Chapter 42: Sowing Seeds - 5
Chapter 42: Sowing Seeds - 5
The overnight interrogation into the Madrum murder case came to an end.
"You may return now."
As the succubus, the humans, the kobold, and the half-elf filed out, Security Officer Greg's brow furrowed.
"This is maddening..."
"Sir, are we really letting them go?"
"What's the alternative?"
The junior officer who'd assisted with the questioning wore a deeply disheartened expression.
"They claim a dead goblin and that kobold picked a drunken fight and killed four elves? Who's going to believe that?"
"There were no real contradictions in the testimonies. The tavern owner and the staff all said the same thing."
"They just got their stories straight before reporting it. This was absolutely not a lone act. That succubus, a Unique, might have gotten involved personally."
Greg let out a deep sigh.
"Who doesn't know it reeks of a setup? But what can we do? We can't even take the kobold culprit into custody. Blue Seal will handle the confinement themselves, then discuss it with Purple and mete out punishment however they see fit."
"We're the security officers of Waris. So why exactly..."
"There are only two factions in Warsland. Blue and Purple. Both want Waris, this strategic point, but neither wants another war, so they agreed to split it."
Greg brought up an old story.
"But even with co-ownership, the city's administrative procedures and security issues are separate matters. That's how the mayor, the other magistrates, and we security officers became a third force, unaffiliated with either camp."
"Don't both camps generally respect our work?"
Greg looked at his junior with pity.
"They'd rather die than bow to the other side, so they just need a convenient middleman to mediate. Someone who won't damage their honor or prestige."
"..."
As the junior fell silent, Greg went on.
"We've finished talking with Blue, so now we have to hear Purple's side. If Purple raises an objection during that process, if a claim of perjury comes up, that's when we might find some room to act."
"Purple will naturally object. The evidence of fabrication is obvious, and the idea of Rare Grade elves being bested by a Common is far too humiliating for them!"
At his junior's hopeful tone, Greg shook his head.
"Normally, that would be true. But the fact a Unique Grade got personally involved bothers me. They probably reached some agreement with Purple before bringing the case to us."
"...Then what is this? Are you saying all we can do is rubber-stamp something we clearly know was staged after both sides got their stories straight? Just to lend them some pretext?"
"That is what it means to be a security officer in this godforsaken city."
When Greg answered flatly, his junior's face fell.
"I'll submit a report to the mayor, but he'll likely tell us to just bury it. We have no way to intervene in a situation like this."
Greg's face twisted.
"If we at least had some evidence, maybe... But how can the murder weapon just be missing? He was too drunk to even remember what kind of knife he used?"
Leaving the magistrate's office, Jiha headed straight for the Blue Seal barracks.
Dawn was breaking.
Having been under investigation all night, he was worn out.
As the barracks drew near, Jiha stopped and turned around.
Lijin was following at the very rear.
"Still tailing me."
"I thought you might have further instructions."
"Sharp mind."
For now, they had cleared the security officer's investigation, but the case wasn't finished yet.
Lijin might have a change of heart, so he had to keep her close for a while.
Even putting that aside, Lijin's quick thinking and perceptiveness were useful.
"The tavern is confirmed to close down, right?"
"Yes, my uncle is terrified, just hoping not to go to prison..."
What a childish fool.
It wouldn't be strange at all if Pamin or Leticia carried out murder and evidence erasure.
"Tell the tavern staff to lie as low as they possibly can. Purple won't want to stir things up and draw attention either, but the whole story changes the moment someone opens their mouth."
"Yes, I'll warn them once more, firmly."
"And, you said you needed a job for tuition?"
Jiha thought it over, then nodded.
"It's only right that I, who stole your job, compensate you. Get your affairs in order and come to the barracks in three days."
"Thank you."
At Jiha's words, Lijin smiled and bowed her head.
Jiha was slightly impressed.
He'd given a one-sided notice to see how she would react, and she didn't even flinch.
'Solid mental fortitude.'
Anyone seeing Jiha spill blood and fabricate a case would normally be terrified.
Hadn't Leticia, a Unique Grade, been shaken enough to freeze up?
But Lijin had realized early on she couldn't refuse and had made her decision.
'In terms of sheer nerve, she's far better than Leticia. She's only a Normal Grade, but she'll be useful.'
Uben was also sharp, but being a Common limited his radius of action.
In that regard, Lijin could move around far more freely.
'She's not one of my people yet, so I can't entrust her with anything major... I'll watch and proceed slowly.'
Jiha wrapped up the conversation.
"Alright, you can go now."
"Yes, I'll visit in three days."
Lijin bowed her head and walked away with quick little steps.
Next, Jiha looked at the Kobold Deubang.
Haggard from the all-night interrogation and confirmed as the culprit, Deubang's face was gaunt.
"So I just need to stay in the detention cell?"
When a Common caused trouble, they had to be locked in the barracks detention cell.
It was a form of confinement... The fact that Blue Seal would handle the internal imprisonment of Deubang, who had confessed to murder, illustrated the state of Waris perfectly.
Even with neutral security officers present, the internal logic of the two camps took priority.
"Don't talk nonsense and keep quiet."
"...Boss."
Deubang shook his head.
"I'm sorry for betraying you."
"It's already too late."
"When I die... could you at least make it less painful?"
Deubang's tone was one of utter resignation.
Jiha answered shortly.
"That depends on what you do."
"Understood. Then..."
Deubang bowed his head and walked on his own toward the main gate.
He would go, tell the soldiers, and be confined as expected.
"Now, then..."
Stretching, Jiha turned his gaze.
The red-haired succubus, Yura, had been watching him for a while now.
"Got something to say?"
How would this succubus, who had watched Jiha's handling of the matter, react?
Would she denounce Jiha as a villain? Or would she be afraid?
No, what was Yura thinking in the first place?
'She's subordinated, so she can't act recklessly...'
Truthfully, using Enril for this job would have been more reliable.
She was quick-witted and antagonistic toward Leticia.
But Jiha had deliberately pulled Yura in.
This task wasn't merely about trapping Leticia.
'Enril has submitted to me, but Yura is somewhat ambiguous. She's meek-natured and goes along with things, but I don't know how that might change later on.'
He was eliminating any seeds of uncertainty.
Jiha was showing her the kind of man he was and drawing out her response.
So, how would this gentle succubus react?
As Jiha waited with interest, Yura cautiously opened her mouth.
"Um, Jiha."
"I said speak."
Jiha had become considerably softer toward Yura.
Because she'd handled this job decently well.
Seemingly emboldened by Jiha's response, Yura bit her lower lip hard and then spoke.
"M-Mine are bigger!"
"What is?"
"Th-The elf. Compared to Leticia, my chest is..."
As Yura forced the words out, her face flushed scarlet, and Jiha fell silent.
Well, Yura's chest was indeed much larger than Leticia's.
Something one could tell at a glance, and Jiha, having fondled both, couldn't possibly not know.
Under Jiha's gaze, Yura flinched and covered her chest with her arms.
"I-I mean, that's, uh..."
A reaction of embarrassment over what she herself had said.
Whoosh!
The moment Yura spread her bat wings to fly away, Jiha reached out and grabbed her.
He'd seen before that Yura could fly.
But you couldn't stop her by just blindly grabbing the wings.
So Jiha moved in as if to embrace her, wrapped his hand around to her back, and tightly seized the joint where the bat wings connected to her waist.
"Ah?!"
Yura, who never expected to be caught this way, was held helplessly.
Her gentle face, her red eyes, froze in fright, leaving her speechless.
"J-Jiha."
"I'm not quite sure, you see."
"Wh-What?"
"Are your breasts really bigger?"
"..."
At Jiha's prodding, Yura's pale cheeks reddened.
If Leticia's breasts were beautifully swelling hills, Yura's chest was a mountain range, its sheer curves in a different league.
A difference impossible to miss if one had eyes.
But Jiha, brazenly, had Yura caught, pressed close against him, and was pressing the question.
Jiha's gaze.
Now, he was openly looking down at Yura's breasts.
She had tried to fly away only to be caught, a man's arm wrapped around her back, pulling her into a close embrace.
Yura couldn't even cover herself with her arms like before, leaving her body fully exposed to Jiha's stare.
A revealing outfit, typical of a succubus.
Her large breasts were more than half exposed; simply lowering his gaze let him see deep into her cleavage.
"I-If you k-keep looking like that..."
"I'm looking because I'm not sure."
"..."
As Jiha kept pretending ignorance, even Yura's ears turned red.
When Yura tried to avert her eyes, Jiha tickled her chin with his finger.
As he kept teasing her like that, Yura couldn't endure it and spoke first.
"Th-Then..."
"Then?"
"...Check for yourself."
"Yeah? How?"
"Well..."
Yura's voice trailed off before she suddenly started in surprise.
This was near the barracks, but it was still a path people used.
"L-Let's go inside first. Somewhere private..."
"Go somewhere private and do what?"
Squish.
Jiha pulled Yura in until they were completely pressed together.
Knees touched, and Yura's breasts, crushed against Jiha's chest, quivered and distorted.
It was hard to look away from the sight of those pale mounds of flesh shifting as they met the man's body.
"Ah, ah. W-Well, that..."
Yura, even more flustered, didn't know where to put herself.
Whether she was afraid to meet Jiha's eyes or simply embarrassed, she turned her head and barely squeezed out words.
"I-I'll let you check."
"Yeah? How?"
"...Well."
Yura was deeply mortified that someone might see her embracing Jiha.
It wasn't that she cared about him being a Common or her being a Unique.
She was simply shy and bashful about being held by a man.
That much was certain.
This docile succubus didn't seem fully aware of it herself yet, but she already considered Jiha her man.
She'd seen Jiha teasing Leticia while touching her breasts and had gotten jealous.
He was coveting another woman's breasts when hers were bigger.
'Though, after actually saying it, she was so embarrassed she tried to flee...'
Letting her get away with running once was enough.
Jiha planned to keep playing dumb, feigning ignorance, until this succubus revealed her true feelings.
"We-Well, I, um..."
Yura faltered, unable to speak further.
It would be fun to keep teasing her like this.
But Jiha's own lust was stirring as well.
He was unilaterally toying with a shy, bashful, gentle succubus.
Yet her obscenely ripened body, those provocatively swollen breasts, were pressed right up against his chest.
"..."
He could feel through his clothes the subtle sway of her breasts following Yura's breathing.
And Yura, sensing that Jiha was acutely aware of it, blushed even deeper and shut her mouth completely.
Then Jiha asked.
"Where should we check?"
"Well..."
Speaking up first was hard, but she could just barely manage an answer.
Yura spoke in a voice on the verge of crawling away.
"...In my room."
In that case, he'd have to verify just how big Yura's breasts were.
Even if he already knew well enough, these matters required frequent confirmation.