After the interrogation ended, they finally got some information out of the armed soldier.
Basically, their employer had told them to do something on the rooftop of Tower B. Since he was just a low-level soldier, he didn't know what the mission was really about.
He and his companions were assigned to keep watch. If anyone entered the building, they were to take action and prevent them from getting any closer.
Hearing this, Wise immediately understood.
"So you were responsible for the power outage."
Now it finally made sense. There was no way an Ethereal could have figured out how to control that power on its own.
Even so, the chaos caused by that blackout was enough to make anyone furious.
"Yes, yes. At first, I thought you were just curious adventurers, so I only meant to scare you off. Who could have guessed you were so capable, solving the power issue almost instantly? The captain said that with your strength, you were definitely not ordinary people, probably here to rescue that girl, so he sent us to draw the attention of that strange Ethereal..."
The soldier continued speaking, clearly trying to pin the blame on his captain. However, Wise immediately picked up on the important point.
"Wait. Where is Rain, the girl you mentioned? What did you do to her?"
Wise's sudden seriousness made the soldier freeze. His teeth trembled as he forced himself to answer.
"That gir— I mean, that Miss is with the captain on the rooftop of Tower B right now. Her life isn't in danger, not yet!"
The soldier's explanation didn't help him at all. Lycaon spoke soon after, his voice pressing down like a weight.
"Can I take this as your admission that your unit kidnapped Miss Rain? Rina, extract the remaining information. Mr. Wise, come with me."
Lycaon's words made the soldier's body tremble violently, as if he'd recalled something deeply horrifying.
Rina calmly replied, "Yes," before stepping toward the soldier with a gentle smile. The man's terror intensified, as though he wanted nothing more than to sink into the wall behind him.
Witnessing this, Wise suddenly thought of something and glanced at Rina.
"Miss Rina, may I ask a question?"
"Of course, Mr. Wise. I trust this esteemed soldier will cooperate fully, won't he?" Rina said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she smiled.
"Yes, yes! I'll tell you everything. I won't hide a single thing!"
"Why did you choose to attack me at that moment?" Wise asked, confused about that part.
After all, the combat ability he'd shown along the way shouldn't have made him an easy target.
When he'd heard the missile launch, he'd instinctively assumed it was meant for the seemingly weaker Eous.
"Th-this, well..." The soldier stammered.
"Hmm?"
"Ah! Sorry. Honestly, we thought you were way too handsome at the time. You were chatting so happily with those two cute girls the whole way, and we got kinda jealous, so..."
The soldier didn't continue, but Wise understood the whole process. It wasn't difficult to comprehend.
Psychologically speaking, everyone has the urge to destroy beautiful things. It's just that most people's moral standards can suppress such thoughts.
Having gotten his answer, Wise stopped paying attention to the man and followed Lycaon to a corner.
As for what would happen to that soldier? That depended on what Rina wanted to do.
Reaching the statue in the plaza, Lycaon turned to Wise, closed his eyes, and said, "Mr. Wise, someone sharp like you probably knows what I'm gonna ask next, right?"
"I do. I apologize for keeping things from you earlier. My reason for coming here is specifically to clear this up."
Lycaon asked exactly what Wise thought he would, and since he wasn't planning to hide anything anyway, he told him Rain's identity as a hacker.
"I see. Then it's highly likely they kidnapped her for her abilities. The rooftop of Ballet Twins is an ideal location for transmitting signals."
Lycaon offered his analysis, and Wise nodded in agreement.
"Those bandits are still camped out at the top, which means they're still doing whatever they planned. We need to move fast and rescue Rain, or things could get more complicated."
While saying that, Wise suddenly remembered the airship with Nicole and the others on it. The route would take them right over Ballet Twins.
"Victoria Housekeeping shares that sentiment, Mr. Wise. I'll handle the preparations for our next move. Please wait for our signal."
After Lycaon finished speaking, he hurriedly left. Seeing that the matter was resolved, Wise immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had originally feared that it would cause a rift.
But since it all worked out, he'd go see how Corin and Miss Ellen were doing.
When Wise walked over, he saw Ellen still sleeping, curled up, while Corin stood quietly beside her.
"How are you, Corin? Are you two alright?" Wise asked with a warm smile.
"Yes, thank you for asking, Wise. I'm fine, and Miss Ellen should be waking up soon."
Corin looked pretty happy to see him, so Wise reached over and gave her head a gentle pat.
"I brought some candy. Do you want some?"
"No, I don't like candy, but Miss Ellen loves it, so please leave it all for her."
Hearing Corin's response, Wise said no more and walked over to Ellen.
He'd planned to grab a piece of candy and wave it under her nose, figuring the smell might wake her up, but he didn't expect what happened next.
Ellen's mouth opened instinctively, biting down on what she thought was candy. But it felt weirdly soft, and without thinking, she started licking it with her tongue.
She began sucking on his finger, her eyes still closed, treating it like the sweet treat she'd been dreaming of.
Wise froze for a second, then carefully pulled his finger away from her mouth and wiped the remaining saliva with a tissue. He glanced at Ellen, who had just woken up and was now munching on the candy.
"Ellen, since you're awake now, would you like some more candy to help you recover?"
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