The water's surface was just inches away. Thomas could even feel the tip of his nose submerged in the water. He was about to make up some lies. But the next moment, before he could speak, he was plunged into the water again!
This time was very, very long. So long that his chest had filled with water, his lungs completely saturated, before he was 'pulled' out. As he came out of the water, Thomas gasped and coughed, constantly vomiting water. But Alan, a complete change from his previous slow tone, immediately shouted in his ear, relentless and urgent!
"Who?"
"Cough, cough! D-Darius!!"
"A lie."
"It's really him!"
Into the water. Pulled up again.
"Who?"
A sob. "Cough, cough!! Darius!! Darius!! It's really Darius! I'm not lying, I'm not lying!!!"
"A lie."
"No!!"
"Who else?"
"Darius said he found help! I don't know!"
"A lie."
Into the water, pulled up. "Who was the help?"
"Cough, cough, cough!! I really don't know! I really don't know!!!!"
"How was the message delivered?"
"A letter! A letter!!"
"Where is the letter?"
Thomas was silent for a moment. Then a huge force came, and the water's surface suddenly enlarged in his pupils. "Under the bed!!! Under the bed!!!!"
If you were to ask how much physical torment and mental fear waterboarding brings, Thomas's incontinent lower body might explain it. He trembled all over, looking at the water that had submerged his nose, the ripples on the surface in front of him just an inch away. These 'harmless' ripples now looked like a bottomless abyss.
Thomas swallowed, his eyeballs slowly and tremblingly turning. To the side, very, very close, dark gray pupils 'floated' on the water's surface, unblinking. This was the gaze of 'death'.
The next moment, 'death' spoke.
"Are you scared?"
"..."
"Are you terrified?"
"..."
"Do you want to die?"
Thomas trembled all over, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "N-no..."
Then he saw the smile in the dark gray pupils. Death could smile? How could that possibly be pity?! Thomas's tears and snot flowed freely. He cried out, "Please, I shouldn't have... shouldn't have... give me a quick death, kill me, kill me with a sword, kill me!"
Alan looked at the tangible fear in Thomas's eyes, grinned, and smiled brightly. Seeing Alan's expression, although it was a spring morning, Thomas felt a chill run through his entire body. The next moment, a gentle voice entered his ear.
"Pray to the water."
Once again plunged into the water, Thomas struggled with all his might! One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. It wasn't until he was completely lifeless that Alan pulled him out of the fountain and threw him on the ground like a piece of trash.
Thomas's simple and honest face was left with only terror. Water still flowed from his nostrils, mouth, and ears. The sound of the gushing fountain was a bit too clear in everyone's ears.
Alan turned to look at Sauros. The other party was holding some letters, his face ashen as he read. Ghislaine was beside him. Seeing Alan look over, she nodded at him.
The favor he had asked for by the fountain earlier was this conversation: "Ghislaine, please do me a small favor. Later, Thomas will reveal clues to the evidence. Once he speaks, immediately help me find the evidence and hand it to Sauros, okay?"
"...Although I don't quite understand what you're saying, if he says it, I'll do it."
At this very moment, Philip stood on the side with his eyes downcast. In the shadow of the sun, the look of admiration in his eyes flickered as if it were tangible, so bright that it excited him. Alan had once again made a 'perfectly perfect' choice that was beyond his expectations.
Making Thomas leak that James was behind the assassination, to force Sauros to make a 'choice'—this step was supposed to be facilitated by him. But Alan had not hesitated at all. In just an instant, he had determined the best choice for the current situation. Under the premise that Sauros doubted his identity, how could he use 'facts' to persuade Sauros to let him stay? The answer was right in front of him. This was the talent he needed, this was his son, Philip's son...
Thump. Thomas's body was kicked into Philip's line of sight, interrupting his thoughts. The dull, terrified eyes met Philip's. He slowly looked up. Alan was looking at him expressionlessly.
Faced with this 'gaze', Philip's soaring thoughts fell like a kite with a broken string. He didn't know what expression to show Alan. This came from his own son. The emotion contained in the gaze that met his... was it a deterrent? Mockery? Or blame? He couldn't judge what Alan was thinking at this moment. But he could be sure that Alan's mood did not seem very good.
Philip was a bit stunned. He couldn't help but look away from Alan and looked down at Thomas's body. Thomas was dead. He died very cleanly.
At this time, Sauros had finished reading the evidence in his hands. His brow was furrowed into a knot, and he tightly gripped the letter paper in his hands. Then he looked up and gave Alan a deep look. A complex light flashed in his eyes.
After a while, he finally spoke. His voice was as loud as ever, but what he said was the complete opposite of what he had said before. "...Not bad. Adventurer Alan, is it? I approve of you. Stay. Teach Eris swordsmanship well." With that, he turned to leave.
Eris blinked, not quite understanding, but her happiness was very 'obvious'. She jumped out of Sauros's loosened embrace and ran to Alan in a few steps. Sauros just glanced at her, shook his head, and left.
"Alan is so... hmph! Grandpa approves of you! So Eris approves of you too!!" After the panic, she immediately lost her 'coy' attribute. She just crossed her arms, looking very satisfied. But the next moment, when she saw the familiar face of 'Thomas' who had been brutally killed by Alan, her face still turned a little pale.
Similar to her expression were the faces of Sylphie and Rudeus. The three little ones were all shocked by his vengeful method, which was almost like 'torture', because this was... completely different from the gentle side that Alan usually showed. The two of them were also a little slow to recover.
And did Alan do this on purpose? Yes. The inexplicable family rules, the layer upon layer of tests, the sudden assassination, had already buried a pit of resentment in his heart. It wasn't until Sauros's rather aristocratic reaction just now that his resentment was completely ignited!
Were there more gentle ways to handle it? Yes. But Alan really didn't want to. He just wanted to vent his anger! He just wanted to kill Thomas with his own hands! Damn the Boreas family! He was so fucking sick of them!
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