Elin-12

"Mr. Elin, I deeply regret what you've been through," said Galin.

"When I last left, you cautioned me to be careful, as anything could happen on the battlefield. I suppose these injuries prove your words to be true," replied Elin.

"So... your main injury is in the eye? Is there any chance of recovery?" inquired Galin.

"Unfortunately not. I'll spend the rest of my life with only my left eye," Elin replied.

"Nevertheless, surviving is a blessing. It's the same for me," Galin remarked.

During the meeting with the prince, Elin still had bandages over his right eye. He knew it would take a long time to adjust to this new way of life, almost bumping into the half-open door when entering the room.

"I heard that my messenger Varokar committed suicide. Do you know the details?" Galin asked.

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but I did see the body. He died by hanging," Elin replied.

"I'm somewhat suspicious about this. Varokar was a disciplined and dignified soldier; I doubt he would have committed suicide merely due to a short period of imprisonment. I hope it wasn't Niaes's people who did something to him. If so..." Galin trailed off.

"It's hard to say, Your Highness. Even if it did happen, I wouldn't be aware. But I must tell you, from my experience, many people would commit suicide just to resist the unfair treatment they received. Since you mentioned Varokar was a dignified soldier, it's possible he did so," Elin explained.

"It seems you get along quite well with Captain Niaes. She even sent soldiers to escort you to Stromgarde," observed Galin.

"I already have my own attendants, but naturally, I couldn't refuse her kindness," Elin replied.

"Is that some kind of implication? Are you suggesting that in certain situations, you might speak on her behalf?" Galin asked.

"You can't put it that way, Your Highness. While it's true that she and I share some viewpoints, the same can be said for you and me. It's these commonalities that give us the opportunity to resolve this matter. You see, she can't directly express goodwill and loyalty to you right now, so she can only..." Elin trailed off.

"Loyalty? Of course she can express it. She could voluntarily admit her guilt and request punishment, not only to me but to all the people of Stromgarde. I still don't see any signs of remorse for what she's done," Galin interjected.

"I think for now, we should refrain from discussing her. I've come here again because there are more important matters to discuss, matters that others can't interfere with. I believe you have a premonition of this, or else you wouldn't have let me into the city," Elin continued.

"Go on," Galin urged.

"The troll who attacked me is indeed Tusha, formerly Lawrence's assistant," Elin revealed.

"How can you be sure?" Galin inquired.

"I met him in Booty Bay a few years ago. More importantly, I've brought someone who can testify against him. Even if my memory is unreliable, her words are absolutely trustworthy," Elin explained.

"Who?" Galin asked.

"The woman who came with Tusha to Stromgarde," Elin answered.

"Her?" Galin glanced briefly at the corner of the room, then back at Elin. "Ah, I remember now. Jorgen took her away from Stromgarde. I never thought she would still be useful."

"Life is full of surprises," Elin concluded.

"If she were still here, I'd probably have had her executed already. That woman disgusts me. Living with filthy trolls for years... Can you imagine? I knew Booty Bay was a corrupt place, but I never thought there would be women who would abandon even the most basic human decency for their desires. I feel sorry for any man who looks at her with respect. She might have been helpful this time, but I still advise you to get rid of her. The sooner, the better," Galin remarked.

"The MI7 doesn't harm witnesses without reason... I suggest we continue discussing the matter at hand. There's something we can't avoid: last time, you refused to disclose Tusha's whereabouts. Now it seems he escaped from Stromgarde long ago," Elin pointed out.

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Galin asked.

"I didn't say you lied, but you did refuse to answer the question. Moreover, you just said that woman helped us, which means you agree with what she and I saw—the troll was indeed Tusha," Elin replied.

They fell silent for a moment. Elin thought the prince before him seemed much more anxious than the last time he saw him. The key to speaking with Galin was not to mention any of his mistakes. If unavoidable, try to turn those mistakes into harmless things. But now, Galin not only couldn't accept any mistakes, but even a slight allusion was enough to provoke him.

"Prince Galin, I've said before that I'm here to resolve our common issues, and to do that, I must first understand some things. Of course, you have the right not to provide information, but that will only leave us with less time. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but the sooner you provide intelligence, the more initiative we can gain. If we remain deadlocked for too long, it won't end well. If you continue to insinuate that I'm threatening the king, then I have nothing more to say," Elin urged.

"You should know that the people of Stromgarde don't need outsiders to solve their problems," Galin retorted.

"According to the records, you didn't say that when you initially wanted to participate in the research project," Elin said, knowing he might have overstepped with that remark, but his patience was almost at its limit. The problem was that Galin didn't actually not need help; otherwise, he would have kicked all of the MI7 personnel out of the audience room directly. Transferring this hypocritical arrogance, which only brought trouble, onto the people would only make him seem more insecure, but he seemed to like doing just that.

"He did escape," Galin finally said about ten seconds later.

Yeah, I wasted so much breath just to hear something I already knew from your mouth. It's not difficult to say it, is it? Why don't you just read aloud "the sun is hanging in the sky" to me? You're such a bastard, you wouldn't last a day in Booty Bay talking to drug dealers without your entourage.

"Alright. So there's undoubtedly his involvement in this whole thing. Of course, we still can't guarantee he actually participated in the theft of the Tolkar Sword... unless you can provide other valuable intelligence," Elin said.

"Some guards said they saw a troll at the time, but they couldn't be sure," Galin replied.

"Then, when Tusha left Stromgarde, did he take any research materials with him?" Elin inquired.

"I had Lawrence check. He didn't take anything," Galin answered.

"That further explains why he needed to collaborate with Lawrence again. But this brings up another question. Without any evidence of the research project's credibility, Tusha received some tribal assistance to carry out such a dangerous plan..."

"Do you have any worthwhile speculations?" Galin interrupted.

"I believe our enemy is not currently the Hammerfall Town, but just a small group. Stealing the Tolkar Sword obviously could have led to war, but the enemy doesn't intend that at the moment. They only want Lawrence, and they're not making a big deal out of it. On the other hand, this research project requires considerable manpower and resources, and a tribal base alone cannot get it up and running in half a year. So I think their actual research hasn't really started yet. This small group wants to prove the feasibility of the research plan by obtaining Lawrence, in order to gain more support. The group members should at least include Tusha, and another person who believes in his story, an intermediary who can gather some people for him. I think it's highly likely to be a fellow troll of Tusha's," Elin explained.

"Troll?" Galin asked.

"Let's narrow it down further. Maybe there's someone from the same tribe as him, who holds a certain position in Hammerfall Town..."

"They're all the same to me. Anyway, you think Tusha might be working for someone else," Galin summarized.

"Of course. I will consider everything more carefully from now on," Galin said.

"Please follow me."

Under the escort of several guards, they left the building and took routes not allowed for civilians, arriving at a low-rise structure. Jorgen had recorded the locations of secret places like the execution ground, laboratory, and Tusha's confinement room six months ago, drew a map, and handed it to Elin. But now, Elin found himself not in any of those locations. He didn't ask much because he knew it wasn't the time.

The low-rise building was only the surface part of the dungeon. Galin led Elin down the stairs and into a corridor with an iron door at the end. Elin remembered Jorgen's description of Renner's dungeon, which had a similar structure: a corridor leading to the only cell. This meant that the incarcerated person couldn't have any companions or communicate with others.

Galin approached the iron door and opened the small iron window above.

"He's inside."

After the prince stepped aside, Elin leaned in to take a look, then frowned. His right eye socket itched a bit, but he suppressed the urge to rub it.

"That's Lawrence?"

"Yes. Lawrence Romano. The person you once promised to cooperate with wholeheartedly."

"What happened to him?"

"After Tusha and the individual left, he continued his research with the remaining resources, but to no avail. He believed Tusha had tampered with some of the data to deliberately mislead the research, so he destroyed dozens of files that Tusha had previously touched and planned to start over on his own. Shamefully, he bribed the guards, preventing me from discovering these mistakes in time... Mr. Elin, the person you arranged for me is not only useless but also mad. Without Tusha and that portion of the data, his existence is just a waste of my money. Knowing he couldn't achieve anything, he completely lost his mind and set fire to everything in the laboratory—including himself. Now, Mr. Elin. How do you plan to solve my problem?"

"It's our problem," Elin replied, closing the iron window.