Reincarnated in the Same World for the Nth Chapter 55 : Chapter 55

Chapter 55

The interrogation continued for a modest length of ti, but Gilesha still refused to open his mouth.

Another thirty minutes passed like that.

Now that it had been revealed that Ianpel could read other people’s minds, there was no need to force a confession, so in the end, they gave up.

After all, it would have been one thing if they had learned nothing at all, but the fact that Ianpel had managed to extract a aningful word was itself a gain.

That it also ant they had taken a step farther away from killing Gilesha was admittedly a bit disappointing.

Ianpel looked back at him and spoke.

“We said we would stay until the Founding Festival ends, so could you wait until then for now? I will make sure we get sothing out of it.”

There was only one remaining chance.

It was clear that Ianpel intended to fully prepare himself and then pry open Gilesha’s mind.

It was his own declaration that, whether the other man’s brain lted or not, he would thoroughly rummage through it.

‘When it cos to opening soone’s head, there is no one more reliable than this bastard. He will handle it on his own.’

Sotis, he genuinely wanted to skip all these procedures and just charge in recklessly, but for now, it could not be helped.

Swallowing a sigh, Aquila t Ianpel’s pale lavender gaze.

“Celsia ntioned the words ‘Ludovika’s long-cherished wish’ before she turned into that monster.”

“What? When did she say that?”

“In the greenhouse. I realized I never ntioned it.”

Only Shen, the twins, and Aquila had been there, so if anyone were to pass it on, it had to be Aquila.

“……By Ludovika, you an her original family? A central noble house?”

“Yes. I will look into Ludovika separately as well, but if you do not mind…….”

“You are asking to try pulling the word Ludovika out of the prisoner’s head? You really like giving subtle orders while pretending otherwise.”

“If you are going to do it, would it not be better to be as thorough as possible?”

“Haha. You are not wrong. Hm, a long-cherished wish…….”

Trailing off, Ianpel glanced sideways at Gilesha and then nodded.

It ant he would look into that as well.

In any case, with that, the interrogation ended inconclusively.

Since there was nothing more they could do, Aquila chose to leave imdiately.

Gilesha moved his lips as if to say sothing, but Aquila did not react much.

Whether Gilesha still believed in him or not no longer mattered.

Aquila had only pretended to be a corrupted devotee to get an answer about Belmaburn.

And since he had ended up hearing that Gilesha did not know, what remained was now Ianpel’s responsibility.

Before completely leaving the prison, Aquila turned back once more and silently said to him,

‘Disappointing.’

…That was all.

“A, ah…… Clo……!”

Gilesha’s body visibly trembled, but Aquila did not spare him another glance and exited the prison.

***

At the news that Aquila had gone to the Grand Temple’s prison, Yujelia, who had been waiting with Cahena, greeted them.

Heinen headed briefly to Ianpel’s side, and only familiar faces remained at the lodging.

Aquila gave a brief account of what had happened inside the prison.

He deliberately avoided going into detail about Ianpel’s skill, but said that there was definitely a way to find out, and that for now, all they could do was wait.

“Labyrinth is at least a month away from Portplum, is it not? That is incredibly far…….”

“If you use wyverns, it would not take quite that long.”

The Delvion Continent was vast, so so form of transportation was essential for travel, and the only creature that could reliably traverse the skies was the wyvern.

Wyverns raised from infancy for transport were smaller than their wild counterparts, more docile, and lacked dangerously sharp claws.

That knowledge had spread from the east when Delvion unified the entire continent, and now wyverns served as a ans of travel between major cities.

Portplum, being well-developed in transport and logistics, was no exception and had wyvern transport readily available.

Though travel by wyvern was impossible between Portplum and Igrail, since only carriage roads connected them.

“Have you ever been there, Vice-Captain Cahena?”

“Well, I caused a fair bit of trouble in my younger days, but I have never gone that way.”

Cahena shook her head.

She said that since she was originally from the central region, she had never gone down toward the southeast.

And after hearing that Lexenbert had beco a Sword Master and coming straight to Igrail to seek his instruction, she had rarely left the territory except for subjugations in the Frost Forest.

“What about you, Priest Yujelia? You said you traveled around quite a bit for support.”

“It was not that far. I mostly went around near the capital, Denimarad. The bishop… Martio usually sent to noble houses.”

Yujelia also shook her head.

That left only Shen and Aquila, and Aquila Reschenhardt was an Igrail bumpkin who had holed himself up in Igrail, hardly worth asking.

“What about you, Shen? You said you have not been in Igrail since you were very young.”

“Oh, yes! But I ca from the west, so I do not really know that area. And since I have been serving the young master, I have mostly stayed in Igrail.”

Shen nodded in response to Yujelia’s question.

‘He did not originally live in Igrail, but ca from the west?’

Aquila, who had been lying on the bed, turned his gaze toward Shen.

The back of his wavy wheat-colored hair filled his vision.

As if voicing Aquila’s curiosity for him, Yujelia asked again.

“It was a village with beautiful windmills. Um…… at that ti, the head of the house saved my life when I was about to die on the street.”

Shen scratched the back of his head and smiled.

“He is my lifesaver. When I had nowhere to go, he asked if I wanted to co along, and that is how I ended up coming all the way to Igrail.”

“Oh my. To be alive and grateful…… that is a good thing.”

“Yes! Truly, I have been blessed in life.”

At Yujelia’s warm words as she held her brooch, Shen bead.

Cahena grinned at the sight.

“Back then you were so filthy I could not even tell if you were a beast or what.”

“Wow. Vice-Captain Cahena, you have beco more human than back then too, you know? You can even think a little now.”

“Just because your speech improved does not an it is not picking a fight.”

“You started it.”

Shen crossed his arms and glared at Cahena as if sulking.

Watching their easy banter from the side, Aquila glanced at them.

After choosing his words, he asked as naturally as he could.

“Shen. How old are you?”

“? Well…… since it is still April, I am twenty-one!”

At Shen’s answer, Aquila’s eyebrow lifted slightly, then settled back down.

He spoke in such a childlike manner that Aquila had assud he had not yet co of age, or had just recently done so.

“Have I been serving you for eleven years now? My goodness…… when did you grow so much? You used to be no bigger than my palm!”

He drifted into old stories, then suddenly grew nostalgic and turned to Aquila with misty eyes.

Aquila is currently eighteen.

Eleven years ago would have made Aquila seven and Shen ten, so what did he an by fitting in his palm?

Aquila let out a deflating sound.

“You said you are twenty-one. What are you talking about?”

“You were tiny, Young Master!”

And with that, Shen began chattering energetically about what Aquila had been like in the past.

That his body had been so frail he fell ill often, that he had been very short but shot up like a bean sprout, and so on.

Aquila half-listened while briefly glancing at the System window, but it remained quiet.

“In any case, to bring it back to the point, Labyrinth is not an entirely unexpected place. The rumors about it are quite sothing.”

“Yes. The Temple of the Sun must have considered it as well.”

Aquila nodded.

In fact, among the candidates the Temple of the Sun had narrowed down for investigation, Labyrinth’s na had stood out.

They simply could not act rashly.

“Anyone with sothing to hide would be underground, and even if you sent an investigation team, they would not be able to find them.”

Labyrinth was a massive space centered around a central dungeon, with its outskirts intricately intertwined and divided into aboveground and underground sections.

The surface was like a lively plaza where adventurers gathered, but the underground, accessible only through specific passages, was no different from a sprawling anthill.

Quite literally, day and night.

That vastness was the first reason the Temple of the Sun could not move imdiately, even if they suspected it.

It was also a place where priests could not easily set foot.

“The temple will not be the only ones moving. Once the head of the house returns, we will also join the pursuit of the Guild of Darkness.”

Shen spoke in a voice edged with chill.

Since they had tried to lay hands on Aquila, it was only natural that House Reschenhardt would head there.

“Yes. But it will not end as just our problem. Those bastards have stirred up trouble in many places.”

“……That is right. There are more people who died from the Curse of Deadly Poison.”

Yujelia nodded with a dark expression.

If the location of the Guild of Darkness beca known, families that had lost their bloodlines to the curse would also seek to take part in the purge.

There were already those lying in wait for that opportunity, eyes bloodshot.

However, they were not the only concern.

“……The Imperial Family will co.”

Cahena frowned.

As she said, not only the nobles, but the Imperial Family was also watching for this opportunity.

There was the death of Lady Friadel, but also the issue of noble houses’ military power arising from the Curse of Deadly Poison, leading to further complications.

To resolve it all, the Imperial Family would inevitably involve itself.

“Hm. Would that not be a good thing? The Guild of Darkness is a bad organization.”

“……It would be nice if things could be divided into black and white, but the problem is that Labyrinth is a place where the law does not function.”

It was a place where those who pursued strength gathered.

In Labyrinth, strength alone was the asure, not status.

“I have heard that people who bear grudges against the Imperial Family are hiding there. There must be many wanted criminals as well.”

“Then…….”

“Yes. There will be many who help, but it will not be possible to simply crush it with force. If that happens, only one thing will follow.”

Aquila added calmly.

“War.”

It would not simply be an all-out battle against the Guild of Darkness. If the various criminals hiding there were drawn in, it would no longer be a re subjugation.

In fact, in one of the past cycles, that had led to a civil war within the Delvion Continent.

‘Back then, I think it ended before the main scenario even properly began…….’

In any case, that was the course they needed to avoid at all costs.

“It would be easy to just push through with force. Maybe monsters really are easier to deal with…….”

Cahena muttered with a heavy sigh.

Aquila partly agreed, but for now, he waved his hand lightly.

“Well, in any case, it is not an imdiate issue. For now, we just wait for the results. Prepare to enjoy the Founding Festival at a relaxed pace.”

The Founding Festival was truly just around the corner.

After confirming that the others nodded with serious expressions, Aquila turned his head toward the window.