down.

“Just to be clear, he’s more energetic than he looks. He probably doesn’t want to die.”

At my words, the men stiffened in shock—and Heinz’s presence subtly wavered.

Following my instructions, they carefully placed him on the table. They quickly untied his leg bindings and secured him to the table legs instead. Throughout it all, Heinz remained limp, showing no resistance.

Once his limbs were spread out in a cross shape, I ordered everyone to leave the room and stand away from the door.

The sound of the bolt locking echoed, and footsteps retreated down the hall.

“Are you planning to keep pretending to be dead? I can use Appraisal. Don’t expect me to play along.”

“So, you’re Leon the Breeze. I heard such exaggerated rumors I underestimated you as just a wind magic user.”

“I just rely on magic because I’m weak. And let me warn you—stalling is pointless.”

“You sound confident.”

“I am. I happen to know some special interrogation methods. And this city is going to remain sealed, so no one is coming in or out. That means no rescue, and all the time in the world. Even if you’re on the verge of death, I can heal you and start again.”

“You’re quite confident. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

[Appraisal: Criminal history… slave trading, murder, bribery, criminal conspiracy, robbery…]

“Slave trading, murder, bribery, criminal conspiracy, robbery… There are too many offenses to list.”

“If you can use Appraisal, that’s troublesome. Why not appraise what you actually want to know?”

“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be struggling.”

A small flame, about the size of a grain of rice, was slipped into his nostril.

He frowned for a moment, then let out a muffled groan, clenching his teeth to endure it.
But his body betrayed him—his muscles tightened and sweat poured out.

After about ten seconds, I removed the magic, then placed the flame into the other nostril.

His body jerked again, still silent, enduring. This time I left it longer before removing it.

“You’re quite patient. If it were me, I’d talk the moment I was tied up.”

I quickly opened his eyelid, placed the flame inside, closed it again, and released my hand.

“Wha… damn it! Let me go!”

“I already did. Just open your eye.”

“What did you… do?”

“I put the same thing I used in your nose into your eye.”

“You’re tormenting me…”

“No. I’m not the type who enjoys tormenting people. I just don’t choose my methods when I need answers.”

I called out to the spirits and asked a Healing Magic spirit to treat him.

Heinz stared wide-eyed as he was wrapped in healing light.

“…No way.”

“How’s it? Your eye should work again, and your nose should be clear.”

“What… is that?”

“Hmm? My assistant… I guess. A kind spirit that heals injuries. That’s also why I had everyone else leave the room. Only a very small number of people know about this—and no one would believe it anyway.”

Once he recovered, we continued.

By the sixth round, Heinz finally broke.

“Fine… I’ll talk. Just stop this.”

I don’t think he would’ve lasted much longer anyway—but I had no intention of revealing all my abilities to the nobles.

I had the door opened and informed the interrogators, “He’s ready to talk.”

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The events of the previous night spread quickly through the city. Soon after the morning market opened, shocking news arrived—the city gates had been sealed.

Merchants, adventurers, and traveling carriages were all turned away. Outside the gates, people were told loudly that a “plague had broken out in the city with many deaths,” and to avoid the area entirely, while detours were arranged.

At the same time, urgent messengers were sent to the neighboring cities of Korfultz and Southern Rook.

I prepared a transport carriage and set out to deliver the captured criminals.

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While drinking tea in Count Arkwright’s office and listening to the plans for the lockdown, I suddenly remembered something important.

“Your Excellency, since the city is sealed, merchants and adventurers will lose their income. They helped with the arrests, and we’ll also need them to help capture fugitives. So during the closure, shouldn’t we provide them with a small allowance—say, one silver coin per day? We could use the criminals’ hidden assets to fund it.”

“That makes sense. If low-ranking workers can’t survive, they may turn to crime. I’ll inform the guild master.”

That should take care of Steve and the others camping outside the city… though they were technically outside already.

Maybe I’ll bring them some food later.

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I received a letter prepared by Count Arkwright and flew off. Before heading straight to the royal capital, I stopped near the west gate, where Steve and the others were staying beneath several dome-shaped barriers.

I landed inside one of the barriers and found Steve’s group there.

“Leon, what’s going on?”

“There was an arrest operation in the city, and they sealed it off to prevent anyone from escaping.”

“Hey, Wind guy.”

“The guards told us we can’t enter for a while!”

“So what’s going on?”

“We can’t sell our loot… we’re screwed.”

“If the city’s closed for a while, you should probably go to Southern Rook instead.”

“It’s hard making money in an unfamiliar city…”

“If we go inside, we can’t come out either, right?”

“Got any good ways to earn?”

“Staying here won’t earn you anything. You should move. You’re adventurers—try another city once in a while.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re doing well…”

Still, I couldn’t help them enter, or it would cause trouble later.

I told them I’d be back in a few days, then flew off toward the capital.

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“Ahh… I wish I could fly like that.”

“He’s on an official errand. Faster than a relay horse, all the way to the capital.”

“Hey, what about Steve’s group?”

“They won’t earn anything without Mintz and Scott anyway. We might as well team up for now.”

“Nah, we’ll pass. They said Wind guy wants us later.”

“Man… I wish I had magic too.”

“If you had wind magic, you’d just be a real gentle breeze.”

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I flew straight to the royal capital and entered the royal castle grounds. Landing beneath Chancellor Brighton’s office, I spotted a hanging bell as guards rushed toward me.

I pulled the bell cord, and a window opened to reveal Marginus.

“We’ll come down to escort you shortly. Please wait.”

After saying that, he told the guards to stand down and disappeared from the window.

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“Leon-dono, how did it go?”

“We captured the ringleaders, but we’re still hunting the rest. The city is sealed, so the situation should remain secret for a while. This is Count Arkwright’s first report.”

I handed the letter to Marginus, who immediately passed it to Chancellor Brighton. As the chancellor read, his expression tightened slightly.

I remained silent. This was now the rulers’ responsibility.

“We’ll report to His Majesty and prepare instructions for Count Arkwright. Please wait.”

I nodded, and Chancellor Brighton quickly left the room.

As I drank the tea left for me, I found myself thinking that I might be doing delivery work for a while… though I hadn’t even set a delivery fee.

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“Your Majesty, a report has arrived from Count Arkwright.”

“I see. What’s the result?”

“The ringleaders and their associates have been captured. They’re currently investigating the wider network. Here is the list of known connections.”

As the king read the document, veins stood out on his forehead.

“Their network reaches merchants along the Blange Highway… the Holtland side through the Madras route, and even the Leclerc–Jaltan Highway.”

“There are also several nobles involved. Cooperation with Holtland will be necessary.”

“At least it hasn’t spread east into the Greydens Kingdom. The city will remain sealed for a month, correct?”

“Yes. We must apprehend those named within that time. We’ve also rescued boys, girls, and women from underground cells in brothels, so dealing with non-nobles shouldn’t be an issue.”

“A baron and a viscount, then… We need this handled quickly. Assign that man, Leon, to assist with the arrests. Pay him well from the criminals’ hidden funds.”

“He accepted the courier request, but will he really cooperate with the arrests as well?”

“I see… He’s also in contact with King Felix. Perhaps I should meet him directly once the investigation has settled somewhat.”