Marsha's True Face

Marsha looked back at the group and spoke.

"That's right. As you can see, I'm staying here comfortably without any trouble. So, Shirone, has your anger subsided now?"

"..."

Shirone couldn't say anything.

If this was true, then why had she told such a vicious lie?

"You still don't get it? It was just a joke. A prank. I was just curious about how you'd react. Can you forgive me now?"

Yuna shouted from the second floor.

"My sister did nothing wrong! Bad people kidnapped me, and she saved me!"

Shirone's group fell silent.

It was an obvious mockery. That much was clear.

The problem was Marsha's motive.

What was her purpose in orchestrating such a deception?

The Parrot Mercenaries had been wiped out, and even one of their officers, Falcoa, was dead.

Knowing all that, dismissing it as a mere joke was beyond common sense.

Shirone spoke.

"If that's really true... then send Yuna over here."

No matter what, rescuing Jis' younger sister was the top priority.

But Marsha playfully shook her head, then turned back to Yuna and spoke.

"Thank you, Yuna. I'll take you to your brother later."

As Yuna, who trusted Marsha wholeheartedly, closed the window and went inside, Shirone felt his anger flare up.

"What are you doing? What do you really want?"

"Why are you so serious? Yuna is safe. Isn't that enough? Or what, did you want to play the hero and rescue her yourself?"

"It's not like that, but—"

"Do you think you can understand everything about people's hearts? The world doesn't work the way you think it does. That's why I didn't send her to you. Because you're a hypocrite."

As Marsha's Spirit Zone stabbed forward like a blade, Shirone instinctively reacted.

But his mind was still in turmoil. The fundamental reason to fight had vanished.

'Calm down. She's showing hostility toward me. That's reason enough to fight.'

Had she read even that thought? Marsha's Spirit Zone suddenly dissipated.

Then, as if declaring surrender, she spread her arms and walked toward Shirone.

"You can kill me if you want."

Shirone's heart pounded.

He understood the meaning behind her words.

'Marsha…'

Who was this woman, really?

Magic Association Investigation Room.

Sakiri, a certified 5th-class mage and investigator, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and half of his shirt buttons were undone.

"Hoo…"

Though he looked exhausted, his forearm, gripping the iron club, remained tense and solid.

"I've had a little rest. Let's start again."

"Ghh…"

Lucas groaned as he lay on the floor.

After escaping from Inferno with Arcane's help and launching an attack on the Magic Association, the former vice-captain of the Parrot Mercenaries now lay crippled, his legs frozen and shattered by Shiina's ice magic.

"Stop… please…"

He had no idea how many hours he had been beaten. If he hadn't used Schema to protect his body, he would have been dead by now.

Sakiri gripped the iron club with both hands.

"Here we go. Grit your teeth."

"Aaaaagh!"

As the iron strikes rained down, Lucas crawled across the floor using only his arms.

Eventually, even that strength faded, and his body twitched helplessly.

"Stop! At least ask me something before hitting me! I already said I'd tell you everything!"

"Wait. I need to reach a thousand hits first."

"You lunatic!"

Sakiri counted in his mind as he swung the club.

Five strikes left. Now four. Three…

Finally, with the last blow slammed into Lucas' side, Sakiri tossed the iron club away, looking satisfied.

"Hoo, that felt good. I got my workout in for the day."

"Ugh… Why are you doing this to me, you bastard…"

Even as Lucas writhed with his twisted limbs, Sakiri's expression remained unchanged.

If someone had the guts to stand unshaken before Grand Mage Arcane, then they needed to be nearly broken before the real interrogation began.

"Get up."

Sakiri grabbed Lucas by the hair and dragged him to a chair before tossing him onto it.

"Ack!"

His scalp burned as clumps of hair were torn away, but he clung to the chair, barely holding himself upright.

Sakiri sat across the desk, speaking in a cold voice.

"Sit properly. Unless you want me to cut off your arms next."

"..."

With superhuman willpower, Lucas straightened himself as if climbing a mountain.

Then, looking at Sakiri as he flipped through documents, he spoke with bleary eyes.

"Investigator, just send me back to prison. I'll tell you where Marsha is."

Sakiri hadn't even asked, yet Lucas already knew what he wanted. That meant he wasn't a complete fool.

A smirk spread across Sakiri's face.

"No need. What kind of woman do you think she is? You really think she'd still be there?"

That was true.

"Damn it! Then why did you beat me up?"

Slamming the last page of the report shut, Sakiri smacked the desk in frustration.

"Do you know what kind of criminals I hate the most? Murderers? No. It's escapees. Do you think the nation is a joke? B-class criminals mocking law enforcement? Your life is over. You'll never see the sun again."

Lucas swallowed hard.

Sakiri wasn't bluffing.

The man who had promised to hit him a thousand times and actually did it was not someone to be taken lightly.

"Anyway, let's begin. You'd better behave. My daughter is four years old. She's at the age where she likes to play in front of her dad. But I haven't been home for days because of this. So let's wrap this up quickly, alright?"

Hope drained from Lucas' eyes.

"…What do you want to hear?"

"Everything about Clay Marsha. Spill everything you know."

The Arcane incident had ended with the inheritance being settled, but the involvement of the Parrot Mercenaries was an international issue in Tormia.

Their leader was an A-class criminal—one with political ties.

'A cunning woman.'

The biggest problem was that intelligence reports on her were all over the place.

Some documents described her as a fire mage, while others claimed she specialized in ice magic.

Given this inconsistency, it was clear that she was meticulous and thorough.

Even with all available intelligence resources, pinpointing her exact movements was impossible.

That was why Sakiri had summoned Lucas.

From the beginning, the strategy had been wrong.

'Marsha's location isn't important. What I need to uncover isn't where she is… but who she truly is.'