"Mr. Ron Irus, I'll now read your charges. You are accused of trading in illegal information, colluding with criminals, coercion, and other related offenses. You are sentenced to four years in prison. However, due to your status as a student of Blue Light, your sentence will be reduced. You may instead pay a fine of 25,500 gold coins. Do you accept this verdict?"
"Your honor, I accept."
The trial was surprisingly simple—much easier than I had expected. I was worried that something unexpected might happen, but in the end, it was over without much drama.
There was no solid evidence against me. Trading information on the black market was practically a hobby for ordinary citizens, so the punishment was light. The rest of the accusations had no proof, so they couldn't convict me anyway.
Honestly, I wondered where they even planned to find any evidence—it never existed in the first place.
It was almost funny watching them waste an entire day trying to recover burnt scraps of blank paper, desperately searching for something that wasn't there.
In the end, I was the only one punished. Lunas got off completely free, because, apparently, he "wasn't guilty."
I mean, come on. I hired him as a waiter for my restaurant. If I told him to do something, he did it. It's not like anyone could fault me for that.He just followed orders. And since he didn't even know what the job truly was, the court believed he was innocent.
Still, the fine alone was enormous—more than what I'd earn in an entire year.
To put things into perspective, the average person earns around two hundred gold coins per month. Only those with special professions make more than that.
That's why the Euni law mostly benefits students or young nobles—only they can afford to buy their freedom.
That law was made for a handful of mischievous academy students in the first place.
I glanced around the bustling city, feeling a weight settle in my chest.
'So this is goodbye... I've only been here two years, but it feels like a lifetime.'
It had been ten days since the letter arrived, and Lloyd was still waiting patiently for the boy to appear.
Lloyd was a man with dark brown hair and clear blue eyes, probably in his forties.
'Ron Irus… a loyal pawn, or a wild card?'
He glanced at the owl perched outside his window, playfully chasing sparrows.
'Hard to tell…'
Lloyd was the principal of Blue Light Academy. He had made a deal with the leaders of One Line and Red Oval to support this boy named Ron. Because of that, he knew there was more to Ron than what met the eye.
Still, it was strange. Those two secretive organizations—famous for their discretion—had left such an obvious trail concerning Ron. Or rather, it wasn't carelessness… it was deliberate. Like a sweet, poisonous trap.
'But since the deal was to "help Ron enter the academy when necessary," I'll keep my part of it. In exchange, I get their assistance later. Nothing more, nothing less. Keeping tabs on him now would only attract attention.'
Lloyd sighed. He was uneasy.
Ron Irus wasn't just connected to One Line—he might be something far more dangerous.
Even so, Lloyd intended to use the boy for his own grand plan, the one he had been crafting for years.
He had lived long enough to know that the sweetest deals were often the deadliest. No matter how powerful those two organizations were, he had to secure his own escape route before stepping too deep.
In my novel Blade That Shattered the Heavens, there were many races. They were divided into four main categories:
First, the humans and demi-humans. Human genes were incredibly adaptable, allowing hybrids to thrive in mana-rich environments.
Second, the races born from the divine essence of angels—the dwarves, elves, florans, orcs, dragons, and celestials. The celestials were nearly extinct, unable to reproduce among themselves, and unwilling to marry outside their kind.
Third, the spirit-born. Wandering souls who had failed to reincarnate. They came from all races, but after death, their souls condensed into spiritual forms, existing only in specific regions.They could manifest temporary bodies from mana, retaining knowledge from their past lives—though not their memories or emotions.
Lastly, the undead. Beings who were born from or sustained by death itself—zombies, demons, specters, fallen angels…
Of course, there were ways for them to survive without killing or consuming other beings, but their royal houses had long concealed this truth, manipulating their kin for power. That secret only came to light after the Great Demon War ended.
Quite a long rant, huh? I guess I'm just bored—even watching that poor eagle getting bullied by three dogs doesn't entertain me anymore.
I strolled toward the crowd gathered in the city square. It was a lively scene.
An eagle was fighting three dogs at once, surrounded by cheering onlookers.
"I bet fifty gold coins on the black dog!""Fifty?! That's your whole month's wage, you idiot!""He's not even a blacksmith, just an apprentice at the forge! Hahaha!""Shut your damn mouth—"
I had come to Hall City for the trial since there was no courthouse in Lionus Village. This was my first time here.
Hall City was famous for its blacksmithing trade, mostly because the dwarves lived nearby.
I actually recognized that eagle—it just tended to pick fights with other animals.
"Khawww!"
The eagle screeched, bleeding, but still refused to back down.
"Lacktor."
When I called its name, the bird stopped mid-air, scanning around in confusion.
Seeing that, I sighed and left the dumb creature behind, heading back to my rented room.
Since I had to stay in the city for a few more days for the trial, I had splurged on a "luxury" room.
Well, "luxury" by my current broke-student standards, anyway. To keep up my poor-student cover, I had to look the part.
"Hey mister, wanna buy a paper?"
A small boy in a brown cap waved a newspaper and ran toward me. He held it up awkwardly with three fingers—an unnatural gesture most people wouldn't notice.
"How much?"
"Ten silver for one, eighteen for two!"
I handed him a silver bill and eight silver coins embossed with a white flag.
My grip mimicked his hand sign.
A One Line signal—meant only for me. Something had happened.
I didn't open the paper right away. I wandered the streets, thinking.
Oh right, I never explained the currency here, did I?
Across the world—except in the Demon Realm—everyone used a unified currency marked with a white flag, symbolizing "purity," unity, and peace.
Ten silver coins equaled one silver bill.Five silver bills made one gold bill (or coin, depending on the region).Ten golds equaled one platinum.
Then there was the diamond coin—a royal-only currency used in elite trades. Its value was immeasurable.
Knock knock!
"Anyone in there? I don't have the key!"
…
No response. I carefully opened the door.
It wasn't ambushes I feared. It was him.
Luckily, no one was inside. Otherwise, this would've been a huge headache.
I locked the door behind me—three locks in total. Paranoia? Maybe. But it was necessary.
I checked under the desk, inside the wardrobe, behind the bookshelf, every possible hiding spot.
After twenty minutes of searching, I still wasn't satisfied.
I exhaled slowly, then spread a thin layer of mana across the room—barely enough to be felt.
When mana interacts with enchanted items, they absorb a trace amount. Like a magnet for magic. But if I used too much, it could trigger traps or explosions.
Satisfied, I drew the mana back into myself, scanning its flow for irregularities. None.
Still, I cast one final spell—a distortion barrier to interfere with both sight and sound.
Yeah… I'm paranoid. But after living like I have these past two years, anyone would be.
I unfolded the newspaper. Some of the letters were embossed—imperceptible to the eye, but detectable by touch.
Using my left hand, I traced the raised markings while jotting them down with my right.
This was my own cipher system, designed for secrecy. I made it simple but effective, with five encryption variants and five corresponding keys.
To decode a message, we had to guess which one was used. For urgent matters, we left small hints: folded paper edges, water stains, tiny marks.
This one had three raised dots near the title—code number three.
It took me five minutes to decode.
The message said several of our safehouses had been attacked. A few were injured, but no deaths—on either side. Some were captured, but nothing major.
I had warned them to prepare, so it wasn't too concerning.
The real problem was further down.
Duke Fanue had witnessed the scene while touring the city. Outraged, he had ordered his troops to intervene.
Now the enemy forces were far larger than expected. We'd have to abandon that city.
I sat there for over an hour, thinking through every possibility. If we wanted One Line to grow, we couldn't afford major setbacks. But if I mishandled this, it would all collapse.
And on top of that, I still had to plan for my days ahead at Blue Light.
Another sleepless night, huh?
And tomorrow, classes begin.
Whoever said being a boss was easy clearly never was one.