「No.」

The armor replies bluntly, scrunching his mouth to the side.

「…I see. Can you tell me about your book-keeping procedures? Would you say that you are meticulous, or keep the records as a rule of thumb?」

Will nods after a brief pause, then asks another question.

「Look, are you trying to accuse me of something? Theft? Incompetence? Are you saying I'm shit at my job?」

The man replies with a question of his own, scowling at Will.

「No. Even if there were any oversights… Whether in record-keeping, the real status of the stocks, or your work ethic… That's not for me to judge, nor in my authority to…」

Will shakes his head, then calmly adjusts his glasses as he explains.

「…Answer the question, please.」

He adds in an insistent tone as he puts his fingertips together again.

「…I do my job properly. Everything is as it's supposed to be.」

The armorer replies, visibly and audibly irate, and growing less and less patient. He adjusts his position and begins tapping his foot on the ground.

「…I see.」

Will nods, and adjusts his glasses again.

「What is the point of this? Stop wasting my time already.」

The man uncrosses his arms and places his hands on the table, leaning in with his eyes narrowed.

「No, it's just…」

Will crosses his own arms, and leans back instead.

「…There are a few inconsistencies. Care to explain them?」

He adds, and briefly moves his hand up to his glasses to adjust them again.

「What the fuck are you talking about?…」

The armorer furrows his brows warily.

「You said that everything is as it's supposed to be, but I've talked a little with the other armorer. That's not what he told me. He admitted that he's not the best at keeping the records…」

Will shrugs, casually replying. His gaze drifts aside while he thinks.

「Yeah. It's a lot of shit to keep track of. Can you blame him?」

「…The third armorer, the one that's meant to take over from you… He allegedly is frustrated each shift by how much there is to correct in the books. He's a very finicky man.」

The man replies, and Will continues explaining. He adjusts his glasses while staring into the armorer's eyes.

「…Yeah, so? That's his own damn fucking fault.」

The armorer shrugs, spreading his hands with a light, ridiculing shake of his head.

「Again, you've said that everything is as it's supposed to be. That kind of precludes it, doesn't it? If the records aren't in their proper state, which one is it?」

Will tilts his head with a stone face while staring at the man.

「…My shit is in the right order! I'm supposed to fix his fuckups now!? I'm not going to count every single bolt, dagger, boot, helmet, every single fucking night!」

「I see…」

Leaning onto the table, partially standing, the man shouts at Will while pointing his hand ahead at the door behind him. Will nods calmly in response.

「Yeah…」

The man calms down a little and returns to his chair, adjusting his position.

「…But he named you as the worst offender. He said that he's sloppy because you mostly ignore the books, and he figured that he'll never get them right like this…」

「Wha-? That little fuckin'…」

Will continues, and the armorer clenches his teeth and fists in anger.

「…So both of you instead have decided to pay a tribute to the meticulous armorer, buying him a drink, apologizing, and hoping he'll forgive the extra work you drop into his lap.」

With a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, Will adds.

「Tsk… Okay, fine, fuck!… We both kind of fucking slack off! So what!? Are you going to run to the marshal? The boss? The empress? You have any idea how boring this fucking work is?」

After clicking his tongue, the armorer throws his arms up before angrily crossing them back up again. He scowls at Will's stone face.

「No. As I've said, it's entirely outside of my interest…」

Will replies, lowering his head and adjusting his glasses.

「…Again, this isn't about administrative issues. So, that guy cleans up the mess both of you leave in the records. You can confirm that much, right?」

He asks, raising his stone face to meet the armorer's angry gaze.

「Yeah, so what?」

With his eyes narrowed, the armorer leans back in his chair again.

「This is taking too long, and you should know what this is about, so I'll stop being oblique… You didn't notice any Flashlights missing, correct?」

Will casually leans in and adjusts his glasses, putting his fingertips together on the table again.

「…No.」

The armor replies after a prolonged pause.

「I see… But the previous armorer made a record. They're rather large items, so they're relatively easy to count. As expected, their total didn't change by the evening…」

Will nods, then shrugs his shoulders as he explains. The armorer watches him with a wary gaze like a hawk.

「…Then, the incident happened. The next armorer did not make a record, but we now obviously know one was missing.」

He adds with a tilt of his head, then calmly adjusts his glasses. The man scoffs, shaking his head.

「So what? That son of a bitch could have lied in the books. He's lying about me not doing any work too! I do some of it! Yeah, I'm lazy!… So what!?」

With a ridiculing, mocking tone, the armorer asks. He throws his hands up as he asks, then leans forward onto his elbows, narrowing his eyes at Will.

「That's true… He could have lied…」

「Yeah. You see? One of 'em fucked up, and I'm-」

「…But then you didn't notice the miscount until it was too late.」

Will cuts the armorer off, nodding his head with his arms crossed. He lifts his gaze up to the man's face, and the armorer is visibly wincing in discomfort.

「S- So? He's the one who lied!」

The armorer quickly replies with a shrug of his shoulders.

「That may be so… But you didn't notice, note, or report a Flashlight was missing from the armory. That is not a good look for you, you understand?…」

「Geh…」

Will returns a brief nod, before calmly explaining his view. The man winces again.

「…Moreover, it couldn't have been the prim armorer, as his work was suspended for the investigation. Had he even noticed, he wouldn't be able to record it…」

「…Nghh.」

The man groans as Will continues his deductions and the general grasp of the situation.

「…That's not all. Sneaking out a Flashlight in the daylight hours would have been very difficult. However… Most agents are out on the streets after the sunset, leaving the barracks empty…」

He adds, and adjusts his glasses as he pauses.

「W- What is your fucking point, kid? I'm done listening to this shit. I've got work to do.」

Stammering and visibly unnerved, the armorer stands up and pushes his chair back underneath the table.

「…Sit down. I'm getting to the point.」

Will says in a commanding tone and his arms crossed while calmly looking up at the man.

「If you've got problems with how I do things, then get the boss to fire me!… I'm done sitting here with you, I've got shit to do!」

The armorer exclaims, scoffing at Will's demand.

「I see… I suppose that's fine…」

Will adjusts his glasses and stands up as well, sliding the chair back in as well. The man lets out a somewhat relieved sigh.

「…But your shift is uniquely well-positioned for sneaking out things from the armory, isn't it?…」

「Khhk…」

Will asks, once again stepping in the armorer's way, and cutting off the only way out of the small room.

「…If you're cautious, you could carry out just about anything. Weapons and armor sets are out of the question, but nobody would care about a magic gizmo that no one really uses…」

Looking into his eyes, Will continues while speaking in a calm tone.

「…That's what you thought, right? What went wrong? Was it a conspiracy, or did something just not go as planned for you?」

Will asks, and adjusts his glasses.

「You don't know what you're fucking talking about-」

「Please, I think we're past the point of pretending. Don't act like I'm stupid. You know very well why I've asked you all those things.」

The man glares at Will, growling at him in an angry tone. He cuts him off with a light shake of his head.

The armorer grimaces heavily, and his gaze jumps to Will's staff, which is still propped up against the wall by his chair.

「Tsk… It's not my fucking fault. I didn't know what the fucking idiot wanted to do with it.」

After a moment of hesitation, he clicks his tongue and replies while seething through his teeth.

「What happened, and why?」

Will asks in a calm tone, adjusting his glasses.

「That fucking guy came to me, the one that was turned to mincemeat… He overheard some of the guys talk about the Flashlights…」

The armorer begins explaining, still clenching his teeth, and still warily staring at Will's calm face.

「…We met at the inn a few times in passing, so he knew I work as an armorer. He asked if he couldn't borrow one as a joke, but then we started discussing it seriously…」

He continues, and Will listens attentively, nodding slightly.

「…Drinks, I don't fucking know… I told him if he pays me a decent chunk, I could get one lost somewhere… And he actually fucking did.」

The armorer shrugs his shoulders, rolling his eyes with an awkward grimace on his face, speaking in a hushed voice.

「How much?」

Will asks bluntly while adjusting his glasses.

「We agreed to 60 drakes, he brought 77 with some silvers… And said I'll get more if I can keep it missing for a little longer.」

He shrugs his arms, lightly shaking his head.

「…Why? Did he tell you?」

「Fuck no. But he told me vampires killed his family, so I thought he wanted to hunt one down for revenge. I figured, shit, do a good deed and get paid?…」

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Will asks, and the man shakes his head again, this time with more force. He continues explaining.

「…Yeah, I took the fucking thing out when the barracks were empty. I gave it to 'im, tell him to not break it, and send him off with a good luck…」

The armorer nods, and shrugs his shoulders as he admits. Will nods along.

「…But I didn't fuckin' know he'd jump out and try to kill the fuckin' baroness! That fucking dipshit wasn't meant to die with it! It was supposed to return all hush-hush!」

He adds, raising his still hushed voice while erratically waving his arm about.

「So it wasn't a suicide attack… Neither of you planned for him to die.」

Will lets out a disappointed sigh with his head lowered, and adjusts his glasses.

「That's what I'm saying!… Listen, buddy…」

The armorer tries to take a step closer to Will, but he holds his hand out and keeps him at arm's reach. He stops without making an attempt to force himself through.

「…We're both human, right? I feel for that guy. You probably know what it's like with those red-eyed fucks crawling around the city at night. They know you can't do shit to them.」

The man says while speaking in a calmer, softer tone.

「Of course. At a base level, I do sympathize with him.」

Will nods in response with a nonchalant tone.

「Right. Do you not understand where I'm coming from? We gotta stick together. They could slaughter us, just like Murusburg, and there'd be fuck all we could do…」

「That's true…」

The armorer continues trying to convince Will, who nods along in agreement.

「Right! So listen, buddy… Just tell the marshal and the empress that you're stumped, alright? It wouldn't cost you anything- Even if it did, why don't I share some with you?」

Feverishly nodding his head, the man asks as he pleadingly gestures with his hands and bent head.

「…I'm afraid I have to refuse.」

Will replies after a pause, adjusting his glasses.

「What? Why the fuck not!?」

The armorer's head perks up in confusion, taking Will for almost convinced up to that point.

「You're under arrest. Indeed, this case is tragic because there's no clear-cut evil here, but I can't just overlook this when I've been entrusted with solving it…」

Will bluntly declares with a tight-lipped grimace on his face. The armorer's face shifts back to anger very quickly.

「Y- You can't fucking arrest me. You're not a guard.」

The man scoffs, stammering nervously.

「Yes I can. Adventurers can supplement, or replace guards when needed. It's the law. I don't really have the right to charge you, but…」

Will calmly shakes his head, then rubs his chin as he thinks for a moment.

「…I believe you're looking at least at an accessory to a murder charge. Multiple counts. Possibly treason, too. Theft, obviously… Attempted murder? Maybe?…」

As Will continues listing the possible criminal charges, the armorer's man twitches from both anger, as well as nerves.

「Treason?… You're saying I'd get hanged for treason over a fucking vampire!?」

The man exclaims in an outraged tone filled with disbelief while blinking at Will with wide-open eyes full of anger.

「No. A treason charge is not applicable for someone like a vampire…」

Will calmly shakes his head and adjusts his glasses again.

「…But it is applicable if you attack a foreign official, which the baroness legally counts as, therefore violating her majesty's peace. You didn't do it yourself, but you aided in it.」

「That's fucking bullshit…」

The man utters out, entirely exasperated.

「Now, her majesty is known to be merciful… Even excessively so. If you come along quietly and don't cause a scene, she might spare you an execution.」

With his brows gently furrowed, Will adds with a shrug of his shoulder, then lets out a sigh as he looks at the man.

「…That's it? You'll pick the vampire fuckin' scum over your fellow man!?」

The armorer shouts angrily.

「This has nothing to do with vampires or humans… I'm a law-abiding citizen.」

Will bluntly replies with his mouth slightly scrunched to the side.

「What the fuck is wrong with your head!? Are you not scared of those fucking monsters!? Do you think they wouldn't rip you apart if they were allowed to!? Do you seriously think-!?」

「Uh-huh. Of course I'm scared…」「Wha-?」

Nodding, Will abruptly interrupts the man and raises his hand. The armorer is taken aback by how quickly Will relented, almost taking it for a sarcastic quip.

「…When I think about the idea of fighting one again, I get jittery. I only had to think about Greaves and Lian on the ground, with just me left to fight him…」

With a nervous grin on his face, Will shows the armorer the backside of his shaky hand. He turns his bespectacled eyes to his palm, consciously trying to get it to calm down.

「Wh-? What?… You fought one?…」

The armorer's face instantly twists into troubled, somewhat concerned disbelief while the young man is looking at his palm.

「Yeah… I know full well how strong vampires are. They're inhumanly strong, and so fast you have no hopes of ever hitting one, unless you predict where it will be…」

Will nods in reply. His nonchalance combined with apparently speaking from experience unnerves the armorer greatly.

「…It makes perfect sense why we needed the legendary hero… So I fully understand why you and others are afraid. I am too. But…」

The young man nods, and struggles a little as he tries to get his hand to stop shaking just enough to adjust his glasses without touching the lenses.

「…But you can't just take justice into your own hands. The vampires he murdered were heading to work. I'm not saying trust them, or don't be afraid of them…」

He continues, and his nervous grin turns into a serious, determined expression.

「…But everyone is doing their best to maintain the peace. On both sides. We live in unprecedented times. I'm glad to have learned of the Flashlights. That puts us on equal footing…」

He shrugs, while the armorer scoffs at his words, shaking his head with a ridiculing smirk.

「…Maybe that way, we can build a day and night society of mutual respect. I also know not all vampires are evil, and they're not entirely evil…」

Will adjusts his glasses with another shrug of his shoulders, then returns his eyes back to the man's.

「…Maybe they just need humanity to get along with us. Not humans, but humanity.」

He adds, and shrugs again with a face of sincere resolve.

「…You're fucking batshit insane, kid. You're delusional.」

The armorer scoffs with a mocking, scornful grin.

「Maybe. I wouldn't blame you for thinking that. But at one point we need to ask ourselves how many more centuries we want to live in fear…」

With a light smile and an amused huff, Will adjusts his glasses while nodding in agreement.

「…That being said, I still need to arrest you. Would you come along quietly? I'm sure the rest of the agents will help you get your affairs in order that way.」

He adds, helplessly shrugging again.

「…I'm not going fucking anywhere.」

The armorer growls back, glaring into Will's bespectacled eyes.

「Please, don't make me get the guar-」

Sshhwing-sssshwing!

Without allowing Will to finish, the armorer grips his sword and draws it with an echo bounding all around the room. Will reacts in an instant, likewise reaching for the sword at his hip.

Clankkkrkkkk!…

The armorer swings his blade for a vicious blow aimed at the young man's neck, but he moves the flat of his own sword in the way. Orange sparks briefly light up the dim room.

Fwompf…

Will reaches out and grabs onto the man's other arm with his hand, gripping onto it tight. One tries to overpower the other while both are locked in a very awkward posture.

《…What the fuck!? Is this magic!?》

The armorer tries to rip his arm out of the unassuming young man's grip, but his hand is locked around his forearm like a restraint of wrought iron. Will glares up at him from his glasses.

Thump!

「Ughn!」

The armorer lets out a grunt as Will suddenly hooks his leg and slams him down to the ground onto his back. He quickly takes advantage of his momentary daze, and shoves his knees on to his body while forcing his sword out of the way, all while pinning his arm to the ground.

Clacla-SLAM!

「What's going on here!?」「Break it up!」「Both of you! Arms away! Now!」

The door behind Will flies open, and multiple Ministry agents come swarming in to investigate the noise. They quickly rush in to pull the two apart while restraining their arms.

「On my authority vested in me by her majesty, this man is under arrest on suspicion of treason! His charges are yet to be officially declared!」

Will proclaims in a loud voice while pointing at the armorer. The confused Ministry agents look at each other.

「Bullshit! I'm innocent and he's fucking lying!」

The armorer is quick to shout back while scowling at Will.

「…What is your proof?」

One of the calmer agents grasping at neither of them asks. After a brief struggle with the agents holding him, Will adjusts his glasses.

「Check his pockets. He should have a suspicious amount of money on him, or in his home. Seventy drakes or so. The attempted assassin paid him to steal a Flashlight out of the armory.」

Will calmly replies with a serious face, then turns his eyes to the armorer. The agents look at each other, then at the armorer.

「H- Hey! Fuck off! You can't search me! Fuck off!」

「Stop wriggling…」「Just let us prove it…」「Show us your pockets, man…」

Although very obviously questioning Will's words, the agents begin rifling through the armorer's pockets while he's writhing in their grasp.

「Ah… Wow.」

One of them utters out as his head perks up. He then pulls his fist out of the man's pocket. The agent opens his hand, and shows everyone gathered more than a few crumpled up drakes.

「Ten, twenty, thirty, forty… Sixty-some…」

The calm agent quickly counts the money on the other agent's hand, then declares while nodding his head. The men holding down Will hesitantly let go, and he sheathes his sword.

「…You sure spend it fast.」

The calm man remarks, then walks out of the room. The rest of the unnecessary agents also clear out. The group holding down the crooked armorer tighten their grasp.

「Guys… Come on. Don't be like this…」

The armorer pleads with the men dragging him out of the room as Will steps out of their way, adjusting his glasses…