Linton could vaguely sense the position of the Flying Thunder God's mark. Once he locked onto the target, he immediately used the ability. With a swoosh, Linton appeared in a new location.
The moment he landed, he was a little stunned. Looking around, he saw a dirty floor, a cramped room, and iron bars outside. This place felt like a prison.
Turning his head, Linton quickly spotted Gassain, who was staring at him in confusion. "How... did you get in here?"
"Of course, I used magic. How else?" Linton replied.
"There's magic like that?" Gassain asked.
"Do you know anything about magic? Are you a magician?"
"Alright, alright... I'm not, and I don't know magic," Gassain said, rubbing his forehead.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Linton looked around. It really seemed like a prison, with cells nearby and several other prisoners, though no one noticed an extra person had appeared.
"This is all your fault!" Gassain yelled.
"Huh? Hey, come on, that's ridiculous. I wasn't even here! How could I cause this?" Linton argued.
"Your pet caused it," Gassain said.
"Pet? Oh... you mean the deer." Linton suddenly remembered he had a pet. "What happened?"
Gassain quickly explained. It had been about thirteen days since Linton left. Just yesterday, their group reached the imperial capital, Saint Dravan City. Upon arrival, the princess parted ways with them to immediately return to the royal palace. As for Gassain and the others, they had no specific plans and were just looking for a place to stay while awaiting a summons from the king.
However, before they could even start searching, trouble arose. For some unknown reason, the Fire Swallow Beast suddenly became aggressive and started running wild in the streets. Since this was right under the imperial city, where you could throw a stone and hit a few high-ranking officials, it wasn't long before the beast knocked over a carriage, causing a huge scene.
Whoever was in that carriage must have been someone important, as the patrolling soldiers quickly arrived after hearing the commotion. When they saw the Fire Swallow Beast, their first instinct was to subdue it. Of course, the beast wasn't going to let them catch it so easily, and in its resistance, the situation spiraled into even more chaos.
Gassain had tried to stop the beast, but it ignored him. Worse, he was mistaken as the one responsible for the disturbance and got thrown into prison. So, their first day in the capital was spent behind bars.
"And where's the deer now?" Linton asked.
"No idea. It ran off, and before I could catch up, a bunch of soldiers arrested me," Gassain replied.
"See? I told you we should've left it in the forest. Would've saved us a lot of trouble," Linton said.
"And you just disappeared to who-knows-where and left me with that thing!" Gassain complained. "You know it doesn't listen to me. It's your pet, not mine."
When Linton left, he had asked the Fire Swallow Beast to follow Gassain since he couldn't bring it to other worlds. The beast had some intelligence, so after Linton gave it instructions, it indeed followed Gassain. But for some reason, it went berserk once they entered the city. Perhaps it wasn't used to human cities.
"Have you ever heard the Melowe family motto?" Linton asked.
"Every time you start with that... fine, go ahead," Gassain groaned, rubbing his forehead again.
"You can't blame society for your own bad luck. This is clearly your misfortune. What's it got to do with me?" Linton said.
"Damn it, this wasn't just bad luck—it was man-made disaster!" Gassain retorted. "But this isn't the time to argue. What are we going to do? If this keeps up, the Melowe family could lose our title."
"Why?" Linton asked.
"Causing such a disturbance in the capital? The king's definitely going to hold someone accountable," Gassain explained.
"Are you going to confess?" Linton asked.
"No! No one's even been here since I was thrown in yesterday. I haven't even had the chance to be interrogated!" Gassain replied.
Linton figured the commotion caused by the Fire Swallow Beast must have been significant, with the soldiers too busy capturing the creature to deal with the prisoners.
"Then why are you so nervous? Just say you were trying to stop the beast, but it didn't listen to you. You're not its owner. You could claim you were just passing by and trying to be a hero. Who knows, they might even give you a bravery award," Linton suggested.
"Hm?" Gassain thought about it and realized Linton had a point. There was no evidence tying him to the beast. He had tried to stop it, but never claimed ownership, and the beast wasn't his. It belonged to Linton.
"Deny everything and play dumb. They won't be able to find any proof," Linton added.
"The only people who know the Fire Swallow Beast is connected to us are our own family members and the Third Princess," Gassain said. "Our family won't spill, but the princess and her Leaf Guard..."
"We should inform the Third Princess," Linton nodded. "Has anyone come to ask about this?"
"No, there's been no word. The princess just returned to the city yesterday, so I'm not sure she even knows about it," Gassain said.
"Alright, you stay here. I'll head out and see what I can do," Linton said.
"You're leaving me here?" Gassain asked.
"What else can I do? You want me to stay here with you? That would only make things worse," Linton replied.
He had a point, but Gassain still felt uneasy. "I don't know if I can make it through this..."
"Make it through?" Linton raised an eyebrow. "You think they'll torture you?"
"Of course," Gassain said.
Judging by Gassain's calmness, torture seemed like a common practice in this world. It wasn't surprising, considering their primitive investigation methods. Without things like fingerprints or DNA, how else would they solve cases? Torture was probably their go-to technique.
"If you refuse to confess, will they beat you to death?" Linton asked.
"Maybe," Gassain said. "But since I'm still a noble, they'll probably have to reach a conclusion before killing me."
"And if you keep denying everything?" Linton asked.
"If I can't prove my innocence and refuse to admit guilt, they'll likely move to a trial by combat," Gassain explained.
"Wait, trial by combat?" Linton was intrigued.
"You don't even know about that?" Gassain was surprised.
"Nope, first time hearing about it," Linton said. "You mean, like, win and you're innocent, lose and you die?"
Gassain explained that trial by combat usually occurred in noble trials where there wasn't enough evidence to convict. If a crime couldn't be proven but innocence couldn't be established either, the last resort was to fight it out.
"Do you have to fight yourself?" Linton asked.
"You can hire someone to represent you," Gassain replied.
"Well, that's easy. I'll fight for you. Who could beat me?" Linton said confidently.
"You're too optimistic," Gassain warned. "Do you know who usually fights in trial by combat?"
"Who?"
"Most of the time, it's knights personally appointed by the king—high-ranking knights, at least star-level. They're elites. Many knights even use trial by combat as a way to gain fame. Since the law was introduced, only 22 people have successfully won their freedom through it. And in the last decade, not a single person has won. That's why it's usually a last-ditch option," Gassain explained.
"Okay... but so what?" Linton shrugged.
"Wait, are you saying...?"
"Do you know why my master called me back?" Linton asked.
"What for?"
"He taught me our ultimate technique—the Ashina Style Swordsmanship. So now I'm invincible," Linton said, striking a dramatic pose.
"This sounds familiar... didn't you say the same thing last time?" Gassain sighed, holding his forehead again.
"Was I wrong? Did I lose a fight since then?" Linton said. "Here's the plan: file for a trial by combat and give them my name. You know my reputation. If they investigate, it'll only work in our favor."
(End of Chapter)