Listening to the words Lucas said to them, the trio looked at him in silence before looking at one another soon after as slightly confused frowns crept up on their faces. After all, they thought that Lucas was on Merdus' side all this time, only being forced to respond to their questioning due to the strength Braum exuded as an Epic. However, after hearing Lucas thank them for what they were going to do…
Were their thoughts misguided?
Noticing the expressions on their faces, Lucas let out yet another chuckle as he said to them, "I've been forced to do what he wanted me to do for the past couple of years, all due to the fact that he's stronger. Just because I've come to accept I can't escape his clutches doesn't mean I approve of his ways."
"Speaking of which, if you're going to try and apprehend him, you should be careful." Saying these words, he shifted his gaze at Braum before letting out a light sigh. "Though he's only Rank 3, the same rank as me, he's already formed an Intent."
As both Tryndall and Valyr inwardly sucked in cold air through their teeth, wondering once more how they would complete the City Quest if they did not have Braum and the others helping them, Lucas continued to ramble. "In any case, although I've enjoyed the feeling of power the whole thing gave me, the fact that innocent people have died due to things I had control over is definitely something I can't rewind back to."
"I don't even know how I would even start repaying those affected by the incident." Finishing his monologue, Lucas let out a deep sigh as he looked up at the night sky, finally feeling the weight of the sins he had indirectly committed push down on him.
Though he had finally informed the three before him of the long term plan Merdus had for the city, giving him the feeling that his chest felt lighter, that feeling unfortunately only lasted for a brief moment.
As Lucas went silent, Tryndall, Valyr, and Braum looked at each other as both Valyr and Tryndall scratched their heads after Braum sent them a message on what they should do next. Considering that the man before them was just implicated to become one of the main forces of the entire incident, that did not mean that the atrocious things that were done under his jurisdiction were something that could be easily forgotten.
Receiving a message from Tryndall and Valyr sometime later, Braum took in a deep breath before stepping forward, focusing the force generated by his Intent towards Lucas as his voice resounded throughout the area soon after. "As you have been found to be colluding with other people in an operation that jeopardizes the safety of an entire city, I, Braum Gladios, declare you to be under arrest."
"An arrest warrant has already been obtained from the kingdom, so I shall remind you that anything you say or do at this point shall be used against you in the future." Moving even closer to Lucas, he focused even more of the force being generated by the Intent on the man as he formed shackles that would bind the man using condensed mana.
As he did so, he expected for the man to try and resist the arrest by moving erratically to slow down the creation of the shackles. However, Lucas instead approached the arrest with a faint yet relaxed smile on his face, accepting the consequences that came from the actions he had helped commit.
"Can I say something?" At the very instant Braum was finished forming the shackles around Lucas, the latter decided to pose a question to the man before him. In response, Braum reminded him of the words he had spoken earlier, prompting Lucas to lightly nod as he looked at the two behind Braum.
"If you're planning to try and apprehend Merdus later, you wouldn't find him in the city government office. Unlike mayors of other cities, he has his own secluded residence within the city." As these words came out of his mouth, all three of them remained silent, looking at Lucas before gesturing to him that he could continue.
Picking up on their gesture, Lucas lightly nodded before taking in a deep breath. "Fortunately, as someone who had to talk with him in private from time to time, I know where that residence is."
"His residence is at…"
…
Sometime later in the night, three people in various armor and clothing left Lucas' manor through the entrance, carrying an unconscious man along with them as other people appeared before them not long after.
"I'm guessing that's the guy?" Madeline was the first one to speak, prompting Braum to nod as he was the one carrying Lucas as they left the manor.
"Madeline, go and request another arrest warrant from the kingdom." Placing Lucas on the ground as he told one of his comrades to keep an eye on the man, Braum gave an order to Madeline. "According to what Lucas has told us, as well as what both Valyr and his friend have confirmed along the way, there's a far larger mastermind behind the incident."
"Who's the mastermind, then?" Paul decided to ask the question everyone wanted to know the answer to, with Braum's comrades, as well as the reconnaissance group Tryndall had brought along silently and eagerly waiting for any of the three's response.
"It's Merdus," replied Tryndall, eliciting expressions of faint shock to appear on the reconnaissance group's faces. On the other hand, Valyr decided to explain who Merdus was to Paul and the others, prompting solemn expressions to cover the group's faces as Madeline let out a soft sigh.
"It'll take a while to request an arrest warrant of a higher grade, but I'll try my best to get it as soon as possible," Madeline said to the three of them, who could only nod at her words in response. "So, when are you going to apprehend this Merdus guy, then? After all, it would be stupid to apprehend a city mayor in broad daylight."
"We know." Valyr nodded in agreement with her words, only to flash a light grin soon after. "And that's why we're going to try and apprehend Merdus right now."
"Well, that doesn't surprise me." Madeline chuckled as she nodded. "I was already partly expecting something like that to happen."
In response, Braum thanked Madeline for her aid once more, causing the latter to tell him that if he's really thankful for what she's doing, he should treat the entire group to a meal. Hearing her words, Braum let out a bit of laughter before agreeing.
On the other hand, Tryndall and Valyr briefly glanced at each other for a bit before Tryndall looked at the reconnaissance group. "Since we're planning to end this problem as quickly as possible, this is what we're going to do."
"First…"
