(Maia's Pov)
That same night, after the recruits which dad called in had brought everyone that was arrested back to that town, we also went there. We had already ordered them to lock them up in a prison cell there, and wait for us, since we wanted to have a chat with them for the time being.
"This way."
One recruit was guiding us towards their cell. The prison was underground, and when you entered the main hall, you could walk forward for around 400 meters or so, before the first corner. It was a pretty large prison for a relatively small town, but it's actually because a lot of vacant criminals are stationed here.
The cell doors were made out of metal, but had a small opening at the top which could be closed and opened by the guards at will, to check inside. There was a similar opening on the ground for giving away food, but generally speaking you couldn't really interact much with the prisoners unless you wanted to.
When we finally reached their cell, we decided to not open the door right away. Mostly because we didn't feel like dealing with it right away, but also because we were interrupted from even thinking about it by the idiots inside, speaking a little too loud…
"For fucks sake! You bastards are all useless! If only you didn't let that stupid little bitch escape…"
"L-let's calm down… it is not going to help us in any way to fight among each other…"
"Hah?! It's easy for you to say that, you old barf ,isn't it?! You may have had 10 years at most to live anyways, but we're still in our 30's! Now you're telling me we'll have to spend god knows how long in here because you couldn't do what you had to with that money 10 years ago?! Give me a break!"
I guess even the scum have their own problems, huh?
Some pretty loud banging could be heard, but it was most likely just that one a little stronger than the average dude playing the boss or something like that.
"Pretty ironic, Huh?"
"Yeah. It's honestly almost ridiculous."
We've been listening in for only a few moments, but it was already more than clear. This guy genuinely didn't have any sense of responsibility. To begin with, I'm pretty sure that he was in the same carriage that was transporting her. Whether he was snoozing or just blackout drunk I have no idea, but he could've probably prevented her escaping to begin with.
Not to mention that they are very obviously not guilty about what they did, if anything they're just angry that they got caught. They're not even going to put on fake tears while being jailed, that's what kind of people these guys are.
"You can go now."
She told the recruit that escorted us, then slowly opened the door herself and walked in. The room itself was fairly large since it was holding close to 40 people, but most of them were all standing relatively close to each other. They were watching as their boss was holding the old man against the wall by his collar, until everyone turned their eyes towards Mio who had just entered.
It seemed like they were unironically so caught up with her that they didn't even notice me yet. Or rather, clearly even if they did, at the very least no one had yet even tried looking into my eyes, or they'd be able to tell who I was right away even though neither me or Mio were wearing uniforms.
"Did these guys go insane? What's this brat doing here? Oi, kiddo! Did you get lost or something?"
He asked as he let go of the old man, while Mio completely ignored them and started walking towards the table in the center of the room. Seeing how he was blatantly ignored probably stung a little more than he thought, because the next moment, he started walking towards her while speaking in a louder, more irritated and at the same time aggressive tone.
"Do you not hear me?! Don't just try and ignore me. I'm asking you what the hell do you think you're doing here-"
At the same time as Mio sat down around the table, he tried to reach for her shoulder with his hand…
"Hm? … m-my… my hand!!"
While his cut off hand fell on the ground, and he kneeled in pain while holding his severed arm, a cup of tea appeared in Mio's hands as she casually took a sip. She still hasn't even said a single word by now, yet she had already caught everyone's attention, and fear. In a rush of panic probably more than anything, the man tried to look around the room, most likely looking for an escape route.
That is when, he coincidentally happened to link eyes with me. It was honestly among the top 10 fastest face palings I've ever seen in my life. It looked like his soul was sucked out of his body from shock alone. And to make it even worse for him, only then did Mio finally speak for the first time, and he turned his face towards her with terror written all over it as the realization hit him.
"My bad for your hand. I didn't want to get your filth on me though."
"I have a few questions to ask you guys. In particular, the old geezer and the crybaby on the floor. Take a seat, will you?"
Her tone was dead calm, and her behavior was as monotone and relaxed as it got. Surprisingly though, while I expected all of them to start screaming and try to escape, the 2 that she actually directly asked to take a seat did in fact do as they were told without a single word. Well, sure their faces were pretty dead and they were staring exclusively at the ground, but they did take a seat in front of her.
"Geezer, you're first. Why didn't you build the walls until now and then simply pay off your debt? There was no curse to begin with, and you guys still sold your produce and animals in this past decade. You could've saved up more than enough for your initial debt, years ago even."
"…I thought it wouldn't be necessary. T-the deal we had was convenient enough, thus making me think that. This man is a B rank adventurer after all…"
"Hmm. So instead of simply paying off your debt, you kept giving away innocent children and deceiving everyone in your village, huh? I see."
"…I-I.."
He couldn't get any words out of his mouth however. He was shaking intensively, sweat running down on his face.
"You're next, crybaby. Who have you sold the kids that you received over the past decade to?"
"…"
"So that's how it is."
Given the fact that he was silent while being interrogated by Mio herself, it probably meant one of a few things. For once, he could've simply forgotten. It's a once a year event after all, which began a decade ago. For seconds, he could've been dead set on not revealing anything about their clients, whether it's a policy or a self protection mechanism. And lastly, which was most likely the case here is the possibility of him not even being the ones to actually have sold them.
It's likely that he's just a low ranking amidst the actual organization they're probably from. The most likely scenario is that he simply doesn't know who his bosses sold the children to.
"Geezer, do you at least remember the names of the children you gave away? I know it's pointless to ask the crybaby after all, but what about you?"
"…I do remember them. I know the names of everyone in the village…"
"My, what a caring chief that you are. If only you hadn't given away their children for the past decade."
The next instant, a piece of paper and a pencil appeared next on the table, in front of him.
"Write down their names, and any other information that could be useful for their search."
"I-I understand…"
"Maia, after we're done here, take that paper to some recruits and give out the orders."
"Got it."
"Now then, back to you, crybaby. Can you at least tell us who you handed the children to?"
"N-no… if I say their names, I won't see another day! P-please, please understand…"
"Hm? Well, I can't say that I don't understand what you're talking about…"
"…But aren't you the one misunderstanding here? After all, I never said that any of you will make it out of here alive, did I?"
They clenched their jaws looking even more distressed now. It was understandable though, after all if they had any prior hope of survival beforehand, it was instantly crushed to pieces.
"So that's why, I'm allowing you to take your time with the information. Honestly, the longer you take the more you'll be able to continue to live. But that doesn't mean I'll wait all night long for you. Geezer, you have 10 more minutes, while you crybaby may as well just start preparing yourself."
"W-wait, I- I have a family… y-you can't do this!"
"And so did those children that you took away from their families. Don't try to shorten the time I'm allowing you to stay alive, you imbecile."
"Even then… I-I can't tell you! If I do then…"
"They're most likely going to kill your family, that's for sure."
"…"
"That's exactly why I'm telling you to accept your fate now. I won't force you to say anything that would get your family in danger. After all, I'm assuming that neither your wife or daughter knows about your work. We'll take care of your funerals, but won't put them in danger by having you leak."
I think that some people may mistake this as an act of mercy on Mio's end. But I'm here to tell you that it's quite the opposite in reality. The only reason she's giving them any extra time is because she needs the old man to finish his report. If I had to guess what she'd say, it would probably be something along the lines of "it's faster to just kill them all at once after we get what we need."
The only people she's having mercy on here are the families of not just the boss, but everyone else here. Sure, in some cases the families are probably not innocent themselves, but in most of them it's just these guys living double lives, so we have no reason to punish the innocents who are being deceived.
Mom and dad told Cael to not dirty his hands with their blood earlier, and I agree with them. Instead, they will be punished by the one who can end their life without even lifting a finger, so it evens out. Don't get it twisted though, as this isn't a "he shouldn't get his hands dirty, so i'll do it instead for him!" Moment on Mio's end either.
Of course, if there ever was a need for a moment like that, she wouldn't actually hesitate in getting her hands dirty for Cael's sake. But in this case, it was a different story. After all none of their filthy blood will ever reach her, let alone her hands.
Once the 10 minutes mark was over, luckily enough for him, the old man had actually managed to write down enough useful information about them. The age they were when given away, their physical appearances which shouldn't be too difficult to track even as they aged, at least for the most recent one, and also their names. He handed it to Mio, who read it with her same casual expression while resting her face on her left palm.
"Well, I guess this is as much as you could give. With this we may be able to track them down ever so slightly, if they're even still alive that is."
Everyone was silent, sweating with their eyes wide open, and breathing loudly. Of course, everyone besides us at least. The room was genuinely filled to the brim, with nothing but pure terror, and hopelessness. It's pretty ironic how she doesn't even need to get them inside her "domain" for them to feel that way on one end. On the other hand, it really just goes to prove that Mio's authority is absolute.
No one is trying to resist it anymore. No one is trying to beg, or even say anything at all for that matter. They all know that it's impossible to change her mind, or overcome her power. She's simply the absolute law within this continent, which you're either lucky enough to have on your side… or you're the people in this room with us.
She then slid me the piece of paper, and stood up from her chair.
"That's about it. Maia, I'm leaving this to you. As I said, order the search as soon as you can. I'm pretty hungry honestly. Do you wanna come with me for a late night meal?"
"It's fine, I'll go give out the orders first then head home. Enjoy your meal though."
"Alright then, I'll see you home."
Now, I know what you must be wondering. However, don't worry about it. They were just as confused at that moment as Mio started walking away, getting closer to the door. Did she forget? Was she bluffing all along? Were they safe? Well, unfortunately for them, the boss was actually stupid enough to try and ask that.
"D-does that mean that we are sa-"
But before he could finish his sentence, a slit on his throat seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and his head fell to the ground afterwards, leaving him short from ending his sentence. Instinctively, the others started panicking, screaming being the only thing they could do besides crying… but the instant they let out any sounds, their heads as well would fall.
"You guys really are stupid, huh? I have no idea what made you think that I'd keep you alive, after Cael deemed you unworthy of living. My husband's judgement is flawless after all."
While speaking, she had turned her head around ever so slightly, just enough to be able to side eye the situation behind her. Of course though, there was no one else alive besides me to actually hear her at that point though. Afterwards, she casually turned around and disappeared into thin air as usual, going to enjoy her meal.
Putting it short, what had actually happened was pretty simple. It was the instant the chief had handed Mio the paper, that with a layer of mana so thin that was pretty much invisible, she cut their heads off from their throats. The cuts she had made were so fast and precise though, that their bodies hadn't even realized they had been effectively decapitated.
The vibration coming from their throats when they let out noise was what actually made the body realize it had already been cut, and thus the cuts actually being registered, and their heads falling. Those people had been killed so cleanly that they didn't even know they were already dead.