Chapter 28 - Double Standards
The room was filled with a suffocating tension. Yan, bound to a chair with reinforced ropes, was sweating profusely. His eyes, though full of fear, carried a faint glint of hesitant defiance, as if he were still trying to find a way out of the situation. Rygar stood before him, arms crossed, while Kidar silently observed from the side, his hands resting on the hilt of his long sword.
"Let's start with the simplest," Rygar began, his voice firm. "Who are you, and why did you save the dwarf boy?"
Yan took a deep breath, looking away, but Rygar didn't leave room for hesitation. He stretched out his hand, using a controlled fire magic to burn his fingers little by little, making screams echo through the room. Then, a healing light cured the burn, making the entire nightmare feel like a dream.
"As you can see, this can last a long time or a short time. I'd cooperate if I were you; I have plenty of mana to burn..."
The prisoner, still with fear in his eyes, swallowed hard. "Okay, okay! My name is Yan, I'm... one of the collectors in the trafficking network here. I help transport and sell slaves. That's what I do!"
Kidar clenched his fist around the hilt of his sword, his expression growing even darker. "So you admit to being a slave trader?"
Yan shrank back but continued, "Yes, as for why I saved the boy... I save some of them from time to time, especially little children... I try to help when I see someone's fate is... worse than death."
"Explain that," Rygar ordered, narrowing his eyes.
The man took a deep breath, fighting the panic. "The dwarf boy... I knew he was going to be sent to a human noble from Asura. A filthy bastard who has... strange tastes when it comes to food. He's in Milis now, on a diplomatic trip, but my superiors said he wanted a young dwarf, and it was decided that he would be sent. When I heard about it, I helped the boy escape."
Rygar felt extremely disgusted and repulsed when he heard what Rufus's fate would have been, as he had sympathized with the boy. He wondered how such scum managed to stay alive and prosper. He narrowed his eyes, evaluating Yan's words. "And you thought handing him over to us was a convenient solution?"
"I heard warriors from the beast race had recently arrived in the city!" Yan blurted out, his voice tinged with desperation. "I thought you might be able to protect the boy. I didn't have many quick options, did I? It was that or let him die a horrible death!"