99. Interrogation
99. Interrogation
Buckingham couldn't understand why this was happening.
Just this morning, he had thought it would be the start of a truly wonderful day.
At the meeting the night before, he had come up with a great idea, and when he brought it up in the morning, it drew a positive response.
Now, all he had to do was proceed with the plan as intended, and everything would fall into place.
But what was the situation now?
His mouth wouldn't move.
It was because the assailant who had attacked him was clamping a hand over his mouth.
Just moments ago, he could at least force his jaw to move, but not anymore.
The grip strength was so immense that he felt a searing pain as if his jawbone was about to shatter.
Inside the academy, which he had thought was safe from outsiders... and in his own office, no less—he had been ambushed.
The assailant he looked up at was shrouded in such dense perception-inhibiting magic that it was suffocating, making him appear like a ghost flickering within a black fog.
The assailant held a sword up to Buckingham's face so he could see it clearly.
"Mmph... mmph..!!!!"
He tried to struggle, thinking the man intended to slit his throat, but the force pinning him down was so overwhelming that he couldn't budge an inch.
Perhaps coated in black to prevent any reflection, the entirely pitch-black blade filled Buckingham's vision.
The terror he felt watching the sword slowly approach him soon transformed into a different kind of fear.
'Th-that... that is....????'
The sword, which had been coated in black and reflecting not a single ray of light, was now shining so brilliantly he couldn't keep his eyes open to look at it properly.
The light of the immense aura was so powerful that no trace of the pitch-black blade remained visible—fundamentally different in essence from a trick made to shine with mere luminescence magic.
'A M-Master... why has a Master come for me..??'
Buckingham remembered the Master who had visited his military academy even before he received his officer's commission.
The Aura Blade unleashed by the previous generation's Master, the predecessor to the current Imperial Sword Linda, was not something easily forgotten.
'A Master who hides his identity... could it be??'
Armor enchanted with dense perception-inhibiting magic to conceal one's identity, and an Aura Blade pushed to the extreme—the proof of a Master.
Buckingham had heard of a Master with those very characteristics.
"Do you know what this means? If you do, blink twice."
Buckingham slowly blinked twice.
Confirming this, the black-armored assailant spoke slowly.
"I am a Shadow of the Empire, currently conducting a top-secret investigation under the orders of the Imperial Family."
His breath caught in his throat.
Part of it was due to the difficulty breathing with his mouth covered, but the sheer terror of a Master having entered his office was overwhelming.
The Shadows of the Empire referred to Masters under the command of the Imperial Family whose identities were not disclosed to the public.
They were Masters publicly acknowledged by the Imperial Family and recognized by the Church, but unlike the Imperial Sword, who revealed herself in the light, they were Masters that ordinary people could live their entire lives without ever seeing even once.
Various opinions had circulated as to why someone who had reached the rank of Master would hide their identity.
Some said they were Masters of other nations who had been defeated by the Imperial Sword and were meant to be subjected to ultimate punishment.
Others claimed they possessed such cruel personalities, taking pleasure in slaughtering people indiscriminately, that they were given the convenience of acting freely without being identified.
Buckingham couldn't understand the Shadows, who willingly gave up the immense benefits and power bestowed simply by being a Master.
The Shadow continued speaking impassively.
"I will allow you to speak from now on. You understand what will happen if you suddenly shout or try anything foolish, correct?"
Buckingham silently blinked twice.
Seeing that, the Shadow released Buckingham from his restraint.
"Huaaagh...!! Hngh.. hngh..."
The moment the painfully crushing restraint was released, he frantically gulped down fresh air.
"Buckingham Houston.. you are under suspicion of colluding with the Demon Church."
Buckingham's eyes flew wide open at those words.
The punishment for colluding with the Demon Church was capital punishment.
The moment it was confirmed, he could be summarily executed on the spot without any issue whatsoever.
Him, colluding with the Demon Church? He couldn't fathom where such a story had originated.
"Colluding with the Demon Church..!! I-I am a former officer of the Imperial Army!! Absolutely, absolutely, I would never do such a thing!!!"
No matter how corrupt he might be, Buckingham was a former Imperial Army officer and a professor at the academy, nurturing the future.
He attended church every weekend for worship, gave weekly offerings, and paid his tithes.
He was narrow-minded and petty, but colluding with demons—that was absolutely impossible.
"Those who've been deceived by the Demon Church all say that first... Do you think they introduce themselves as demons from the start?"
But even as he pleaded his complete innocence, the Shadow didn't believe him.
Well, who would actually admit to being a colluder if asked...
But Buckingham felt deeply wronged.
He had truly never once done anything related to demons in his life, yet here he was, entangled like this.
"How you are dealt with will be determined by your own actions. Prove that you are unrelated to the Demon Church, that you are a victim. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to take you to the 'Inquisitor.'"
"Th-the Inquisitor...!!!"
The moment the Inquisitor was mentioned, his face turned deathly pale.
"P-please.. not the Inquisitor... anything but that...!! What in the world must I prove?!"
The Inquisitor—the one who purifies fallen souls who have betrayed God and taken the hand of demons,
the one who returns those seduced by demons back to God's embrace,
the one who raises hymns to God using the sinners as instruments,
the Inquisitor tasked with the role of accurately singling out demon worshippers among the masses—was an object of terror to ordinary people.
To regular believers, they showed an angelic face, but to a demon worshipper, being summoned by them—who were no different from devotees of hell—was tantamount to a death sentence.
He had to prevent being dragged before the Inquisitor at all costs.
"Within the past month... has anyone approached you with an offer that seemed suspiciously good?"
"A g-good offer...??"
Desperately, Buckingham began trying to recall anyone who matched that description.
Someone who had made a good offer in the past month... Stressful events were all that came to mind; nothing surfaced.
'Wait... now that I think about it, last night!'
Then, one thing that fit the criteria popped into his head.
But as he was about to speak, his mind slammed on the brakes.
'Should I... mention this...?'
There was no need to show loyalty to the professor he'd met yesterday, whose name he barely remembered, but mentioning him would mean revealing what he himself had planned during the Hunting Festival.
That plan was by no means legal.
If he revealed this, wouldn't he end up being arrested as a criminal anyway?
But as he hesitated, the Shadow grabbed Buckingham by the scruff of his neck and hauled him up.
"It seems nothing comes to mind. I will head straight to the church, so follow me out."
"Y-you're going to the church... in this state...??"
In the academy, 'the church' referred to the one right next to the infirmary, used by both students and faculty.
Leaving for the church meant leaving his office and walking through the hallway where everyone could see him, all the way to the church.
Of course, the church was primarily used for actual worship services, but he also knew a single Holy Knight was stationed there as a precaution against unknown demonic threats.
Going to the church in this state was no different from showing everyone in the academy that he was being marched away by a Shadow.
He hadn't been caught by some mere thug—he had been caught by a 'Master.'
No one would listen to his side of the story.
Even if he cried out that it was unfair, the moment the Master branded him as a pawn of the Demon Church and showed him to everyone, he would become that very existence.
Even the Headmaster, who was responsible for the academy, could not protect him from a Master.
'If the rumor spreads that I am a pawn of the Demon Church... I can no longer live as a professor at the academy!!'
It wouldn't simply end with being expelled from the academy.
It would have the same devastating effect as having the name 'Buckingham' eradicated from every community he belonged to.
He had to prevent that fact from getting out, no matter what.
"Last night..!! There was one person!!"
"... Very well. Who was it?"
"It's the professor teaching the Introduction to Public Administration course... I don't remember his name clearly..."
"What did he promise you, and what did you agree to give him in return?"
"I-I... wanted to hold an event to shake up the stagnant atmosphere of the academy... Kheok??!!"
Buckingham couldn't finish his sentence.
Because mid-sentence, the Shadow had abruptly and forcefully struck Buckingham in the abdomen.
Looking down at Buckingham, whose body had folded into a V-shape, the Shadow spoke coldly.
"With such a wholesome reason, there's no way a scumbag like that would have been lured in. Confess the truth."
"Keuk... th-the truth... is that I devised a plan... to naturally... remove a thorn in my side from the academy..."
"Good, that's how you should say it. And what did he say he'd help you with?"
"He... promised me two S-rank materials from the deepest parts of the Black Forest, capable of luring magical beasts..."
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Atlas listened to the story Buckingham spilled and was utterly dumbfounded.
All that elaborate preparation, just to summon magical beasts from the deepest part of the Black Forest?
The creatures in the deep parts of the Black Forest were legendary entities. Did he think that by summoning them, he could cleanly end things without a hitch?
It was utterly absurd.
So even if I'd just left him alone, there wouldn't have been any problem after all.
Well, no wonder... since I hunted that magical beast myself??