"Woah...! What’s happening? Why are they here?!"
Caleb could see and hear the screams of the people below as the army squad made their way past the reception desk and towards the stairs.
The villagers didn’t dally around and rushed out of the tavern, afraid of being caught in a ssy situation. Of course, so wanted to see what the army was here for and stuck around to watch.
"They must be here for that stranger." One of the villagers realised what was happening, enlightening the others as they stood to the side and watched.
Starting from the rooms closest to them, the n searched every room as they slowly made their way towards Caleb.
As a unit comprising 14 n, the squad mbers split themselves into two groups — one group creating a periter around the inn while the rest went inside to get the stranger out.
On breaking down the third door, the n spotted their target hunched in a corner with both hands over his head. "Please, don’t hurt ! I’ll co quietly!" He needed to sell his ’average man’ persona.
"Arrest him," The sergeant gestured for his n to grab Caleb, paying no mind to his actions. The n nodded and approached Caleb, not bothering to confirm whether he was an adventurer or not.
After all, the aura he gave off was that of a normal person, and that couldn’t be faked.
This made the sergeant question if the person they were arresting was truly the one. Regardless, he was given a job by his superior. All he had to do was complete it.
One squad mber grabbed each of Caleb’s arms as they dragged him out of the room and down the stairs. The sergeant looked at the villagers and then pointed at Caleb.
"He’s the one, correct?" Without hesitation, the villagers nodded.
Receiving the confirmation he needed, the sergeant and his n exited the inn, joining the others as they quickly journeyed back to their base.
"He should have left when he had the chance," Soone muttered with pity in their voice. "I still can’t understand how he ended up here..."
"Who knows... and good riddance." Another replied with a sneer. "We can’t afford to have anyone knowing what we did, or we might be the ones to pay the price."
"..."
It was an ugly truth, but the truth nonetheless. The villagers began getting back to their hos, the night now ruined. The tavern was now a ss with furniture and tableware scattered all over.
While the raid was a quick one, the n made a ss on their way to the rooms above. It was a burden the owners had to bear alone — no one was going to compensate them for the damages.
.....
Arriving at the base, the sergeant instructed his n to take Caleb to a temporary interrogation tent while he made his way to the administrative section of the camp, heading for the tent of the Commander’s assistant.
Per the instructions of the Commander’s assistant, he was to report the success of his mission directly to her, as this was a sensitive issue.
After confirming his status with the stationed guards around the administration section, the sergeant made his way inside the tent.
"Madam." The sergeant gave a quick salute before giving his report. "The mission was a success, and the target is being secured for interrogation."
"Excellent work, sergeant." The woman nodded. "You’re excused."
Once the sergeant left, the Commander’s assistant wasted no ti and made her way to Commander Harrision, who personally wanted to see the stranger for himself.
"Commander..." The assistant gave her own salute. "The stranger has been successfully brought in and is being prepped for interrogation."
"Good," Commander Harison stopped whatever he was doing and got to his feet. "Lead the way..."
"Yes, Commander."
....
In a much darker and gloomier tent setup on the fringes of the temporary base, Caleb was tied to a chair inside a tallic cage asuring at least 4 tres on each side.
Behind the tied-up Caleb were two of the n who brought him in. Outside the tent were additional soldiers whose duty was to monitor the captured individuals brought in.
Caleb looked around with a confused look on his face, intending to keep his facade going for as long as possible. While he was roughly handled on his way here, he was not hard in any way — not that he could be injured even if they tried.
The tallic cage he was kept in was imbued with a mana suppression spell, with the runes well-carved into the cage and its base. These artefacts themselves were not a novel creation, but sothing that had been around for a while.
The difference between the cages or other structures these spells were imbued with and the mana suppression poles was that the mana suppression poles were mobile and could be used in combat situations.
Caleb turned his gaze to the entrance when he heard and saw the soldiers give a salute to the commander and his assistant.
"At ease."
The deep voice of the commander echoed simultaneously as the tent flap opened to reveal their figures. At the sa ti, the n behind Caleb stood at attention and saluted.
Coming face to face with the commander, Caleb t his gaze briefly and lowered his head. The commander carefully scrutinised Caleb’s physical appearance, finding nothing strange about him.
He glanced at the n behind Caleb, gesturing for them to step outside, and slowly closed in on Caleb. Once alone with him, the commander turned to his assistant and asked, "Skylar, what do you think?"
The assistant, Skylar, focused her attention on Caleb for a few seconds and then shook her head. "There’s nothing out of place about him, Commander."
"Mm," Commander Harrison nodded, turning his gaze back to Caleb. Taking another step, the commander ca to stand a few centitres before Caleb, and with his right hand, lifted Caleb’s chin.
The auburn eyes of Caleb t the brown ones of Commander Harrison. The commander squinted his eyes as he carefully looked into Caleb’s eyes until Caleb shifted his gaze a couple of seconds later.
"You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?" Commander Harrison suddenly spoke with a knowing grin on his face. "The village head was right, you are strange. An average villager would have been trembling the mont he ca face-to-face with soone of my status."
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