101 – The Butterfly That Flies In Prison
I never thought it would come to this.
I thought I would be a heartbroken black magician who would lose all motivation and collapse. Not to the point of suddenly self-destructing and saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to live, I have to die’⋯⋯.
Still, I worked hard on the aftermath. I gathered evidence as I sifted through the wreckage of the blown-up mansion, and I escorted the captured Viscount and the Great Swordsman alive. I also rescued the victims of hypnosis who had been herded into one room.
Then, the Knights Templar arrived in front of the mansion.
“This is it, where the comfort happened.”
Whizz, clang.
“…!!”
What the hell is this noise?
I heard the heavy engine sound that made a man’s soul tremble. And before my eyes stood the Knights Templar in powered suits.
Not the bulky type, but the sleek type.
Ten knights in neat silver armor stood in formation. The surface of the armor was embedded with dozens of layers of condensed magic, and the enchanted swords they wielded were incomparable to the magic swords I had made.
How much does that cost?
The power source⋯⋯ is it personal mana? It was a structure that used its own internal mana, not a structure that supplied power using a magic stone. An average person wouldn’t be able to handle that armor properly even if they wore it .
In the center, a middle-aged knight in golden armor was giving orders. Since there couldn’t be only eleven knights guarding such a large area, it seemed that one platoon of the Knights Templar had been dispatched.
I didn’t think they would look so tactical.
I seriously considered whether to run away or not. But if I ran away from here, it seemed like the incident would be covered up as some kind of Viscount who was unfortunately killed while being caught up in the black magician’s terrorism.
If I were to argue about evidence and witnesses, things would somehow work out, but it would definitely take longer. So, since I’ve already had an accident, let’s have some more.
This has to go to public opinion. I decided to fan the flames even more.
So I took out the scarred senior and the injured Pink Ballet with the Tower Master, and I was the only one left at the scene. And I inspired out loud to the Knights Templar who were watching what was going on.
“This Viscount was in cahoots with the black magician! I have the evidence to prove my innocence, and of course, the evidence to reveal the Viscount’s ugly true face! I will gladly accept the punishment for causing a commotion in the capital, but I have only acted according to my conscience!”
I amplified magic, so loudly the nobles living nearby must have heard my denunciation. This laid the groundwork for the public opinion war.
The knight in the shiny gold powered suit straightened his ranks and raised his arm, the engine whirring. It was a visual that made it seem like a rocket punch would fly if I messed with him.
“Are you finished speaking?”
“May I say one more thing before I go?”
“Go ahead.”
“If I were to speak as this Viscount, he had evil intentions and used innocent magic to cast hypnosis! According to the secret documents I obtained, the next target he was aiming for was… Your Grace!”
I made it up based on what the Viscount had been saying about ‘giving someone a good education’, but why? I’m not sick. I couldn’t remember anything else than that his name sounded like a kiwi, and I didn’t t know what he did.
So I just blurted it out. I added a title at the end, so I hope they’ll figure it out. The Viscount was going to use the hypnosis app on a high-ranking person.
“Are you finished now?”
“Ah, yes. I’m finished now, Sir Knight.”
“Take him away.”
I was fitted with mana-freezing handcuffs. After a brief exploration, it seemed that the principle was to absorb mana and release it outside. Like continuously scooping water out of a well that is overflowing.
I think I can get out of this if I try. But if I did, that engine punch would fly, so I stayed put.
And I was taken to my cell.It was my first time entering a medieval prison cell.
When I think of prison, I usually picture a gloomy place with stone brick walls and iron bars, but the prison in the capital is a bit different. The interior was cleaner than I expected.
Not only was it clean, but there were even some luxurious touches. There was a bed on the pure white floor tiles, and even books to pass the time. When I checked the bed sheets, they had been properly laundered.
The golden knight had one of the silver knights escort me to the prison. I asked the knight who had brought me in,
“Are the facilities always this nice?”
“Yes. This is because it is mainly used to imprison high-ranking individuals or those who have received orders from high-ranking individuals.”
The knight used honorifics and had a gentle demeanor. I couldn’t believe this was the treatment being given to a suspect accused of blowing up a viscount’s mansion. Why was that?
Hypothesis 1. She has a crush on me.
The knight tried to lower her voice and hide her gender, but my intuition was telling me. She was a woman. She would probably look good in dolphin pants.
If my fatal charm had stolen the heart of even a stern woman, I should take advantage of the situation here. I briefly considered which persona to adopt from the countless boy protagonists in romance novels.
Here, I’ll go with the safe pick: ‘the suspiciously gentle noble’.
“I know about you. You’re the purple-robed mage from the Academy of Magic who was assigned to the academy by order of the Second Prince, aren’t you?”
“Oh.”
How do you know that? I looked at the knight with that expression.
I haven’t shown my face in public that many times, and my reputation isn’t exactly shaking the continent. When and how did you see me to know who I am?
“…It seems you don’t know much about the Capital Knights.”
“Ah, yes. It’s only recently that I caught the Second Prince’s eye. I was just doing research at the Academy of Magic when I received my orders, so I’m not familiar with the current affairs. I will remember your kindness, so may I ask you to explain?”
“There’s no need for that. If you could just forget about it, that would be enough. Both the favor and the grudge.”
What are you talking about?
“The Capital Knights strive to maintain order in the heart of Crown Hall. And in the heart of it all are⋯⋯high-ranking nobles, or those with similar authority. So our operations inevitably involve political clashes.”
“Indeed…”
“In the midst of that, we strive to carry out our assigned duties as neutrally as possible.”
The puzzle pieces were falling into place in my head.
If an incident occurs in a neighborhood where powerful people live, it’s highly likely that it’s a fight between powerful people. So when the police show up, a battle for territorial expansion begins from that moment on.
‘My grandson-in-law is a prosecutor, are you sure about this?’
‘My relative is a lawyer at a large law firm, and our father has connections with someone who wears a badge, so are you going to let this slide?’
A confrontation of ‘It’s your fault’ with all kinds of power being pulled in!!
The Capital Knights, who had to get their work done in the midst of that mess, had to act as politically neutral as possible.
The suspiciously good prison facilities, the fact that they knew about me even though I had just been assigned to the academy, were all part of that effort.
“I still can’t forget the time when a very minor incident, in which a noble abandoned his pet dog’s droppings on the street…escalated to the point where each faction issued an official statement.”
Now I understand.
The reason I’m in this luxury prison: seeing as how I accused a viscount of being a black magician, it seems that the Second Prince’s side made the first move. This magician must be someone sent by the Second Prince, so if they treat me carelessly, they might find some fault with me.Reason for speaking obediently: It may seem like I don’t have any title right now, but I don’t know what will happen to people. You can be criticized for being rude to your subordinates, so use polite language.
It was all evasive moves.
The article’s words asking us to forget both favors and grudges… I was finally able to read their true meaning.
It was a line filled with the joys and sorrows of life, saying, “We are doing what we are told to do, so please support, stir, and fight among yourselves.”
I solemnly entered the prison. I need to be quiet and not cause trouble.
—- —- —- — —-
I lay down on the bed and muttered.
“I’m bored to death…”
I have already read all the books placed. It seems that he has a knack for doing pastimes such as modeling and carving. No matter how comfortable it is, isn’t this a prison?
If you do the modeling here, you’ll get ‘A wizard locked in prison is trying to escape!’ And unnecessary misunderstandings may arise. You will be criticized and asked how you got the handcuffs off.
So I tried to lie still, but there wasn’t as much to do as I thought.
Normally, I would have been thinking about what to do for the next session, but strangely, I felt unmotivated.
Perhaps it is a reaction to the newly created “Pasimhyeonjeon”.
It is an arrow that compresses emotional data and fires it. During the session, the players cried, laughed, and experienced intense emotional fluctuations, so the idea was that if they were to experience all of that all at once, it would be a fatal spell.
In a way, it had the same context as Purple Magic Tower Master Yuna’s 『Information Bomb』. That thing, the thing that almost destroyed my simulation world. Fortunately, it was blocked by Erelele.
When shooting an arrow, if my emotions were mixed in because I was shooting it in a hurry… I can understand this feeling of helplessness.
“Ac….”
I covered my head with the blanket. If I had nothing to do, I was thinking of going to sleep, but no matter how much I closed my eyes and tossed and turned, my mind was spinning.
Killing time by kicking the blanket.
“…Now?”
“Lord Magic Tower?”
The voice of the Mage Tower was heard in my ears. When she turned her head slightly to check, the Magic Tower Pillar appeared out of nowhere, clinging to her under the blanket.
I stuck my head out and checked outside the iron window. I couldn’t see the driver watching, but since you never know when he’ll come back, it might be better to hide it. I went under the blanket.
“How long have you been here?”
“…I was watching it all along. Ho, what should I do if I get harassed?”
“Then I was going to sell the name of the Mage Tower Lord to get it over. Thank you for coming, I was bored. Come here.”
“Huh…!”
I hugged him tightly. It feels like it fits right into your arms. It felt like a puzzle fitting together, so it was nice to hug it anytime. I also feel mentally comfortable.
“Well, I’ll take it out soon. Yuri… Yuri went to tell the 2nd prince.”
“Oh, really? That’s a relief. I just have to wait for the time when they will take me out. When I get out of here… Um.”
“Is there something you want to do?”
My heart is pounding. Looking at the expression on his face, it seemed like it was the magic tower owner who wanted to do something. I tickled the back of his neck. As if it wasn’t that bad, the magic tower owner gently closed his eyes.
From Noble mtl dot com
“What do you want to do?”
“Well, uhm… We got caught up in the work, but originally, we were just going to observe. If there’s time left, you might want to continue.”
“Alone?”
“…I hope so. Ehehehe.”
Mabju smiled and snuggled closer into my arms.
The case of the warlock and the traitor to the purple magic tower had already started, so I was planning to dig into it until the clues were gone… But wouldn’t it be okay to take the time after the work is over?
We discussed in detail where we should go. After about five hours had passed, the second prince came to take me out.Two floors below the prison, the command center of the 3rd Division of the Capital Knights.
“Great Mage Detention Cell 101, currently in good listening condition.”
“The target doesn’t seem to have noticed the listening surveillance, sir!”
-I’m so bored…
The mage’s voice came in clearly. System all green. The 3rd Division Chief Ronald stroked his mustache with satisfaction and laughed out loud.
“hahahahaha! The mages think that if they just focus on their magic power, they’ll be fine! They don’t know about science, do they? Science!”
The secret lay in the metal frame of the bed where the mage lying was.
Using a metal pipe that conducted sound well, they were able to physically transfer and eavesdrop on the mage’s murmurs.
In addition, they could see the situation inside the room placed in real time through a cleverly hidden lens.
It was a product of pure science that did not contain a single drop of magic power. No one would have thought that such a device would have been installed at the cost of dozens of times the money. Even if the mage’s grandfather came, he wouldn’t ‘t be able to notice it.
“Complacent… Too complacent… Do you think that we, the Capital Knights, are just some half-assed guys who watch the eyes of the powerful?! Let’s break into the gap in that complacent mind! We are the iron-clad executors of the law-!!”
Ronald jumped around in ecstasy. He loved it when lawbreakers got what they deserved.
If he could make a nobleman’s servant have his tail cut off and make him scream, ‘You said you’d save me, master…!!’, that would be the best. Those who think they can commit crimes if they have power will be duly judged!
Like that guy who walked into prison with confidence, relying on the 2nd Prince’s backing!
“The unannounced attack on the nobles that took place at Crown Hall is illegal! Blowing up the mansion, causing noise pollution, and assassinating the nobles is of course illegal!”
“The Viscount’s body was not found!”
“Then the kidnapping of the noble is also illegal!!”
Of course, if the 2nd Prince starts to exert his power, the mage will be released. But that’s just one step back for two steps forward. The Capital Knights do not forget.
Based on the mage’s past record (which was suspiciously absent), his unusual behavior (he had entered the 2nd Prince’s faction in a short period of time), and eyewitness accounts from the academy, he was presumed to be an elite agent secretly dispatched by The 2nd Prince.
It was a position that was almost supernatural. If he was the 2nd Prince’s favorite sword, he would try to get him out of prison by any means necessary. That’s why he was even more fired up.
He would extract information through eavesdropping and somehow punish him!
As Ronald clenched his fists and made up his mind, words that should not have been heard came from the listening device.
-Lord of the Magic Tower?
Static.
“What…”
“What, you say…?!”
And then, an uneasy stir began in the command center. Lord of the Magic Tower? Those walking strategic weapons were safely stored in the Magic Tower?
Ronald grabbed the knight who had been listening to the coffin by the collar and echoed.
“Eavesdropping officer! Say it again, say it again. I think I misheard. You were the closest, so you must have heard it clearly! What did that guy just say…!”
“Ma, Magic Tower… He said Lord of the Magic Tower! I heard it clearly!”
-Then I was going to sell the name of the Lord of the Magic Tower. Thank you for coming, I was bored. Come here.
“Kyaaak!!”
The mage’s voice, which came again, drove the wedge. There was a possibility that the mage was a psychopath, but the information gathered so far made him suppose that it might be possible.
The explosion that blew up the mansion. It was as if a huge amount of magic power had been deflected, creating an unnatural cone shape. There were few people who could do such a feat.
The mage was a member of the Magic Tower. In that case, what he was referring to was the Lord of the Magic Tower of the Purple Magic Tower…!”A location transfer report…?! “
“None have been confirmed, sir!”
“A missing location transfer report, you say… Are you saying that a strategic weapon has been secretly brought into the capital!!”
I thought it was a ‘minor’ dispute between the Second Prince’s forces and the Redburn Duke’s family, but no. It wasn’t. The Second Prince had played the Purple Magic Tower card without even getting permission from the Imperial Family!
Ronald broke out in a cold sweat.
“The Second Prince… Is he trying to start an all-out war…?!”
It’s not just a petty quarrel. The Second Prince had drawn his sword. The Second Prince, who had been calling on his forces regardless of the sun or the shade, seemed to have made up his mind. If so, then…
“S, Sir! If so, then what should we, the Capital Knights, prepare for…?! “
“Contact… Team 1. Request the dispatch of the Capital Knights Commander…”
“Sir, that’s… This time, too, there will be a huge property damage…!!”
“But there’s no other way! To defeat a monster that has reached sublimation, you have to bring out the same kind of monster! To prevent an all-out war… No, at least. We have to mediate so that there is no fighting in Crown Hall!!”
And mediation required strength.
“Oh my God…”
Ronald prayed that Crown Hall would be safe.
Bruh