This was already a rather good outcome.
Hunter had heard from the Mystic Society members guarding him that the others captured alongside him had received even harsher sentences. One of them had even been sentenced directly to life imprisonment.
That was mainly because his crimes had been relatively minor.
According to Lady Chloe, the presiding judge who had remained invisible throughout, although he had taken part in the allied forces' campaign against the Resistance Army, his actions had not been especially heinous. He had only helped manufacture siege weapons such as trebuchets, and under Viscount Frey's deliberate control, those weapons had barely been used at all. After all, the allied forces had never truly intended to breach Slading Fortress.
And so, he left the tribunal just like that.
Staring at the sunlight before him, Hunter found it almost unbelievable. Since being captured, his fate had twisted and turned. After despairing several times, he had somehow truly survived in the end—though he would have to remain in that place called Castel for a full fifteen years.
Wait, this was no time to relax. As a scholar, he had a vague impression of Castel. It seemed to be an island at the Empire's farthest frontier, supposedly barren and remote. What could he even do once he got there?
He had studied engineering machinery. Was he supposed to teach Horse-faced Fish how to make gears?
There probably were not even many literate people on the whole island, much less anyone who understood machinery.
And since this was penal servitude, he would probably have to do hard labor as well. With a body that left him gasping after just a few steps, could he really endure fifteen years?
Wasn't this still a dead end?
Hunter began to despair again.
What could he do? Rely