Not Guilty?

With that, I left the prison cell with Toy in tow. I stopped a patrolling soldier and asked him to deliver a message to the king saying that [The culprit escaped, and it seemed that this person had (apparently) been captured].

Toy was next to me, having escaped from the dungeon, and she was the one who was captured, so it's not a lie, it's not.

I'm asked to wait while they prepare for the meeting, and then I head back to the audience chamber with Toy at my side.

"Baron Golen-dono. You said the culprit escaped, or rather, had escaped…"

"Yes. She was more cunning than I expected. After all, she caused quite a commotion, taking on the entire nation of Daido."

"So she had a proper escape route and had secured a decoy…"

At this point, one of the men in charge who was attending the meeting, a middle-aged man who looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth—the current commander of the Knights—stepped forward with a suspicious expression.

"Baron Golen-dono, are you conspiring with the culprit?"

"Charity."

King Daido gestured for him to stop, but the Knight Commander shook his head.

"My king, it is my job to doubt the suspicious and protect the country."

"However, that is a young girl, isn't it? Look, Charity. You're making such a scary face, she's frightened."

Looking to the side, Toy was shivering with a downcast expression… quite the actress.

In a sense, given the situation, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that I was teaming up with her exactly as Knight Commander Charity was saying… The correct answer would be that I've converted her to our side, but I won't say that because frankly, it would complicate things.

"Um, well… But…"

"You seem suspicious of me, Knight Commander. However, given that I can't remove her collar with its restraints, this works out for all of us. Everything will be clear if we have her testify, won't it?"

"Hmm. It would certainly be proof… Very well. Girl, answer me. Are you the culprit?"

At my suggestion, the Knight Commander glared at Toy. She trembled and half-hid herself behind me.

… I wanted to blurt out that the person she was impersonating was nothing like that, but I held myself back.

"I-I'm innocent… When I came to my senses, I was there… Oh, please, please have mercy, noble sir!"

"The collar doesn't seem to react… It doesn't seem to be a lie, but… I've also heard reports that the collar didn't work, right?"

Oh, that's right, the soldier saw something about the collar.

"That's true. Ah, maybe we can tell if she lies? The collar will tighten, though."

"Um! Then, I-I'm the culprit… Ugh!"

"Release, release!"

Once again at my command, Toy eagerly did as she was told as if she was grasping at straws. When the Knight Commander ordered her release, the collar's tightening seemed to stop… Although she said she could deceive the collar, I was amazed she could also control its reaction.

"This collar is a more high-performance item than any ordinary lie detector. Isn't this proof of her innocence?"

"In that case, I have no choice but to be convinced… Hey, bring the key! How long are we going to make an innocent girl wear this criminal's collar!"

They were easily convinced. They quickly removed her collar and, just to be sure, it was confirmed to be a genuine collar. Even the suspicious Knight Commander guaranteed Toy's innocence.

Well, she was the culprit—with Leona behind her as the mastermind—but still.

"Now that I think about it, there's also the possibility that the culprit took over the girl's mind and manipulated her. It's more natural to think that way than to believe that a girl like this is the culprit."

"I see, in that case, it's possible for the collar not to react. The person is just being manipulated and their mouth is moving… You, where is your home?"

"I-I… I don't remember anything… I'm scared, Hero…"

The stern yet gentle Knight Commander smiled, causing Toy—obviously frightened—to cling to me… Her acting was so convincing that I might have been deceived if I didn't know anything.

"… It seems that the girl has taken a liking to you, Baron Golen-dono."

"Charity, I always tell you that your smile is scary. Just leave it at that."

"Hmm. I was thinking of taking responsibility and looking after her at my Cruton house as an apology for scaring her."

By the way, the Knight Commander's family name was supposed to be Cthugha. From Cruton to Cthugha… yeah, talk about subtle. I wonder if the signed documents changed from a certain day? If so, what a subtle form of harassment.

"Ho ho ho, how about we take care of her at the royal family until her memory returns?"

"N-no, I'm scared, Hero. Please, please don't leave me alone…!"

"… Was my dignity too intimidating? Feeling the dislike of children is hard, Charity."

"I'm glad you understand my feelings, Your Majesty."

With the two lonely old men put aside, Toy was hiding her face behind my back and trembling. I wonder if she was trying to hold back laughter? With her, it was possible.

"So, about this child's situation… we don't even know if she's a citizen of our country."

"That's true. But if possible, we'd like to protect her… Ah, um, Baron Golen-dono. I'm terribly sorry."

"Yes, I'll take custody of her. If anything happens, please contact us through the country."

The conversation proceeded smoothly from there. A child with such acting skills is truly terrifying…

And with her combat prowess easily surpassing adult men, was she not the strongest? How dangerous!

We finished the discussion and decided to let it go with a [We let the criminal escape, but this country seems to be having a hard time, so doing even this much is good].

The Daido King and Knight Commander treated Toy as if they were trying to please their grandchild, saying, [Take some money with you] or [Here's a cloak, it'll come in handy] or [Wait, let's to prepare clothes for her first] or [How about resting tonight and having a delicious meal later?] and [Oh, that's a good idea. Fortunately, our food culture has developed quite a bit for some reason!]. They wanted to give her various things.

Since it would be unnatural to completely refuse them, I conservatively accepted some things and left the castle gate with Toy. We decided that there was no need to see us off outside the castle. But at the gate, they showed their faces and waved. I wonder if I should call them surprisingly friendly or something?

"… Why do they care so much?"

"Ah, it might be because they were trained to give me preferential treatment while operating in Daido."

"… The divine awakening didn't help?"

"It wasn't a harmful form of brainwashing, after all. Also, they wanted a daughter more than a son, and they had a desire to spoil and adore a daughter. That's their true nature."

I guess that's a possibility. Well, if it wasn't brainwashing through magic or drugs, that's what would happen.

"Now, Kehma-sama, my escape has been successful. What would you like to do?"

"First… we go to the Empire."

I need to hand Toy over to Mr. Haku quickly.

"By the way, I forgot because it's a trivial matter, but what should we do about the princes who went abroad? Shall I finish them off?"

"… I don't want them gone, but it might be better to lift their curses."

I didn't know where they were. If we happened to meet or if they returned to Daido, there'd be a need to get in touch or have them contact us. Yeah.