Yuri rushed into Babel Tower the moment he read the news.
“What is the meaning of this! Ms. Mirka!?” Yuri closed in with such force he quite nearly slid over the counter.
But Mirka calmly shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot provide any details regarding Haring. The situation is still under investigation, so please wait for an official announcement on the—”
“That’s not what I’m asking about!”
“You can’t, Yuri! Calm down a bit!” Seeing Yuri about to punch the desk, Athena hurriedly held back his body.
“First, let’s confirm something. Is it true Haring was arrested?” Fram, who had tagged along, nonchalantly asked.
“Yes, that’s true. Haring was taken in under certain suspicions.”
“I see... Then, if we say we can offer information, will you contextualize it?”
Mirka reacted ever so slightly. “What sort of information would that be?”
“Information from someone who was at the scene of the crime.”
“Hmm...very well. This might not be the place to talk.”
Mirka left the front desk counter and headed further into the tower. When she brushed her hand against a seamless wall, a portion of it opened like a door.
A simple room with nothing more than a table and chairs. Mirka arranged enough chairs for everyone before touching her staff Proof.
“Now then, now then, this conversation won’t leave this room. But it will be recorded, and do keep in mind that providing false testimony is a crime and will be—”
“Yes, enough of the pleasantries. You’re not even recording, are you?” Fram cut in.
“Oh, you got me? Well, I just thought I’d better hear you out first.” Mirka turned back to Yuri’s stiff face. “This time, Haring is suspected of not only inflicting heavy injury, but also theft of highly valuable materials. Do you have any information about that?”
“Yes... I mean, I’m the one who actually did that.”
“...I see. Would you care to explain?”
“When me, Mr. Haring, and an Elf Tribe girl called Eleanor returned to the forty-ninth floor...we ran into a person called Mr. Navie, who was leading around a lot of Demon Tribe people. He demanded that Mr. Haring hand over everything he’d collected, and then told us to do the same.”
“I see, I see. Then what happened?”
“When Haring refused their requests, one of the men thrust a knife at Eleanor’s throat. I suddenly thought I had to save her, so I broke the guy’s arm.”
Yuri indifferently spoke on while Mirka quietly lent an ear. He still remembered it vividly enough; it had only happened a day ago.
“And I returned the nearly-stolen materials to Mr. Haring. That’s the truth.”
“...I see. To be perfectly honest, I can’t praise you for what you’ve done, but the other party made an unreasonable demand, and considering that an acquaintance was exposed to danger, I can write it off as inevitable, and send you home with a warning.”
“Then—”
“But the one being charged right now is Haring,” Mirka replied, before going into the circumstances. “Even if that is true, the one under suspicion is Haring. There’s no evidence or witnesses to say that you’re the one who injured him.”
“If you need a witness, Ms. Eleanor was with us.”
“Her case is no different from yours. What’s important is to find a third-party witness with no relation to either side. Without that, it just becomes a he-said, she-said argument.”
As far as he could remember, they were the only ones there. It was possible there was someone else where he couldn’t see, but it was dubious whether or not they could confirm that Yuri was the one who landed the blow.
“But the biggest problem here...is that Haring is pleading guilty.”
“Guilty... What do you mean?”
“You should ask him that. I’m overstepping my authority here, so you better not tell anyone, okay?”
Mirka placed a gag order before operating her Proof. Once she was finished, a portion of the wall behind her swung open without a sound.
A prison to keep duelists who had committed a crime. The dreary room separated off by a pane of glass had no windows and was equipped with only the minimum necessary light for human function. And inside it was a lone figure... Haring sat, slouched against the wall.
“Haring—Mr. Haring!” Yuri called out, causing Haring to slightly lift his head.
“It’s you, brat... What are you here for?”
“I’m here because I know you’re innocent! I was the one who hurt someone, so there’s no reason for you to be punished for it!”
He frantically called, but Haring’s reaction wasn’t too optimistic. He simply, powerlessly, continued to hang his head.
“I don’t really care. A guy like me was bound to be caught and thrown out sooner or later. Just so happens the time is now.”
“Why...why are you giving up!? It’s still possible. If there was just one more witness, we could prove I did it, and have the—”
“It ain’t that simple,” Haring interrupted, looking up at Yuri again. “Even if you do find a witness...that witness will be the piece of shit’s next target. He’ll hold a duel where no one’s lookin’, and once they’re dead, unable to move, he’ll have his underlings torment them however they like... He’s the kinda guy who can do that without battin’ an eye.”
“No way... Why is Mr. Navie going so far to—” After saying that much, Yuri realized. “He’s after me, isn’t he?”
Haring didn’t answer. Back then, Yuri had stuck up for Haring and insulted Navie. To Yuri, Haring was an important friend, after all. That was precisely why Navie had set his crosshairs on Haring.
If Haring continued to plead guilty, Yuri would lose a friend. He would be stricken by the powerless, helpless feeling of being unable to protect him. Even if Yuri did manage to find a witness to clear up Haring’s charges, Yuri himself would bear the punishment for committing violence before a duel, and that fact would enter public knowledge. With his newfound notoriety, Yuri would have a much harder time gathering members for the Babel Roulette, and a great many would turn him a cold shoulder.
No matter what he did, Yuri would suffer a devastating blow.
“This is for the best. I leave the city, and you walk off like nothing happened.” While he clearly understood it was wrong, Haring accepted his guilt. He had done this...to protect Yuri.
“Hey, I’m a villain. I always act like crap; when I get ticked, I yell and think about hittin’ people. Hell, I’m the sorta guy who’ll do anythin’ for money. No one cares if someone like that goes away, and you don’t have to care either.”
“...You’re not that sort of person, Mr. Haring.” Yuri clenched his fist, squeezing out his words. “You’re definitely foul-mouthed, quick to anger, and always in a bad mood...but you—”
“Listen to me, Yuri.”
Haring finally said his name. Yuri slowly lifted his head. And there, he saw—the smile on Haring’s face.
“I just became a duelist for the money. Didn’t have a single goal in my head. But...you have somewhere you have to go. Right?” Unlike usual, he spoke to Yuri in a remonstrative tone. “The guy who’s gonna be the strongest duelist...ain’t gonna stop here.”
He smiled as he cast his words. The first carefree smile Haring had ever shown him.
Upon seeing it...Yuri couldn’t help but smile himself. “I knew it, you really aren’t a bad guy, Mr. Haring.”
Surely he wasn’t wrong. The duelist called Haring was precisely the sort of person Yuri knew he was.
“A true villain would never smile like that.”
Yuri turned to leave.
“Athena, Fram. I’m going to search for a witness. Please help me.”
“Got it. Elias might know something about the duelist who framed you, so that should be a good place to start.”
While Yuri and Fram exchanged words and left the room, Athena stopped and turned.
“Hey, Haring...you kept quiet the last time too.”
Athena cast her question through the glass. Just like when they met in the dungeon, her turquoise eyes were straightforward and clear.
“Could it be—you were trying to...”
A girl bound by contract being dragged around by Haring. The girl...was found near Babel Tower. Then how did the girl get that far?
Bound by the fear of death, her legs cowering... Why had she made her resolve to run? How was she able to slip past all the watchful eyes?
Haring answered these questions, his head parallel to the ground.
“...It’s an undeniable fact I took money from that bloody Navie to keep an eye on the kids.” But Haring went on. “So thanks for saving her back then—you stupid fox.”
Those words were enough to send Athena out of the room, sprinting after the other two.