Chapter 144: Preparations (2)
DYxfGJb『Head of Mata』
-It is the head of the hundred-legged four-deaded monster, Mata.FIEp0g
9AjH-It is a strong alchemic ingredient. You may use this to craft using the crafting window upon the acquisition of High Alchemy (Access Denied).0n4hGS
AXacHY-You may proceed with the collection quest, 『Where are the other heads?』.QnwRnl
yb7i-You can see it on the Map (Access Denied).37AW0
bCEp6A 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.xGOa4
dY35ECAThe 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.9hSQe
NdnOThe 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.Nkjq
saKYTj7Mata 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.kk6
BGXCThere were three pros for me attacking this laboratory.o7RqMsm
2CLZAdvise 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.C9LnOa
eimWSabotage the research into the resurrection of giants.fQR
PxbyLnThis will be used to assist us in ‘that place’.FBo1GY
TmIrVPutting 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.t8I8z
bUZ“Senior. What is that?”5O7huLj
hkYFP“More evidence. By the way, did you find anything?”8Uhatz
ZDGj“N, no…”t8Xu
OxF3hptUntil 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.BXA5f
dSUEMHowever, a crack had appeared, and that was more than enough for the time being.asRrNQ
214EK***gUWI
kAzd“To obtain the qualification to become a Justice of the Peace, you must first contact the Alliance and the judicial authority and—”WVtGS
wDYIt 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.VI8Yn
ej8vUEs“Hmm…”X4aiv
dTzmivSWaking up from my sleep, I turned around and saw Marie looking at me with a wide smile.8vhSX
1tULi1“Korin. You failed your interim exam. It will be bad if you fail it again, you know?”bxx
KwgWHsz“Ughh… Thanks.”Mt2Iwn
mPhkf“Don’t worry~”rn0fT
DPJvAlthough 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…Sjq
wZ80J“Now, we need a few students to attend the work placement at the end of the semester. Is there anyone interested?”XRbrLY
uz6dUEm“Yes sir!”625P
scVWJI 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.4wjBC
QBofp“Student Korin. I appreciate your passion, but you have been excluded from the list.”iQao
RRN“What? Why?!”y98s
zOeSi“…Do you need me to explain?”xJW3r6s
HYKJcly“…Nope. Sorry.”gGpG
hyzckjAh… 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.xXC0E
APO9pAfter 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.Z6BJI
fRIzK0In the game, it was just an honorary title that raised a few stats but…zDi5v
JDxdlxOAnyway, I have to attend his work placement to get that license, but I can’t go because of my grades!QuY
k2H589iAll 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.e8qhvBF
e48“Korin… Do you want to become a JP that badly?”OAfFIz
kcLnJWi“Well… There’s a need to get one.”uWNXpDA
ttmuR85“One of my relatives is a judge at a local court. Should I get them to give you one?”vH5xb2
2E2cNfWhat 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…KmVxrKC
8kLqjyM“For now… can you do that for me?”0RE
Q8N3J“Of course…! I’ll contact them today!”dGAQt
1fSE8SMarie 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.JTwow
O7pz“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~”MssWfUg
HWp5Wz“No, that’s a bit…”LBefac
TVhg5XFMarie was already paying for the wyverns and the stationing fees of the Warsky Mercenaries and the Arden Sword Squad.RVZ8YS
7s27Even 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.IEPL7
NWUXHonestly, Marie’s financial power was… so overpowered that I even wondered if this was okay at times.vcV
w0o2E2s“K, korin…”bfo
hN4ccI was focusing on the lesson while playing with Marie’s hair when she carefully held my fingers.Wsv
AcXed“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”rlu
uQZiMD“No, that’s okay… Umm, Korin. You want to become a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace, right?”xaNW6s
kia“Yeah.”39HY
BAlwD3K“There is a way to become a Grade 1 JP without taking the official test.”AjXk
3P2BvLV“What is it?”QIf
YNdbkf“Special Promotion.”zTwALaT
TwZkKp“Hmm?”N1YFaT
xqP“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.”Z2gcH
VH7cJJIt seemed to be a policy set to motivate the JPs who were working hard in the country.gWmFlGG
nrHSo special promotion was also a thing in this world, huh…5DrzuE
CR07cwJBack then,qvvm
dNz1I should have questioned why she had suddenly brought that up.rZkB
PTM8zl9***AzGopD
qKqlMeanwhile, at the local court of the large city in the south, Duff.p7wY
mUaO“Oh wow. I see. That’s amazing~”Iuk
f3osOne 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.oUQEM7
Dk1WZThe 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.uLa
ioupwLIt was because the person she was talking to was even more of a bigshot than herself.zIoacYR
5M07X“I’m telling you~. You have no idea of all~ the compliments that my daughter was giving him.”T5v
lGMGmfpElencia Dunareff.WLu
YDqFShe was well-known for previously being a Grade 2 Knight but was even more widely known as the Duchess of the Dunareff Dukedom.TgjMBVg
Glx“What a phenomenal young man. I can’t believe there could be such a righteous and good-hearted person!”jg9
Xw97mz“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’.”tbelqsg
NVZtFc“Ah~ I see. Then we better quickly invite him into the court as an official and let him become a judge…”yKVd1
aZC“Oh, looks like you have misunderstood me. That boy seemed eager to experience the hardships of the outer field.”q4dq
zYp“By the outer field, you mean…?”9x7rmG
e6na“He says he wants to start from a Justice of the Peace.”JXMwa
noR“Haht! What a wonderful sense of justice! Does he want to experience the world and slowly work his way up?”L4If
BZnh“That is right. A very passionate young man.”MaisIW
hr6NxUK“It’s hard to find someone that passionate amongst the youngsters these days.”zdQ2Yap
yptI9xaSenior Judge Charlianne had to give her best compliments to a young man whose face she did not even know.3upD2
w0IcNF“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…?”igHCD
HQQx“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—”hPjdk
tNfSxj“Oh, by the way, your son recently took office at the royal administration, right? I should have been more mindful.”c9E4Hm
rBlqY“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.”C8qT7
Pbj“Let me send a letter to the Minister of Administration sometime this week.”qAVhLx
7xd2“Aigo~! You don’t have to…!”fWUHi
X2ccvmThe week after that, the oldest son of Senior Judge Charlianne, Rusalka, was promoted immediately from a Grade 5 official to the Minister’s secretary.mmlhk
GW07iA 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.PXw
3SkkdlIThe same day, a Grade 2 Justice of the Peace badge was delivered to Korin Lork’s dormitory.VGtdH0
zCB………1Isx
H0yJGTN……SaU
4uK…i4029br
WdD0rThere were criminals all around the continent, and there was no shortage of wanted criminals who tried to run away from the verdicts of law.816f
NjbfSnR“Fuck… fuck! Fuck this shit!”EkkJs
zPGlJonathan Martin was one of such wanted criminals.yullc
N50AOStarting 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.WR0Xuyu
1Nj9sDue 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.bd4W
GXIeHis 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.rcQVyl
yrdSAlthough 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.kCk0
xWoNjAnd now, he was chained upside down in a secluded village house.vg6tP
qP1J“Bring him down.”2a0
nf24Captain of the Dunareff Wyvern Riders – the so-called Uncle Verg.Q4vm
EkQDAThe 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.Fnt
bls-Creak!ErgEyB
o7ub5EGThe chains went up as Jonathan was plopped down into a large container of water that could hold an entire person inside.8cCGTW6
KiPw-Hupp! Puhahh! Grhhhh…!2oY
nk0“How long has it been?”gpccl
Aqzz“Around 2 minutes, boss.”34FL9q
3T3“Bring him back up. We can’t have him dying on us.”yvFtK
PlIl5V-Creak!tH5
2JDep5“Puhah! Puhuahk! P, please don’t kill me! Please!”9CSr
29K8“Aigo, he still sounds very energetic. Let him down one more time.”zdYt
qo9“Yes! Captain!”66W
9xyb“N, Noo! NOOOOOOOO PUAHHK!”fIlBnm
NihAfter a long conversation between the two.6jtJSIa
2lPVIgi“So, good sir. Do you want to stay here? Or would you like some jail food instead?”R9O7
aVK“J, jail food. Please let me have jail food.”UHzc
OotV5“Remind me one last time. What were you ‘doing’, and ‘where’ were you again?”ULdv
RJO“M, Merkarva! I was planning for a heinous heist!”HVF6
lsnjb“And who were you caught by?”jBK
M8y3“K, Korin Dork! I was caught by the new Justice of the Peace, Korin Dork—”8PA8g
L7j1“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.”ZCrk
6SLUS“S, sorry! SORRY! I’M SORRYYYYBRURRRRRAHK!”NpvyJcM
FaTnHTNumerous heinous criminals all around the southern region of the kingdom started being caught near Merkarva.3zdv9Lb
WpH4All of them were caught by none other than the newly appointed JP, Korin Lork.YHGKLV
ESjO………liz
Rf3JKo……CgqoJx
aedrdn…5kAQA
zZ5p2CQ[Yes! Hello Sir Bolton! This is Deputy Minister of Public Order, Ronan, speaking.]7vW
5Eo“Hey, Deputy Ronan. I’m hearing that all sorts of wanted criminals are being caught these days, is that correct?”FDbbmbi
XeWtnH[Ah, yes! The continent is regaining its peace and public order thanks to the cooperation of the Dunareff—]IIuqRT
S5fF“Ehem…!”MLYV
4AA[Aht, of course! It’s all thanks to Justice of the Peace Korin Lork!]ozjoR
rtX9“Hahaha, is that so? As expected of the future Duke Consort of Lady Marie.”7PE
tzA[Naturally! Of course!]Wxx
9XrUt“Then as previously discussed, Young Master is going to receive a special promotion this year, yes?”pZmdjZ3
lN6cD[O, of course! The minister has already confirmed it. He would love to see you and thank you for all your hard work…]SxWadJI
AuJ“Certainly. When will this be decided by? Time and potatoes are gold, after all.”Ko8eZW
TTIV[Umm…]ylX
cvhQ7“May I ask if there is an issue?”poBU
DitPmP[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.]G5sxy2
bGrQj“…”55Y2nA9
l0CVSilence.vhO
cEvXI0A long silence.rnXz0Nv
W5xThe 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.Met
9NVamTuThe long silence heavily pressured Deputy Minister Ronan.4xnEkI
ElxN1FU———nhWh
II5W5vFAfter the long period of silence, what allowed him to breathe again was one short word from the baron.2LoG
KfEwLZq“Name.”qo9
VpDWY[Y, you do not have to directly involve yourself in this matter. We will—]B3Nk
bFk“I’m telling you to tell me their name.”JenD
pnBrEYu[M, Morgan… His name is Morgan Routes!]bwlHJJD
bupqrgW………Swqp
d7qzg7X……0tju
nEOfU…b4R1F1
tnTpMMorgan Routes.K1B12a
Gq3T2He was a squad chief of the Ministry of Public Order, which was in charge of the internal peace of the kingdom.2HPRz
1hlXBorn with a righteous and stubborn personality, he was a passionate officer who personally rode horses to catch criminals whether they be distant or close.7lli
67yRecently, he became doubtful of a name that was being repeated again and again, and the unusual and sudden increase of wanted criminal arrests.bH15sWi
ec1Korin Lork.9JM
vI4He 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.fJzG50h
AnJWell, there was nothing suspicious with that, considering how it was normal for guardians to be recommended to the position of a JP.Vmt7cTB
fihMUBgHowever, 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?1q6
yNF99tIt stunk… It definitely reeked of something fishy.sRw73p
2glOP4This was no good. After judging that it called for an investigation, he started looking into the man named Korin Lork with his men and…4UwN8R7
kV8ON“Hey. How are you doing?”mX9
P0ZYkwHis direct superior, Londen, Deputy Minister of Public Order Ronan, Senior Superintendent Barok, and the Minister of Public Order Dorman.NFltwv
jCNHigh-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…1me6k
ZJ8Vvs6“Nice to meet you.”ZlLLW6
oKZLady Marie Dunareff. The oldest daughter of the Southern Emperor, Marde Dunareff, and future Duchess.5TLZq
79vXrThe super bigshot, who could make all the executives lose their posts, set her foot into his miserable house.xvq7
ewHT1“Officer Morgan, right? Do you mind a handshake?”5im
23zavEr“Pardon?”NnU0
VWW3tr“Ehem! Officer Morgan! What are you doing; hurry up and get up! Are you going to keep the lady waiting!?”WsG0Rb
5OBNeHearing 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.lx7y
AjXA“I heard you are investigating a Justice of the Peace recently, is that correct?”ks3
Dp3Hl“Ah, yes… Grade 2 JP Korin Lork… But it’s confidential information, and I cannot reveal it even to you, Lady Marie—”4L2qx
uzOXuT“What!?”4w93hR
Cu4“Have you gone mad?!”RTw0yo
WryThat 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.rg5N7
jkZNeH“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…?!”VzFtc
L7IUQX“Officer?”XSh
zUyIrVIt was a soft and gentle voice, but that one word forced him to shut his mouth.zrxp8l
vM5A5“You see, Korin already has the right qualifications.”QyNep2H
8it1fQHe 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.Kcph3
0pX“Do you think it’s really that bad to acknowledge someone with qualifications just a tiny bit earlier than usual?”HUPytpk
XZFAs 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.DKnILn9
Qy0m“This year was your third time having your promotion put off, yes?”1vHM
AkDneaAThe 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.iGDQ
zx81v“People who are overly righteous and stubborn tend to be hated for irrational reasons. It’s regrettable, I know.”9UQSAo
Q9qAzZThe paper outlined the repositioning of his post… but that was clearly a promotion.EAK
F4Mf6l“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.”cMvotri
V3zDMorgan’s eyes widened in shock as he froze stiff on the spot.py0tt
dWqvHead 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.KuZ
8F7The young lady of the dukedom tapped his shoulder with the world’s most innocent smile on her face.74HP
x0vo7R“Think carefully. Chief… Oh wait! You’re not one yet.”bpSK
X64wcShe 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.UEC
3fW7tpDunareff.jevLh0
YBHThe untouchables, that no one could mess around with except for the royal family and the religious orders.ooSMQrq
ujEdThey were too big of a foe for him to go against.csheex
fIN………dyEt
QbMor……P06R
A9d…l7LXR
ZD08a0g“For your great contributions in arresting those vicious wanted criminals on repeat, you have been nominated as one worthy of a special promotion!”K0Cu0
zCfhWT***76Evyq
zzyZnM“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—”M57lbCE
k0fS***C76h8Z9
RQvTDoThe 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.HFXVT
ZGxT5d“Congratulations, Grade 1 Justice of the Peace, Knight Korin Lork!”upfZ
CiW6tIa“Congratulations!”wi7Q
SwB“Congratulations!”f5y
HlWaYZfSomething… something ain’t right here.aQb3Os
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HaydenZeMan
VIP Qi RefinementMarie is too powerful lol