Gun Girl from Another World

Turncoat

My elation at our escape doesn't last long. We try asking a guard where Leuke's currently at, but the cold shoulder I get is a far cry from the friendly welcome we got at the gate when we first arrived.

"You'll have to check with the barracks," he tells me in the clearest tone possible that even if he does know, he's not telling me.

I remember my manners and try to shrug it off as I thank him and depart as if it were a completely normal exchange. After all, maybe he's just having a bad day.

Well, if he's having a bad day, so is every guard in town, apparently. We open the doors to the barracks, and a palpable chill pours out from the common area as soon as I'm seen.

I don't know what's going on, but it just makes it all the more important that I find Leuke. I go up to the nearest table.

"Excuse me, I'm looking—"

But the two guards don't even let me finish before getting up and moving to another table like I'm diseased.

Ayre steps up beside me. "What was that about?"

"Dunno," I frown. "But I'm gonna find out."

We try several more times just to be thorough, but only manage to cause an impromptu game of musical chairs. Ayre tries without me, but they aren't stupid. We came in together and he's been moving around with me, so they know full well he's with me, and give him the same treatment.

Finally, one of the guards gets frustrated enough to snap at us. "Are you stupid, girl?!" he shouts. "Can't you see none of us want anything to do with you?!"

Communication. That's what I've been trying to get, for someone to talk, even if it's like this.

"But why?" I immediately put in. "What's happened?"

"What's happened?!" he repeats in a rage, and he grabs his spear so suddenly that I recoil, though his neighboring guards quickly grab him by the arms. It doesn't keep him from shouting back, though. "My wife is an oni, you filthy little whore!"

Ayre and I are both stunned by the outburst, unable to find any words to reply to it with. It's so disconnected from anything we know about what is going on that the mental connections to continue just aren't there.

Behind us, the door to the captain's office slams open. "What's going on out here?!"

I wheel around to see Captain Anara and Leuke standing there, and I grab Ayre to retreat to their familiar faces. "Captain, Leuke! What's going on? What happened that everyone's mad at me?"

I'm not prepared for the scowls on their faces when they recognize it's me out here.

Anara looks at me with a disgusted twist of her mouth. "What did you think was going to happen when you pulled something like that? Did you think we'd just overlook you stabbing us in the back like that? You seemed like you had such a level head on your shoulders."

Leuke just looks disappointed. It's heartbreaking to see. "I thought you were better than that, Rem."

"Better than what​​?!" I demand now. "I haven't done anything! I haven't had the chance! I've been boxed up in the mayor's estate for nearly a week!"

Anara scoffs. "Yeah, pays pretty well to be a turncoat, I guess."

"I wasn't there willingly," I insist. "My first day here, he insisted I stay in his guest house, and I haven't been out without escorts until today! Captain, we had to break out of the estate to get here! Guards tried to stop us! Does that sound like someone being paid for something, or does that sound like someone held against their will?!"

Anara and Leuke's expressions crack at that, as, indeed, it doesn't add up. After a moment of processing, Anara steps aside to clear the way to her office. "Before anyone says anything more, I think you'd better come into my office and give an accounting of your time since coming to Giri."

That's the best offer I've gotten since getting back here, and I give a firm nod before moving to step past her. She lowers an arm to block me, though, and I look at her with confusion.

"You and your companion will give your testimonies separately, and you'll leave your weapons with her while you're in my office. The same in reverse when you're done."

Ayre looks to me with concern when I turn back to him. "We're being treated like criminals ..."

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"It's okay," I assure him with a hand on his upper arm. "Captain Anara and Leuke are fair people. Whatever's happened, we'll get to the bottom of it."

My friend looks shocked when I actually start undoing my holster, though. "You're really doing it?"

"It's what they asked, and I trust them," I say as I pass my holster with its gun and all of its satchels to him.

"Oof," he breathes as he takes it in his grip. "Heavier than it looks." Not too heavy for an adventurer's superhuman ability scores, but heavy enough to surprise the elf.

Only when it's followed by my crossbow and its harness, as well as my backpack and blade, do I turn to the door again. I give a reassuring wave to Ayre over my shoulder. "Don't give anyone any trouble, and I'm sure they'll be happy to leave you alone. If not, holler. We'll figure this out."

I pass over the threshold and Anara and Leuke follow, shutting the door behind us.

Leuke leans against the corner while Anara moves around to the other side of her simple desk. There's one other chair there on my side, and she motions for me to take it, only sitting down once I've done so.

Captain Anara pulls a stone from a drawer and sets it on the table between us. "Do you know what this is, Hero Lee?"

"No, ma'am."

"It's a recording stone. When I activate it, it will memorize everything said in this room. There will be a perfect record of every word you say."

My eyes illuminating probably isn't the response she is expecting, since she's clearly trying to scare me off of lying. "Oh, a recorder! Yes, I know what that is. Ours are different, but serve the same purpose. Can you back the media up and transfer it somewhere else?"

She blinks at me for a moment, then hesitantly answers, "... Yes, but that isn't the point. Hero Lee, understand that your testimony will be compared word for word against your companion's and that of anyone else we question in the course of any resulting investigation. It would be in your best interests to be as honest as possible."

I nod. My best friend back home is a cop. She and every murder detective show I've ever seen tell me that's standard operating procedure across worlds. "I understand," I say. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Anara nods and taps the dark stone, causing it to glow purple like a dim, little black light, then she leans forward over her desk, focusing her attention on me.

"Hero Remmi Lee testimony, case undetermined," she says and rattles off the date and, with a quick glance at a standing clock in the corner, the time. "Captain Anara Pisca presiding, Hero Leuke Flamvel in witness." She glances to him as she says his name, and he nods back.

The Captain looks to me once more. "State your full name and home province."

"Remmi Ann Lee," I oblige. "Uh, my residence is in Serazin Province, but I'm a foreigner by upbringing."

She nods. "Hero Lee, tell me what has transpired since you came to Giri Village."

I hesitate, confused by the instruction. "Um, do you want me to start clear back from when I first arrived, or just after I left the barracks last time?"

"The very beginning," Anara provides, patient but strict. "Leave as little out as possible."

So that's what I do. I start with our approach to Giri Village where we bumped into Leuke, the greeting we received at the gate, our trip to the barracks to meet with her, and how Ayre and I went out shopping for provisions after.

I tell her about the booth with the dehydrated goods and how we were approached by guards that clearly weren't city guards, and the resulting scuffle when things didn't go exactly their way. I explain my decision to meet with the Lord Mayor, anyway, and the subsequent reception by him and his cousin, the Lady Regent.

I detail my suspicions of being used for embezzlement, of my order from Dabun and how I sent a letter ahead to alert them to any suspicious activity. This leads to a series of follow-up questions about the embezzlement and what I expected a little village to do about it. That line of questioning ends abruptly when I explain my handler's ties to the Throne.

I go through the doldrums of the next few days and how I was treated at the estate, each attempt to leave, each conspired shopping spree hoisted on us and how I turned down as much as I could politely get away with. I finally reach today, when we finally made our escape, how we did it, the guards I dispatched, and our celebration with junk food.

"I had a bad feeling about how hard Lord Oshu worked to keep us in a gilded cage," I finish, "so I wanted to consult with Leuke to make sure things hadn't degenerated."

Finally, I cross my arms and my legs with a look of irritation that I'm certain isn't a pout. "Apparently, I was worried about the wrong thing. We tried asking around town, but only got directed to ask at the barracks so it wouldn't be their problem. We get here, and the guards treated us like we were plagued, and one finally shouted at me about having an oni wife. You two came out and gave me the cold stare and scolded me while I tried to explain that I had no idea what you were talking about."

I unfold one hand to motion to the recording stone before tucking it back in again. "You then had me come in here and lay out what I've been doing since coming to Giri Village, and here we are."

The whole thing probably takes the better part of half an hour, and through it all, Anara stays focused on me mostly without interruption. Her gaze is as effective as any lamp shined in my face, but I stay calm. Like I told Ayre, I trust these people. Honesty will pave the way to get me to the truth. I have neither reason nor inclination to lie.

She continues to watch me for a long moment after I come to a stop, but she's the one to break the silence. "So Lord Mayor Oshu never brought up the Huohi Tribe negotiations to you?"

I think it over for a moment, making sure I couldn't recall him ever bringing them up, but I ultimately shake my head. "No, I don't think he ever brought the negotiations up, specifically, but he'd talk about the tribe, themselves. Always negatively. I can see now that he was trying to color my perceptions of the oni, but I don't think he realized I already had a perception of him that made me prone to ignoring him."

But she doubles down. "Nobody ever asked you to take a stance on the negotiations?"

Why she would be so insistent on that confuses me, but I shake my head. "No, never. I think they would have been disappointed if they did. I happen to be against strip-mining and in favor of preserving historical landmarks."

"One more time," Anara insists. "You have never endorsed the Lord Mayor and the financial consortium on full annexation of the Huohi tribal lands?"

I blink, bewildered. "No, never."

She doesn't say another word. Instead, she pulls out a newsletter. Printed on it in bold, black letters are words that simultaneously explain everything and make my blood boil.

IMPERIAL HERO BACKS MAYOR "ABSOLUTELY" IN MINING DISPUTE