Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 553

"Lord Rid, what should we do with those individuals?" Capella asked.

"Oh, that's right," I replied, pondering   his question.

The individuals in question were a trio of self-proclaimed adventurers—Morse, Dave, and Geha—who had been detained by the special operations unit. They called themselves adventurers, but their identities had not yet been verified by the adventurer's guild.

With the capture of the powerful nobles from the old regime, the mercenaries who had gathered under Remos and Galiel began to abandon them one after another. These mercenaries, hired for money, had no loyalty to the Santus family. They were the kind of people who would follow the money and the stronger side, with no sense of conviction or loyalty.

The fleeing mercenaries probably thought, "At least I made it out alive." But the world isn't that forgiving. We had been secretly monitoring the Santas family closely, and there was no way we would miss their movements.

Capella dispatched Raml, Alice, and Dan from the Second Knight Order's special operations unit to apprehend all the fleeing mercenaries. They were taken to the Baldia family's garrison mansion in the capital, Forneus, where they were subjected to rigorous interrogation. We extracted every bit of information, investigating their criminal records in the empire and other countries, any additional crimes, and whether they were wanted.

The reason we conducted the interrogations at the Baldia family's garrison was to avoid interference from the nobles. Even in the capital of the Foxkin territory, Forneus, entering the Baldia family's garrison without permission would be treated as a diplomatic issue, a fact that Amon had also acknowledged. Therefore, the nobles were not allowed to enter easily.

The results of the interrogations were, as expected, unsurprising. These humans, who had traveled to the beastman country of Zubera for money and became mercenaries, had no respectable backgrounds. They were the kind of people who, when pressed, would reveal all sorts of dirt. Some even had bounties on their heads from the adventurer's guild for crimes like murder and robbery in the empire and other countries.

It seemed that the Golden Dawn had gathered these skilled humans to somewhat obscure their true nature. However, if such individuals were allowed to roam freely, the deterioration of public order within the territory would be inevitable.

Furthermore, recalling my memories from my previous life, there was an interesting psychological study related to public order. In schools, if trash, broken windows, and graffiti on walls were left unattended, both teachers and students would become demoralized, leading to the overall decline of the school environment. This study showed that people's minds are greatly influenced by their surroundings. This principle applies not only to schools but also to various organizations and countries.

The fact that the Santas family had brought such criminals into their territory was the worst possible strategy for managing their domain and deserved condemnation. Indeed, some of the mercenaries had acted violently in towns and villages for money, and others had planned to raid numerous homes to secure funds for their escape.

Morse, Dave, and Geha, whom I had ordered to be detained, were slightly different from the others. They seemed to have admired Galiel, calling him "boss," and had been entrusted with various tasks by him, as revealed by prior investigations. As far as we could tell, the trio had not committed any major crimes within the Foxkin territory and had not treated the locals as harshly as the others had.

When Diana and I met them at the garrison, they turned pale. But when I smiled and proposed a deal, they looked at each other in confusion.

"A... a deal?" they asked.

"Yes, a deal. If you tell us everything you know about the Santas family, we'll let you go with just a ban from the Fox tribe   and Baldia territories. Oh, and by the way, I know that Renarute was banned three years ago, so don't take it personally."

When I told them this, they seemed disheartened and resigned, eventually telling us everything they knew.

Since mercenaries fleeing the Santas family were becoming a common occurrence, it was clear from the surveillance team's reports that Remos and Galiel weren't particularly concerned about Morse and the others.

"Even though we made a deal, they know our identities and methods. If necessary, we could 'dispose' of them after their release," Capella said in a low, threatening voice.

I shook my head. "No, no, that's going too far. In fact, let's have them spread some rumors about the special operations unit."

"Rumors?" Capella asked.

"Yes. Rumors that the Baldia Second Knight Order is not to be trifled with, that even skilled adventurers and mercenaries stand no chance against them, and that they show no mercy. Especially that there's a secret unit that operates covertly. If such rumors spread, I think it might deter some of the troublemakers."

If rumors spread among the criminals that doing bad things in our territory would result in being secretly captured and disappearing into the shadows, it would help maintain public order.

"I see. So, we deliberately let them go," Capella said.

"Well, something like that. Now, let's move on to our next steps."

"Understood."

I left the surveillance of the mansion to Capella and, accompanied by a few members of the special operations unit, set off on horseback to our new destination.

Diana was not with us, as she had joined Amon's inspection team for a certain reason, but we planned to meet up with her later.

Marvelous, the leader of the Golden Dawn—or rather, Galiel Santos. He had boasted that he would surpass Elba, but I wondered just how strong he really was.

In any case, he would be a good test subject for my new magic. And if this operation succeeded, the old regime nobles within the Foxkin territory would lose all their power. Two birds with one stone.

◇

The next day.

In the dim light of early dawn, before the sun had fully risen, we received a message via communication magic from Alina of the surveillance team. There was movement at Remos's noble mansion.

More than ten carriages, loaded with what appeared to be hidden funds, had left the mansion without even lighting their lamps. They had set out in the early morning darkness, likely to avoid detection by Aria and her aerial unit, but it was a futile effort.

We already knew the route they planned to take to transport the hidden funds. They were heading through the Horsekin territory toward the Birdkin territory.

Perhaps there was some connection between the old regime and Horst Padgory, the Birdkin tribal chief. After this was over, it might be worth investigating that link further with the Santas family.

"Lord Rid, I've confirmed it. They're heading straight this way," Raml whispered, watching the road leading to the Horsekin territory through binoculars.

"Understood," I nodded, then called out the name "Memory" in my mind to draw out the magical energy within me.

As the magical energy overflowed from my body, it enveloped me.

"...Alright. Let's go," I said, calling out to everyone. By then, my body had transformed into the "adult form" I had taken when facing Elba.