The details of the incident were spelled out on the city bulletin.
“Hey, you hear about Haring?”
“That big-headed, pissed off troublesome dragon? What about him?”
“I hear he was taken in at town hall.”
“Well that’s nothing new. Duelists get dragged in for scuffles every day, and this is Haring we’re talking about.”
“I was there when it happened, and it wasn’t like that. An army of Babel staff members surrounded him, and Haring was kicking and screaming, making a whole lotta noise.”
“Was it really Babel staff? Not those duelists on public safety duty? Then it must be quite an incident.”
“What’s so special about staff getting involved? Someone tell me?”
“It means it’s on the same level as that slave incident a year ago.”
“That time those newbies were forced to obey with contracts? According to the victims, there were still other kids trapped, but was that ever taken care of?”
“Nope, still missing. Navie Ionesca’s the main suspect, but I’m pretty sure he got off due to lack of evidence. They haven’t found the other victims yet.”
“I mean, Navie’s totally guilty. He’s got up to all sorts of things behind the scenes.”
“Wait, wasn’t Haring also arrested as a suspect back then?”
“If I’m remembering right, someone witnessed Haring with the victim, and he was reported and arrested. There wasn’t any evidence against Haring, though, so he was released.”
“Hey, management, you listening? We have victims here, how about you try a bit harder?”
“I hear Navie makes sure his underlings do everything so he never gets his hands dirty. His underlings are under contract that prevent them from doing anything disadvantageous to him. Quoting what another guy said, ‘If management starts getting involved with contractual duels, it’ll create an exception in the sole rule that ‘everything must be resolved with duels,’ and they’ll have hell to pay for that. They can’t make any large moves without definite evidence.’”
“Wait, you think Haring was arrested for the slave incident again?”
“Nah, my friend heard what they were saying. Seems Haring got violent in the dungeon outside of a duel and forcefully stole all of someone’s materials. By the way, the guy filing the claim works under Navie.”
“Oh, got it. Haring pissed off The Tormentor. Well, that’s just dumb.”
“Can’t really sympathize with him on this one. It’s true he used to hang around Navie, and he’s the sorta guy who does anything for money. This is where it all led him.”
“He’s caused loads of problems already, so his punishment will be pretty heavy this time, right?”
“At the very least, it won’t be another slap on the wrist.”
“I’m betting on his Proof being confiscated, and him being exiled.”