I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 77

Seah's words, saying she was detained at the police station, raised doubts.

"The police station? What business do you have there──"

[That's why! They say the area where the villains teleported is our neighborhood... and only I didn't have an alibi at that time... Sob! They keep saying there's evidence...]

Wait, the villains teleported?

"Seah. What's the neighborhood you live in now?"

[Yes? Uh, uh... Bu, Bucheon.]

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle were coming together.

"The time the police suspect you committed the crime?"

[They said four days ago! But I was at home then, really...]

"I believe you."

[What?]

"I will absolutely believe you, so don't worry too much."

It seemed like I was also involved in this matter.

"So, tell me which police station it is. I'm heading there right now."

[Oh, yes, yes! This is... the, the Gyeonggi-do Southern Awakened Dedicated Police Station!]

According to the map, it was a distance that could be reached quickly by helicopter.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes. From now on, if the police say anything, exercise your right to remain silent and keep your mouth shut."

[Yes...!]

After hanging up, I called another number to resolve this situation.

A legal advisor of the organization and one of the top power holders of Calione who specializes in such matters.

"Consiglière? This is Yoojin."

Calione's Consiglière.

It was time to seek his help.

* * *

Gyeonggi-do Southern Awakened Dedicated Police Station.

As its name suggests, it is an organization with independent investigative authority over issues related to Awakened Ones in the southern region of Gyeonggi-do, and it could be seen as a police station where Awakened Ones gather.

However, it is also a government agency of the Republic of Korea, operating under the law.

In the end, they too were an organization that had to operate within the framework of the law... but according to Seah, there was something unsettling.

"They say there's evidence and witnesses... They've been setting this up from the start."

As I suspected, Seah's arrest was likely related to the villains captured in Gunsan who had illegally entered Korea.

And as I suspected, there was only one person capable of smuggling those villains into Korea.

Shinchulgwimol.

A member of the Villain Alliance who we killed with Gwak Chunshik a while ago, and the mastermind behind smuggling villains into Korea.

Yet, for some reason, Seah, not him, was being targeted as a suspect.

Moreover, considering the setup, it seemed there was another group openly trying to frame her as the culprit.

Then, those guys were highly likely to be connected to the Villain Alliance.

There was a reason to go all out to rescue Seah and destroy them.

"Young Master. We've arrived."

Han Seojun said as he stopped the car.

"The others?"

"They said they'll be here soon."

"Understood. I'll go in first."

The place where Seah was being held was the [Awakened Illegal Entry Division].

I immediately rushed there, opened the door, and entered. A man standing in front of the door stood up and asked me.

"How did you get here?"

Ignoring him, I quickly scanned the surroundings to confirm where Seah was.

"Really not going to say anything? If you're not the culprit, at least say something. Right?"

"......."

"Good grief, the world's going to hell. A student from Seoul Hero Academy helping with illegal entry, and now denying the crime? That's ridiculous, really."

──Found her.

I rushed over there and placed my hand on Seah's shoulder, who was trembling but keeping her mouth shut as I had instructed.

"Calm down. I'm here now."

"Yoo, Yoojin...!"

At that, a man who looked like a detective glared at me with displeasure.

"Who are you?"

"Her guardian."

After proudly revealing my identity, I sat in the empty chair next to Seah and looked at the man.

"Your affiliation."

"What?"

"I'm asking for your affiliation and name. You brought a child from home in handcuffs, so you must have an arrest warrant."

As I said that, I glanced at Seah's wrists.

The silver bracelets on Seah's wrists.

They were definitely the same 'Anti-Awakened Suppressor' that I had received from old man Gwak Chunshik.

"What? An arrest warrant? Ha ha! Don't you know that we can arrest spatial mages without a warrant if there's a risk of flight?"

"That law applies to Awakened Ones engaged in hero activities, not to academy students."

"What? How dare you──"

I grabbed Seah's wrist and lifted it up as I spoke.

"──Take this off immediately."

The man flinched at my words.

But soon, realizing that the attention of the surrounding detectives was turning towards us, he smirked and showed me a piece of paper on the desk.

"Here's the arrest warrant. Satisfied?"

I checked the paper.

It was indeed an arrest warrant. The man looked triumphant.

'Now it's clear.'

Thanks to this, I was now certain about how the picture was being drawn.

"An arrest warrant was issued for an academy student with a confirmed identity, a first-time offender, and a family, indicating low flight risk? ...Seems like someone above you is pulling the strings."

As I muttered in disbelief, the man slammed his desk so hard that it echoed.

The metal desk was dented by his palm.

"If you're going to make baseless assumptions, get out right now. We're doing this by the book."

"By the book? This?"

At my words, the man clenched his fist tightly.

"Do you know what's going on right now? Villains who escaped from Niflheim illegally entered Bucheon. By a spatial ability user! At that time, all spatial mages in Bucheon had alibis except for this girl. Don't you get it even after I explained this much?"

Spatial mages are subjects that require strict management.

If they wanted to, they could be used for smuggling or illegal entry.

Above all, if they decided to flee using their abilities, there was almost no way to catch them.

For example, the Shinchulgwimol I caught recently.

His combat abilities were not that high. No, you could say they were weak.

But just being a spatial mage caused a stir in Korea.

"Do you know that's not all? When we went to arrest her, her Magic Power was completely drained. She was almost at the point of collapse. What would a spatial mage have to do to use up so much Magic Power? The answer is obvious, right?"

That's why the man was so sure.

All registered spatial mages had scheduled activities at that time, and Seah was the only one without an alibi.

Her Magic Power was completely drained at the time of her arrest.

It was truly a ridiculous story.

"A first-year academy student smuggled in villains from outside? Do you really think that makes sense?"

"...What?"

"She doesn't even have enough Magic Power to teleport from home to the academy, so she always arrives at the academy earlier than anyone else. Yet, you're saying she helped smuggle in villains... Ha! It's absurd. If a first-year student had that kind of ability, guilds around the world would be after her."

"Most illegal entries happen at the coast. Even if it's her, she could at least move from the coast to the inland."

"Do you have any evidence?"

In the end, what they were claiming was just one thing.

That Seah was the only one without an alibi at that time.

But that was only circumstantial evidence, after all.

"Arresting without solid evidence, fitting a suppressor, and then even adding threats and leading questions. Truly, an impressive organization."

-Clap clap clap clap.

As I sarcastically applauded towards the guy's face, his hands started to tremble.

But considering his status, he took a deep breath to control his anger and opened his mouth towards me and Seah.

"Evidence? We have evidence. But no matter how much of a guardian you are, I can't just show you the evidence. This case has been officially investigated by our 'Awakened Police Department' with an arrest warrant. Are you really going to interfere with our investigation like this? Do you know that what you're doing is also an arrestable offense?"

His direct threat towards me made me let out a scoff.

"Ha! Threatening us now? Fine, just fine. Threats are weapons that work effectively on those weaker than you."

"...What?"

If that's how you're going to play it, then I have no choice but to move according to my plans.

"I thought you'd at least call a lawyer after asking for a phone call, but you brought some strange friend instead. Are you really not going to appoint a lawyer? You know that if you don't appoint one, a public defender will be assigned automatically, right?"

Even so, he started talking about the right to appoint a lawyer, as if to show he was following the law.

"Huh? A, a lawyer? But a lawyer is..."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've already appointed one. A lawyer."

"...Huh?"

"...What?"

At my declaration of already having appointed a lawyer, both of them looked at me simultaneously.

"You, you appointed a lawyer for me?"

"You appointed a lawyer? You did?"

Why are they so surprised?

"Of course. She's a valuable member of our Familia and my friend."

"...Friend."

The detective who had been watching us let out a sneer.

"Ha, even if you appoint some great lawyer, with all the evidence and witnesses we have, do you think it'll make any difference? You kids."

"It will make a difference."

When I answered with conviction, he frowned as if to ask what I had heard.

"What?"

"Didn't you just say we should do things by the law?"

As if it were obvious.

I declared.

"So, we'll face you in your own way, with the law."

At my declaration, the door to the interrogation room burst open.

Soon, men in black suits marched into the room and stood behind me, and a middle-aged man who seemed to be their representative handed a paper that looked like his business card to the detective.

"Representative of the Dike Law Firm's defense team. I am Han Kwang-gi. From now on, the defense of Kim Seah will be handled by our defense team, so please discuss the details with me."

"Huh? I..."

"I checked, and while an arrest warrant was issued in the name of Prosecutor Han Chang-wook, the detention warrant hasn't been issued yet. You know that if a detention warrant doesn't arrive within 48 hours, you can't keep her detained, right?"

"Ah... that..."

"So, until the detention warrant arrives or the 48 hours pass, our defense team will stay by the client's side. If it's too inconvenient, why don't you end the investigation for today and request her to appear next time?"

One of the major law firms in the Republic of Korea, Dike.

Once they declared they would stay by the client's side for two full days, whatever plan they had made was already meaningless.

They targeted Seah because they probably didn't even consider that someone might be backing her.

"Just a moment, I'll step out to make a call."

"Feel free to do so."

As the detective stepped away for a moment, Seah still looked at me with an expression that couldn't grasp the situation.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No, I just can't get a sense of what's happening right now. What's with the law firm and the defense team? What's going on here?"

...Was it too sudden?

"You know I live well, right?"

"Yes."

"I just asked a favor from the law firm I'm usually indebted to."

"But, but the cost must be outrageous..."

"The equipment in the club room is probably more expensive than what was spent on this."

"Ah..."

That was a fact.

After a while, the detective returned, looking restless, and approached Seah and me with a bow.

"For now, you may leave for today... Please come on the date specified in the next summons... Thank you."

"Ah, yes..."

It seems the higher-ups changed their mind after hearing that Dike's defense team had been deployed.

They must have prepared a lot, but we don't need to worry about that.

Well then.

"Let's go back."

"...Huh?"

"Aren't you going home?"

"Ah, yes! Let's go!"

It was someone from the police or the prosecution who targeted Kim Seah.

So, my task was simple.

To counterattack and take them down.

To make them painfully realize that they're nothing but prey in front of a hunter with a rifle, even though they thought they were the predator.

To crush them so thoroughly that they'll never dare to touch her again.

That's the Calione way.