MTLNOVEL Chapter 11: A Little Interrogation
Arthur gulped nervously as tension grew thicker in seconds. Even though he couldn't see it, the pressure built in the air was enough to tell him that while the group of warriors in front of him looked nonchalant, they all were ready to fight him to death if he uttered the wrong words.
Fortunately, this was not his first time in a life-or-death situation like this.
"Well, I have two reasons to believe that I can change your mind." He spoke, trying to hide his nervousness. The man in front of him just raised one of his eyebrows, intrigued. By the signal he gave, Arthur continued speaking, "First, the moment I arrived here, your leader immediately changed his target and accused me as the culprit behind the incident. That means he himself doesn't believe in his heart that it is someone from the Kurata tribe who is the culprit, but your tribe really needs someone to be blamed so that everyone can vent out their emotion and grief properly."
"… That… Is reasonable." The man finally admitted after pondering for a moment. "That still doesn't explain why it has to be you who have to do this. For all we know, our leader could be correct and you are the real culprit behind the incident, right?"
For that, Arthur just scoffed at that. "Even though you didn't see me appear out of nowhere in the middle of your battle, I know you at least have an idea of what happened two days ago. Based on that information alone, do you think I am the one responsible for the incident I didn't even know anything about?"
Seeing doubt filled in the man's face, Arthur sighed inwardly, relieved that his trick worked. Yeah, as you can see, he didn't even answer the question. He just threw back another question to plant a seed of doubt here, and the fact that he did it so quickly after the man finished his question made it more convincing for everyone else.
Also, the theory about him being the one responsible for the incident was ridiculous. Even though the assassin had an accident and was unfortunate enough to get trapped with the leader of the victim's tribe, there was no way the assassin's first move would be to mock that leader. If anything, the textbook move should be to try to inquire what happened and gain that leader's trust.
Fortunately, it seemed the man in front of Arthur was far smarter than his leader. "So, what is the second reason?" He finally asked.
Seeing that he had already won the argument, Arthur tried his best to hold back his smile. If the first argument managed to crack their wall, he knew his second reason would be enough to gain their trust.
"Well, the second reason is easy. It is because just like your leader, you lot also don't believe that someone from the Kurata tribe is the culprit, right?" Some of them widened their eyes in shock as Arthur hit the nail once again. "Yeah, I know. Even though you all agreed with your leader to attack your neighbor, you all know that you are wrong here. That is why you are not attacking them with your fullest strength. You want to waste more time in the hope of miracles that someone suddenly managed to solve this problem, right? You don't want to attack your neighbor, but your tribe was – and still is desperate to find someone to blame, to be a victim. That is why you will agree to let me investigate it. Not because of me personally, but by now, anyone who has an idea of what happened that day would be welcomed by your tribe."
Of course, Arthur made the hypothesis by extrapolating the strings he saw from all the men in front of him. Although they just attacked the Kurata tribe, there was no darkish string formed from every single one of them that indicated a hostile relationship between them. That meant there should be a reason why all of the warriors here didn't share the same sentiment as their leader had.
After an awkward silence between them, the man finally let out a deep, tired sigh. "Kali is right. Your ability to read everything like an open book is annoying."
"Why, thank you?" Arthur tilted his head, confused.
"Oh, that is a praise, take it with more pride." The man confirmed the intention behind his words. "Oh, sorry for being rude and not introducing myself immediately. My name is Zadar, and I am the second command of this tribe behind Kali. I am the war general of this tribe and also the one who is responsible for everyone's safety here, so I apologize for the hostility. Also, nice to finally meet you officially, Arthur Edogawa."
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"So, can I finally ask my question?" Arthur asked, still numb to Zadar's introduction. Somehow, the man had a stronger presence than Kali, the leader of the tribe.
"Sure, fire away," Zadar answered casually while the other tribe's members also surrounded them, curious.
"Okay, first thing first," He pulled out a parchment scroll and a quill from his pocket. When he was about to open it, though, he could feel the deadpanned gazes from all the Eldra tribe's members directed at him. "What?" His face flushed a little.
Banara – The one who greeted him the first time he arrived there – sighed in exasperation before saying, "Man, sometimes I forgot how stubborn those fools from the Kurata tribe are about accepting changes." Some of the men there nodded in agreement. "Wait for a second, Arthur. I will bring something more useful than those relics."
As Banara rose from the ground, Arthur could only nod as he himself was still confused. Fortunately, it didn't take a long time before his confusion was answered. A moment later, Banara came back from the building nearby with something that Arthur had never believed he would see for a long time. He could feel his jaws drop as Banara offered that thing to him.
"I don't know if you know this, but instead of the relics those fools from the Kurata tribe gave you, these things will be easier for you to use. This is a – "
"A book! And a pencil!" Arthur interrupted the man, his eyes shining brightly. "Man, this shit is real?! I cannot believe it! I was so afraid I would be trapped in the medieval era, but it seems not everything is as backward as I thought! Man, can I have this, please?!"