Questioning

In one of the inn's rooms, stood two individuals. A dark haired human woman with a diamond-like face, and a female humanoid beast.

As each of them put on some clothes, a stranger knocked on the wooden door.

"Jean, I think that's him," muttered the white haired beast-woman, quietly.

"I suppose it is time to face the consequences," answered Jean, before letting out a sigh. 

Grasping the smooth knob of the wooden door, with nothing but her hand, she opened it to reveal the figure of the familiar, yet strange reincarnator.

"We're leaving. I must show you and Ren something," he stated solemnly, as he yanked Jean's hand, and left.

Of course, Hiyoshin packed up her equipment, and chased after them.

"A-aren't you mad over what happened yester-"

"Quite frankly, yes, but disciplining you and Ren can wait," he answered, coldly, his brown eyes never looking back.

The duo reached the base floor, where the innkeeper stayed. She greeted the two humans, and they answered her greeting.

She tried to ask Randall about the package, but he merely gave her a simple answer. "Sorry, but I found a bunch of bandits."

His grip on Jean's hand tightened, as they reached the door.

"Ow!" yelled Hiyoshin, as her face collided straight with the wooden floor. The innkeeper, with her eyes momentarily widened, rushed to help the one who just fell.

The old woman took one of the lass' well-concealed paws in her tired, saggy hands, only for the hood to come off. Revealing the black, round ears, which poked out of her long, white hair.

The panda apologized, picked up the bag with the group's equipment while covering her head again, and ran out of the building, in hopes of catching up to them.

The innkeeper stared at the door for ten seconds or so, before turning towards the inn's waiting spot, directly connected to the lounge.

"... Reynald, it's time to harvest the apples."

A guy silently pretending to sleep on a couch shifted his gaze towards the innkeeper, his amber eyes staring at the old woman, while his mind recalled the scene.

"Understood," he silently replied, before grabbing a hatchet hidden beneath the couch and walking out.

… Anyway, Hiyoshin managed to catch up to the other two.

As they walked across the somewhat tidy town, some of the humans passing by glanced at the unknown trio. Wondering who these people were.

"Strange, since when have we been accepting newcomers into the town?"

"That maiden is rather cute, I must admit."

"Rather? Bud, that's a massive understatement."

"Don't forget about the guy, he's not half bad either~"

Randall lowered his head, while the two followers remained indifferent to the whispers.

Around 10 minutes of walking at a concerningly fast pace later, the trio arrived at a small clearing, in the same forest from the night. In spite of them walking in the opposite direction, that is.

"Randall, why are you exactly leading us into the forest? In fact, it's not really safe to be here. The frontier with Teutonia is dangerously close-"

"Jean, Ren. Do either of you know what a slave is?"

While the human went quiet at his statement, the beast woman's feet froze.

"Y-yes…? Why are you asking that, out of the blue?"

"... I'll just say that I've found a treasure trove."

Suddenly, Randall stopped, and turned around. "Ren? Come on, pick up the pace. We can't leave you behind."

She nodded her head, shakily, as her legs walked on, to their possibly final destination.

Eventually, the trio arrived at a small, yet deep cave. Six individuals slept inside, peacefully, in spite of the slight traces of blood that stained the ground.

Of course, it wasn't like they could notice it… They'd have to be awake for that. 

"Randall… What the fuck is this?"

The brown haired man pointed at the beast-kid, and spoke. "That beast kid almost got kidnapped by these five individuals."

The others' faces darkened for their own reasons, as their gazes remained on their dirty, purple "uniforms", and the peacefulness they slept with…

It brought hatred to their faces, for two different reasons. Yet, with similar reactions. 

"Wakey wakey," muttered the brown haired man, as he kicked the sleep out of one of them as lightly as he could. Starting with their leader, the woman.

"Mm!?"

Alas, when she glared at the one who kicked her, panicked screams came out of her muffled mouth.

This woke up the other people, with their mouths covered by gags made from their own clothes

Merely putting his index fingers over his lips, the singers' voices snuffed out quite fast…

"Thank you, guys… and gal. Now, I'll allow the woman to talk, acting as a representative for the whole group, so that she can answer some questions," stated the reincarnator.

"And, if you don't…"

A dark katana materialized out of nowhere in one of Randall's hands, alongside a similarly coloured sheath in the other.

The eyes of everyone present were drawn to it, quickly filling with fear, and panic.

"You'll meet one of my parents' former friends… Understood?"

Every one of the individuals shakily nodded, while the two women looked at Randall.

Hiyoshin shared a similar expression to the ones on the floor, but she toned down the emotions a notch.

At least enough to hide them.

"Name?"

"E-E-Elaine."

"Current occupation, and affiliation?"

Instead of hearing the leader's answer, he merely saw a glimpse of confusion in her sweaty, horror-stuck expression.

"Right, I forgot about that. Let me rephrase. What do you do for a living, and under who?"

"I-I am a manager working for the Buried Shovels clan…"

Jean's eyebrows jumped in surprise. "Buried Shovel? Manager?? Randall, where'd you find these people?"

"In the forest. They attempted to kidnap the kid over there," replied Randall, while pointing at the still asleep boy.

Unexpectedly, Hiyoshin recognized him as one of the lonely kids in the town. To be specific, the one who remained hidden from society's gaze by staying in the shadows. But she kept quiet about this, and let the interrogation continue.

"We should really bring them in. Their gang of outlaws is a dangerous threat for our country… Especially with the war going on."

One of the men under Elaine's command, Ben, released some muffled yells.

The man wearing his signature hoodie merely swung his blade, cleanly and barely cutting both the cloth and Ben's lips. 

Silence took over the area, with the only way out mostly covered by trees and shrubs. Not even Ben let out a shriek, or any kind of sound.

"I see. Please refrain from interrupting us from now on," he declared, loudly enough for them to hear.

"Because violence is apparently the only way in which an animal can learn…" he muttered, right after.

After a few seconds of quietness, both Jean and Randall snapped their heads in the entrance's direction, as their expressions hardened. 

"… I'll be right back."