Void · Arcane Eternal Star · Underground Prison, Warden's Office.
Though it was underground, the place felt far from stuffy. In the office, which covered over a hundred square meters, were the frowning, miserable deputy warden; the vacant, bewildered chief jailer; the sorrowful, lost accountant; the depressed female secretary, whose face was full of doubt about life; and, finally, the carefree warden, reclining in a leather chair with his legs crossed on top of the desk.
What kind of boss, what kind of subordinates. None of Hugh's trusted aides looked remotely respectable. They were all burdened with strange quirks and bad habits, yet that could not conceal the fact that each was peerless in their own field.
"Shh, don't make a sound. You'll affect Lord Hugh's thinking."
The chief jailer made a silencing gesture. The female secretary shot the number-one bootlicker a glance, then slammed her fist onto the desk.
Bang!
"Hm? Is it time to eat?"
Startled awake, Hugh swallowed, sat upright, and straightened his warden's hat while discreetly wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Lord Warden, have you decided how to deal with Crow?"
The miserable-looking elderly deputy warden spoke.
"This matter... Crow must certainly be dealt with. But we need to discuss it carefully before deciding how."
Hugh coughed lightly, finally looking somewhat serious.
"My lord, we've been discussing this for two months. The Arcane faction has already come seven or eight times, demanding that we issue a ruling as soon as possible."
The secretary's gaze was sharp. After all, she had been bearing the Arcane faction's pressure for the past two months.
"How can we issue the ruling? It has to come from the Judgment Institute."
With that, Hugh took a large sip of hot tea, savoring its bitterness. He had deliberately stalled