Volume 3 Chapter 28 [Robert SIDE] Inside the Cage. Destination is…
The destination was...
Robert was knocked out by Horace and then passed out.
Of course, it would be bad publicity to leave a man with a changed skeleton lying unconscious in front of the hero's mansion, so he was collected.
But where he was taken depended on the whims of the person who picked him up.
"...Huh, wha, what is this place...?"
Robert woke up.
And in the next moment, his brain would become very clear.
"Wha, what, a cage? Wha, what is this!?"
He tried to move his hands, but they wouldn't budge on the back side.
His wrists were tightly shackled with sturdy handcuffs, preventing his arms from moving as he pleased.
"Oh, you finally woke up."
Moving... Yes, in the cage loaded onto the carriage, Robert was confused.
But to him, a man spoke in a nonchalant manner.
The man had short, neatly trimmed sandy hair and an ordinary appearance.
"Who are you! What do you plan to do with me!"
"Hm? I'm Ginji. Just following orders, transporting you right now."
"What about these handcuffs and cage!"
"Just doing as I'm told."
"Hand over the key right now! I belong to the Order of the Sealed Dragon. I don't know what you intend to do, but I'll make you regret it!"
"..."
Ginji fell silent.
Yes, without getting the key from him, he couldn't remove the handcuffs or the cage.
But why would he say he would 'make Ginji regret it'?
It made no sense.
"Did Horace knock you so hard your brains got scrambled, or were you always like this... Don't get me wrong."
Ginji sighed.
With that reaction, Robert furrowed his brow.
"Are you mocking me! I am a powerful member of the Order of the Sealed Dragon. Don't you know what will happen if you mess with me!"
"...Hey, do you remember? 'Members of the Order of the Sealed Dragon, if they leak information to outsiders outside of a mission, their blood boils with intense pain...' You're not in pain right now, are you?"
"Huh? Ah, so you mean... You, you're a person of the Order of the Sealed Dragon!"
"Finally realized, huh."
"Then let me out! I'm on the management side! You're the one being managed, right? So do as I say!"
"Different chain of command. Doesn't matter how much you yell or scream, not my problem."
Ginji looked at Robert.
His eyes showed the way someone looks when they're just done──but beneath that, there was a flicker of pity too.
"Hey, you get what you messed up, you know?"
"I haven't messed up anything! My soldiers will keep coming as long as I command them!"
"What about weapons?"
"I'll call backup later, have them search. And if they can't find the gear, I'll just take replacements from Horace! I'm not making mistakes here!"
"...Uh-huh. Well. About the weapons──don't worry about it."
Ginji spoke, then reached up and opened the bag slung across his shoulders.
He showed what was inside.
Inside, there were 6 weapons.
Four swords, 2 staffs.
One of the swords was tricked out──a flashy, jewel-encrusted thing.
"Th-that's..."
"I picked 'em up myself. So yeah, you're covered on the weapon front──the higher-ups said so too."
"Good job! No problems now! I'll bring in my toughest soldiers and take whatever I want from Horace later! I'll even report you're worth something for picking these up! So now let me out!"
No matter what anyone said──or how──they only ever got answers Robert wanted to give.
Watching him, Ginji could only think, guys like this probably live easy──but none of it showed on his face.
"...Hey, you still see yourself as one of the top dogs here?"
"What are you saying?!"
"Wow. You really don't get who you just picked a fight with. Ignorance sure is bliss."
"Who do you think I went up against? I didn't do anything wrong! Everything I did was right!"
"Even if... Horace is, you know, a descendant of the founding family of the Order of the Sealed Dragon──would you still say you did nothing wrong?"
"...What?"
Robert needed a moment to process what Ginji had just said.
"Let me say it again. If Horace is a direct descendant of the founding family of the Order of the Sealed Dragon──can you honestly say what you did to him was right?"
"Th-That... that's impossible! No way!"
"Why not?"
"He's a monster. There's no way a guy like that is a descendant of the Founders!"
"You really manage to smash the weirdest things together in your head, huh."
"Where's your proof, anyway? Stop making things up!"
"The 'Special Ops' of the Order of the Sealed Dragon... The darkest stuff only gets handled by Under-Ops. No wonder you 'normal' departments know nothing."
"'Special Ops'? And now 'Under-Ops'? Never heard of them! If such a thing exists, I should be there! You can lie all you want──I won't be fooled!"
"It's not that you aren't fooled. You just refuse to accept it. Whatever."
Fwaaaah.
Ginji yawned, slow and lazy.
"So. You're not going to admit Horace is their descendant, huh."
"It's not about admitting it. I'm not tricked! How many times do I have to say it!"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I doubted it at first, too──almost got wiped out for it... but hey, that's life."
Ginji looked away from Robert, uninterested now.
"Robert. Let me tell you where this carriage is going. We're headed to our Under-Ops base."
"What are you planning... Wait, you're telling me all this──am I joining Under-Ops?"
"Wish I could say yes, but nope."
Ginji shot Robert a look──cold, almost pitying.
"'Special Ops' keeps some nasty monsters. One's a dragon with teeth like burning iron. Only takes live prey──dead ones won't work."
"What...?"
"Usually, we feed it animals. But honestly, humans taste best to it. For quality, too. So, to keep you from dying of shock, we'll overdose you on tranquilizers... then you go in the feeding box."
"...N-No. You're lying. No way something like that exists!"
"Its back is like a mini-mine for rare crystals. That's why Under-Ops won't ever let it go."
"P-Please! Help me! Let me out of here!"
"What are you saying? Why do you think you could do whatever you wanted within the organization as a manager? It's because the higher-ups in the regular departments know the tragic end of being 'bait.' Just so you know, if you were in the 'special ops,' the danger wouldn't be like this."
Ginji's gaze grew deeper with pity.
"Your boss, the one who gave you this Terra Disas sealing mission, he's going to follow the same fate. We let you have some fun on the outside, but you provoke Horace. You started a fight. The 'higher-ups in special ops' are fed up."
"Ah, apologize. Apologize to Horace!"
"I'm only telling you about being in special ops because you're beyond help. This is certain."
He snapped his fingers.
Then, a cloth appeared over Robert's mouth, silencing him.
Robert struggled, tears streaming down his face, but his fate could not be changed anymore.
"And you, the soldiers say they're 'pawns that can be summoned anytime,' but that's not right, is it? We're up against dragons. Recruiting those kinds of guys won't mean anything. Neither will making them allies. There's no manual that can really create a 'body capable of defeating dragons.'"
"Hnnn! Hnnn!"
"We can make weapons eventually. But people... they often don't fit together. Besides, the regular departments are short on people too, right? You're still in a position to give orders, and you've never had that overturned, so you wouldn't understand, but honestly... incompetence is a hindrance. We don't need a manager here who gets overshadowed by the 'leftover scent of Calamityshade Dragon Terra Disas.'"
Ginji sighed.
"Well, there's a show in cutting off the 'higher-ups in special ops.' What comes after that, I don't know, and it's no use telling you. So... good work in life."
Ginji said this and then, he never looked back at Robert again.
- **Ginji** — Operative (possibly lower-level or specialized) in Under-Ops, a secret division of the Order of the Sealed Dragon. His attitude is weary and slightly pitying. Delivers Robert to his fate, acts with authority.
- **Horace** — Not physically present; referenced as someone Robert crossed. Implied to be a descendant of the organization’s Founding Family and much more important than Robert realized.
- **Terra Disas (Calamityshade Dragon)** — Not a character so much as a legendary, world-threatening dragon; referenced as a source of power/status and possibly "leftover scent," suggesting past encounters with significant fallout.
If you want a breakdown of the organization or a map of the different "Ops" groups, just let me know!
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