Bermuda

The Council's Grand Conference Hall was solemn yet bustling. Administrative officials moved around until the last minute, heads together over documents.

At the back of the conference hall, newspaper staff who had undergone thorough security checks took their seats one by one, pens and notebooks in hand. Their expressions were all strangely indifferent.

Standing at the podium with the final briefing materials was Shorendo, the Deputy Commander of the Central Branch. He tapped the small magic circle in front of the amplifier to activate the spell. Then he checked his voice as it echoed with an “Ah, ah—.”

Council members and staff who had been chatting fell silent and leaned back in their chairs.

"Case classification number 999-PEN-1093. I will now proceed with the briefing on cause identification and the final investigation results of the party house explosion incident that occurred in Pentagove."

Hugo and the battalion commanders, who entered the hall among the last, found their seats and sat down. Hugo’s position today, however, was somewhat special.

It was the front row of the conference hall, not the senior commander’s seat where he usually sat—a burdensome seat assigned to key observers, witnesses, or authorized suspects.

As he nodded while looking ahead, Shorendo, taking the signal, began the briefing.

"On August 21st, 999 of the Raina Logia calendar, at 6:25 PM local time in Pentagove, a major fire broke out with successive explosions during a banquet at the party house near Lake Karad. This incident resulted in the deaths of twenty-three people, including Count Duncan, the host of the banquet, and a total of fifty-six people with serious and minor injuries..."

At the front of the Grand Conference Hall, an image of the burning building at the time was displayed. The scene then shifted to a photograph zoomed in on the floor of the facility room after the fire had been extinguished.

"After intensively examining the degree of carbonization and combustion patterns at the site, it was determined that the power facility room located on the second floor of the party house was the initial ignition point. Part of the joint of the cylinder supplying mana energy was damaged, causing liquid and gas to leak, and the liquid that flowed to the floor came into contact with other cylinders, resulting in an explosion."

This accident differed from previous explosion incidents in that it occurred at a party house, not an industrial complex or a special facility filled with fuel or gas. Considering the location was the heart of the city and the main victims were high-ranking nobles—the pillars of the pro-emperor faction—public opinion initially leaned toward it being a definite terrorist attack.

The problem was that no evidence proving terrorism was found at the scene.

"As a result of analyzing the distribution and types of debris during the investigation process, no substances or chemical reactions used as raw materials for explosives were detected. In addition, multiple testimonies from attendees were secured that the ceiling lighting facilities flickered unstably about ten to fifteen minutes before the accident occurred."

In the end, the incident, widely discussed as terrorism targeting nobles, seemed to be shifting toward an accident caused by facility failure.

However, the bereaved families were nobles with prominent lineages and wealth, and they strongly insisted the incident was terrorism, not an accident.

They argued the situation was too blatant, given it was a gathering where many high-ranking nobles of the pro-emperor faction had assembled, and the explosion occurred in a building that wasn’t even deteriorated.

To support their claims, they indiscriminately named powerful suspects. The first to be mentioned was the noble faction, which had clashed over political ideology on every issue.

When the arrows were directed at them, the noble faction pointed to the fact that rioters had been arrested by the Council several times as the main culprits in the previous noble murder cases.

Naturally, the next targets became reactionaries or rioters said to be everywhere. As a result, all criminal organizations near Pentagove at the time were hauled in to the Council for investigation. Although no organization with clear connections was uncovered among them, a major cleanup took place amid social condemnation and beatings.

Meanwhile, an unexpected target was named as the main culprit behind the terrorism. It «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» was Duke Agrizendro, a key figure in the pro-emperor faction led by Duncan who had, by chance, avoided the accident.

Given the Duke’s unrivaled public reputation and recognition, the reaction at first was that it was nonsense. However, as it became known that only the Duke and his relatives arrived late to the banquet hall, rumors began to flare that he had betrayed the faction and plotted a conspiracy.

The situation was gradually sinking into a labyrinth, with only indiscriminate suspicions being raised again and again.

Then one person quietly opened his mouth. It was the servant who had last checked the facility room on Richard Duncan's instructions.

Shorendo took a sip of water, then lifted his eyes from the script and continued.

"Since the possibility of terrorism could not be ruled out, additional investigations were conducted to secure eyewitness accounts and statements, focusing on individuals who had access to the facility room on the day of the incident. In the process, we were able to hear the testimony of the Count’s family servant who had last examined the power facility room. He stated that he encountered a suspicious stranger in front of the facility room about five minutes before the incident occurred."

The servant confessed he had kept his mouth shut for fear of being suspected as a terrorist if it became known he was the last to enter the facility room. He also added that he had survived thanks to the stranger who had sent him outside, and that he had agonized over whether it was right to report someone who might be his benefactor.

Originally, he had planned not to open his mouth at all, but he was deeply troubled by the situation in which the Duke, whom he respected, was being unjustly suspected.

"Based on the eyewitness’s statement, we cross-referenced the list of attendees, but due to the witness’s unclear memory, he could not pinpoint an exact match among the three individuals narrowed down. However, we identified one person with partially matching attire, and only the pattern and color of the necktie worn by the late Viscount Ronteno on the day of the incident were identical. However, both the Viscount and his wife..."

Both the Viscount and his wife had attended the party and died, and their son, the heir, had also been injured in the first-floor hall. The majority opinion was that, logically, they would not have carried out a terrorist attack that risked their family’s lives. In the end, the servant’s testimony lost its force, and there were even suspicious glances suggesting the real culprit might have planted false information to slip the investigation net.

"Considering that the servant entered the facility room due to the sudden instruction of the late Count Duncan, and that there had already been unstable lighting conditions before that, it was judged that there was no suspicion.

Also, although the party house building itself was not old, the facility ledger records for the past three years remained blank. During the investigation process, it was confirmed that safety measures—such as addressing leakage traces from pipe corrosion and insulation management of the distribution box—had not been properly implemented.

Therefore, after comprehensively reviewing all these matters, the Council's anti-terrorism response team and fire accident investigation team determined that there was insufficient physical evidence to view the party house explosion incident as terrorism. As a result of discussions among the Upper House members and senior commanders of this Council, the incident was determined to be 'an accident caused by inadequate facility management.'

We sincerely apologize to the imperial citizens and bereaved families who may have had their anxiety deepened during the prolonged investigation, analysis, and review period."

Shorendo, standing beside the podium, bowed nearly ninety degrees. With the Commander having lost some authority now, in Hugo’s eyes the shoulders of the Deputy Commander acting on his behalf looked especially heavy.

Several shutters went off toward the bowing Shorendo, but they didn’t last long—likely photos that had already been taken many times.

As the sound ceased, Shorendo straightened and returned to the podium. At that moment, a newspaper staff member at the back of the conference hall raised his hand and asked, almost shouting:

"What happened to the suspicion against Duke Agrizendro?"

For a moment, gazes in the hall swung that way. Then they slid to the front row.

Hugo ignored the eyes fixed on him, staring only forward with his arms crossed.

Shorendo stared at the newspaper staff member with deliberately cold eyes. Then, with a cough, he continued in a measured tone.

"Through this incident, the Council plans to completely review the facility inspection and safety-management audit system, and implement strengthened administrative orders to prevent the same incident from occurring in the future.

In addition, regarding Duke Agrizendro, it was confirmed that on the day of the incident he had an audience scheduled in the morning by order of His Majesty the Emperor, and after its completion, he had a carriage accident on the main road in Pentagove while en route to the party house."

With Shorendo’s gesture, the scene shifted to the photograph Hugo had ordered taken at the time of the carriage accident.

"This accident had multiple matching eyewitness testimonies regarding the location, time, and circumstances. Additionally, Duke Agrizendro’s side submitted on-site evidence photographs to confirm his alibi before and after the incident, and it was concluded with no final charges, judging it to be an unexpected accident without intentionality. To prevent further harm to His Grace the Duke, who always serves and dedicates himself to the Empire, please refrain from indiscriminate speculation."

Having finished his answer, Shorendo looked around at the audience, as if asking whether there was anything else.

The noble-faction newspaper staff member who had boldly asked the question lowered his hand quietly. As the situation seemed to be wrapping up, Shorendo adjusted his necktie, nodded, and concluded:

"If there are no additional questions, this concludes the final investigation results briefing."