The ruins of a collapsed building littered the ground.
Dwight Neinhart, the golden-eyed boy, murmured softly as he surveyed the ongoing recovery efforts at the disaster site.
“…It’s completely fallen apart.”
This was the Miasma Purification Facility he had once visited with Florene and Scarlet. The place where the building once stood was now reduced to total ruin.
A twinge of sadness flared up in him at the loss of a place filled with memories, but Dwight quietly suppressed it. He wasn’t here to mourn the fallen structure.
“…”
Dwight focused on absorbing the stark landscape as objectively as he could. All that met his eyes were the remnants of a collapsed building.
To anyone else, it might seem like an ordinary sight, but to Dwight, who had already witnessed a similar scene seven times, it felt entirely different.
Recently, the city had suffered significant damage from high-tier Beasts that had invaded, affecting various facilities along their path. Among these was the Miasma Purification Facility, which had been a key part of the city.
Due to the attacks from the Beasts, the city lost a total of seven Miasma Purification Facilities, resulting in difficulties dealing with the carcasses of the high-tier Beasts they had slain.
As everyone pondered how to recover from the damages after the crisis had settled, Dwight had a different thought. Instead of worrying about how to cope with the aftermath, he started to question why such damage occurred in the first place.
While contemplating this, a hypothesis suddenly sprang to his mind—one he couldn’t dare share with anyone else. The mere act of thinking such thoughts could earn him some serious backlash, after all.
Normally, one would dismiss such thoughts, but Dwight Neinhart was a Mage.
He believed nothing but what he witnessed with his own eyes. That was his principle as a Mage.
Thus, he decided to investigate on his own.
If his hypothesis turned out to be incorrect, it would be a relief. However, should there be even the slightest chance that it was true…
He didn’t want to imagine what that would entail.
But the more he continued his investigation, the more he found that—
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Dwight felt the hypothesis he had conceived gaining more and more plausibility.
So, half wanting to deny it and half wanting certainty, he made his first and last request for assistance in his solitary investigation.
“…Please, Rhea.”
Rhea Abela, an investigator from the Department of Public Safety who responded to Dwight’s request, began rummaging through the debris.
She was a psychometric ability user capable of reading the memories of places and objects.
After focusing hard enough to bleed from her nose, she finally unearthed a piece of paper that retained its shape amidst the rubble and handed it to Dwight with a pale face.
Upon hearing the words she uttered along with the paper she presented, Dwight blurted out,
“…Damn it.”
Even though he was supposed to maintain his composure as a Mage, he couldn’t hide the turmoil of his emotions, contorting his expression.
It seemed his hypothesis wasn’t wrong after all.
The paper, bearing the signature of a renowned Hero, trembled in Dwight’s hand.
*
An interrogation regarding allegations of treason was held.
Those gathered at the interrogation venue wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
The reason for the confusion was that the subject of the treason accusation was none other than the Dolos family.
What kind of family was Dolos?
A family often mentioned alongside Aegis and Astra as one of the three great houses of the city.
It wasn’t just because they were a large family with considerable power.
Aegis had vanquished the Witch of Gluttony, Astra had defeated the Witch of Wrath, and Dolos was a house led by a hero who had once commanded a band of seventy to defeat the Witch of Lust.
Moreover, everyone knew that they had tirelessly worked for humanity since the past, which was why they were naturally referred to as one of the three great houses.
Dolos was a family deeply trusted by all.
So to present allegations of treason against such a family was a situation where one would question who dared to do so.
All eyes turned to the current head of the Dolos family, Diakonos Dolos, and the members of Dolos sitting in attendance.
“Our Dolos accused of treason…”
Diakonos muttered, his voice echoing quietly through the conference room.
As usual, his tone was composed, but those who heard him felt a chilling undertone beneath it, like a ferocious winter wind.
Surely, it was unpleasant to be doubted, and most attendees were nervously stealing glances at the Dolos family.
At that moment,
“Is there a problem with someone sitting there?”
A voice responded to Diakonos’ murmur.
People hurriedly turned their heads to find the source of such audacity.
They quickly realized who had summoned this interrogation.
Neinhart. A magician family who, while not as prominent as the three great houses, still possessed considerable renown. Dwight Neinhart, regarded as the best talent since the creation of barriers by his ancestor, Violet Neinhart, was staring at Diakonos with a somber gaze.
“…Dwight, was it you who raised the suspicion?”
Someone exclaimed in a panic, realizing the identity of the one who had called for the interrogation.
“That’s right. Is there a problem with that, Marin?”
It was Marin Eloise, who had come out with her mother, Natalia, upon hearing the news of Dolos facing interrogation.
“Is there a problem? Are you serious? You and Florene are friends! What on earth are you thinking?!”
Marin was angry at Dwight.
She considered him a friend, but he had raised an absurd suspicion concerning Florene’s family.
She saw Florene staring at Dwight in shock from a distance and condemned him, but—
“Even if it’s a friend’s family, the construction must be distinguished. It was something that needed to be done. If it turns out you’re right, I’ll get down on my knees and apologize, but for now, I’d appreciate it if you could remain silent.”
Dwight responded with a completely businesslike demeanor, leaving Marin at a loss for words.
At that, Diakonos nodded and added,
“His words are correct. Regardless of friendship, or even family ties, such matters must be addressed clearly. You asked me if I had any complaints earlier; I have none. If a suspicion arises, that person must take a seat here, regardless of who they are. Of course, if it’s an unfounded suspicion, the one who raised it should be held accountable.”
Having said that, Diakonos turned to Dwight and calmly added one more thing.
“By the way, I, along with our Dolos family, have always worked for the happiness of humanity and have never committed any act that harms it.”
Upon that tranquil declaration, everyone anticipated Dwight would have a tough time ahead.
Diakonos asserting their innocence made it seem impossible for him to be uncertain.
In response to Diakonos’ words, Dwight muttered in a somber voice.
“…I hope that’s true.”
With that murmur, he glanced momentarily at Florene standing in the corner.
Gathering his resolve, he closed his eyes tightly for a moment before opening them and spoke.
“Now then, let me explain why I found Dolos suspicious.”
Dwight addressed the crowd.
“You’re all aware of recent events. The city took significant damage from the attack of high-tier Beasts; you couldn’t have missed it.”
Using a sweeping gesture, Dwight beckoned everyone’s attention.
Suddenly, a magic circle illuminated the air, projecting a map.
The map briefly depicted the areas affected by the attack of the Beasts.
“As you know, this damage occurred due to the sudden appearance of the Beasts in the Boundary Area. We speculated that the Witch with teleportation abilities must have somehow bypassed the teleportation barrier set up in the Boundary Area and brought those Beasts inside.”
The frontline area outside the Boundary Area was always under strict vigilance by Astrape, 24/7.
It was, of course, impossible for high-tier Beasts to have crossed over through that entry.
Thus, until now, they had presumed the Witch who summoned the Beasts had brought them into the city.
However—
“What if that’s not the case?”
Dwight stated otherwise.
With murmurs arising among the crowd, Dwight spoke directly to Diakonos.
“The teleportation barrier. I don’t think you’re unaware of it, considering you led the construction of it in the Boundary Area. However, the fact that Beasts were brought through teleportation? That’s impossible while it’s operational. It’s absolutely unfeasible. I know better than anyone about the specifications of that magic barrier. I’ve researched that spell embedded in the barrier for a number of years. I stake my reputation as a Mage on that.”
As Dwight invoked his honor as a Mage, the crowd was struck silent.
Then the question arose: Just where and how had the Beasts entered?
“Considering that, the answer is quite simple.”
Dwight declared.
“The Beasts didn’t invade; they were born right there.”
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