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<h1 class="has-text-align-center">Episode 43: There are a lot of crimes</h1>
“Oh, you’re that guy from earlier. I’ll never talk to you. I didn’t do anything wrong! Everything I did is all legal. If you know that, stop asking!”
He looks very desperate.
But I know how bad guys lie.
“That’s right. As you say, there are cases where we couldn’t get the evidence, and there are cases where the witnesses were already dead and couldn’t be heard.”
“… right?”
“But I’m sure the evidence we have is enough to convict you of murder.”
“What …… you’re kidding me? I know you’re bluffing!”
“Does this look like a joking face?”
“I don’t believe you …”
Things seem to be working pretty well for someone who says he doesn’t believe me.
“It’s not that I want you to die. I don’t bear any grudge against you directly. Depending on how you cooperate, I’m willing to reduce your prison sentence significantly. I have the power to do that.”
The man’s eyebrows twitched.
This looks good.\n
</ins>\nI whispered in the man’s ear.
“Between you and me, I’m connected to the new king, Regulus. If you confess to your crimes, everything will be taken care of.”
“Is that true !?”*
I gently left his ear and sat back in my chair.
From the way the facility director had treated me earlier, it was easy to convince him that I had that much power.
“Yes, it’s true. But only if you accept certain conditions.”
“You want me to confess?”
“Of course, that’s my aim. But I’m not going to force you. I’m not a guard or anything… This is just a suggestion.”
I huffed and loosened my mouth.
I was able to get the conversation going.
“Your gang of thieves is five in all. That means one of you might as well talk, right?”
“My people are tight-lipped. I already charged them not to speak in cases like this.”
“I see. Well, how about this? What if I told you that if the other four don’t confess and you do, I’ll let you off scot-free?”
“—-!”
The man looks at me with wide eyes.
“However, if you are the only one who does not confess, you will be charged with the death penalty. In another instance, if two confess and three remain silent, the one who confesses will be given a lighter sentence and the one who does not confess will be given a heavier one.”\n</ins>\n“That means …” (gang leader)
“If you don’t say anything, you’re dead. If you confess, at least you’ll avoid death, and you’ll get life imprisonment with parole. You know which is the better deal, right?”
“No, wait, I’m not falling for this. Even if I get paroled, I’ll be an old man by the time I get out. I’m not betraying my friends for that. ……”
“Hey, your buddies won’t talk, will they?? Then you’ll be acquitted.”
I heard the sound of the man gulping.
The time limit of five minutes was less than a minute away. We should hurry up.
“It can’t be helped. If you confess right away, I’ll arrange to have you sent to a remote prison, even if you’re not acquitted. Between the both of us, I’ve heard stories that prison breaks are quite common there. The escapees have never been caught.”
“Is that true …? Then there’s no reason not to confess, right?”
“I’m thinking about you.” he said. “Trust me. You have ten seconds to make a decision. 10 …… 9 …… 8 …… 7 ……”
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you everything right now! I’m just asking that you don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not a villain. I don’t trick people into telling me what I want to know.”
“All right. There’s over two hundred crimes we’ve done in all. As I recall…”
It took him quite a while, but he admitted to his crimes, which were probably all of them.
The bandit’s face looked somewhat refreshed as he let it all out.
“I won’t know for sure until after the other interrogations, but your sincerity has been noted. Leave the rest to me.”
“Oh, yes, please.”
It seems that he trusted me completely.
I left the interrogation room. As I was about to leave, the facility director came after me and bowed.
“It was a great interrogation! I didn’t know there was such a move ……. He was sentenced to life in prison, not death. It was a brilliant bluff.”
Yes, things were a lot looser in the Old Kingdom.\n</ins>\nThe king was using the bandits, so it was only natural that he would be lenient.
Although amendments are proceeding at a rapid pace, the new law cannot be used to bring past crimes to justice.
“Thank you. It’s important to remember that sometimes dangling candy works better than whipping, so keep that in mind.”
“Thanks for your kind words. But if you’ve made a proposal like that and the others don’t speak up ……”
The director of the facility seems to be afraid that such a culprit will be released back into the world.
“What are you talking about? Do whatever it takes to get them to talk. And I’m not saying you should give the henchmen a deal on the same terms. Tell them what their leader said and they’ll confess quickly.”
“Oh, I see… Did you think that far ahead? But even if that were the case, wouldn’t it have been possible to put him to death if all his crimes were revealed ……?
“Maybe you’re right. That’s why I said I’d send him to a remote prison. Waiyak Prison on a remote island, known as Helheim.”
“Helheim…! I see. The suffering is tantamount to hell, and there is a constant stream of escapees. But the escapees can’t make it across the sea, so they die.”
“He’s committed crimes so great that even death wouldn’t be enough. This would be considerable.”
“Well, I’m impressed… I’m really impressed.”
I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.
It’s just a little remodeling of the famous game theory to make it cheat-proof.
“I’m going to take my leave now. Take care of the rest.”
I left the detention center and headed to the inn where Aleria and Aina were waiting.\n</ins>\nBut not all work is done yet.
This is the end of the story for today, but the leader of the bandits had confessed to something that could not be ignored.\n