บท 23: Capture Order
[Location: The City of Andacia - Kingdom of Tevell]
[2 week and 3 days have passed]
[The Story continues with "Zyrus"]
After finally recovering from my dizziness caused by the extreme use of the power of my Blessing, we finally reached the city of Andacia, here we had to deliver a sealed letter to the captain of the Guard Station and the fangs of the Disaster Beast as proof of our victory instead now we were surrounded by guards and all of them pointing their spears at me while I raised my hands.
-Zyrus: Wh-what do you mean I'm under arrest? I just got to the city.
-Andacia Guard: Don't play dumb with me, you know what you've done.
The guard who was talking to me then took out a piece of paper from his back and showed it to me, on it he had a drawing of someone with my resemblance but the rest did not understand what was written.
-Andacia Guard: You are wanted for assaulting the royal palace, stealing 100 gold coins and a relic sword of the royal family.
-Zyrus: Wha-what!?
-Mei: Stop, stop, stop! what does this mean? Firstly, his name is not Masato, it's Zyrus and secondly, he would never steal anything, not even from the royal palace.
-Leah: That's true! this must be a confusion.
-Aeryn: Zyrus is one of the nicest people I know, he would never do something like that.
The guards began to approach the others who were trying to defend me but I knew that this would only end up dragging them into my problem, I knew that this day would come sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be at a time like this.
-Andacia Guard: Silence! We have a witness who identified him in Valestian Town.
-Mei: That's impossible because-
-Zyrus: Enough Mei, okay, I'll surrender peacefully, you're just looking for me, they have nothing to do with it.
-Mei: But Zyrus!
-Celes: My Lord...
A guard approached me, he took my sword and bag from me while putting the handcuffs on my hands, I looked at the girls who were clearly worried, I simply smiled at them to try to calm them down.
-Zyrus: Don't do anything rash.
So all the guards escorted me walking while the citizens of Andacia looked worried and curious, they escorted me for a long time through the streets thinking that they would take me to the Guard Station but in fact they ended up taking me to the huge mansion, they opened the huge gate until arriving at the entrance of the mansion while the guards dispersed and only the one who put the handcuffs on me and those who carried my things were there.
-Andacia Guard: My lord, we have captured the criminal wanted by the palace.
-????: Excellent, good job all of you.
Upon entering the main hall of the stairs under a middle-aged man, with a beard and brown hair, somewhat obese, in a red coat and in his right hand he used a hand cane, with his left hand he caressed his beard and looked at me with a satisfied smile.
-????: You must be the one who infiltrated the castle and stole a bag of gold and a relic sword from the royal family, right?
-Zyrus: Not exactly the story and rather they gave them to me, I didn't steal them.
-????: That doesn't matter, once they put your face on a wanted poster your version will not matter to anyone, ah but it was thanks to a witness that we were able to locate you, dear boy.
-Zyrus: Witness? what witness?
-????: (Coughing) That would be me.
From one of the corridors on the right appeared someone whom I did not recognize at first but after a few moments I managed to remember where I saw him, the man I saw in the town of Valestian.
-Fancy Merchant: I knew I had seen your face somewhere and it turned out to be on a wanted poster, what a coincidence it was when I told my good friend the Count.
-Zyrus: Oh! You're the guy that was in Duane's warehouse.
-Fancy Merchant: Precisely, the curiosity of knowing where I saw you didn't leave me alone so I did some research and I was quite surprised to see that you are a wanted criminal.
-????: Well, well, let's not deviate from the subject, allow me to introduce myself, I am Count Belin Druet of Andacia
(Belin Druet -Count of Andacia- 54 Years)
-Count Belin: You see, this does not have to be a bad moment, we will do this my dear Masato, if you give me the bag with the 100 gold pieces and the relic sword, we will pretend that we did not see anything and you can continue on your way.
Clearly I could not do that, since I had already spent all the money in that bag and I sold the sword and at this moment it must be cast material but even if I still had them I would not feel like giving them to them either.
-Zyrus: I'm afraid... that's not going to be possible...
I was clearly looking away with an expression of disinterest as I knew no matter what I did, the result would be the same.
-Count Belin: What do you mean by "that's not going to be possible"?
-Zyrus: I mean, I don't have the bag of gold or the sword with me anymore.
-Fancy Merchant: Nonsense! How could you get rid of so much money and a valuable sword so quickly?
-Zyrus: The sword was pretty looking trash so I sold it and spent all that bag of gold.
-Count Belin: And what did you use all that gold for!?
I looked at the count with a very confident look and smile.
-Zyrus: In an investment for the future.
They were both speechless when they heard me say that, I knew well what I had spent all that money on and I didn't feel any regret about it.
-Count: Well, if you want to play like this then you can wait for the escort from the capital in the dungeon, I'm sure our friend Chancellor Edmond will be happy to see you again.
"Chancellor Edmond huh? I figured he wouldn't leave me alone."
The guards behind me gave me a slight push and guided me to the dungeons of the mansion while they took my sword and my things to another room, once we reached the dungeon the guard took off my handcuffs and pushed me into a cell. and locked it.
-Zyrus: Well, imagine that somehow I would end up in a cell, I just hope that the others are fine, but for now I just have to wait.
I sat on the floor leaning against the wall to rest and think about what to do from now on, it was clear that the escort from the capital would come to take my ass back to the castle, I just wish I could thank everyone who helped me, especially to Sarah, who must have worked very hard to delay my capture order so long, and if I managed to get out of it alive, I would let her know.
[The Story continues with "Leah"]
[After Zyrus's arrest]
-Zyrus: Don't do anything rash.
-Leah: No, wait, don't take it away!
We saw how the guards handcuffed Zyrus and took him away, I couldn't stay still and tried to go to his aid but Celes' arm blocked my way.
-Celes: Leah, don't go.
-Leah: Why are you stopping me! we must help him!
-Celes: Remember what My Lord said, for now we won't do anything.
-Mei: Why do you say that!? Isn't it your Lord!? Are you thinking of giving it up!?
-Celes: Of course not but if he asked us not to do anything rash, he said so for our good.
-Aeryn: For our good? I don't understand?
None of us understood what Celes was thinking, nor why the guards arrested Zyrus, despite those accusations we knew he would never do something like that, not the Zyrus we know.
-Celes: For now we are going to the Guard Station to deliver the letter and report the mine incident, I will explain the rest later.
We nodded and followed Celes, this was all very confusing to us due to the fact of those accusations, Zyrus not resisting arrest and Celes acting so calm even though the person she is supposed to serve her was taken away.
-Mei: This is all very strange, don't you think?
-Aeryn: Yes, someone like Zyrus would never storm the royal palace to steal.
-Leah: But the strangest thing was that they called him by another name.
We finally made it to the Guard Station where Celes asked the Captain to deliver the letter and the Disaster Beast's fangs.
-Guard Captain: Incredible, so you managed to defeat that monster and a Disaster Beast no less, well I will deliver the promised reward.
-Leah: A second please.
-Guard Captain: Do you need anything else?
-Leah: You see, a friend was wrongly arrested.
-Mei: Yes, they say that he assaulted the royal palace and we know that he would never do something like that.
The captain was thoughtful and went to one of the tables to pick up a paper which he brought and showed it to us.
-Guard Captain: Are you referring to him?
The paper showed the image of someone similar to Zyrus, but with another name, in the charge list it appeared that he had stolen a relic sword and a bag with 100 gold pieces which was impossible. We have already traveled with Zyrus and Celes and we never saw that amount of money or that sword that was talked about.
-Mei: See, it's not even his real name, his name is-
-Celes: Enough both of us, we'll just collect the rewards and continue on our way.
-Leah: B-But Celes....
"Why is she doing this? Is she not worried about him? I don't understand what Celes is thinking"
-Celes: I'm sorry about this, Captain.
-Guard Captain: No, it's okay, also this search order arrived only 5 days ago but a letter from the headquarters in the capital arrived 3 days ago advising that an envoy from the palace would come to talk about it and that we stop the search until his arrival.
-Aeryn: Then why did they arrest him?
-Guard Captain: We didn't, no one came here to deliver it.
-Celes: Wait, what do you mean by that?
We all stared at each other when we heard the captain mention that they hadn't arrested him which seemed very strange when we witnessed it happen.
-Guard Captain: Unless, if he was arrested then it must have been the guards at the service of Count Belin himself.
-Mei: Count Belin...that guy.
-Guard Captain: The strangest thing is that the palace envoy should have arrived this morning but there has been no sign of him and I'm starting to worry, well, anyway, I'll bring you your rewards right away.
The captain took our Hunter's licenses and left to mark them, while we all remained uncomfortable by what the captain had revealed to us, Zyrus's arrest was the work of the Count and Mei seemed somewhat upset after hearing his name.
-Leah: Mei, do you know him?
-Mei: Huh!? oh... no... I had only heard of him in my hometown, they say that he is a greedy man who only seeks to expand his power and climb the ranks of the nobility, a real jerk.
-Celes: If he is like that, then it means that My Lord must be locked up in that Count's mansion.
-Aeryn: So we'll go talk to that Count so he can release Zyrus?
-Mei: It won't work, most likely he just wants to deliver it to win the king's favor.
From the way Mei talked about him, she seemed to know him more than she was saying, but it also meant that we couldn't do anything to help Zyrus and even if we tried, we'd only end up getting arrested anyway, I figured that's why Zyrus turned himself in peacefully.
-Guard Captain: Well here is the reward 15 gold coins with the extra included for your great feat and a rank increase for each one, congratulations and I thank you for this service now if you excuse me I must attend to that sighting of demon activity near the mine.
We took the bag with the coins and our returned licenses and then we left the Guard Station, I wanted to help Zyrus but I didn't know how to do it, if he was in the count's mansion that would only complicate everything.
-Leah: Celes, I want to help Zyrus anyway, I don't feel comfortable doing nothing after all he has done for us.
-Mei: It's true, we want to help him in the same way that he did for us.
-Aeryn: Celes, please.
She was thoughtful almost as if she had not heard anything we said. It was a bit frustrating that she didn't seem the slightest bit intent on helping him, as well as that she still owed us an explanation as to why Zyrus was taken away.
-Celes: Let's go find that envoy from the palace.
-Leah: Huh?
-Celes: Something tells me that if we find that envoy we will have a chance to free My Lord, come on, let's go back, maybe someone at the checkpoint we passed before arriving will have seen him.
-Mei: So you were thinking of a way to help him all this time?
-Celes: Of course, My Lord said not to do anything rash, it means not to make a fuss or act crazy to help him, come on, I'll tell you everything along the way.
We follow Celes through the west exit, the same path we used to get to the city, walking to the last checkpoint we came across hoping to find some trace of the palace envoy.
-Mei: So Celes, I think it's time for you to tell us the full story because clearly there are things that you two haven't told us.
-Celes: It's true, you have proven to be good friends and I'm sure that My Lord would agree that I tell you the truth.
As we continued walking down the main path, Celes told us about them, about the origin of Zyrus, about his arrival and how they met, the three of us were speechless. what Celes did not say seemed unreal, taken from some fairy tale but in her words there were no falsehoods, everything she told us was purely the truth.
-Mei: I-I can't believe what I'm hearing but it would also explain a lot of things.
-Aeryn: To think that Zyrus was summoned to be the Hero.
-Celes: Everything I told you is the truth, I hope you can also keep this secret.
-Aeryn: O-Of course, we'll never tell anyone more about this, right?
-Mei: Right, no matter how hard it seems to believe, I won't tell anyone.
-Celes: Leah?
I was lost in my thoughts that I couldn't hear what the others were saying. that Zyrus came from another world, that his real name was Masato, that he refused to be the Hero, that Celes had been a slave that he bought and freed and that now they were traveling to Gainsworth to find a way to return to his home world.
"If Zyrus returns to his world, does that mean I won't be able to see him again? What should I do then?"
Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder that made me react, it was Mei who was looking at me worried.
-Mei: Are you okay Leah?
-Leah: Y-Yeah...I just need a moment to assimilate all this.
We continued walking while the others asked Celes questions and talked about the subject, but I remained silent, still trying to understand everything. It was really hard to think that all this would really happen to them, maybe he didn't want it to be true because if it were, I wouldn't see him again.
-Mei: Oh! There is the checkpoint, let's ask the guards if they know anything.
We went to the checkpoint to talk to the guards to see if they knew anything about the palace envoy.
-Grumpy Guard: What do you want?
-Celes: They told us that an envoy from the palace should have already arrived in the city, they sent us to ask if he had already passed through here.
-Lazy Guard: An envoy? Hmm...I don't think so, no one from the palace has passed.
-Grumpy Guard: Yeah, hehe, now get lost, don't you see we're busy?
-Mei: Are you sure you didn't see anyone from the palace go through here?
-Grumpy Guard: Of course not girl, we already told you that we didn't see anyone, now get out of here.
We withdrew a bit from the checkpoint, Mei seemed quite frustrated since it seemed that the guards had no intention of helping us.
-Mei: Damn, these guys clearly know something but they don't want to tell us.
-Aeryn: Remember what the captain said, some of the guard serve Count Belin.
-Celes: It's true, most likely they try to prevent the envoy from reaching the city and thus ruin the count's plans to acquire more power.
We kept thinking about a way to get information from the guards in a way that doesn't cause us trouble then Mei's eyes sparkled as if she had come up with a good idea.
-Mei: I know, I'll use my special ability on them.
-Leah: Special ability?...wait, you mean "that ability"?
-Mei: That's right, I've been practicing it to use it with Zyrus, but with simple minds like them it should work without problems.
-Aeryn: Mei...was she really practicing that ability for Zyrus?
Mei approached the guards who once again had a disgusted look on her face as Mei approached them.
-Grumpy Guard: You again? We already told you that we haven't seen anyone from the palace.
-Mei: We'll see if that's true, now pay attention to my improved [Sexy Pose!]
The two guards froze when they saw the feminine pose that Mei made in front of them, it was hard to tell if she really had a special ability but she could tell that she had improved in her coordination since the time she used it with Zyrus. .
-Grumpy Guard: (Blushing) W-What?
-Guard Lazy: (Blushing): W-Why do I feel like that when I see her?
-Mei: (Posing) Hehe, I knew you wouldn't resist, now let's try this again, have you seen the palace envoy come through here?
The two guards were speechless at first, blushing and almost trembling and stammering while looking at Mei's poses, apparently it was working because it seemed that the two were reluctant to speak but in the end they ended up releasing the information.
-Guard Lazy: (Blushing) T-The envoy... actually passed through here,... b-but...
-Grumpy Guard: (Blushing) B-By Lord Belin's order...we had to distract...the envoy so...he didn't reach the city.
-Mei: Well, where is it?
-Guard Lazy: (Blushing) W-We sent him...to take care of a n-nest of monsters...to the north. We told him...that we didn't have...staff and there was...o-one very s-strong.
-Celes: To the north, huh? ok let's go
-Aeryn: Mei, great job.
-Leah: Yeah, after all, that ability of yours turned out to be very useful.
-Mei: Hehe, that's right, what did you expect, I'm a genius after all.
After that we leave the control post with the two guards speechless and head north to find the palace envoy and hopefully find him before something bad happens to Zyrus.
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