Chapter 65 –Cross-Examination.

A large armored man entered the dimly lit room, his steps echoing against the stone floor. The room was sparsely furnished, with only a wooden table and two chairs. The walls were lined with shelves holding various documents, and a small window high up on the wall allowed a sliver of moonlight to seep in. A lone man was already seated on one of the chairs and waiting for the armored person to take a seat.

“Calm down Rusty, we expected this to happen, just sit down and respond to the guard, everything should be fine, don’t worry.”

Rusty hesitated for a moment before sitting down. His metallic frame creaked slightly as he adjusted himself in the chair, and he kept his head down, avoiding direct eye contact. He was aware of Alexander’s presence in his armor and that the people here could not hear his words.

Before leaving the dungeon, he had conducted a series of tests. The hero and demon king could be seen by adventurers to a certain degree. Their light could affect the environment, but it didn’t seem like anyone could precisely identify its source. This led to the discovery that no one could hear what the two were saying, and if the light was hidden within his body, it couldn’t escape. They could converse with each other without a problem, as the people here could only understand him through the possessed body.

The guard placed the adventurer’s card on the table, sliding it back and forth between his fingers as he studied Rusty with narrowed eyes. His expression was unreadable to someone like Rusty to whom human expressions were meaningless. It seemed that there was a problem with his adventurer card or at least the last date it had been used.

“So, Albert F-ranked adventurer… hasn’t reported to the guild in over half a year, what brings you back to the city? and before you answer, show me your face.”

Rusty knew this was a crucial moment. His cover had held so far, but any misstep here could unravel everything. It was normal for adventurers to go missing for long periods of time and he was not in trouble yet. Alexander’s voice echoed in his mind, confirming and calming the situation.

“Don’t worry, they are probably just curious where an F-rank adventurer vanished for half a year. Your armor is a bit too good for such a rank, they might be assuming that someone took on the identity of a dead adventurer, just stick to simple responses and raise your visor.”

“All right…”

Rusty replied while also scanning the room. He wasn’t alone with the guard; another was leaning against a corner. The only exit was the door he had entered through. There were no windows large enough to escape through, and the walls seemed thick and sturdy. It was clear that if things went wrong, running wouldn’t be an option. However, if he could get outside and perhaps toss his helmet into the moat, he might survive. Breathing underwater wasn’t necessary, and Alexander had assured him that not many people would dare to swim after him.

With a shaky hand, Rusty reached up to his helmet and slowly lifted the visor, revealing the face beneath. It was a pale, almost lifeless visage, one that bore a stark contrast to the lively adventurers the guard was accustomed to seeing. The eyes, though, were filled with a certain intensity, and the moment the guard saw them, he flinched in fright.

The guard eventually calmed himself and leaned in closer, scrutinizing Rusty’s face in the dim light. The other guard shifted slightly, his posture indicating heightened alertness. The man eyeballed the picture that was on the card and the pale face within the helmet, clearly not being sure if it was the same person.

“So, where have you been all this time?”

The guard asked, his tone skeptical.

“Half a year is a long time, especially for an F-rank. Did you get lost in a dungeon, or maybe you were taken by bandits?”

Rusty hesitated but the question was similar to something that Alexander had told him before. He just needed to repeat the words that he was told and focus on making the flesh body inside of his armor pronounce the words correctly.

“Lost… in the lower levels…”

Rusty replied in his rough, monotone voice.

“Barely made it out. Found this armor… from an old knight, deep in the dungeon. Took me time to find the way back, I suffered an injury t-that left me like this… I still haven’t fully recovered…”

“Great, that wasn’t bad Rusty!”

Alexander cheered him on while the guard’s expression softened slightly at Rusty’s explanation, though his eyes still held a trace of suspicion. The other guard in the corner seemed to relax a bit as well, though he kept his hand close to the hilt of his sword.

“Lower levels, huh?”

The guard nodded slowly, as if considering Rusty’s words.

“I suppose it makes sense. We’ve heard stories of adventurers getting lost down there for months and you do look sick, best you visit the nearby church and get yourself blessed, you might have been cursed if you look that pale, now just stand still so I can take a look and then you can be on your way.”

Now it was the time for the last test, he had managed to get through the initial line of questioning. Just like Alexander mentioned, these people weren’t very throughout and if he just said something plausible they would let him be. However, one thing still remained and that was the status identification skill. It wasn’t something everyone had but there were ways to go around this problem.

The guard took out a pair of strange-looking glasses. The frames were rather thick and once they were on his face they started glowing. Strange symbols appeared on the frames and indicated an enchantment being used. Rusty stiffened as the skill was activated, hoping that what his guides had told him previously was true.

“Are you sure the possession skill will hide my status?”

“That’s what Aburdon said so I’m not sure…”

Alexander had no experience with using such skills but he knew that there were ways of fooling the identification skill. In theory, once someone possessed a body like Rusty did, his status as a monster would be hidden. Instead, it would show the status of the body being used.

“Those glasses don’t look new, it’s probably a lesser identification enchantment so it should be fine. If this guard is using a basic identification spell, it should only reveal surface-level information – like your name and rank.”

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Rusty stayed still as he was examined by the man. The guard’s brow furrowed slightly as he adjusted the glasses, but his expression remained unreadable. Rusty could feel his grip tightening on the edge of the table, his metallic fingers leaving faint impressions on the wood. He mentally repeated the instructions Alexander had given him, suppressing anything that could reveal him as a monster.

Finally, the guard removed the glasses and the glow faded as he set them down on the table. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest before speaking.

“Well, Albert, everything seems to be fine but… this armor that you are using, who did you exactly get it from? It doesn’t look like something an F-rank should be wearing…”

“Damn, this bastard… quick Rusty, remember what I’ve told you before? Bring out that.”

“By that do you mean?”

Rusty listened to Alexander and quickly moved his hand to his side pouch. The guard could see him moving for something so he paused for a moment, his hand hovering near his sword, but Rusty calmly pulled out a small, weathered sack. The moment he tossed it on the table, the sound it generated instantly made the guards relax as they heard coins clinking together within.

“…”

The man looked to his friend who had a strange expression on his face. Almost instantly, the guard placed his hand over the coin-filled purse to hide it from anyone trying to peek from outside.
“What’s wrong with their faces?”

“Oh, that’s just the look of greed. There isn’t much in this world that can’t be solved by money, Rusty.”

Alexander sounded disappointed to see the city guards pocket all the coins.

“I bet those bastards would have otherwise tried to take your armor and implied that you stole it off someone if you didn’t comply…”