Chapter 77
When Se-ah said that she’s being held at the police station, I became skeptical.
“A police station? What business would you have going there──”
[I do! They said that the area where the villains teleported was our neighborhood……I’m the only one who didn’t have an alibi at the time……Hmph! They just said they have proof…….]
Wait, villains teleported?
“Se-ah. What neighborhood do you live in now?”
[What? Uh, uh, uh……Bu, Bucheon]
Slowly, the puzzle was coming together.
“When do the police think you committed the crime?”
[They said four days ago! But I was home at the time! Seriously…….]
“I believe you.”
[What?]
“I absolutely believe you, so don’t worry too much.”
Because it seemed like I was involved in this.
“So tell me where the police station is. I’ll be right there.”
[Oh, yeah, yeah, this is……, the police station for Awakeners in southern Gyeonggi-do!]
According to the map, it was a short helicopter ride away.
“I’ll be there in 10 minutes. From now on, if the police say anything to you, say you have the right to remain silent and keep your mouth shut.”
[Yeah……!]
With that, I hung up the phone and dialed another number to resolve the situation.
The organization’s legal counsel, and one of the highest powers in Corleone who specializes in this sort of thing.
“Consiglière? This is Eugene.”
The Consiglière of Corleone.
It was my turn to ask him for help.
* * *
Gyeonggi-do Southern Awakening Police.
As the name implies, this organization has the sole authority to investigate Awakening issues in the southern part of Gyeonggi Province, making it a de facto police force for Awakened people.
However, it is also a government agency of South Korea and operates under the law.
If I had to guess, Se-ah’s capture was connected to the smuggling of the villains from Gunsan into Korea.
And as I suspected, there was only one person who could have smuggled them into Korea.
Shin Chul-Gwimol, a member of the Villain Coalition that Kwak Chun-sik had just killed, and the man responsible for smuggling the villains into Korea.
But for some reason, the one who’s being framed is Se-ah.
They’ve even gone so far as to set up an operation, suggesting that there’s another group out there trying to frame her.
If so, they’re most likely affiliated with the Villain Alliance.
All the more reason to do everything in my power to rescue her and destroy them.
“Master. We’re here.”
Han Seo-joon said, stopping the car.
“Where are the others?”
“They say they’ll be here soon.”
“I see. I’ll go in first.”
The place where Se-ah was being held was the [Awakener Smuggling Division]
I ran straight to it, opened the door and stepped inside, and the man at the door jumped out of his seat and asked me.
“How can I help you?”
I ignore him and quickly look around to see where Se-ah is.
“Are you sure you’re not going to tell me? I mean, if you’re not the culprit, say something.”
“…….”
“It’s bad enough that a student at the Seoul Hero Academy helped smuggle people into the country, but now you’re denying the crime? How ridiculous.”
──I found her.
I rushed over there and put my hand on Se-ah’s shoulder, who was trembling but keeping her mouth shut as I said.
“Calm down. I’m here.”
“Uh, Mr. Eugene……!”
He looks at me as if I’m a detective, which I am not.
“Who are you?”
“A guardian.”
After revealing my identity, I sit down in the empty chair next to Se-ah and look at him.
“Affiliation.”
“What?”
“Give me your name. You seem to have brought a child in handcuffs, and there should be a warrant for your arrest.”
As I said that, I glanced at Se-ah’s wrists.
There were silver bracelets on both wrists.
They were clearly the same ‘Great Awakening Suppressors’ that I had received from Kwak Chun-sik.
“What, an arrest warrant? Haha, don’t you know you can arrest spatial mages without a warrant if they’re fugitives?”
“That’s a law that only applies to Awakened who engage in hero activities, not Academy students.”
“What, do you think you’re the one who’s-”
As I said that, I grabbed Se-ah’s wrist and lifted her up.
“──Release this first.”
He flinched at my words.
But then she realizes that the eyes of the detectives around her are drawn in this direction, so she smiles sheepishly and points a piece of paper on the desk in my direction.
“Arrest warrant here. Got it?”
I took the paper from him.
It’s definitely an arrest warrant, though he looks a little shaken.
‘That clears it up.’
If anything, I’m more confident in the picture I’m painting.
“An arrest warrant for an academy student with a clear identity, a first-time offender, and a family that makes her less likely to flee? …… You have someone on top of you?”
As I muttered in disbelief, he slammed his desk with an echoing bang.
The steel desk was dented by his palm.
“If you’re going to make such baseless assumptions, get out of here. We’re following the law.”
“Following the law? This?”
I clench my fist, making him snap at my words.
“Look, man. Do you realize what we’re dealing with here? Villains who escaped from Niflheim were smuggled into Bucheon. Every Spatial Mage in Bucheon at the time had an alibi, except for that girl. Don’t you understand if I tell you this?”
Spatial mages need to be managed.
They could be used to smuggle people into the country if they wanted to.
Worst of all, if they get away with it, there’s virtually no way to catch them.
Take, for example, the one I captured not long ago.
His combat abilities weren’t very high. In fact, he could be considered weak but the mere fact that he was a spatial mage was enough to cause a stir in Korea.
“You think that’s all? When we went to capture her, her magic was empty, and she was almost exhausted. What in the world would a spatial mage do that would cause her to run out of energy? You got the answer, huh?”
That’s why he was so sure.
All the registered spatial mages at the time had been scheduled, and only Se-ah had no alibi.
She’d been empty of magic at the time of her arrest.
It was a ridiculous story.
“A first-year academy student smuggled villains in from the outside? You seriously think that makes sense.”
“……what?”
“She doesn’t even have enough magic to teleport from her home to the academy and she’s the one who smuggled the villains in…… Ha! That should make the ghosts sing. If a first-year academy student has that kind of ability, guilds all over the world would be after her.”
“Most smuggling is done from the coast. She should be able to travel inland from the coast.”
“Do you have any proof?”
In the end, they had only one argument.
That Se-ah was the only one who didn’t have an alibi.
“Arrest without hard evidence, suppressors, threats, and coercion. What an organization.”
-Smirk.
I clap sarcastically in his face, and his hands start to shake.
He takes a deep breath to control his anger, perhaps because of his status, and opens his mouth to speak to me and Se-ah.
“Evidence? Evidence, yes, but even if you’re a guardian, you can’t just walk in and start talking. This case is technically under investigation by the Awakening Police Department, with an arrest warrant. Do you realize that what you’re doing right now could get you arrested?”
I can’t help but laugh at the fact that he’s now directly threatening me.
“Ha! You’re calling it intimidation over here, aren’t you? Good, very good, because intimidation is a weapon that works very well against those weaker than you.”
“……what?”
If that’s what you’re going to do, I’m going to do what I’m going to do.
“I thought you were going to get a lawyer when we let you make a phone call, but you brought some weirdo friend. Are you sure you don’t want a lawyer, you do realize that if you don’t get one, you’re automatically assigned a public defender, right?”
I tell him I’m going to play nice and start talking about his right to a lawyer.
“What? A lawyer? But a lawyer is…….”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve appointed a lawyer.”
“That’s ……?”
“……what?”
Two people looking at me at the same time at my mention of having already appointed a lawyer.
“You’ve hired a lawyer?”
“You hired a lawyer? You?”
I wonder why they’re so surprised.
“Of course I have. You’re a valued member of our family, and you’re my friend.”
“……friend.”
The detective watching from the front snorted.
“Ha, that’s what you get for having a good lawyer. With all the evidence and witnesses, do you really think a lawyer is going to make any difference, kids?”
“Uh, it does.”
I say with conviction, and his brow furrows as if he’s heard something.
“What?”
“You just said it yourself, it’s the law.”
As if it were obvious.
I declared.
“So we’ll deal with you your way, by law.”
The door to the investigation room swung open at the same time as my declaration.
Soon, men in black suits begin to trickle into the room and stand behind me, until the head of the group, a middle-aged man, pulls out a piece of paper that appears to be his business card and hands it to the detective.
“Representative of the defense team from Law Firm Dike. I’m Han Kwang-ki, and I’ve decided that our defense team will be handling your defense from now on, so you can talk to me about the details.”
“Huh? Me…….”
“As it turns out, the arrest warrant has been issued by Prosecutor Han Chang-wook, but the detention warrant hasn’t been issued yet. You do realize that if the detention warrant isn’t issued within 48 hours, you can’t hold her any longer, right?”
“Oh…… that’s…….”
“Well, in that case, we’ll stand by until the arrest warrant comes through, or until the 48 hours are up, or if you’re not comfortable with that, we’re done investigating today, and you can ask for a subpoena next time.”
Dike, one of the largest law firms in South Korea.
The moment they announced that they would stay by their client’s side for two days straight, whatever plan they had in mind was already meaningless.
They targeted Se-ah because they probably didn’t even think there was someone behind her.
“Okay, I’m going to go make a quick call.”
“You’re welcome.”
With that, the detective stepped away and Se-ah was still looking at me with a look on her face that said she couldn’t understand what was going on.
“……Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, I just don’t understand what’s going on here. What is the law firm, what is the defense, what is this?”
……Was that too abrupt?
“You do realize I’m well off, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m just asking a favor of a law firm I’m usually indebted to.”
“Ha, but it must be a lot of money…….”
“The equipment in the club house probably costs more than the money I spent on this case.”
“Ah…….”
It was true.
After a while, the detective, who must have gotten off the phone, walks over to me and Se-ah, looking restless, and bows his head.
“Well, for now, you’re free to go home for the night…… and I’d appreciate it if you’d show up on time for the next subpoena…….”
“Ah, yes…….”
He seems to have changed his mind when he hears from upstairs that Dike’s defense team has arrived.
I’m sure they have a lot to prepare, but that’s none of our concern.
All right, then.
“Let’s go back.”
“Yes……?”
“Aren’t you going home?”
“Oh, yeah, let’s go!”
Someone in the police or prosecutor’s office was targeting Kim Se-ah.
If so, my job was simple.
Snipe back and knock them out.
You think you’re the bad guy, but in front of a hunter with a shotgun, you’re just the prey.
I’ll crush them so thoroughly that they will never touch her again because that’s the Corleone way.
