Chapter 131: Vague Unease

Although the security forces and the prosecution headquarters had rounded up the culprits, nothing particularly useful had come out of it.

The reason was that the ones who had commissioned the attack hadn’t revealed their identities at all.

So the case was concluded by simply disbanding the Colmer gang from the underworld.

Of course, it didn’t end just like that.

After all, it was a crime of setting fire to a ducal mansion.

I had prepared in advance, but if it had been any other territory, significant damage would have followed.

Those gunpowder carriages weren’t cheap enough to bring in large quantities.

“Mayor, I will take special measures to ensure such incidents do not occur in the future!”

Count Howell Pierre, the head of the prosecution headquarters, shouted with blazing eyes.

There was no need to be that enthusiastic.

He just needed to calmly observe the underworld organizations and conduct a proper investigation.

Is it because he received help from Jaren Burgess, the Viscount of Nordenark? He’s not too bad.

Of course, the Colmer gang that did this was truly a despicable bunch. Crushing them was only natural.

But if other underworld organizations were typical information groups, I had planned to go easy on them. It wouldn’t make sense to declare war on crime and smash up legitimate agencies.

“Don’t get too emotional. Just coldly check whether crimes are being committed.”

“Ah… Yes.”

Because I answered so calmly, Count Pierre looked a bit embarrassed.

It seemed like a bit of flattery.

As if he was saying he would go this far for me.

“Proceed. I won’t get involved. It would be better if the chief doesn’t go to the scene either.”

“Yes!”

There was no need for the head of the prosecution headquarters to personally step in just to take down a few underworld organizations.

It was better to plant the image that attacking me was meaningless no matter what.

That way, they wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.

Of course, I would need to prepare various defenses behind the scenes.

Besides, how busy was I? I couldn’t afford to pay attention to this kind of matter.

I immediately left the prosecution headquarters and headed to the courthouse.

Having spent half the week on city administration tasks, quite a few trials had piled up.

By the way, what should I do with this now?

I stared blankly at the communication rod placed on the desk in my office.

After obtaining the Hector Punisher, I had always left it here.

Carrying two hammers would be too cumbersome.

Moreover, these days I was using the Hector Punisher in trials as well.

The sound was much better than the rod’s.

“I can’t leave it here forever. I should give it to someone else.”

Knock knock knock!

A knock sounded at the door.

It was around the time for the junior judges to bring the trial documents.

I said in a calm voice.

“Come in.”

“Good morning? Mayor… My mistake. You’ve become so famous as mayor these days. I’m sorry, Your Honor.”

The person who appeared early in the morning was Judge Josef Padiya.

Someone who was obviously from the Sierre noble faction but insisted he wasn’t.

This guy won’t do.

I had thought of giving it away casually, but it was better to give such a meaningful item to someone who behaved properly.

I could give an extra favor to someone I disliked, but not something like this.

I could already imagine how much he would boast about receiving the communication rod from the Chief Justice.

“Are these the trial documents?”

“Yes! I roughly looked at the beginning, and it doesn’t seem too difficult.”

“Are there no difficult trials these days?”

“There are some occasionally, but they get resolved to a certain extent. It’s all thanks to the many good precedents you’ve left.”

“That’s fortunate.”

These days, judges often conducted trials based on my rulings.

That way, even if high-status individuals were involved, there was no backlash.

If there was an appeal, I could handle it, so it was the proper flow.

I couldn’t shoulder all the difficult trials forever.

Then, couldn’t I just rest?

Eh, that’s a bit…

As a superior, I have to set an example.

I couldn’t just dump all the work on others because my rank was high.

“Thank you. I’ll see you at the trial later.”

“Ah, Your Honor?”

I was about to focus on the trial documents when Judge Padiya called me with a subtle look.

I tilted my head and followed his gaze. The communication rod on the desk caught my eye.

I somehow knew what he was going to say.

“You’ve been carrying only the warhammer lately. Are you not using that communication rod anymore?”

As expected, the words I anticipated came out.

I looked at Judge Padiya with an indifferent expression and replied.

“Yes. If there’s a good junior, I plan to pass it on. As a way of saying you’ve done well so far and to keep up the good work.”

“Ah! I see. Understood, Your Honor.”

“I’m planning to change the associate judges soon, so work hard.”

“Oh! Really?”

“Yes, you’ve been with Judge Emir for quite a while, right? If you handle some solo cases, I’ll set up a trial division for you.”

“Thank you. I will devote my entire mind and body to the trials!”

Josef Padiya bowed deeply, almost touching his head to the floor.

Then he cautiously backed out of the office.

—Hey. Boss.

I was shaking my head and turning to the trial documents when Feltron raised his front paw.

The drooping, fluttering bat wings looked somewhat cute, but I didn’t show it and answered.

“What?”

—To me, that guy looks like a sycophant. Those kinds of guys are good at saying nice things.

Of course I knew that.

Just from Padiya’s behavior so far, it was easy to guess.

But I nodded as if I had just noticed.

“Is that so?”

—Ah, trust this body’s eye for people. When I was gathering the northern nomads, you have no idea how many sycophants there were. It was unimaginable.

Feltron shrugged his shoulders with a proud expression.

As if giving great advice.

I let out a chuckle and replied.

“So what do you want?”

…Give me double what you give that guy.

The cute bat front paw pointed to where Shugl was sprawled out.

After feeding him a lot of vital energy on the way to work, the guy was sleeping contentedly.

It would take quite a while to fully digest it.

Seeming envious, Feltron was earnestly appealing for recognition of his contributions.

But it wouldn’t be that easy.

If I treat you too well, you’ll get spoiled.

I hadn’t forgotten the numerous schemes this guy had pulled off.

“You’re not ready yet. Work harder at bowing your head!”

—Euueng!

Feltron struggled while lying on the desk.

I smiled faintly and stood up.

A half-demon who was a mass of demonic power that had existed for thousands of years.

It was endlessly amusing to see such a being acting so obedient.

Was vital energy that good?

“I’ll go to the trial, so stay quiet.”

—Okay. Boss.

I picked up the trial documents and left the office with leisurely steps.

Actually, there was still some time left, but I wanted to walk alone in the garden.

The weather was so nice.

Reading documents under the warm sunlight made an inexplicable sense of mercy well up.

But I soon frowned.

“What is this about?”

It was a case where a woodworking shop employee had been beaten by the boss.

However, the investigation had not been conducted properly.

Because the suspect had a speech impediment, there had been major communication issues.

It had somehow reached the trial stage.

Of course, as Judge Padiya said, it wasn’t a difficult case.

There were several witnesses who had seen the assault scene.

Looking at the circumstances, the shop owner’s fault was clear.

Still, we can’t skip the statement.

Even if he can’t speak, we can communicate through writing, right?

I entered the courtroom while inwardly blaming the prosecutor’s incompetence.

“The trial for the Jalen Woodworking Shop assault case will now begin. Salute to the presiding judge.”

Clack clack clack clack!

With Judge Padiya’s voice, the trial procedures proceeded.

The prosecutor was Viscount Wyatt Monahan.

It was my first time seeing him for this case.

On the surface, he seemed quite decent.

Tall stature, handsome face, and a body that suited the suit impressively.

Did he spend all his time on his appearance and that’s why his skills are lacking? Why did he conduct the suspect investigation like this?

I hid my discomfort and quietly observed Prosecutor Monahan.

However, there was nothing particularly strange.

The suspect investigation was the only sloppy part; the rest was nearly perfect.

“The witness examination ends here.”

There were three people who saw shop owner Jalen beating the victim Gordon.

Their statements matched perfectly.

“The boss often couldn’t control his anger and would resort to violence. This time, Gordon just got caught up in it.”

“He seemed frustrated. Things didn’t always go his way.”

The wooden club used to strike him had also been submitted as evidence.

To anyone, it was clear that shop owner Jalen was at fault.

However, we couldn’t skip the defendant’s statement.

“Defendant?”

“You may write it down. Please explain the situation at the time.”

But I soon realized why Prosecutor Monahan had no choice but to investigate that way.

Shop owner Jalen shook his head with a troubled expression.

His hand was shaking badly.

In that state, any writing would be hard to read.

Can’t be helped. I’ll just move on.

It wasn’t a severe assault, and I could issue a verdict with some leniency.

A previously healthy person suddenly suffering aphasia and paralysis must have been incredibly frustrating.

His insides must have been boiling because of employees not doing their jobs properly.

But why do I feel such unease?

I was about to take out the Hector Punisher but pulled my hand back.

Then I quietly looked around the courtroom.

To figure out what was bothering me.

In a secret location within Perias’s inner mansion district.

Planger Sierre and Dianandre Giovanni had gathered again.

“Using the underworld, and it only stirred up trouble for nothing.”

“Ahem! I didn’t know they had brought in so many of those gunpowder carriages.”

Duke Sierre stroked his beard with an awkward expression.

If they had moved their troops, a horrific result would have come out.

Abel Carius would have risen even more triumphantly.

The two dukes who lost their honor wouldn’t be able to show their faces.

“For the time being, we should stay quiet. Let’s hold our breath until the underworld organizations are cleaned up.”

“But you saw it this time too. That man keeps creating things and gaining His Majesty’s favor and the people’s popularity. If we leave him like this…”

“We won’t even be able to touch him later.”

“Exactly.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

Duke Sierre showed a meaningful smile.

It seemed he had prepared the next move in case of failure.

“We need to tarnish that guy’s honor first. Duke Giovanni, if you could lend a little strength.”

“You’re not suggesting using the underworld again, are you?”

“Of course not. Just prepare one business entity that has nothing to do with us.”

“That’s not difficult.”

Duke Giovanni owned the most land in Perias after the Emperor.

Many properties were under his sons’ and grandsons’ names, so setting up one company was easy.

But there was still a question.

“So, what exactly are you going to do?”

“I’ve set a trap. No matter who he is, Abel Carius won’t be able to escape this time.

Hahahaha!”

Duke Sierre’s wicked laughter filled the dark room.