Chapter 43 - Questioning the Enemy

🟠 Chapter 42:

After we captured the enemy, we took him with us. Ryo chose a spot for the interrogation — right in front of the Ilan River. Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me. Why this place, of all places?

"Umm… Ryo, why are we here? Is this really a good place to interrogate him?"

He replied in a serious tone:

"Yeah. There's no better place than this. Just wait a bit — I'm going to catch some fish."

What is he talking about? Catching fish? Before I could even respond to that strange statement, Haizen beat me to it.

"What are you doing? This is interrogation time. You could've told us to save you some fish back at the lake."

I backed Haizen up.

"That's right, Ryo, this isn't the time to eat."

Ryo looked at us with a mix of anger and embarrassment.

"What's wrong with you two idiots? I'm not trying to eat — I'm trying to do something else."

But his stomach betrayed him.

"Grrrrr…"

That only made things more awkward.

"Fine… maybe I'll eat some fish."

Hehehe, what a shy dragon. He jumped into the river, and minutes later, came out with a live fish still wriggling in his mouth. It looked like an eel. Didn't seem like he wanted to eat it, though. I asked what he planned to do.

"Wait, Ryo… what are you going to do with that?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he went straight toward the enemy we had tied under a tree. Haizen was just as confused as I was.

"What's he even trying to do?"

A river? An eel-like fish? Don't tell me… is he planning to shock the enemy with it? Oh no, he wouldn't—

He did.

He actually threw the eel at the enemy, and a bright electric spark shot out of it! The enemy, who had been unconscious, suddenly screamed in agony.

"AAAAAH! What's happening to me?!"

Once the man was awake again, Ryo tossed the fish back into the river. Wow, I thought he had some clever plan, but all that just to wake him up with an electric jolt?

Anyway, now that the enemy was awake, it was time for questions. Ryo stepped forward and stared at him with sharp eyes.

"Where did you take Prince Elithius?"

What kind of stupid question is that? I might've overestimated this dragon. Even the enemy looked puzzled.

"Uh… he's at our gang's headquarters."

"Oh, I see. Then tell me, what do you want from the prince? Why target him? Ever since your threatening letter, the prince has been kept away from the capital, but I still don't understand your intentions."

The enemy began laughing at Ryo's words.

"Hahaha! That's hilarious. I can't believe the royal palace is so clueless about their spoiled prince. You really don't know what he's been doing behind your backs. There's only one thing I'll say — your prince led himself to his own downfall, and he deserves it."

The prince led himself to ruin? Sure, he's spoiled, but what could he possibly have done? Ryo was visibly shaken by the man's words.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself."

"Sorry, but that's all I can say."

Suddenly, the enemy got a strong kick to the face — from Haizen.

"How about now? Think you can talk more, or do I have to keep kicking you until your brain works?"

For the first time, the enemy looked annoyed. Blood dripped from his nose.

"You idiots think kicking me will make me talk more?"

He's actually kind of handsome… wait, maybe that's something we can use.

"You've got a pretty face," I said. "If you want to keep it that way, you'd better tell us more."

The enemy's expression shifted from irritation to panic. Did that actually work?

"No, no! Not my handsome face! Fine, I'll tell you everything I know! Just don't ruin it!"

Oh wow, it actually worked. Haizen and Ryo both gave me strange looks.

"What?"

"How do your stupid plans always work?"

"Because my stupid plans are the smartest stupid plans."

Now that he was willing to talk, the enemy started explaining.

"Our boss heard that the prince had escaped a few days ago. He sent several members to search the kingdom's cities. Member Number One was the one who caught the prince in the industrial city. When he arrived at the capital with the prince, he told us that the prince's necklace wasn't with him. We know that necklace can be used to track his location, so they sent me to retrieve it."

Haizen scoffed.

"Everything you've said so far sounds useless. What else do you know?"

The enemy continued:

"During the prince's escape from the capital, the royal palace put bounties on the heads of gang members — and among those names… was Prince Elithius himself."

What?! A bounty on the prince's head — from the royal palace? How is this even possible?! The three of us were stunned, especially Ryo, who looked completely lost.

"How could that happen? Why would the palace put a bounty on the prince?"

The enemy explained:

"To clarify — the royal palace doesn't know that one of the wanted names is actually the prince. The prince's been dealing with us for a while, using an alias so no one would discover him."

The prince… was working with the same gang that kidnapped him? And the palace unknowingly put a bounty on him? This spoiled brat might be more dangerous than he looks. Shocked, Ryo pressed for more.

"What alias did Prince Elithius use?"

The enemy replied seriously:

"The alias was… Elithiur."

Wow. That was so ridiculous I couldn't hold back.

"Wait, wait! Elithiur?! I know this is a serious situation, but couldn't he have picked a different name? He literally changed one letter! How did nobody notice?"

Even Haizen nodded in agreement.

"Takeru's right. That prince is stupid even when it comes to fake names."

But Ryo had a different take.

"I don't think it's a name people would suspect despite the similarity. Anyway, do you have anything else to say?"

"No, that's all. Please don't hurt my face — it's too handsome."

Ryo reassured him.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you… what a pain."

So the one who captured the prince in the industrial city was Number One. He must be the strongest, or at least second strongest after their leader. But what about this pretty boy?

"You said the one who took the prince was Number One. What's your number?"

"M-me? I'm Number Five."

"Alright then, from now on, we'll call you Number Five."

"You could've just asked my name."

"No… 'Number Five' sounds better. Right, guys?"

Both Haizen and Ryo nodded.

"Good. From now on, you're Five. I got tired of calling you 'the enemy.'"

"Wait, aren't you going to release me now that I told you everything?"

"Of course not. Who'd be dumb enough to release their enemy? You're staying with us — you might come in handy later."

After we finished interrogating Number Five, Ryo announced our next move.

"We can't go back to the palace without the prince. No matter what that foolish prince has done, I still believe in him. Let's go — we're bringing him back."