Chapter 5: Thief, But With a Side of Terminal Illness(5)

The stage was set.

And it was set on a grand scale.

I had intended for it to happen, but this was even bigger than I had anticipated.

I thought tomorrow’s job would be the main event, but this situation’s scale was no joke either.

Everyone was staring at me.

Normally, I should’ve been trembling, but my trait, [Coolheadedness], kept me calm even in this atmosphere.

Yes. Keep watching me.

See how I handle this situation and spread the word.

I turned around.

Four men were looking at me with eyes full of doubt.

I directed my question to the one with an especially stoic expression.

“What’s your name?”

“Kal.”

I already knew, but this was for final confirmation.

“You’re from Karagas, right?”

“Yeah. I came here with my brothers.”

“Real brothers?”

“Different parents, same bond.”

“Tell me about what you went through.”

“…….”

“What’s wrong? I’m asking you to talk. Don’t want to?”

Despite his tough appearance, Kal hesitated suddenly.

“It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“Then what?”

“It’s… awkward.”

“Awkward? In a situation like this?”

“Well, it’s just… it’s the first time. Having someone actually listen to our story.”

Kal’s expression remained impassive.

But he couldn’t fully hide the torrent of emotions in his voice.

There was a strange fervor in his tone.

Understanding his feelings, I gave him the most reassuring smile I could muster.

“It’s fine. Speak loudly. Loud enough for everyone here to hear.”

Nodding, Kal infused mana into his voice and began his story.

Soon, his voice echoed through the area.

He recounted how, during the festival, a woman approached them, claiming she was being harassed by a thug and asking for help.

They followed her into an alley to assist, only for the woman to suddenly scream and accuse them of being sexual predators.

As the story unfolded, Kal’s voice grew louder.

He had only infused mana to project his voice farther, but as his emotions surged, his mana control became unstable.

His voice trembled roughly.

It was filled with sorrow and indignation, swirling together.

By now, his face was contorted as he shouted.

The sight left a deep impression on everyone watching.

What followed was a story everyone already knew.

The nearby guards and cadets didn’t even bother listening to their side, immediately branding them as criminals.

When the story ended, an awkward silence blanketed the area.

Everyone stared at Kal, who was breathing heavily, lips sealed tight.

“What do you think?”

My question was directed at Baron.

He shook his head.

“It’s a story I’ve already heard.”

“Really? Seems like you at least listened, Professor.”

The others looked like they were hearing it for the first time.

Not that they seemed convinced, though.

“But there’s no proof his words are true.”

“Isn’t that the same for the victim’s side?”

“No. There was a witness.”

Huh?

That was news to me.

Wait, no way?

A person came to mind belatedly.

The ridiculously beautiful girl who had been standing next to the victim.

I only caught a glimpse of her, but her striking appearance made her unforgettable.

“I’m the witness.”

And up close, she was even more stunning.

“…….”

No, this went beyond mere beauty.

Jet-black hair like obsidian, contrasted by skin as pale as jade.

I’m not kidding—her presence made the air around her seem to waver for a moment.

Was it her aura? Or was my mind just momentarily dazed?

I could understand the citizens’ and guards’ reactions.

Sorry to Kal, but honestly, if I were in their shoes, I’d probably believe this witness’s testimony too, given her appearance.

It was written all over her face.

‘Trustworthy.’

Just kidding.

Anyway, this made things even stranger.

A witness?

That would mean the character settings for Kal in Heroes of Frey were wrong, which was unthinkable to me.

Character settings are the official, condensed summary of a character’s personality, traits, and past.

They couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Obviously, the witness’s testimony had to be the mistake.

She might have seen it wrong, or maybe she didn’t see clearly and was acting on emotion or, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she was conspiring with the victim to give false testimony.

That’s it.

The victim and this girl could be in cahoots.

“Tell us what you witnessed.”

At my question, she infused mana into her voice, just like Kal had, and spoke.

Her skill was impressive, and I was quietly surprised.

Kal was one thing, but how was she handling mana so well?

“…That’s it. That’s the general overview of their criminal actions that I witnessed.”

“What? So you didn’t actually see the incident itself? You’re saying you arrived at the scene after hearing the screams, just like them.”

I knew it.

“There’s something called context. Don’t you see the torn clothes and signs of fierce resistance?”

“I see them.”

“And? Are you suggesting the woman harmed herself?”

“That’s not what I said—you’re the one who just said that. Hmm. But that does make sense. Self-inflicted harm.”

She stared at me intently.

No, she was glaring.

Suddenly, her expression hardened, and she continued.

“Everyone here knows sexual assault is a serious crime. The minimum sentence is being paraded naked through the streets tied to a horse’s rear, and anything beyond that is forced labor. Now imagine being wrongfully dragged to a labor camp based on false accusations.”

“…….”

“How would that feel? Wouldn’t it make you furious, heartbroken, and unjustly treated?”

Her eyes wavered.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m telling you to think carefully about that situation again. Your testimony practically decides these people’s lives.”

I took a step forward.

Arguing with the witness wouldn’t yield answers.

Especially not with unverified testimony.

What I needed now was clear evidence to turn the situation around.

I walked past the girl, and for some reason, she stood frozen, not stopping me.

I approached the victim, who was crouched on the ground.

Step, step.

As the girl had said, the woman’s condition up close was a mess.

Disheveled hair, a red sweater torn in half.

Through the gaps, her undergarments and skin were faintly visible.

To an outsider, it looked like signs of violent resistance.

Her face was smeared with tears and snot.

Her shoulders trembled pitifully, and her sobs were mechanical, as if she was trying her hardest to look pathetic.

“Sniff. Sob!”

As I got closer, her crying grew louder.

The guard captain moved to intervene, but Baron stopped him.

I sent a grateful glance and looked down at her.

I stared at her intently.

As if I could see through the facade she was hiding behind, pretending to be a victim.

Then,

Ziiing──.

Like a scene in a movie zooming in, the view before my eyes suddenly magnified.

[Focused Gaze]

A low-level thieving technique used to aim at distant targets or closely observe objects.

I hadn’t expected to use a thieving skill outside of a job, but now wasn’t the time to be picky.

I had to find it.

Evidence.

“…What are you doing right now?”

“Don’t know. Why’s he staring at the victim’s body like that?”

“Feels like he’s just stalling.”

As time dragged on, the onlookers began to murmur.

Ignoring them, I recalled Kal’s statement.

Yes. The part where he said the victim tore her own clothes. Let’s focus on that.

The woman was wearing a red sweater.

It looked expensive, but the price wasn’t the point—it was the material.

That kind of sturdy fabric wouldn’t tear easily, even with a man’s grip.

It’d be easier to pull it off entirely.

To turn it into rags in such a short time, it had to have been prepped beforehand and I found the trace.

As expected, there was something off about the roughly torn seam.

A cleanly cut edge.

Clearly, it had been pre-slashed with a knife or scissors and one more thing.

“This is…”

I crouched down.

Meeting her terrified gaze, I said softly,

“Why did you tear it?”

Her eyes shook wildly.

“…W-What?”

“This sweater. You tore it yourself. With your own hands.”

I grabbed her wrist and lifted it up.

Startled by the sudden move, the woman screamed.

“Kyaa!”

“Hey! What the hell are you doing!”

The guard captain rushed forward, but I quickly waved her hand in front of him.

“Evidence.”

“What?”

“Evidence, I said. Look here.”

The woman whined about pain beside me. So what?

To me, she was no longer human—she was a villain.

Ignoring her, I continued.

“See her middle fingernail?”

“I see it. What’s your point?”

“Don’t just look—think while you look. This part. The broken nail edge with red threads caught in it. See it?”

The guard captain narrowed his eyes.

“This is…”

He understood what I meant.

The only person here wearing red was the victim herself.

But he shook his head soon after.

“Still, this alone doesn’t seem like enough to call it evidence.”

“That’s right! It’s not me. Sob! T-The threads got caught while I was fixing my torn clothes…”

The woman, who had been quietly gauging the situation, quickly chimed in but when our eyes met, she tried to collapse again, probably to milk more sympathy.

Not a chance.

I yanked her arm up, forcing her to stand.

“Ack! It hurts… Sob. Please, someone help me.”

“Hey! Gerard, you’re really…”

“Wait, wait. Then what about the nail? How did it break?”

She screamed defiantly.

“I don’t know! It probably broke while I was fighting off those men!”

“Really? That’s odd. I thought you were fighting with your clothes.”

With that, I reached toward her chest.

Inside the torn sweater piece, I pulled out a small white fragment and held it up.

A broken nail piece.

“What’s this? Isn’t this your nail?”

“…!”

“Why’s it here? Unless you were tearing at your own clothes like a maniac, how would a broken nail get caught inside? Also, if you resisted so fiercely that your nail broke and your clothes turned to rags, there should be traces on the men too. Why don’t they have a single scratch? Doesn’t that seem strange?”

“T-That’s…”

She faltered.

Seizing the moment, I shouted forcefully.

“This is an academy with the Hall of Heroes! How dare you lie here!”

Boom!

She flinched in shock.

Not just her.

The guard captain nearby and the surrounding citizens widened their eyes at my sudden yell.

This was a performance to fully shift the momentum to my side.

Leaving the trembling woman, I turned to the guard captain.

“Is this still not enough?”

The red threads caught in the nail.

The artificially cut fabric edge and the broken nail piece stuck inside.

More than enough evidence to prove Kal’s innocence.

“…Hmm.”

But the guard captain hesitated, mumbling.

He glanced at Kal’s group.

Seeing that, I realized I’d been mistaken.

It hit me.

The real issue wasn’t whether Kal and his brothers actually tried to assault the woman.

It was prejudice against their origins.

That was the root cause of this incident.

Even with evidence presented, the guard captain’s reluctance gave it away.

He was embarrassed.

Embarrassed to admit his mistake.

To apologize and seek forgiveness from people from Karagas, whom he usually dismissed and looked down on and the one who stopped him was, of all people, me.

The academy’s worst cadet.

When the other side consisted of lowborns and a pathetic academy failure, it must’ve stung his pride.

“The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it gets.”

I furrowed my brow and looked at him.

“Hey, guard captain. Are origins that important? Is honor, reputation, or people’s gazes that crucial? Are you that great?”

No matter how noble one’s origins, they can’t surpass a person’s character.

The academy’s prestige and noble honor are like candles flickering in the slightest breeze.

What matters is the resolute attitude to rise again even if the candle goes out.

Just like the negative image currently shrouding me.

This was my accumulated karma, the label that most simply described the human known as Gerard, the academy cadet.

But.

“Before believing in what’s invisible, believe in what’s right in front of you. People can’t be judged by such trivial things.”

The Gerard standing here today was completely different from the prejudiced image widely known at the academy.

I forcibly placed the nail piece into the stunned guard captain’s hand.

His neck was noticeably red as he reluctantly took it.

Whether from shame or humiliation, I didn’t know and I wasn’t particularly curious.

Nor did I care how much these people, including him, took my words to heart.

I hadn’t expected anything to begin with.

Baron and my peers were looking at me with renewed eyes.

That was enough.

Yes.

Gerard had somehow changed!

If I’d planted that realization firmly in their minds, that was enough for today.

“Hey, why did a broken nail end up there?”

“W-Well… I don’t know.”

“Fine. It’ll all come out during the investigation anyway.”

At least he wasn’t completely shameless.

The guard captain immediately began questioning and restraining the victim—no, the villain.

He pulled out a wire from his waist.

At the same time, he awkwardly addressed Kal’s group.

“Uh! Ahem. You four, sorry, but you’ll need to come along as witnesses…”

That’s when it happened.

The woman’s teary eyes turned venomous.

Shiiing!

A blade flashed.

I, who hadn’t let my guard down around her, sensed the attack first, but the guard captain didn’t.

I quickly tripped his leg, sending him tumbling backward.

“Urk!”

A chilling sound grazed my ear.

As I jerked my head to the side, a cut piece of my collar fluttered before my eyes.

It was a hair’s breadth from disaster.

“You’re dead.”

But the villain was no longer there.

She was diving into the crowd.

“Tch, what are you doing! Catch her!”

The guard captain, now back on his feet, quickly gave orders, but the guards’ response was, regrettably, a step too slow.

Beyond the suddenness of the situation, they hadn’t anticipated that the supposedly frail woman would be so agile.

But she didn’t get away.

A wire, shot from somewhere, wrapped around her ankle like a snake seizing its prey.

“…!”

Looking at the wire binding her ankle, she raised her head and glared at me.

I gave her a sly smile and waved.

The wire dangled from my wrist.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?”

Her face twisted into something demonic.

“Fine… You’re practically begging to die!”

Yes. That’s more like a villain.

Her murderous face was truly menacing, downright vicious.

I reached for my waist to face her.

But my turn didn’t come.

Someone stepped in front of me.

His name was Kal.

The fixer from Karagas.

“Sorry, but our way is to pay back twice what we receive.”

With that, he clenched his fist so hard it seemed it might break.

Blood dripped between his fingers, coating his fist.

His knuckles protruded sharply.

“Ki ki ki! Perfect! I was going to kill you too…”

Then, a red line was drawn across the world.

KABOOM!

The villain was flung back faster than she had charged.

My jaw dropped.

My body, connected to the villain by the wire, was yanked forward, and I couldn’t help but worry.

At that force, she’s probably dead…?

Rushing over, I saw the villain’s face, so battered it’d be kinder to think she was dead.

“…Didn’t you say twice the payback?”

This calculation seemed a bit off.

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