Episode 589
Episode 589
"That's quite difficult. Actually, I was considering burning them with fire..."
When Nigisor spoke seriously, the friends beside him were startled.
"Isn't burning them with fire a bit too much?"
"Right. I think other forms of torture would be better."
What an interesting opinion!
"Huh?"
At Oryulas's exclamation, the students swayed slightly.
The opinion of a demon who had served as an Imperial Law Officer for 131 years was worth listening to.
"How about drowning them in water?"
What a clever opinion!
"What about hanging them upside down?"
What a polite opinion!
Thanks to Oryulas's encouragement, the students began suggesting creative methods without hesitation.
Lee Han, who had been listening nearby, asked in puzzlement:
"These are all good ideas, but is it okay to do such things to innocent people?"
"Wardanaz is right. In the end, if there's no way to distinguish them, these methods would be meaningless."
Gainando Do, who had been listening to the conversation, raised his hand and spoke.
"If we drown both of them, the fake one might talk!"
"Tsk, that prince bastard. Calling that an idea... Uh, is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay."
Lee Han smacked the back of a White Tiger Tower student who seemed a bit too eager.
"Are you saying we should deceive the students?"
-Correct. Work together with the Empire's upstanding citizens here to conceal your suspicious behavior.
The Death Knight explained the day's tasks to the criminals they had brought along.
Mingle with the Empire's upstanding citizens and deceive the students.
That was the criminals' task for the day.
"...??"
"?????"
Naturally, the criminals who had been dragged here found this utterly absurd.
They'd been kidnapped and brought all this way just for that??
The upstanding citizens nearby also seemed flustered and asked:
"W-wait, you actually brought real criminals? Is that even allowed?"
-Haha. Of course it's allowed. Every action taken today has been approved under Imperial law.
"What kind of nonsense is this! You brought us here just for that?!"
-Are you incapable of learning?
The Death Knight scoffed in disbelief at the young mercenary's whining and gestured.
At that, the back door opened, and Death Knights dragged away the mercenary who had just shouted.
"No! No... Aaagh! Aaaaagh!"
Tortured screams came from the direction of the back door.
After some time had passed,
the mercenary returned, his face completely pale, trembling as he muttered:
"I was wrong. I'll do my best. I was wrong. I'll do my best."
-Good. Everyone do your best. Those who deceive well will receive leniency, but those who get caught will face harsher punishment.
At the Death Knights' words, the criminals gulped.
The task itself seemed lighthearted and almost laughable, but the consequences of failure were anything but light.
They couldn't even imagine what would happen if they failed!
'Still, this might be for the best.'
Once their fear and panic subsided, the criminals—seasoned mercenaries and adventurers—quickly began thinking.
Separate from their fear, this situation wasn't the worst.
Deceiving naive students was far better than becoming test subjects for a black mage.
-Now. Wait here. There are students over there, so don't make any unnecessary noise.
No sooner had the Death Knight finished speaking than the sound of students arguing could be heard from the other side.
-Isn't burning them with fire a bit much?
-How about drowning them in water?
"......"
The criminals' faces turned ashen.
Horrifying rumors about mages suddenly resurfaced in their minds.
Don't be too nervous, mage. In fact, this test is much safer than the last one.
"That may be true, but..."
Professor Rojinae crossed her arms and cast a glance.
"Nor is it an easy exam."
That was also a fair point.
Oripulas replied coolly.
Earlier, he had encouraged the students' proposed methods, but in truth, those approaches were highly limited and difficult to implement.
Such interrogation methods bordering on torture could only be used when the suspect's identity was already confirmed—they couldn't be recklessly employed when information was lacking.
If someone shouted, "Elder! Please endure a little dunking in water so we can uncover the truth!" to a perfectly ordinary imperial citizen, even an Einrogard student might get slapped in the face.
"Now, let the test begin!"
Gainando walked forward with a tense expression.
At that moment, two imperial citizens entered from the opposite door.
"Greetings, Mage. I am Ubal, who runs a rare bookshop in the city of Illeinas."
"Greetings, Mage. I am Kilbedek, who runs a general store in the village of Deep Hollow Path."
Oripulas clicked his tongue as he observed them.
Kilbedek's mistake was immediately apparent.
While it was good that he boldly stuck to the truth rather than clumsily altering his identity, his nervous stuttering gave him away.
Fortunately, the student didn't seem to notice.
"Rare bookshop, general store. Rare bookshop, general store..."
After careful consideration, Gainando turned to Professor Rojine.
"Ubal seems suspicious."
"Why do you think so?"
"Well, don't all booksellers have twisted and wicked souls?"
"......"
"......"
Both Ubal and Professor Rojine were momentarily speechless. The professor silently apologized with his eyes.
-My apologies.
-It's fine. Heh heh.
Kilbedek, suspecting a trap, cautiously stepped in to defend.
"Um, I don't think all booksellers are like that. There are many good ones."
"Oh... defending a competitor... something a criminal wouldn't do..."
"N-no, that's not—"
Ubal flustered.
'Should I defend more aggressively?'
Gainando sat in a detective-like pose, scribbling notes with a serious expression.
Oripulas, watching from the side, suggested,
How about using magic?
"Shh. Oripulas. Don't interfere with my deductions."
Hmm... Very well.
"And now that I think about it, dunking both of them in water seems a bit cruel."
Exactly!
Oripulas gave the boy a slightly higher score.
"So I'll just talk to them! The more we talk, the more their flaws will show!"
But using magic still seems more likely to work...
The only weapon Einrogard students had against more experienced opponents was magic.
The goal of today's test was to creatively use magic to detect suspicious behavior in everyday encounters.
"Mr. Kilbedek, who defended his competitor."
'Is this a trap??'
Kilbedek answered nervously.
"Yes?"
"What kind of general store do you run?"
"Uh... a bit of everything. Whatever comes in, I sell it. It's a small village, so I can't be picky."
"Do you sell imperial magazines?"
"Y-yes, sometimes...?"
"Do you carry the Tovarez series?"
"Ah, yes. There are customers in the village who read them."
"How much per volume?"
"F-five copper coins... isn't that right?"
"Hmm."
Gainando wrote down, "Kilbedek, +50 points."
"Now, Mr. Ubal, who runs a wicked rare bookshop."
"It's not a wicked rare bookshop—"
"Tell me about your bookshop."
"My bookshop is in the most beautiful city in the empire. In the evenings, you can see the sunset spreading over the western sea, and when the sailors' songs blend with the temple bells as they return..."
Gainando wrote, "Ubal, -50 points. Overly emotional appeal."
Then, suddenly realizing something, he asked,
"Wait. Mr. Ubal. Isn't Illeinas the city near Baldrogard?"
"That's correct. Heh heh. Baldrogard students often visit."
"......"
Scratchscratchscratchscratchscratch!
Gainando's quill pen moved like mad.
"Ubal, -5000 points (Baldrogard spy!)"
* * *
"I thought you might be thirsty while waiting, so I brewed some tea."
Priest Siana entered carrying a teapot and cups.
Ubal and Kilbedek, who had been waiting, were touched by the kind gesture from the student in priestly robes.
"Thank you for this."
"Truly grateful, Priest."
Unlike Ubal, Kilbedek—who had to stay several times more tense—felt especially relieved.
Even in this hellish, ominous Magic School, there was still a ray of light. And that was the priests who served the gods.
Kilbedek sipped his tea while thinking he should have visited the temple more often back in his village.
"Finished drinking?"
"Yes." "Yeah."
"Good. Now then, who's the criminal?"
Priest Siana crossed her arms and asked arrogantly.
The two were taken aback by her drastically changed attitude and could only blink in confusion.
Huh?
Wait, what?
"Speak up. Mr. Ubal. Answer me. If you don't answer, you're the culprit."
"I-I'm not."
"Next. Mr. Kilbedek."
"I... glglglgl."
Kilbedek's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as if his body had transformed to prevent him from lying.
Seeing this, Priest Siana kicked her chair back, sprang up, and started hopping excitedly.
"Tricked you! I tricked you!"
"Uh, Student Siana...?"
Professor Logine asked in a shocked voice. Priest Siana hopped once more before landing neatly and straightening her robes.
"Apologies, Professor. Got a bit too excited."
...Is she really a priest?
At Oripulas's questioning look, Priest Siana brushed it off lightly.
"Denying a priest's authority—how very demon-like of you."
No, that's not it...
"Professor, I secretly added a truth serum to the teapot earlier. It has such an intense astringency that disguising it as tea was the only way to trick them."
"...Brilliant! Student Siana."
Belatedly snapping out of it, Professor Logine cheered. Siana bowed with an immensely proud expression.
After resolving the remaining issues, Student Siana left the examination hall with light steps.
Only then did Oripulas finally speak.
Uh, mage. Is a priest even allowed to act like that? She's a bit different from the priests I know.
"I always support and encourage students' growth."
That's not growth... That's upheaval... No...
Oripulas was deeply flustered.
He never expected priests to actively employ deception—and enjoy it so much. 'Am I too outdated as a demon to keep up with these changes?' While he was lost in thought, Batrek entered carrying the teapot.
If it's another confession potion, good thinking—but the previous student already used that trick, so it won't work now.
"Damn it! It's that Wardanaz brat, isn't it!?"
* * *
After exhausting the guests and criminals with every possible method (one criminal got branded with a red-hot iron rod), it was finally Lee Han's turn.
Oripulas, now in high spirits after watching the criminal get seared, remarked:
An anticipated student, but being last will be tough.
Professor Logine nodded in agreement.
The more fatigued people became, the harder it was to uncover the truth.
Emotion-reading spells struggled to distinguish whether tension or sheer exhaustion caused reactions, and attempts at Divination Magic kept getting muddled by mutual mistakes, lowering accuracy.
Moreover, the countless methods earlier students had tried were unlikely to work anymore.
The criminals were desperate, after all.
"Greetings, Professor."
"Come in!"
As Lee Han entered, two people walked in from the opposite side.
Lee Han immediately pointed at them.
"That person's the criminal, isn't he?"
Astonishing! How in the—!?
Both Oripulas and Professor Logine jolted upright in shock.
How did he figure it out the moment he stepped in?