Episode 589

Episode 589

“That’s a hard problem. Actually, I once considered burning them with fire…”

When Nigisor spoke earnestly, the friends beside him were startled.

“Isn’t burning them with fire a bit much?”

“Yeah. I think another kind of torture would be better.”

That’s an interesting opinion!

“Huh?”

The students faltered a bit at Oriphulas’s admiration.

If a demon who had served as an Imperial legal officer for 131 years said so, it was worth listening to.

“How about dropping them in water?”

That’s a clever opinion!

“How about hanging them upside down?”

That’s a polite opinion!

Thanks to Oriphulas’s encouragement, the students boldly shared all kinds of creative ideas.

Lee Han, who was listening nearby, asked with a puzzled expression.

“These are all fine, but is it okay to do that to an innocent person?”

“Wardanaz is right. If there’s no way to distinguish, the method becomes meaningless.”

Gainando, who was listening, raised his hand and spoke.

“If you dunk both in water, the faker might confess!”

“Oh, that prince… I mean, is he for real? Wait, might it work?”

“Yeah, like hell it would.”

Lee Han smacked the back of the White Tiger Tower student who seemed interested.

• * *

“You want us to fool the students?”

-That’s right. Work together with these honest Imperial citizens here and hide your suspiciousness from the students.

The death knight told the criminals he’d brought what they needed to do today.

Blending in with the Empire’s law-abiding citizens and deceiving the students.

That was the task for the criminals today.

“…??”

“?????”

Of course, this was an absurd thing for the abducted criminals to hear.

They got kidnapped and dragged all this way just for this??

Even the honest citizens nearby seemed flustered and asked questions.

“W-Wait, did you really bring actual criminals? Is that okay?”

-Ha ha. Of course it is. Everything done here today is permitted under imperial law.

“What nonsense is this! You kidnapped us all this way for THAT?!”

-Do you lack the ability to learn?

The death knight sneered at the whining young mercenary as if it was ridiculous, and gestured.

At that, the back door opened and death knights dragged away the mercenary who had just yelled.

“No! No… Aaagh! Kaaaaa!”

A pitiful scream echoed from the back door.

How much time passed?

When the mercenary returned, his face was completely pale and he trembled and muttered.

“I was wrong. I’ll do my absolute best. I was wrong. I’ll do my absolute best.”

-Right. Everyone, do your best. I’ll consider lighter sentences for good deceivers, but the ones who get caught, heavier sentences.

At the death knight’s words, the criminals swallowed nervously.

The task seemed light and laughable, but failing was anything but trivial.

They couldn’t even imagine what would happen if they failed!

‘Still, it might actually be for the best.’

Once the fear and panic wore off, the criminals who had become hardened through mercenary and adventurer work thought fast.

Fear aside, this wasn’t the worst outcome.

Deceiving some naïve students was much better than being used as a black magician’s test subject.

-Now, wait here. The students are over there, so don’t start shouting anything stupid.

The moment the death knight finished speaking, the sound of students chattering could be heard from the other side.

-Burning them with fire is a bit much, isn’t it?

-How about dropping them in water?

“……”

The criminals’ faces turned ashen.

Suddenly, the terrifying rumors about mages came back to them.

• * *

Don’t get too anxious, mage. Actually, this test is much safer than the last one.

“That may be true, but…”

Professor Rosine crossed her arms and shot a look.

“It’s still not necessarily an easy test.”

That’s true as well.

Oriphulas replied coldly.

He had cheered on the students’ suggestions earlier, but in truth, those methods were very limited and hard to use.

Such interrogations bordering on torture could only be used when you were certain who the suspect was—they couldn’t be used recklessly when you had no prior information.

Even a student of Einrogard would get slapped if they tried telling an ordinary Imperial citizen, “Elder! To discover the truth, please just let us dunk you in water!”

“All right, start the test!”

Gainando walked up with a nervous face.

At that, two Imperial citizens entered from the opposite door.

“Hello, mage. I am Ubal, who runs an antiquarian bookstore in Ilainas City.”

“Helro, magisa. I am Kilbedek, who runs a general store in Deep Path Village.”

Watching, Oriphulas clicked his tongue.

Kilbedek’s slip-up was apparent.

It was good that he’d boldly told the truth instead of awkwardly changing his identity, but he stuttered nervously.

Fortunately, the student didn’t seem to notice.

“Bookstore, general store. Bookstore, general store…”

Gainando thought carefully and then spoke to Professor Rosine.

“I think Ubal seems suspicious.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Oh, aren’t people who run bookstores always twisted and evil in spirit?”

“……”

“……”

Ubal and Professor Rosine both lost their words at the same time. The professor apologized with her eyes.

-Sorry.

-It’s fine. Haha.

Kilbedek, suspecting a trap, cautiously stepped in to defend.

“I, um, I don’t think people who sell books are like that. There are plenty of good folks.”

“Oh… Defending your competitor… That’s not something a criminal would do…”

“Ah, no.”

Ubal looked flustered.

‘Should I defend him even more actively?’

Scratch, scratch—

With a detective’s posture and a detective’s face, Gainando began to take serious notes.

Oriphulas, watching from the side, asked a question.

How about trying magic?

“Shh. Please don’t disturb my deduction, Mr. Oriphulas.”

Mmm… All right.

“And you know, dunking both in water seems a bit too cruel, now that I think about it.”

That’s right!

Oriphulas quietly awarded the boy extra points.

“So, I’m going to talk to them. Through conversation, I’ll find their slipups!”

Honestly, using magic would probably have a higher chance…

The only weapon the Einrogard students had, being overwhelmingly inexperienced compared to others, was magic.

Creatively using magic to sense the suspiciousness you might meet in daily life.

That was today’s test goal.

“Mr. Kilbedek, who defended your competitor.”

‘Is this a trap??’

Kilbedek nervously replied.

“Yes.”

“What kind of general store do you run?”

“Well… I sell whatever comes in. The village is small, so I can’t pick and choose.”

“Do you carry Imperial magazines?”

“Yes, sometimes…?”

“How about the Toberiz Series?”

“Uh, yes. There are folks in the village who read it.”

“How much per issue?”

“F-Five copper coins… right?”

“Mhm.”

Gainando wrote “Kilbedek, +50 points” in his notes.

“All right. Mr. Ubal, nefarious antiquarian bookstore owner.”

“It’s not a nefarious bookstore…”

“Tell me about your bookstore.”

“My antiquarian bookstore is in the most beautiful city in the Empire. At dusk, you can see the sunset and twilight spread over the western sea, and when the sailors returning home start singing as the temple bells ring…”

Gainando jotted down “Ubal, -50 points. Appeals too much to emotion.”

Then he suddenly realized and asked:

“Wait. Mr. Ubal, isn’t Ilainas City near Baldrogard?”

“That’s right. Haha. The Baldrogard students often come to visit.”

“……”

Scratchscratchescratchescratch!

Gainando’s quill moved furiously.

Ubal, -5000 points (Baldrogard spy!)

• * *

“I thought you might get thirsty while waiting, so I brewed some tea.”

Priestess Siana came in carrying a teapot and cups.

Ubal and Kilbedek, who had been waiting, were moved by the kindness of a student in priest’s robes.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you so much, sister.”

Kilbedek, in particular, who had to be several times more tense than Ubal, felt especially comforted.

In this hellish, grim magic school, there was still a thread of light. That was the priests who served the gods.

Kilbedek thought he should have visited the temple a little more often when he was in the village, as he sipped the tea.

“Are you both finished?”

“Yes.” “Yeah.”

“All right. Then, who’s the criminal?”

Priestess Siana folded her arms and asked arrogantly.

Her attitude changed so profoundly, the two could do nothing but blink in surprise.

Uh…

What?

“Hurry up and say, Mr. Ubal. Answer. If you don’t, you’re the culprit.”

“N-No, it’s not me.”

“Next. Mr. Kilbedek.”

“I… grngnnng.”

Kilbedek’s tongue got stuck to his palate. It was as if his body had changed to prevent him from lying.

Seeing that, Priestess Siana kicked back her chair and jumped up, exclaiming.

“Tricked! You were tricked!”

“S-Siana… student?”

Professor Rosine asked in a shocked voice, and Siana Priestess jumped once more, then fixed her clothes.

“Sorry, Professor. I got a little too excited.”

Uh… Is she really a priestess?

At Oriphulas’s question, Siana Priestess shrugged it off.

“You deny the priesthood, just as I’d expected of a demon!”

No, that’s not…

“Professor. I put a truth-forbidding potion in the teapot beforehand. It’s so bitter that you have to disguise it as tea to get anyone to drink it.”

“…Splendid! Siana!”

Recovering belatedly, Professor Rosine exclaimed, and Siana beamed with pride.

After solving all the remaining problems as well, Siana left the testing room with a light step.

Only then did Oriphulas speak.

Uh, mage. Is it okay for a priestess to be like that? She’s a bit different from the priestesses I know?

“I always support and encourage change in students.”

That’s not just change… that’s upheaval… no…

Oriphulas was quite bewildered.

He never imagined a priestess would so actively use deceit and revel in it.

‘Am I just a demon summoned too long ago and behind the times?’

While he was pondering that, Bartrek came in carrying a teapot.

If that’s a confession potion, good idea—but it won’t work, every student has already used it.

“Damn! That Wardanaz’s doing, right!?”

• * *

After all sorts of methods had exhausted both the guests and the criminals (one criminal had even been attacked with a red-hot iron rod), it was finally Lee Han’s turn.

Oriphulas, in high spirits thanks to the criminal just seared with a red-hot iron rod, said,

He’s an anticipated student, but being last will make it tough.

Professor Rosine nodded in agreement.

The more tired people were, the harder it was to find the truth.

When both were exhausted, even magic for reading emotions had trouble distinguishing whether it was tension or pure fatigue, and predictive spells also lost accuracy if both parties’ information was muddled by repeated mistakes.

Not to mention, the many methods earlier students tried were unlikely to work anymore.

The criminals were feeling very desperate, too.

“Hello, Professor.”

“Come in!”

As Lee Han walked in, the two people entered from the other side.

Seeing this, Lee Han immediately pointed his finger.

“That person is the criminal, isn’t he?”

Amazing! How did you know!?

Both Oriphulas and Professor Rosine stood up in shock.

How on earth had he figured it out as soon as he walked in?