350 How Do You Deal With It?
The gatekeeper approached me after I came back with the kids. His eyes full of suspicion.
"I heard what you said earlier. What happened at that hut you found in the forest? I might hafta interrogate you no matter if yer' a 'Second Class' pass holder depending on what you have to say. Let me hear the detail."
As I had nothing to hide, I told him everything.
"Oy... Is that the truth?! We have to contact the castle at once! Hurry! Sorry! Do you have proof for your testimony? Also witnesses. Do you have 'em?"
I pushed two men at him. The two thugs who narrowly escaped with their lives.
They apparently got some rotten luck as they were only knocked unconscious with no apparent injury. I tied them up and brought them here.
"These are the two thugs who got crossed. They'd probably lay it all out if you guarantee their lives at least? Probably won't get much though, these guys look to be disposable pawns."
"So you're saying that drug courier is the key. Why did you let him escape?"
"Hang on, that guy cast magic you know. How do you expect an everyday man like me deal with that? I only got out of it thanks to these thugs shielding me somehow. Guy knocked out two men just like that. Got him to give up and ran when I closed in on him somehow. All due to luck."
I came up with that forced lie. And despite thinking to myself that it didn't sound at all persuasive, the gatekeeper believed me.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"I see, ain't no way to know how the dice roll in that situation for sure... Still, so this is the reason for the recent slum kids' disappearances..."
Everything clicked including what I saw happened with 'Numbers' back then.
(Restrained... Will this lead to a war between the kingdom and the federation? No, it's got nothing to do with me, I'm just a commoner. An aimless wanderer...)
I don't want to get dragged into a gargantuan 'festival', aka war, that's gonna take place.
I tried asking the gatekeeper to see if he's got a solution for my current problem.
"Hey so, these children are victims here yeah? Can we expect supports from the kingdom then? Isn't there a system where you provide work and positions for these kids? You know anywhere that does that?"
"I feel bad for these children as well, but as you can see, I'm just a lowly civil worker. I wish I could do something to help them."
"No, I'm just glad you're a good person. That alone makes me feel better. And you're right, you have no obligation to help these children. Knowing that there's someone like you out there shows not everybody is bad in this world."
Having met all the worst kind of people splintered my heart a bit.
But my impression of this world got raised a bit with this gatekeeper.
(Guess there's always good and bad people no matter the world. It's all the same.)
That was when it hit me. A devilish plan.
However, no telling how long it'll take me to make sure all 45 children get a place if I keep being choosy on how to deal with this matter.
Hence, I'm taking my chance here. Which is.
"Hey so, are you gonna report this emergency directly to the prime minister? Mind delivering a message to the man?"
The gatekeeper had a mix of surprise and confusion on his face before sending a really dire glare my way once I said that.
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