After calming down the screaming Amy, I retrieved the enemy I had shot in the leg last and began questioning them. They surprisingly started talking to me right away... Why?
Well, putting that aside, according to what they said, they were hired by Lord Gozes for money! They had no idea that the request from the lord involved attacking the Duke! If they had known, they would've refused the request! they claimed.
Also, regarding the adventurers who escaped during the recent battle, they would be pursued and investigated by the country.
With the questions done rather quickly, I tried to collect the scattered casings and magazines I had discarded, but they had vanished without a trace.
I recall... in that game, casings and used magazines would disappear from the ground if left unattended for about five seconds. I think that mechanism is at work here. Well, it's sort of convenient.
Afterward, Aid, Keith, and Amy went ahead to scout and confirm safety. Guell and Lizlina started treating the survivors to some extent before binding them with ropes and putting them to sleep with magic. The deceased ones were gathered and burned. To be honest, it's pretty gruesome, so I don't want to watch too closely.
"Guell, why are you burning the bodies?"
"Huh? Don't you know why we're doing this?"
Lizlina also had an expression that seemed to say, "You don't know?"
"Uh, well... yes..."
I didn't know! The god never told me about corpse disposal methods. Really, such an unhelpful god!
"...I'm starting to lose track of who you really are."
Guell muttered quietly, but you see, one of the features of the headset I'm wearing right now is a microphone. Moreover, it's set slightly higher, so I can hear everything clearly.
Guell sighed deeply and began to explain.
"Listen, if you leave human corpses without doing anything, there are two possibilities. Monsters might come to eat the corpses and become obstacles on the road, or the corpses might turn into zombies and attack indiscriminately. Well, usually, corpses get devoured by monsters before they turn into zombies, so zombie corpses are rare."
I see, that's interesting.
"What about the severed heads in the bags?"
Honestly, I don't want to touch those bags, so please don't hand them to me... but is it safe?
"Oh, with these heads, we can use magic to extract their memories, find out what they were up to. However, no matter how hard we try, we can only glimpse fragments of their memories, usually covering the last three days. You see, Memory Read isn't an all-powerful spell, so if we could capture them alive, it would be much appreciated on our end."
Capturing and handing them over to soldiers might be challenging. If you've captured thieves and let your guard down for a moment, they might escape. Still, I wouldn't want to carry their heads around either...
"You belong to the Adventurer Department of the Comprehensive Guild, right? If you submit these along with your guild card, you might get a reward. Do remember that."
Adventurer Department? Not Adventurers? Adventurer Department...? Huh? Hmm?
"Cutting off a few heads will prevent them from turning into zombies. Usually, after beheading a few people, it's common to burn the remaining bodies."
I wanted to ask what the difference was between adventurers and the Adventurer Department, but Lizlina answered right after Guell, so I couldn't.
Oh well, I'll figure it out later!
"Is it okay to leave those bound people here without taking them?"
If it's just one or two, we could put them on horses, but it's impossible to take nine with us. So, I understand leaving the rest of the adventurers, but... is it safe to leave them like this? They might become monsters' prey if left here, although it's unlikely. But when the hypnosis spell wears off, they might untie themselves and run away. I doubt that, but those who escaped earlier might return with reinforcements.
"Eh, it's fine. We've set up a barrier with a boundary stone, so they won't be attacked by monsters. Moreover, the hypnosis spell is double-layered, so they won't wake up easily. Besides, we've collected all their weapons, so even if they wake up and try to escape somewhere, they can't handle the monsters with just magic. They'll feel the danger and won't come out of the barrier. We'll contact the capital's soldiers to pick them up, so rest assured."
"What about the possibility of those who ran away coming to rescue them?"
"Almost zero percent. They should understand that they'll be pursued, and it's unlikely they'll come to help. Even if they did, we've captured three of them, so we can interrogate them."
In other words, they have three options: either become monster food by trying to escape, surrender and be safely escorted to town, or try to survive in hiding with their companions. The last choice doesn't seem likely since they were running away without even trying to wake their fallen comrades. Their sense of camaraderie seems thin.
"I understand. Thank you for the explanation."
I received more useful information from Guell and the others than from the god.
When Aid and the others returned from their reconnaissance, they reported that there were no survivors. With that settled, we decided to proceed. Before departing, Lizlina summoned two fluffy creatures and gave each of them a letter, instructing them to deliver one to the capital and the other to Gozes... I really wanted to pet those fluffy creatures.
And before leaving, Duke Valdek thanked me.
"If you hadn't been here, we might have lost our lives. I thank you on behalf of everyone."
Is it really okay for the duke to bow so easily? Well, I'm not used to this kind of thing, so I'd rather he stopped.
"Don't worry about it... Huh?"
I ended up making a weird noise because I felt embarrassed.
"Hehe, well, it seems there's something unexpectedly cute about you."
Amy said softly, but I didn't have time to care. I was feeling so embarrassed!
While we were chatting, we arrived at Gozes' gate. As soon as we did, the gatekeepers lined up to welcome us.
"Everyone! Nelson Dear Valdek, Duke of Gozes, is here! Everyone, salute!"
One of the gatekeepers said, and all the gatekeepers placed their left hand on their chests, stretched out their right hands straight, and made a strange gesture in front of their left hands. That must be a salute.
"Everyone, you can relax."
With those words, the gatekeepers stopped saluting and stood straight.
"Who's in charge of the gatekeepers here?"
"I am, sir!"
The person in the center stepped forward and responded.
"Have you read the messenger?"
"Yes, sir! We've reread it and acted immediately. We are currently conducting a forced investigation of the Adventurers' Guild, Devtor, who we believe was involved in this case."
A forced investigation exists in this world, too.
"I see."
"As soon as the investigation is complete today, we will report it through the Knight Order."
The Duke nodded, approvingly.
"Understood. I await your report. Everyone, return to your posts."
With one word
, the gatekeepers lined up again and performed another salute, after which they scattered like birds.
As I passed through the gate, I thought to myself... Oh right, I forgot to ask if the letters we sent out would actually reach their destinations.
I hope they do.
Just in case.