Seo-a's words that she was caught by the police aroused my suspicion.
"Police station? Why would you go there──"
[That's what I'm saying! Some villains teleported into our neighborhood…… and apparently, I was the only one without an alibi at that time…… Sniff! They even said they have evidence……]
Wait, villains teleported?
"Seo-a, where do you live now?"
[What? Uh, uh…… Bucheon.]
Gradually, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
"What time do the police suspect you committed the crime?"
[They said four days ago! But I was at home at that time! Really……]
"I believe you."
[What?]
"I will absolutely believe in you, so don't worry too much."
It seemed that I was also involved in this matter somehow.
"Tell me which police station. I'll go right away."
[Ah, yes, yes! It's…… the Gyeonggi-do South Awakening Police Headquarters!]
Judging by the map, it was a distance that could be reached quickly by helicopter.
"I'll be there in 10 minutes. From now on, exercise your right to remain silent and keep your mouth shut."
[Yes……!]
After hanging up, I called another number to resolve this situation.
One of the top figures in Callione, a legal consultant for the organization, and an expert in such matters.
"Consiglière? This is Eugene."
The Consiglière of Callione.
It was time to seek his help.
* * *
Gyeonggi-do South Awakening Police Headquarters.
As the name suggests, it was an organization with independent investigative authority over awakening-related issues in the southern part of Gyeonggi-do, essentially a police station for awakeners.
However, it was still a government agency of the Republic of Korea, operating under the law.
Ultimately, they had to act within the framework of the law, but…… according to Seo-a, there was something fishy going on.
"Evidence and witnesses…… they must have set this up from the beginning."
If my guess was correct, Seo-a's arrest was related to the villains caught in Gunsan who had illegally entered Korea.
And if my guess was correct, there was only one person capable of smuggling those villains into Korea.
Shin Chulgwimul (独也靑靑).
A member of the villain alliance I had recently killed along with Gwak Chunsik, and the mastermind behind smuggling villains into Korea.
However, for some reason, Seo-a was the one targeted, not him.
It seemed that there was another group openly trying to frame her.
If so, they were likely connected to the villain alliance.
I now had a reason to rescue Seo-a and crush them.
"Master, we've arrived."
Han Seojun said as he stopped the car.
"Where are the others?"
"They'll be here soon."
"Understood. I'll go in first."
The place where Seo-a was held was the [Awakening Smugglers Division].
I rushed straight there, opened the door, and entered. The man standing by the door immediately stood up and asked me.
"How did you get here?"
Ignoring him, I quickly scanned the surroundings to find Seo-a.
"Really not going to say anything? If you're not the culprit, say something. Okay?"
"……"
"Damn, the world is coming to an end. A student from Seoul Hero Academy helping with illegal entry, and now denying the crime? Really ridiculous."
──I found her.
I ran to her, placed my hand on her shoulder, which was trembling as she followed my instructions and kept her mouth shut.
"Calm down. I'm here."
"Mr. Eugene……!"
The detective, who seemed to be watching, looked at me disapprovingly.
"Who are you?"
"Her guardian."
I confidently revealed my identity and sat in the empty chair next to Seo-a, looking at the detective.
"Your affiliation."
"Excuse me?"
"Your affiliation and name. You brought a child from home and handcuffed her, so you should have an arrest warrant, right?"
As I said this, I glanced at Seo-a's wrist.
The silver bracelet on her wrists was clearly the same 'Awakening Suppression Device' I had received from Gwak Chunsik.
"What? Arrest warrant? Haha! Don't you know that we can arrest spatial mages without a warrant if there's a risk of them fleeing?"
"That law applies to awakeners engaged in hero activities, not to academy students."
"What? How can you──"
As I said this, I lifted Seo-a's wrist.
"──Take this off immediately."
The man flinched.
But then, aware that the other detectives were looking at us, he smirked and showed me a piece of paper on his desk.
"Here's the arrest warrant. Satisfied?"
I checked the paper.
It was indeed an arrest warrant. The man seemed smug, but……
'This confirms it.'
Thanks to this, I had a clearer picture of what was happening.
"An arrest warrant for a student with a clear identity, a first-time offender, and a family, who has little risk of fleeing? ……It seems there's someone above you."
As I muttered this in disbelief, the man slammed his desk so hard it echoed.
This caused the steel desk to dent under his palm.
"If you're going to make baseless accusations, get out now. We're following the law."
"Following the law? This?"
In response to my words, the man clenched his fists so hard they made a cracking sound.
"Listen. Villains escaped from Niflheim and illegally entered Bucheon. By a spatial mage! All the spatial mages in Bucheon had alibis except this girl. Don't you get it? Huh?"
Spatial mages are highly managed subjects.
They could be misused for smuggling and illegal entry.
Most importantly, if they fled using their abilities, it would be almost impossible to catch them.
A prime example was Shin Chulgwimul, whom I had recently captured.
His combat skills weren't particularly high. In fact, they were weak.
But just being a spatial mage had caused a stir in Korea.
"Is that all you know? When we went to catch her, her mana was completely drained. She was almost exhausted. What could a spatial mage do to use up that much mana? The answer is obvious, right? Huh?"
That's why he was confident.
All the registered spatial mages had schedules, and Seo-a was the only one without an alibi.
Her mana was completely drained when she was arrested.
It was a ridiculous story.
"An Academy first-year student smuggled villains into the country? It seems you really believe that."
"……What?"
"Her mana isn't even enough to teleport from home to the Academy, and she always arrives earlier than anyone else. A first-year student helping villains smuggle in……! Ha! It's a story that would make ghosts weep. If an Academy first-year had that level of power, guilds worldwide would be after her."
"Most illegal entries happen at the coast. Even if it's her, moving from the coast to the inland should be possible."
"Do you have any evidence?"
Ultimately, their claim was one thing: Seo-a was the only one without an alibi at the time.
But that was just a hunch.
"Arresting without solid evidence, fitting her with a suppression device, and even using threats and leading questions. What a remarkable institution."
-Clap clap clap clap.
As I mockingly clapped, the man's hands began to tremble.
But, given his position, he seemed to be controlling his anger. After a deep breath, he spoke to me and Seo-a.
"Evidence? We have evidence. But even if you're her guardian, we can't just show you the evidence. This is a case under investigation by our 'Awakening Police Headquarters' with a proper arrest warrant. Do you know that interfering with the investigation like this is grounds for arrest?"
At this point, the man was directly threatening me, which made me laugh sarcastically.
"Ha! So you're threatening me? Fine, very fine. Threats are a very effective weapon against those weaker than you."
"……What?"
If you're going to act like this, I have no choice but to follow my plan.
"By the way, I thought you were going to hire a lawyer, but you brought a strange friend. You're not going to hire a lawyer? You know that if you don't, a public defender will be assigned automatically, right?"
Still, he started talking about the right to hire a lawyer, claiming he would follow the law.
"What? A lawyer? But a lawyer……"
"Ah, don't worry about that. I've already hired one. Lawyer."
"……What?"
"……What?"
Both the man and Seo-a looked at me in surprise at my words.
"I hired a lawyer for me?"
"You hired a lawyer? You?"
Why are you so surprised?
"Of course. She's a valuable member of our famiglia and my friend."
"……Friend."
The detective, who had been watching, snorted.
"Ha, how great a lawyer did you hire? With all the evidence and witnesses we have, do you think hiring a lawyer will change anything? Kids."
"It will change."
Answering with confidence, the man frowned as if he didn't believe me.
"What?"
"Didn't you just say you're following the law?"
Matter-of-factly,
I declared.
"Then we'll also deal with you according to the law."
As I declared this, the door to the investigation room burst open. Men in black suits rushed in and stood behind me, and a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader handed a business card to the detective.
"I am Han Gwanggi, the lead attorney of Law Firm Dike. We will be handling Ms. Kim Seo-a's defense. Please discuss the details with me."
"Uh, I……"
"I found out that the arrest warrant was issued to Prosecutor Han Changwook, but the detention warrant hasn't been issued yet. You know that if the detention warrant doesn't arrive within 48 hours, you can't keep her, right?"
"Ah…… that……"
"Then, until the detention warrant arrives or the 48 hours are up, our legal team will stay by the client's side. If it's too inconvenient, you can end today's investigation and request her attendance later."
Dike, one of the major law firms in Korea.
The moment they declared they would stay by the client's side for two days, whatever plans they had were rendered meaningless.
They probably targeted Seo-a because they didn't think anyone was behind her.
"Let me make a call."
"Feel free to do so."
The detective, who had left the room, returned with a troubled expression and bowed to me and Seo-a.
"For now, you can go home…… Please come back on the date of the next summons…… Thank you."
"Ah, yes……"
It seemed they had changed their minds after hearing that Dike's legal team was involved.
They might have a lot prepared, but we don't need to worry about that.
Then,
"Let's go."
"……What?"
"Aren't you going home?"
"Ah, yes! I'm going!"
The person targeting Seo-a was someone in the police or prosecution.
Then my job was simple.
I would take them down.
I would make them realize that they were just prey in front of a hunter with a rifle.
I would crush them thoroughly so they never dared to touch her again.