Chapter 74: The Incomplete Report

Max was sitting inside the Academy Head Teacher's office while the Head Teacher went through some documents. Apart from the two of them, three other people were present in the room. Royal sigils were displayed on their chests, and cowls hung around their necks and shoulders. Max guessed they had come to conduct the inquiry into the incident that had occurred the day before yesterday, even though it felt as though a week had passed. The time he had spent in Marlak's world had disrupted his sense of time.

Max noticed that these people frequently glanced at both him and Marlak. Currently, he had no way to escape the Truth Seeker's scrutiny. They would easily discover that he was lying as soon as they began asking questions.

Should I have handled the situation a little differently? Max wondered. Looking back, his actions seemed rather rash, but at the time, the situation had been tense and dangerous. When the people at the mansion ordered the guards to restrain him and tried to tie him up, Max had responded with lethal force. He still believed his reaction had been justified and would do the same thing if he found himself in that situation again.

"Student Maximus, please meet the Royal Officials who are here to inquire about the incident at [Buczacki] City Lord's Mansion," Everett said after putting down the document. "Mr. Gianni Ekberg here will be conducting the investigation."

Max looked toward a middle-aged man with a long beard and neatly combed hair. Unable to think of anything to say, he could only nod.

"Mr. Maximus Bransford, my name is Gianni. It's nice to meet you," the middle-aged man greeted him.

"Nice to meet you, Gianni," Max replied.

"I'll be asking a few questions regarding the incident. Please answer them as accurately as possible," Gianni said, getting straight to the point.

Max nodded.

"When you exited the Dungeon, someone from the Kingdom picked you up. Do you know who that person was or what his name was?"

"No, I don't know the man. He requested my urgent help and said he had been waiting for a week. Since the request came from the Royal Officials, I didn't refuse, so I went along with him," Max replied.

That was also the truth. At first, he had thought they were going to collect the pass, but he hadn't known that things had already gone wrong. The former Academy Head Teacher had ambushed those Royal Officials, and He had been waiting for the senior students to emerge and ambush.

"Then what happened?" Gianni asked.

"I left my party behind and traveled toward the city from the mountain base. However, when we were nearing the city, the official leading me suddenly stopped the vehicle. He asked me to get out and then left me behind. After that, I had to walk to the city on foot," Max lied.

The middle-aged man stared at him.

"There seems to be an inconsistency in your account, Maximus. We received a report stating that you reached the Mansion, killed several people there, and escaped," the middle-aged man said.

"I killed several people? That sounds like a blatant lie. How could I be capable of killing anyone? I don't think the story you're presenting is legitimate. Who were these people who were killed? Were they civilians? Even if your story were true, at my Level, I could barely inflict any damage on an ordinary civilian," Max asked.

It was a logical reasoning. How could a Level 4 kid kill someone inside the Lord's Mansion and escape without being killed himself? If that was what they were implying, it would be an embarrassment for the Lord ruling the city.

"The reports say you used an Artifact powerful enough to kill high-level Guards," the middle-aged man countered. His argument was valid, since Artifacts were legitimate items that even lower-level individuals could use. However, it was also true that Max had used an Artifact. The question was whether they had any evidence.

"I don't have any Artifact capable of killing the guards of the Lord's Mansion. All I have are my sword, bow, and arrows," Max said, pointing toward the sword and bow hanging across his shoulder.

"We would like to search you for any Artifact powerful enough to kill high-level Awakeners," the middle-aged man said, signaling to another official standing behind him.

Max stood up and allowed the man to search him. He didn't currently have a dimensional ring or anything similar. As for the iStorage, he had given it to Marlak for safekeeping because he had anticipated that they might search him for dimensional storage. The man quickly checked his pockets and sleeves but found nothing except his two weapons.

Having found nothing, the man returned to his place. The middle-aged man remained silent, apparently deep in thought.

"Mr. Maximus, based on your answers, i have determined that you've mixed truth with lies. I want you to understand that I know what happened to you at that Mansion. So just admit that you killed those people, and we'll proceed from there. To make things clear, I'm on your side," the middle-aged man said.

"I don't understand, Mr. Gianni. Which part of my answers was a lie? I've told you the truth about what happened. Nothing I said was a lie. They asked me for help, and I went with them to assist someone, but that never happened. You should ask the man who requested my help. He'll vouch for me," Max replied, firmly sticking to his story.

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"By the way, did the patient receive help in time? Is that person all right now?" Max asked casually.

The middle-aged man didn't answer. He fell silent again, deep in thought.

Max wanted to understand the full picture, but he restrained himself from asking further questions because doing so might reveal too much.

Who was that bastard who harassed me? He ruined everything. If he hadn't acted like a lunatic, I wouldn't be in this situation. I would have simply healed whoever the patient was, whether a princess or a servant. But now, because of that bastard, I've become entangled in this mess.

"Mr. Maximus, based on your answers, we have determined that you are responsible for the deaths of a Kingdom Official and several Buczacki City Guards. We hereby inform you that you will be prosecuted in the King's Court, where your punishment will be determined according to your crimes," the middle-aged man announced, revealing the inquiry's conclusion.

"I understand, but where is the evidence that I killed the Guards and the Kingdom Officials?" Max asked calmly.

Without proof, they wouldn't be able to punish him. Although Truth Seekers were used as an additional means of determining whether a crime had been committed and it align with evidence, but they still needed evidence. As far as Max could tell, those bastards were involved in something shady, and these people weren't willing to reveal what had happened to the princess or who those men inside the Lord's Mansion really were.

"Mr. Everett, thank you for your cooperation. We would like to place Mr. Maximus Bransford in detention," the middle-aged man said, standing up and signaling the other two officials to detain Max.

"Mr. Gianni, I have no objection to your investigation, but this report fails to explain what happened at that Mansion. It says Max was brought there for an emergency. But what was that emergency? Even if that account were true, what happened between his arrival and the deaths? As far as I know, Student Maximus is a highly capable Healer who has treated several people, including members of Old Noble families. If I'm not mistaken, this report fails to explain what caused the incident. It simply states that Max killed Officials and Guards. But what led to those deaths? Could you clarify that for my understanding?" the Head Teacher suddenly asked.

"Mr. Everett, those details will be presented when the case goes before the King's Court," Gianni replied, looking at the Head Teacher.

"Mr. Gianni, don't make things up. Do you think I would hold the position of Head Teacher without knowing the rules governing detention? The report should present the actual reasons and describe the incident as a whole. Yet all I see are fragments of information without a clear sequence of events. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Student Maximus killed those people. There must have been a triggering event, right? What situation led to the incident? Who were are all involved? Was Max acting in self-defense, or was it murder? That decision must be based on the sequence of events that took place. Yet none of those details appear in this report," the Academy Head Teacher said, pointing out a series of accusations and inconsistencies.

"Did you even read the report yourself?" the Head Teacher asked, tossing it onto the far end of the table.

"Mr. Everett, we have more than twenty eyewitnesses who saw Mr. Maximus kill the Guards without mercy," Gianni said with a grim expression.

"Well, that makes things easy, doesn't it? Ask those eyewitnesses what happened at the time of the killings and fill in the gaps in this report. Then we'll talk. How could the Kingdom Officials accept such an incomplete report as evidence? Does the King's Court know about this? I'll write a letter to the King regarding this incident and recommend a proper inquiry into those who handled it. Then we'll uncover the truth," the Head Teacher declared.

"Mr. Everett, you don't understand the severity of this incident. A Royal Official was murdered," Gianni said, standing up.

"I don't give a rat's ass who died or was murdered. I don't see any evidence warranting Student Maximus's detention. Now get out of my Academy before I rip your head off," the Head Teacher said calmly.

Max, who had been sitting and listening to their conversation, was startled by the Head Teacher's sudden threat. He had casually threatened Royal Officials without hesitation.

One thing Max had correctly suspected was that something shady had happened at the Mansion. These people were trying to conceal it and make his incident as serious as possible so that whatever lay behind it would remain hidden.

Fortunately, the Head Teacher had asked the right questions and cornered them. But what the hell had happened at that Mansion? Why did nobody know the truth? Was the claim made by the man who had brought Max there about the princess's critical condition true? It must have been, since the news had become public the following day, and even Moon had asked about it. If that was true, why had those people acted the way they did? Why did they now want him dead? What secret were they trying to bury by using him as a pawn?

"Mr. Everett, think before you speak. Otherwise, your words will come back to haunt you," Gianni said angrily after hearing the threat.

"I'll give you five seconds to leave my office and thirty seconds to leave my Academy. If you stay even a second longer, I'll kill you. Now, the clock starts," the Head Teacher replied without flinching at the middle-aged man's threat.

Hearing this, the three Royal Officials stared blankly at him, glanced at Max, and walked out of the office. Max sat there, stunned. Although Syrrece Academy wielded considerable power, he still felt that threatening the Kingdom's Officials wasn't a wise choice. However, if the Head Teacher hadn't been so aggressive, those people would undoubtedly have placed Max in detention.

"Now, Student Maximus, tell me what really happened at that Mansion," the Head Teacher asked after the officials had left.

"I already told you, Head Teacher. Do you want to hear it again?" Max replied, maintaining his story.

He wasn't going to reveal the truth simply because the Head Teacher had defended him against the officials. As far as Max was concerned, the two sides could be working together to trick him into revealing what had really happened and then use his confession as evidence. Even if the Head Teacher genuinely wanted to help him and learn the truth, Max wasn't going to admit anything himself. He would stick to the account he had already given.

Hearing Max's answer, the Head Teacher shifted his gaze toward him while reading another document.

"Never mind. Instead, tell me about your Healing Skill. I've heard a great deal about it from many people," the Head Teacher said.

Max didn't know what to say. The former Academy Head Teacher had also been eager to learn about his Salvation skill and had plotted around him sending to Dungeon raid with Seniors. Now the new Academy Head Teacher was asking about it, too. Would he also try to use Max for his own purposes? Still, since the Head Teacher had saved him from being detained by the Kingdom Officials, Max decided he could tell him about Salvation.