Avery had given Alice an extremely powerful artifact before they arrived. That item could bypass most lie detection spells and protect her mind from memory inspection.
Isaac did have similar items, given to him by Avery, but they were not strong enough to guarantee safety against the powerful lie detection skills that would be used on them soon.
His only powerful item concealed recent memories.
That was all. Still, he was confident about lie detection test after Avery confirmed what kind of questions would be asked.
Avery had asked him multiple times why he was confident. Isaac never gave a full explanation.
Even Alice didn’t know. Whenever she tried to ask, Isaac simply changed the topic.
Just as she was about to question him again, someone knocked on the tent’s wooden door.
"Time," a soldier said from outside.
Isaac stood.
"Let’s go."
They were escorted to the main command area of the camp. Once they arrived, the guards separated them.
Alice was led toward one tent.
Isaac toward another.
Inside Isaac’s tent, two people were already waiting.
Gael sat on one side of the table.
Across from him was a strange looking man with pink skin and three curved horns growing from his forehead.
Gael gestured toward him.
"This is Bjorn. He came from the capital at our request. He is one of our strongest mentalists. He’ll be conducting the lie detection test with me."
Isaac nodded calmly.
Then he glanced briefly toward the side wall of the tent.
To anyone else, it looked like ordinary cloth.
But Isaac knew better.
Behind that thin barrier, hidden carefully from view, someone else was watching the entire conversation.
The Sword Empress herself.
...
Sword Maiden’s POV
The room was quiet except for the faint rustle of cloth.
At the center of it stood a woman whose presence alone made the air feel sharp.
She had long blue hair tied neatly into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. Sharp eyebrows framed her cold eyes, and her nose was small and straight. Her figure was slim but clearly trained. Her waist was narrow, her stomach firm, and her posture carried the balance of someone who had spent most of her life fighting.
Her black tactical clothes were simple and light. Anyone unfamiliar with combat might think they offered little protection, but the material was reinforced with enchantments and rare threads. A sword rested quietly at her waist.
Her beauty was striking, but right now that was the last thing anyone would notice.
She was frowning.
The Sword Maiden stood with her arms folded as she watched the interrogation through a large viewing formation placed on the wall. The formation showed two tents that had been divided by a thick curtain.
Alice was seated in one area.
Isaac was in the other.
"...They are saying they are from the future?"
Her voice was calm, but there was clear skepticism beneath it.
Beside her stood a young human woman. She was Sword Maiden’s second disciple and one of the few people Gael had already informed about Isaac and Alice.
"Yes, Master. They claim they are your disciples in the future," the disciple replied.
Sword Maiden did not respond immediately.
She simply continued watching the scene in front of her.
Inside Isaac’s tent, Bjorn had already begun the interrogation.
The pink-skinned mentalist raised his hand slowly, and a faint ripple of energy spread through the room. The spell he used was not aggressive. It was a mild hypnotic state that made it easier for a person to answer honestly instead of twisting their words into half-truths.
Isaac’s eyes became slightly unfocused.
Bjorn studied him for a moment before speaking.
"What is your name?"
"Isaac Hargraves."
Bjorn nodded slightly and continued. "What is your affiliation and your current age?"
"I’m the Lord of Imperium Alterum. I’m nineteen right now." Isaac answered without hesitation.
Bjorn paused.
A faint crease appeared on his forehead as he glanced toward Gael.
Then he gave a small nod.
Truth.
Gael’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Isaac.
Lord of Imperium Alterum?
The name meant nothing to him.
But the title alone suggested authority. Gael had no idea what kind of place Imperium Alterum was, but Isaac clearly was a big figure there—probably the biggest—if he held the title of "Lord."
He leaned back slightly and gave Bjorn a signal to continue.
Bjorn shifted to a question that was difficult to fabricate under hypnosis.
"What year were you born?"
"23 August, 3036 PAE."
Bjorn blinked. "PAE?"
"Post Apocalypse Era."
For the first time, the atmosphere in the interrogation room changed.
Bjorn’s relaxed expression disappeared.
Gael straightened in his chair.
Even in the observation room, Sword Maiden’s brows creased slightly.
Her disciple stepped forward.
"Master—"
Sword Maiden raised a hand.
The gesture was small, but it immediately silenced her.
Inside the interrogation tent, Bjorn took a slow breath before continuing.
"Post Apocalypse Era. Can you explain about it?"
"It is the era after our world was destroyed by the Apocalypse. Most of civilization collapsed. Only certain cities remain where organized life still exists. Those cities are the last remnants of human civilization," Isaac spoke in the same calm tone, his eyes still slightly hazy under the influence of the hypnosis.
Bjorn stared at him for a moment.
"And Imperium Alterum is one of those cities?"
"Yes," Isaac replied.
Back in the observation room, Sword Maiden’s disciple frowned deeply.
"Master, this sounds absurd," she said quietly. "We should check him more carefully. It is possible he has some artifact that interferes with lie detection or—"
"He is telling the truth."
"...What?" The disciple froze.
Sword Maiden’s gaze remained fixed on the viewing formation.
Her voice was calm, as she spoke,
"There have been reports before."
Both the disciple and Gael, who could hear her through the linked formation, turned their attention to her.
"During long-distance travel, some people occasionally become lost and end up in empty cities that do not appear on any known maps. A few among those travelers claim they met someone there, someone who calls himself the [Architect]. He supposedly claims to be building cities that will serve as the final bastions of civilization after the world ends."
Gael felt a chill run down his spine.
The disciple beside Sword Maiden looked just as stunned.
"...Is that the truth?"
"We can’t be certain yet. Maybe it’s a monster’s using mental attacks but the story matches with Isaac’s," Sword Maiden replied.
Inside the interrogation tent, Bjorn had heard the conversation through the linked formation.
His throat moved slightly as he swallowed.
Then he continued.
"What is your relationship with the Sword Maiden?"
"I’m her master."
"Oh, so you are her—" Bjorn froze. "You are her what?"
"I’m her Master. She is my maid."