Caught red-handed

Ever wondered if you ever did something rude to an important person without knowing it? Sometimes, you wouldn't show the appropriate amount of respect to a person until he would reveal that he was a very important person. That's what I felt for talking casually to Arurandeisu, the boss of the Familiaran.

No wonder Amelia and Temma tensed up. The guy in front of me was practically the boss of the mafia that has half of Westa in his territory. He commanded a group of people who could go against the Westa Knight Order and was friends with many influential nobles and politicians.

"It's okay. I don't really mind it since you are a guest from another world", he said and sat down.

"Guest from another world?" Amelia looked at me.

"That's right. I'm from another world. Apparently, I was found after Captain Noel and the 13th unit were investigating a rogue summoner. They saw me lying on a magic circle and after some events, I became an administrative officer", I told her.

"But you're not here to reveal that to her, are you?" Arurandeisu asked.

"Err no. We're here about the case. We're wondering if you know anyone who has a grudge on your family", I said.

"The Familiaran has a long history that it was already here the moment Westa was being built. Of course we have many enemies. I wouldn't even be shocked if the Kageyama Clan was part of that long list", he replied.

"But the Kageyama Clan is not the culprit. The murderer is just framing them. If you look at the first victim's circumstances, there was no way he could make the claw mark as a dying message. The murderer made that himself", Temma said.

"I know, kid. At least I know that Shien's goal is not to go into war with us."

"Then why are you still threatening the Kageyama Clan with war?" I asked.

"It's because that is the goal of the murderer. If Arurandeisu wouldn't hold that threat, the murderer might take even more drastic actions", Amelia answered.

Arurandeisu nodded, "She's right. That bastard really wants to have the Kageyama Clan and my family kill each other. If I didn't make that threat, then who knows what the murderer would do?"

"I see. Then there is no reason to be afraid then", I said.

"You're wrong. Only Arurandeisu and probably other executives think that way. Who knows what the other members of the Familiaran are thinking. They might be preparing for real war", Amelia told me.

"The other younger members are already waiting for my go signal. I don't know how long I can hold them back, especially since another executive of mine got killed. That's why if you have any plans on catching the murderer, I'm more than happy to help. I'm pretty sure you have a plan already since you approached us", he emitted an intimidating aura.

This was bad. If I told him that we had no leads on the murderer, much less a plan, Arurandeisu would probably take things with his own hands.

"Of course. And I need your full cooperation", Amelia said.

What?

"Let's hear it."

###

Amelia and I were following one of the executives in the evening. I couldn't believe that Arurandeisu agreed with this plan.

First, Amelia asked for 2 executives from Arurandeisu. When they arrived, she said that they were the next targets of the murderer and that if we wanted to catch him, they had to bait him out.

Arurandeisu wasn't exactly thrilled with what Amelia said. But she said that those 2 along with the other victims were once involved with a case. The murderer wanted revenge by killing the 4 people and having the Familiaran suffer heavy losses. The plan was that one executive would go to this area with Temma secretly following him while the other executive would go to another area with us secretly guarding.

Those executives were okay with acting as bait and managed to convince Arurandeisu to follow the plan since they also did not want the war to happen. Amelia told us the area in which the murderer had the highest chance of appearing and even told us the name of the murderer.

If we want to catch him, we have to lure him out with bait. Amelia said that if we waited until we could find evidence, there was a huge chance that the war would happen first. That's why Arurandeisu had no choice but to trust her.

"But still, this is a risky plan. If we can't protect the executive, we would be making enemies with the Familiaran", I whispered.

"Yeah. That's why I'm counting on you until Temma comes when the murderer would appear", Amelia whispered back.

From what she said, the murderer must be a skilled swordsman... I've been training with Temma but I hope that I could buy some time if he arrives.

Could I really protect him? I would be facing a person who had no problems with killing. And I never used a real sword before. I've been in many fights but this was the first time I had to protect someone... If I fail, there would be dire consequences.

I felt someone touch my hand. It was none other than Amelia.

"You're gonna be fine. Focus on what you can do", she said.

"But..."

"I'm here too, you know? The burden of protecting that man falls on the both of us. You're not alone."

A man wearing a knight uniform appeared, "Hey you! It's dangerous to walk alone tonight. Where are you going?"

"It's none of your business", the executive said.

"How suspicious. There's a serial killer on the loose. Why don't I bring you to the barracks and have you interrogated?" he grabbed the executive's arm.

For a second, I had an uneasy feeling. Like something twisted in my stomach.

"Get away from that man now!" Amelia shouted and that brought me to action.

The executive shoved the knight and ran while I drew my sword. All I had to do was swing it to scare him. The knight dodged my strike and backed away.

"What are you doing?! Attacking a fellow knight like this?!" the knight asked.

"There's no use playing dumb. Give it up, Theodore Sen of the 14th unit. We're taking you to jail!" Amelia shouted and lit a rocket.

The rocket flew to the sky and exploded into a flower-shaped light. It would take some time until Temma could run towards here.

I have to stall this murderer until help arrives.