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So, back when the other me was seven years old.
I don't clearly remember all the details, but…
One day, when I went out with Sister Sherry beyond the grounds of the Count of Travel's estate, she suddenly disappeared.
The other me ended up alone on the outskirts of Hispoth Town, lost.
Just as tears were about to well up, a man told the guards about my situation and decided to look after me until my dad arrived.
That man was Lucian Alexis, with his hair tucked tightly away under a hat.
— The person I like the most after my dad? Just among my family? Hmm… uhhh…
— Is that such a hard question that you need to wrap your head up for it? Other kids usually just answer 'Mom and Dad' one after another.
— Mom? Oh! Then I'll choose Dad after Dad!
— Berry, don't you think that answer's strange?
— I don't have a mom. As long as I have Dad, that's enough for me!
— …Want me to show you something cute?
Saying that, Lucian opened the top of the bag he was carrying.
A hamster peeked its little head out through the opening.
— Gasp. A rat.
— That's funny. Such a tiny thing.
— Say something, will you!
— Who are you calling a filthy rat? I am a golden hamster beastfolk. Address me as Sir Tori.
Lucian seemed to have had no intention of revealing Tori's identity, but it was already too late, introductions had been made.
That day, even before hearing from the guards, Dad had already been searching for me.
Before long, he ran into Lucian, who had me with him. The two exchanged blows for a short while, but Lucian couldn't withstand more than a few proper attacks before fleeing.
And now.
Goldport. Central Investigation Bureau, Branch 17, interrogation room.
'It's him, right?'
I stared intently at the hamster's back as I held it out to Dad, telling him I wanted to keep it.
It was big enough to need both hands to hold, warm, soft, its body like a lump of drooping cheese, exactly like the Sir Tori I remembered.
"Chik."
When the hamster let out a short squeak, Lucian Alexis, inside the interrogation room, turned his head in our direction.
'Oh, he reacted!'
To respond to a hamster's cry in the middle of being interrogated as a criminal… it wasn't an obvious reaction, but Lucian Alexis definitely seemed flustered.
There was no way Dad would miss that. Muttering about how Lucian's breathing had changed, he asked me.
"Berry, where did you get that hamster?"
"It was wandering around the Bureau. Theon and Jeffrey caught it for me!"
"You want to keep it?"
"Yeah! It's cute!"
Theon and Jeffrey were standing guard outside the door so no one else could enter the interrogation room.
Admittedly, using the hamster to pressure someone was a bit underhanded.
'But I need to know why Lucian Alexis tried to kidnap me, so I can deal with things going forward!'
In the other me's memories, when we were together on the outskirts of Hispoth Town, Lucian had shown no intent to kidnap me at all.
If anything, he seemed to be waiting for Dad's arrival even more eagerly than I was, constantly checking the time, sticking to empty streets as if expecting a fight, and asking what I'd do when I returned to the Count of Travel's estate.
It didn't add up. What had Lucian really wanted?
'He's less likely to confess with me watching, but if Dad finds out, I'll be able to learn later too!'
So bringing Sir Tori here was an investment for future information.
"Well… maybe it has an owner."
Dad said, patting my head before turning his gaze toward the interrogation room.
Lucian Alexis was still looking our way.
Since he couldn't see outside from inside the interrogation room, he seemed to be trying to guess the situation from our conversation. His smile had vanished completely.
Watching Lucian's reaction, Reytan spoke into the room again.
"Ambassador Lucian Alexis, do you know what angers me the most about this incident?"
[…Was it that I deceived you by pretending to be a maid of the Count of Travel, without intending to?]
"No."
Dad replied coldly, his expression equally devoid of any trace of a smile.
"You laid a hand on my daughter."
A chill, like wind seeping through ice, spread through the interrogation room.
'…Gasp! This is that!'
Theon and Jeffrey always said I was slow on the uptake with this kind of thing, but even I could tell this time.
Dad's aura had shifted, just like a few months ago, when he made Coco's dad, Zikal, kneel.
Or, as Crown Prince Theon would put it, he now had the menacing air of the Count of Travel's delinquent.
'This is the side of Dad he only shows to enemies!'
The moment I realized it, Theon and Jeffrey quickly rushed into the interrogation room.
"Theo-"
"Berry, this is dangerous."
"Huh? What is?"
Theon stepped in front of me, while Jeffrey grabbed my arm and pulled my ear back, trembling all over.
"Berry, you're seriously clueless. Master Reytan is furious, like, to the very top of his head furious."
Even Sir Tori, still clutched in my hands, was trembling and letting out faint, static-like squeaks.
Dad spoke again.
"Ambassador."
[…]
"In my time on the battlefield, I sometimes encountered soldiers from the Kingdom of Edencia who fought in an unusual way, paired in teams of two, one human and one beastfolk. Perhaps because they'd risked life and death together, their bond outside the battlefield was extremely strong. I even saw small-animal beastfolks sometimes, like hamsters."
[Reytan, testimony obtained through coercion isn't admissible.]
"I haven't coerced anyone. But if you, as the head of investigations, think so, then I suppose you won't be needing that typewriter."
[…You owe me for this.]
Mr. Damian sighed and took his hands off the typewriter.
The only way to confirm what was happening in the interrogation room was through the transcript typed by the investigating officer.
So this meant there would be no record of what was said from here on.
***
Even though Ambassador Lucian inside the interrogation room couldn't see Dad through the window, their eyes seemed to meet exactly, each knowing where the other stood.
Dad watched him and asked.
"Have you ever had a beastfolk partner, Ambassador?"
"Screeech—!"
[Sir Tori!]
BANG!
At Sir Tori's scream, Ambassador Lucian shot up from his chair, striding toward the glass to protest to Dad.
[Master Reytan! Did you just commit cross-species abuse?! What kind of violence could make him scream like that? In the Kingdom of Edencia, beastfolks are considered citizens! I will file an official protest over this!]
Whoa… those eyes, looking at Dad like he's some final boss villain!
And sure, they say kids shouldn't butt into grown-up conversations, but...
"Ambassador! Sir Tori is with me!"
"Berry's right."
"That hamster just squeaked because he got scared by Master Reytan's presence, nothing more, okay?"
[An official protest, huh. That's as good as admitting that hamster is a beastfolk.]
I had to clear this up. Theon and Jeffrey backed up what I said, and Mr. Damian helped push Lucian into a corner.
[…]
Lucian slowly lowered the fist he had slammed against the glass, then silently returned to his seat.
His movements made it seem like he wished he could rewind time out of sheer embarrassment.
Dad addressed the ambassador.
"This case has grown bigger because there were so many witnesses, and it's going to be very disadvantageous for you, Ambassador, unless you're released with 'no charges.'"
[…What do you want?]
"You're going to give a detailed statement about this incident. Down to the smallest detail, exactly as it happened. If you want to avoid trouble caused by discrepancies between what I know and what you say."
[And what do I get in return?]
Lucian asked, and Dad's reply was crystal clear.
"Freedom."
***
He insisted on giving his statement in a place with only him and Dad present.
Mr. Damian, calling it a "three-favor debt," told Dad so and then led us, Sir Tori included, out of the interrogation room.
"Look away."
The investigators, who had been loitering nearby out of curiosity, glanced at us but immediately pretended to be busy at Mr. Damian's words.
"Ah, over there, that thing. You know."
"Has there still been no word from them? That's a problem. You'd better go check."
"Chief, have you finished the interrogation?"
But someone approached us boldly.
It was the head of the 17th Branch, the Branch Chief himself.
"Branch Chief, how could you allow children into an interrogation room?"
"M-my apologies. I thought it might be fine since she's Master Reytan's daughter, no, that's not it. I'll make sure to warn the investigators to be more careful from now on."
He was the very one who had personally guided us here after I said I wanted to see my dad.
Trying to avoid Damien's gaze, the Branch Chief clasped his hands together at us as though begging for mercy. Then, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked.
"What was the result?"
"False arrest. He'll be released without charges."
"What? But still-"
"It wasn't a kidnapping. We have the children's testimony, we have an alibi. It's hard to see this as a criminal case. I'll file the report myself, so you needn't concern yourself with it, Branch Chief."
"Well, if Chief Damien says so, then we have no objection…"
Then one of the investigators quietly asked.
"Then… why was he wearing a maid uniform?"
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