Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Back to the Everyday (4)
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“So what are you asking me to do? What changes if I admit to being brainwashed?”
“Well… you’ll both be acquitted.”
Canis’s expression went blank. He had followed Arcane and broken criminals out of Inferno. He was also the one who had endangered the lives of hundreds at the magic academy. Even if he wasn’t the mastermind, an acquittal was a verdict that should have been impossible.
“Acquitted…? Us?”
“Ah, yes, provided you admit to being brainwashed. In any case, the Association is currently focusing on the possibility of brainwashing.”
Admit it, and be set free. Become a free man. Not only him, but Arin too, could live a new life as if nothing had ever happened.
This time, even Canis felt his blood run cold. What was strangest of all was the Association’s judgment. Why were they so eager to release criminals when they should be locking them up?
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Sakiri rummaged through a file as if he had just remembered something. Perhaps he really had. In any case, Arin couldn’t read the investigator’s emotions.
“Arcane’s designated lawyer sent an official notice. They requested anonymity, but the notarization is complete. Please, take a look. These are documents regarding his assets, his will, and his inheritance.”
“A will?”
As if no words were needed, Sakiri pushed the documents across the table.
With trembling hands, Canis examined them one by one. Arcane’s will was nothing special. It simply listed matters to be handled after his death in a calm script.
Among them was this line.
[Document] All assets are to be transferred to Canis.
‘Master….’
He didn’t think that Arcane was secretly a warm person or that he had looked out for his student in private. Rather, because he was a man who had pushed his beliefs with such conviction, his attitude toward Canis must have also been genuine.
Arcane proved that with his will. He was a man who didn't care for his student's life, but he had still considered Canis his one and only disciple.
Putting down the will, Canis checked the list of assets.
Real estate, including various dungeons, physical assets like magical equipment, expensive artifacts, rare medicinal herbs, and the amount deposited in the bank were all neatly organized.
‘One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand…’
Canis counted the total value of the assets listed at the bottom.
‘4.8 billion gold…’
It was a colossal sum, one befitting the wealth accumulated by the great mage Arcane over 150 years. As such, Canis couldn’t comprehend the current situation. First, they were talking about a sudden acquittal, and now they were telling him he was the heir to a fortune of 4.8 billion gold.
Sakiri scratched his head, looking troubled.
“However, there is a slight problem. Arcane bequeathing his inheritance to you, Canis, was surely a sign of acknowledging you as his student. But from the Magic Association’s perspective, well, brainwashing is a kind of… injection of a false self, isn’t it? In the end, I believe you were deceived by Arcane. How else could you have committed such a heinous act? That’s why the Association is considering an acquittal by any means. But if that happens…”
“I won’t receive the inheritance? Because I wouldn’t be Arcane’s student?”
For the first time, Sakiri’s expression softened into a gentle one. Of course, his 초경 remained utterly unchanged.
“Yes. That’s precisely the issue. The person Arcane named as his heir was the brainwashed Canis, not the un-brainwashed Canis. Ultimately, this money will be classified as illicit funds and revert to the Association, but before that, we wanted to hear your thoughts. If you admit to being brainwashed, you’ll be acquitted. And then you just need to sign here.”
Sakiri presented an additional document. Canis stared at it with empty eyes.
Inheritance Waiver.
If he admitted to being brainwashed, he would be found innocent. He would just be a victim used by Arcane. But if so, the fortune Arcane had left him would fall squarely into someone else’s hands.
In the end, the Association had chosen the practical gain of 4.8 billion gold over locking up two young punks.
“We can give you time, but it could work against you in the trial. It would create suspicion about the voluntary nature of your crimes. I mean, does it make sense? Of course you were brainwashed. Otherwise, why would you and Arin commit such a monstrous crime?”
His mind went blank. He had thought he wasn’t afraid to die fighting. But the investigator was talking about an acquittal. He was sure he had done something wrong, but they were telling him it never happened.
‘This place is no different from Radum.’
The outside world wasn’t some sun-drenched greenhouse either. It was just a battlefield where a colossal greed, cloaked in the guise of law, swirled.
As Canis hesitated to answer, Sakiri clicked his tongue and stood up.
“In that case, I’ll give you some time. About an hour…”
“I’ll sign.”
Sakiri, who was halfway to his feet, froze. Then, smiling again, he sat back down in his chair.
“A wise decision. Now, right here…”
Sakiri personally handed over his own fountain pen. Canis wrote his name on the signature line of the waiver.
The pen scratched across the paper. With a pleased smile, Sakiri took the pen back and checked the document.
“Congratulations on becoming a free man. Now that it’s over, I’ll say you made the right choice. Hiring a lawyer would have only complicated things.”
A lawyer. He hadn’t even considered it. Should he have hired one?
No, Sakiri wasn’t lying.
If the Magic Association were a lenient organization, they wouldn’t have pushed a waiver on him in the first place.
“What do we do now?”
“Let’s see. Well, you can just leave. You’re free, after all.”
Canis and Arin were, in a manner of speaking, flat broke. But Sakiri couldn’t care less as he gathered his documents and turned to leave.
“Where do we go for the release procedure…?”
“There’s nothing like that. You can just go.”
His attitude, like he was shooing away a bothersome salesman, made Canis understand the situation.
From the very beginning, the Magic Association hadn’t given a damn about them. They had merely spent two bothersome hours to reclaim Arcane’s fortune.
More miserable than the blow to his pride was the overwhelming power of the Association, which he knew he was helpless against. He could feel in his bones just how incredible a man Arcane, who had boldly fought against the nations of the continent, had been.
Canis regained his composure. Things were clear now. He was a combat mage. And now that he knew how to fight, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.
“Hey, you.”
Sakiri turned his head at the door.
“Did you call me?”
“You’re a mage too, right?”
“Hmm, you could say that. All employees of the Magic Association are mages.”
“What’s your rank?”
“I’m an official Grade 5, but why do you ask?”
Canis could imagine the level of his enemy. An investigator from the Magic Association was an official Grade 5, and he was a man like this.
“I’m not finished here. I will absolutely not stay down like this.”
“I see. You shouldn’t. Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
“One day… I’ll definitely make you my subordinate.”
Sakiri’s hand, which had been turning the doorknob, stopped. He thought for a moment, then turned back to Canis and gave a faint, smiling squint.
“I suppose you’ll have to study very hard for that. The competition for this position is quite fierce, you know. But in the unlikely event that such a situation arises…”
Sakiri placed his right hand over his heart and spoke.
“I’ll be in your care then.”
Canis didn't react to the investigator's unusual gesture. He only realized how thoroughly pragmatic Sakiri was. A simple bow costs nothing. After all, no one knows what the future holds.
Once Sakiri left, Arin turned to Canis with a smile. In any case, being acquitted wasn’t a bad thing. Wasn’t it better than rotting in prison for the rest of their lives with 4.8 billion gold to their name?
“Canis, you made the right choice.”
“There are… a lot of strong people in the world.”
The corners of Canis’s lips lifted slightly. With a new goal in mind, his heart was pounding as intensely as it had when he first met Arcane.
“Arin, let’s get stronger.”
“Okay…”
Arin looked at the door Sakiri had exited through. Canis would one day return here. Because this was not their end, she too could move toward the future.
After leaving the interrogation room, Sakiri headed straight for the Inspector’s office. For a case of this magnitude, the matter had been resolved quite easily. Arcane’s death was a major factor. There were no legal clashes, and Alpheas admitting to his other crimes had also played a key role.
The Inspector’s office was a luxurious room with marble floors. The man known as the Iron Inspector, a legend in Inspection Division 3, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window.
“Inspector, here are the approval documents for the recent case.”
“Leave them on the desk.”
Sakiri placed the file on the desk. Normally, he would have left right away, but this time he couldn't suppress his curiosity and turned back at the door.
“Will everything be alright with the Alpheas matter?”
“Why? Do you think there will be talk from the higher-ups?”
“A six-month suspension is on the lenient side. But I don’t think there will be any complaints. It was something that happened forty years ago, there was no intent to injure, and if you consider the 4.8 billion gold as bail, I believe it’s a reasonable settlement.”
“Then why do you ask?”
Asking back meant his guess was correct. Feeling like he had stirred up unnecessary trouble, Sakiri smacked his lips. But since the topic was already out, backtracking would also be a bad move.
“I was just wondering if it was meant as a form of atonement.”
The Inspector was silent for a long while. Then he slowly turned to face Sakiri.
“I did do Alpheas a disservice. But I have never once decided a sinner’s punishment based on personal feelings.”
“My apologies. That was a slip of the tongue.”
“You may leave.”
Flustered, Sakiri hurriedly exited the Inspector’s office. He might be an infamous investigator to criminals, but within the Association, he was just another mage who had to watch what he said around his superiors.
The Inspector opened the file. After carefully reviewing the sentences, he took out his fountain pen and brought it to the approval line. Countless memories flashed through his mind. He was a white-haired old man now, but when he recalled that time, he felt as if his jaw, which had been struck at Alpheas’s house, still throbbed.
“Tch. I told you I should have brought a gift.”
He had never visited Alpheas since his mistake with Erina, but he had lived his life never accepting the fact that he had lost.
But in the 40 years that had passed, the theory of photons had undergone evolution and innovation, and it continued to change the world even now.
He could no longer deny what a genius achievement Alpheas had accomplished back then.
“Heh heh. This is a belated gift. The Gold Circle was yours, after all.”
The Inspector stamped his signature on the document.
Arduino Sarope.
End-of-Semester Report Card (1)
The end of the semester, the time when academy students were most on edge, had arrived. The results of half a year’s work were condensed onto a single sheet of paper. The cutoff line that determined promotion or failure was as terrifying as a guillotine.
Alpheas had received a six-month suspension of his teaching license from the Magic Association. The suspension would take effect next semester; for now, Colly, the most senior teacher, was serving as the acting headmaster.
Alpheas, who had been clearing weeds from a flowerbed, straightened up and smiled. In the distance, his adorable students were walking over. Shirone, Iruki, and Nade. They were now infamous troublemakers known throughout the school, but that was precisely why he had high hopes for their futures.
“Hello, Headmaster.”
“Ho ho. I told you not to call me Headmaster. Right now, I’m just an old man doing odd jobs.”
“Oh, come on. You’ll be Headmaster again in just six months.”
Alpheas simply chuckled. He was grateful to the students who still supported him, yet at the same time, he felt he didn’t deserve it and couldn’t quite hold his head high.