Chapter 530: Interrogation and Release

Because Tauro and Zion were minors, they were subjected only to questioning.

Aeris, Ragune, and Ankh, on the other hand, were quickly subjected to interrogation and torture.

However, those three were unfazed.

To be honest, for the three who had experienced the Dragon’s Den, the torture used at the military facility was enough to make them yawn. Simple punching and kicking barely registered any pain to them.

Through the hell they called “training,” Tauro and the others had been pushed beyond their limits countless times, acquiring various resistances in the process. Over the course of that year, all of them had gained the highly versatile [Abnormal Status Resistance], which Tauro also possessed.

Because of that, light torture didn’t hurt or itch in the slightest.

On top of that, Aeris, Ragune, Ankh, and Zion had gained recovery and regeneration abilities, so minor injuries healed even when left alone.

As a result, Aeris and the others were perfectly fine, while the military personnel conducting the interrogations were the ones left breathing heavily from exhaustion.

“I’ll say this just in case, but I’m the daughter of Marquis Van Dyne and an Honorary Mage of the Kingdom. I’ll report this matter to the royal family.”

Aeris spoke calmly, but imagining that the others might also be undergoing torture, she decided to assert her status to warn them off.

Normally, she disliked flaunting her position—Tauro hated that sort of thing, and she felt the same—but in an emergency like this, she couldn’t afford to hold back.

“A self-proclaimed marquis’s daughter claiming to be part of an adventurer team led by an honorary viscount infiltrating a royal military facility? That’s not something we can just accept, is it?”

A female soldier who had just taken over the interrogation began questioning her without resorting to violence.

“We didn’t infiltrate anything—we were only passing through. We were using this area as a shortcut to Swen. The impostors who came before us are far more suspicious. Adventurers claiming to have returned from the Empire touring a royal military facility should obviously raise alarms. Are you people idiots?”

Aeris bluntly pointed out the obvious to the interrogator.

“The Honorary Viscount Tauro Giro Sugar we met earlier was a fine individual. Young, yet humble—someone who didn’t flaunt his status and respected his companions’ opinions. And since my superior vouched for his character, of course we based our judgment on that!”

The female interrogator had clearly met the fake.

And she was conducting the interrogation based on her superior’s decision.

At that point, arguing further seemed pointless, but Aeris noticed something strange in the woman’s manner.

“It’s faint, but… you’re under [Charm], aren’t you? …I see. So Tauro’s impostor has a [Charm] ability.”

Aeris realized it from the faint traces of magic lingering around the female interrogator.

“What nonsense. There’s no such fairy-tale ability in the real world.”

The female interrogator snorted and looked at Aeris with exasperation.

“…Haa. It does exist. —Activate [Charm].”

Aeris said this and activated the ability she had acquired.

The female interrogator was an ordinary woman who normally preferred muscular men, yet suddenly Aeris looked overwhelmingly attractive to her.

She had always thought Aeris was beautiful, with a striking figure and natural charm. As another woman, she had even felt a little jealous of her. That made the sudden surge of attraction all the more confusing.

“…See? Now you understand. That’s [Charm]. I hate using an ability like this, so I normally keep it sealed, but it’s dangerous.”

After explaining, Aeris deactivated the ability.

Even so, the female interrogator’s heated gaze was still fixed on her.

“…I love you♡”

The words slipped out of the woman’s mouth—and at that moment, the door to the interrogation room was slammed open.

“Interrogation stopped!”

Something must have happened, as a soldier rushed in and declared a halt to things.

From the gap in the open door, similar voices could be heard—seemingly from the other interrogation rooms as well.

It seemed all interrogations had been stopped.

“…Huh!? W-what happened!?”

The female interrogator snapped back to her senses, her lovestruck expression vanishing as she questioned the soldier.

“It’s been proven that this Honorary Viscount Tauro is the real one! A high-ranking appraiser confirmed it! That means the Tauro Giro Sugar and his party who came here earlier were impostors!”

The soldier reported this with a pale face, bowed to Aeris, and ordered the female interrogator to remove Aeris’s handcuffs and shackles.

A short while earlier…

“I told you I’m busy with my research, didn’t I? Why do I have to be dragged out here for one or two intruders?”

A man in a white lab coat—clearly a researcher—complained as he was led by soldiers into the narrow interrogation room where Tauro was being held.

The interrogator placated the senior appraiser and asked him to examine Tauro.

“Just do it, please. This could turn into something seriously bad.”

“Bad? For a kid or two, I think a bit of torture would make them talk soon enough…”

The researcher appraised Tauro while muttering to himself.

Because the appraisal targeted his personal information, Tauro temporarily lifted [Appraisal Inhibition (Extreme)], which he normally kept active.

“Let’s see… ‘Close friend of His Highness Prince Fleue, Fifth Prince of the Kingdom of Sart.’ ‘The eldest son, though adopted, of the Count Graunewald family.’ ‘The youngest person ever granted the title of Honorary Viscount by His Majesty the King.’ ‘A first-class adventurer who also holds the record for youngest promotion to B-minus rank.’ …Huh? My Appraisal skill is working properly, right…? Hey, hey… How’s any of this supposed to prove he’s a fake!? This kid is the real thing! No—these titles are terrifying! I know nothing about this, got it!”

The researcher’s eyes widened at the appraisal results, which included titles he had never seen before. He immediately reported the truth to the interrogator while hurriedly distancing himself from the matter.

His tone clearly placed the blame on the interrogator.

Tauro’s long list of titles also included things such as “Favorite of the Prime Minister,” “Key Figure in the Dismantling of the Marquis Halagoura Faction,” and “One Who Slew a Fallen Hero.” There were so many—and some were so alarming—that the researcher gave up trying to read them all.

“I’m happy to surprise you, but could you remove these handcuffs and shackles now?”

Tauro replied with an innocent smile.

This put a tremendous amount of pressure on the interrogators.

“Y-yes! Right away!”

The interrogator hurriedly had a subordinate bring the keys and remove the restraints.

“You’ll release my companions too, right?”

Tauro prompted again, smiling gently—yet forcefully.

“U-understood!”

With a deathly pale face, the interrogator rushed out of the room and began issuing orders to the soldiers stationed in front of the other interrogation rooms.