Chapter 161 Let'S Gather Some Information
This is the guild building, and we are in a room located on the basement's second floor. It seems that the Wareels, a group of dog-like people, are being held as prisoners here.
The door that Jam-san tried to open is incredibly huge. It's so big that he could easily pass through it, both horizontally and vertically.
"Jam-san, what is this place?"
I called out to Jam-san, and he turned around to face me. I can see his fangs, even though he has a calm expression. He may be kind and laid-back, but he's still a Tigerman (Kojinzoku) after all.
"Yes, this is not an underground prison. It is a warehouse."
"A underground warehouse? So, is there only one entrance?"
"Only here?"
Maya-chan added to my question.
"That's right. Once we open this, you'll see."
At the sound of mother's voice, Jam-san opened the door. And there, it was quite spacious, but it felt oddly familiar.
"What is this place?"
"Maya has seen it somewhere before, but it looks like a workshop in a butcher shop."
"Yeah, that's the feeling."
There was a pretty big wooden table. And it was made of thick wood. Axes and knives were hanging on the wall.
"Exactly. This place is used for dismantling Magic Beasts. We have similar ones in Watterhill and Swiglefen."
I see. So they dismantle beasts here and separate them into meat and skin.
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Yeah, it's scarier than a regular prison."
It gives off a more unnerving vibe than a shabby prison.
"Yeah, if worst comes to worst, we can just chop them into small pieces and throw them into the sea."
"Oh, that's not a good joke, Mother."
"Yeah, it's too dangerous..."
"Of course, it's just a metaphor. As long as they cooperate with us, right?"
In the deep, does she intentionally say it loud enough for the people of the Wareels to hear? It's seriously scary, you know?
"I see, I get it now... This place is..."
"Eww..."
Maya-chan and I purposely let out a shocked voice. This is like a foreshadowing for what's to come. It's a way to quickly get them to confess.
"By the way, where to?"
"Yes. There's a door back there, right?"
"Yeah."
There definitely is one at the back of the dissection table. It's a big double door. It's winter now and since it's a basement, it's quite chilly here.
"Speaking of which, Jam-san..."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Are Beastmen strong against the cold? It's midwinter but you're not wearing thick clothes, are you?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. Maya and I are feeling a bit..."
"Yeah. It's quite chilly. Even though we're indoors."
Mother seemed to understand what we were trying to say.
"Oh, that central warehouse is made colder than here so that the meat won't spoil."
"Wow."
"A refrigerator, huh..."
"We Beastmen are quite resilient to the cold, so we don't really complain about minor things. On the other hand, we're a bit weak to heat."
As Mother explained, she made a gesture of relief with both hands. Yeah, cats love to laze around in cool places. They should curl up in a kotatsu when it's cold. I wonder if tigers are different?
"Well, it hasn't been a day since then."
"Brother, you will be fine, right?"
"Yeah, probably."
Only we understand what we're talking about. Even if I were to die back here, where it feels like a refrigerator, I can still be revived.
"During the winter, you know, normally it's the season for Great Trout rather than meat, so we don't have any meat in the back warehouse. In the first place, we dismantle it and sell it to the local butcher shops, so it's only for one night at most, you know?"
Jam-san. They're saying it's just a room that's cold. If there's nothing, it's just freezing. I don't know how low the temperature is.
"Hey, Maya-chan, a quick meeting."
"What's up?"
'Are the people inside alive?'
'Yeah, seems like they're okay. Like, "dogs running around in the snow," they're tough against the cold.'
"That's good to hear."
I only changed my tone of voice from here.
"We're going to open this now, but if it gets wild, go ahead and take care of it."
"Seriously?"
Maya-chan looks genuinely excited. And then, from here, we speak quietly again.
'But if they go wild, you know what will happen, right?'
'I understand, boss.'
'Who do you think you're calling boss?'
"Well, you guys listening in? It doesn't matter if they resist or try to cause a ruckus, but be careful because you might end up in pieces."
I glanced at Jam-san and nodded. Maybe it was because of the exchange between me and Maya-chan, but he seemed more relaxed than before. And even mother seemed excited to see how Maya-chan would interrogate.
Compared to when we infiltrated the old Daioraden royal family, the preparations were more relaxed. Maya-chan had her right hand positioned near her left shoulder, like a prelude to a pro wrestling reverse chop. She wasn't exactly ready to kill, just in case we went wild...
Jam-san and I made eye contact. He roared once and effortlessly opened the sliding doors.
"Alrighty then!"
"Good timing!"
Maya-chan, you sure know some old jokes...
Wow, seriously? What a humane treatment! They're lying about it being cold. I mean, they're using a Magic Tool to keep it warm, right?
It might be temporary, but they've set up a sofa and a table. Four people were sitting there, leaning against the wall. Looks like their sleep magic has worn off already. Well, that makes sense.
And as for Jam-san, there was no sign of him unlocking the door. Wasn't it already unlocked?
There's a water pitcher and some cups on the table. They even have some small pastries. It feels more like they're treating them as guests rather than prisoners.
"What are you surprised about? Isn't it obvious? Unlike those Wareels over there, we're not a savage race, right?"
Whoa, she said it outright. Mother, indirectly, just called the Wareels a savage race.
Jam-san pulled out a chair and motioned for Maya-chan to sit. She's the star of the show this time.
I sat on her right side, with Mother on my right, and Jam-san on the opposite side. Just having these big people on both sides is enough to make them feel the pressure. There's no way they could escape, no way at all.
Even though Maya-chan is the main character, it's my job to ask the questions. It's a bit much for a girl like Maya-chan, you know.
"Well, what did you all come here for?"
Compared to everyone else, Jam-san and Mother, they're all so thin. Just because they're Beastmen doesn't mean they all have sturdy physiques. In fact, when I was at the shrine getting treated, I learned that there are plenty of Tigermen and Cat-people men who aren't like that.
"Oops, is it really this quiet?"
All four of them just kept their heads down and stayed completely silent. They didn't seem like they wanted to talk at all. Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes. Yeah, it's just how it goes.
Well, in that case, shall we go with Maya-chan's way (the one in the back)?
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