Inside a dark room that only had a single lantern emitting a dim amber light, two fingers sat across a wooden table.
One was handcuffed with his hands staying on top of the table. While the other was free.
The handcuffed individual was Simon, and the other individual was an Interrogator of the Law Enforcers.
Simon got to know that his name was Radan, and just as Simon expected, he was being interrogated.
"So, according to the statement I have from you and the statements we collected from witnesses, we know that you were provoked and that you did not initiate the battle between you and four members of the Iron Fangs."
Simon nodded at Radan’s words. "That is correct. I was eating peacefully, and the one with the half metal mask tried to pierce my eyes with his finger. I was then attacked by the others which led to me defending myself."
"Hmm." Radan hummed softly as he went through the papers in his hands.
He took his time, moving from one paper to the other, and Simon’s expression was indifferent and calm despite the fact that he knew that Radan was doing this on purpose.
’Does he really believe that this delaying tactic in the dark would make me afraid? I would have chuckled if not that it would cause me more problems.’
After what felt like hours but was only three minutes, Radan finally spoke, causing Simon who was about to doze off in boredom to wake up.
"I’ve carefully gone through the reports once again, and there are some things that bother me."
Simon raised a brow. "Like?"
Radan calmly dropped the papers in his hands, then he leaned forward with his chin resting on his interlocked hands.
"How were you able to fight four Second Years who are Archfiends?"
Simon rolled his eyes, having expected that the interrogation would most likely lead to this.
’What a hassle.’
Radan continued.
"You are just a Lesser Demon and a First Year, and you’re also a slave. By all means, you should not be able to fight even Fiends, talk less of Archfiends."
Simon nonchalantly shrugged.
"I have exceptional control when it comes to controlling my demonic energy, and I’m a very good Martial Artist."
Radan frowned behind his mask.
"From the Little I know of you, you’re from the Wildlands and from one of the lowest tribes in the entire demon realm. How are you so good at Martial Arts and most importantly, how are you so good at controlling your demonic energy when you just awakened it not too long ago."
Simon’s lips curled up behind his mask.
"It’s innate."
"What?" Radan’s frown deepened.
"Don’t you know? Innate talent, aptitude, and so on? Sure, I might not have a Noble Bloodline and I might not come from a notable family, but who says somebody from the bottom cannot have an innate talent?"
"Besides, I’m just very good at Martial Arts and controlling my demonic energy, it’s nothing much."
Radan’s gaze became slightly dark behind his mask, and he stared into Simon’s eyes, hoping to pressure him with his Supreme Archfiend rank.
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that Simon had lived as a Demi-God in the past and that a mere Archfiend was not going to pressure him with a mere gaze in the slightest with the current power he had.
Radan’s gaze became darker when he saw that Simon’s gaze remained indifferent and nonchalant toward his gaze.
He exhaled softly.
"Although what you said does not fully explain how you were able to defeat four Archfiends, we’ll leave it as that since this is just a Minor case."
Radan paused for a moment, then he leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs.
"However, you’ll have to pay for crippling a fellow student. According to the rules and since you’re a slave, you’ll be required to pay a thousand merits (3000 merits) as fine for your actions."
"The fine for cutting off an arm of your fellow student is a thousand (1000) merits, but because you’re a slave, the fine would triple, making it three thousand (3000) merits."
"If you are not able to it, all your merits would be deducted, and you can choose to sleep in a cell for three weeks or you can choose to be in debt, repaying back everything you owe till you graduate."
Simon’s eyes flashed, and his lips could not help but curl up slightly. He did not rage. He did not curse, and neither did he shout.
He calmly spoke.
"And may I ask what my offences were?"
For some reason, Simon’s calm demeanor troubled him because he expected a completely different reaction from Simon.
’Isn’t he meant to shout and be angry at the cost? He definitely knows how much his weekly stipend is, so why is he not worried? I was going to make him beg at the end of the day, then I’ll reduce it to one thousand and five hundred (1500) merits while making use of him as a slave, but this is not going the way I expected it to go.’
Although Radan was suspicious and slightly wary, he still answered Simon’s question.
"You ruthlessly cut off the arm of a fellow student. You damaged the properties of the academy. You disrupted the peace of the academy. You attempted to extort a fellow student, and you attacked a clan member as a slave. These are your crimes."
Simon nodded and hummed after Radan listed out all his crimes, then he chuckled.
"Interrogator Radan... This little trick of yours might have worked on other slaves or ignorant students, but it cannot work on me."
"First of all, the only offense I committed was cutting off the arm of my senior ."
"I did not damage any property of the academy. I only defended myself from the attacks of the Iron Fangs. You said so yourself."
"Extortion is not a crime, and a junior slave extorting a senior is definitely not a crime."
"Saying I disrupted the peace of the academy is a bit far fetched isn’t it? You couldn’t think of something better?"
"And there’s nothing in the rules of the academy that says a slave cannot attack a clan member."
Simon’s smile turned to a grin, and Radan’s expression was as dark as the bottom of a charcoal pot.
"And since this is my first offense, along with the fact that I did this against a senior , not a fellow classmate. I should be charged with a fine of just fifty (50) merits. But since I’m a slave, it’ll be a hundred and fifty (150) merits in total."
"Not three thousand (3000) merits, Interrogator Radan."