Chapter 108

The Righteous Young Lord (2)

Settern Volos was a young man who truly fit the expression "neat and tidy young lord."

Although he was already well into his mid-twenties, his face was youthful enough to be mistaken for a boy.

"You're much younger than I expected."

"Is that so? Everyone seems to say that."

A rank-and-file prosecutor in his mid-twenties was a rare sight not just in the Aylan Republic, but even in the Empire.

"I worked quite hard to become a prosecutor at this age."

Of course, Settern Volos had put in a lot of effort to become a prosecutor at such a young age, but...

The truth was, becoming a prosecutor in your twenties was something extremely difficult to accomplish through individual effort alone. That said, it wasn't something that could simply be achieved by riding on the coattails of his grandfather’s influence either.

It wasn’t something he did entirely on his own, yet it also wasn’t something handed to him solely by his grandfather. He occupied a rather ambiguous position.

That, precisely, was the position of a rank-and-file prosecutor in the Regional Prosecutors’ Office that Settern Volos currently held.

To put it simply—it was just all quite vague.

‘A vague position earned through vague effort.’

As Kairus conducted the interview with Settern Volos, he also took note of the presences around him.

There were three individuals guarding Settern Volos.

"I heard you’re the youngest prosecutor in the Aylan Republic. That’s quite impressive."

At Irena’s remark, Settern Volos nodded.

"Thank you."

"Do you have any advice for others who aspire to become prosecutors?"

Irena and Kairus carried on with the kind of standard interview you’d typically see in general magazines.

"To improve oneself, one must continuously put in the effort. Don’t blame your environment—focus on what you can do."

Settern Volos shared that he studied for at least fifteen hours a day.

Every morning, he would prepare a sandwich and coffee for the day, place them in a basket beside his desk, and study—taking bites only when he got hungry while he worked.

"That's impressive."

At the very least, it was clear this wasn’t something just anyone could do. Most people couldn’t survive studying a minimum of fifteen hours a day for three years.

But at the same time—

It couldn’t be denied that Settern Volos had been born into a family where it was perfectly fine for him to do nothing but study for years.

If we’re going to talk about passion and effort, shouldn’t we also examine whether one is in an environment that allows them to pour all of that passion and effort into what they truly want?

As Kairus continued the interview a little longer, he came to his own conclusion about Settern Volos.

‘He really loves himself, doesn’t he?’

Settern Volos loved the image of himself as a righteous prosecutor. He loved the fact that he had become the youngest prosecutor through passion and effort.

When lunch hour came, they paused the interview for a moment, then Kairus and Irena left the prosecutors' office and talked while eating.

“I doubt he has a lover.”

“Even if he did, it probably wouldn’t mean anything.”

Irena seemed to have reached a similar judgment about Settern Volos as Kairus had.

“With that kind of personality, a lover would likely be a trophy.”

Irena delivered a concise conclusion with conviction. Even if Settern Volos had a lover, that person could not be used to blackmail him.

Settern Volos was far more likely to love the idea of himself dating a young, pretty woman.

“As a doting lover. As an obedient son.”

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, everyone tended to think of themselves first, and Settern Volos’s tendency was simply a bit stronger.

It wasn’t about good or bad.

“Well, it’s hard to find something believable to leverage.”

Because Settern Volos had that kind of personality, the fact that it would be difficult to blackmail him with anything around him troubled Kairus and Irena.

“There seems to be only one way.”

Irena said that, then mimed applying makeup to her face.

“Our prosecutor cherishes his perfect, cool self.”

They would have to threaten him by breaking that perfect self.

“I can draft a plan. The next problem is the guards.”

The three bodyguards protecting Settern Volos could be felt even inside the prosecutors' office.

They were guarding Settern Volos from not too far away.

“One certain thing is that Settern Volos has no idea guards are attached to him.”

At Kairus’s remark, Irena nodded.

“Guarding like that is inefficient from the start.”

There was no reason for guards to hide themselves from the person they were protecting.

So why were they concealing themselves?

Of course, it was because they were secretly protecting Settern Volos. And that fact could be used very advantageously by Kairus and Irena.

“Settern Volos is investigating Erens Village on suspicion of cultivating illegal crops.”

“…We’re currently covering him as the Mingleton couple, magazine reporters.”

Irena and Kairus exchanged a quick glance. Then Kairus spoke.

“There is a crime called  a setup.”

There had been a drug offender in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility who had been framed by a rival and caught by the Security Corps. Well, the reason he had been transferred to Carlson Labor Correctional Facility was because he had caused a massive incident elsewhere.

“Explain it in more detail.”

Kairus briefly explained the concept of a ‘setup (crime)’ to Irena.

“So. We would secretly put illegal drugs in Settern Volos’s belongings, and then—”

“We'd make it look like something we discovered during our reporting.”

And then we'd use that to blackmail him. After hearing my explanation, Irena hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“If that plan worked, fighting the guards would be inevitable.”

“I know.”

It was a situation where the grandson of a member of parliament would end up accused of drug possession.

Although the guards protecting Settern Volos were hiding their presence, if that happened they would of course reveal themselves and try to kill Irena and me.

When someone’s weakness was exposed, the fastest and most certain method was to kill the one who had found the weakness.

“Not possible right now.”

Irena nodded at my words.

If we committed a setup crime, the guards nearby would definitely come rushing in.

But the prosecutors' office was not a building you could enter with battle gear.

If we forced our way in, it would mean fighting the whole of Murdan City, and of course I had no confidence I’d get away alive.

“If we can't bring the gear in with us, we'd have to drag him out from the Regional Prosecutors' Office.”

The setup would have to be done outside, and the guards would have to be taken care of outside the prosecutors' office as well.

“But are we going to do it in this city?”

I scratched my head at Irena's question.

“Shit, this is tricky.”

If we dragged them out of the prosecutors' office, we could use battle gear. But we'd still have to face the three guards.

And those guards weren’t scraps we could dispatch quickly.

“There’s no reason to drag him out of the prosecutors' office.”

The moment we attempted blackmail, we'd be fighting the guards anyway.

If we failed to take care of the guards quickly, we'd be fighting the entire Murdan City police force.

“Do we fight the whole Murdan police with battle gear, or fight without battle gear?”

Either way, both options meant dying.

“The only difference would be whether the corpse held battle gear or not.”

If we went ahead with that plan, it would be like buying a one-way ticket on the express train to hell.

….

A heavy silence settled. Irena and I had lunch in front of us, but we couldn't start eating.

“Erens.”

At that moment I remembered something and spoke up.

“Erens?”

Irena, still thinking, tilted her head at my words.

“Ah, Erens!”

A moment later she almost rose from her seat and exclaimed.

A flow of thought was like a great dam holding back water—once the dam broke, the torrent of ideas came rushing out.

Our eyes met. We weren't speaking, but in that look Irena and I realized we had arrived at nearly the same plan.

“We just need to refine it a little more.”

Irena nodded at Kairus’s words. Fortunately, the two of them were currently eating lunch at a restaurant outside the prosecutors’ office.

That meant they had time to refine this sudden spark of inspiration into a solid plan.

They barely touched their food, talking non-stop as they strategized, and soon stood up from their seats.

“Have you eaten? I was hoping we could all have lunch together, but the prosecutors’ office cafeteria doesn’t allow outsiders.”

“Oh, not at all. Have you eaten, Prosecutor?”

At Kairus’s question, Settern pointed to a box of hot dogs beside his desk.

“I see.”

“Shall we continue the interview?”

As Settern briefly looked over some documents, Kairus pulled out his notebook and responded.

“Thank you.”

Kairus and Irena resumed their performance as reporters. But the act didn’t last long.

“Excuse me, Prosecutor Settern Volos.”

An investigator knocked and opened the door, addressing Settern.

“What is it?”

“A telegram arrived for the reporters. It’s urgent and must be delivered now…”

That wasn’t the end of it. The investigator subtly gave Settern a hand signal.

“Is that so? Then go ahead and deliver it… Ah, you’ve come at the perfect time.”

Settern stood up and looked at Kairus and Irena.

“Since the telegram has arrived, would you mind checking it? I have something to discuss with the investigator for a moment.”

At Settern’s words, Irena immediately nodded.

“Yes, of course. We’ll wait!”

The investigator placed the telegram on the table. After confirming that, Settern left the room with the investigator, leaving Kairus and Irena behind.

“What is it?”

As soon as they stepped outside, Settern asked Investigator Melson.

“It’s the Erens matter.”

At the mention of Erens, Settern’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Right, Erens Village. Give me the details.”

“It seems the Mingleton couple who just arrived have caught wind of something. After finishing your interview, they plan to head to Erens Village to report on it.”

After hearing this, Settern stroked his chin.

“Is there a chance it’s something unrelated?”

Melson shook his head.

“I checked the contents of the telegram.”

It stated that the editor had approved the trip, and they would be heading to Erens sometime tomorrow after the interview. It also warned them to be cautious as there could be danger during the report.

“If it’s the kind of coverage that could be dangerous in Erens Village, it can only mean one thing.”

The issue of illegal crop cultivation. In that moment, Settern felt certain he had caught hold of something that would bring him success.

‘The organization coercing illegal cultivation in Erens is already being tracked, including which Murdan City police officers are involved.’

The police were also conducting their own investigation, but Settern found their progress unsatisfactory.

But what if it was the reporters?

‘They get the scoop, and I accomplish my goal.’

If Settern explained the seriousness of the situation to the reporters and asked for a temporary hold on reporting, they would surely cooperate.

With his thoughts in order, Settern turned to the investigator and spoke.

“But Prosecutor, they’re untrained civilians. If something happens to them… Can the prosecutors’ office take responsibility?”

“It’s all for the sake of doing what’s right. Besides, how many reporters have gotten hurt while chasing stories? I don’t want to hear any more complaints—just accept it.”

Settern dismissed the investigator’s concerns and returned to his office, where Kairus and Irena were waiting.

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