Interrogation

Outside Crescent Academy, the vast tract of land that had once served as plantations had turned into a wilderness overrun with weeds due to neglect. In a house close to the academy castle, Antoine and Rainer were discussing their next sales strategy.

Thanks to the reputation Pilam Cola had established in the surrounding cities, Cola, this trendy new drink, had gradually won people over and become popular in the south of the country. And thanks to the influence of Rainer's Mage Card marketing, New Moon Cola had once again become a sought-after product.

In some regions with underdeveloped retail stores, there was even a shortage where a single bottle was hard to come by.

Of course, what most people wanted was still the Mage Card included with the Cola.

With sales performing unprecedentedly well, Rainer had provided Antoine with four skilled mage apprentices to keep producing Cola. At the same time, he had persuaded Antoine the previous week to temporarily move the Alchemy Workshop into this room at Crescent Academy to ensure its safety.

Antoine hadn't wanted to move at first. He didn't believe the despicable methods Rainer had mentioned would truly be used by Pilam, but he had ultimately left the house he had lived in for over a decade just to be safe.

"Later, we can buy a few shops on Old Street. One can serve as the Alchemy Workshop producing Cola, while another can be a direct sales store. We could even charge visitors to tour the Cola factory and so on."

Rainer had now invested in Antoine Alchemy Workshop in Crescent Academy's name, holding twenty-two percent of its shares. In his own name, he held thirty-one percent through his technical contribution, while Antoine held the rest. In a sense, Antoine Alchemy Workshop could now be considered one of Crescent Academy's assets.

This was quite common. Larger schools made all kinds of investments to keep their funds flowing, including Alchemy Workshops and hospitals. Lower-tier schools invested in commercial associations and the like. Crescent Academy had probably possessed some assets in the past as well, but they had nearly all been squandered over the years.

"That sounds like a good idea. At our current rate of growth, we might be able to achieve it in half a year."

Antoine nodded. He had followed Rainer's advice and tidied up his appearance. He no longer looked as despondent as before, and instead resembled an ordinary middle-aged man.

Knock, knock, knock—

A knock interrupted their discussion. Antoine opened the door and found someone familiar standing outside.

"Officer Sheila?"

Sheila, dressed in uniform, nodded to Antoine before speaking.

"Mr. Antoine, following your suggestion, we laid an ambush at Antoine Alchemy Workshop on Old Street. Tonight, we arrested several men who intended to blow up your house. We may need you to come to town and help provide some testimony."

"Blow it up?"

Antoine was somewhat startled. He hadn't expected the warning Rainer had given him to come true—Pilam had truly sent people to threaten his personal safety.

"Mr. Antoine, go with the officer. I'll go take a look at the situation later as well."

Rainer said, patting Antoine on the shoulder.

"Mm, all right. I understand."

Antoine composed himself, packed his things, and followed Sheila out.

After thinking for a moment, Rainer decided to wake Claire first and have her accompany him.

He needed a bodyguard who could fight.

Rainer then woke Claire, who was sleeping soundly while hugging a roast-meat-shaped pillow. He persuaded the bleary-eyed teacher to accompany him to the town jail late at night by promising to treat her over the weekend to a grand meal at a restaurant the protagonist had visited in The Solitary Gourmet in Prester City.

By the time the two arrived at the constables' jail by carriage, it was already past midnight.

Lunamia Town near Crescent Academy was where Old Street was located. It fell under Prester City's jurisdiction, so Leslie and Sheila were effectively civil servants sent from the city to handle business in the countryside, and the local constables welcomed them warmly.

They had requisitioned an isolated cell to hold Sanderson Gran and sealed off all information to avoid alerting the true mastermind.

When they saw Rainer and Claire, the two officers exchanged knowing smiles, then led them and Antoine to the outside of the interrogation room.

"This observation room lets us see what happens in the interrogation room, but they can't see us from inside."

Leslie explained briefly, which Claire found rather fascinating.

The three of them followed Leslie into the observation room. In the room beyond, Sanderson was shackled to a chair, looking dejected, while Sheila sat across from him with several documents in hand.

"Sanderson Gran, do you admit that you intended to destroy Antoine Alchemy Workshop and kill Mage Antoine?"

Sheila demanded sharply. Sanderson jolted, looking fearfully at the female officer before him.

"I... I don't know."

Sanderson still believed Pilam would save him, just as it was written in the novels—spend some money to bribe the guards and get him out. So he didn't reveal the truth.

"You should know that if someone instructed you to do this, confessing can reduce your sentence. But if you insist on keeping silent, we will consider you the mastermind behind this case. What awaits you will be the death penalty."

Sheila said coldly, rising as though to leave. Her words made Sanderson tremble, but he still didn't dare betray his employer.

"We've already interrogated your accomplices. They've confessed."

As she was leaving the interrogation room, she seemed to mention it casually. Sheila's words stunned Sanderson. His gaze wandered, as though he were thinking.

At that moment, Leslie left the observation room and entered the interrogation room in Sheila's place. He carried a cup of water and set it before Sanderson.

"Sanderson, I know you're not a bad person. You've merely been misled for the time being. If you cooperate with our work, we can reduce your punishment as much as possible."

Leslie gently gave Sanderson water to drink and spoke earnestly.

"We've already contacted your employer, Pilam. He finds what you've done deeply regrettable and says he knew nothing about it. So, Sanderson, you're saving yourself now."

This was the standard good cop, bad cop interrogation tactic. Sheila's severity stood in stark contrast to Leslie's gentleness. Sanderson had never undergone such training, and Leslie's words quickly got a reaction from him.

Sanderson had always believed Pilam was working hard to rescue him, but Leslie's words shattered that illusion. Caught in fear and confusion, he hadn't even considered that Leslie and Sheila might be lying to him.

"I..."

He hesitated. After thinking it over again and again, scenes from the past flashed through his mind, and he finally spoke.

"Pilam ordered me to do it."