Chapter: 101
I didn’t think it would turn out like this.
I expected the heartbroken Black Wizard to lose all motivation and collapse, not to go out with a bang and say, “Life isn’t worth living; I might as well just explode…”
But I did clean up afterward. While rummaging through the wreckage of the destroyed mansion, I gathered evidence, and I transported the captured Baron and Greatsword Master alive. I even rescued those hypnotized victims I threw into a room.
Just then, the Capital Knights Order arrived in front of the mansion.
“This must be the place where the commotion occurred.”
Vrrrr, clank.
“… … …!!”
What on earth was that sound?
A deep engine roar that resonates with the soul of a man echoed through the air. And before my eyes… stood an intimidating squad clad in powered suits.
Not the bulky types, more like a sleek design.
Ten knights dressed in shiny silver armor stood in formation. The surface of their armor was embedded with layers of condensed magic, and the longswords they wielded were of a quality that I could not even compare to the magic sword I created.
How much do those cost, anyway?
The power source… was it from individual magic? It wasn’t structured to use magic stones for power supply, but rather relied on their bodies’ inner magical energy. Someone who was mediocre wouldn’t be able to handle that armor properly even if they wore it.
In the center was a middle-aged knight in golden armor giving orders. It seemed that the Capital Knights Order had dispatched only a small unit, since there couldn’t be just eleven knights guarding such a large area.
I had never expected such a tactical appearance.
I seriously considered whether to make a run for it. But if I just ran away now, it felt like I’d be reduced to being the poor Baron who tragically lost his life due to the Black Wizard’s terror.
Sure, I might sort things out eventually with the evidence and the witnesses, but it’d definitely become drawn out. So since I had already caused an incident, I thought, why not escalate it a bit more?
This needed to turn into a battle for public opinion. I resolved to fan the flames higher.
Thus, I discreetly took the scarred-faced senior and the injured Pink-Balrez along with the Tower Master and left the rest to handle things on site. Then I shouted loudly to the Capital Knights Order, who had been observing.
“This Baron was in league with the Black Wizard! I have evidence proving my innocence, and I certainly have evidence to unveil the Baron’s vile truth! I will accept the consequences for causing a commotion in the Capitol, but I acted solely according to my conscience!”
My voice echoed through the amplification magic, so nearby nobles likely also heard my denunciation. Consider this my opening move in the battle for public opinion.
The knight in the shiny golden powered suit straightened his formation and raised an engine-whirring arm, asking, “Are you finished?”
“Can I ask just one more thing before I go?”
“Go ahead.”
“Well, as for this Baron, he used pure evil intent to misuse sound magic to cast hypnosis! According to secret documents I obtained, he was targeting… someone!”
I shouted based on the crazy babble the Baron had made about “teaching someone a lesson,” but what do you know? I didn’t have any names at hand. All I remembered was that it sounded like kiwi, and I didn’t know what this person did.
So I sort of winged it and shouted. Since I attached honorifics at the end, I figured they’d interpret it themselves. Like, oh, the Baron was planning to use that hypnosis app on some high-ranking official.
“Is that all?”
“Ah, yes. That’s all, sir knight.”
“Take him away.”
I found myself in a pair of magically binding handcuffs. From a brief exploration, it seemed like it absorbed magic and then released it externally—a principle akin to drawing water from a well that’s filling up.
So, it felt like I could escape this, but I needed to be careful since that engine punch would surely come flying if I made an attempt.
And thus, I was dragged off to the dungeon.
===============================================================
This was the first time I had ever entered a medieval dungeon.
When I think of a prison, I picture a gloomy place made of stone bricks with iron bars, but the prison in the Capitol was somewhat different.
For one, it was cleaner than expected.
And not just clean; in some ways, it was luxurious. It had white tiled floors, a bed, and even books for passing the time. When I inspected the sheets, they were freshly laundered.
A knight in silver armor had brought me to the dungeon, and I asked the knight, “Is it usually this nice here?”
“Yes, that’s correct. It’s mainly for important individuals or those brought here on orders from important people.”
The knight spoke formally and his demeanor was quite gentle. I wouldn’t have guessed this would be the treatment for a suspect who had blown up a noble’s mansion. Why was that?
Hypothesis 1. They might be harboring feelings for me.
The knight spoke in a lowered voice, trying to disguise their gender, but my instinct told me she was a woman. Probably someone who suited dolphin pants perfectly.
If my deadly charm had stolen even the heart of a righteous woman, it seemed I would need to use my looks to gain some benefits in here. I pondered which persona out of the many male leads in romantic fantasy literature I should embody.
In this case, the dominant pick would be ‘suspiciously gentle young master’…
“I know about you. You’re the mage from the Purple Tower who was appointed to the Academy by the Second Prince.”
“Oh.”
How did you know that? I looked at the knight with a puzzled expression.
I hadn’t shown my face in public many times, and my reputation wasn’t resonating across the continent, so how on earth did you know about me?
“… You seem to not know much about the Capital Knights Order.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve just recently attracted the attention of the Second Prince. I’ve only been focused on research in the Tower, so I’m not really up to speed on happenings outside. I’ll remember your kindness, so if you’d explain things to me, I’d appreciate it.”
“There’s no need for that. It’s fine if you just forget. No goodwill, no malice.”
What did that even mean?
“The Capital Knights Order strives to maintain law and order in Crownhall. And as the center, that involves… high-ranking nobles or those with similar power. Naturally, political clashes will inevitably occur within our operations.”
“I see…”
“In that context, we do our best to carry out our duties as neutrally as possible…”
The puzzle pieces clicked into place in my mind.
If something happened in a neighborhood inhabited by powerful people, it was highly likely that it would involve a conflict between the powerful. Thus, once the police arrived, a territorial tug-of-war would begin.
“Is my grandson a prosecutor? Are you confident?”
“My relative is a big law firm attorney, and my father has connections with people who are gold badge holders. Shall we boast?”
A ‘you’re in the wrong here’ conflict unfolding with all the power consolidated…
The Capital Knights Order needed to navigate these situations as neutrally as possible, which explained the strangely nice prison facilities and why they already knew about my recent appointment to the Academy.
“I still can’t forget the trivial incident when a noble left their pet’s droppings on the street… to the extent of issuing an official statement from each faction.”
Now it made sense.
The reason I had landed in this luxurious prison: by denouncing the Baron as a Black Wizard, the Second Prince’s side made a preemptive move. This mage must be someone sent over by the Second Prince, so it would be prudent to avoid provoking them.
The reason for the polite demeanor: while it may seem like they have no title, the flow of life is unpredictable. They could find ways to twist and turn with no respect for someone who behaved rudely toward their subordinates, so I decided to continue speaking formally.
It was all a thorough dodge.
The knight’s words about forgetting goodwill and malice… I could now decipher their true intent.
They were essentially saying, “We’re just doing our jobs, so please have your conflicts among yourselves.” A phrase filled with the hardships of life.
I stepped silently into the prison. I had to stay quietly and not cause any trouble.
===============================================================
I flopped down on the bed and mumbled, “I’m bored to death…”
I had already read all the books available. Doing something like modeling would attract too much attention. No matter how comfortable it may be, this was still a prison.
If I casually model here, someone might misunderstand and think, “The mage locked up in the dungeon is trying to escape!” And they’d accuse me of how did I unlock my cuffs, too.
Just lying still, I realized there wasn’t much to do.
Normally, I’d be thinking about what sessions to run next, but oddly I felt no motivation.
Could it be the backlash from casting Parsimyansh, that arrow that shatters hearts?
You see, that was an arrow that compressed emotional data and shot it out. While the players were laughing and crying during the session, if I forced them to experience it all at once, it could become a fatal magic.
In a sense, it mirrored the Tower Master Yuna’s Information Bomb. That thing, which nearly shattered my simulation world. Thankfully, I managed to block it with Eralearle…
When I shot that arrow, if I mixed in some of my emotions in a rush… well, it makes sense why I felt so listless.
“Ugh…”
I pulled the blanket over my head. I thought about sleeping if there was nothing else to do, but even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t shake off my awareness.
As I was kicking the blanket around to kill time…
“… … Sleep?”
“Tower Master?”
I heard the voice of the Tower Master in my ear. When I peeked out, I noticed that the Tower Master had somehow snuck in and was snuggled up inside the blanket with me.
I poked my head out to check the bars outside. I couldn’t see any knights on guard, but you never know when they might return, so it was better to hide. I slipped back under the blanket.
“When did you get here?”
“… I’ve been watching you. W-what if something happened to you?”
“If something happened, I’d have just sold you out to save myself as I waited for you to arrive. I’m grateful that you came; it was so boring. Come here.”
“Wha…!”
I pulled her close. The sensation of her fitting into my arms was like everything clicking into place. It was comfortable and soothing mentally.
“They said they’d get me out soon. Yuri… went to inform the Second Prince.”
“Oh, is that so? That’s a relief. I’ll just have to wait eagerly for when I’m released. Once we get out… um.”
“Is there something you want to do?”
Thud. Thud. My heart raced. Seeing her look up at me with bright eyes made it seem like it was her who wanted something. I scratched the back of her neck, and the Tower Master softly closed her eyes.
“What do you want to do?”
“Well, um, since we got entangled in work… originally, I wanted to just go sightseeing. If we have time, I might want to do it again.”
“Just the two of us?”
“… That would be nice. Hehehe.”
The Tower Master smiled broadly, burrowing deeper into my embrace.
This whole Black Wizard and Purple Tower betrayal thing was just part of the job, and there would be time for fun once all this is resolved.
We quietly brainstormed about where we could go. After what felt like about five hours, the Second Prince finally arrived to release me.
===============================================================
Two floors beneath the prison, in the command center of the Capital Knights Order Team 3.
“High Mage Prison 101, currently in good surveillance condition.”
“The target doesn’t seem to have noticed the surveillance, Captain!”
– I’m bored to death…
The mage’s voice came clearly through. System all green. Captain Ronald stroked his mustache in satisfaction as he laughed heartily.
“MWAHAHA! These mages think everything is fine as long as they have their magic confinement! They have no idea about science! SCIENCE!”
The secret was in the metal frame of the bed the mage slept on.
Utilizing the metal tubing that conducted sound well, they could physically eavesdrop on the mage’s mumblings.
Additionally, they had cleverly hidden lenses arranged to observe the room’s situation in real time.
It was a pure product of science, no magic involved. No one could have suspected that dozens of times the cost went into installing such devices. Even if some old mage came in, they wouldn’t notice a thing.
“Too complacent… so very complacent… they must think the Capital Knights are just some mediocre bunch groveling under the nobles’ eyes?! I’ll exploit that gap in their complacency! We are the steel-cold enforcers of the law!”
Ronald danced in delight. He greatly enjoyed seeing lawbreakers receive their appropriate punishment.
If he could make a noble’s minion cry out, “But you said you’d save me, master…!!” it would be the best. Those who think they can commit crimes simply because they have power will inevitably face justice!
Just like that fellow who strutted into the prison relying on the Second Prince’s backing!
“The unreported noble attack that occurred in Crownhall is illegal! The mansion explosion and noise disturbance, and of course, the murder of nobles is also illegal!”
“We haven’t discovered the Baron’s corpse!”
“Then kidnapping a noble is illegal too!”
Of course, when the Second Prince exercised his power, the mage would be released. But that was merely a step back for two steps forward. The Capital Knights Order would not forget.
Considering the mage’s past records (which conveniently had little left) and his unusual activities (suddenly entering the Second Prince’s faction), he was presumed to be a secretly honed elite agent of the Second Prince.
Undoubtedly, an extraordinary status. If the Second Prince valued the mage, he would stop at nothing to drag him out of prison. Thus, Ronald was even more fired up.
Through surveillance, I’ll extract the information and deliver justice!
As Ronald clenched his fists and steeled his resolve, words that should never have been heard suddenly echoed through the surveillance equipment.
– Tower Master?
Silence.
“What…”
“What do you mean…?!”
A growing unrest began in the command center. The Tower Master? Wasn’t she safely stored inside the Purple Tower?
Ronald grabbed the collar of the knight who was listening in and shouted, “Eavesdropper! Say that again! I must have misheard! The closest witness must have heard what that mage just said!”
“She, she said… Tower Master! I heard it clearly!”
– Then I was going to sell you out to save myself. I’m so grateful you came; I was bored. Come here.
“Kyiiaaaak!!”
The mage’s voice pierced through like a hammer. Sure, this mage might be a bit of a lunatic, but the information collected until now… left only one possibility.
The explosion that blew up the mansion traced an unnatural cone shape, indicative of someone wielding great magical power. Very few could perform such a feat.
The mage was from his Tower. If so, it pointed to the mistress of the Purple Tower…
“Where’s the teleportation report?!”
“N-no confirmed data, Captain!”
“The teleportation report is missing?! Are you telling me that a strategic weapon slipped quietly into the capital?!”
What I thought was a ‘minor’ conflict between the Second Prince’s faction and the Duke of Redburn was not. No, it was not! The Second Prince had placed the card of the Purple Tower Master on the table without even clearing it with the Royal Family!
Ronald’s face dripped with cold sweat.
“The Second Prince… is he planning to start an all-out war…?!”
It wouldn’t be just a simple strife anymore. The Second Prince had drawn his sword. He was swiftly expanding his power without regard for the light or dark; it seemed he had made a decision. If so… if so…
“C-Captain! What should we… what should we prepare for?!”
“… Contact Team 1. Request a dispatch of the Capital Knights Order captain… and proceed!”
“Captain, do you really think that’s wise?! We’re bound to cause massive financial damage this way…!!”
“But there’s no other choice! In the face of a monster that has reached its peak, we need to bring forth an equal monster! We must mediate to prevent a full-blown war! No, at least… we must ensure that there are no fights occurring in Crownhall!!”
And mediation needed power.
“Oh, divine one…”
Ronald prayed earnestly for peace in Crownhall.
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