Published: January 13, 2026
A sudden interrogation involving a hundred people began.
Everyone watched Panamera’s interrogation in silence, unable to utter a word.
“You. Yes, you. I’ll give you five seconds to think about each question. I’d appreciate it if you could answer as quickly as possible,” Panamera said with a smile.
The man sitting on the ground twitched his face. As if unaware of this, Panamera began the questioning.
“First question: what is your name?”
“…Pacer.”
“A good name. Thank you for your cooperation, Pacer.”
Seeing the answer come in two or three seconds, Panamera nodded cheerfully.
“Next question: which knight order do you belong to?”
“…I can’t say. If I do, I’ll be killed.”
Pacer calmly answered the question. Panamera nodded at the response and swung his sword.
“Now, the next question.”
The sword pierced through Pacer’s right palm as he spoke.
“Ugh…”
Panamera glanced sideways at Pacer’s low, pained grunt and smiled gently.
“There’s something I find strange. Many say they keep silent because if they talk, they’ll be killed. But is it really okay to remain silent and be killed here? Isn’t that contradictory? What do you think?”
“…If I’m going to die anyway, I should die without leaking information.”
Sweating coldly, Pacer replied.
“Hmm. That’s a good mindset. I want to ask a few more questions, so I hope you can endure. By the way, next I’ll be cutting off your right wrist, so brace yourself.”
Panamera cheerfully informed him and resumed questioning.
In the end, the first man didn’t reveal any important information. Dee, Arb, and Row remained calm as they watched, but Arte and Til looked pale and were immediately asked to return to the basement.
The members of the Seato village knight order looked uneasy. Their expressions were grim, but there was still an atmosphere of trying to keep calm.
Well, the knight orders had, after all, experienced a fair amount of warfare, so they had developed some courage.
Incidentally, Kamushin and I were surprisingly able to watch the interrogation calmly.
“He’s likely died from blood loss. Next, we must ask questions while stopping the bleeding,” Panamera said with a bitter smile as he turned to the second man. The men forced to sit on the ground already looked pale. Some even had tears in their eyes from fear.
It seemed like interrogating the fearful men first would solve things quickly, but Panamera chose a man who glared back for some reason.
“Now, first question. Are you ready?”
As Panamera spoke, about twenty men from Panamera’s knight order walked out from the back.
“Wait, Viscount Panamera.”
At the low voice, Panamera wiped blood off his sword and looked up. Standing there were two men: a large, fat man and a short, muscular man. Judging by their luxurious white and black armor and cloaks, these two were nobles. The knights lined up behind them also wore armor based on white and black, so they were likely gathered from two knight orders.
The short man in black armor opened his mouth while glaring at Panamera.
“During this crucial battle, please refrain from actions that would lower the morale of other knight orders.”
At those words, Panamera smiled and tilted his head.
“Oh? Viscount Tron, who usually, like me, never tolerates enemies, have you suddenly developed a spirit of philanthropy?”
Panamera asked curiously. Tron clicked his tongue and frowned.
“I did not say that. I’m saying that conducting such horrific torture behind the scenes of a battle involving His Majesty risks lowering overall morale. Stop this before His Majesty arrives.”
Tron said irritably, and not only the knights in black armor but also several knights from other orders stiffened their faces. Despite his short stature, his presence was imposing.
But Panamera scoffed at the anger and brushed it off.
“Viscount Tron, then it seems you are trying to pretend Baron Van’s night raid never happened. If you were attacked while asleep, wouldn’t you immediately find the culprit?”