When my trusty subordinates returned home with what I had asked for, I was thoroughly excited.
"That was a beautiful spectacle, my friends. The fireworks show you put on to celebrate my return was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better welcome home."
My trusty comrades had by now, taken off their masks and put aside their shady uniforms.
Now they wore their everyday clothes that were a mix of brilliant colors. Though Elina loved the uniforms that the masked unit wore, I preferred their everyday clothes.
I don't know why anyone would party in those tight-fitted black cloaks as they were stuffy and uncomfortable.
"Alight everyone! My mother has seen the show you all have put on and is proud. She took my promise one further and made food for everyone!" I declared. Mom is always so generous.
"Wooo!"
'Yaay!"
"LETS PARTY!!!" I screamed as that marked a night of fun festivities in the basement of my mansion.
Letting my subordinates express themselves through dancing was a fun way to get rid of any stress they might have. Seeing the many colors of hair on the men and women sway as they danced was therapeutic to me.
This was something I rarely found in other worlds. Even in worlds where people dyed their hair, I found it unnatural when looking at them.
There was something different about the beauty of naturally pink, blue, or purple hair.
"Show me what you've got!" I challenged the people near me on the dance floor as I did some fancy moves of my own.
Oh, how I missed this atmosphere. I might have to deal with the consequences tomorrow morning but that was something I will deal with as it comes.
For now, I was just enjoying my return.
"Nice moves Melina!" I complimented one of the girls who was dancing their hearts out. She was flailing her arms all over the place but I didn't care.
Everyone laughed when I said this as they also noticed the pink hair women going bonkers on the dance floor. She couldn't dance for shit but her effort was loved by everyone.
The attention on her didn't last long as everyone went back to dancing or eating.
The disco ball created with an assortment of their mana was lighting up the place while spinning all over. I owe myself this for my ingenuity in creating modern stuff with mana.
I left exactly 77 individuals in my first basement and went down a series of stairs. I entered my second basement and took a couple of turns to find a certain room.
I turned the handle and walked in to find the room cold and damp. There was even water dripping from the ceiling.
I saw the 5 different people that were tied up in the room. Their eyes were blindfolded and their ears were covered in a metallic earmuff-like device.
A little child, a middle aged lady, an old and wrinkly man, and 2 young men.
"This is quite the good variety." I often had my people capture the leaders if they could but it didn't work out that well this time.
I first walked up to the little girl and decided that she would be the first. She was clearly shivering from the cold.
I held her head with one hand and took off the blindfold with the other. She shook even harder when I touched her face. I didn't care.
I took off the magical noise cancelling headphones that I paid quite a hefty price to have custom made.
"Hi there little girl! Are you lost?" I said with a grin as she tried to move away from me.
She couldn't do that as her hands and feet were still bound to the chair made of special material.
"Aww...don't run away from me. I'm here to help you get home. A cute kid like you shouldn't be in a dark place like this." I said while patting her head.
Despite being a cultist her head was still very soft. She had to have been using some of the luxurious products that commoners rarely have. Her skin was also very smooth and bouncy when I touched it.
"Tell big brother where you live and I will take you there." I tried to sound as friendly as I could but it probably didn't seem like that to her.
Poor little girl, having to live with a cultist must have been hard.
"Ma...mee..."
The little girl was stammering and looking at me as if I was the devil. I thought I had quite a handsome face though.
"Mommy? I will take you to her. Tell me where."
She still didn't seem to want to respond to my words. Maybe I should change my approach. I took out a piece of candy out of my pocket.
I always carried some since Risa loved these. She would always eat some when strolling around the house.
"Here have some. They are sweet." I tried feeding the little cubes to the child but she wouldn't open her.
"You can't refuse to eat. Kids need lots of sugar to grow." So I held her chin and forcefully opened her mouth.
I shoved the candies in and then closed it. The candies melt instantly in your mouth so I could see the girl's expression change quickly.
There was a moment of surprise on her face which quickly turned into confusion and then doubt.
She was probably reveling in the sweetness but also wondering if I had poisoned her.
I wouldn't do that...to a kid.
"You want more?" I asked showing the girl a handful of the candies.
She seemed to be about to say yes but stopped abruptly. C'mon kid, unlike the cult, I'm a kind man. They probably didn't give you candies in cult, did they?
"You must be craving sugar kid. Your performance against my men was pretty good. You lasted the longest after all."
Whenever the blood cultists used those weird abilities, they would always need calories afterward. It was a very energy intensive power and she fought the longest.
"Ah.." She didn't take too long to cave into her urges. I shoved the handful of sweets into her mouth and she closed it.
She took her time savoring the sweets and I just kneeled there in the meantime. It was better to make eye contact with kids when talking to them.
When she seemed finished with the candies I decided to ask her again.
"So where is your home kid?"
This time she looked at me with a calmer expression and eyes that didn't seem to waver anymore. Looks like the sugar did the trick.
"I...I don't have one anymore," she said.
"What do you mean? What happened to your home?"
"You guys burned it down..." she revealed. I see, we might have done that. The building she was running from was a pretty big residential space.
I thought they just used it for meetings, rituals, and storage but I guess you could live there too.
I didn't have the time to find everything out as my spy sent me that information in a rush. I had to get my hands on the cultist today or the government would have them tonight.
"How about your mommy, where is she?" I should ease her into telling whatever she can.
"I don't know. She said she had work and left home last night."
Last night, and she hadn't come back yet. She might have been involved in placing that bomb in the plantation then. She might not have returned if there were follow-up tasks that Uncle London had assigned them.
"Well then, how about your father? I can take you to him."
"No!" She shook her head. "Mommy sad daddy would kill us if we went back."
"Really? Then what should I do? I can't keep a child locked in a cold and wet basement." I chuckled a bit at my own words.
"Then let me go. I promise not to hurt anyone. I only fight when people like you try to kill me." The 7 or 8 year old girl seemed to have fought more battles than expected.
It makes sense now why she lasted so long. She must have gotten plenty of training with the blood transformation.
I shook my head and said "I can't let a helpless child out in the streets. You never know when someone bad might take you away.
Dont worry. I won't keep you here. All I want to know is your name and I will take you somewhere better. It will be warm. There will be food, a bed, and more candy"
"My name? Its Hera. Hera Rothensburg." she said instantly. She looked quite excited when I mentioned a bed.
Were there no beds in the cultist's home? It seems that the cultists are stranger than I thought.
"Alright Hera, I have one last question. If you can't answer it, that's fine."
"O..okay..." she said with a slight hesitation. She might be worried about me saying anything weird.
"Have you heard of the name London or Zocraten?" I asked the question that I would ask the rest of the captives right after.
"Umm...I don't think so. Mommy never talked about work things around me." As expected, the cult never let the children they raised hear about business.
It was obvious since they were easy to please and getting information from them is usually too easy. Most of the kids didn't even know that they were part of a bloody cult.
The Zlatan Empire openly detests and treats cults like the plague in public. Everywhere from schools to newsboards on the street would talk about how terrible they were.
Every child in the empire would be taught to abhor cults since birth and the only way to avoid it was to to never leave your home.
Given how she calls the cult her 'home' and her mother's 'work', she must not have been indoctrinated. She was also in good condition so it must not have been long since she was in the cult.
A new member who is quite good at using blood transformation is rare so she must have been a treasure for them.
"Okay then. If you just quietly wait here for a couple more minutes, I will have someone take you somewhere better." I reached for the headphones and and blindfold and put them back on her.
She flinched when I did so but there was choice here. I was going to do some bloody things and make sure the information she gave was all true.
I needed to find out how Uncle London was working with cultists and why he would sabotage the Zoacratens despite being married to Aunt Jenny.
"Hera Rothensburg huh. The name rings a bell and she does seem a bit familiar." I muttered to myself while reaching for the middle aged lady's blindfold.
My hand suddenly stopped halfway as something clicked. The memory I was so proud of found what was bugging me about the little girl.
I ran out of the room and went somewhere else in the second basement. It was a storage room with rows of cabinets and shelves lined with papers.
I quickly found the place where what I was looking for would be. It was a file that contained information on the soldiers currently stationed in this city. The first piece of paper on it had a picture of a tall man.
A tall man wearing the Empire's classic silver knight armor embellished with the logo of a red dragon on its chest. It always reminded me of the Welsh flag back on earth.
Back to the man, had light blue hair and green eyes that were the same as Hera.
"Rothensburg...Commander Evan Rothensburg. A 7th-tier imperial knight. Excellent record and has shown immense loyalty to the empire. Is brothers with the current Duke of Lycanheart.
Was stationed in Sofenia City 9 years ago with his wife. He had a daughter 2 years later.
Both the wife and the daughter disappeared 2 years ago. The current whereabouts of the 2 are unknown."
There was a small picture of the commander's daughter and wife on the back of the profile.
"Fuck.."
This can't be a coincidence...