Chapter 106: Raul’s Confession Game

After returning to their home base, Loki immediately convened a meeting with the other three.

"How much of that kid's intel do you believe?"

"Seventy percent," Finn answered without hesitation.

Riveria nodded slightly, sharing the same assessment.

"The intel on individuals is certainly accurate. As for the human trafficking part..."

"That kid probably said it that way on purpose—to provoke us."

"That's likely," Finn agreed with a nod.

"But there's also another possibility," Riveria said, her brow arching slightly.

"You mean, he wasn't exaggerating at all? That there's really a trade involving Pallums and Elves?"

Finn nodded again, unease stirring in his chest.

"We can't rule that out."

"Others might not have dared, but the ones behind this are those lunatics from Evilus. They wouldn't care about being targeted by a couple of Level 6 adventurers."

"Their goal is to destroy Orario. I wouldn't be surprised if they targeted any race."

He wasn't wrong.

Riveria agreed with Finn's assessment—those maniacs in Evilus were capable of anything.

"If we think about it that way, then maybe the boy wasn't lying."

"We just assumed he said it to stir us up."

That conclusion didn't exactly match their previous assumptions, but both Riveria and Finn had gone through every angle in detail.

"So, we still need to find the Evilus hideouts hidden within the Ishtar Familia's territory. Otherwise, if those guys are really trafficking members of every race while we're kept in the dark..."

Taking a deep breath, Finn tossed aside his earlier assumptions.

This situation clearly involved the Pallum race. He couldn't pretend none of his kin were being used as bargaining chips by those bastards.

Deep down, Finn knew—the boy hadn't lied.

Orario really didn't lack sick bastards with twisted tastes.

While Finn and Riveria still harbored some cautious skepticism, thinking maybe Bell had exaggerated about thirty percent of it, Loki had already bought every word Bell said, one hundred percent.

"Riveria, head to the Pleasure District."

"Go straight to Ishtar's territory and tell her, 'Raul wants to form a bond with Aisha Belka. Let her come to the Loki Familia for a chat.'"

"That whore better not deny me even that much courtesy."

...Raul, you're screwed.

Everyone present knew that once this kind of message got out, Raul's reputation was going to take a serious hit.

Sure, there were tales of love even among prostitutes, but nobody made such a direct proposal like that.

Even if everyone knew it was just an excuse.

But the fact Loki used that excuse made it clear just how furious she was.

Riveria nodded slightly.

"Finn, Gareth... go grab Raul for me."

"I won't say anything to him, but make sure to rough him up a bit before bringing him over."

Just saying that was enough to show how mad Loki really was.

Of course, what pissed her off wasn't that Raul had gone fooling around in the Pleasure District.

What made her burn was that the bastard had embarrassed her in front of Hestia.

If it had been any other god, Loki wouldn't have cared. She had a tough hide—embarrassment didn't bother her much. At worst, they'd laugh at her for two days.

But Hestia? That was different!

That little shorty used to be beneath her in everything except height.

And now? She'd actually ended up beneath that shorty too.

Especially when that shorty's child turned out to be a monster of talent, even putting them on equal footing in others' eyes.

That made the gap all the more glaring.

How could Loki not be fuming?

Sure, her move was a bit of venting, but the fact she settled for just a beating showed how much she'd mellowed over the years.

Soon, the Loki Familia began to move.

Finn and Gareth went straight for Raul Nord, who was waiting inside the clan's territory for news.

"Captain, Uncle Gareth, you were looking for me?"

Raul looked as clueless as ever, completely unaware why the captain and Gareth had come for him.

Finn fixed him with a measured stare.

"Raul, what I'm about to ask is serious. I need you to answer carefully."

"Ah... got it."

Raul tensed up immediately, sensing the unusual gravity in Finn's voice.

"In the past four days, have you been to the Pleasure District?"

Raul's breath caught for half a second. Then he looked at Finn and Gareth, feigning confusion.

"I haven't been."

But there was no way a reaction like that would slip past Finn and Gareth.

Finn didn't push, simply kept his calm gaze locked on Raul.

"Raul, someone saw you in the Pleasure District."

"But that's not the main issue. What matters is that the Ishtar Familia may be connected to the Evilus."

...No way!!!

Raul's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He hadn't imagined Ishtar could be involved with Evilus.

"We're currently investigating the Ishtar Familia," Finn continued. "And then, we found out that you went to..."

He paused right there—long enough for Raul to nearly collapse.

"No! I didn't! I don't know anything!"

Panic-stricken, Raul denied it all in rapid succession.

"I only went there to meet a Pallum girl! I swear I didn't know anything about Evilus!"

Confessing without a drop of pressure—typical Raul.

But the moment Finn heard the words "Pallum girl," a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He didn't show it on his face, but the veins on the back of his hands started to bulge.

"Raul, you've been to the Pleasure District quite a bit, haven't you?"

"W-Well... not that often... maybe... once or twice a week?"

Finn's face twitched slightly. One look at Raul's sheepish expression and he knew the guy definitely went more than that.

"Then do you know which new girls have shown up there recently?"

"..."

Raul looked genuinely embarrassed to answer.

But Finn kept smiling.

"Raul, you know this is a crucial investigation. If you can't give us something concrete, the Guild might step in for a little chat."

"I-I... I just know that lately, there've been a lot of Elf, Cat People, and Pallum girls around... I don't really pay attention to the others... I usually stick to the same ones. I don't like to switch around..."

Very good.

This time, he really stepped into it.

...

(90 Chapters Ahead)

p@treon.com/PinkSnake