After soothing the screaming Amy, I recovered the enemy I shot in the foot and interrogated him. Surprisingly, he started talking smoothly as soon as he saw my face... Why?

Well, leaving that aside, according to his story, he was hired by the lord of Gozes for money! I had no idea that the lord's request was to attack the Duke! If I had known, I would have refused from the beginning! he said.

Also, he mentioned that the survivors who escaped during the previous battle would be pursued and investigated by the country.

After quickly finishing the questions I wanted to ask, I tried to collect the scattered casings and discarded magazines around, but they had completely disappeared.

I remember... even in that game, if I dropped casings and magazines on the ground and left them alone for about five seconds, they would disappear. I think that feature is probably at work here. Well, in a way, it's convenient.

Then Aid, Keith, and Amy went ahead to confirm safety through reconnaissance, while Guell and Lizlina treated the surviving individuals to some extent, tied them up with ropes, put them to sleep with magic, and gathered them in one place. As for the deceased, they were beheaded and their bodies were collected and burned. Honestly, I don't want to see too much of the gruesome scene.

"Guel, why do you burn the bodies?"

"Huh? Don't you know why we're doing this?"

Lizlina also seemed like she wanted to say, "Huh? You don't know?"

"Well, um... yes..."

I don't know what I don't know! The god didn't even tell me how to handle corpses! Seriously, what an unreliable god!

"...I'm really starting to lose track of who you really are."

Guell whispered quietly, but you know, one of the functions of the headset I'm wearing is a microphone. Moreover, it's set slightly higher, so I can hear everything clearly.

Guell sighed deeply and began to explain.

"Listen. If we leave human corpses untouched, two things will happen: monsters will come to eat the corpses and become obstacles on the road, or the corpses will turn into zombies and start attacking indiscriminately. Well, the corpses are usually devoured by monsters before they turn into zombies, so there are few cases of corpses turning into zombies."

Oh, I see.

"Why did you put some heads in bags?"

Honestly, I don't want to touch those bags, so please don't give them to me. That's what I want to say... but is it really okay?

"Oh, with these heads, we can use magic to extract the memories inside and investigate what they were up to. However, even if we try our best to extract memories, we can only get fragmentary images of the past three days. You see, 'Memory Read' isn't all-powerful, so if possible, we'd prefer to capture them alive. It would be much appreciated from our side."

It's difficult to capture them and hand them over to soldiers. After all, there's a possibility that the captured thieves will take advantage of an unobserved moment and escape. But I also don't want to bring back the heads.

"You're a member of the Adventure Department of the General Guild, right? If you submit your guild card along with the heads, you might receive a reward, so remember that."

Adventure Department? Not adventurers, but the Adventure Department... Huh? Hmm?

"Just cutting off the heads will prevent them from turning into zombies. Usually, people cut off three or four heads and then burn the remaining bodies. That's the common practice."

I wanted to ask what the difference is between adventurers and the Adventurer Department, but Lizlina followed Guell's explanation up before I could.

Well, I guess I'll find out later.

"I understand why we're not taking those tied-up people with us, but is it really okay to leave them here?"

If it were one or two people, we could take them on horseback, but there's no way we can take nine people. So I understand leaving the remaining adventurers behind... If we leave them like this, they might become monster feed, although I doubt it. There's a possibility they could untie themselves once the hypnosis spell wears off and try to escape. Moreover, there's a chance that those who escaped might come back to help.

"Well, I've set up a barrier using a boundary stone, so you don't have to worry about being attacked by monsters. Besides, I've cast the hypnosis spell twice, so they won't wake up easily. Moreover, we've collected all their weapons, so even if they wake up and try to escape, they won't be able to deal with the attacking monsters using just magic. They won't feel safe enough to leave the barrier. We'll contact the soldiers of the capital city to come and retrieve them, so please rest assured."

"What are the chances of those who ran away coming back to help?"

"Almost zero percent. I think they understand that they will become the ones being chased, so they won't come to help. Even if they do come, we have three people here, so we can interrogate them."

In other words, there are three options: trying to escape from this place without weapons and getting killed by monsters, surrendering and being safely escorted to the city, or living a life on the run with the escaped comrades. The last option seems unlikely. After all, they were the ones who fled without even trying to wake up their fallen comrades, so it seems they don't have much camaraderie.

"I understand. Thank you for the explanation."

I received reliable information from Guell and the others, more reliable than from the gods.

The scouts, Aid and the others who returned from reconnaissance, said that there were no survivors, so it's safe to proceed. We decided to continue. Before departure, Lizlina summoned two summoned beasts and gave them each a letter, instructing one to deliver it to the Royal Capital and the other to Gozes... I wanted to touch Lizlina's summoned beasts. They must be fluffy.

Also, before setting off, Duke Valdeck expressed his gratitude to me.

"If it weren't for you, we might have perished. Allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of everyone."

Duke Valdeck lowered his head and said.

"Thank you, Elaina."

No, no, is it really okay for a duke to lower his head so easily? Actually, I'm not used to this kind of thing, so please stop.

"No, please don't worry... Hau."

I let out an embarrassing and weird voice.

"Hahaha, well then, let's set off for Gozes."

Duke Valdeck smiled and got on his carriage, and I also got on Amy's horse and set off.

"Hey, Elaina-chan."

Amy, who had been silent until now, spoke when we were just a little closer to the town. Wait, Elaina-chan? Isn't that a different way of addressing me compared to earlier?

"Yes, what is it?"

"Thank you for today. If you weren't there, our unit might have suffered casualties."

"I also want to thank you. Thank you."

"I'm grateful too."

"I, as the captain of this unit and personally, want to express my gratitude. Thank you, Elaina."

Amy, Reese, Lizlina, and Guel thanked me in order.

"U-um... Uh... Yes."

I'm not used to receiving thanks from others like this, so I don't know how to respond. I'm starting to feel my face getting hot!

"Uh~!"

Feeling embarrassed, I hid my face in Amy's back.

"Oh, you have a surprisingly cute side."

Amy said quietly, but I didn't have time to worry about that. It's embarrassing!

In the meantime, we arrived at the gates of Gozes. As soon as we arrived, the gatekeepers lined up to greet us.

"All of you! It's Duke Nelson Dia Valdeck who has come to visit! Salute!"

One of the gatekeepers in line said so, and all the gatekeepers placed their left hand on their chest and extended their right hand straight, forming a strange pose. I guess that's a salute.

"All of you, relax."

Upon hearing that, the gatekeepers stopped saluting and stood straight.

"Who is in charge of the gatekeepers here?"

"Hah! That would be me!"

The person in the middle replied and stepped forward.

"Have you read the message?"

"Hah! I read the message and acted immediately! Currently, we are conducting a forced investigation of the Adventurers' Guild, Debtol, suspected of being involved in this incident."

So forced investigations exist in this world too.

"...I see."

"As soon as the investigation is over today, I will report through the knight order."

Duke Valdeck nodded approvingly with a smile.

"Understood. We will wait for the report. All of you, return to your posts."

With a single word from Duke Valdeck, except for the person in charge and one assistant (?), all the gatekeepers returned to their positions. Is this person really an important figure? Is he really of the duke's status?

"Um... Duke Valdeck, may I ask you something?"

The person in charge from earlier asked the duke a question.

"Hmm, go ahead."

"Who is the white-haired woman over there?"

"Oh, her. She is our benefactor. If anyone disrespects her, I won't forgive them. Remember that."

Duke Valdeck spoke while staring at the soldiers.

Oh, wait... Something's not right. The Valdeck I knew had a kind face and seemed a bit absent-minded... What's with this change!?

"Hah! I swear to the Goddess Litraes that I won't disrespect her!?"

Please stop already!? The gatekeeper seems like he's about to cry!

"My Lord, unlike us, Elaina has to go through the procedures. And we also need to present our cards to enter the city."

Guell comes to the rescue. Nice move, Guell!

"Yes, that's true. Elaina, we'll wait for you here and you can go complete the procedures."

"......Y-yes."

I was troubled whether the Duke Valdeck's smiling face in front of me was genuine or not.

Oh, Amy is looking at my face. Moreover, she's covering her mouth and seems like she wants to laugh.

"Please come over here for the procedure," I was told.

Upon hearing that, I dismounted from Amy's horse and walked over to the gatekeeper who was beckoning from his seat.

"Well, if you don't have a card, are you from some village or caravan?"

"Um, I was from a village, but it didn't have a name."

I told a lie, though it's uncertain if it would work.

"A nameless village, huh... That means you came from quite far away."

"Yes, that's correct."

I see. The gatekeeper seemed convinced and took out a crystal, placing it on the table.

"Now, place your hand here, and I'll check your stats and criminal history."

"Understood."

I placed my hand as instructed.

"What? Zero magic power!? And no skills and an unknown class!? I've never seen such stats before! And your bust at the age of 15...!"

Huh? I was supposed to be 17 years old, but the crystal displays 15. Is it because of this body I'm in? Moreover, the gatekeeper is looking at my chest. I won't engage in anything indecent!!

"We-well, since you don't have a criminal record, you're free to pass. I'll issue a temporary identification, so please hand me two silver coins."

I took out two silver coins from my item box and handed them to the gatekeeper, who then gave me the temporary identification.

"Also, the temporary identification is valid for one week, so please make a guild card at the General Guild or a citizen card at the municipal office. Once you've obtained the card, return the temporary identification to me, and I'll exchange it with the silver coins you gave earlier. I recommend you to make it as soon as possible. That concludes the procedure."

"Thank you very much!"

The gatekeeper smiled and looked at me.

"No, thank you."

With the procedure finished, I returned to where Amy and the others were, and they were in the process of handing over a bag containing the adventurer's head.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

"Yes! Take care, Second Knight Commander!"

So, Guell was not just a commander but the commander of the Second Knight Division. Looking back now, I was heading towards this town with remarkable people, huh? Oh no, my stomach is starting to ache...

While I was thinking about that, Amy noticed me and told Guell.

"Elaina-chan has returned."

"Mm, I see. Since we're done here too, let's inform Duke Valdeck and depart."

Huh? Isn't this where we part ways? Could it be that these people intend to poke a hole in my stomach?

"Um... Are we not parting ways here?"

Everyone gave me a puzzled look, and then Amy approached me and held my hand.

"We're going straight to the General Guild from here. Come on, hurry and get on the horse."

Ah, I have no escape now. Moreover, it seems like our destination is the same... My stomach... groans.

Feeling the pain in my stomach, I realized that the relationship with these people was far from over.