235 Final Sentence
In the end, everything ended well for the half-wolf, even though he was completely exhausted.
Initially, he didn’t understand how Namor knew about Vinigo’s crimes, which made him very suspicious of the vice director.
Could Namor have thrown up a false flag by arresting Vinigo to try to seem innocent to Luke? To the half-wolf, that wasn’t an entirely dismissible possibility. However, these suspicions soon proved to be somewhat paranoid, as the reality was quite simple.
When Luke and Vinigo were suddenly teleported out of the underground, Meredith managed to retrieve Vinigo’s journal. Inside this small, modest book, all the Alchemy Professor’s crimes were described in detail by his own hand. Perhaps as a way for him to gloat about his own actions, maybe as a way to document everything he had done, or possibly as a way to vent his guilt.
After the half-fox took the diary, she had to choose between releasing the people trapped in the basement or running to try to find some help, but she was alerted because of the loud bang earlier, so she naturally chose to look for help.
Meredith ran to the surface as fast as she could. She noticed that all the students were euphoric about Luke’s fight, who was somehow on the surface. Although she was relieved to know that Luke was fine and really wanted to help him in the battle, Meredith felt that she would be more of a hindrance than a good ally.
Luckily, while Meredith was checking the halls for any Academy guards to inform them of the truth about Vinigo, she came across Nathalia and John, who were running towards the battle to help Luke.
Meredith told them everything that Luke, and she had learned about Vinigo. Thus, together they decided to continue searching for guards, and when they finally found them, they were led to Namor, who was gathering information before taking more drastic action.
For the vice-principal, it was a shock to read the diary of the Professor of Alchemy, someone so renowned and prestigious in the academic sphere for his revolutionary contributions to alchemy. No matter how much Namor wanted to believe that these accounts were not real, Vinigo’s bent handwriting was unique, and easily recognizable to someone who was used to seeing it in weekly reports.
With an explanation for what was running, Namor finally felt comfortable to act and arrested Vinigo.
On the evening of that same day, the half-wolf gathered everyone at Ayumi’s Residence to tell them about all that had happened. In the comfortable living room were Shiro, Ynosuke, Matthew, Zack, John, Martha, Meredith, Nathalia, Alexis, and Ayumi, all listening intently to Luke’s version of what occurred.
“So, what happened to Doctor Vinigo after Namor decided to arrest him?” Matthew asked curiously.
“Xiii! Let him finish before you start the questions.” John requested Matthew, who interrupted the story right near the end.
Luke laughed and continued to tell. “We handed Vinigo over to the city guards working at the Oukiwa Academy of Nobles, and by the decision of a proper court, he was sentenced to death in fifteen years.”
“What? The death penalty for thieves is in the flagrant act, but for a degenerate, it takes fifteen years?” Matthew exclaimed with indignation.
Ayumi got up from the couch at that moment, and then she lowered her head and bowed slightly. “I’m sorry about this inhumane law against thieves. I have tried to change it countless times, but almost all council members believe that it’s responsible for keeping the numbers of thieves low in Oukiwa compared to smaller cities.”
This apology surprised everyone in the gang of former thieves, because no one blamed Ayumi for something like this. In the past, they had chosen to be thieves even though they knew all the risks, including death.
Just then, Meredith struck Matthew’s head with a weak punch. “You have to weigh your words, Matt. That way you will make people misunderstand what you meant.”
“Ouch! I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I was just mad because he still had fifteen years to live. It sucks to share the world with someone so disgusting.”
“Oh, I understand! But there is an explanation for that, Mr. Matthew. A few years ago, Jimbe Collalto, the Patriarch of the Collalto’s, argued that such sick criminals deserve not only death but also time to process it, so they spend some time alive before they die. Hence, the Broteforge Empire’s death corridor was created, a prison where there are only high-level prisoners who are doomed to die.” The Matriarch corrected her posture and explained.
Everyone was surprised, because they had never heard of it, although they were used to daily life in the midst of crime.
“And where is this prison?” Shiro asked.
“On Daren Island, to the far west of the Cardinal Kingdom.” Ayumi replied.
“Daren Island?” Everyone in the half-wolf gang asked at the same time, including Luke, because they had never heard of such a place.
Class-S raised her hand, so she could explain, then Ayumi smiled at her and sat down. Alexis got up from her seat on the couch next to Luke and clarified:
“Daren Island is a frighteningly large island, being larger even than Oukiwa and the Cardinal Kingdom combined. There is a mountain of black rocks in this place, and at its peak, there is a gigantic lava lake. They say that the ground in the area is covered by a layer of ash that never comes out, and that there is nothing on the island, only a deep tower-type Dungeon, and the Prison.”
“It definitely doesn’t seem like a good place to go sightseeing or rest.” With his arms crossed, Ynosuke answered unassumingly.
This made everyone laugh a little, not least because from what Alexis explained Daren Island seemed to be the worst place to visit in the world.
They continued talking for a little longer in the living room to catch up; after all, they had gone almost a week without seeing each other, thanks to the boarding school, and that was exactly what was bothering Matthew, so he decided to ask.
“So, I’m glad you four are back here, but I still don’t quite understand something. Were you guys dismissed from residency? Or expelled?”
“Actually, I have resigned from my position as Professor.” Luke stated.
“I have asked for a dispensation from boarding school until exam season, as I am doing well in all subjects.” Nathalia explained.
“Meredith and I have closed our enrollment. Although I enjoy studying, it would be many years before I graduate, so I decided to just keep training with Alexis and Luke; who knows maybe one day they two will create a Clan, and I will join as a knight.” John clarified and winked at the half-wolf and half-dragon.
The two lovers were sitting next to each other on that couch, so they exchanged glances and smiled. “Who knows someday…” They replied simultaneously.