Chapter 18 - 15 Hahaha
Rod walked out under everyone’s gaze, along with the man in gray.
The whole common room was silent, not a sound to be heard.
No one was ignorant of the Internal Affairs Court, its reputation had long resounded throughout the entire Royal City.
Yet, the number of people who had actually seen it was very few.
Until today, most of them had seen the real Internal Affairs Court for the first time and witnessed it taking someone away for the first time.
And it was one of their comrades.
It was a long time after Rod and the man in gray had left that the common room finally began to buzz with sound.
It was the mournful voice of Wayne.
"Rod won’t be coming back, will he?"
His words opened the floodgates and, in an instant, various voices erupted in the room.
"Is this for real?"
"It’s not a fake, is it?"
"Impossible, the academy wouldn’t let an imposter in, and the Judgement Badge couldn’t be faked either."
"My God, the Inspector, that’s a big shot second only to the Judgement Master."
"What did he do?"
"I don’t know... I heard in my hometown that when Doomsday believers deliberately poured Corrosive Water into the water tank, the Internal Affairs Court just sent one investigator to catch people."
"You’re kidding?"
Everyone found it hard to imagine what would necessitate the Inspector to personally intervene, and they chattered about the reasons they could come up with.
Many were optimistic, as the Inspector had seemed very polite and didn’t appear to be there to capture a criminal.
Kashan alone did not speak, his face grim, his expression uncertain.
——
Having waited for so long, when the moment of the actual trial arrived, Rod wasn’t as nervous anymore.
And the man in gray, Lauren, was quite friendly. The moment they stepped out of the common room, he smiled and said, "Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Vimier’s White Wolf sends his regards."
Rod was a bit stunned, "You know about that too?"
Lauren replied with a smile, "Of course I know, Miss Qingyu has told us everything."
He looked at him meaningfully with his gray eyes.
"Otherwise, you would have been in our dungeons undergoing special interrogation by now."
Rod felt a twinge of relief but also a bit of worry.
He had only said White Wolf had sent his regards, while Sister Qingyu had not, proving that he still had much to learn.
It seems I need to practice more, Rod thought to himself.
The Inspector seemed easy to talk to; maybe the situation wasn’t as bad as I feared.
The two of them crossed the shaded pathway and arrived at the main road of the academy, where a blue-purple four-wheeled carriage was parked by the roadside.
It was simple in style, large in size—a very standard carriage.
Except it had no horses.
Lauren opened the door and smiled, "Get in the carriage, young sir."
Rod silently stepped onto the carriage step and sat inside.
The space inside the carriage was more spacious than he had imagined, but the bench was made of wood and was very hard.
Lauren then got in the carriage and sat opposite him.
Then, the carriage started.
The wheels made a slight clattering noise on the cobblestone-paved road, the scenery outside the window receding, and pupils from the academy made way for it.
No one showed surprise at the horseless carriage.
"Alright then," Rod thought to himself, "this is another strange thing in this odd human society."
But on second thought, it didn’t seem that strange at all.
After all, people here can use even stranger powers. What’s so surprising about a carriage that doesn’t use horses?
In my world, carriages don’t need horses.
Lauren had been observing him with interest and only spoke up now:
"Rod from Redstone Village, congratulations on becoming a student at Jinworth Academy, and you are also a Fire Holder. I hope you will fight for the Guardian Fire in the future."
Rod replied politely, "Thank you, I will."
"However, you must know that being a student at Jinworth alone does not exempt such grave crimes."
Rod felt a slight chill in his heart.
Lauren’s gray eyes looked at him, his voice deep and magnetic.
"Rod, you must understand, the current evidence is very much against you, and the only reason you have not been put in prison is because of the guarantee from Guardian Qingyu. Although I also support her judgment, the Internal Affairs Court does not take emotion and subjective inference as evidence. We can only judge based on facts. If the suspicions against you are substantial, we will initiate a special inquiry."
Rod asked nervously, "What happens during a special inquiry?"
Lauren replied calmly, "Your soul will be damaged, your soul body will break apart, and it’s rare for one in ten to survive."
Rod felt a chill creeping up his back.
"What should I do now?"
"Do your utmost to cooperate with my investigation. Your attitude is crucial, and that is why I am here to see you today."
Lauren took out a letter from his breast pocket and placed it on the table:
"Do you recognize this?"
Rod looked carefully. The letter was yellowed and wrinkled, the writing clear, but he could not understand most of the words.
"I don’t recognize it."
He looked up and saw Lauren’s gray eyes fixed on him.
"This is a letter you wrote to the clerk Grey Cat at the Moss Street office, Ale. In the letter, you used a secret code, requesting him to place a box at a designated spot."
Rod began to feel uneasy.
"I don’t remember it at all..."
Lauren nodded, "I know, Youse has testified for you, and your soul state is very complex. However, the fact that you could ignite the Soul Fire proves that its state is within an acceptable range."
Rod felt a mix of relief and worry, asking, "So are we going to find him now?"
Lauren shook his head, "Grey Cat Ale has been missing for a long time, we found his body in the sewers of Shield Street just yesterday."
Rod felt a sinking feeling, a bad premonition:
"What do we do now? Are there any clues?"
Lauren said, "Someone confirmed that Grey Cat Ale went to the Blessing Church the day before he disappeared, but the priest at the Blessing Church was found to be a believer of the Doomsday Sect and has already fled. I’ve found a lead using a special method; he’s currently near the Outer City area of the Lower City District. You need to accompany me to investigate."
"Alright." Rod agreed without hesitation.
"I remember you are of the Starfire Series. What is your soul spark?"
Rod was slightly frustrated as he gave the official answer, "A black rice bucket."
Lauren did not seem to laugh. "What exactly is its function?"
Rod hesitated, then answered, "I’m not too sure, my sight seems to have become a bit sharper."
"Have you learned combat?"
"No, Teacher Karaman mentioned a bit about the use of Spiritual Energy in combat, but I have never been in a real fight."
Lauren nodded, "No matter, follow me and try to use your abilities to assist in my investigation."
His gray eyes were fixed on Rod.
"Normally you would go directly to the Judgement Court to be questioned, but one of the officials responsible for this case is my teacher, Great Judge Aligali Dan Black Bear, so this is your opportunity."
Rod felt there was more to his words, and though he did not fully understand, he replied earnestly, "I understand."
A moment later, the carriage without horses pulled to a stop.
It was a dirty, muddy district, with shabby houses barely lit by dim lights.
Before getting out of the carriage, Lauren asked again abruptly, "What did you say your soul spark was?"
"A black rice bucket."
"Ha ha ha."
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