CH.325 Interrogated
<span style="font-weight:400">“You really made a mess of things, huh.” Mariinamented as the three of us got down from HomeBase and met up with her at the Sawyer manor. “I mean, you took up a quarter of the tabloid.” She then ced the single sheath of paper on the table, so I could see it.
<span style="font-weight:400">I did know the capital had these single page newspapers, but I didn’t expect them to be able to print about … the nightly happenings by the morning. But I was clearly wrong, as there was a story taking up right about half of the front page, speaking about how the S-rank adventurer Master James was found frozen in an ice sculpture. While it didn’t tell everything, it did speak of Master James fighting someone who then proceeded to summon an ice dragon in the middle of the city to freeze him, before they disappeared into the night. It is interesting that they didn’t put my name in the story, but it might be because they want to avoid putting a noble’s name into it, before they can actually confirm that a noble actually did it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, what can I say? I’m just so popr that as soon as I get into town, the … tabloids will have to be writing about me.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Or you are just that good at getting into trouble.” Alicemented.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t even. You know that one was zero percent on me. That James guy is just a drunk moron.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“He is also one of the strongest in the capital.” Mariina said. “They don’t call him Master James for nothing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I would call him the drunk master, but to be honest, he is more of a drunk monster.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Especially after that transformation.” Lua added. “I mean, what was that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Probably a unique skill.” I suggested, although that was just a guess. “At the least it was an extra skill, as Laura couldn’t recognize it. But I would guess it is unique.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Unless he has evolved and it is a racial skill.” Lua added.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Could be that, but I feel like Laura would have ess to knowledge about racial skills.”
<span style="font-weight:400">(I do know most of them, but some are hidden until I am perfect.) Laura told us.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, you heard her.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I didn’t.” Mariina pointed out. “... I really wish I could.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m working on that. If it goes as nned, you’ll be able to ess my Different Dimension Factory, and you’ll be able to speak to Laura there.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is… Is that true?” Mariina asked. “I thought only those with … special powers could get there.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...” I first silently stared at Alice, before I actually answered Mariina. “Well yes, but actually no. That is what I also assumed until two dragons broke my reception of truth. You can get there just fine, as long as you can control your soul with magic. Then detach it from your body and move it to the dimension that houses my Factory. Simple, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-That doesn’t sound that simple.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Because it really isn’t. Even Alice can just barely separate her two souls, and none of us can yet transfer our souls out of our bodies.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“She has two souls?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... you told her about SS, but not about that part?” I asked Alice.
<span style="font-weight:400">“When I told her about SS, I didn’t really know having two souls could be useful. I only learned about ways of using my two souls after Lady Janina came to visit.” Alice exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... wait, wait, Wait!? You were serious?” Mariina spoke up.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... well, yes. Didn’t you know about that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“No. How would I? I mean… magic can do wonderful things, but affecting souls… is that even possible?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... so the Sage’s tower doesn’t know of it?” I wondered. “... no. That can’t be it. Agunan said that he has heard of humans that can visit the Spirit world. So there should be something about that, right? Perhaps it is just information they keep under wraps.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You can go to the spirit world?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. Agunan, the fire dragon that I ... ‘tamed’ told me he can do it. Apparently ‘ying’ with the spirits is fun. And by ‘ying’, he means fighting.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... then. Could I do it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Probably. If you learn how to move your soul and transfer it to different dimensions. You can join our lessons on soul magic, if you want. We have them twice a week currently.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I would like that. If it isn’t too much of a bother.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, we will have to take you to HomeBase for that, but that is simple. One of us will just have toe and take you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really? May Ie there?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I was nning on making the grand reveal soon anyway. I’m just waiting on thest of the furniture so I’ll have the guest rooms furnished.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“How many people are you nning on inviting?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Honestly, not that many. I don’t have enough connections, and I also only want to invite people I actually trust.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m d to hear that I’m included in that.” Mariina admitted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You are so-so. You should be d that you are a rtive of Alice and Christina, as the two of them have earned big trust points in my eyes. Actually, your father was quite good at getting trust points as well. So congrattions, admission by rtedness.” I told her, but I understand that that was quite… evil, so I added a bit more. “No. Actually you have been a big help as well, so you probably would have gotten an invite anyway.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you. I’m really looking forward to my first visit.”
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">As I somewhat predicted, and part of the reason I came to the Sawyer capital manor in the morning, a small group of knights came to the building looking for me. Four of them in total. The house butler led them to the parlor room, before he came and asked me to join them.
<span style="font-weight:400">But it wasn’t just me, as Mariina also came with me saying: “If someone doesn’t look after you, you’ll get in trouble.” I don’t think I would, but I don’t mind having a wyer’.
<span style="font-weight:400">Alice and Lua also wanted toe to see the knights, but as they were with me, I don’t want them to be involved, in case there is any trouble.
<span style="font-weight:400">We walked in the room and I sat down opposite to the knight that was also seated. Only one of the four was seated, with the three others standing behind his chair. Mariina sat down next to me, by the way.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you Brian?” The knight was the first to speak.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Honorary Baron Brian Wood. Yes. That would be me.” I confirmed with my full name and title. “And who might you be?” I asked. Normally that would be a bit rude, but considering that he already called me by my first name, a bit of rudeness should be eptable.
<span style="font-weight:400">“As expected of an upstart. Then I shall introduce myself. I am Baron Woody Arrow, themander of the second Royal knight toon. You’d better remember that.” The knight introduced himself and made his opinion about me clear.
<span style="font-weight:400">What have I done to him? I don’t recall stepping on Woody Arrow''s toes. … heh. I seriously have to hold back myughter. His name. Who would name their child Woody? Okay, that might be eptable, but when your family name is Arrow. That is just too good.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I shallmit it to memory, Lord Arrow. So, what can I do for you?” I asked, trying to keep my face straight.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You can start by exining why you would order a dragon to attack a noble.” Lord Arrow demanded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... wait? That drunk monster is a noble? Live and learn I guess.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You didn’t even know that? What kind of an upstart are you?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“He is somewhat right.” Mariina told me. “It is quitemon for S-rank adventurers to be made into honorary nobles.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll me Paulina for that. She should have taught me that kind of stuff.” I responded to Mariina before I turned back to the knightmander. “Then maybe you would want to exin why the S-rank adventurer Master James would attack me? As you heard, I am also a noble, so why does he have a right to attack me?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You were the aggressor in the situation!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Where did you hear that from? From that drunk fool?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You dare to speak like that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I could ask you the same. Why would anyone allow you tomand a full knight order?”
<span style="font-weight:400">By this point, I hadpletely given up on diplomacy. If I have to deal with this fool, I may as well just insult his ass into next week. He won’t believe me anyway. I can just solve any problems with my connection to the second Prince when I meet up with him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fine. You are under arrest. Cuff him. And don’t even try to resist.” Woody Arrowmanded the three behind him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... you know this won’t work.” Mariina cut in. “Even if you are a knightmander, you can’t just barge in and arrest a noble with nothing but your word.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And you know, had you asked, it would be quite easy for me to show what actually happened.” I added. I mean, I have the skills for it. I can quite literally watch my life like it was a movie recorded from my PoV.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then go ahead. Humor me. If you have proof of your ‘innocence’, I’d like to hear it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“There is nothing to hear. Only to see. … well, I suppose it doese with sound as well, so you will also hear. Dungeon Founder, open.” I opened up my skill and used it to make a makeshift disy screen.
<span style="font-weight:400">Also, I think I’ve never mentioned this, but when someone opens up a system screen like this, the screen will always face you. You, as in everyone. As in, for everyone the screen will look like it is perfectly facing you. I don’t think I ever mentioned it, so now I have.
<span style="font-weight:400">With my skill now open, I pulled up yesterday’s footage, starting from when James entered the small pub and let it y out from there, all the way until he was an ice sculpture. At that point, I paused it so these knights couldn’t see HomeBase.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So, still think I’m guilty?” I asked.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">The knightmander had no choice but to give up. I mean, I was using a System skill to show what happened and the System and the Goddess are absolute truths in this world, so faking something that happens on a System screen is believed to be impossible.
<span style="font-weight:400">… I probably could fake it though, If I really wanted to. But I might get some ck from the Goddess if I did.
<span style="font-weight:400">But still. They had no choice but to give in and leave. I was d it was … not solved, but at least put to pause so easily, but I still need to have a talk about the actions of this knightmander with His Highness Elias when I meet with him. You can’t just have knightmanders like that. It will ruin everything.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So… exin.” Mariina said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Exin what exactly?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Everything. How did you do that? You just… is that illusion magic? But you used a System screen to do that. How?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It is actually quite simple. I just linked a few skills. Dungeon Founder and Storage to be precise.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... how would that result in what I saw?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, Dungeon Founder is a skill that would allow me to watch the insides of my dungeon. Even Dungeon Master can do that, actually. And the skill can be opened to show other people that. You get that part, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. That does sound reasonable.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then I had Laura link my Dungeon Founder and Storage. This is something I can only do because I have Laura, aka my System Support.” I rified. “And Storage can not only store items, but information as well. That includes everything I see. Then, because the skills are linked, I can y back my memories, like you just saw.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I … I didn’t think that would be possible.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, for a regr person, it isn’t. It does take both a unique and extra skill to do. And a System Support. So don’t think just anyone can do that.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I won’t. Now, what about that dragon? It was summoned using standard summoning magic, not one of your cards, right? When did that happen?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yesterday. Eline, the young catgirl I’m taking care of, can use summoning magic, so we yed around with it yesterday. That ended with me making a contract with the ice dragon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I see. I wish you would have told me. I could have helped you with that.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It wasn’t necessary, so I didn’t want to bother. … Besides, getting help from you is usually too costly.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll give you a free service next time, as a thanks for your exnations. So feel free to rely on me more.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sure. That sounds like a deal.”