Bitter Victory (2)

"Guards!" <Julius >

I've leveled up, and I'm ready to meet Zeff.

Of course, there was nothing I could do if he refused to talk.

He would certainly be an essential figure in my goal to retake the soon-to-be-fallen Linon Castle.

Of course, if I can't convince him, I'll carry out the mission on my own.

And if the mission fails, I will flee.

I had several plans; the best one was to convince Zeff.

"Guards!" <Julius >

I shouted again and again, until a soldier came in, looking annoyed.

"Huh....What is it?" <Guard >

"There's something I want you to tell the chief of staff." <Julius >

"That's not going to happen." <Guard >

"I'm not going to spend the rest of my life here. If you can send my message to the chief of staff, I'd be happy to pay your gratuity....It's more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime." <Julius >

Definition of gratuity: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation, usually for some service, in other words a bribe.

I tried to tempt the guards door with money.

"Is that true?" <Guard >

"I'm a Count. The death penalty is difficult for a nobleman like me, worst case ill sit here for a couple days before being shipped back to my own lands." <Julius >

Unless you are guilty of treason, nobles of high status don't get punished much for defying orders.

At most, they would be stripped of their position.

It's just a matter of returning to their territory.

I'm sure the guards are well aware of that.

"Of course. But it's important information that must not be leaked. Come on, let's go inside. Don't worry; I'm not going to break out of jail when I can be released immediately." <Julius >

After completing his calculations, the soldier, confused by the word "gratuity," rushed to open the prison door and entered.

"What's the story...?" <Guard >

There was nothing to talk about.

I immediately executed the [Attack] command and knocked down the soldier with my fist.

He was a soldier with 25 power level, it was effortless to stun him.

After plucking a bunch of keys from around the soldier's waist, I moved to the cell where Zeff was being held.

Boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

From inside, I could hear the sound of someone being beaten.

"How long are you going to keep your mouth shut?!" <Interrogator >

The violence continues under the guise of making people give up information even though the battle related to Zeff is over.

Stress relief, huh?

In the midst of all this, the other soldier who had been beating up Zeff said to his colleague.

"Hey, come here. He's got a ring around his neck. It looks expensive." <Soldier >

"Oh, yeah, a ring." <Interrogator >

With his hands and feet bound with chains, Zeff has no way to resist.

No matter how powerful he is, he has no way to use his strength since his hands and feet are bound.

Surprisingly, when the ring was taken from him, for the first time, he spoke.

"No, you can't do that!" <Zeff >

It must be very important to him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have broken his silence.

"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything, just give me that back!" <Zeff >

"You idiot, it's too late and I don't need any more information. You're going to get beaten to death. By the way, didn't you have a colleague who talked too much? He's already dead. If you keep getting beaten up for not saying anything, you'll end up dead too! Hahaha!" <Interrogator >

The beating continued for some time after that.

Finally, the soldiers came out.

So I went back to my cell.

Later, I walked through the quiet prison corridors and entered the cell where Zeff was being held.

This man has shown emotion.

That was important.

If I could talk to him, I could make a lot of progress.

Zeff was shaking uncontrollably.

No amount of force from his bloodied hands could break the chains on the wall, though.

"What's so important about that ring that you decided to talk?" <Julius >

"..." <Zeff >

Zeff looked up at the sound of my voice as I suddenly walked in.

When he saw me, he looked a little surprised.

"You did this!" <Zeff >

What's more, he seems to have remembered me.

I think he has a terrible misunderstanding.

"That's a misunderstanding. When you encounter an enemy on the battlefield, it's natural to fight, and I just won that battle. I don't remember beating or torturing you after I captured you. The problem is with my superior officer who took you in. I'm here because I was captured by my superior on charges of defying orders in order to stop the attack your scouting party was assisting."

I sat down next to Zeff as I spoke.

"I mean, we're colleagues in prison, birds of a feather if you will." <Julius >

I walked up to him to try to have a conversation, but Zeff bit his lip and turned his face away.

Refusing to engage in conversation again?

"I can get that precious ring back for you, if you want." <Julius >

I could see that the ring was important to him.

"You're in jail too, aren't you? How are you going to get the ring back?" <Zeff >

"It can't go on like this forever. I'm a nobleman; I can't be bound in shackles, that's why I was able to beat up the guards and come here. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to knock out those soldiers and get the ring back." <Julius >

Zeff eyes wavered slightly at my explanation, that ring seemed to be really important to him.

I might have a chance to persuade him if I get it back.

"What do you want? I don't have anything to offer." <Zeff >

"It's no big deal. If you'd rather lose your life here, why don't you join my side? I'll take back what was taken from you and save your life too! Become my trusted subordinate, my Vassal!" <Julius >

"You've got to be kidding me....I can't do that!" <Zeff >

Zeff shook his head in rejection.

"Why? If you are so obsessed with a single ring you must want to live, right? Why don't you try to save yourself?" <Julius >

Yes.

That's what I didn't understand.

If he was that strong, he might've had a chance to escape.

Even on the way from the supply base to the Linon Castle.

Still, this man was quietly locked up in the prison of Linon Castle.

It's as if he doesn't want to live.

"If you have something so important, why don't you try to survive?" <Julius >

No answer came back.

But he was clearly different from when he was being held in the supply unit.

So, I continued to ask questions.

"What if that ring has something to do with someone precious to you? Someone perhaps being used to force you into your current actions!" <Julius >

Zeff suddenly reacted to the word "precious".

It seems that the ring is a sign of love, after all.

And it was clear that the ring was the only thing that could move this taciturn man.

"Good. I'll get the ring back and change the terms to something a little looser. We'll talk about the ring. You don't have to be on my side, but if you tell me, I'll get the ring back. Then at least you can die with the ring on your finger. That's what you want, isn't it?" <Julius >

"How can I trust you?" <Zeff >

"What do you think I'm lying for? What's in it for me if I listen to you?" <Julius >

"..." <Zeff >

Zeff stared at me, so I waited. It took a few minutes of nerve-wracking eye contact before Zeff decided to talk.

"Are you sure that I want to die with the ring on my finger?" <Zeff >

"Tell me the reason and I'll get it back. I'll keep my word, no matter what, I swear on my ancestors honor, and even the glory of the very gods themselves." <Julius >

"Why on earth do you want to hear me talk so much?" <Zeff >

"It doesn't matter. What's important is that you're going to get it back. If you really want it, all you have to do is talk to me." <Julius >