On the way, the honest policeman kept trying to strike up conversations with me. It felt like he was fishing for the secret behind my strength, so I brushed him off with vague answers—telling him to train his body hard and learn anything that could be used as a form of attack.
Meanwhile, the stares from passersby were… painful. Walking side by side with a police officer naturally made people assume I'd done something wrong and was being taken in for questioning.
Also, Jacob and the others must have left early after hearing what I said. By the time we reached the train station, they were probably already seated.
When we arrived, the bench we had been sitting on earlier was taken, so they had moved to seats farther away.
After spotting them, I asked the honest policeman to wait nearby. I couldn't let him overhear our conversation.
But when I got closer, I noticed all four of them were drenched in sweat—like they'd just taken a shower and walked out without drying off.
So I joked, "Did you guys just take a shower?"
"You already know the answer, so why even ask?" Jacob replied, clearly exhausted. Judging by his tone, it must have been unbearably hot inside those invisible cloaks. I already had an idea to fix that—I just hadn't had the time to implement it.
"Next time, I'll add a wind-type magic core," I said casually, before getting straight to the point. "But why did it take you so long to pull his arms away earlier?"
It had taken so long that the obsessed guy almost made some dramatic declaration—definitely not something I wanted to hear.
"Because we couldn't see each other. We kept bumping into one another."
…Fair enough.
Looks like invisible teamwork isn't exactly ideal—solo action would suit it better. I had assumed the fox-eyed knight was trained and fairly strong. Even though Grace is a knight, she's still a woman, so she probably couldn't overpower an adult man.
Jacob was likely a bit weaker than Grace, maybe closer to Ethefelis. Even though Ethefelis is young, she's clearly trained. As for Alice… well, she at least has some strength.
That's why I figured strength in numbers would work—having the four of them combine their efforts to counter his strength. In the end, it worked out, so whatever.
Now, onto the real issue.
"...Alright. Alice, why did you speak up earlier? And then the rest of you started talking too."
"Sorry… I was just too surprised," Alice said. "I thought Mr. Karen used some kind of amazing method to get the truth out."
"Using money isn't amazing?"
"It's not… cool."
"Trying to be cool is a waste of time. What about the rest of you? Why did you start talking?"
"Well, since someone already spoke, we figured we might as well join in."
"Same here. But… who was the one who hit him?"
Jacob and Grace gave equally terrible excuses. Alice speaking up by accident was one thing—but they knowingly followed along, and now they were even changing the subject.
Still… I was curious too.
"It was Eis."
Ethefelis admitted it calmly. I was honestly shocked. I couldn't quite understand why someone as composed as her would do something like that.
"Why?"
"Annoyed."
Fine… no matter how capable she is, she's still a kid. Letting out her emotions is only natural. If anything, she rarely shows how she feels—maybe it's just her personality, or maybe she's been suppressing it.
Since it was Ethefelis… I let it go. Suddenly, I didn't feel like scolding anyone anymore.
"Fine. Just don't do that again."
Then I turned to Jacob.
"Jacob, give me the official mission certificate. I might need it."
"You're going to explain the border incident, right? I'll come with you—two people make it more convincing."
"Yeah, that works. Grace, here's my wallet. There's food upstairs on the second floor—you can have dinner here. Also, giving statements will probably take a while, so just stay at an inn tonight. I'll contact you later—keep an eye on your phone."
"Understood."
After that, Jacob and I followed the honest policeman to the station. We were led into a room, Lixia, obsessed guy, and the captain were already waiting. Beside them sat a female officer with a pen in hand, responsible for recording everything.
We handed over our identification for her to register. Since my identity was already known, I gave her my Starry-Rank Adventurer ID.
Once she finished recording and returned the IDs, Lixia stared intently at mine. Her eyes lit up with excitement.
"So this is a Starry-Rank Adventurer ID… it's so cool… Wait—what?! Karen, you're only seventeen?! You're just one year older than us!"
She looked completely shocked by my age.
…Is being seventeen that strange? Don't tell me all the stress I've been dealing with has aged me prematurely?!
No, that can't be it. When I look in the mirror, I still see a young guy.
But everyone sees things differently. Maybe I look like an old man in Lixia's eyes.
Still… I had to ask.
"Do I look that old?"
My voice came out more dejected than I expected. Being told I didn't look my age at seventeen… that hurt. I didn't want to feel like I was aging already.
Lixia immediately waved her hands frantically, shaking her head.
"No, no! Not at all! You're handsome and young—it's just that you act very mature. You stay calm in every situation, like someone with a lot of experience."
…She really knew how to make someone feel better.
Hearing that lifted my mood a little, though I still wasn't used to being praised. I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"I see… thanks for the compliment."
Lixia smiled brightly, clearly happy. Meanwhile, the obsessed guy glanced at her with slight displeasure.
…Was he jealous?
At that moment, the captain interrupted the pleasant atmosphere with an apologetic tone.
"Um, Miss Ethe, Mr. Karen—may we proceed with the report?"
"Ah, sorry. Of course."
I responded, and Jacob and I began explaining what happened at the border. I also ended up introducing storage magic again.
"I see. So the suspect detained you under the false accusation of smuggling drugs. Mr. Zerrel, may I take a look at the soap?"
"Of course."
Jacob pulled out a bar of soap from his storage space and handed it over. The captain unwrapped it, took a sniff—and suddenly his face lit up.
"Ah, this soap! No wonder your surname sounded familiar—your family produces this, don't they? My wife bought it from the Granley Merchant Guild two days ago. It smells wonderful… it reminds me of the bouquet I gave her when I proposed. Thanks to this, it felt like we returned to our honeymoon phase. That night was truly blissful."
…The captain had completely gone off-topic.
He was practically about to tell us how many children he planned to have next.
Lixia listened innocently, not quite understanding what he meant. The obsessed guy, on the other hand, seemed to get it—he suddenly looked at Lixia with a shy expression.
As for Jacob, who was supposed to respond, his face had turned completely red. I had almost forgotten—he was the pure, innocent type, completely defenseless against anything suggestive.
"I-I see… I'm… glad it helped…"
He forced a smile, but his embarrassment was obvious.
At that moment, the female officer spoke up sternly.
"Captain, please stay focused. Don't go off-topic."
"Ah, my apologies. I got a little carried away. Please don't mind me. The soap is fine—please continue."
After that, we explained what happened on the train and about the organization. I also briefly mentioned my deal with them to obtain information, making sure to emphasize that I had only purchased intel—not hired them to do anything illegal.
The captain asked about the organization's location, but as soon as he heard it was in the slums, he seemed ready to drop the matter.
I wasn't pleased with that—but I didn't want to interfere. I'm not someone who can change people so easily.
"Amia, is everything recorded?"
"Yes, Captain. The report is complete."
With that, the statement was finished, and we were free to leave. The captain politely addressed us.
"Mr. Infellet, Miss Ethe, Mr. Karen, Mr. Zerrel—thank you for your cooperation. You may leave now. However, since Mr. Infellet and Miss Ethe are minors, I will need to inform your parents of this incident."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Just as we were about to stand up and leave, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
With the captain's permission, the door opened. Another officer stepped in, crossing his hands over his chest as he reported:
"Captain, His Majesty the King has ordered that Mr. Karen be summoned to the royal castle at once."