After she received treatment, Asura headed to the commandant's office. It was a fairly large room, and far more comfortable than she'd expected. On her left, several trophies and medals decorated the shelves, and on her right, portraits of all the previous commandants hung from the walls.
"Miss Asura Lyona, please take a seat," Circie Hermisallo, the provost marshal general of the military police, said with a smile while sitting behind her desk. She had hair as blue as the ocean, and wore a white uniform and glasses.
They'd already finished their introductions to each other. As for the other members of Moon Blossom, they were waiting in another room. Asura lowered herself into the chair opposite of Circie, with the desk between them.
"Just call me Asura. Circie, how old are you?"
"I'll be thirty-one this year... But I'm still thirty right now! If I recall, you're thirteen, yes?"
"That's right. My fourteenth birthday is still some time away. Now, when did you become the provost marshal general?"
"I earned this position two years ago. Excuse me, but am I being interrogated here?"
"No, we're just having a chat. It's the same as saying, 'What nice weather we're having today.' Would you prefer to talk about that?"
"I see." Circie sighed. "May we discuss the matter at hand?"
"Before we do, why did you remove my equipment?" Though Asura was still wearing her usual robes, all of the daggers underneath had been taken away by the military police. She was completely disarmed at the moment.
"It's a precaution. We'll return it to you later, so please do not worry about that. Now, may we discuss the matter at hand?"
At Circie's firm attitude, Asura exhaled softly. "As you wish. We killed Uno Hassinen."
She gave a straightforward and honest answer because there was no need to hide it at this point in time. The reason was twofold. First, the military police already had proof, which was why they had arrested Moon Blossom at all. Secondly, Uno wasn't a hero or anyone of note. Though Asura had gotten her mercenaries to dispose of the body just in case, it wouldn't be an issue at all if someone discovered it. Right now, they could do anything they wanted to. After all, they had a boy king who would listen to their every command.
"I see..." Circie said, blinking rapidly. "Ah, well, we knew that, of course. We...discovered where you'd buried the body...and we have witness accounts..."
Asura immediately understood that meant the owner and waiter of the bar had spilled the beans. Since she didn't plan on any further involvement with them, she wouldn't seek revenge. Both the owner and waiter were civilians, even if one or both leaked info to Uno. If Asura killed them, then Lumia would get angry with her. Lumia could become ruthless in dealing with human scum, but even then, she preferred limiting her killings as much as possible.
"So?" Asura asked. "Are you going to arrest us?"
"Yes, that's right. That's more or less what we plan to do..."
"'But'? 'However'? 'On the condition that'?"
"Miss Asura...why are you taking the words out of my mouth?"
"I figured that you had something you wanted to ask of me. No, I suppose I should say that's what I hoped for? After all, if that wasn't the case, then I'd have no choice but to defeat all of you."
Asura finished her sentence with a low chuckle and Circie twitched backwards. In this case, 'defeat' didn't mean that she planned on killing them. She'd simply ask King Arnia to pardon them and get out of jail that way. Her words were more like a threat made to speed along a business transaction.
Circie swallowed. She steadied her breathing, calmed herself down, and said, "I was investigating the organization backing Uno Hassinen."
"Hmm. I didn't know he had any sponsors. I thought he was nothing more than your average piece of shit."
"We'd been conducting an undercover operation looking into his backer, but you and Moon Blossom killed our agent." Circie's voice was tinged with rage. The anger was not only at her investigation having been disrupted, but also at the loss of her compatriot.
"We killed three members of the military police, but one of them was yours? Sorry about that. I didn't know that he was in the middle of an undercover operation. You have my sympathies."
"I don't need your empty words!" Circie's expression twisted with frustration.
"Yes, of course they're empty. Enemies are enemies, no matter whether they're part of the military police or not. Will you lose yourself to your anger and become my enemy as well? I wouldn't consider that a smart decision. Now, say the conditions of your deal. We'll accept it depending on what they are."
"The people of Arnia...love you...and Uno was an infamous scoundrel... Though you and your group are criminals, there's the risk that we would be vilified for bringing you to justice..."
"Are you afraid of public opinion?"
"Yes. Investigative organizations such as ours tend to be the target of the civilians' outrage."
Oh, that reminds me. A memory prickled at Asura's consciousness. Everyone hated the police in my previous life as well. Of course, Asura had been one of those haters. It created an interesting paradox in which the people hated the very law enforcement that they needed. Not that Asura had ever relied on them.
"So?" Asura prompted. "What do you want me to do?"
"I'd like you to pin down the Arnian branch of the criminal organization that was backing Uno, as well as someone by the name of Little God."
"What kind of organization is it?"
"It mostly deals with drugs. But it does pretty much everything, from extortion to assault to theft to murder. It's a cross-border organization, with branches in every corner of Felsenmark. The members refer to their leader as 'God.'"
"A drug cartel... No, I suppose it'd be closer to a mafia? Like the Felsenmark Mafia? So you're saying that an office or something of theirs is in Arnia?" Asura asked while reminiscing on a certain mafia movie she'd watched in the past.
"What's a 'mafia'?"
"It's...an informal term used for a criminal organization."
"I see. This is my first time hearing that word, but I like the sound of the 'Felsenmark Mafia.' I'll use it. Should we call it 'Felmafia' for short?"
"I'm glad you like it." Asura shrugged lightly.
"Now, these people are extremely dangerous. Unlike soldiers, they have no qualms against using underhanded tricks. However, so long as you find their hideout and Little God—the branch leader—we'll pardon all the crimes you've committed within Arnia."
"No."
"I see. For starters... Wait, what?" Circie's eyes widened.
"First off, why are you relying on us?" Asura asked. "Secondly, if we want a pardon, we'll have the king give it to us. Though he'd need the majority vote of his parliament, he should be able to clear away our wrongdoings, right?"
"Um...I...thought to ask for your help because I was impressed by Moon Blossom's competence... And I wanted your aid on this investigation in return for an official pardon because you were the ones to ruin our operation in the first place. Is it really so strange?"
"It's not strange at all. But the truth is that quite a few of your men have been killed, yes? Or you've received some sort of warning?" Upon hearing Asura's words, Circie bit her lip. "I see. So that's how it is. Looks like those Felmafia guys have really been taking you for a spin, huh? You can't think of anything to do, so you came to us as your last resort, hoping that we'd be the salvation you need? Am I wrong?"
Asura was smiling as though she was having the time of her life. Felmafia was too much for the military police to handle, so they'd decided to rely on mercenaries. Though she'd taken a shot in the dark, it didn't look like she was too far off the mark.
"That undercover operation...was our last hope...but because of you..."
"Ohh, I'm so sorry. Terribly sorry. Ha ha! Just be honest and stop acting all hoity-toity with your little pardons. Go on, say 'Please help us.' You can even beg if you want. I'd be willing to consider it then."
If Asura thought of it as a way to train her mercenaries in intelligence gathering and combat, it wouldn't be a bad job to take on. However, she didn't like Circie's attitude.
"We can always arrest you..." Circie started before Asura coldly cut her off.
"Try it. Just so you know, if you become our enemy, we'll kill so many of your men that the Felmafia will look like a joke. Who'll protect the safety of this country then? Hmm? I want to leave Arnia without burning any bridges, so make your request like a normal person and then show me the cash."
Silence fell over the room. Asura waited for Circie's response.
"A pardon and ten thousand dora," Circie finally said. "We'll also remove Jyrki Kuusela and Iina Kuusela from the wanted list, though my authority is limited to Arnia."
"Oh? The two of them are wanted?"
"Didn't you know?" Circie's expression tightened. "Jyrki is one of the ten most wanted criminals in Arnia. I didn't know his name, but...wait a second." Circie pulled open one of her drawers and started leafing through the huge pile of wanted posters. "Here. This is Jyrki Kuusela, isn't it?"
She held a wanted poster in her left hand and showed it to Asura. With her right hand, she pointed at the portrait drawn on it.
"Oh, wow, it looks just like him. Yeah, that's Jyrki all right."
Underneath his portrait, it read, "Fourth Leader of Bandit Group Banknotes of Freedom. Real Name Unknown."
"Y-You didn't know about this despite traveling with him?" Circie asked, sounding a little exasperated. She folded up the wanted poster and then placed it back down on the desk.
"I knew that he was a bandit. But I barely considered it an issue."
"We're talking about the Banknotes of Freedom here! It's a super famous group of bandits! Granted, it suddenly dissolved about a year ago. But it's not as if law enforcement called off the search!"
"It didn't dissolve. It was destroyed."
"Huh...?"
"Lumia and I destroyed them while we were having a picnic. That was when we recruited Jyrki and Iina. They were both good fighters on top of being able to use magic, so I thought they'd make fine underlings." Asura laughed. Circie looked like words were failing her. "Well, whatever. So? You just want us to find Felmafia's hideout and Little God, right? What should we do after that?"
"Ahh, right. After that, we'll ask for reinforcements from the Knights of the Azure Skies, then raid them."
"Ha! The Knights of the Azure Skies, you say?! Ha ha! What respectful ideals they have! They don't belong to any nation, and would rush to the aid of anyone who requested it. It's something like that, isn't it?!"
"Is there a problem with them? Does this have anything to do with Marx Redford?"
"No, there's no problem. The Knights of the Azure Skies is an organization. They have plenty of sponsors, but even with their backing, they don't have enough money to maintain a group of knights. That's why their aid is a paid service, isn't it? How much do they cost?"
"Thirty thousand dora for a platoon. So?"
"Then give that money to us. We'll destroy the Felmafia for you! That'd make our fee a pardon, thirty thousand dora, and the erasure of Jyrki and Ina's names from Arnia's wanted list. But honestly, I don't think they give a damn about that!" Asura didn't care about it either. But if Arnia was willing to clear their ledgers, then there was no reason to turn down the offer. "Of course we'll find Felmafia's Arnian branch and destroy it for you! It's a better deal than splitting up your payment and hiring both us and those Knights, isn't it?"
As a point of compromise, it was more than enough. The members of Moon Blossom wouldn't complain about the job either if this was the payment. The only thing left that Asura needed was...
"'Destroy'? This is completely different from fighting on the battlefield! Your opponents are hardcore criminals and—"
"We're more or less the same thing. Don't worry about it. We'll make sure to slaughter them all, until no one would dare to set up another criminal organization within Arnia's borders. That's what you want to hear, right?"
"If...you can do that, then yes! Please!"
"Yes, that's it. 'Please.' That's all I wanted to hear. We'll accept the job."
The last thing Asura needed was Circie's 'please.' The contract was made.
"Provost Marshal General Circie, pardon my intrusion!" a member of the military police exclaimed as he entered the room. Asura turned around in her chair to check the newcomer's face.
"What's the matter? I'm in the middle of something," Circie said as she adjusted her glasses with her right hand.
From Asura's observation, there was something off about this officer's expression.
"This won't take long. I have a message from Little God: 'Give up. How many times do we have to warn you?'"
The officer threw a knife and Circie froze, unable to respond.
"Tsk." Asura didn't have any weapons on her, so she reached out towards the flying knife with her left hand.
It sank into her palm, and as soon as the metal tore through her flesh, she felt the poison that had been smeared upon the blade. If this had been Lumia, would she have skillfully grabbed it out of the air by the handle? But it was more than enough that she'd been able to react while seated and save Circie. It would've been ridiculous if her client died as soon as they'd finished negotiations.
"Who are you?!" Circie demanded. She stood up and drew her sword.
The military police—no, the assassin disguised as a member of the military police threw a second dagger. Asura snapped the fingers on her right hand. When she did so, the assassin's head and shoulders burst in an explosion of blood, scattering gore around the room. She'd used her flower magic, Mines. Circie deflected the knife out of the air with her sword and then turned her attention to Asura.
"Miss Asura, thank you so much! Are you all right?!"
Of course I'm not all right. This isn't good. Getting poisoned is the absolute last thing I needed. It was apparently the type to take immediate effect because she could feel herself getting dizzy. However, she still couldn't lose consciousness. Not yet. She stood up and took a deep breath.
"MAAAAARX!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed for him using all of the air in her body. Circie looked terribly shocked at the volume and Asura turned to look at her. "When Marx arrives, tell him I've been poisoned. Then, tell Lumia about your request. Tell her to do her best to finish it. Now, I'm going to sleep for a while."
With those final words, Asura's consciousness faded into darkness.