Ch.85Interrupting NPC. (5)

In online games, characters with illustrations are typically the drafts of playable characters, protagonists, named NPCs, and main bosses.

By the way, the Demon of Rage I killed before had not only illustrations but also a main music video.

Characters that don’t have marketing value don’t get illustrations; they’re mostly copy-pasted. These characters are usually background NPCs, common mobs, and mid-bosses.

Yes, the peeping tom I caught. This Gibson guy is a mid-boss in the [Naty] episode.

“Hmm. I should have gotten a better look at his face before beating him up.”

“Huh? Why? Do you know him?”

“No.”

“Was he handsome?”

“I don’t know. Why? Would you forgive him if he was?”

“No? If he was handsome, there’s a higher chance he harassed more women, so I’d just cut it off first.”

Saying that, Ray actually aimed her sword directly at Gibson’s crotch.

Whoa, whoa. Stop. He’s barely hanging on as it is—any damage there would kill him instantly.

We passed through the city gate without any trouble. Thanks to my gold rank, and Ray becoming gold rank due to her achievements at Aigram.

Despite it being late evening, we were able to get rooms at an inn that was still open thanks to the gatekeeper’s consideration.

The rooms we rented through Aigram wouldn’t be available until tomorrow. Really fortunate.

Ira finished tending to Miho and fell asleep beside her, while Gore stayed with the two of them. I decided to start interrogating the man with Ragni and Ray.

“Why were you spying on us?”

“……”

“What was your purpose?”

“……”

“We know you’re the department head of the academy’s middle school division, but don’t you have anything to say about this incident?”

“……”

His eyes are open, but the man doesn’t react at all to Ragni’s words. Looks like this interrogation is going to take a while.

“Hmm. Judging by his reaction, we weren’t his primary target. That’s certain. And the peeping was probably accidental. As you said, if he’s from the magic tribe, he would have been drawn by strong magical power.”

“Strong magical power?”

“Ira, I mean.”

“What? Miss Ira?”

Contrary to my expectation of a lengthy interrogation, Ragni, who had been quiet, started talking continuously while observing the barely responsive man.

Wait, what? Ira was the target?

“This man reacted to the words ‘strong magical power’ and ‘magic tribe’ in what I just said. He probably wasn’t specifically targeting Ira, but truly followed the magical power from this morning’s monster subjugation. And regarding the academy’s magic tribe… I don’t know much since I couldn’t participate in external activities because of my fa—father, but I’ve heard that the spirit department at Naty Academy gathers and trains those with strong magical power.”

“…So, he came to scout Miss Ira? Is that it?”

Now that we know what kind of person we’re dealing with, Ray made a plausible suggestion, but I know better.

In the game, these guys conduct inhumane experiments on spirits and humans within the academy. In other words, as Ragni said, he sensed strong magical power—Ira’s magical power—approached, and fled after encountering Miho and Gore.

If our kids hadn’t noticed him, he probably would have considered attacking with spirits to kidnap Ira.

“That’s wight. I sensed magical powar, and approached to wecruit her.”

I snicker at the guy speaking with a lisp due to his broken teeth. Now that Ray has made her prediction, he’s latching onto it like a hyena.

“I see. But why did you attack? If you just happened to be caught peeping, shouldn’t you have apologized and brought up the matter right there?”

“You attacked me fiwst.”

“That makes sense, but…”

“Alright. Ragni, Ray. We’ve confirmed what we needed to know. Good work. You two go wash up and rest beside Ira.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

There’s no need to talk further, and no reason to listen to any more of his nonsense. The moment he reacted to the Spirit Society and I learned his name, it was over. What more is there to hear?

“Jack, what are you going to do?”

“What can I do? The peeping tom attacked first. Then he fought back against me and got caught. That’s the end of the story.”

“That’s true. The basis of my deduction is just my knowledge, so there’s no reason to believe everything he says is the truth.”

“Wa-wait…”

“Let’s go, Ray.”

“Huh?! Are we really leaving?!”

Ragni follows my words and grabs Ray’s arm, leading her out of the room. She glanced at me during the process—she must have noticed that I know more than I’m letting on.

Seriously. She trusts me this much despite knowing that. She’d be a really good woman if not for her perverted tendencies.

After the two left, I blocked the man’s attempts to call out by kicking him in the solar plexus, then quietly spoke.

“Kuh! Kuhak!!”

“Spirit Society bastard, you started running your mouth as soon as things were going well? Not enough teeth knocked out yet?”

“Cough… you won’t… get away with this…”

“Oh, I definitely will, and I’ll definitely win. You messed with the wrong person, and you were finished the moment you targeted Ira, you piece of shit.”

I grab his mouth with one hand and stare into his eyes. Disgusting. I want to rip them out right now.

Who would have thought Ira was the target? Did I level her up too much? I can’t sense magical power, so how strong must Ira’s magical power have felt for a mid-boss to crawl out like this?

The good news is that this guy’s level is far below what it would be in Episode 3. He’s only in his late 50s. That means the boss might be weak too.

Maybe things will work out easier than I thought?

I waited until the two had finished washing up and returned to Ira’s side, then called Gore, who confirmed that Ray and Ragni had closed their eyes beside Ira.

“Gore. We need to extract all the information this bastard knows.”

[Torture? I have various methods. A slime’s body is quite convenient, you know.]

“Make sure it’s silent, and keep him alive. Extract everything thoroughly.”

[Yes. I’ll monitor his HP carefully.]

[-Occupation: Spirit Department Head Spirit Mage- Level: 59 Name: Gibson.]

[HP: 121]

Is this all the information we’ve gathered so far? Considering that dark mages weren’t labeled as demon followers, it makes sense. But it’s disgusting to think this thing is a department head. However…

‘Well, the academy’s vice principal is the boss, so it’s inevitable that a department head would be this kind of scum.’

[Then, I’ll begin.]

“Go ahead.”

[Will you be watching?]

“Huh? Will it take long?”

[Probably not. It’s just…]

Gore trails off. Why? Does he think I can’t handle seeing something cruel?

[I heard Ira is involved, so I might have trouble holding back.]

“Good. Don’t hold back.”

[…Yes.]

I never intended to let him live anyway.

The only reason I haven’t killed him yet is because these guys have multiple contracts with various spirits and humans, and they become aware when a contractor dies.

Even in the game, the academy storyline had infiltration mission mini-games.

I lean against the wall and wait for information after watching Gore gag the man’s mouth with slime.

If possible, I want to extract all the information we can get tonight and resolve the entire situation within this week.

That’s my goal now.

*

Ugh. Shit. I shouldn’t have watched.

[That’s why I said it would be better not to watch.]

“You don’t do this kind of thing to Miho, right?”

[I’m not stupid enough to do such things to someone you care about.]

I guess that makes sense. If he had, it would have been strange to only see “Submission to Madness” as his status.

Who would have thought he’d put a person inside the slime and literally tear, rip, and knead them like clay?

And throughout the process, the HP didn’t decrease at all, while the guy just made terrible expressions and screamed. Though even those screams were muffled—just his mouth opening inside the liquid.

[Master, let’s focus. I think he’ll answer all your questions now.]

“Right. Hey.”

“Hieek!!”

As I approach the man whose face has just been released from Gore’s slime, he looks at me like I’m a real monster.

“If you make any noise that’s not an answer to my questions, scream, or don’t answer at all, I’ll add one hour of what just happened for each offense. Understand?”

The man silently nods his head. Good. Seems he understands perfectly.

“How many Spirit Society branches are in this city?”

“Seven places!”

“Who’s stronger than you?”

“T-two people!”

“One is the vice principal, who’s the other?”

“…!!!”

“Oh? Slow to answer?”

When I mention the vice principal, his eyes widen in surprise. But your reaction has no value.

As I gesture to Gore, the man opens his mouth as if about to scream.

“H-high school! The Spirit Department head of the high school! He’s from the same magic tribe as me and can handle five spirits simultaneously!! His name is Lo Jack!!”

[He has a similar name to you, Master.]

“Shut up.”

Jack is a common name as everyone knows. The man, thinking my words were directed at him, closed his mouth so tightly he nearly bit through his lips.

Lo Jack? Lo Jack, huh? I don’t remember that name from the game. Is there someone stronger than the mid-boss? Did he die partway through in the original? Well, if so, I’ll just follow the original storyline.

“Next, Gore, free just his hand.”

Gore moved his own hand, shifting the slime covering the man’s entire body so that one hand emerged.

“Write down all your branch addresses and locations.”

“T-that’s…!!”

“If I have to say one more word about this, you get a full day of torture added. Think carefully.”

It seems that water isn’t the only thing that makes people talk—slime has proven quite effective today.