Chapter 122: The Hearing (2) (1/2)
…I opened my eyes.
My view slowly widened, revealing a world wrapped in a dark red fog.
The feeling of being alone in the dark assailed me. But I wasn’t alone. Not far away, someone was calling my name.His tone was as thick as poison and pressured my heart. Unusual emotions rose from the bottom of my chest. It was a long-forgotten fear.
The only man Deculein feared, the father he hated, and the previous head of the Yukline family, Decalane. He looked down at Deculein with his dark red eyes as he spoke.
—Find a suitable bowl.Decalane’s voice, hand gestures, eyes, and atmosphere… all of those memories flowed through Deculein’s feelings.
My back stiffened, and chills ran down my spine.
My whole soul felt like it was trembling.
However, it was strange no matter how I thought about it.
Did Deculein have such a capability? Did there ever exist an institution that accepted fear within him?
Wasn’t Deculein a human whose brain was damaged to some extent so that he couldn’t experience that particular emotion?
So I doubted.This feeling was not caused by Decalane but was simply the result of an action. Specifically, magical brainwashing was caused by Decalane, who was called the Art Wizard of the Century.
I looked at Decalane, removing the fog that obscured his figure. I stared straight at him, buried as he was in Deculein’s unconscious.
—Deculein.
My son.A man who resembled Deculein but somehow colder and sharper than him.
A figure that perfectly fit Yukline’s maxim, ‘Fear the devil.’
—Bring it to me.Deculein was afraid of him, and that feeling carried over to me as well, but…
“I am not Deculein.”
It wasn’t at a level that I couldn’t overcome.
No matter what kind of brainwashing was engraved on Deculein’s body before, it was just a fun trick for one with the body of an Iron Man.I approached him with no hesitation and grabbed his throat with both my hands.
At that moment, memories flowed into me, and a scene arose as if a switch were flicked on.Decalane wasn’t satisfied with either Deculein or Yeriel. What the incarnation of desire wanted…
“Did you want a new head?”
That was the thought that ran through my mind.
[Independent Quest: Family]
That day, I killed Decalane’s personality with Yeriel, but there was no message indicating the quest was completed.
That meant, Decalane’s test was—A clear mechanical sound awakened my consciousness.
The illusion disappeared, and reality filled its place.“It’s all over!”
It was Adrienne who made the announcement.
I stood slowly, looking at the cylindrical machine that was lying there.
“It’s not that big a deal!”
The official name was [Magic EEG Explorer].
It was a machine developed on the Floating Island to dig into the subject’s subconscious mind.
Adrienne had ordered this test in the name of personal verification.“Was it necessary?”
I approached her as I adjusted my clothes.
“It will be troublesome if the candidate is a spy from another country, is colluding with the Ashes, or is a supporter of the Round Table!”
“Can you tell with that?”
“Sure! Thousands of spies have been filtered out by this! Also, depending on whose mana it is operated by, the performance may change!”
“You used my mana!”
I looked at Adrienne with a slightly grim look. If, by any chance, my subconscious mind were passed on to the Chairman of the board…She grinned as if my concerns were correct.
“Don’t worry! I’m tight-lipped!”
I shook my head.The machine rang again for the second candidate, Ihelm.
“Oh, Ihelm finished too!”
He breathed roughly, covered in sweat. Did he also have a nightmare?Adrienne beckoned, and the two of us sat next to each other.
“The first test for personal verification is over! You both passed!”
Ihelm responded as Adrienne pocketed the EEG Exploration results sheet and looked at me.
“But, Professor Deculein?”
“I finally understood your thesis to some extent!”
Adrienne wore an amazed look, and Ihelm glanced sideways at me with a grin.
“Is that so? How was it, Professor Deculein’s thesis?”
“Indeed, it was great! With this much, the Floating Island will praise it even if it’s just a theory!”
The Chairman gave me thumbs up, causing Ihelm’s smile to grow even deeper.
“Again, let’s talk about the hearing!
The hearing schedule can grow longer or shorter, depending! In addition to the testifiers recruited by the two of you, there is also a common testifier invited by our board of directors!
I plan to re-examine both of your statuses and achievements.”
Ihelm answered, relaxed, and I just nodded.
“Then! Now, I’ll give you two more hours, so do your maintenance and come back!”
* * *
“The first strategy is as follows.”
As soon as Ihelm returned, they arranged for the hearing along with dozens of others, including professors, wizards, and prominent members of big families.
“Deculein’s poor thesis performance is the first. In the past four years, there has been only one paper that Deculein has submitted, and an interview with Adrienne confirmed even that is a theory that has not been proven by experimentation.”
The most effective method of attack was to scratch Deculein’s character.
“Therefore, that only validates the uncertainty of the thesis and bolsters the reputation of those who have served under Deculein in the past.”
Ihelm just listened, relaxed. He felt a bit sorry for those who had prepared so hard, but all of this was just a by-product.
The real trap was unknown even to them.
“Next, focus on the reason why Deculein is the head professor, but there are only three under him. That personality defect…”
The thesis that Deculein had already submitted, the Creation of Pure Elements and the Four Series Magic based on it.
Whose idea it belonged to, Ihelm already knew.
Not only that idea, but all of Deculein’s past papers belonged to that guy.
“…Therefore, we will attack by asking the testifiers about Deculein’s personality.”
Deculein had no choice but to fall, given this tactic.
If it were Deculein, who possessed self-esteem bordering on arrogance, he would hate the act of someone damaging his image more than anyone else. If it were that stalwart Deculein he knew, surely, he would step right into this trap…
* * *
Sophien headed inside the magic tower, but she hadn’t bothered to tell anyone.
A magic doll was set up in the Imperial Palace to take her place, and she disguised herself as a common testifier in robes.
She thought it would be more fun this way.
Sophien looked around the hearing.
The space was comprised of a total of four compartments.
On the right was Deculein’s camp, and on the left was Ihelm’s camp, with the front holding the board of directors’ decision room and the rear held the testifier’s seats.
Sophien sat at the testifier table among them.
By the way, Keiron has been pretending to be a statue against the wall of the hearing room since yesterday. Plus, Julie was walking around.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the guy who would become her husband.
“Now! Now! Now! Everyone, please take a seat!”
At that moment, Adrienne appeared, her loud and clear voice heralding her arrival. Sophien watched her enter.
“We will start the first hearing soon!”
Archmage Adrienne certainly felt different from a normal human.Adrienne and the directors were seated first as Sophien watched silently.
“Deculein and Ihelm! Both candidate camps, please come in!”
Then the door opened, and Deculein and Ihelm appeared. Ihelm arrived with a bunch of people, but Deculein had only one assistant professor following along.
“I knew it would be like this with that bastard’s personality.”
Sophien grinned. He was a poor guy who didn’t have a single friend he could trust or turn to, an arrogant guy who wanted to solve everything by himself. That was Deculein.
“The first step is Q&A with the testifiers!”
The hearing proceeded according to schedule. First, the common testifiers whom Adrienne had recruited sat in the center of the witness stand.
“Please introduce yourself!”
—I’m Astal from the Floating Island.Astal, who attended Deculein’s advanced lecture and served as spiritual support for the Floating Island’s Addicts, was up first.
“The Addict, Astal. I heard that you most recently reviewed Professor Deculein’s thesis.”
Ihelm’s camp asked him about matters related to Deculein’s thesis.
-Yes.
All of the papers that Professor Deculein has submitted for the past ten years have been reviewed by me.
“And you still haven’t reviewed the Professor’s recently written Invention of the Pure Elements and the Four Series Magic based on them?”
—I have seen the summary of the thesis, but there is still more to it. I’m looking forward to it.Sophien looked at Deculein.
Ihelm’s camp was so eager, but Deculein remained relaxed. Peaceful, like playing chess in the middle of a battlefield.
“How was it when you saw only the outline?”
—At first, I thought it was nonsense.
We got it!