A Non-combat Magic Artifact Researcher ー Actually Was an Extroadinary S-rank Mage～ Though He Worked Overtime Without Compensation and Contributed Greatly, He Was Labeled as Incompetent and Was Fired - CH 44

Ch. 44: The Office of the Imperial Prince

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[Notes from the author]

This is the end of Book 1.

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While Werner was being hugged by Hati and was sound asleepーー

Woken out of his sleep, before the Imperial Prince were reports of Werner being attacked.

The one who made the report was the Captain of the Royal Magecraft Knights.

Kraus: “What?! Sir Werner’s Research Lab was attacked?! Is that true?!”

“Yes, her royal highness, Princess Charlotte, was also there as well.”

Kraus: “!! And is she safe?!”

“Yes, her royal highness was with Sir Werner at the time.”

Hearing that, the Imperial Prince breathed a long sigh of relief.

Kraus: “(fwew………) You had me worried there. We were incredibly fortunate that Sir Werner was close by under these circumstances.”

“Truly.”

The Captain nodded in agreement to the Imperial Prince’s words.

But one of his councils also spoke up to respond.

“Could you not also say that her highness, the Princess, was dragged into this mess because Sir Werner was being attacked?” Krause: “True. That is also another way to look at this situation.”

But just with that, the Imperial Prince turned toward the Captain.

Kraus: “Now then, let’s hear the full report.”

“As you command. Firstly, those who attacked were the President of the Mages Academy and the Head of the Magecraft Artifact Science Research Division.”

Kraus: “……………………….I see? Why?” The Imperial Prince could not hide his surprise.

He could never have imagined the President and Head of Research being that foolish.

So he concluded that there must have been some underlying reason.

“And it has been reported that they both had transformed into a Demon Race.”

Kraus: “What? Then do we know who is behind this?” A Demon Race transformation would now go way beyond the bounds of the President and Head of Research going out of control.

“We are still investigating the underlying connections.”

Kraus: “Then give me what you have as of now.”

“Yes. It appears that the President and Head of Research were being threatened by someone.”

Kraus: “By someone, you mean to tell me that we do not know who is behind this?”

“Yes, we are still in the middle of investigations. But we are fairly certain that this is none other than the Knights of Lumen-related.”

The Imperial Prince looked at the Head of his Council.

Kraus: “I asked you to probe the President and Head of Research, did I not? What of that?” “The two had received immense sums of donations from multiple Merchant Associations and were invited to several illegal meetings.”

Kraus: “And they were pressured from the Merchant Association to terminate Sir Werner’s employment at the Academy?” “Yes, we are currently narrowing down which Merchant Association pressured them to terminate Sir Werner’s employment.”

And hearing that, the Imperial Prince looked at both his Head of Council and Captain of the Royal Knights.

Kraus: “This attack against Sir Werner and the connection to his termination are probably highly intertwined. I would like for you to cooperate with the Royal Magecraft Knights and perform a full investigation.”

“ “ As you command. ” ”

After that, the Imperial Prince received further details from the Captain.

“It looks like the President and Head of Research were abducted.”

Kraus: “Abducted? By whom?” “We do not know who the abductors are, and the information was not left inside the brain.”

The Royal Magecraft Knights use specialized Magecraft Equipment and Spells to interrogate the President and Head of Research.

The Royal Magecraft Knights’ interrogations are rumored to be the Imperial State’s most severe form of questioning.

No matter how evil or even if the interrogated is a Monster, they will draw out every single information possible.

They have that kind of technology and skill.

The Royal Magecraft Knights organization is also the special operations unit that takes care of the Imperial State’s dirty work.

Kraus: “If it was not left in the brain…………they used Black Magic?”

“Yes, most likely a form of Black Magic for sure.”

Kraus: “So they cast a Memory Erasing Spell on the President and Head of Research and used them as disposable pawns.”

“Yes, I would agree with that line of thinking.”

The Imperial Prince thought for a moment and then asked the Captain a question.

Kraus: “They were abducted, and what was done to them?” “The President said he had written down all the Attack Magic theory he knew.”

The President of the Academy is an authority in Attack Spells.

He knows all of the modern and latest theories in that area. And there are plenty who would want to draw out that information.

Kraus: “What about the Head of Research?”

“He was tasked with modifying Sir Werner’s Magecraft Artifacts and completing the artifacts that were still incomplete.”

Kraus: “……..is the Head of Research really capable of that?” “The Head of Research most likely had help.”

Kraus: “And do we know…..”

“The information was not available in the Head of Research’s brain.”

But the most crucial information had been eliminated.

Kraus: “I see that our enemies are no fools either.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

Kraus: “But if they are able to assist in completing Sir Werner’s Artifacts…..they are extremely skilled themselves…..”

As the Imperial Prince mulled the information over inside his head, the Captain continued his report.

“Your highness, do you remember the incident where her highness, Princess Hati, was being manipulated and was made to attack Princess Charlotte?”

Kraus: “Yes, it was the dramatic story of how Sir Werner met her highness.”

“Yes, and the Magecraft Artifact Princess Hati was wearing was also found placed on the President and Head of Research.”

Kraus: “Are you certain of that?”

“Both accounts are the testimony of Sir Werner. So I believe it’s trustworthy.”

Kraus: “Yes, we can trust the information then. And what did Sir Werner say about the Artifact in general?” “That it was the same Magecraft Artifact, but it now had a function to help turn a human into a Demon.”

Kraus: “………are you saying the Galatea Empire now has the technology to turn people into Demons?”

They were fairly confident in their assessment that the creator of Hati’s Magecraft Artifact was from the Galatea Empire.

And now, that same Artifact had the ability to turn humans into Demons.

“I believe that that is a safe assumption.”

Kraus: “That would be problematic.”

“It is truly horrifying.”

Kraus: “Then it will be better to assume the one who assisted the Head of Research was someone from the Galatea Empire.”

“If we are speaking of not one but many assistants, perhaps an exceptional group of researchers, it would be possible to complete the Artifacts in such a short period of time.”

The Galatea Empire had the Magecraft Technology now to be able to control someone like Hati.

And the Head of Research had been continuously researching Werner’s Artifacts since the day they terminated his employment.

If the Head of Research worked hand in hand with an exceptional group of individuals, they would probably be able to complete the research fairly easily.

In the first place, Werner was not hiding anything from the very beginning.

He had already written down his research notes in a notebook that was easily deciphered by his former pupils.

And his pupils were merely students. They were not academics.

And he also had samples created and diagrams made.

The reason why the Head of Research could not understand any of it was because he had no understanding of Professor Kay’s Magecraft Artifact structures.

But given enough time, he could have deciphered the notes eventually.

If it is a group of exceptional Magecraft Artifact Artisans and Researchers, the research would be completed much faster.

Kraus: “If they are using a group of advanced Magecraft Artifact Artisans, is the Galatea Empire secretly declaring war on us?” “I believe that to be possible.”

An advanced Magecraft Artifact Artisan Organization would be a government-level operation.

And they were behind the incident that occurred at the Imperial Capital, at a High Noble’s Mansion out of all places and attacked a Princess.

This isn’t something that can be easily overlooked.

It is an incident concerning national security.

They might be preparing to make a move against the Lamette Kingdom in the near future.

One of the younger councilmen saw the Imperial Prince’s bitter expression and spoke up.

“Your highness, if that is the case, is that okay?” Kraus: “What do you mean?” “This would imply that a genius that compares to the genius of our country is working under the Galatea Empire.”

Kraus: “…………..that can’t be. Sir Werner is at least one in a 100, no, a thousand or 10,000 years. It would be hard to believe there are two geniuses like him in the same generation.”

“I also pray that my concerns are incorrect, sire.”

Kraus: “………..give an order to the Intelligence Department and search for the existence of this genius.”

“As you command.” The Imperial Prince continued to give out orders.

Once he was done giving out a series of orders, one of the councilmen asked him.

“What shall we do about the Mages Academy?” Kraus: “The Mages Academy is the pillar of the Imperial State’s education and research. Appoint the appropriate resources as quickly as possible.”

“As you command. And what about the President and Head of Research?”

Kraus: “This is now relating to state secrets. We will try them under the secret court, and I will serve as judge myself.”

“As you command. But if they were being controlled, it may be difficult to try them for the crimes of attacking Sir Werner.”

Kraus: “That doesn’t matter. Both were blinded with greed and conspired with a foreign nation. At that point, they cannot avoid execution.”

Conspiracy with another nation is a severe crime. The only punishment is execution.

Kraus: “But even if they are sentenced to be executed, I plan for them to be imprisoned. Once the official sentence is given, I will have the Royal Magecraft Knights utilize them, so put them to good use.”

“……..as you command.”

After a judgment of execution is given, they will be treated as dead.

Afterwards, their rights as living human beings are forfeit.

That’s why they will be used as tools, and it can be said that such a fate is worse than death.

And that is how the President and Head of Research’s fates were sealed without the knowledge of either.