Cardboard Houses Do Not Tear

43 – Sudden interrogation

And the things in front of me were really strange bastards.

“…What is this again?”

“Uh huh, this is it. Call this person and this bastard.”

Earlier, when I went to the place Vieri called, he and some of his mercenaries were looking at me triumphantly with two other people.

Even if Mary is trembling alone among the swarming mercenaries, what the hell is the guy with a kidnapped look like she’s been kidnapped in a corner with her sack pulled over her?

I calmed down as much as I could and opened my mouth.

“You can give a better explanation of this bizarre situation than anyone else. Is there anyone like that?”

Then three people rushed in front of me.

Then, I started pouring out combinations of types that hadn’t even been refined in my brain.

“Come on. Listen.”

“No, this is it.”

“Ahhhhh. We, we go out for a drink.”

I wiped my face.

If this is the case, I’d rather come drunk or not drink at all.

Still, after hearing everything, he continued with a smile.

“I heard what you said. By the way, where is Guilford?”

It must be among me.

“Come on. Excuse me.”

“There, there.”

“Hey, there he is.”

Perhaps because the answer was simple, everyone’s fingers were pointing at something by the gate.

He was already a piece of cake.

I can assure you, if you want to hear something you can understand from Guilford in that state, you will have to bring a Druid, not G-House.

“…Thank you.”

So I decided to just listen to Vieri for an answer.

“Come on, okay. So, what’s going on with this…”

Vieri was still less drunk, so he had enough reason to sum it up in one line.

However, since he usually lacks reason, he couldn’t find reason even in the results he drew.

Still, to sum it up in one line, it was that there was a thief who harassed Mary while drinking at the sleeping giant, so he was arrested.

So, in the end, doesn’t that mean that he lost his reason and played a long game in an irrational way for the reason he liked?

“So I caught him.”

Hearing that conclusion, I felt dizzy.

“So, that bastard is a thief?”

“Yes!!”

“Shh, mouth.”

I covered my ears as Vieri shouted in excitement.

The man covered with a sack lying on a flower bed in the distance didn’t seem to hear anything, so I asked Vieri again.

“Then why did the thief suddenly come out of the inn in the middle of the main street? Are you sure?”

“If I had known that, would I have been a thief or a mercenary? Let’s live with some common sense.”

I see.

“Both catch people are the same, but it can be confusing. So how do you know if that person is a rogue? Have you checked? Any evidence?”

“Of course, yes. My head isn’t that stupid.”

I looked at him without saying anything.

I was well aware that he was playing the role of an ATM in a gambling table.

“I distinguished it with the intuition of a seasoned northern mercenary!!”

Vieri spoke loud enough for Ms. Mary behind her to hear.

I sighed.

Adamantly, the senses of the mercenaries are the same as those of the Korea Meteorological Administration’s supercomputer.

So I decided to just ask for evidence.

“What about weapons?”

“I stole it.”

“What kind?”

“One dagger.”

I’ve never seen anyone in this town who didn’t wear a dagger on their waist except for me.

“What does the blade look like?”

In my experience, if the armor is awl-shaped, it is likely to be a soldier, and if it is a wide blade, it is more likely to be a hunter.

“Broad blade.”

At least on the forest side.

“A tattoo on the back of your hand?”

What I’ve experienced while cleaning up the corpses of countless thieves so far is that they carved their own marks on their bodies or carried them.

Mostly, the tattoos on the back of the hand, the left wing, and the bicep of the upper arm are typical, but Vieri also ate mercenary food, so I thought he must have seen something in his own way, so he brought him like that.

“You were wearing gloves?”

“Did you take it off?”

“Why take it off, do you like that?”

But I guess not.

Vieri, please.

“…You don’t have to check the mark. Shoulders or something like that?”

“If it were you, would you take off the men’s clothes at that inn?”

“It’s just taking off people’s clothes in a restaurant.”

I covered my mouth and massaged my temples for a while.

I almost got caught up in his pace for a moment.

“Vieri. Let me ask you this one thing.”

“Yes.”

After scratching my head, I asked the most important thing.

“You notified the Hebrides, right?”

This was really important.

At the very least, ‘the mercenaries identified the attempted thief within the castle and contacted them’.

‘Bastard… Excited!!! Even with a body like this, not joining the mercenary corps is like deserting!!”

“No.”

Mom, I miss you.

“…Why?”

Vieri answered more casually than I thought.

“That way you won’t get more reward for reporting.”

That’s right.

As Vieri hypothesized, if he was a thief, it would have been better to hand over the location of the den as a bonus than simply handing over a single thief to the guards in terms of reward.

But that’s only true when there’s clear evidence, or if you say you kidnapped a living person, no, you’ll be beaten with a whip.

Even more so if the lord hadn’t informed the guards of the castle where he resided, even though he had been attacking people with only heartache.

How do I fix this?

“Oh, well done. Vieri.”

“Sure.”

I really wanted to hit the nodder, but I wasn’t an ignoramus.

So, I decided to use Jeejay.

“Good job. Vieri, after all, you are the only one!”

“Sure, then.”

“You did a great job. Vieri.”

I praised Vieri, shouting loud enough for Mary behind me to hear.

Praise is said to make even whales dance, but wouldn’t it be possible to make people move?

“I’m sorry for you, but I have something for you to do while I interrogate that thief.”

I lowered my voice a bit more.

“Only you, who caught that thief with the intuition of a northern mercenary, can do it.”

Northern mercenaries,

Showing off oneself;

Only you.

The key keywords were in his words.

I only reassembled it and put it out.

“And I have no doubt you will do a very good job with it.”

I put my arm around his shoulder and whispered.

“What is it?”

Vieri muttered in a low voice like a hero in an 80’s spy movie.

“Simple.”

I said, pointing to my friends who were half drunk and half sane.

“Take those friends and take them to the lobby. And bring Hwaran.”

“You can do that too.”

I shook my head.

While I went to meet Hwaran, leaving only one normal person and drunken mercenaries alone.

I didn’t know what was going to happen to that man.

“But you are the only sane and knowledgeable mercenary out here.”

“I am the only one.”

“Yes. There is only you. Vieri.”

I took my hand off his shoulder and continued.

“Come on, let’s go. I’m sure Hwar’an will be waiting for you to come too.”

I don’t know if it’s real, but maybe it is?

Because he’d really like to know who did this sh*t.

Vieri muttered in a low voice.

“Something seems to be tricked.”

That’s right.

But as always, dealing with a drunk was easy.

I whispered a victory spell to him.

“I have to get points from Mary. Is not it?”

His eyes flashed.

“Now, pay attention!”

Vieri approached the strutting and fluttering mercenaries, arms crossed and shouted.

“Everyone rests in the lobby under my command. Practice!”

“That sucks.”

“I’d rather just go in than follow your lead.”

“Hey. Don’t say that, come on!”

Vieri began pushing and pulling mercenaries back and forth into the lobby.

As always, the victory spell was sure to work.

“Interrogate that thief and come in, hey! Don’t forget what I caught!”

“Yes, yes.”

I waved at him.

Kick, thump.

And as soon as the door closed, I immediately bowed my head to Ms. Mary.

“Sorry, Mary.”

“Yes?”

“That guy is a bad person, but what he does is stupid, so please understand.”

Then Mr. Mary waved her hand.

“No. That though.”

“Vieri.”

“Yes, Mr. Vieri stopped him.”

There was a hint of gratitude in those eyes. Although he doesn’t seem to be able to memorize all the names.

Bastard, you’ve scored quite a bit. 10 Points for Vieri.

“Then, before you go back, let me ask you one favor.”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask the guards to testify later?”

“What are you bastards! Don’t release it soon!!!”

The person tied to her sack looked at her, ignoring my shouts lightly.

“What testimony…?”

As is usual with people who ask to be her witnesses, Mary’s face showed tension.

“Please testify that the actions of the mercenaries and Vieri who just entered did not have bad intentions.”

When I said it in the most understandable way possible, she nodded her head.

“And.”

I point to the man over there who has fallen face down and has his sack pulled over.

“Do you know anything about him?”

Ms. Mary shook her head.

“And the guards must have been contacted. Among the regulars at that time, there were people close to the guards.”

I’m glad.

Even if that person isn’t a thief, the punishment will be reduced.

“Thank you very much.”

I bowed her head to her.

***

Ms. Mary went back to work, and I turned to the man in her sack.

There were no people on the main street, and it was a good time even if there were some loud noises.

People around here knew that it was rather strange if there were no loud voices or noises in the mercenaries.

He was lying face down on the ground, raising only his head and shouting loudly.

“You know who I am!”

The guy who shouted that while looking across from me couldn’t help but put his head to the side again.

If I knew who he was, he wouldn’t be a mercenary, but an employee at the district office.

With that thought in mind, I took off the bastard’s bag.

The smell of alcohol wafted in, and a hairy man with a trimmed beard and rat-eaten hair was unboxed.

The man grimaced for a moment, then looked at me and yelled.

“What are you, bastard!”

Are you a bit annoyed when you suddenly hear double swearing?

Even though he’s good, he’s a b*tch who used to molest you?

So I changed my expression to a smirk.

“Shh. I saw that the lady was rubbing her ass at the inn, so I brought her over for a while.”

“Why don’t you release this? You are behind!!”

He was pretty rough.

Personality and appearance.

I quickly scanned him.

‘Roughly shaved hair, neatly trimmed beard.’

At least I have something to shine for shaving, but not a mirror.

Because my feet weren’t in very good condition.

But there are few places in the Hebrides where it is difficult to get a haircut.

Because the old man from Northern gave me a haircut right now.

And the clothes he’s wearing look pretty neat, but there’s a little bit of grass at the ends, around his forearms and around his ankles.

There is no way a person in this city with more gray or brown than green would wear clothes like that.

Unless that stern-looking guy is actually a good college student with a fierce face who went on a farm for 20 nights and 21 days.

Like the dagger from earlier, it was a bit suspicious.

‘So at least he’s not from here.’

Would you like to throw it at least once?

“So, you’re a villager from out of town, where are you coming to someone else’s neighborhood and saying sh*t?”

I crouched down and opened my mouth while laughing.

“Where are you from?”

Hearing that, the guy’s face hardened slightly.

“What?”

“Where are you from? Do you think your boss will come right away just because you make an impression? So why do priests pray when they can harden their impressions if they want to see God at least once?”

Sorry, Sun God.

“Face your face, bastard.”

Then his face softened a little and he threatened.

“…Which side are you from? Do you think you’ll be all right?”

Wait a minute, is this guy a real rogue?

Usually just before, ‘boss? What is it?’ This is normal.

“And the guy you didn’t see before-“

“Should I show all my family members’ faces? Have you been to some fancy bar?”

“Stop the pun, they look like heads, but get rid of them right now you bastard! When our gang comes, you-”

The man yelled and yelled.

‘The gang’.

Judging from the hint of retaliation there, at least he wasn’t a good kid.

I continued talking with a smirk at him.

“Doesn’t that sound like a story you have to decide based on your marks?”

“That’s funny. Don’t you know that it’s the floor rule that you show first and then talk?”

He laughed meanly and made bullsh*t.

It was a low-level bluff.

“Strange.”

“What’s strange- tup!”

Suddenly.

“Since when did it become an era where a guy who feels the taste of dirt on the ground with his hands tied is asked to put up a sign? Is this a class reversal world or something?”

I scooped up a handful of dirt from the floor with my gloved hand and poured it into his mouth.

“The world has become a lot better, hasn’t it?”

While he was speechless, I put my other hand on his lap and muttered, resting my chin on it.

“Two, Thoo!”

Tak, tak.

I smiled and shook my hands, then spoke again.

“To be honest, if you just disappear, that’s it? Because that’s the cleanest way to solve a problem.”

“You’re f*cking, you madman. That would be possible-“

“If you have a head, think about the way you are being dragged. Did anyone stop me from dragging a person from the main street and bringing him back?”

“……”

He was speechless.

I continued my bluffing.

“At least to the extent of pestering the wanderers in the castle, our guardians of order close their eyes. In a way, it is a relationship that helps and helps each other.”

Of course that’s not going to happen, and I don’t know how our mercenary friends got here, but at least one thing was certain.

This time, Vieri seemed to have been hit.

I apologized to Vieri in my heart, scooping up a handful of dirt from the floor with his gloved hand and holding it in his face.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he didn’t go over the ball this time.

“So, there is one suggestion I would like to make.”

I stopped my fist at his eye level and proposed to him.

Until now, the suspicion that he was a thief or a criminal had been met almost perfectly.

The shape of the dagger, the use of specific words, and the unique way of speaking accompanied by retaliation and bravado are just that.

“Put out a sign that lets us know if you’re at least familiar with us, or sacrifice yourself to devour the crocodiles in the sewers of the Hebrides today. Pick one of them.”

But we needed clear physical evidence.

Proof that he is a thief who came down from the living, and that we are innocent of not catching a live person.

For example, tattoos often used by thieves, or traces they want to erase.

Or, bloody loot.

So, in order to get it, I continued with a smile.

“The time limit is until all the dirt in your grip leaks out.”

Suddenly.

Sand soil slowly flowed from my gloved hand,

“There’s nothing we can’t do, so if you ever want to become crocodile food, feel free to tell us.”

A bluff leaked slowly from the masked mouth.

“So, don’t worry too much and talk comfortably.”

Because I am always ready to respect your opinions.