The Price of Ignorance

Iordera noticed his subtle actions and conceived a plan.

“Well, what have you decided?”

Jellyfish Tentacle had no desire to consider anything, nor to speak. Yet, as the loli drew closer, he involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.

‘He hoped this somewhat sickly-looking loli wouldn’t suddenly go mad and kick him again.’

However, Iordera seemed intent on tormenting him further, even leaning closer to his utterly shattered calf.

“Just look at your leg,” Iordera said, tilting her head at an unnatural angle. “Such a pity it snapped like that. My advice? Since your leg is already broken, you might as well seize the opportunity to withdraw. Otherwise, with all those shattered bones, it’s not like it can be reattached anyway.”

Jellyfish Tentacle was stunned for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, a profound calm settled over him. His heart no longer pounded, his breath steadied, and the cold sweat on his brow ceased its relentless flow.

Iordera frowned, sensing something was amiss.

‘That’s not right. How did my psychological pressure backfire like this?’

“Iordera, Iordera,” Sophia whispered, “Could you come over here for a moment?”

Drawing her to the hearth, the young woman spoke in a hushed tone. “You… don’t you know?”

Iordera blinked blankly. “Know what?”

“About reattaching legs,” Sophia lowered her voice. “They can be reattached.”

Iordera stared, dumbfounded, for a long moment before pointing at the man outside. Her lips trembled. “Even if all the bones are shattered, they can be reattached?”

“Yes, with the right materials and manpower,” Sophia explained. “A skilled alchemist can create leg bones from high-grade materials. Arch-mages and priests can then graft them on with magic, and a psychic mage can connect the neural responses. Then, it’s reattached.”

Iordera’s jaw tightened, her face already flushed with exasperation.

“Of course, provided you’re willing to pay. Naturally, an injury requiring a complete leg replacement is incredibly expensive, in terms of materials alone. Unless the person has powerful backing,” Sophia paused briefly, glancing towards Jellyfish Tentacle, “judging by his expression, he likely has connections and can afford it.”

Iordera gritted her teeth.

She had been applying psychological pressure so effectively, watching him near his breaking point. Yet, a single misstep had broken her momentum, ruining everything.

‘This was the price of ignorance.’

“Fine, let him think about it himself,” Iordera declared, giving up her interrogation and leading the way upstairs. “We’ll starve him for a few meals, then we’ll talk!”

****

“What?”

The Little Prince of the Obsidian family, Augustus Obsidian, had just returned home from school when he heard the news. He nearly spat out a mouthful of tea. “My elite squad, after all this time, not only failed to complete a minor task, but one of them was also captured?”

Beside him, The Middle-aged Teacher, his personal tutor, nodded.

Augustus Obsidian sank into a chair, vigorously rubbing his chest to compose himself. “So, after such a blunder, Busius Sunhand actually had the gall to tell me?”

The Middle-aged Teacher chuckled. “That’s precisely the issue, Young Lord. The people who ambushed them are your classmates, and you’ve even crossed paths before.”

Augustus Obsidian shot to his feet, incredulous. “Aren’t our people over level forty? And there were five of them!”

“According to their report, one is your classmate Sophia, and the other is the library guard, Iordera,” The Middle-aged Teacher said, handing him a newspaper. “Your classmate, with a single move, melted an entire street.”

The newspaper prominently featured an interview about the Doll Street incident. The old boxing master confidently asserted that the perpetrator was at least Level 50.

Augustus Obsidian read it several times, his expression twisting into a sneer. He gripped the newspaper so hard his fingers nearly tore through it.

The Middle-aged Teacher noticed his unusual state.

‘Heh, Level 50. What a good secret to keep. All this time, they claimed to be only Level 30 or 40. Was it fun, then, to use such a high level to crush me in the first round of the freshman qualifiers and elimination tournament?’

“Young Lord?”

“Admit it, if not for her, I would have at least reached the finals!” Augustus Obsidian’s eyes were red. “Do you know, because of the ranking battles, many people are secretly saying I have no real skill, only pomp, and that I look like a fool.”

“Young Lord,” The Middle-aged Teacher slammed his hand on the table. “Her profile states she’s from the Imperial Capital. Do you intend to cause trouble there?”

“I…”

Augustus Obsidian swallowed his anger, feeling utterly miserable.

A young lord of a fiefdom, if he dared to bring his forces to the Imperial Capital to stir up trouble, would be suspected of rebellion. Not even his father could protect him; his father would die with him.

“She is not your enemy. Aside from the student ranking battle, there’s no conflict between you,” The Middle-aged Teacher reminded him. “The current priority is that one of our people has been captured.”

Augustus Obsidian sat back down, closing his eyes in thought for a moment.

“What did Busius Sunhand say?”

“He repeated his usual stance: he cannot be implicated.”

“It has nothing to do with him, and even less to do with me.” Augustus Obsidian sneered. “I don’t even know what they were doing.”

Before long, Arrow Frog and the others received a reply.

The others quickly gathered around. “Well?”

Arrow Frog shook his head in disappointment. “Busius Sunhand wants us not to involve him; we have to resolve this ourselves. The Young Lord also said he has no connection to it.”

A chill immediately ran through the others.

While the two powerful figures cared little for human lives, they could not abandon their own comrade.

At that moment, Arrow Frog, the strategist of the team, spoke. “We are people of the Obsidian Royal Estate, accompanying the Little Prince who is here for school in Saroyan. However, during our free time, we act independently, simply taking on local tasks. There’s no problem with that, is there?”

The Little Prince is attending school, so the rest of them aren’t required to be on standby all day. Thus, they found small tasks to undertake, handling minor commissions in Saroyan.

This way, they could assert their status and influence while dissociating the Little Prince from the matter. Crucially, the Little Prince genuinely had no involvement; he was unaware of their activities, so reporting his name wouldn’t be an issue.

‘As long as Busius Sunhand isn’t implicated.’

The Wind Mage beside him quickly grasped the meaning. “All this time, we’ve only eliminated one chieftain who violated imperial law.”

“According to imperial foreign policy, once an outsider commits such an act, they are no longer protected by law, so…”

Therefore, in terms of outcome, they had merely eliminated an unprotected outsider all this time. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even considered a “bad deed.”

They had investigated and knew both girls were from the United Academy, students from the Ivory Tower.

Arrow Frog nodded. “I’ll contact Jellyfish Tentacle immediately and tell him to say exactly that.”

Each member of the team carried a small artifact, allowing Arrow Frog to transmit messages telepathically in one direction.

When Iordera descended into the cellar once more, Jellyfish Tentacle eagerly declared that he had seen the light and was willing to confess everything.

He then recited the words Arrow Frog had taught him.