chapter 531: Meeting with the General
Once their identities were confirmed by a senior appraiser, Tauro and his companions were promptly released.
After that, they were moved from the interrogation rooms to a VIP lounge, where they now found themselves.
“I sincerely apologize for the discourtesy caused by my subordinates’ unilateral decision!”
The general in charge of managing the military facility had come in person to offer his apology—proof of how serious the situation was.
Incidentally, the general held the rank of honorary count, placing him above Tauro in terms of status. However, it seems that he has decided to treat Tauro with utmost respect because he has royal permission.
“General, it goes without saying that we need to prevent a recurrence. But more importantly, the fact that my impostor was allowed to tour this facility is a far more serious problem, isn’t it?”
“…Of course. I swear that we will find out who is responsible, and we pledge to do our best to prevent it from happening again ──I only just received that report myself. I immediately realized how grave the situation was and have already sent messengers to the other military facilities…”
The general acknowledged the military’s failure and replied with a sigh.
“Do you think this is connected to the Empire?”
Tauro gently posed the question to the apologetic general.
“…At this point, it’s impossible to say for certain. However, according to my subordinates, lord Tauro and his party —my apologies, the impostor group—boasted that during the year you were missing, they had infiltrated the Empire and traveled there. We’ve only just begun investigating, so most of this is secondhand information, but there’s a strong possibility they are Imperial agents…”
The general had left the task of dealing with the group of impostors to his subordinates, so this was a complete surprise to him. Still, his response was swift, and he had already begun gathering information.
“We plan to pursue the impostors ourselves after this. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could prevent them from crossing the border.”
“Of course. I’ve already dispatched messengers to the borders of the royal demesne. However, when it comes to the noble territories, there will be a delay depending on the lord’s response. So there is nothing we can do about it. Ideally, I’d like you to keep watch over the border of the neighboring County of Suwen. The Count of Suwen and I are like oil and water—I doubt he would listen to our requests anyway, so If the impostors were to cross the border, it would most likely be from there.”
Even if they were both counts, there was a difference between those who governed land and those who held only honorary titles.
The general explained those circumstances to Tauro.
“…I see. I understand. We were planning to go to the city of Suwen anyway, so we’ll look for the impostors there.”
“That would be a great help. Once again, Tauro-dono, I apologize that my subordinates got ahead of themselves and detained and interrogated you.”
The general bowed deeply once more.
The subordinates standing behind him bowed as well.
“It’s really fine. In fact, thanks to the senior appraiser, we were able to prove that we’re the real ones, which was a great relief. I can’t say I approve of the torture during the interrogations, but… I’ll leave that judgment to you, General. Fortunately, all of our members are used to that sort of thing, so none of them felt any real pain… right?”
Tauro turned to Aerith and the others, who had been listening quietly up to this point.
“Considering it was a mistaken judgment caused by charm, I’d say it was a fairly standard reaction to have towards someone you believed to be an imposter, don’t you think?”
Aeris answered without showing the slightest concern about the interrogation.
“that’s true. At that point, the circumstances made it unavoidable to conclude we were impostors.”
Ankh replied, equally unconcerned.
“If you’d heard me say my usual line, then it might’ve been something—but this interrogation was pretty mild! Hahaha!”
For Lagune, it seemed the benchmark was whether or not she was made to shout ‘Damn it—just kill me!’
“I was never hit even once, so I’m totally fine.”
Zion, who like Tauro had only been questioned due to being a child, answered with a smile.
“I… I see…”
The general could only stare in disbelief. Based on his subordinates’ reports, he had been told they had gone too far—these reactions were completely unexpected.
“…In that case, I’ll leave the matter to your judgment, General. Oh, and may we borrow your lodging facilities? It’s already late, so we’d like to stay the night here.”
Tauro asked after glancing outside through the window.
“O-of course. ──You there! Escort Tauro-dono and his party to the lodges!”
Tauro and the others leave the VIP room with the soldiers escorting them out.
“…You guys. Didn’t you say that you had subjected them to some pretty severe torture?”
The general asked his subordinates to confirm their earlier report.
“…That’s what we believed, sir. But the reports also said that all of them looked completely unfazed…”
“I’m curious about their disappearance over the past year, but more than that—what exactly are they? Some of them should be nobles, yet their senses are far beyond those of ordinary people. Are all the so-called top-class adventurers like that these days?”
The general could only stand there, dumbfounded by Tauro and the others’ reaction, which was completely unexpected.
After renting out a large shared room in the military lodging facility, Tauro spread a map on the floor, and everyone gathered around it to discuss their next move.
“It depends on where the impostors are now, but following the general’s suggestion and heading to the city of Suwen—our original destination—seems like the best option, right?”
Tauro traced a line from their current location to Suwen on the map, checking with the others.
“I agree. The general doesn’t have detailed information yet, and heading to the largest city in the area seems safest.”
Aeris nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. Still, who would even come up with the idea of a fake Tauro in the first place?”
Lagune voiced her doubts about the impostor.
“True. But I can understand why. We, the Black-Golden Wings, have interfered with and thwart the Empire’s operations. It’s not strange that we’d been marked. And with us missing for a whole year, they might’ve assumed we were dead and decided to create impostors. We’ve got more than enough titles to justify it.”
Ankh offered a plausible theory.
“That makes sense! And in the northern region, hardly anyone knows what we and Tauro-sama look like, so it must’ve been convenient.”
“Probably. Still, the technical ability to create tags, insignia, and items capable of deceiving appraisers is impressive. There are many mysteries surrounding the Empire, but there’s also the matter of their special forces and dragon people of the north involved, we should stay on maximum alert. As for Charm, it seems to wear off naturally over time if left alone, so we can leave that as is for now.”
After cautioning everyone, Tauro decided that they would turn in for the night for the time being.