Chapter 279: The Price to Pay

"First, let’s hear it from you... Mr. Everly." The knight turned toward Soren, who was asked to reveal his real face. "And please, be honest. If you try to lie, the consequences will be severe."

"How can we be sure he’s not lying?" Lariel chimed in. "What if you are in cahoots and try to shield each other?"

The knight turned to him, his eyes cold. "If you keep interrupting, I will kick you out of here and give you the punishment you deserve." Then he took something round from his storage ring and set it on the desk. "This is called a Truth-Seeing Orb. It can help us detect falsehoods. I will show you a short demonstration."

"You just have to put your hand on it and speak. The orb turns red if you lie." The knight placed his hand on the orb and spoke. "I’m a woman."

The next moment, the orb glowed red, indicating he lied.

"I kidnapped an elf."

It glowed red again.

"I’ll ensure both sides will get justice."

Nothing happened this time.

"As you can see, we have a way to verify everything you say, so I suggest you think carefully before speaking." He paused and turned to the elves. "I advise you to listen silently and let him finish before making any accusations. We will hear your side afterward. And again, if you interrupt or make accusations, you know what awaits you."

Only after the elves nodded did he turn back to Soren. "You may begin."

Soren nodded and placed his hand on the orb. Then, he briefly recounted everything that happened after the semi-final.

However, some of the elves still ended up interrupting him, calling him a liar, a thief, and so on. Fortunately, the knight was a reasonable man and punished them accordingly.

"...And that is where you came in."

Soren ended his story. The orb didn’t turn red even once, which made the elves’ faces turn unsightly.

’...They still can’t accept the truth, huh.’ Soren sighed inwardly. ’Is there some kind of reason for it?’

He was curious, but since it was their turn to speak, he would soon find out.

"Mr. Knight," Lariel spoke up. "Can I ask him a question before I start?"

"...Yes."

Lariel nodded and turned to Soren. "Can you tell me why you were in such a hurry to leave, then? Didn’t you advance to the finals? And how do you have a Cataclysm Class magic beast? It seems a lot suspicious to me."

"..." Soren coldly stared at the elf. "Why should I tell you about my private life? I have said what I needed to say, and the orb has proven my words are true. Just because you’re not satisfied with the answer doesn’t give you the right to pry into my personal matters."

Lariel’s eyes narrowed, but the knight raised a hand before he could respond. "He’s right. The investigation is about Chef Nuelia’s disappearance, not about his reasons for leaving the city. If you have questions related to the case, ask them. Otherwise, let it go."

The elf clenched his fists, clearly unsatisfied, but said nothing more to Soren.

"Mr. Knight," he said to the knight. "Can we start now?"

"Yes."

Lariel took a deep breath and started their side of the story. "After the semi-final, she was supposed to return to the villa. However, she told her attendant that she had an important matter to take care of and left alone. She ordered her not to follow her or inform any of us about it."

He paused, his jaw tightening. "Knowing her contracted spirit, a powerful being capable of rivaling an Emperor, the attendant believed she would be safe. So she kept quiet." His voice darkened. "But hours passed, and the attendant began to fear that something had gone wrong. So, she finally came to us and confessed everything."

The room was silent.

"We started searching immediately, but by then, the trail had already gone cold. Neither she nor her spirit has answered a single call. It is as if both of them have been erased. Fortunately, we managed to find where she last visited using a secret spell." He paused, his eyes landing on Soren. "It was that garden. And... there were signs of a brutal battle."

Soren’s expression remained neutral, but his mind was already piecing things together. ’She must have been taken shortly after we parted ways.’

"When we arrived, the surroundings were destroyed, and her belongings were scattered across the ground. Fortunately, her spirit had managed to leave behind a message, but it was fragmented and hard to understand." Lariel’s voice faltered for just a moment before he steadied himself. "We could only make out three words: mana... steal... save..."

"That is when we realized she had been kidnapped." He let the words hang in the air before continuing. "After that, we searched the area again and found another faint trace of mana. We tracked it through the city until it brought us to you."

Lariel’s gaze locked onto Soren. "Tell me, human. If you were truly innocent, why did her trail lead straight to you?"

"..." Soren looked at him as if he were looking at a fool. "Isn’t it obvious? You followed my mana; who else would it lead you to?"

"I understand it might have been your only lead at the time," Soren continued before the elves could retort. "But did you have to act like that? Destroying a building, opening a domain, putting innocent people in danger, and attacking us out of the blue?" His tone and gaze grew colder with each word. "What would happen if I didn’t have my bonded beast to protect us? You would have seriously hurt me, but also my wife!"

Soren radiated killing intent for the first time since everything started, the air around him dropping by several degrees.

"If... anything happened to her, we wouldn’t be sitting here and talking like this," Soren stated coldly. "I would have made sure you paid the price for that first."