Chapter 148: Post-incident Disposal
The sunlight outside was just right, and the temperature was not high; it was one of the few good weather days in Nali these past few days.
On ordinary days, such weather would be a perfect day for families across Nali to go out and travel. Even the poor workers, who lacked time for leisure, would cook extra food at dinner to celebrate, as Nali truly had a fondness for rain.
But today, the members of the New Party clearly did not share such a cheerful mood.
The current leader of the New Party was an elderly gentleman named Martilon. Before the initial stages of exploration, he was the owner of many workshops in Nali and founded the Nali Workshop Organization. Initially just a union of craft workshops, this organization evolved into what is now the Nali Chamber of Commerce after absorbing workshops from other industries.
After the parliamentary reforms, with the funding from the Nali Exploration Company and the nominations from the Chamber of Commerce members, he established a brand new party—the Pioneer Party.
However, facing the powerful Griffin Party at that time, the Pioneer Party, like other minor opposition parties, held little status.
It wasn’t until the legendary explorer Captain Blake reappeared before the people of Nali with a ship full of treasures that they seized on the Nali people’s desire for wealth and exploration, and put forth a series of policies beneficial for citizen business and trade, immediately gaining significant votes.
Coupled with the growing support from the Nali Exploration Company, both in terms of finances and public opinion, they surpassed other minor parties, ultimately defeating the traditionally thinking Griffin Party in an election a few years ago and firmly took control of Nali’s political scene.
They had sailed smoothly all these years until the recent incident involving Shivali struck them hard.
“What’s going on? You promised me it would be foolproof!”
“Yes, yes. But we did check everything the Academy could check, and even invited members of the Magic Association to inspect. They confirmed that no one could inscribe magic on that building.”
“Do you think the royal family, the Griffin Party, and the public will go looking for that nonsense-talking Magic Association member? Klosy! Wake up! They will only come to you and me! To the New Party!”
The slender leader of the New Party, Martilon, adjusted his suit as he got off the carriage in front of Saint Nali University, looking grimly at the gentleman behind him, who also bore a helpless expression; he was the Party Whip, Klosy.
The Party Whip is responsible for party discipline and eliminating party scandals, holding a high status within the party.
Klosy was very capable and had long been trusted by Martilon. The reason Klosy had not yet held any high positions in the Nali government but remained as the Party Whip was that Martilon had privately designated Klosy as his successor. Being advanced in age, he planned to retire after this election and needed a trustworthy person to succeed him.
But who would have thought that such a thing would happen before the mid-term elections?
Furrowing his brows, Martilon took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat hidden within the wrinkles on his forehead, quickly walking with the Nali government personnel toward the school.
He was already quite old, yet still busied himself for his career every day, originally thinking that he would step down after the next election, but fate always seemed to require extra concern.
“Are there any casualties?”
“No, we’re still inquiring about the situation inside. I heard Principal Ken say that there was a super-circle spatial magic set up in the school at that time, and there were assassins from the Cardu cult trying to kill them, aiming to seize the holy relic brought by the Shivali delegation.”
“Super-circle magic?”
Martilon’s expression stiffened. He glanced at the empty entrance of Saint Nali University behind him. The media in Saint Nali had yet to receive information, but it certainly wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
By then, the place would be swarming with reporters from Saint Nali, akin to flies looking for filth.
He immediately turned around, his expression serious as he whispered to Klosy behind him, “Listen, we can only speak about this matter among ourselves. No one should know about the super-circle magic or the assassins! We need to minimize the fallout from this incident as much as possible, especially regarding those from Shivali. We must apologize if needed, but the previously agreed negotiation terms absolutely cannot change!”
“Yes.”
Martilon believed that if there were no casualties, while Shivali would express dissatisfaction, they likely wouldn’t cancel cooperation with Nali; however, the issue lay in whether they would use this to demand Nali amend some unfavorable terms for Shivali.
The most important thing was to pacify their anger in a dignified manner while protecting their own interests as much as possible.
Martilon arrived at the conference room of Saint Nali University with a group of New Party members, observing many people gathered around, while those emerging from inside looked like refugees fleeing from a battlefield; their clothes were tattered and smelly, and several people had been injured.
The group of Shivali scholars had unsatisfactory expressions, with Prince Losang half-naked, directing medical personnel to carry the injured scholars and their families away.
Isabel and Milica ran over worriedly to check on Jasmine, and only sighed in relief after seeing her unharmed.
Martilon approached Prince Losang with New Party members to express regret for the mishap during this event.
Prince Losang glanced at the two New Party individuals before smiling and said, “We can discuss these matters later, but right now I’m considering whether to report this incident to Queen Shval and hear her opinion.”
Upon hearing this, Martilon immediately said, “We will inform His Majesty, the King in the Golden Palace, about this matter straight away. If possible, we kindly request an opportunity to send a letter to the Queen expressing our apologies for the inadequate reception.”
Since the incident had occurred, the Queen of Shivali would inevitably learn about it. The real concern was that a response from the Prince and one from the Golden Palace would be entirely different. Who knew what the Prince might say privately? Were they really hoping that the attacked Prince would speak favorably on behalf of Nali?
Prince Losang glanced at Roger, Selina, exhausted and collapsed on the ground, and then at Fisher and Carlo not far away before turning back.
“Although the attack was unexpected, your accompanying personnel from Nali have gone all out to protect the safety of our delegation, and this is something I and the scholars can all witness.”
Behind them, a young Shivali person, threatened and intimidated by Fisher, opened his mouth, sensing something was amiss, but he dared not interrupt the Prince, remaining silent.
“Here’s what we’ll do: please conduct an official investigation into this matter and provide us with a satisfactory response regarding the cause and development of this incident. Until I understand the reasons behind this event, I will not disclose any details about this trip to the Queen.”
“Oh, thank you very much for your understanding and wisdom. On behalf of the Nali officials, I express my gratitude for your generosity. Rest assured, I will thoroughly investigate this matter; please take care of yourself in Nali for now.”
Prince Losang watched the crowd of New Party officials leave to inspect the buildings, then slowly walked over to Fisher’s side. His female student had been taken away by her roommate, and Fisher was staring at the building, seemingly lost in thought.
“Are you considering the mastermind behind this attack? At the end, I was chased out of the room by those monsters. Did you communicate with that thing hidden in the pipes?”
Fisher nodded, then shook his head.
“… Yes.”
“Hey, that thing can actually speak?”
Prince Losang was not a fool, at least smarter than most New Party members; he certainly deserved the investment of Queen Shval.
Fisher indeed knew who the real mastermind was but couldn’t disclose it to the Nali authorities.
The trap laid by the Pink Pavilion was perfect, successfully packaging itself as the Sorceress Research Society in the plan. Whether it was the mingling of sorcery from sorceresses and humans or the magic from the medieval period, these were powerful proofs.
The most critical step was the silver mirror of Kasio.
To this day, Fisher had no idea how the Pink Pavilion learned that the items Shivali had requested from Cardu to prove their theory were precisely the sacred relics desperately sought after by the Sorceress Research Society.
This time, whether in purpose or means, the Sorceress Research Society seemed all too suitable for such a deed on the surface.
Moreover, this society was famously unruly; a bunch of fanatics trying to approach the Mother could commit any act, and the organization itself was quite chaotic.
It’s possible that Shivali and the Nali authorities might say the Sorceress Research Society plotted this incident, while within their ranks, they were still discussing which comrade performed such acts of righteousness.
Of course, this was merely a joke; they would likely deny having done this, but who could trust a cult? There would be no place to seek justice if wronged.
Even if Fisher knew that the Pink Pavilion was behind this, his only lead was Carolina. The Nali authorities would soon trace the scene back to Carolina, a member of the Sorceress Research Society.
If the Nali officials discovered Carolina first, she definitely wouldn’t survive; the Pink Pavilion’s intention in summoning her was not to assassinate but to make her take the blame.
Currently, there weren’t enough leads on the Pink Pavilion. The proof steps formed a closed loop, leaving no way to drag that entertainment venue into this crazily planned assassination.
After much consideration, Fisher did not intend to reveal to the Nali officials that the Pink Pavilion was behind this.
The internal structure of the New Party was quite complex, and it had regular patrons of the Pink Pavilion. If they happened to slip while working there and accidentally exposed themselves, they would attract attention.
Exposing one’s identity recklessly in a place that could devise such a plan was incredibly foolish.
Fisher only planned to pass a hint to someone he could trust, waiting to gather more evidence after the investigation.
Furthermore, he still hadn’t figured out the ultimate goal of the Pink Pavilion in executing this plan.
He looked at Losang beside him, reached out his hand, and motioned for him to come closer.
Losang crouched down and leaned in to listen as Fisher spoke, “The perpetrators of this attack are not from the Sorceress Research Society.”
Prince Losang’s expression slightly changed in disbelief as he looked at Fisher, only to see him seriously shake his head, indicating that he should not tell anyone else.
Prince Losang was not foolish; he should comprehend that while all evidence pointed to the Sorceress Research Society, they were not the true masterminds. The actual mastermind was undoubtedly a highly dangerous entity.
Fisher was conveying this information to Losang because he was fulfilling his previous deal with Carolina.
He had not anticipated the Pink Pavilion’s means before entering, and after coming out, protecting her with traditional methods was impossible; he also lacked this capability.
Carolina’s one chance was no longer in Fisher’s hands but in front of Prince Losang.
“Not the Sorceress Research Society? How can you say that?”
Their conversation was particularly quiet, with only the two of them able to hear each other’s words.
“Carolina is not an official of Nali, nor is she a servant here; she’s from the Sorceress Research Society…”
Losang looked at Fisher, then turned to scan the surroundings but saw no trace of Carolina. Fisher knew she had hidden back in her room again.
“You mean she’s a sorceress?”
Uh. Technically, she should be classified as an artificial sorceress.
But an artificial sorceress is still a sorceress. For now, the main goal was to make Prince Losang consider the idea of protecting her, setting aside the matter of gender. Later, it depended on Carolina’s charisma—her lower limits were evident; if not done well, Losang might chase her relentlessly, but if it went well, she might become a princess consort.
After a pause of a second or two, Fisher, going against his conscience, reluctantly nodded at Losang.
“No wonder she could recover so quickly. If that’s the case, I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
Prince Losang appeared hesitant and posed a question to Fisher,
“Is a sorceress a kind of subhuman?”
“Um.”
“Then can this sorceress you mentioned produce offspring with a human?”
“…”
Wait a minute, did you just think about having children with Carolina?
You don’t mean you’ve already decided on names for the kids, right?
Facing Fisher’s slightly shocked expression, Prince Losang sat down and somewhat helplessly explained, “You understand our situation in Shivali. I’m the only prince, and expanding the family is crucial. The Queen even wants me to marry and have babies sooner. I’m not someone who seeks romance frivolously, but I’ve heard that it’s particularly difficult for subhumans and humans to produce offspring. If I have no descendants, the pressure on me would be immense.”
Fisher opened his mouth and actually contemplated this seriously.
Strictly speaking, Carolina was not a subhuman but an artificial sorceress, meaning she should essentially be human. If she is human, it should be fairly easy to have children with him.
Thus, Fisher nodded, as a response to Prince Losang.
“She’s very special; it should be easy for you two to have offspring. You can ask her about it.”
Prince Losang breathed a sigh of relief, smiled as if liberated, then stood up and said to Fisher behind him, “That works. I’ve already said that as long as I like her, everything is fine. I will consider the matter of the Sorceress Research Society carefully, but I’m afraid it won’t change Nali’s stance. If the Nali officials assert that the true masterminds are the Sorceress Research Society, I will admit that. However, I will conceal the fact that Carolina was involved, but on the condition that I must meet her privately to understand the situation.”
So it really is just to understand the situation? How does it feel more like a date invitation? Moreover, one with legitimate reasoning.
“No problem, I will tell her.”
“Mm, I need to check on the accompanying personnel and remind them of a few matters. We’ll see each other later, Mr. Fisher.”
Fisher sat on the ground, watching Prince Losang walk further away, soon disappearing from his sight.
He too picked up his staff and the Fluid Sword, standing up as many police officers entered through the school gates; they were completely sealing off the area for investigation.
Fisher adjusted his clothing and left the scene alone.
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(End of Chapter)
