Ch.137Accusation at Midnight

After barely repelling the gang’s attack, we helped treat the wounded and clean up the building debris before taking Remi to the Northern Fortress guards.

I thought it would be more advantageous to clarify the circumstances of this incident and firmly establish her position as both a fugitive and whistleblower rather than vaguely protecting Remi, a former Black Heart gang member.

Faced with my suggestion—essentially urging her to turn herself in—Remi hesitated briefly but eventually agreed after I convinced her that if her identity was revealed later, she might be wrongfully accused. She showed the tattoo on her shoulder to the guard captain and repeated the story she had told us at the lodging.

“…So this attack was carried out by an outlaw organization called the Black Heart Gang to punish you, a fugitive?”

“I… think so.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this as soon as you arrived here!”

*BANG!*

“Eek…”

“Waaah~ Waaah~”

When the guard captain, unable to control his emotions, pounded the desk and raised his voice, the baby woke up startled and began crying.

I told Remi to comfort the child first, then tried to calm the guard captain.

“Now, now. Calm down. She came here to provide information, and raising your voice will only make the baby cry and waste time.”

“Is the baby the issue here? If we had known those outlaws chasing her were going to cause explosions, the casualties from this incident…”

“Remi arrived here with a gunshot wound and was immediately taken to the clinic. Even then, she was left untreated because she looked like she had no money. Only after we arrived and cared for her did she regain consciousness, and we were just about to hear her story when everything happened.”

“Sigh… I understand. I suppose it couldn’t be helped then.”

The guard captain sighed, took out a cigarette from his drawer, but after glancing at the baby, tossed it back in.

“Well, I’m experiencing all sorts of things as soon as I took this position. A gang picking a fight with a fortress garrison just to kill one escaped woman.”

“Is it common for outlaws to attack cities or outposts?”

“Of course not. Even the most notorious desperado groups rarely do something this insane. Besides, if they wanted to steal magic cores, there are many easier targets. Why choose Northern Fortress with its permanent garrison? It makes no sense.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Northern Fortress always maintains forces ready to fight the monsters from the Corkas Mountains, and its proximity to Atelier means news travels quickly if anything happens.

It’s too dangerous an opponent to challenge just to eliminate a fugitive.

“I don’t think the Black Heart Gang attacked solely to eliminate Remi. They probably had plans to attack some city or outpost from the beginning, but hastened their plans when Remi escaped.”

“What makes you think that?”

“As you said, Northern Fortress is too formidable an opponent for outlaws. Also, there was no movement to find Remi during the chaos of the attack, and they completely withdrew as soon as Jessica removed the explosion magic.”

If eliminating the traitor Remi had been their top priority, someone should have been looking for her during the battle.

But they were thoroughly focused on the barrier tower in the center of the city, and fled immediately when they realized there was a mage who could disable the explosive formulas.

“The Black Heart Gang’s primary objective was likely destroying the barrier tower and stealing the magic cores. But when Remi escaped, there was a risk of information leaking, and they needed to act before a major crackdown against them began. That explanation makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“I… I knew nothing about the city attack…”

Remi, who had been listening to our conversation while comforting the crying baby, said this, but I shrugged and replied:

“But you knew about the drugs and the human bombs. That alone is enough to attract public attention, and as a gang member, you know the location of their hideout. From the moment you arrived alive at Northern Fortress, the Black Heart Gang had no options left.”

“…For people supposedly backed into a corner with no options, they sure ran away quickly when your female mage captured just one of them.”

“At that moment, Jessica removed various magical effects from the outlaw’s body—not just the explosives, but defensive and enhancement effects too. She’s a woman who can perfectly counter the Black Heart Gang’s trump card.”

The Black Heart Gang was originally described as a group of misfits unaccustomed to fighting.

They could only attempt something as reckless as confronting a garrison because of their abnormal power gained through drugs or magic, and their human bombs.

What should they do when faced with a mage who can instantly neutralize their trump card?

Try to eliminate that mage by any means?

Would they think that after seeing her fire dozens of bullets from a derringer pistol?

When one of their comrades was struck by lightning while trying to subdue her?

In the end, the only option left to them was to run away.

If they hesitated and a wide-area buff-removal spell came flying, the tide of battle would instantly turn in favor of the fortress garrison.

“For these reasons, while there’s a causal relationship between the Black Heart Gang’s attack and Remi, she bears no responsibility. I’d like measures to be taken to ensure she suffers no harm if there’s a bounty or extermination operation against the Black Heart Gang.”

“Understood. However, to remove any doubt, she’ll need to remain in Northern Fortress until the Black Heart Gang is completely eliminated.”

“And when will that be?”

“Tonight.”

When we all fell silent at this unexpected answer, the guard captain looked directly at Jessica and continued:

“If the information I’ve heard so far is true, the Black Heart Gang rushed their plans and failed. With their trump card rendered useless, they’re likely to pack up and flee elsewhere within a day or two.”

“So you plan to raid their hideout and wipe them out before that happens?”

“Exactly. Of course, the prerequisite would be requesting your participation in the operation, since you can disable those drug-induced bombs.”

Cooperating with the Northern Fortress guards to eliminate the Black Heart Gang…

I agree that we should eradicate those suspicious people who turn humans into bombs as soon as possible.

But to carry out such an operation, we need to know where the Black Heart Gang’s hideout is. Which means—

“You’re asking me to reveal their hideout. To become a traitor, knowing that all gang members will be arrested… no, killed.”

“That’s right.”

Remi’s trembling voice contrasted with the guard captain’s cold tone.

Even if they’re drug-addled and not in their right minds, the Black Heart Gang is where she was born and raised.

And among them might be the father of her baby, though he might have died helping her escape.

He’s asking her to sell out the lives of people she’s lived with for 18 years. For her and her baby’s future.

“Truthfully, I didn’t want to go this far either. It would have been best if we could extract information from the prisoner you handed over.”

“Was he particularly tight-lipped?”

“That prisoner is dead.”

“What?”

Jessica gasped in surprise at this unexpected news, bringing her hand to her mouth.

That outlaw had been pierced in the side by Phyllis’s lightning bolt but hadn’t died instantly, and we had even provided emergency treatment with a healing touch before handing him over to the guards.

The possibility of him dying within just an hour or two should have been very slim.

“You didn’t torture him, did you?”

“I swear nothing like that happened. After emergency treatment, we laid him in the holding cell, and when we checked about 30 minutes later, he was already dead.”

“What was the cause of death?”

“The exact cause is unknown. However, the autopsy revealed traces of crystallization near the heart.”

“Crystallization… magic stones? Are you saying he was already turning into a monster?”

“B-but the gang members who attacked the city all seemed normal!”

As Mina pointed out, the Black Heart Gang members who attacked the city displayed human behavior, cursing and taunting us.

Above all, the fact that they entered and fought within the barrier tower’s range was the most definitive proof that they weren’t monsters.

“We don’t know exactly what happened. Perhaps that prisoner was a special case, or it could be the effect of the drugs the Black Heart Gang members received. Personally, I suspect the latter.”

“That can’t be… Then the other gang members who took the drug…?”

“To find out, we need to quickly subdue the Black Heart Gang’s hideout and secure samples of the drug. So I ask again for information about the gang’s hideout and the participation of a mage who can use dispelling magic.”

The guard captain waited for our answer with a determined expression, and after hesitating for a long time, Remi slowly nodded her head.

It seems this noisy and long night is still far from over.