The Rogue Prosecutor’s Survival Guide in Another World
There are things that no one ever wants to experience in life.
Like the moment when, traveling at eighty kilometers an hour, a horse-drawn carriage slams into you and you go flying. Or the exact intensity of pain when your bones are shattered. I never wanted to know those things either. Not until I reached the capital. Not until that moment on the way to work when I was hurled across the road.
“Hah! Why did you suddenly dart out onto the road?!”
That was the first thing the perpetrator said when he saw me lying on the pavement. Am I a deer? Even after being hit, he didn’t offer a simple “Sorry, are you okay?” Instead he used the word “outbreak” and threw in a hint of blame.
“This is the sidewalk.”
“Huh? When did the sidewalk change?”
I had even been walking calmly along the sidewalk when the carriage struck me. And it was being driven by a male pegasus whose five-meter-long horn was still growing strong and proud.
For a brief instant he stared blankly at the sky, then immediately executed the classic rear-neck grab favored by self-harmers.
“Oof… I’m dizzy.”
I had been hit, but why was the carriage driver dizzy? I stared at him in disbelief and soon a crowd gathered.
“Whoa… we got hit by a pegasus carriage and the guy’s still in one piece.”
“He seems conscious too.”
“Is that guy a knight?”
“As expected of the empire’s knights… thanks to you, the children are safe.”
Today was the regular meeting day of the Capital Defense Command. I had to report in uniform. That was why the passersby mistook me for a knight of the empire just by looking at my clothes. Even the toddlers started gossiping.
“I saw that uncle on TV once.”
“Yeah, he’s not a knight.”
“That uncle is Lightning Man.”
The children had actually recognized my face after all.
“Are you all right? I’ll call an ambulance.”
Among the group of children wearing various monster costumes on what seemed to be a kindergarten field trip, a woman who looked like a teacher stepped forward.
The carriage from just moments ago had been racing straight toward those children.
‘Crazy.’
My body moved on pure instinct. Thanks to that, I took the full force from the pegasus’s forehead.
“The ambulance isn’t needed. Just call the police. This guy feels off to me.”
I looked at the man driving the carriage and said it. The oafish orc driver still muttered that this was a road. I couldn’t let him keep driving.
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Not long afterward the police arrived and dragged the orc driver away.
“We will contact you soon. Please come in for a statement.”
“Sure. But have you checked if there were passengers in the carriage?”
It was a private luxury carriage. So I needed to make sure no one else was inside, that they hadn’t fled, or that no special magic had been used.
I couldn’t guarantee that only the dazed orc was in there.
“Ah… It must have been a simple traffic accident… I’ll clear it up immediately.”
The officer glanced at my uniform, saw me, and placed a hand on his chest. He was clearly troubled. After all, an olive branch pin was clearly visible on my shoulder insignia.
“Uh… There’s no one inside the carriage.”
No other passengers. No aura of someone having suddenly vanished, no lingering magic.
* * *
In any case… Since I reported to Director Frida after the incident with Crown Prince Frederick, she has been giving me a hard time.
“Mr. Blood, you don’t want to work lately?”
When I belatedly explained why I had missed the meeting via the magic transmission device, that was her first reply.
“……”
In the end I went to the hospital and returned to the Capital Defense Command, limping on a leg wrapped in a cast.
Not even a “You’re all right?” was offered at the time.
“No… applying for long-term leave, then vacation, and now sick leave? That’s suspicious, isn’t it…”
Director Frida trailed off, realizing I was still silent.
“The doctor said I had to rest for four weeks. He said if it’s a comminuted fracture and not set properly, surgery might be required.”
“I’ll check if there’s an opening at the Holy Hospital. Go there and you’ll recover right away.”
“I prefer natural healing.”
Of course, going to the Holy Hospital or temple would have me up and walking in two days. Or I could have just sprayed Nora’s potion and recovered faster than four weeks.
But the thought of “why bother?” won out. There were no urgent cases, and I wanted to dig into the pile of questions piling up around me.
And once again, I am a freelance prosecutor. Not a prosecutor belonging to the Capital Defense Command.
In plain words, I am a freelancer who earns exactly what he works for. No matter how powerful Director Frida is, she cannot force me to work.
Of course, since I still have one foot in the Capital Defense Command, minimum work requirements and regulations apply. Otherwise I couldn’t even get a pension in retirement.
But I cannot be forced to perform duties in any case.
“Fine. Rest well and recover quickly. Thanks to you, Marian will be even busier.”
Her final words carried an undercurrent of coercion. Marian, unlike me, is a prosecutor under the Capital Defense Command and cannot refuse assigned cases.
But that is not my problem.
* * *
“Here… one is done… and the remaining…”
“Hic! Three hundred and twenty-five cases?!”
As I said, Director Frida is anything but easy to deal with.
“Wow, Prosecutor Marian. Will you be promoted next year? This workload is the first I’ve seen in my entire life as a secretary.”
It seemed the Capital Defense Command had dumped all the cases Marian had to handle onto her. Even Secretary Piaget’s jaw dropped.
“Snap out of it, Marian. You can do it!!”
Marian tied her hair tightly, slapped her own cheek to encourage herself, and then…
“By the way, did I get stamped as a Capital Defense Command case? Why only me?”
Marian tilted her head, confused.
“No, it’s because I’m capable. That’s why there’s so much work.”
“Still… this is too much, even for you…”
“Could you be telling me to go on my own like this?”
“…Senior, am I going to be fired?”
…She had fallen into a Gestalt-level collapse.
It was hard to imagine anyone surviving it, but I could at least understand the feeling.
To exaggerate, even a pile of event files stacked behind her could have been used to build a Fredrick statue and still had leftovers.
Watching her, I could clearly see the true feelings of Director Frida, who wanted me to get up and help. But I misread the situation.
I never do half-hearted pity.
“Isn’t that something anyone can do? Marian?”
Before Marian could glare at me, a knock came from the office door.
Knock. Knock.
“Is this the office of Prosecutor Marian?”
The man who entered with a key. Looking at his attire, he was unmistakably a staff member of the Capital Defense Command. Only they wear the glossy gray suit that makes an ordinary person look like a 150-year-old pickled mackerel. Who had designed the uniform? It was enough to make one lament.
Marian shot to her feet. She ruffled her hair wildly, narrowed her eyes, and said,
“No, there is no such person.”
“……”
Stubborn denial. Not an ostrich, but the best way to avoid putting your head in the sand?
“Huh? The nameplate says this is Prosecutor Marian’s office…”
The staff member looked equally bewildered. I stepped in.
“What is it? I’ll take receipt instead.”
Limping, I walked out.
“Here is the newly assigned case. Please sign for receipt.”
When I signed on the magic pad, a clear hologram appeared in midair.
★☆ Thank you for participating in the Grand Empire TFT to realize a harmonious coexistence society in the Gilorian Empire. ☆★
“What is this?”
I had taken it thinking it was an investigation case, but now I’m supposed to join the TFT? Why is the official form so crude…?
“For details, please refer to this document. Prosecutor Zeo Blood has also been added as a member.”
“No… I only took receipt on your behalf?”
“Read the notes at the bottom. If you have any objections, speak directly with Director Frida of the Capital Defense Command.”
Small print no larger than a slime’s eyelash was written under the magic pad.
[No proxy receipt. Signing the pad under unavoidable circumstances is considered agreement to participate in the TFT member list. — Director Frida ♥ —]
“……”
I had been had by Director Frida.
“Prosecutor, what is this?”
Secretary Piaget flipped through two hundred pages of documents left behind.
“Eh? Prosecutor, there’s an official document here too?”
In the meantime, a pitifully wedged official letter appeared.
◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈
To: 5th Grade Prosecutor Marian Artisian, Capital Defense Command
(cc) Director Frida Keilak, 1st Battalion, Capital Defense Command
Subject: Request for participation in the Grand Empire TFT to realize a harmonious coexistence society in the Gilorian Empire
We wish you unbounded growth.
Our empire is organizing and operating the “Grand Empire TFT for the Realization of a Harmonious Coexistence Society in the Gilorian Empire” at the central government level to create a society where various races coexist harmoniously.
Given your rich experience and insight as a prosecutor of the Capital Defense Command, we believe it will greatly assist in the operation of this TFT. Therefore, we request your active cooperation in designating you as a member of the TFT committee.
? TFT Committee Purpose: Policy formulation for the unity and coexistence of all races in the empire
? Meeting Place: Shadow Gate Species Cooperation Center Conference Room
? Participation Field: Inter-racial conflict mediation and law enforcement consultation
Please reply to the contact below with any necessary confirmations.
Responsible Person: Species Integration Department Official Jemoro
Contact: B312 Communication Network #3424-2356441
Minister of Species Integration, Gilorian Empire
◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈
Even between those hard, brick-like letters, one phrase imprinted itself clearly on my brain.
“Shadow Gate?”
Ah… I can never go there.
Shadow Gate is a highland region in the northeast of Clovan City, famous as a forced settlement area for various monsters that have changed their ways after entering ancient labyrinths.
With numerous races living there, severe discrimination and conflict persist.
But the biggest problem is not historical regional issues. It is that the place is simply too far away.
It would take a full week by carriage, or more than ten days.
I get motion sickness on carriages.
And I still can’t use portals because I’m in a cast.
Yet…
Secretary Piaget’s heart seemed to be in a different place.
“Oh! Shadow Gate!”
Secretary Piaget’s face was full of smiles.
“Prosecutor, I’ll prepare for the trip! Let’s take the train!!!”
His fingers started dancing excitedly above the keyboard, brimming with anticipation.
* * *
Clovan City Central Station was as bustling as ever.
“Prosecutors! Over here! Here!”
Secretary Piaget waved both arms from the center of the platform.
Next to him, three people’s luggage was neatly arranged, and he held a thick railroad travel guidebook.
“We can’t go fast.”
Limping, I approached.
A broken foot is no small inconvenience. The foot is a complex structure of twenty-six bones, thirty-three joints, and over a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
If the foot is fractured at the end that supports the body weight, walking and balance become impossible. Pieces of bone are also shattered, damaging nerves and muscles.
In short, I could barely stand.
Yet he was urging me to hurry… I didn’t realize Secretary Piaget had so little consideration.
But he clearly didn’t care about my foot. I struggled to walk over, and he fired off his words like machine-gun fire.
“Here is the latest train schedule that arrived this morning! The express train on the Northeast Line to Shadow Gate departs in five minutes. We transfer in the middle, and at the second transfer station we board the KR-31 hybrid power locomotive. The magic stone efficiency is thirty-eight percent—insane!”
His face was overflowing with excitement. The brain must have broken from the rare train journey.
Marian, who had been walking with me, collapsed onto a bench.
“This case… we can just send it to the minor crime unit…”
Marian clutched a bundle of papers, organizing documents with eyes that had lost focus. She must have stayed up several nights preparing for this trip.
“Why are there so many bad guys in the world!!! Robbers, murderers. We really should catch them all and cut off their heads.”
Marian started twisting her hair with her fingers. If she continued, she would explode completely like the magic stones on the train.
Screeeee—!
But the train’s whistle sent her explosion flying into the air.
Unaware of the mood, Secretary Piaget continued his explanation with an excited expression.
“Ah! That’s the Northeast Line 3rd Magic Stone Locomotive, L2-class. Can you hear the magic stone generator? Crrroo… Unlike other trains, the resonance frequency of the magic stone is slightly lower, creating a unique whirring sound…”
“Huh? Prosecutors?”
My legs moved before I knew it and I boarded the train.
“Ah… just a moment! If you look at the cabin layout, considering the distance from the magic stone engine…”
“Piaget!”
“Secretary!”
Only then did Secretary Piaget follow us with a regretful expression.
“Even if my insides are crushed, next time I will definitely use the portal.”
I hadn’t realized.
How many words Secretary Piaget had spoken.
At that moment, while staring at the documents, Marian said,
“Senior, you keep talking like a bourgeois. Do you know how much a single portal costs?”
I hadn’t realized that either.
I had always received requests for portal assistance on official travel.
But as a senior, it is not desirable to evade the question.
The portal activation is expensive, so is it twice or three times the train fare…? Considering installation and operating staff costs…
“Isn’t it about fifty times more expensive than a magic stone train?”
“Fifty times?”
Looking at my enthusiastic face, Secretary Piaget smiled as if he found it ridiculous.
Marian lowered her eyes and said in a low voice,
“Two thousand times more expensive than a magic stone train. Do not say such things anywhere. It’s goblin death spears, Senior.”
Over her teasing voice, Secretary Piaget’s voice overlapped.
“Prosecutors, what I’m saying is that trains are good. Especially at the second transfer station, Bloomingdale, you must take the KR-31 hybrid power train. The Gilorian Empire’s eighth emperor personally ordered its production. The seats are decorated with gold-plated dragons, and each cabin has a program installed to view passing scenery…”
I felt like I had pressed a forbidden button.
Marian activated sound-blocking magic, pulled out the bag she had stuffed under the seat, and muttered to herself.
“By the way, this is what the regular car looks like. It’s a bit narrow, isn’t it?”
Secretary Piaget looked at the ceiling for a moment, then said in a calm voice,
“Prosecutors, this is the VIP-only room. Only two such rooms exist on this entire train.”
Marian’s hand stopped on the armrest. The magic had not fully activated yet. She quickly pulled out the documents from her bag and buried her face in them.
Secretary Piaget glanced at her reddened earlobes visible behind the pile of documents and muttered softly.
“As expected, there really is a true bourgeois.”
The scenery rushed past the window at high speed.