Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Clearly, Reed is a militant.

“That old guy too, he’s clearly a barbarian, but he just loves to join in the fun.” Reed pointed to Echel, who was standing not far away. He was on the outermost edge of the crowd, his hand supporting his chin, his head nodding slightly as the person in the center chanted.

“I can hear you.” Echel’s hearing was surprisingly good. He left the crowd and came to Reed. “I can hear you even with my ears closed, Iron Bucket. You can’t understand the joy of poetry because you’re just a coachman with absolutely no sense of fun.”

Echel and Reid, based on their surnames, are members of the Kingdom of Lewesser and Deria in the Scansor Mountains, the very place Lyle is headed for and the source of the herb sword-dance mandrake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Echer, Mr. Reed."

"Peace and happiness, Lyle."

Get straight to the point.

"I would like to ask you two if you are familiar with the Sword Dance Mandala, as my research requires this material."

“Do Cassandra’s people like to use other people’s treasures to greet you? Although I don’t dislike their frankness,” Echel said, sitting down next to Lyle. “Livether has this plant, and I can indeed provide you with access as compensation for my previous rudeness. However, this is just an opportunity; whether you can seize it depends on yourself.”

"That's natural."

"Liweser is a jungle country. Our territory is in a forest. Hunting is our main source of livelihood. Our young people will complete their coming-of-age ceremony with a hunt. It is a tradition. As a reward, those who pass will receive a sword dance datura."

"Because it is planted in the dens of wild beasts, if you want to get one, it's very simple, just join our hunting ceremony."

That sounds acceptable if it's just about hunting animals.

“I am willing to participate in the ceremony and receive the Sword Dance Mandala.”

“Very good, I will take you to see our Queen, and she will decide whether or not you should be granted this honor.”

……

The dean glanced at the clock on the distant tower; the hands had just reached twelve. As the clock struck twelve, he looked at the dark figure behind him. "The battle has begun, but you will not fail."

"Yes, in the name of Andrei's sword, our enemies will surely wail in agony."

The Dean led the way into the building behind him, which was made entirely of marble, with purple banners representing the Secret Council planted on each pillar.

The stands were filled with people, all imposters, including humans, elves, demons, and other races.

At the central round table, there were eighteen seats, and seventeen people sat around them, leaving one seat for the Dean.

As the dean took his seat, armed soldiers filled the aisle.

An elderly man with a white beard, holding his semi-circular glasses, picked up the book in his hands, stood up, and announced to the surroundings in a loud voice.

"The hearing on the 1,458 charges against Andre College is now in session."

"The participants in this meeting are: the recorder sitting to my left, the accused, the Dean of Andre College, fifteen representatives of the accusers, and three accompanying persons..."

The judge looked at the three dark figures behind the chief judge with suspicion, and his eyelids suddenly twitched.

The dean raised his palm and snapped his fingers crisply.

The three of them removed their black robes.

Beneath the black robe, there was still a black robe.

"Andrei's professional team."

"Resolve all of Andrei's external disputes."

"Specializing in curing all kinds of dissent."

"We are the Sword of Andrei."

This is a team of lawyers.

The judge tossed the book onto the table, placed his hands on it, and let out a long sigh.

"Since there have been some changes in the members of this hearing, please introduce yourselves."

"Andrei Stormfury".

"Andrei - Battle Roar".

"Andrea Death Whisper".

"Accompanying him were Andrei's legal team, Mr. Windfury, Mr. Warcry, and Mr. Deathwhisper."

"So, the first accusation. Provided by the dwarf Duruk who lives in the Second Light District, twelve nights ago, he was attacked by a masked man suspected to be a member of Andrei, and his thick beard, which he had treasured for fifty years, was stolen."

The entire room fell silent.

A brown-haired dwarf with a red nose climbed onto the table. Since he was already standing, tears welled up in his beady green eyes, his bulbous nose began to twitch, and his chin, bald, became a clean-cut sight amidst his slovenliness.

"Your Honor, my beard was stolen that night. I was leaving a bar when I was suddenly knocked down by a binding spell. The culprit was disguised, wearing a comical rat head mask. He... he did something unforgivable to me. He... he shaved off my beard, which was my everything for the past fifty years. We dwarves are famous for our beards. My beard was my life, my most beautiful second organ. And now, it's gone. It was stolen by that bastard Andrei. My youthful beauty is gone. Andrei people like to wear masks, even their dean likes to wear fake beards. Everyone knows that. Your Honor, you must do justice for me!"

A disheveled, fifty-year-old man cried as if his liver and gallbladder were breaking.

Mr. Windfury moved closer to the dean.

"No way, Dean, did you really do this? You're too much..."

The dean's cane plunged into Feng Nu's foot, and he growled at the convulsing man, "I swear to God it wasn't me, or I'll grind you to dust! This is blatant slander! I didn't call you three here to mock me."

Mr. Death's Words also chimed in, "It's confirmed. It was the keeper from the Plant Research Society who did it. He was researching the plants' ability to adapt to harsh environments. He saw a dwarf's beard was so dirty it looked like a garbage dump, so he shaved it off in public to collect materials, and incidentally did a good deed to beautify the environment."

“They really are one of our people. Never mind, get this sorted out for me. We absolutely cannot let it affect Andrei’s reputation.”

"Don't worry, Dean. But may I write this news about your alleged crime in the Andre News? It'll definitely be quite interesting."

"no!"

"It's just a suspicion. I'll mention you a few times occasionally, and I'll honestly tell you the truth."

"Don't even think about it. Your literary society's rhetoric is so deceptive, it'll be a joke in no time. You have two choices: stop or die. I'll destroy the literary society for you!"

"Okay, okay, let's get to work."

Mr. War Cry spoke first, "Mr. Duruk, you said you were attacked after leaving the bar, so did you drink that night?"

"If you've had a drink, why go to a bar if you're not going to drink?"

"So, are you sure you were conscious at the time?"

"Of course I'm sober."

"That's what drunk people say."

"You're insulting a dwarf's drinking capacity, just like you're insulting his parents!"

“I am simply stating the facts. You have been unable to provide reasonable and conclusive evidence, and even your own condition cannot be determined. I question the fairness of your accusations.”

The Death Whisperer also spoke.

"As far as I know, Mr. Durok is an alcoholic and therefore owes the tavern owner a lot of money for drinks."

"Is it possible that he deliberately cut off his beard to exploit the public's stereotypes about Andre and Dean Andre in order to achieve his fraudulent purpose and demand compensation?"

"You're making baseless accusations."

"Don't get agitated, Mr. Durok. Your agitation will only be seen as anger and embarrassment. However, as a dwarf, the perseverance to cut off his beard to show his determination is still respectable. The problem is that you can bring up such a ridiculous accusation as stealing a beard. I can't help but worry about the average intelligence of dwarves."

"I (omitted)!!!" The enraged dwarf Duruk was subdued.

The judge sighed. "Now, let's vote on whether the charge of stealing Andre's beard is valid."

"Losed the case; the charges are invalid."

In subsequent accusations, Mr. War Cry demonstrated his powerful public relations skills, distorting and exploiting loopholes in existing laws in a way that somehow made people believe it made sense.

Mr. Deathwhisper demonstrated a powerful intelligence-gathering ability, using the information to launch a series of personal attacks against the accuser, preventing him from standing on the moral high ground of the weaker party.

Mr. Windfury demonstrated a powerful ability to read minds. He could see through the accuser's emotional fluctuations and, with the help of Mr. Warcry and Mr. Deathwhisper, dismantle his mental defenses, rendering him impotent and enraged, thus seizing leverage and lowering his public image.

"You say your house was completely destroyed by Andrei's dangerous experiments? Why don't you say your house was hit by a meteorite? There were no meteorite fragments? I suspect you deliberately destroyed the house to defraud disaster relief funds and Andrei's compensation, after all, you didn't even have the tools to commit the crime."

"What? You're saying you were captured by the Andrei Magic Research Society and subjected to suspicious live experiments? You're saying you were originally a dwarf who was transformed into an elf? And you can identify the corresponding experiment participants? Sir, look at your elf ears and long legs, can you confirm your dwarf identity? Identification? Judge, I'm accusing this unidentified elf of kidnapping one of our Wandering City's dwarf citizens and misappropriating his identification documents!"

……

The charges are closed.

The judge announced the results: "The results of the 1,458 charges against Andre are as follows. All charges are upheld: The accuser, Andre Academy, is charged with defamation against the accused, Duruk; the accused is charged with malicious damage to a house… the accused is charged with kidnapping a dwarf citizen by an unknown elf… In total, there are 1,458 charges. The Secret Council will urge law enforcement agencies to strictly monitor the accused, pursue appropriate criminal penalties and property disputes, and restore justice to Andre."

"The hearing is adjourned."

The dean walked out the door and said something to the three of them.

"The 30% you raise will be used as aid funds for the literary society."

"The dean is so generous!"

"You deserve the Sword of Andrei."

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Adventure of Smuggling

Before the dew had dried, Ralph appeared in front of Lyle's house.

He hadn't taken off his trench coat, and the mud on his boots slid down with gravity.

“We have a field mission that will depart in four days. Until then, all your work is canceled to allow time for preparation.”

"What mission?"

“A murder has occurred in the neighboring province of Nalania. The victim was the eldest son of a baron. The Nalania Security Service has requested our assistance. After discussions with higher-ups regarding the benefits, our team needs to go to Nalania.”

“I still can’t understand why it has to be us. Maybe you are indeed an excellent police officer, but Karen and I are just newcomers.”

"Because we have the military support of the Holy Light, and as a participant in the Rafirin Wolf case, those gentlemen believe you are very talented in this area, and I could not refuse their nomination."

"So, this case is also caused by strange occurrences?"

"That's why we need to borrow the power of the Holy Light. Of course, if you can bring William back, our bargaining chips will be much stronger. Old Barkin is gone, and we don't have any better allies (tools) for the time being."

"I can't guarantee what kind of monster might appear this time?"

"vampire."

……

Time seems to stand still in the slums; you see no change whatsoever. The filthy, muddy ground, the emaciated figures huddled in corners, the suppressed gasps for breath, the frantic urge to survive.

Eyeballs rolling, hands hidden in the shadows.