Sophie was interested in the feast, but Marie and the others were blocking her from approaching the vulgar tavern.

Ryu was also invited, but he wanted to meet with Golant as soon as possible, so he declined and headed to the guard's post instead.

He planned to go alone, so he told Sophie and the others to return, but they insisted on coming along, so they went to the guard's post as a group.

They announced their names, and they were immediately led to Golant's office.

Golant: "Did you talk to Zone?"

Ryu: "No, Zone wasn't in the slums."

Golant: "That makes him even more suspicious. Actually, the guard's investigation has revealed a few locations where kidnappings are occurring frequently."

Golant pointed at a map spread out on his desk.

Golant: "But we haven't been able to catch them. So I'm thinking of using a decoy."

Ryu: "I see... But isn't that dangerous?"

Golant: "Don't worry, we'll have guards stationed nearby for protection. ...But..."

Ryu: "But?"

Golant: "If they get too close, the decoy won't get kidnapped. But if they're too far away, the girl will be in danger. That's why I need your help, Ryu."

Ryu: "I see. I can teleport and get there immediately if something happens."

Golant: "Exactly. They say Zone is quite skilled. To be honest, I was worried about using our guards alone."

The decoy operation was to begin immediately, tonight.

A young female guard who usually worked on administrative tasks was chosen as the decoy.

She was to walk through some streets where incidents occurred frequently at night.

Ryu and the other guards would watch from a distance. They were stationed far away, so the other guards were worried, but Ryu could activate his divine eye and monitor the situation.

However, nothing happened on the first night.

But Ryu could feel Zone's presence near the street using his divine eye.

Was Zone the culprit after all?

He suggested to Golant that they arrest Zone and interrogate him, but Golant said it wouldn't work because they wouldn't be able to convict him without evidence.

Ryu could read people's minds, but it was a secret he kept. Besides, even if he did read his mind, it wouldn't be admissible evidence.

They would have to catch him in the act.

For three days, nothing happened. Had the decoy operation been discovered?

Just when he was about to teleport to Zone's location and question him, the decoy woman was attacked.

Ryu's divine eye detected Zone and his men near the woman.

He immediately teleported himself and the guards to the scene...

...And saw Zone and his men engaged in a fight with someone else.

It seemed that Zone was trying to rescue the woman who was attacked?

While Zone and the others were fighting, a carriage was trying to escape with the kidnapped women. Ryu and Sophie teleported in front of the carriage, blocking its path.

But the carriage rammed forward without hesitation.

Sophie, Marie, Betty, and Alice jumped to the sides, dodging the carriage.

Ryu jumped straight at the carriage, kicking the driver off the platform and grabbing the reins, stopping the carriage.

The group who attacked the women were all arrested, and the women who were trapped in the carriage were rescued safely.

It turned out that Zone and his group were investigating a group of people who were kidnapping women in the slums. They hadn't been able to get a lead, and the crimes had eventually started happening in the general city area.

It seemed that Zone and his group were not involved in the kidnapping case after all.

Before the kidnappers were taken away by the guard, Ryu asked who was behind it. They didn't answer, of course, but Ryu's golden eyes read the name of the person that appeared in their minds.

It was Viscount Gitt.

Even if Ryu read his mind, it wouldn't be evidence, so Golant and his men couldn't arrest him. They could try to get a confession during interrogation, but even if they got one, it would be difficult to go after a noble.

Since the Lord of Mimul was an Earl, they might be able to do something against a Viscount, but it wasn't a serious enough case to go that far.

Furthermore, it seems that the rumor about Viscount Gitt being related to the Duke's family was true. While he was an Earl, the Lord of Mimul was not a particularly influential noble, so it was likely that he couldn't do anything about it.

(Scene Change)

Ryu remembered Sophie mentioning knowing Viscount Gitt while they were staking out. He asked Sophie about him.

Gitt was apparently the fourth son of the Duke's family and Sophie's cousin. But he had been a wild child from a young age and was uncontrollable. By the time he became an adult, his behavior had become so outrageous that he was eventually banished from the Duke's family.

However, they couldn't just ignore the Duke's family, which was one of the most powerful noble families, so they stripped him of his family name but gave him the title of Viscount and exiled him to a rural area.

It seems that Gitt, settled as a lord in a rural area, had been living a life of debauchery and oppression, tormenting his people. What a nuisance...

(Scene Change)

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(Text: Ryu is captured and taken away by Baron Toppo?! Don't miss it!)