The Viceroy Interrogating

"What are you thinking about?" Soren asks Liana, because she has become unusually quiet all of a sudden.

Miller led them to one of the lounges for a short break and even let them use the vending machine to get some snacks and coffee for free, but Liana hasn't touched anything Soren put on the table in front of her.

When Liana doesn't respond, Soren gently touches her left wing. That finally gets her attention. She jerks away and frowns at him. Celestials don't touch each other's wings on a whim; that's considered rude. Caressing wings is something reserved only for friends, family and partners.

Then again, Soren is hardly a stranger. He's... Liana doesn't know exactly what he means to her. Is he still her bodyguard? An annoying supervisor of her health, appointed by His Majesty to terrorise her? Or did he, somewhere in between all that, became her true friend?

"I was thinking about Tereza and others like her," Liana admits, sighing. She grabs a cookie, unwraps it and starts munching on it slowly. She's not especially hungry, but extra calories are always beneficial for a magic caster.

"I see," Soren nods in understanding and conjures an intricate transfiguration symbol. He enlarges it, and when it shatters into a million shiny pieces, it completely fills the room for a few moments until the sparks dissolve.

"What did you just do?" Rien asks, stopping his chewing on the jerky.

"A silencing spell," Soren explains with a proud grin. "I bet they were secretly listening to us. Well, tough luck. Feel free to talk freely; they can't hear us."

"Was it properly tested on human technology?" Solarae asks to make sure. "I know that Celestial magic is amazing, but it evolved in a world that was very different from this one."

"Yep, Rina and Nestelle tested it thoroughly and made slight adjustments to the spell before they passed it on to me," Soren confirms.

"Rina and her research team are not only testing spells but altering them now?" Liana blinks, deeply impressed. And it's not easy to impress her.

"This is the first and only one so far," Soren sets the record straight. "They thought it might be useful to us and it wasn't that complicated to alter. Gosh, Rina and Nestelle are indeed magic geniuses. Fortunately, unlike His Majesty, they can improve or alter spells in a way others are able to understand and easily learn."

"When did that happen? Why didn't they tell me?" Liana purses her lips. She hates it when she isn't informed.

"Maybe Your Excellency should sometimes have a chat over coffee with your subordinates instead of waiting for formal reports," Soren teases her.

Still frowning, Liana finishes her cookie and reaches for a cup of coffee. The coffee is frankly quite disgusting, not the usual fancy beans she's used to, but caffeine is caffeine, so she drinks it without complaints. She's forced to admit that Soren is right. She does have a bad habit of preferring reports over having a friendly chat with a colleague.

"So there are humans who want to become Draconians so badly that they would join a religious cult," Rien coughs to bring them back to the topic at hand.

"It would seem so," Liana sighs. "We want to brand them as crazy fanatics, but are they really? What if we didn't play Draconia Online back then and therefore didn't transform? How would we feel as humans whose planet is being invaded by monsters from another dimension and who wouldn't be able to do anything about it? I don't know about you, but I hate feeling powerless."

They stay silent for a while, considering it.

"Chancellor, is there really no chance to offer transformation to more people?" Rien begs Solarae. "We could use more allies. Of course, we don't want anyone who's a coldblooded murderer, but humans like Miss Tereza—"

"There's no time," Solarae says, shaking her head. "We could, theoretically, boot the Draconia server again and invite people to connect, but it would take at least one year for them to start transforming. Then we would have to wait another half a year for their transformation to finish. And even after that, they would be very low-level and therefore unusable in a real battle."

"What about Lord Erik?" Rien points out.

"That was the Prince's personal request, which we couldn't ignore," Solarae explains. "Lord Erik will probably start transforming in just six months, since His Highness has already unknowingly started the process in advance, but that's still not enough time for him to train properly before the war erupts full-scale. He will be a Celestial by that time, but he will lack the necessary skills and combat experience."

"His Majesty wouldn't want him on the front lines anyway," Soren shrugs. "I agree with Solarae. Having too many inexperienced greenhorns wouldn't help our cause. It would only exhaust the Divementis unnecessarily."

Rien nods resignedly. He's disappointed, but he understands now. Solarae slurps her coffee in one go and massages her temples. She looks tired already and it's only their first interrogation.

"Are you okay?" Liana gets worried. "Is keeping three mental shields more taxing than you expected?"

"Quite so," the Divementis chancellor sighs wearily. "It's not only about the shields; I have to block the constant telepathic noise from humans. I don't understand how His Highness has been able to live among them and not go crazy, when he's also an empath on top of that."

"Will you be able to push through till the end?" Soren digs a protein bar out of the vending machine and passes it to her.

"Somehow," she says hopefully and takes a bite. "I feel a bit better with you as the only ones in my immediate vicinity. Our brains are better adjusted to telepathic waves from fellow Draconians, so your presence is manageable."

Suddenly, there is a soft knock on the door. Soren quickly dissolves the silencing spell, just in time for Miller to come in. The detective is frowning and looks visibly upset. He doesn't ask them what they did, though. He would have to admit that he was eavesdropping in the first place.

"The second suspect is ready for you," he tells them drily.

⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎

The second person to interrogate is also a young woman, but her vibe couldn't be more different from Tereza's.

"I won't tell you anything," she claims stubbornly. "You can't keep me here; I didn't murder anyone!"

"You were part of a group chat where the murder was discussed," Liana starts slowly. "You shared extremist material and didn't notify the authorities of a serious crime. That's enough to warrant detention, Ms Ticha."

The woman looks at Liana as if she couldn't believe that she's discussing the topic with a Celestial—and that Celestial disapproves.

"A mere approval isn't a crime," she snorts. "Doesn't the whole world rejoice when a dangerous terrorist finally gets killed?"

"Mrs Rehak was a mentally ill old woman, not a terrorist," Liana objects, not liking where this is going.

"She was publicly badmouthing the Celestial Emperor," Ms Ticha retorts angrily. "Why didn't you do anything about it? We did you a service, and this is our reward? Or are you just pretending to be righteous in front of the government? I bet His Majesty feels relieved that the hag kicked the bucket."

"His Majesty had a panic attack when we told him, and he was crying for hours," Liana says coldly. "Mrs Rehak might not have been the grandma of the year, but she was his only living relative."

Naturally, Liana omits that His Majesty now has his Divementis father, an aunt and two cousins. However, he didn't know about them at that time, so technically, she isn't even lying. Not that she would mind lying to someone like this.

The woman is taken aback for a few moments. It seems she didn't expect her idol, the Celestial Emperor, to react in such a way to the 'good' news.

"You want to become like us," Liana remarks. "Do you really think that His Majesty would even want someone like you as his subject?"

"What gives you the right to act all high and mighty and speak on His behalf?" the woman bursts out. "You were just lucky enough to pick the right game at the right time. I was also a hardcore gamer, you know. The only difference between us is that I was forced to quit Draconia Online because my shitty brother destroyed my headset, and I didn't have money to buy a new one."

Liana raises her eyebrows. It seems getting the suspect angry is also a legitimate strategy to make them talk.

"You played Draconia Online? When?" Liana asks, genuinely curious.

"I was forced to quit just three months before the Great Evolution!" the woman is hissing through her teeth. "Just three fucking months! How is that fair? I would be a Celestial now if that bastard hadn't suddenly come up with that ridiculous trash talk about me spending all my time in VR."

"Mr Ticha, we contacted your brother and he said that you were unemployed," Miller says matter-of-factly. "You were freeloading at his place and he was concerned about you because you were clearly addicted to VR. He couldn't convince you to go to therapy, so he was forced to destroy your headset as a last resort."

"He snitched on me? That shitty little—" The woman gets furious at this point, and it seems she's about to lose control over her emotions entirely.

*I don't think we will get more out of her*, Solarae tells Liana. *Besides, I caught a few glimpses of her strongest leaking thoughts, and I'm pretty sure that she wasn't high-ranking in the cult's hierarchy.*

"Thank you, Ms Ticha, that would be enough," Liana concludes the interrogation immediately.

She can see that this won't lead anywhere. Unlike Tereza, who had s conscience and was just admiring Celestials a bit too naively, this woman is a disgraced ex-gamer, a hater and a VR addict on top of that. People like her are the reason why the general public often frowns upon gamers as a whole.

"Bring the next suspect immediately, no need for a break," Liana orders.

⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎

The third suspect is, surprisingly, an old man well into his seventies. Compared to that angry woman who had to be forcefully escorted out in the end, he sits down obediently, and his expression is meek—resigned, even.

"I know why you want to talk to me," he starts without being prompted. "I don't know much, but I will tell you everything."

"Mr Novek, why the sudden change of heart?" Liana tilts her head. "You didn't want to tell the police anything."

"I wouldn't tell the police, but I will tell you," he looks Liana straight in the eye. "I will tell... fellow Draconians."

"Fellow Draconians?" Liana gets confused and she's not the only one. Everyone raises their eyebrows. Is this man delusional?

"I played Draconia Online," he confesses. "But I started too late, just half a year before the Great Evolution happened. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to trigger the change in me, but I still consider myself a Dragonkin."

Liana studies him for a moment. For an old man, he actually has a fairy impressive physique. He looks like someone who had been a serious bodybuilder in the past. Too bad ageing is merciless.

"A sad sight, isn't it?" he sighs when he notices that Liana is studying him. "I used to win competitions back in the day, you know. Now, I'm a forgotten old man. It was my friends from the gym who told me about Draconia Online. I tried it purely out of boredom. My immersion level was very low, frankly, but I enjoyed it very much. In there, I could feel strong again. If only I had started earlier... I could have the body of a dragon right now and, at least, fifty more years in front of me."

"Mr Novek, did you approve of the murder?" Liana asks him without beating around the bush.

"That old hag was an abomination," he says without trying to deny it. "Would I do it myself? No, I'm not a murderer, but it was good riddance. His Majesty is our saviour and he didn't deserve to be badmouthed in the media, much less by his relatives."

"What can you tell us about the cult's activities?" Liana pushes a bit more, seeing that he's very cooperative.

"I was just a regular member," he admits, "but I sometimes met other members in a tea room called Harmony. Look it up, it's in the Old Town. I've never met the leaders, of course, but I frequently talked to people higher in the hierarchy than me. I didn't know their names, though, we all used aliases."

"You're very cooperative, Mr Novek," Liana coughs, prompting Solarae, who's been quiet until now for some reason.

*He's telling the truth*, Solarae sends her a quick assessment. She answered readily, but Liana didn't miss how tired her inner voice sounded.

"I had a chance to talk to Tereza before I came here," Novek reveals. "She told me... certain things."

"Really?" Liana raises her eyebrows and turns to Miller. Isn't Tereza supposed to be in the witness protection programme? How could the police let them meet?

"Miss Tereza demanded to talk to him," Miller answers her unspoken question. "It seems Miss Tereza has a soft spot for Mr Novek."

"We were acquaintances... sort of," Novek says. "Well, as much as two strangers who met online and are fifty years apart can become friends over a shared cause. To be honest, I'm not holding it against her that she snitched on me. I do realise that The Heralds of the End is a cult. I should never have tried to convince her to join the middle ranks. She's a good person."

"You knew they were a cult and joined them nonetheless?" Liana tries to understand his reasoning.

"They promised us the transformation and I wanted it more than anything." Novek lowers his head in shame. "Maybe... I think I didn't quite believe them, actually. I just wanted a hope, I guess. Tereza told me just now that His Majesty would never approve of a murder. I was stupid. How could we ever know His intentions?"

Liana shudders. Here it is again. Those three couldn't have been more different from each other. Yet, they have this one thing in common. They talk about the Celestial Emperor as if he was humanity's saviour. As if His Majesty didn't have more than enough on his plate already.

Liana catches herself thinking that maybe she should omit this piece of information when she reports to him. Immediately, she realises how hypocritical it would make her in front of Soren. Just yesterday, she was vehemently claiming that she would never hide the truth from him ever again, even if it was for his sake.

"That tea house," Liana forces herself to continue with the interrogation, "do many cult members visit it?"

"Quite a few," Novek nods. "As I said, I don't know their real names and, honestly, I'm very bad at remembering the faces of people I met only once, but I guess they would continue meeting there if the police didn't do anything stupid, like interrogating everyone on sight and drawing attention."

"Detective?" Liana turns to Miller again. "Isn't that the place where you arrested Ms Ticha and Mr Novek?"

"We're not idiots, Miss Elyon," Miller rolls his eyes. "We arrested those two outside after tailing them."

"And the owner?" Liana narrows her eyes. "Is he involved somehow?"

"I don't think so," Novek shakes his head. "He's a really kind Earthborn who wants to promote understanding between humans and Draconians. Poor guy—he has no idea that his place is being misused like that."

Liana asks a few more questions and when Solarae confirms that Novek isn't hiding anything else, they end the interrogation.

⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎

"So, now what?" the Prime Minister asks eagerly when she rejoins them. She was listening the whole time from the adjacent room, with other police officers.

"We try our luck with that tea room," Liana states the obvious. "Rien, did you get anything interesting?"

"Define interesting," he shrugs. "I'm not some supernatural hound. I can't track people across the whole city. I memorised their scents, though. If we meet someone who was in contact with them recently, I should be able to tell."

"You want to visit that tea room undercover, don't you?" Miller guesses Liana's intentions.

"I hope you're not against it," Liana says, a bit afraid of what they would do if the police got in their way.

"No," Miller shakes his head. "You're not civilians; you're official investigators from the Draconian Embassy. However, the legislation is blurry in this area, so I don't know what to do with you, honestly. The world has changed after the Great Evolution and we haven't managed to catch up yet."

"I think what Detective Miller is trying to say is that you're equal partners in the investigation," the Prime Minister clarifies in his stead. "They can't let you do whatever you wish because human citizens are involved, but they won't stand in your way either."

"Are you going to back us up while giving us relative freedom to take over the investigation? Is that what you're trying to say?" Soren asks to be sure.

"We're joining forces," Miller sets the record straight. "If you want to go undercover, we won't oppose that plan, as you're much better suited for it than us, but let us help you. We should base our relationship on trust, not secrets."

"Trust isn't earned by eavesdropping," Liana remarks venomously.

"I told you, Detective," Katerina nudges him. "I told you it was a stupid idea."

"My colleagues and I just wanted to know what you really think about it all," Miller admits, his eye slightly twitching. "We tried it out of desperation and only because we were convinced that you wouldn't tell us."

"Tell what?" Soren is confused. Since there's no way the police knows about the existence of the Divementis, what possibly is Miller thinking that they are hiding?

"There's a religious cult revering you!" Miller exclaims dramatically. "Frankly, some of my colleagues are afraid that you might actually like their ideology. That you might approve. That you might indulge them on purpose to get them on your side and use them to do your bidding."

Liana, Soren and Rien are staring at him intensely for several long moments, to the point that it makes Miller uncomfortable. They are not trying to scare him, though. They are simply in disbelief of what they've just heard.

"Why... why would we..." Liana doesn't know how to react to that, and she's the type that hardly ever finds herself at a loss for words.

"I told you, Detective," Katerina nudges Miller again, grinning this time. "They aren't that sort of people."

"Detective Miller, we would never use humans like that!" Surprisingly, it's Rien who speaks up. "My dear auntie is human," he reminds him, eyeing the Prime Minister, "my parents are human."

"I told yooouuuu, Dan," Katerina almost sings it.

"Dan?" Rien is taken aback. "Do you know him personally, auntie?"

"This guy tormented me during the whole grammar school," Katerina purses her lips. "The homeroom teacher made me share a desk with him, because I was too distracted by a certain girl."

"Your future wife?" Liana smiles. "I had no idea you met this early."

"Unfortunately for me, Liz was sent by her parents to study abroad after graduation," Katerina explains. "We lost contact and we met again at a charity event many years later. Elizabeth calls it a lucky re-encounter, I call it fate."

"I call it stalking," Detective Miller coughs.

The Prime Minister frowns and punches his arm.

"Okay, I might have looked up if she was going to attend," Katerina admits, pursing her lips. "That's hardly stalking; it's a prearranged meet-cute."

"Excuse me," Solarae suddenly raises her hand, her voice somewhat weak. "I'm afraid that I'm developing a migraine. I'm starting to see... little stars. I want that cake you promised me and I need to lie down for a few hours."

Miller looks at her, confused by her strange demands and the authority with which she's made them. Admittedly, he didn't pay much attention to her until now. He figured she's just their embassy's secretary, since she was taking notes during the interrogations and didn't ask any questions herself.

"I'm also afraid... that I won't be able to hold it for much longer. I might have... slightly overestimated my stamina," she adds wearily and it's enough to send the Draconian representatives into a state of panic.

Solarae wobbles just a second later, but Rien is quick to catch her and offers her support.

"We have to go immediately," Liana bites her lip. "Kat?"

"Miller, could you please show us the fastest route to the parking?" Katerina begs her ex-classmate who's even more confused now over the sudden rush.

"If you need some painkillers, we have a small infirmary—"

"The parking, Dan, now," the Prime Minister squeezes his arm.

Miller raises his eyebrows, but he leads them back to the parking place. Just as on the way to the interrogation room, many employees want to take a look at them, which makes the whole situation even worse for Solarae. But the Divementis chancellor bravely perseveres, leaning against Rien.

When they finally reach the underground level, Solarae is visibly pale despite her disguise and is hardly standing.

"If... if there aren't any nosy onlookers anymore..." She's breathing with difficulty, looking nervously around. "I would very much welcome... fainting now."

"No onlookers but cameras!" Katerina points to the surveillance device on the wall not far away from them.

"On it!" Soren fries it instantly with a tiny beam of lightning.

"What the heck?! You're destroying the police properly! Have you lost your minds?" Miller doesn't believe his eyes. "Katerina, tell them that they can't—"

He doesn't get to voice the rest of his complaints, though. Solarae finally allows herself to be welcomed by sweet unconsciousness to escape the maddening migraine, collapsing into Rien's arms. And, as she does so, the mental shields she has been sustaining deactivate in a blink of an eye.

Out of nowhere, the Celestial Viceroy appears in her full glory, and an alien of unknown species on top of that. The detective freezes, his eyes wide with shock.

"Well... fuck," the Prime Minister swears almost nonchalantly.