༺ Preparations (2)༻
『Head of Mata』
-It is the head of the hundred-legged four-deaded monster, Mata.
-It is a strong alchemic ingredient. You may use this to craft using the crafting window upon the acquisition of High Alchemy (Access Denied).
-You may proceed with the collection quest, 『Where are the other heads?』.
-You can see it on the Map (Access Denied).
A trophy of the great Danann, Dagda, who was one of the gods with the most records left behind. His first recorded appearance was when he visited one of the four hidden lands of the druids, Morias.
The original beholder of the Magic Cauldron of Undry, one of the four great treasures that was currently in possession of the King’s Subject, Dun Scaith, was in fact Dagda himself.
The hundred-legged and four-headed monster, Mata, was one of the monsters he bashed to death and was one of the giants that later resurrected as a great giant to stand against the fierce Danann, Dagda.
Mata was one of the primary causes that contributed to the exponential increase in power towards the latter portions of the game. After all, the resurrection of the giants and the King of Giants was something that was brought about by the Tower’s research into Mata.
There were three pros for me attacking this laboratory.
Advise Germain, the spy from the Old Faith, about the dirty side of the Old Faith and how they were hand-in-hand with the Tower of Mages. Sabotage the research into the resurrection of giants. This will be used to assist us in ‘that place’.
Putting Mata’s head into my pocket, I walked back out and found Hua Ran and Germain organizing a large pile of evidence we were going to carry back.
“Senior. What is that?”
“More evidence. By the way, did you find anything?”
“N, no…”
Until the end, Germain didn’t mention the secret letter sent by Bishop Lusignan. He must be too confused and lost to make a quick decision.
However, a crack had appeared, and that was more than enough for the time being.
***
“To obtain the qualification to become a Justice of the Peace, you must first contact the Alliance and the judicial authority and—”
It was in the middle of Professor Edgar’s boring JP lecture where he was simply filling the blackboard with words. I was about to doze off when a finger poked me from the side.
“Hmm…”
Waking up from my sleep, I turned around and saw Marie looking at me with a wide smile.
“Korin. You failed your interim exam. It will be bad if you fail it again, you know?”
“Ughh… Thanks.”
“Don’t worry~”
Although I was a regressor, there was no way I could remember everything that came out in the tests so my grades were barely sitting somewhere around the middle. Professor Edgar’s Justice of the Peace lecture was one that I had to get an A in unlike other courses, but…
“Now, we need a few students to attend the work placement at the end of the semester. Is there anyone interested?”
“Yes sir!”
I immediately threw my hand up in the air as Professor Edgar turned towards me in response. He lifted his glasses up, before staring at me with a cold gaze.
“Student Korin. I appreciate your passion, but you have been excluded from the list.”
“What? Why?!”
“…Do you need me to explain?”
“…Nope. Sorry.”
Ah… this was bad. Professor Edgar’s Justice of the Peace work placement was an external mission – a side quest that the player could clear depending on the subjects they chose.
After clearing Professor Edgar’s side quest a few times and earning a good reputation, you could receive an honorary JP license along with the 1st Princess, Estelle’s recommendation.
In the game, it was just an honorary title that raised a few stats but…
Anyway, I have to attend his work placement to get that license, but I can’t go because of my grades!
All the player had to do in the game was read a short text and answer a multiple-choice quiz to get good marks but… things weren’t that easy now that this was the real world.
“Korin… Do you want to become a JP that badly?”
“Well… There’s a need to get one.”
“One of my relatives is a judge at a local court. Should I get them to give you one?”
What I needed was a Grade 1 license or an honorary JP title. Since Ren and Ron were with me, all I needed was to lay my hands on one of those licenses to deal with the ‘Demi-human Village’ incident that will be happening sometime soon…
“For now… can you do that for me?”
“Of course…! I’ll contact them today!”
Marie whispered with a clenched fist, seemingly eager to meet my expectations. Feeling grateful, I caressed her head and she returned a wide smile in response.
“Hehe. While we’re at it, should we make the JP badge out of pure gold? It’ll be super awesome if you decorate it with diamonds~”
“No, that’s a bit…”
Marie was already paying for the wyverns and the stationing fees of the Warsky Mercenaries and the Arden Sword Squad.
Even though I had already decided to unhesitatingly rely on Marie’s financial power, I was afraid that I would become a good-for-nothing if I became overly dependent on it.
Honestly, Marie’s financial power was… so overpowered that I even wondered if this was okay at times.
“K, korin…”
I was focusing on the lesson while playing with Marie’s hair when she carefully held my fingers.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“No, that’s okay… Umm, Korin. You want to become a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace, right?”
“Yeah.”
“There is a way to become a Grade 1 JP without taking the official test.”
“What is it?”
“Special Promotion.”
“Hmm?”
“If a Grade 2 or a Grade 3 JP does something incredible to earn a special promotion, they could get promoted or become an official judge straight away.”
It seemed to be a policy set to motivate the JPs who were working hard in the country.
So special promotion was also a thing in this world, huh…
Back then,
I should have questioned why she had suddenly brought that up.
***
Meanwhile, at the local court of the large city in the south, Duff.
“Oh wow. I see. That’s amazing~”
One of the collateral relatives of the Dunareff Family, the Schacht Family, was a renowned household that produced several ministers of public order and law in the great cities of the south, and the family head, Walpe Schacht, was a politician working in the capital to best represent the people in the southern region of the kingdom.
The first daughter of that household, Charlianne Schacht, was a senior judge of the Great City of Duff, but despite her status, she still had to enthusiastically involve herself in the conversation.
It was because the person she was talking to was even more of a bigshot than herself.
“I’m telling you~. You have no idea of all~ the compliments that my daughter was giving him.”
Elencia Dunareff.
She was well-known for previously being a Grade 2 Knight but was even more widely known as the Duchess of the Dunareff Dukedom.
“What a phenomenal young man. I can’t believe there could be such a righteous and good-hearted person!”
“Fufu, I have seen him with my very eyes, and I can tell you he had a wonderfully bright and good pair of eyes. And what is even more incredible, is that he even wants to be a part of the role of ‘protecting the law’.”
“Ah~ I see. Then we better quickly invite him into the court as an official and let him become a judge…”
“Oh, looks like you have misunderstood me. That boy seemed eager to experience the hardships of the outer field.”
“By the outer field, you mean…?”
“He says he wants to start from a Justice of the Peace.”
“Haht! What a wonderful sense of justice! Does he want to experience the world and slowly work his way up?”
“That is right. A very passionate young man.”
“It’s hard to find someone that passionate amongst the youngsters these days.”
Senior Judge Charlianne had to give her best compliments to a young man whose face she did not even know.
“But it is concerning,” said Elencia. “Marie ‘cherishes and adores’ him so much, and he’s such a righteous young man, but what if others look down on him for having a low status or being too young…?”
“Ahht! I see! We can’t let that happen! Justice of the Peace… That is already a very tough journey to embark on, so I can’t possibly sit back and do nothing. If we make him a Grade 2 Justice of the Peace, no one should be able to look down on—”
“Oh, by the way, your son recently took office at the royal administration, right? I should have been more mindful.”
“Please don’t worry about it! We have already received too much favor. The only reason we are doing great as a family is all thanks to the generous support of the Dukedom.”
“Let me send a letter to the Minister of Administration sometime this week.”
“Aigo~! You don’t have to…!”
The week after that, the oldest son of Senior Judge Charlianne, Rusalka, was promoted immediately from a Grade 5 official to the Minister’s secretary.
A secretary of a minister was seen as a Grade 4 official and marked the beginning of an elite course that connected all the way to the position of a deputy minister and a minister but was technically still a personal secretary of the minister so no one voiced any complaints, although were they were fairly skeptical about it.
The same day, a Grade 2 Justice of the Peace badge was delivered to Korin Lork’s dormitory.
………
……
…
There were criminals all around the continent, and there was no shortage of wanted criminals who tried to run away from the verdicts of law.
“Fuck… fuck! Fuck this shit!”
Jonathan Martin was one of such wanted criminals.
Starting as a small pickpocket and thief, he discovered his potential, formed a crew, and eventually became wanted due to a reckless act of bravado of trying to raid the mansion of a baron.
Due to his recklessness, the comment at the bottom of his wanted poster was ‘Dead or Alive’, meaning that it was possible to get the bounty even after killing him.
His combat prowess was nothing worth noting, but thanks to his immaculate escape skills and numerous bunkers placed around the continent, even in the game, ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱, he was considered a 4-star wanted criminal and a hard one to catch.
Although Jonathan Martin boasted of incredible escaping skills, it was still hard for him to run away from dozens of wyvern riders who immediately started chasing after him once his identity was revealed by the guards who suddenly went around questioning everyone in broad daylight.
And now, he was chained upside down in a secluded village house.
“Bring him down.”
Captain of the Dunareff Wyvern Riders – the so-called Uncle Verg.
The middle-aged man, who appeared so benevolent that he would always show a kind smile to everyone, gave a cruel command that would immediately put someone to the bottom of hell.
-Creak!
The chains went up as Jonathan was plopped down into a large container of water that could hold an entire person inside.
-Hupp! Puhahh! Grhhhh…!
“How long has it been?”
“Around 2 minutes, boss.”
“Bring him back up. We can’t have him dying on us.”
-Creak!
“Puhah! Puhuahk! P, please don’t kill me! Please!”
“Aigo, he still sounds very energetic. Let him down one more time.”
“Yes! Captain!”
“N, Noo! NOOOOOOOO PUAHHK!”
After a long conversation between the two.
“So, good sir. Do you want to stay here? Or would you like some jail food instead?”
“J, jail food. Please let me have jail food.”
“Remind me one last time. What were you ‘doing’, and ‘where’ were you again?”
“M, Merkarva! I was planning for a heinous heist!”
“And who were you caught by?”
“K, Korin Dork! I was caught by the new Justice of the Peace, Korin Dork—”
“Aigo, you forgot the name of our Duke Consort. This is no good. Not good enough. Let him down one more time. Help him wake up a bit.”
“S, sorry! SORRY! I’M SORRYYYYBRURRRRRAHK!”
Numerous heinous criminals all around the southern region of the kingdom started being caught near Merkarva.
All of them were caught by none other than the newly appointed JP, Korin Lork.
………
……
…
[Yes! Hello Sir Bolton! This is Deputy Minister of Public Order, Ronan, speaking.]
“Hey, Deputy Ronan. I’m hearing that all sorts of wanted criminals are being caught these days, is that correct?”
[Ah, yes! The continent is regaining its peace and public order thanks to the cooperation of the Dunareff—]
“Ehem…!”
[Aht, of course! It’s all thanks to Justice of the Peace Korin Lork!]
“Hahaha, is that so? As expected of the future Duke Consort of Lady Marie.”
[Naturally! Of course!]
“Then as previously discussed, Young Master is going to receive a special promotion this year, yes?”
[O, of course! The minister has already confirmed it. He would love to see you and thank you for all your hard work…]
“Certainly. When will this be decided by? Time and potatoes are gold, after all.”
[Umm…]
“May I ask if there is an issue?”
[M, my apologies. There is a bit of an unresolved problem that’s taking some time… There’s a public order officer who loves to push his nose into other people’s business, and he seems to be looking into the Duke Consort these days.]
“…”
Silence.
A long silence.
The vassal baron of the Dunareff Family and manager of Merkarva Dunareff Produce, Baron Paul Bolton did not utter a single word or sound into the communication device for a long time.
The long silence heavily pressured Deputy Minister Ronan.
After the long period of silence, what allowed him to breathe again was one short word from the baron.
“Name.”
[Y, you do not have to directly involve yourself in this matter. We will—]
“I’m telling you to tell me their name.”
[M, Morgan… His name is Morgan Routes!]
………
……
…
Morgan Routes.
He was a squad chief of the Ministry of Public Order, which was in charge of the internal peace of the kingdom.
Born with a righteous and stubborn personality, he was a passionate officer who personally rode horses to catch criminals whether they be distant or close.
Recently, he became doubtful of a name that was being repeated again and again, and the unusual and sudden increase of wanted criminal arrests.
Korin Lork.
He was a Grade 1 Knight, who became a Grade 2 JP just last week due to the proactive recommendations of the judges in the southern courts.
Well, there was nothing suspicious with that, considering how it was normal for guardians to be recommended to the position of a JP.
However, the problem was with the frequency of his arrests. Logically speaking… how could these heinous wanted criminals, whom even the Ministry of Public Order couldn’t catch due to their lack of manpower, be arrested day after day? By one person, and in one city at that?
It stunk… It definitely reeked of something fishy.
This was no good. After judging that it called for an investigation, he started looking into the man named Korin Lork with his men and…
“Hey. How are you doing?”
His direct superior, Londen, Deputy Minister of Public Order Ronan, Senior Superintendent Barok, and the Minister of Public Order Dorman.
High-ranking executives who were way above him suddenly visited his house all at once. Why were these bigshots, who were hard enough to see individually, visiting the house of a single officer? And most importantly…
“Nice to meet you.”
Lady Marie Dunareff. The oldest daughter of the Southern Emperor, Marde Dunareff, and future Duchess.
The super bigshot, who could make all the executives lose their posts, set her foot into his miserable house.
“Officer Morgan, right? Do you mind a handshake?”
“Pardon?”
“Ehem! Officer Morgan! What are you doing; hurry up and get up! Are you going to keep the lady waiting!?”
Hearing the sudden outburst of the Minister, Morgan quickly stood up and responded to the handshake with both of his hands as politely as possible. They were the uninvited guests who suddenly intruded into his house, but Morgan couldn’t voice any complaints.
“I heard you are investigating a Justice of the Peace recently, is that correct?”
“Ah, yes… Grade 2 JP Korin Lork… But it’s confidential information, and I cannot reveal it even to you, Lady Marie—”
“What!?”
“Have you gone mad?!”
That was the most reasonable statement as an officer of the Public Order Department, but unlike his expectations, his words earned the criticism of the high executives. Unrelenting, he continued his argument.
“I can’t stop the investigation at any cost! No matter how I see it, JP Lork’s accomplishments do not make sense! It’s already strange enough that he got recommended to the position of a Justice of the Peace as a student. How can he possibly catch so many criminals in that short period of time…?!”
“Officer?”
It was a soft and gentle voice, but that one word forced him to shut his mouth.
“You see, Korin already has the right qualifications.”
He couldn’t say a single word. The glaring eyes of the executives of the Ministry of Public Order and the small girl who gave off an even greater presence than them did not permit him to open his mouth.
“Do you think it’s really that bad to acknowledge someone with qualifications just a tiny bit earlier than usual?”
As soon as the young lady of the dukedom said that, Baron Paul, who was standing behind her, walked up with a box in hand. It was a fancy and well-ornamented box that did not suit the shabby background of the house but was rather small and thin for a box of bribery.
“This year was your third time having your promotion put off, yes?”
The box opened with a click. Inside the box weren’t any treasures nor gold; instead, there was a single piece of paper – one that he was so close to yet so far from.
“People who are overly righteous and stubborn tend to be hated for irrational reasons. It’s regrettable, I know.”
The paper outlined the repositioning of his post… but that was clearly a promotion.
“We, in the south, appreciate talents like you. The Head of Public Order post in Duff City had been empty for a while, you see.”
Morgan’s eyes widened in shock as he froze stiff on the spot.
Head of Public Order of a large city like Duff. That was a key post that was only given to the pure-blooded nobles or graduates of the Academy, that people from a lowly upbringing like him could never reach.
The young lady of the dukedom tapped his shoulder with the world’s most innocent smile on her face.
“Think carefully. Chief… Oh wait! You’re not one yet.”
She left after giving him a wide smile as the Executives of the Ministry followed after her like servants. When the bigshots, who had been pressuring him the whole time, finally left, Morgan felt powerless and collapsed on the spot.
Dunareff.
The untouchables, that no one could mess around with except for the royal family and the religious orders.
They were too big of a foe for him to go against.
………
……
…
“For your great contributions in arresting those vicious wanted criminals on repeat, you have been nominated as one worthy of a special promotion!”
***
“As of this moment today, Knight Korin will be promoted from Grade 2 Justice of the Peace to Grade 1 Justice of the Peace and will be granted the emergency judging rights and investigation authority of a Grade 1 incident—”
***
The bigshots of the Ministry of Law and Public Order, which I had never seen both in the game and the last iteration were all gathered in one place. And at the center of their attention was me with a dumb look on my face, receiving the applause of countless visitors who had been invited through Dunareff Fresh Produce.
“Congratulations, Grade 1 Justice of the Peace, Knight Korin Lork!”
“Congratulations!”
“Congratulations!”
Something… something ain’t right here.
