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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Hmm, Perfect
“Huh?”
Festford still couldn’t grasp the situation. Guards swarmed him, while Vernove Pars, presumably, observed the scene with amusement.
“Huh? Huh?”
Festford stared blankly as the guards cuffed and bound him. Caught like this? How? What’s happening? His mind raced, desperately trying to make sense of it all.
Since I came with a nobleman, they’ll take him too.
Just before being dragged away, Festford made a desperate attempt to drag the nobleman down with him.
“The man who brought me here! He was gambling illegally too! He lied! He tricked me! His name is Vernove Pars! Of the Pars family!”
“…? What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
The guard looked at him as if he was crazy. Festford turned around, expecting to see the middle-aged man with the long beard, but instead, he saw a young boy, calmly presenting his ID to the guards. The nobleman who had warned him not to trust people so easily, who had mocked his naivety, had vanished.
“Identification confirmed. A Mirinae Academy student. You’ve done a great service,” the guard said to the boy.
“Thank you. He seemed like a real menace.”
“Yes, he’s been causing us a lot of trouble lately. Mirinae students are truly something else.”
“Haha, you flatter me. May I leave now?”
“Yes! You can leave the rest to us.”
Normally, he would have been subjected to further questioning, but capturing the culprit and being a Mirinae student expedited the process. The boy, finally able to express his amusement, silently applauded Festford’s predicament. Seeing this, Festford felt a sudden clarity, a horrifying realization.
“You’re all being fooled! That boy! He impersonated the Pars family! He came to the casino and won all that money! And now he’s reporting me to steal everything!”
“Money? What money? We have the ledgers and the cash right here.”
He’s not listening.
The guard held the ledgers and the available cash. With those in hand, Festford’s words held no weight.
He’s thinking too small.
Did he think handing over the ledgers and cash to the tax office would ruin him?
Do you think I’m that easy to take down?
This was why children were so naive. Festford decided further resistance was futile and allowed himself to be escorted inside. These low-level guards, unaware of the bigger picture, were merely puppets following orders. The real conversation would happen with those inside the tax office.
The guards led him to an interrogation room, and the person he’d been waiting for entered.
“Gace! How are you! I’ve been tricked! I need a thorough investigation to find out who that man was… I saw his face…”
Smack!
“Shut your mouth! Don’t you dare speak my name here!”
Smack!
Gace, the head of the tax office, delivered two swift blows to Festford’s face, silencing him before he could even finish his sentence. The message was clear:
I don’t need to hear your excuses.
“We have the ledgers, the illegally obtained assets. What more could you possibly offer?”
“…”
Festford’s body trembled as Gace’s words sunk in.
There’s no bribe money.
He had given all the available cash and the ledgers to that boy. He frantically searched his pockets, but there wasn’t even a single coin. Without a bribe, his connection with Gace was severed. Gace, knowing this, had struck him preemptively, preventing him from speaking.
If he talks, things could get messy.
With Mirinae Academy nearby, and all eyes on them, accepting bribes could have serious repercussions.
This needs to be handled quickly and quietly.
Gace immediately contacted the police, reporting the location of Sweet Dessert’s underground casino. Festford’s business had thrived because he had cultivated relationships with high-ranking officials, but that protection only extended to the shadows.
“A Mirinae Academy student brought you here, with the ledgers and the cash. If nothing happens, if you walk away scot-free, well… I don’t even want to imagine the consequences.”
The fear of the unknown. People feared giants not because they’d fought them, but because they instinctively understood their power. It was best not to provoke a giant whose wrath was predictable. Gace intended to handle this swiftly, before it reached Mirinae Academy.
“…”
Festford, having lived his life navigating the nuances of power, understood Gace’s unspoken message.
I’m ruined.
This was the end. He felt his plump cheeks sag, the weight of his body seemingly shrinking. In a final act of desperation, he erupted.
“I gave you all the money! Gace, you bastard! And that boy! He was an imposter! He used the Pars family name! Call the guards! I’ll give them a proper description! He had long, blue hair down to his waist! Check his name! You must remember something!”
“We’ve checked everything. His name is Poripopo Booz. We have his description. Do you think we’re incompetent?”
And I told you not to run your mouth.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Gace struck him repeatedly, aiming for the jaw, until Festford slumped unconscious.
“Damn it…”
Gace wiped his hands and looked out the window.
Poripopo Booz…
Mirinae Academy was truly different. A student had orchestrated this entire scenario during a weekend outing, gathering irrefutable evidence to bring down Festford.
I’ll just say he impersonated the Pars family, too.
Illegal gambling, bribery, impersonating a nobleman. This wasn’t just about one man; it would unravel a web of corruption, potentially implicating other nobles, including himself. The best course of action was to wag his tail, then cut it off before it got caught.
“Is anyone out there?!”
He’d forgotten about the silencing spell. He opened the door and shouted again.
“Is anyone there?!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Contact the White Blades immediately!”
“But they handle noble criminals… We’ve only caught a gambling den operator…”
“Just do it!”
Idiot.
He closed the door and sat down, calculating his next move.
There’s going to be a bloodbath.
He could already envision the nobles, accused of bribery, being dragged off to prison.
++++++++
First things first.
I tossed the beard, the robe, the blue wig, and the fake ID into a nearby furnace, watching them burn. The oil-soaked disguise quickly turned to ash. I immediately headed back to Sweet Dessert.
The double disguise is foolproof.
The Mirinae Academy ID was crudely made, but it was enough. The guards, unfamiliar with the real thing, wouldn’t notice the forgery. Students rarely left the academy, so the guards had little opportunity to examine their IDs.
And the students who do leave are mostly nobles. A lowly guard wouldn’t dare question a noble’s identity.
That’s why the crude ID had worked. The unusual blue wig further solidified the disguise, making me look like someone who belonged at the academy. I quickly donned my next disguise.
I never thought the spatial pouch I got from the warden would be so useful.
An eyepatch, a purple wig, and a thief’s outfit.
Changing clothes while running took time, but I couldn’t afford to be slow.
The police will be here any minute.
I hurried towards Sweet Dessert’s basement, bypassing the usual procedures with brute force. I smashed through the wall of a room, knocked out the guards with precise strikes to the jaw, and burst into the VIP room, knocking out Struite, who was waiting for Festford.
Hurry, hurry.
When the police arrived, the nobles in the casino would be arrested. I needed to grab as much cash as possible before that happened. The wealthy patrons, stunned by the sudden violence, were easy targets.
“Give me your money. Cash. If I find any hidden cash after I search you, you’ll end up like them,” I announced, gesturing towards the unconscious guards.
My transformation from a respected Mirinae student to a nobleman, and now a robber, was complete.
“P…please spare me!”
They all knelt, begging for mercy.
Hmm, perfect.
I was impressed by my own acting. I could have been a star.
Should I join the drama club?
I was serious.
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