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138
“I said I was simply working for the city, didn’t I?”
The immediately conducted search of the city hall and the manor concluded empty-handed.
A now-emboldened Pirnen was wearing a sneer.
Leon standing before her gave a calm nod.
“Indeed, no material evidence related to the charges was found. As things stand, the offenses cannot be proven.”
“You’re more reasonable than I expected. You’re free to conduct any other investigations, but without clear evidence, you won’t be able to take me away.”
-?
-What?
-What happens now?
-Anticlimactic end, I guess.
-Tch……
The viewers showed baffled reactions at the atmosphere seemingly heading for a hollow conclusion.
But the situation was not yet over.
“Vice-Captain!”
A voice reached the ears of Pirnen, who had been about to leave.
Turning to look, a knight was running over with a wooden crate held to their chest.
“Collection complete!”
The knight, standing before the vice-captain, gave a salute and began organizing the contents by opening the crate.
“……?”
The items removed one by one caught Pirnen’s attention.
Books, parchments, crystal balls and other materials that seemed somehow familiar.
Sensing something was off, she took a step forward.
And the uneasy premonition proved correct.
“H, how did you——!”
All unfavorable evidence existing in Ifrit had been moved elsewhere.
A secret warehouse managed by the Artua family.
Those who knew of its existence numbered only a precious few.
Let alone the possibility of that information finding its way to the Royal Guard.
“Well done. With this, the charges against Mayor Pirnen de Artua will be proven with material evidence.”
Having looked over the evidence, Leon gave a nod.
That composed declaration detonated Pirnen’s fury.
“You…… what have you done?”
“I investigated the location of the evidence based on a tip.”
“Nonsense! That is not a place the likes of you could enter!”
Pirnen, fuming and snorting with heated breath.
But Leon was not the type to engage with every word of that.
“Mayor Pirnen de Artua, you will be subjected to a full investigation based on the secured evidence. We will prepare for transfer to the Royal Capital.”
“D, don’t touch me! Do you know who I am? I am Pirnen of the Artua family!”
-So it ends up like this. Lol.
-Self-introduction tier one.
-Off you go~
-Thumbs up if Bares is excited to get a prison buddy.
The struggling Pirnen was quickly bound by a knight.
As she was being taken to the carriage for transport, Leon added one more order.
“Please take Mayor Pirnen directly to the commander. Showing him the evidence alongside will ensure an investigation environment free from Artua family interference.”
“Yes sir!”
Knights and soldiers beginning to move with a salute.
Leon, watching that, turned and approached Hanbit.
“Black Dragon, you have rendered great service once again. Had it not been for you, we would nearly have lost Ifrit — an important city. On behalf of the knights of Raven Kingdom, who should have fulfilled that role, I offer my thanks.”
A sincere greeting delivered with proper courtesy.
Having straightened her posture, she raised a question.
“By the way — how did you discover the location where Mayor Pirnen was hiding the evidence? It was a place difficult to reach even within the Artua family’s domain.”
“It was information Bollibo discovered. He had been tracking Pirnen’s movements for a long time — and that was apparently the one location where she would pay particularly careful attention whenever she went there.”
“I see. Understood.”
Leon gave a nod and shifted her gaze to behind Hanbit.
There, a woman in a white lab coat was standing.
“That must be the Holy Nation scientist Isis you mentioned.”
“That’s right. She’s in a bit of a rough state right now, but she’ll be fine before long.”
Isis, standing behind him, was in quite a dejected state.
Her movements having been constrained two and three times over, she had been unable to observe the course of the monster wave in detail.
The sight of the Yeti returned as a carcass had particularly crushed her.
Because her greatest curiosity was how the creature had changed and how much stronger it had become.
“Investigation into the monster wave will proceed from here. As the scientist is in an unstable state, would it be acceptable to leave her in your custody until then?”
“Of course. I have some things I need to look into as well.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll depart right away.”
Having relayed her farewell, Leon immediately moved toward the city gate with her subordinates.
Kim Jaeha, watching that, sidled over and asked:
“What happened exactly? Didn’t Pirnen destroy the evidence herself?”
Having been absorbed in learning dwarven metallurgy, he had found it difficult to follow the unfolding situation.
Hanbit shook his head and answered.
“Rather than destroy, it would be more accurate to say she mostly hid it. The transaction-related materials were a lifeline for Pirnen.”
Pirnen, who had not been seen right up until before the final wave.
She had been absorbed in erasing incriminating evidence in preparation for the Royal Guard’s arrival.
But being unable to give up the financial channel that maintained her standing within the family, she had left some room for a deal.
“Ahem.”
Just then, Bollibo beside them let out a false cough.
Hanbit gave a quiet smile and added the explanation.
“The one who provided the location where that evidence was hidden, along with the covert transaction routes she had been using, was Bollibo. Quite a significant achievement.”
“Of course. Do you know how much surveillance I had to do because of that person.”
-So he was useful after all!
-That’s the least he could do.
-Info) The wave defense preparations were all funded by Bollibo.
-Ah, that’s right.
-He should’ve said so;
Bollibo, having waited for the recognition of his achievement, spoke with a proud air.
Various information he had always maintained in his grasp, having needed to keep an eye on the mayor for the sake of his business.
It had been passed on to Leon in full.
“It’s truly…… over.”
Jinuk had not watched his sister be taken away to the end.
Not out of guilt — it was a resolve to give no sympathy whatsoever.
In the investigation of witnesses, he would give his testimony exactly as the facts stood.
“I’ll go help the vice-captain. Unfamiliar terrain would be hard to navigate.”
Having found his own task, he headed toward the city gate through which Leon had departed.
Almost no one remained around.
Adventurers including Zenon, and dwarves with Gorik at the lead, were moving to restore the city.
“But why hasn’t the episode ended? The mayor has been arrested.”
Kim Jaeha, thinking the situation had concluded, raised his question.
A reasonable thought — but one important person still remained.
“It’ll end once Leon takes Isis and departs. The theme of the Ifrit episode was Mayor Pirnen and the monster wave.”
Pirnen’s irritating attitude had stood out particularly in the episode, but Isis was a key figure as well.
Looking at the dejected scientist, Hanbit turned his gaze toward the red tower rising in the distance.
“Let’s go to the magic research institute.”
***
“You want me to share my research with this woman?”
Research Director Levius, looking at Isis before him, asked in bafflement.
Because he knew she was the one responsible for the monster wave and a person affiliated with the Holy Nation.
“Is she really…… a Holy Nation person?”
Nia, who had been busily organizing books, sidled over and asked.
Hanbit, looking at the slumped, glasses-wearing scientist, answered:
“Not particularly devout or anything like that. Think of her as just a mad person who loves research.”
“Oh, oh…….”
At the expression ‘mad person,’ Nia subtly backed away.
Then she pretended not to have heard anything and resumed organizing the books.
-Lol.
-A blunt statement of fact.
-You steer clear of mad people.
Not particularly dangerous, but certainly not good for Nia’s sensibilities.
Watching that, Levius let out a sigh and said:
“So — what is this about sharing my research?”
“I intend to make use of a research ability with a completely different perspective. Isis’s unexpectedness will be of help. There are clearly limits with the orthodox approach.”
“…….”
He could not dispute the point about limits.
An unfinished work he had ultimately been unable to complete.
Having felt to the bone that it was beyond his own ability, he had handed the spellbook to Black Dragon who wielded spirit power.
If that person had now seen possibility in a Holy Nation scientist — it had persuasive weight.
“Can this woman truly transcend those limits?”
“She won’t stagnate, at least — so it’s worth trusting.”
“…Hmm.”
At the renewed persuasion, Levius sank into thought for a moment.
But the deliberation didn’t take long.
“Very well. With your assurance as well, let’s give it a try.”
“Thank you. Then first I’ll show you the spellbook.”
Taking the thick book from his inventory, Hanbit approached Isis.
She was still in her dejected state.
“Read this.”
“What would be the point. I’m a fool of a scientist who couldn’t even observe her own research…….”
-Negativity MAX.
-Her voice is going faint. Lol.
-The fact that she’s like this because she couldn’t watch the monsters die is something else.
-‘Mad person.’
Isis muttering in a downcast voice.
She would return to normal in a few hours — but there was no time to let that happen.
“Look at it and we’ll talk. It’s related to spirit research.”
“Hm? Spirits?”
She reacted to those one words and snapped her head up.
Then she snatched the thick spellbook and began rapidly flipping through it.
“Oh…… an interesting approach. The shift in atmospheric mana flow was certainly the most intuitive aspect. I had my own hypotheses too…….”
Isis muttering to herself as she devoured the spellbook.
Levius, watching it as though keeping guard.
Initially skeptical, he gradually began to listen as she spoke.
Even an exchange of opinions followed.
“There was another approach on that side. Placing magic stones and adjusting them like patterns to trace the flow of strong mana.”
“That’s not bad either. But focusing on just one point is too ordinary. Thinking about natural elements, a random pattern instead would…….”
Before anyone noticed, the two had begun a discussion.
That conversation led to Isis’s flashing thoughts.
“Can I write in this? I think I can adjust it in an interesting direction!”
Having read all the contents, she picked up the magical pen placed nearby.
Then she began flipping through the spellbook and writing something here and there.
Shhk—
Work continuing with a face full of joy.
Having filled the last blank page with writing, Isis closed the book with a face mixing happiness and lingering regret.
“This really is a research overflowing with potential! If I had known spirits better, I could have improved it so much more!”
“…You’re saying you’ve already revised my spellbook?”
“The existing content had the direction slightly off. So! I applied what I felt from researching Glacier the Ice Elemental King’s ice! I’m not gifted in magic myself so I couldn’t use it directly, though.”
A surprised Levius and Isis continuing her explanation as though it were only natural.
Hanbit, quietly listening to that, looked over the thick book.
‘What has changed.’
Modifying the spellbook also changes the contents of the magic.
Depending on the degree, it could either result in failure — or a new magic could emerge.
In other words, it could be different from the previously learned ‘Elemental Amplification.’
“I’ll try using it.”
Shhk—
He placed his hand on it and slowly turned the cover.
Then a hologram window with a gold border appeared.
[Will you use it? (Yes / No)]
-Hm?
-Wasn’t this already a used spellbook?
-Why is it gold again?
-This is a bug.
-Hand hovering over the report button.
-The spellbook not disappearing in the first place was already a glitch.
The viewers were convinced this was a bug.
But Hanbit, who had already sensed it intuitively, immediately reached out.
Click—
The moment he touched ‘Yes,’ the hologram disappeared.
The message appeared right after.
[Hidden Elemental Skill: Elemental Manifestation (Rank 3 — Epic) has been removed.]
[Hidden Skill: Elemental Amplification (Rank 4 — Epic) has been removed.]
[Hidden Elemental Skill: Elemental Awakening (Rank 5 — Epic) has been added.]
