Fun Territory Defense Chapter 174 (Patreon)

Panamera-san is Scary

A hundred-person interrogation session started abruptly.

Everyone watched Panamera's interrogation, unable to speak.

"You. Yes you. I will give you five seconds to think about each question. I'd appreciate it if you'd answer as quickly as possible."

The man sitting on the ground scrunches up his face as Panamera smiled at him. As if seemingly oblivious to the situation, she started to ask the question.

"First and foremost. Can you tell me your name?"

"...Paycer."

"Good name. Thanks for your cooperation, Paycer."

Panamera nodded in a good mood as he answered in a couple of seconds.

"That brings me to my second question. Which Order do you guys belong to?"

"...I can't tell you that. If I told you, I would be killed."

Panamera nodded in reply and swung his sword.

"Now for the next question."

The sword was struck as she said this, and it pierced through the palm of Paycer's right hand.

"Ugh...."

Panamera smiled gently as she looked at him, watching as he let out a low cry of pain.

"There is one thing I wonder. There are often those who say that if they speak out, they will be killed, so they keep their mouths shut. But is it okay to be killed here in silence? Isn't that a contradiction? What do you think?"

"...If we are going to die anyway, we should die without leaking any information."

Paycer replied, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Hmm. That's a good mindset. Now, I'd like to ask you a few more questions, so I'll need you to endure it the best you can. By the way, next time I'm going to cut off your right wrist, so be mindful."

Panamera announced in a good mood and resumed her questioning.

In the end, the first one did not speak any important part; Dee, Arv, and Roe were still calmly watching the scene, but Arte and Tyll were so pale that they were immediately sent back to our base.

The Seat Village Knights were nonchalant. Their expressions were not good, but I could sense that they were still trying to remain calm.

Well, the knights have experienced war to some extent, so they have some guts, I guess.

Incidentally, Camsin and I were able to watch the interrogation with surprising calmness.

"He bled to death, didn't he? Next time, I'll have to ask a question while trying to stop the bleeding."

Panamera said with a wry smile and turned to the second man. Those men sitting on the ground were already pale. Some of them were in tears from fear.

It would seem that interrogating the frightened one first would solve the problem, but for some reason Panamera chose the man who stared back at him.

"Now, for the first question, are you ready?"

As Panamera utters this, about twenty men walk in from the back of Panamera's knights.

"Wait a moment, Viscount Panamera."

At the low male voice, Panamera looked up, wiping the blood from her sword. There stood two men side by side, one large and burly, the other short and muscular. The two men must be nobles, judging from the luxurious black and white armor and cloaks they were wearing. The knights lined up behind them were also wearing black and white armor, so they must have been drawn from two different orders of knights.

The short man in black armor spoke while glaring at Panamera.

"In the midst of this important battle, I would ask you to refrain from acting in a way that would lower the morale of the other knightly orders."

At these words, Panamera tilts his head with a smile.

"Oh, Viscount Tron. You are usually as unforgiving of adversaries as I am, but have you suddenly developed a sense of benevolence?"

Panamera asks curiously, and Tron clucks his tongue and wrinkles his brow.

"I said no such thing. I'm just saying that this kind of gruesome torture behind the scenes of an important battle in which His Majesty is also participating could lead to the deterioration of the morale of the entire population. Stop this while His Majesty is not yet here."

When Tron said this in frustration, not only the knights in black armor, but also some of the other knights of the order, their faces grew tense. They were small and yet very intimidating.

Panamera, however, snickered and brushed past their anger as well.

"Viscount Tron. Then I can only assume that you are trying to pretend that Baron Van's night attack did not happen. If Sir Van had been attacked in his sleep, wouldn't he have immediately sought out the culprits?"

Tron shrugged his shoulders and shook his head from side to side.

"Viscount Panamera, despite your military prowess, seems to be unfamiliar with the subtleties of aristocratic conversation. I told you to stop the interrogation here and now. I will ask Baron Nouveau to conduct the interrogation. You can rest assured that he will be in the rear of the train and will have a camp tent set up for you to interrogate him."

Tron replied, and the fat man called Nouveau nodded silently. I see. So these two are Tron and Nouveau. Finally, the faces and names matched.

"...Well, from your suggestion, it sounds as if there will be no problem if I interrogate them in the back of the basement that Baron Van has built, for example. Well, it won't take more than half a day. Would it be better if we interrogate them in this basement so that they can't make noise?"

Panamera retorts with a challenging smile. Tron and Nouveau both looked at her sharply, but were unable to refute her.

At that moment, the knights gathered behind them moved quickly to the left and right. When they turned at the sign, they saw His Majesty there, with his Royal Guards in tow.

"What's going on?"

His Majesty muttered in a low, unhappy voice, and Tron and Nouveau quickly kneeled down on the spot.

"You, Your Majesty...!"

Tron turned his face to the ground, clearly upset.

After looking down at the back of his head, His Majesty looked at my face.

"Mm? Oh! Baron Van! I was able to have a good rest last night thanks to that wonderful structure! I wish they would build one in the Royal Capital."

"That's good to hear. You might be using it for a while, and if you need anything else, please let me know."

As I reply like a follow-up to a product and escape, His Majesty notices a bloody corpse lying near Panamera.

"...Explain what happened."

With a sharp look at Panamera, His Majesty opens his mouth; Panamera puts down his sword and replies.

"Last night, Baron Van's sleeping quarters were attacked. He doesn't mind that, saying it was just a visitor who couldn't break through his door, but this is the second time he has been attacked in the night. As a member of our alliance, I thought we could not leave the attackers behind, so we captured them."

At Panamera's words, His Majesty's eyes become even angrier.

"What? Twice in this large army, they attacked a specific person at night...I see. In other words, this was done by someone who knows that Baron Van is one of the trump cards in this battle. It is impossible to attack the Baron's location precisely if it is not the Knights who are working together...but I never thought that someone would appear in this kingdom who is in Jiernetta's favor."

Tron and Nuvo's backs shivered at His Majesty's words, which were filled with anger but calmly speculating.

With that in the background, His Majesty speaks out to Panamera.

"So, Viscount Panamera, Viscount Tron, and Baron Nouveau were interrogating the attackers?"

Panamera shakes his head from side to side at the question.

"No, Viscount Tron and Baron Nouveau objected to the way I interrogated them. They want me to stay out of their way so that Baron Nuvo can interrogate me in a discreet place."

"What? Regardless of Viscount Panamera's methods, it is perfectly natural for Baron Van's only ally to interrogate them. What's wrong with that?"

His Majesty raises an eyebrow at Panamera's words. In a smooth exchange, as if scripted from the start, His Majesty moved on to pursue Tron and Nouveau. It is highly possible that the two had discussed this beforehand.

Thinking this, I looked at Panamera, who gave me an implied smile.

I knew it! I can rely on you, but Panamera-san scares me!