The sweat poured from his skin and his trembling grew worse.
"There was a gag order. If someone speaks carelessly, not only they, but their family and entire bloodline will be punished."
Shiao Yi spoke the words quietly. Amal's eyes widened as he stared at the boy.
"H-how do you know that?! I haven't said anything! I don't know anything! Please, help me!"
"Was the ring of fire created by mages from Dalmasca? For what purpose?"
"I don't know! There's no such thing! I don't know anything!"
Amal screamed. But Shiao Yi didn't react. His expression didn't change at all. His gaze was fixed.
And then, Shiao Yi's eyes began to shine with a strange light. The moment Louis saw it, he could feel a chill ran down his spine.
"A path for magical beasts? They opened a hole—for magical beasts to come out of? From the forest, to send them here, to Rosaria?"
Shiao Yi slowly connected the words, like he was piecing together a puzzle.
Amal and Dominic turned their faces toward Shiao Yi and froze.
Shiao Yi, too, stared in surprise.
"The magical beasts… So that's why the number of magical beast attacks now suddenly went up?"
"W-why? How do you know that?!"
Amal screamed in shock, but Dominic stared at him with cold steel-like eyes. His face was completely emotionless—terrifying in its stillness.
"You can't hide anything. The more you try to cover it up, the more it becomes clear. He can read what you're trying to keep hidden."
"N-no way… That's impossible…"
Amal stared at Shiao Yi in disbelief.
Shiao Yi could only watch this scene stunned without saying a word.
"A magic circle… you are currently thinking about it. Three layers of circles, with complex symbols. A spell? It's drawn with red and blue flames. Several mages created it together, building it into the ground, and activated the ritual."
Shiao Yi stared straight at Amal as he spoke, as if reading text written directly inside the man's mind.
Those black eyes of his continued to shine. Louis couldn't look away. He was locked onto that eerie, glowing gaze.
"Ahh! Aaaaaahhh!"
Amal grabbed his head and collapsed forward, trying to escape Shiao Yi's eyes.
But the more he tried not to think about something, the more it came up in his mind—especially the secrets he most wanted to hide.
"It went out of control? The magic circle grew on its own, and they couldn't control it anymore? The mages all went to try to stop it? But the magical beast kept coming and they attacked the camp?"
Shiao Yi grabbed the front of Amal's shirt.
"I have a question. Did you see blue-purple vines? When you built the circle—were those vines already there?"
"Blue-purple vines? No, there was nothing like that. What are you talking about?"
Amal who is still pale and frozen in fear, shook his head hard.
"I see. Then those vines must have appeared later, after the magic circle lost control. They captured the mages trying to stop it, absorbed their power, and made the whole structure even stronger?"
As Shiao Yi explained, both Dominic and Louis began to understand the true weight of the situation.
And the more they understood, the more shocked and horrified they became.
...
He had been kissed by Shiao Yi!
How great was the shock of that moment! And the joy that slowly spread through his whole body afterward!
He was so happy, overwhelmed with love, that he ended up hugging Shiao Yi as hard as he could. Shiao Yi went limp in his arms, and Dominic panicked a bit.
But how could he ever let go of Shiao Yi? He wanted to keep him in his arms forever.
Louis gave them a strange look, but Dominic didn't care. That man was always acting odd anyway.
But then—
A terrifying reality came crashing in and ruined that moment of happiness.
The prisoner from Dalmasca had tried desperately to hide the truth. But before Shiao Yi's power, it was like trying to hide a secret in an open book.
Unbelievable!
Of course, Dominic had no doubt about what Shiao Yi said.
Amal's reactions and expressions proved that everything Shiao Yi had revealed was true.
Still—
To think that Dalmasca had created a summoning magic circle so the magical beasts could go to Rosaria—and then lost control of it!
It was no wonder the Dalmasca army was wiped out, and the mages involved in the ritual were killed. They had brought it upon themselves.
But the summoning site that had gone wild was still active. That was the problem.
Dominic immediately called an emergency meeting.
All unit commanders and their lieutenants, the mage Segoy and his subordinates, and even the healer Sayu were asked to attend.
Of course, Shiao Yi was at Dominic's side. There was no way he could leave him elsewhere.
He had Louis report everything they had learned from the interrogation, and then Dominic added more details. He made sure to mention the strange blue-purple vines that Shiao Yi had seen.
Shiao Yi quietly offered to share a direct image of what he had seen into their minds, but Dominic stopped him.
It was better if no one knew about Shiao Yi's ability to read minds. That kind of power could unsettle people or cause misunderstandings about Shiao Yi.
Dominic had already warned Louis not to speak of it to anyone.
Despite how silly Louis acted at times, he was a man Dominic could trust, he was loyal and tight-lipped. If he weren't, he never would have served as Dominic's vice-commander for so many years.
When the others heard all the details, they reacted with shock.
A wave of uneasy murmurs swept through the room as they whispered to one another, voices full of surprise and fear. Dominic silently watched them.
The news had clearly shaken them all deeply, and it took time for the room to settle again.
Dominic waited in silence. Louis stayed quiet beside him.