The Fraudulent Protagonist Strives to Resolve the Incident (1)

Even after hearing House's full report, neither Joyeon nor Arti could understand what the bandit group was thinking.

"What on earth are they planning...? This is a hospital where anyone can receive help."

"And if the medical equipment gets destroyed, we won't be able to perform surgeries anymore... Shouldn't we tell the Saint first?"

"That might be best..."

Joyeon, who had been nodding along with Arti's words and moving to deliver the news to Sosia, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Ow! Wh-what? Why'd you stop?!"

Arti, following close behind, bumped straight into his back and yelped in surprise before scolding him.

"...How do we explain this?"

"Explain what?!"

"How do we explain the situation?"

"Just tell her everything as it is! The Saint already knows about your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠abilities, right? You can just say that after checking with your followers, the bandits are planning to destroy the hospital from both inside and out!"

Sosia would surely believe Joyeon's words. Even if he told her that 350 monsters were marching toward the hospital and that the place would be reduced to ruins in less than an hour, she would believe him without question.

But—

"Would the other people here believe it?"

"The others? If the Saint says it, of course they'd believe it."

"Really?"

"...Probably?"

Sosia was undoubtedly the most trustworthy person in this hospital. But that trust only extended to matters within the hospital walls. No matter how capable she was, she knew nothing about what was happening outside. In fact, the watchmen's words would carry far more credibility regarding external affairs.

"S-still, if the Saint persuades them, they'll believe it! That's why she's called the Saint, after all!"

"...You're right. That's why she's called the Saint. If it's Mother's word, they'll definitely believe it."

Joyeon decided to trust in Sosia's Speechcraft and Crowd Control skills that he had witnessed a few days prior, and began walking toward the emergency room.

After leaving the room, Joyeon looked around. The hospital corridor was the same as always, with a few patients and their guardians present. Jack and May were nowhere to be seen—perhaps they were working.

"Should I gather the kids?"

"If we move suddenly, won't Delpiari or Lagon notice?"

"Maybe? Should we deal with the ones inside first?"

"You said there were twelve of them. Can you handle that alone? Can you even fight?"

"...Lagon would be difficult, honestly... As for Delpiari's party, fighting them alone would be..."

"Will the Saint be safe? She's probably still treating patients in the emergency room. And if Delpiari's party is moving separately, they might take patients hostage."

"Hostages... Ugh...! Time... We don't have enough time..."

There wasn't just one or two problems. And there wasn't enough time to deal with all of them. Joyeon couldn't even easily figure out which one to tackle first.

"First... First, let's go to Mother! We'll tell her everything and get orders on how to move!"

In the end, Joyeon gave up on finding an ideal solution and decided to rely on Sosia. With their goal set, Joyeon and Arti hurried toward the emergency room.

Upon arriving at the emergency room, Joyeon quickly scanned the interior. Tiaxia was the first to spot him and greeted him with a bright smile and a polite bow. And right beside her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood Lagon.

Joyeon's face twisted at the sight.

When he gestured to Tiaxia, she immediately stopped what she was doing and approached him, with Lagon following right behind her.

"Welcome, Master. I heard you had some good news today."

Tiaxia greeted Joyeon and Arti while completely ignoring Lagon trailing behind her. Arti looked like she wanted to say something but kept her mouth shut, sensing it would only complicate things. Joyeon felt a headache coming on, as if yet another problem had been added to his plate.

"Lala, let's talk about that later. I'm a bit busy right now. Lagon, why are you with Lala?"

"Ah, ahaha... Hello, Joyeon. It's because of what I mentioned last night. I really wanted to talk with Arti, so I figured if I waited here, I'd definitely run into her."

Joyeon already knew Lagon's intentions. 'Stealing the plaything woman... was it?'

Realizing that Lagon planned to make a move on Tiaxia and Arti while he was away made his blood boil, but he decided to hold back for now. Attacking Lagon here would make the situation uncontrollable.

Joyeon looked around again, searching for Sosia.

"Damn it..."

"Pardon? Joyeon? Did you say something just now...?"

"No, I didn't say anything."

Joyeon spotted Sosia—with Delpiari right beside her. However, it wasn't the entire party; only one member stood next to Delpiari, while the other three were nowhere to be seen inside the emergency room.

'It'd be easier if they were all together so I could deal with them at once... Lagon's still alone too... Where are the other two who came with him? And the remaining three who are supposedly receiving treatment—I don't even know their faces...'

"Joyeon...?"

"Ah, now that I think of it, I haven't passed on Lagon's message yet. Arti, Lagon said he has something he absolutely must tell you. Could you spare him a moment?"

"What? W-wait a second... But..."

"Lala can stay with you, right? I need to speak with the Saint for a moment, so I'll be right back."

"Ah, o-of course. Hehehe."

"J-Joyeon...?"

Arti looked at Joyeon with a bewildered expression, clearly not expecting to be told to talk with Lagon. Joyeon leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"Just talk with him for a bit and figure out what he's thinking. Lala will be with you, so don't worry. I need to go explain the situation to Mother—and stop Delpiari from talking to her too."

Left with no choice, Arti nodded and turned to face Lagon.

"...I heard you left the hospital, but you're back again, Lagon."

"Ahaha... You saved my life. I have to repay that debt somehow."

"I suppose so."

Joyeon left Tiaxia with instructions to look after Arti and approached Sosia. She was in the middle of a conversation with Delpiari.

"Mother."

"...Welcome back. You're late today."

"Hmm? So you and the Saint are family. No wonder you look alike. I didn't ask earlier because it seemed like it might be a rude question. Hohoho."

"He's my one and only son. Anyway, I need to get back to work now. Thank you for the gift."

"No, thank you. Please let me know if you ever need help. Hohoho."

Delpiari led his party member away. Just as Joyeon was about to open his mouth to ask what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they had been talking about, Sosia grabbed his hand.

"Follow me."

"Y-yes?"

"There are too many people here. Let's talk somewhere else."

Joyeon was led outside the emergency room by Sosia.

****

The place Joyeon and Sosia arrived at was behind the hospital. The moment Sosia let go of his arm, she crossed her arms.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Eh— You're the one who brought me here, Mother."

"I can tell just by looking at your face. You came to consult me because there's a problem."

"...Yes. Before that, what were you talking about with Delpiari?"

"Nothing much. He said I must be working hard for the injured, told me not to overdo it, that the medical staff's health comes first, and that he wanted to give the staff a small gift as thanks."

"A gift?"

"Yes. It wasn't anything special."

Sosia handed Joyeon the gift she had received from Delpiari. It was a small brooch that could be pinned to a collar, with the words 'Kelts Pitra' engraved on it in tiny letters.

'...That's the name of the bandit group House mentioned. This proves Delpiari is a bandit. But why give this as a gift all of a sudden...'

"As you can see, it's just a fatigue recovery brooch with the special characteristic of giving off a floral scent."

"Huh? Mother, you can use the Appraisal skill too?!"

"Of course. In this world, Appraisal is just as essential as Discernment."

"I-I thought it was essential too, but learning it... No, that's not the issue right now. Mother, about that Delpiari guy..."

"So Lagon's party, Tragia's party, and Delpiari's party are all in on it together?"

"...Ah, well... I don't know Tragia's party's name... But Lagon and Delpiari ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are from the same bandit group. Kelts Pitra."

"A bandit group... So? What's their goal?"

"Uh... Well, capturing medical staff and... capturing playthings."

"I see. That makes sense as a motive."

"You knew?"

"I only suspected. The first Lagon party clearly had wounds from monster attacks, but the parties that came after had shallow stab wounds disguised as monster injuries. And after they were hospitalized, I asked the watchmen, but there were no monsters nearby that could have inflicted those wounds."

Joyeon, who had expected the conversation to go smoothly, began relaying all the information he knew to Sosia.