Marek Casino (1)
Marek Casino (1)
When he arrived at the Smaneg Guild's headquarters, Redin discovered a bunch of guild members wearing handcuffs.
Surrounding them were members of the Roswen Guild.
They were keeping an eye on the Smaneg Guild members, and in the center of it all, a restrained Barnes and a vigilant Rebecca.
He moved to stand beside her.
"How's the situation?"
"We've secured all useful things, and Senior Harris is contacting the Special Transport Unit."
A special transport unit.
It is a subset within the Special Task Force.
Composed of wizards who use spatial teleportation magic, they only operate when transporting high-profile criminals.
Like Barnes.
A high-ranking officer in the Magnes Organization.
Initially, they transported the criminals by themselves.
They have created a Knight Corps-like force with a Special Task Force member and a large number of Arresting Officers, but the high-ranking personnel are the key figures in any Criminal Organization.
So the criminal organizations are determined to extract them from the Burning Hell Convoy.
It would be advantageous if there was a teleporter nearby.
Unfortunately, in many cases, there was no such luxury, and in the journey, the whole squad of guards would be wiped out and the prisoner would be liberated.
A special transport unit was created to solve such problems.
"We'll have an easy journey back."
"I know."
She sounded like she was about to sigh, and he saw the look on Rebecca's face.
"Hey, is something wrong?"
"No."
"Judging by the look on your face, something's bothering you?"
"There's nothing like that."
Redin laughs internally as he watches Rebecca turn her head away. There can only be one reason for her to behave like this.
Jealousy of Talent.
The Rebecca of five years from now is a near-perfect person in terms of skill and personality, but her past history shows that she was often prone to bouts of jealousy.
In particular, to Khan.
'What's so different about him?'
'Why can't I do that?'
Growing up in a rough environment, Khan was never afraid to brandish his sword and use it to take down criminals.
Naturally, he amassed an impressive number of achievements.
Of the three main NPCs, he was the most active, quickly rising through the ranks to reach the highest position.
As for Rebecca, she was jealous of Khan.
She used that jealousy to further her own growth. Only, the target has changed from Khan to himself.
Although there is some awkwardness in this situation.
These will get sorted out later, when they work together in the war against Magnes.
"Redin!"
At the sound of an energetic voice, he turned his head to see Heather waving at him. Heather's expression is cheerful, and it looks like he has lost some weight.
Is it because he's stressed?
He was a little worried about how he'd fit in since he wasn't there originally, but judging by his expression, he seems to have adjusted well.
'Great.'
"It's been a while. How are you?"
Redin asked the cheerful Heather.
"Yeah. I've been good. And you?"
"Same here."
Redin casually answered.
"But that's pretty awesome. You single-handedly took down an executive of Magnes..."
"I got lucky."
"No way. It wasn't just luck that allowed you to capture him on your own! I want to quickly become stronger so I can help you... just wait a bit. I've decided to learn magic in earnest this time."
Heather's mouth didn't stop talking.
This time, there would be no more Special 7th Division.
A special education unit would be created and they would be assigned to it.
Heather went on and on.
Heather didn't stop talking until he wondered if he was ever this talkative.
"I could be good at this, right?"
"Uh."
The talent he had was insane.
And he's driven enough to do it.
All the conditions were there for him to blast through the ranks in a short period of time.
"You'll do great."
And at that moment, the special transport unit arrived.
Skrrrr!
A bright light appeared in the center of the Guild District, and a woman in a blue uniform stepped out carrying a staff.
"I'm Mea from the Special Transport Unit, may I ask who Sir Harris is?"
"I'll bring him over!"
Heather walked into the direction of the Smaneg Guild and came out with Harris, Seria, and a man he couldn't recognize.
"I'm Harris of the Special Task Force 7th Division."
"I'm Mea from the Special Transport Unit. I was contacted by headquarters and am here to transport the criminal, are you all ready?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll prepare right away."
When Mea thumped the floor with her staff, a huge magic circle was created, and an extremely potent surge of mana erupted.
Whoosh!
A small breeze stirred and a blue glow emanated from it. The spatial teleportation spell was complete as words were inscribed all over the magic circle.
"Please come up to the magic circle.
The prisoners were moved according to Mea's words. He grabbed Barnes by the scruff of his neck and threw him onto the magic circle.
And then he stepped onto the magic circle.
"We're leaving."
With Mea's words, a blue light poured from the circle once more, and through it he could see Hedun of the Roswen Guild.
Hedun was smiling with his eyes crinkled.
He remembered the conversation he'd had with the man before heading to the shanty town.
"I think we found what you were looking for, and I'll secure it for you in thanks for saving the lives of our guild members.
Having secured the second sword faster than anticipated, it gave him a boost of momentum.
Hidden pieces that seemed beyond his reach.
He intended to collect them one by one to hunt down Terry.
"Teleport."
Oooh!
* * *
Vice-Captain of the Special Task Force 7th Division.
Riena looked at the judge.
-Life Imprisonment.
-Life without parole.
-Life sentence.
-Imprisonment for life.
-Maximum punishment.
-Life Imprisonment.
"I sentence Barnes of the Magnes Organization to Life Imprisonment. This concludes the trial in the case of Barnes."
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The judge slammed his gavel down.
The communication orbs of the six kingdoms that gave the ruling shut down, and the judge rose from his seat and left the courtroom.
The guards who were waiting grabbed the fully restrained Barnes by the arms and led him through the door to the left that had Cerberus on it.
The Infinite Labyrinth.
Through there Barnes would rot for the rest of his life in a special cell on the second floor of the subterranean prison. She turned her gaze to look at Redin.
She had come to this place because of him.
"Redin."
Redin turned at Riena's voice. He smiled at the sight of a familiar face and made a small bow.
"It's been a while since we've seen each other, Vice-Captain."
"Indeed It has. By the way, how does it feel to have captured one yourself?"
Reina inquired at Redin while carefully examining his face.
"I don't know, maybe it's because I caught a Tervis before and it doesn't really impress me, it's just nice to catch a bad guy?"
"You caught him by yourself then, didn't you?"
"Yes. But what's this about?"
"You heard Harris, the warden wants to see you after this mission?"
"Yes"
"I think the warden is already there waiting for us. Let's go."
As she walked down the hall, Riena contemplated her concerns.
'Redin......'
As her expertise lies in handling information, she'd done some investigating on Redin prior to his acceptance into the Special Task Forces.
All she'd found out was that he'd only managed a passing grade on his entry exam and was near the bottom of the class.
And yet.
In just a few months, he'd single-handedly taken down Barnes, a high-ranking officer within Magnes.
'It doesn't make sense.'
No matter how talented he was, this wasn't something she could easily rationalize.
Catching the spy during the Burning Hell Incident.
His capture of Tervis.
Returning alive from a Dungeon.
Redin's accomplishments were beyond the norm. In fact, at this point, she was a little suspicious.
'Maybe Redin was hiding his talent.'
Of course, there are times when talent blossoms late and brings about rapid growth. So she figured it could be one of those things.
But Barnes was on a different level.
'If he's not hiding his true ability, I can't wrap my head around it.'
Having known him for so long, she know that he was a good person and a pleasant individual.
But whether his intentions were good or bad.
It wasn't acceptable to deceive one's colleagues.
Especially.
Especially after losing Justina to the betrayal of a fellow member of the team who was concealing something from them, this was not something she could easily let go of.
Maybe it wasn't hiding the truth.
Still, she decided it was best to get it out in the open.
"Redin, I have one question, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Sure."
"How exactly did you manage to capture Barnes?"
As though it weren't important.
She blurted it out and scrutinized Redin's expression.
There was no discernible reaction.
If anything, he appeared to be confused and he repeated the question.
"How did I capture...."
"It's a bit awkward to say, but I thought it was impossible to catch Barnes with the skills you have now."
"Oh. That was luck."
"Luck?"
"I met the Swordswoman in the City of Labyrinth. I had the privilege of receiving some guidance from her, and that helped a lot."
Sword Master.
One of the top three sword master in the continent. To be taught by a woman who had reached the level of a master, who had created the Moon Pavilion and who had produced numerous outstanding individuals.
It was certainly possible.
"I really didn't expect you to have such luck."
She felt relieved that it turned out to be a mistake. At the same time, her face flushed slightly at the unwarranted suspicion.
He wasn't the kind of kid to do that.
"What did you imagine... perhaps...."
"No. We're running late. Let's run."
Riena broke into a quick pace, trying to cool her flushed face.
'I'll trust you completely from now on.'
* * *
After being escorted to the Warden's Office, he quietly chuckled as he watched Riena leave.
He was expecting something like this.
A sudden increase in skill can be considered suspicious by anyone, so he has prepared a number of contingency measures.
This time, he'd gotten really lucky and met the swordswoman, making it easier.
"Please come in."
At the secretary's words, he rose from his seat and walked to the door of the warden's office. Checking his uniform briefly, he lightly knocked.
*Knock!* Knock!
"This is Redin of the Special Task Force 7th Division."
"Come in."
Opening the door, he stepped inside the warden's office.
Inside, there was a middle-aged man sitting at a desk.
His hair was white and cropped short.
He had the kind of handsome appearance you'd expect to see in a fashion magazine.
Warden Rukel, the man who oversees Burning Hell.
He never thought he would meet a character in the game who wasn't shown in any illustrations.
The man stood up and smiled.
"It is an honor to meet the rising star of Burning Hell. Come and have a seat."
"Yes."
Redin sat down on the couch, and Rukel sat across from me.
"Is a Special Task Force job worth it?"
"Yes."
"Normally, I would have changed your promotion epaulettes and handed you your plaques and medals in front of a large group of people, but I didn't have time."
Rukel looks apologetic, but Redin know it's an act.
-Burning Hell needs a mascot.
It will be a similar scene this time.
"That's fine."
"I'll tell them to prepare it as quickly as possible, so you can look forward to it next time. In the meantime, if there's anything else you want, tell me. I'll grant it to the extent that I can."
"I want Marek Casino released."
"Marek Casino? You want me to release a prisoner?"
He nodded at Rukel's question.
"Yes."
"I'd like to hear your reason."
Rukel should have been perplexed, but he remained calm and asked for the explanation. Is it because he's the one who led Burning Hell to prominence?
Still, it wasn't surprising.
"I had a lot of help from Marek Casino on this mission."
He explained to Rukel the same things he'd explained to Daylon.
How he was able to save Seria and Heather.
What had provoked Viscount Bothaman.
The things that had happened to the Smaneg Guild.
All with the slightest bit of falsehood that he'd gotten the information from Marek, who had been a spy of Magnes.
"Interesting. May I also ask what you intend to do with Marek if I set him free?"
'Heh'
Warden Rukel questioned Redin while staring at him, with a slight upturn of his lips.
"I'll use Marek to take down Viscount Bothaman, and then he'll blow the whistle on Terry because he doesn't want to die alone."
"So your ultimate goal is Terry."
"Yes."
Rukel smiled meaningfully.
"Do you think you can catch Terry before the Great Hell War?"
"I can."
"Very well, I'll arrange for Marek's release."