The guard didn't let go of Peace's shoulder as he hoisted him up and directed him out to the streets.
After they exited, a large crowd formed on the streets, their faces filled with expressions of shock and confusion.
"It's one of them!"
"There's still some running around! I thought they were finally culled!"
"How many more are left!"
The guard flipped down his visor and continued escorting Peace.
Peace was utterly confused, trying to piece everything together. He could feel the semblance of sense starting to form in his mind.
It became clear his current reality couldn't be held to the game. No group like that ever existed, and there was no obscene prejudice against Night Elves. However, it was clear that some event had occurred that had made people distrust Night Elves, and possibly all elves in general. Furthermore, he carried the physical traits of those who scarred these people…
Talking his way out of this wasn't going to be easy. Especially not when he knew the guards most definitely had the tools to force the truth out of him. Well, he was confident he'd be able to talk his way out of being a Night Parade member…
However, there was a much larger problem for him at the moment… He was a Jinn.
Undoubtedly, if he were to be questioned, it would be standard procedure to ask that. So, he needed to find a counter. But, unfortunately, he had none at the moment.
The people looked as if they wanted to throw stones or fruit at them, but there was one thing that was definitely constant between this world and the game… angering a guard seemed to be a death sentence.
Peace had accidentally hit a guard before on his swordsman barbarian character, which he'd spent a month cultivating, only for it to be immediately executed upon his mistake. His poor sister had to abandon her Rank 3 elven archer just so she could keep playing with him.
Peace let out a small smile as he thought of his sister.
Their last playthrough, they got revenge for those lost characters, didn't they? They dethroned the nameless despot to get the key.
The guard scoffed.
"You think this is funny?"
"No, sir…"
***
A couple more minutes of walking had passed before Peace was led into a building titled the inspection agency and made to wait in a holding cell. Two of the guards left him, leaving him alone with the scared guard who was constantly holding his hand on the pommel of his blade.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like they would outright kill him.
He sat there on the hard plank of wood for nearly three hours in deep contemplation before the trepidatious guard turned around.
During his rumination, he found his answer… or more like, he decided the truth.
"F-follow me. D-do anything funny and I'll kill you!"
Peace rolled his red eyes and then responded.
"Understood…"
The guard unlocked the door and forced Peace out of the room and into another. This side room had two chairs and a single desk between them. In one of the chairs sat a young lady with thick, dark blue hair, wearing a military-style button-up. One side of the table had shackles attached to it, and in the center of the table was a colorless crystal.
'That doesn't look like hair dye… is it natural?'
Peace slowly sauntered over and sat down, leaning back in the mundane chair, and smiled at the woman across from him.
"D-don't resist."
The guard slowly approached Peace and took out his ring of keys, then clamped the shackles around Peace's wrists and locked them before scampering away and hiding in the corner of the room.
Soon after the guard retreated, the woman sitting across from him gave him a warm, welcoming smile — a smile ripe with mischievous guile.
"Hello, I'm Ashren Bolivard. You can just call me Ashren. You've been brought in today under suspicion of being a remnant of the Night Parade… Seeing as you're quite docile and responsive, these accusations seem false, but I'll need you to answer a couple of questions before you can go."
Peace could tell that the warm smile she presented and her welcoming tone were nothing more than a facade, so she could loosen him up and lower his guard. So, the best course of action was to give the impression that her tactics are working on him.
"That's alright… this mistake is a given with my appearance after all."
He said his opening line he'd pre-prepared in his head while staring at the colorless crystal sitting on the table.
The crystal was a ranked item of the SR category called Eye of Truth. Yet despite it being somewhat common compared to more powerful items, it was still one of the most sought-after.
This was because there were a lot of deceitful NPCs in Enemies of Corruption, and having one such charlatan in your cohort spelled imminent doom. So, this item, which can distinguish truth from lies, is highly valued.
Of course, it was bound to be a little different than how it worked in the game. In the game, once you activated it, you had to click on someone to interact with them, then type your question, and the NPC would respond accordingly, with the item glowing red or green. Red for lie, green for truth. Then, after a period of time, it would render itself dormant and go on cooldown.
It was tedious and arduous to use and often yielded little results, but compared to the amount of times it saved a play through, Peace could easily declare it one of the most valuable items in the entire game.
The woman pointed to the nascent device.
"I trust you know what this is…"
Peace gave Ashren a slow nod.
"Good… This shouldn't take long. Please answer my questions with haste lest you make yourself suspicious."
Peace gave back a boundless smile.
"Of course…"
Ashren slowly dragged her hand over the table, then rested on the crystal and activated it. In the next moment, the Eye of Truth lit up blue.
"First question… are you a remnant of the Night Parade?"