Chapter 317: The Fool Delivers Justice, the Tower Profits

By 7 p.m., students began arriving one after another at the free school. Most were in their early teens, and all were dressed in plain, modest clothing.

As soon as they entered the classroom, each took their seat without being told and pulled out their school-issued notebooks, quietly reciting from their notes. The absence of teachers didn't seem to affect them in the slightest.

These children had all come voluntarily and cherished every opportunity to learn.

Soon, all the small classrooms were filled. The two teachers who had gone out to search for the missing child returned in a rush. Each entered a separate classroom, starting their usual routine of instructing the top-performing students in the day's lessons. These student mentors would then teach the rest of the class, while the teachers circulated to provide corrections and guidance.

Edward accompanied the male teacher the entire time, familiarising himself with the flow of the school's instructional system.

Lilith lay curled on his shoulder, wide-eyed as she observed all these "little big cats" (students). She noticed something different about them compared to the children she'd met before—normally, kids would be fascinated by her at first sight. But these ones…seemed more interested in Edward.

"Mr. Lyle, why isn't Daisy here tonight?" a girl with an empty seat beside her raised her hand and asked.

"Oh, she—her family had something come up and asked for leave," replied Mr. Lyle, his expression a little strained—he was clearly unused to lying.

"Huh? But she was just about to become a student mentor! Why would she take leave now?"

He was left speechless.

At that moment, Edward interjected calmly, "Daisy is feeling unwell. She should be back tomorrow."

"Oh…"

The girl nodded slowly, half convinced. She then turned her attention back to Edward.

"Are you the school's new teacher?"

"Something like that."

Whisper—whisper—

The students immediately began murmuring among themselves in excitement.

Mr. Lyle cleared his throat and said, "This is Mr. Edward. He's a top graduate from the Backlund University of Technology and Industry. He'll be teaching Loenese and Math for the next few days."

Wow!

Their eyes sparkled, and they looked at Edward like he was some kind of treasure.

"Hello, everyone," Edward greeted them with a wave.

Mr. Lyle added, "Mr. Edward and I will be making rounds through the classrooms. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him."

The two of them stepped out of the room, and Mr. Lyle began introducing Edward to the school's daily routines—who the student mentors were, each class's academic progress, and how to supervise and answer students' questions during rounds.

This style of education placed a heavy burden on the student mentors—but given their situation, there wasn't much choice.

Soon after, Edward began circulating between classrooms, observing the mentors' lessons, correcting mistakes, and answering questions where needed.

Time passed quietly.

———

Meanwhile, at the villa of the wealthy tycoon Capim...

Earlier that day, after meeting the mother and daughter involved in the disappearance, Klein had followed the trail all the way to Capim. He confirmed that multiple kidnapping cases in the East Borough and Dock District were linked to the tycoon. So when night fell, he made his move.

After a series of fierce skirmishes, Klein—disguised as the Black Emperor—eliminated Capim's two bodyguards and infiltrated the villa's underground dungeon. Guided by insights from his earlier divination, he found the cell where Daisy was held.

Of course, Daisy wasn't the only prisoner there—every girl Capim had abducted was confined in this dungeon. Klein phased through the iron doors, made them incorporeal, and opened every cell, setting them all free.

He returned to the dining room, retrieved the Beyonder characteristics that had separated from the dead bodyguards, then hesitated for a moment before scattering a deck of tarot cards over Capim's corpse.

But it wasn't over yet. After all, Klein's real motive had been to investigate the disappearance of Cynthia—the maid from Prince Edessak's household. That trail had led him here.

He knew the gas explosion earlier would definitely attract the attention of official Beyonders. He couldn't help but regret not contacting Miss Daly—he would've had more time to perform spiritual communication properly.

Sigh...I've been acting like a lone rogue Beyonder for too long. My first instinct now is to rush in solo...

Thankfully, I have the mysterious space above the grey fog.

Still, Klein didn't rush to take Capim's spirit into the fog. His performance for tonight wasn't over. There was still the final act to be played.

A few dozen seconds later, a phantom-like door tore open in midair outside the villa. Covered in mysterious symbols, the door opened silently. A sharply dressed, handsome man in his forties stepped through—mature, elegant, and dignified. He was one of the men who had previously worked with the Saint of Secrets to stop Edward.

Immediately after, a fierce gust of wind heralded the arrival of another figure at high speed.

Before either of them could speak, their eyes were drawn to a black figure standing in the shadows—not far away, a regal figure clad in obsidian armour and wearing a pitch-black crown.

Both men surged forward.

At that moment, the cloaked figure's cape fluttered slightly—then vanished completely, right before their eyes.

"A member of the Rose School?"

"No...Not a 'Wraith.' And not a true undead either."

"Could it be...?"

As they spoke, both suddenly turned toward the second floor of the villa and leapt up.

There, the same ominous figure stood again—black crown and armour intact—arms folded, waiting silently in front of an open and emptied safe.

He still said nothing.

After a moment of tense silence, the figure calmly extended one hand.

And flipped them off.

BOOM!!!

A bolt of lightning ripped down from the sky, crashing through the villa's ceiling and aiming straight for the dark figure.

But it missed.

It struck the ground just a metre away—an impossible error for a demigod.

"Distortion?"

Ace Snake immediately realised something was wrong. His eyes lit up with arcs of electricity as a massive lightning storm began to form around him.

Beside him, the dashing man clenched a pocket watch and tossed three coins into the air, preparing to speak:

"This location—"

But before he could finish, his mind blanked.

By the time he regained awareness, the room was filled with fluttering tarot cards—and the dark figure had long since vanished.

Ace Sneck frowned.

"Why didn't you block his teleportation?"

The dashing man's expression was grim.

"It was theft. He stole the thought I was preparing to cast 'prohibition' on."

"A creature like a wraith, with teleportation, distortion, and thought theft..."

The Cardinal Snake surveyed the scene.

"And he left behind a spread of tarot cards, as if deliberately suggesting a connection to a tarot-themed organisation."

He narrowed his eyes.

"There was a similar event at the docks the other day—tarot cards were left behind there, too."

The other man nodded.

"Perhaps a newly emerged secret organisation. One that marks its operations with a ritual involving tarot cards?"

"Hmph. Let's see what exactly happened here."

Only then did the first wave of Beyonders finally arrive at Capim's villa.

———

After returning above the grey fog, Klein first verified that the rescued girls were able to safely escape. Only then did he begin his séance on the soul of Capim, whom he had brought up with him.

"Do you know Cynthia?"

Capim's spirit replied expressionlessly, "Yes."

Klein was visibly surprised. By all accounts, someone like Capim shouldn't remember every individual he had abducted.

"Tell me everything you know about her."

Capim: "I only know she was one of the girls my men brought back about a month ago. The reason I remember her is because—after I handed her off—she escaped."

"Where did you send her?"

"To Barron."

Klein's heart skipped a beat. "Who is Barron?"

"He's a man who specialises in human trafficking. Every person I abduct gets sent to him for handling."

"And what does he do with them?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he take them?"

"I don't know."

Klein rubbed his chin in thought. "After Cynthia escaped, did any of you try to track her down?"

"Yes, but we never found her. Though…Barron seems to have picked up her trail recently. He didn't tell me the specifics, though."

So this…this is the truth behind Talim Dumont's death?

Barron must have found Cynthia hiding in the Red Rose Manor and tried to recapture her—only to be caught in the act by Talim. So he killed Talim to silence him and then fabricated the story of an elopement between Talim and Cynthia?

That…sounds plausible—

Bullshit.

That manor belonged to the Third Prince—the one favoured by the King himself! You're telling me a human trafficker just strolled into the prince's estate, kidnapped a maid, killed his close friend, and even managed to fake an elopement?

If you were that capable, why the hell are you still in the slave trade?

And why go through all the trouble just to recapture one escaped maid?

Klein's fingers tapped rapidly against the surface of the bronze table.

Maybe…maybe I should just report this directly to the prince. With his resources, he should be able to uncover the truth from here on.

Sigh…If I had known I'd circle back to Barron again, I should've just taken him down the last time I saw him!

"Where can I find Barron?"

"He's been frequenting the Lime Bar in the Dock District."

Of course—it's the same place Klein first discovered him.

Klein tapped the table with a finger. "Roughly how many people have you handed over to Barron?"

"I've never counted, but it should be several thousand by now."

"Several thousand?"

Klein's fingers clenched. "All of them kidnapped from the East Borough and Dock District?"

"Not all. Many were taken from villages around Backlund."

"Have you ever seen any of the ones you sent to him again?"

"No. I imagine most are already dead. Otherwise, Barron wouldn't need a steady supply of new slaves."

Dead…all dead.

So, beneath the seemingly peaceful and civilised surface of the so-called "land of hope" that is Backlund, a hidden industry of kidnapping and human trafficking has been running rampant all along.

Hah…This world really is much darker than I thought.

…Or maybe I'm just thinking too much.

After all, I'm just a passerby in this other world. What does it matter to me how many people die?

Yet the faces of the girls in Capim's dungeon flashed before his eyes—their eyes filled with fear, clinging to hope as they looked at him. He remembered the faces of the struggling, impoverished lower classes.

Frustrated, he raked a hand through his hair.

"Tch, I was just investigating a missing maid. Should've taken the money and closed the case. Why am I getting myself worked up over this?"

Shaking his head, Klein disintegrated Capim's soul completely—erasing the filthy tycoon from existence.

He then examined the two Beyonder characteristics he'd harvested, and afterwards, took a moment to reflect on the acting principles of the Magician pathway.

"Challenging the impossible…isn't that just a fancy way of saying 'court death'?"

With everything wrapped up, Klein rubbed his temples and returned to the real world.

The moment he opened his eyes, he felt it—

The digestion rate of the Magician potion had surged forward dramatically, as if he were on the verge of complete assimilation.

Klein was dumbfounded.

"Why is it progressing this fast?"

I mean…sure, I put on a bit of a show in front of two high-sequence powerhouses…

But this result is a little too exaggerated, isn't it?

He couldn't help but think back to when Edward performed magic tricks for him above the grey fog.

An idea struck him:

What if, as The World, I performed magic tricks for The Fool?

Would that accelerate digestion?

———

Late into the night…

Edward returned to his small villa in Empress Borough, carrying nearly ten thousand gold pounds taken from Capim's safe.

———

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