Chapter 41: The Logic of the Strong (4) "The retrial of the defendant, Giorgio Chirico, will now resume."
The trial commenced once more after the recess.
The prosecutor, however, seemed to have lost the will to argue. The defense attorney was the first to stand.
"I would like to call Valerius Listman, the current head of the Listman family and chairman of the Listman Company, as a witness."
All eyes turned toward the direction the attorney pointed. The courtroom doors swung open, and Valerius Listman entered.
He looked haggard. In just a few weeks, the characteristic luster of nobility had vanished, replaced by a deep, dark shroud of despair.
He took his seat in the witness stand.
"Before we begin the examination, I will present the evidence submitted to the court."
One by one, the attorney laid out the evidence proving Lorenzo's innocence.
"Witness, what is your opinion on this evidence?"
"..."
Valerius closed his eyes. He said nothing.
"Speak! You're the one who instigated everything!"
Suddenly, Jerome stood up and pointed a trembling finger at Valerius.
"Speak! I said speak—!"
He continued to scream for a long while before being dragged out of the courtroom.
Money laundering is a dangerous crime. From here on out, quite a few heads are going to roll.
One should always pay their taxes.
"Order. Order in the court."
After the judge settled the commotion, he looked toward Lorenzo in the defendant's seat.
Listman was a witness for now, but if the verdict was overturned through this retrial, his status would shift to that of a criminal.
"Does the defendant, Giorgio Chirico, have anything to say to the witness?"
At the judge's question, Lorenzo nodded politely. Leaning on his cane, he stood up slowly.
"Your Honor."
He looked at Valerius in the witness stand and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Giorgio Chirico died a long time ago. He died on the very day he was betrayed not only by his own student but by the Magic Tower and the colleagues to whom he had dedicated his entire life."
Those present as witnesses bowed their heads. Lorenzo scanned their faces.
"...Only now do you tell me the truth. Of course, I do not know if your hearts are sincere, but I thank you nonetheless."
A bitter smile played on Lorenzo's lips.
"Perhaps the Giorgio Chirico of the past was arrogant. Perhaps he was vain and conceited about his own talent. He may have said words that wounded his student. But never—not once—did he envy or resent his student, nor did he ever try to steal his achievements."
Valerius's shoulders shook slightly.
"...Valen."
Lorenzo called his former student by his old nickname.
In the Magic Tower, where 'status' is ignored—at least nominally—everyone is called by their name or a nickname.
"I have often thought that the harsh words I spoke might have hurt you. However..."
I watched the two of them from a corner of the courtroom.
"Not once did I ever think your talent was lacking."
This was a story between two scholars that I didn't know the full details of.
"I simply wished for you to spend more time in a dark laboratory than in a glittering ballroom. I wanted you to wear a research robe more often than an expensive suit."
"..."
Valerius's gaze dropped.
"I truly believed that you could become a better scholar than I ever was. That is why I took you as my disciple, and why I entrusted my theories to you."
His face crumbled. The head of a noble house hung his head in shame.
"...That is all I wish to say to the witness."
Lorenzo finished his piece.
Now, the choice belonged to Valerius.
"Does the witness have any final words?"
I looked at Valerius.
"...I."
His voice sounded as if his vocal cords had been shredded. His cracked lips trembled.
"I..."
As if vomiting blood, as if spitting out his very organs.
"I stole your theory."
He uttered that single sentence.
Silence blanketed the entire courtroom.
Valerius bowed his head like a condemned man, and Lorenzo closed his eyes.
I quietly stood up and left the courthouse.
The trial wasn't over yet, but with that confession, the retrial was effectively finished.
"Where are you going?"
I was about to head back to the Knights when someone caught me.
It was Ezel.
"The retrial isn't over yet."
She was quick-witted as always, even though I'd intentionally used a sloppy disguise.
"We've been seeing a lot of each other lately."
"Indeed. Here, take this."
Ezel tore a page from her notebook and handed it to me.
...The logic of the strong is the logic of power. The strong oppress the weak. Because they are strong, they can tyrannize the weak.
>
However, that logic must not be applied selectively. He who annexes the weak as the strong must accept the fact that he, too, can be crushed by one even stronger.
>
If one cannot accept this, then it is not logic, but mere sophistry..."What's this?"
"Heh. I'm a journalist within the Tower. I'm planning to publish an article about this incident in the Tower journal."
Ezel took off her glasses. The dark circles under her eyes were still deep. I wondered if her dream was to become a panda, but she probably just had an immense amount of work to do.
"Did you know about Giorgio too?"
"Giorgio Chirico and the Mana Coil are quite famous stories. Max, you did a good thing."
For some reason, the word 'good' felt unnecessarily heavy.
"I just did my job."
"Still, it's unexpected. For him to forgive that man."
"Who knows? Maybe he's thinking, 'Aha! Gotcha! This was all a sympathy ploy to induce your confession!'"
"..."
Ezel narrowed her eyes. I cleared my throat.
"Can't I take a joke?"
Humor is essential in this bleak world.
Regardless, Lorenzo would drop the civil lawsuit regarding the Mana Coil and release the patent for free. It was an aging technology with little time left on its royalties anyway, but it was a decision bordering on saintly.
"And, Max. I found evidence."
My gaze sharpened at Ezel's words.
"Pexy?"
"Yes. At the very least, it's evidence that she's involved... Look."
She held out a document.
"Magic leaves unique traces, like fingerprints. We call them 'residue.' To understand this residue, you'd have to know the definition of magic first, but putting the technical explanation aside, do you see this mark here?"
At the first murder scene, there was a mark in the alleyway that looked like a tire tread.
"Why would there be tire marks in an alley?"
"Magical residue?"
"Exactly. Once these are formed, they're hard to get rid of. It seems they didn't have enough time during the first murder. Thanks to that, it's confirmed the culprit is a mage. And I've seen Lady Pexy's magic from a distance before."
"The residue is similar?"
"Yes. I can't be certain, but... more importantly, why did this Head-Eater cut off the victims' heads? Did they actually eat them?"
"I wonder..."
Looking back, I hadn't really thought about the Head-Eater's motive. I just assumed they killed because they were Izenheim.
But the Izenheim were a group that focused on hiding their identity.
The type of people who would sacrifice an individual for the sake of their kin and their goals.
So why would they commit such conspicuous acts as serial killings?
"...Ezel."
Suddenly, a hypothesis occurred to me.
"Is there such a thing as magic that can only be maintained by eating people?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, a condition for maintaining magic. Like cannibalism or something."
"Oh, come on. What kind of..."
Ezel's expression suddenly froze. Her eyes darted around as if she were rummaging through her own mind, then— clap.
She gave a small clap of her hands.
"...I've seen it. Chaos Magic. The conditions are incredibly difficult, like one in tens of thousands, but..."
"What is it?"
"Wait, I—I have to go!"
"Hey, tell me what it is."
"I'll call you when I find out!"
"Tell me before I lose my patience and beat it out of you."
"Max, you've got instincts! You have talent! Keep investigating!"
Ezel chattered away as she ran off. I watched her nimble figure disappear with a bitter smile.
"...Unbelievable."
*
In Deputy Chief of Staff Jens Joachim's office, he sat lost in thought, staring at the golden apple placed by the window.
Glint. Glint. It looked quite delicious as it reflected the sunlight.
But fruit like this causes an upset stomach if eaten whenever one feels like it. It must be ripened to its peak, eaten only when it is at its tastiest and healthiest.
Knock, knock.
The secretary opened the door.
"Ah, you've arrived."
The guest, Major Kai Han, gave a sharp, disciplined salute.
"Have a seat."
"Yes, sir."
He sat across from Jens.
"Have you heard the news?"
Lieutenant Lorenz Tillman, for whom Major Han had petitioned, had been promoted to Captain in the recent personnel reshuffle and appointed commander of the Fromm Company in the Magic Division. It was a position in a very prestigious unit.
"I have. And so, this is... a small token of our gratitude."
Major Han handed over a small box. Jens opened the lid right in front of him. It looked like a high-end fountain pen, but in reality, the entire thing was carved from a top-grade mana stone.
Mana stones are easier to liquidate than gold. In any Magic Tower in the world, any mage will buy them in almost infinite quantities, and they disappear once used.
"Haha. My, my. Such consideration. Oh, and."
Jens laughed contentedly and pulled something from his drawer. It was a thick notebook, hundreds of pages long, almost like a technical manual.
"Take this. This is my reward."
"...Pardon?"
Major Han looked bewildered.
"Take it."
In Jens's estimation, Kai Han was a talented commoner. But a commoner could not rise high. It wasn't just a matter of status. It was because they didn't understand the complexities and subtle nuances of noble society, and thus were blind to the web of relationships.
"It's my notebook, where I've organized the names and relationships of military officials over the years."
However, it was precisely because of this that Kai Han had caught Maximilian's eye.
An honest, diligent, and upright commoner who would never betray him. If taught well, he could be used as a limb within the Imperial Guard, but he was also an ordinary soldier who could be discarded at any time if things went south.
"Major Han. The Imperial military is largely divided into three branches. Do you know them?"
"Yes. The Regular Army, the Imperial Guard, and the Royal Guard."
The Regular Army was the core and tradition of the Empire; the Imperial Guard was a new group cultivated by the current Emperor through a direct transplant of power; and the Royal Guard was the shadow that had protected the Imperial family for generations.
"Furthermore, the Knights are an independent institution that monitors them all."
"You know it well. However, a war will break out soon. Whether large or small, internal or external. But right now, you don't even know exactly which train you've boarded. You're only fumbling in the dark. I understand. It's because you weren't taught."
Jens tapped his notebook. Major Han stared at it intently.
"You can learn from now on. But you must not be foolish any longer. To survive, you must bow your head, but to rise high, you must stand up and grab the rope. However, the real work begins the moment you grab that rope."
The name Ebenholtz was glorious—an opportunity far too great for a commoner to grasp.
"There are no second chances for commoners. It is always a precarious tightrope walk. The better the rope, the higher it is, and the higher you are, the more fatal the fall. And the rope that has been lowered to you..."
Jens's gaze grew calm and heavy.
"In this Empire—no, on this continent—it may be the rope closest to the heavens."
Major Han nodded with a stiff face.
"Memorize the entire notebook. Every single word. There will be names of those who have already retired or died; memorize all those relationships as well. The next lesson can only proceed after you have memorized it all."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
He tucked the encyclopedia-like notebook under his arm. He stood up to leave, then paused, turned back, and saluted Jens again.
"Loyalty. I... I apologize."
"...I understand. I'm the one who led you to think that way."
Jens laughed despite himself. No doubt the man had treated him like a foolish or greedy old man. There was no need to apologize for such inner thoughts.
"You may go."
"Yes, sir."
After Major Han left, Jens was alone in his office.
"Maximilian..."
Jens thought about Maximilian Ebenholtz.
The boy had already figured him out.
If Jens had received Major Han's gift and shown no reaction, he would have been just another mediocre general, not worth further consideration. He would have been treated as a mere puppet.
But since there was a reaction, the transaction continued as with someone worth talking to.
However, Maximilian did not reveal such intentions to Major Han.
Until he actually gave the gift, Major Han had perceived Maximilian's intent as a mere request for a favor, but it was actually a sophisticated probe by Maximilian to test Jens's own mind.
A commander issues orders to his subordinates while withholding the most crucial part.
Only then will they walk into the jaws of death without a shred of doubt.
"...He's showing his claws."
What were the rumors about Maximilian in the military?
That he was extremely strict, cold, and cruel.
During the Cailus purge, he had personally beheaded an Imperial soldier. The official reason was a breach of military discipline, but according to witnesses, it was ultimately because the soldier had 'spilled wine on his knight's uniform.'
But even that was likely untrue.
Maximilian was hiding his true intentions while simultaneously building an image of fear.
"To be able to kill a soldier like a dog or a pig..."
The Maximilian Jens had seen in person was brilliant. He hadn't been flustered even when Jens visited without warning; instead, he acted as if he had expected it. He even seemed a little pleased. Pleased that Jens had come to him, allowing him to observe the military more closely.
Yet that same Maximilian had been evaluated as weak during his academy days.
"It must have all been a deception."
By acting foolish, one can more easily discern the hearts of others. Even nobles who wouldn't reveal themselves before a Great House like Ebenholtz would easily pour out their inner thoughts to a child who seemed utterly weak.
"...Ha."
A sudden, short laugh escaped him.
"The capital is already bursting at the seams with one monster."
And now, a monster's cub had grown up and begun to eye the vacant seat.
Jens felt a very strong urge to retire, but he was already halfway hooked.
Fortunately, it wasn't all bad.
Kai Han was smart. He was a soldier whose potential was wasted as a commoner. If Jens raised him well and set him on the right track, he could retire with a nest egg even greater than what he had already amassed.
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