The bandit who had said the first thing was troubled.
　When he saw the young man, he underestimated his weakness.
　As he used his detection magic to select his prey, he had learned to assess his opponent's strength even before he used his magic.
　As I looked at the young man, I could not sense any signs of strength in his body.
　There was no sign that he was hiding his power. He was just an ordinary person.
　That's why I said, "You don't know what this is like.
　Well, look at us, we're being shaken.
　I'm not fooling around with nonsense. He's hitting a blind spot we didn't see coming.
　It reminds me of the one-armed man who leads the bandits.
　He suddenly appeared and proposed an alliance of bandits.
　The boss, Gidou, must have been secretly afraid of the armed man. He accepted the proposal without question.
　There was a disadvantage in sharing the territory, but he gave us more than that.
　Information about the merchants, detection spells, escape techniques using magic seal stones, and resistance to brainwashing spells.
　We were able to do our work more safely and profit more than ever before.
　But when you know what's easy, it's easy to get greedy, especially when you're a bandit.
　Some of the bandits broke the terms of the ship's agreement and began to do as they pleased.
　But for the ship's arm, that was just the material he needed.

"Oh, yes, we haven't discussed the consequences of those who break the rules within the Alliance. You said there would be a purge, and I'll tell you exactly what will happen.

　He showed me a colleague who had been used by necromancy as a cruel monster.
　I've seen their faces before, and there are faint traces of them.
　Not only that, they were left with their own selves.
　They were mumbling to themselves, dirty liquid like muddy water pouring from their eyes.

"Let me die. ...... Let me die. ......

　Having lived as a bandit, I've gotten over the fear of death.
　But the sight of him dying and still living in misery made me even more afraid.
　That's why I made up my mind that even if I were to die here, I must avoid looking like that.
　But what the young man said shook his resolve.
　He said it was a coincidence that the knights had invaded a cave that was not supposed to be found, but it was definitely an event that had happened.
　If so, there is a possibility that information about other parties will leak out in the same way.
　If that happens, who will be the first to be suspected and purged?
　My body trembles, my head is confused.
　I want to talk to my friends. But now I'm alone.
　Both of us are still at risk. Then I don't want to do anything that might benefit the knights who will execute us.
　But the possibility of dying as a human being is better than dying like this: .......

"No, let's rest now. We should take more time to think.

　Yes, that young man was telling me the shortcomings of the steps I was taking.
　Then there is a possibility that there are some pitfalls in what he is proposing.
　The best thing to do is to calm down and rest so that you can think calmly.

It's time for a change.

　The voices of the knights reach my ears from outside the room. It seems that the guards have been replaced.

"Oh, has anyone thrown up?
No, they're all pretty quiet.

　Yeah, they don't throw up that easily.
　I breathe a sigh of relief.
　I guess my friends are thinking the same thing. It's not that they are thoughtless idiots.

"But are you sure you want to extend the execution date?
"Yes, it seems so.
The food they feed you is the work of the people.
That's not a problem.
Hmm?
The execution date can only be postponed for three men. If we execute the others as soon as possible and use the free food, the burden will be reduced.

　My breathing stops. My heart beats faster.
　I just heard something I don't want to hear.
　What did you just say?

But why are there three of us again?
"If all seven of us spit out the same information, we'd just get the same information. The monk said that three people are enough to confirm facts and consider discrepancies.
"That's true.

　Oh, no!
　This is the pitfall of what that young man suggested!
　That's right, he never said 'all of them'.
　Surely, if there are a few of us, we can confirm the lies and deceptions. We don't need to wait for everyone to tell us.
　What a relentless bastard. This is sure to be a disaster for the four of you.
　If they give up the information, they'll certainly be treated like traitors, but they'll be safe until the arm is dead.
　If they don't give up the information, they won't be treated as traitors, but they will fall prey to necromancy depending on the mood of the ship's arm.
　Both of them were troubled because there was a part of them that wanted to.
　But what would happen if the three of them gave up the information?
　Three would be taken into custody, but the fourth would be executed immediately.


　And all seven of you will be treated as traitors.
　The ship's arm said, "Wherever you are, even if you're dead, you'll get what's coming to you.
　The four of them will be forced to bear the brunt of the consequences of both giving up information and not giving up information.
　Only three of them will be able to sit in the chair where they can die safely as human beings.

"Oh, hey, guard!　I'll give you the information!　Get me that young man!

　I pound on the door. If the others find out about this, I'm sure they'll give up the information!

What's all the fuss? It's good to be honest, but tomorrow. You said the boy would talk to you tomorrow.
Bullshit!　I said I'll talk to him right now!
Shut up. The boy's already asleep. I'll give you a piece of paper and you can write down a list of things to say. I'll give it to you first thing in the morning.

　He gave me a piece of parchment from under the door and a long piece of charcoal from the window.
　It will be impossible to summon that young man even if I continue to sue him. So how can I get to the chair before the others do?
　I pick up the charcoal and start writing on a piece of paper.
　Give them the information they want, as much as you can, and make it interesting.

.

"Five out of seven people have come forward with information. Here's a list of the information they said they would give.

　After waking up, I was having breakfast in the barracks when Grandpa Kara handed me a stack of parchments.
　I read it over and handed it to Mr. Ilias.

I don't know what information will be useful. I don't know which ones are useful, but I'll listen to as many as I can.
"But all of it is so devilishly ......

　The final touch was for Grandpa Kara and Ilias to tell the bandits that they could only receive information from three people.
　People are vulnerable to things that are limited. It's easy for them to get their hands on such things.
　And the more the information is obtained by chance, the more effective it is.
　Only the unthinking will bite when a salesman tells them that they can only buy it now and that they can't get it.
　If you are a thinking person, you will realize that this is a means to make you buy, and you will be wary.
　But what about information that you hear accidentally from a third party?
　There is a difference in the credibility of information that you learn through the media and information that you learn by chance.
　This information is not given to you. It is information that you have acquired.
　That's why you believe it. It doesn't matter if the information is false or not. 　
　Such scams were popular at one time.

Be that as it may.　

　The more strongly they were convinced, the more impatient they became.
　And they would have thought about how to get into the informant's chair more reliably.
　There they were given a piece of paper and a writing utensil.
　One last point of appeal.
　You try to show that you have as much information as possible, and that you have more important information.
　As a result, they will disclose more than they can tell you on the spot.

"Grandpa Kara. "Grandpa Kara, could you please tell everyone that we'll start listening at ten o'clock?
Are you going to do it all at once?
No, tell them we're listening to someone else and they'll all be listening to different knights. Eleven o'clock.
Why again?
I think they'll speak better if they think they're second and third.
You're very thorough. ...... Well, all right.

　Grandfather Kara left the room.
　Mr. Iliad looks at me with a mysterious face and speaks to me.

"How did you live in your original world?
"Another vague question.
"I've heard that there's no magic in your world. But I've heard little else. Every move you've made this time has been, in my opinion, ......
Unchivalrous and unbecoming of a man?
Yes. Taking advantage of people's weakness. That's what we naturally choose to do. The only people who can do that in this world are clever merchants, criminals, or those who have been involved with such people. Can I ask you a question?
I've lived a quiet life.
I don't think so. I don't think so.
By safe, I mean I've been able to live an ordinary life with no one to blame. That's how I've been getting around. One of the biggest differences between this world and the one I came from is the range of contact.

　He took a drink of water and paused.

"There are more opportunities, more ways to get to know other people. The more people you come into contact with, the more opportunities you have to learn the differences. Among them, there are good people and bad people. The bad people do harm to others with malice and seek to gain for themselves. There are too many such bad people in this world to let your guard down.


......
"To live a normal life in such a world, you need to know how to protect yourself from the bad guys. To live in such a world, you need to have the knowledge to protect yourself from the bad guys and the means to avoid being targeted. To live in such a world, you need to know how to protect yourself from the bad guys, you need to know how to avoid being targeted, and you need to know how to avoid being blamed for your actions. That's how I've lived my life.
"I don't really understand you. When you're with Maja and us, or when you're in front of bandits, which is the real you?
"Both. Both are you, without a doubt. You behave differently when you're in front of the people and when you're in front of the bad guys. In your case, you treat them as a knight, the Iliad. In my case, I change my attitude depending on who I'm dealing with. That's all.
"Does that mean you become evil in the face of evil?
"It means that I understand evil when I am in its presence.
...... You're living like a distorted mirror, aren't you? Well, that makes sense.

　Ilias, who sighs.
　I'm sure you're not the only one.

"Changing your way of being in accordance with the other person's way of being. How can you do such a troublesome thing?
It's hard to live in peace.

　After that, I succeeded in gathering information from the bandits.
　It seems that some of them were able to communicate with other bandits, and they were able to get information about the other bandits' bases.
　There was also talk of a necromancer who had formed an alliance with the bandits.