Ch.340335 – Private Sanctions

The drunk man was slumped against a used clothing donation bin.

We carefully walked past the unconscious man.

Suddenly, I sensed movement from the direction we had come from.

I pushed Adella forward.

“Adella, go home first.”

“Why?”

“I think someone else is coming.”

“I can’t leave you alone…!”

“It’s probably the police.”

“Oh! Then we better run! See you later, sis!”

Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s human nature to feel uneasy when encountering police.

I sent Adella, whose identity was unclear, on her way and cast a light spell to illuminate the dark path.

As expected, I encountered a pair of police officers on patrol.

“Damn, someone smashed a soju bottle and left it here. That’s dangerous.”

“I’m sure I heard something from over there. Hey kid! Why are you out so late in a place like this?”

“Little one, didn’t your parents teach you to always walk on well-lit streets? If something happens…”

The officers examined my appearance and their voices trailed off.

“NoName?”

“I think it is! Wow!”

“Hello, officers. Thank you for always working hard patrolling even late at night.”

I bowed politely.

One should never carelessly defy authority.

“Whoa, what’s with that adorable way of speaking! Your voice is so cute!”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Miss Name, where is your father right now?”

“Dad’s at home.”

He might even be sleeping.

“So you came out alone? Do you know how dangerous this neighborhood is? We actually got called out here on a report.”

“Let’s at least escort her to the main road quickly.”

“A report? Was there a murder nearby?”

The officers shook their heads urgently at my question.

“No, no, nothing like that. We got a complaint about a drunk man causing trouble. This area has poor security, so we always need to keep a close watch in case something happens.”

“If Name wants to avoid people like that, you should always go out with adults from now on. Understand?”

“Actually… I think I might have already met someone like that?”

“Huh?”

I lowered my light spell to illuminate the area behind me.

The legs of someone sprawled on the ground became visible.

“Yikes!”

I explained the situation to the officers who were startled, thinking it was a corpse.

“He seemed very drunk. When he tried to hit his head with a soju bottle, I put him to sleep.”

“You put him to sleep? How?”

An officer who had checked that the man was still breathing turned and asked.

“I’ve found that hitting someone in the right spot usually makes them pass out. Around here…”

I gently rubbed around my navel area.

The officer heard this and firmly pressed on the fallen man’s stomach.

The drunk man’s eyes flew open and he screamed.

“AAAAARGH!”

Crack-

“Oh, that’s the sound of ribs breaking. I must have hit a bit too high.”

* * *

A few days later, I received a call from the police station.

Despite the inconvenience, I stopped by on my way home from the academy.

The drunk man was in a holding cell after receiving a week’s worth of temporary medical treatment at the hospital.

I was told he had assaulted someone he was drinking with at a nearby food stall and then threatened other passersby.

The police asked about the specific situation, and I twisted the truth cleverly without causing any problems.

“So there was someone else with you at that time?”

“Yes, I was walking with an acquaintance.”

“Who was it?”

“A girl I know.”

“Which girl?”

“Someone I met online.”

I wasn’t lying.

Since it wasn’t information that would help their investigation, the police didn’t press further.

The prejudice that ‘children don’t lie in front of scary police’ was surprisingly powerful.

“Thank goodness you weren’t hurt. Can’t believe this guy with 14 prior convictions is still out there causing trouble. What’s the point of implementing AI in first trials when the law is still so lenient?”

“I know, right?”

“Name, grow up to be a good person who puts all these bad people in jail. Got it?”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Good job today!”

The station chief with four flower buds on his uniform closed his laptop with a satisfied smile.

Meanwhile, officers of lower ranks were struggling with the rowdy men.

The drunk man from before was brought down from the second-floor holding cell, and when he saw me, he pointed accusingly.

“Hey, you little bastard! You did this to my body! Is it okay for academy students to beat up innocent citizens?”

I glanced at him and smirked.

“You didn’t look particularly innocent to me, so maybe it is okay?”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Hey! Watch your language! You’re talking to a child!”

When the officer grabbed his shoulder to stop him, the man became even more agitated.

“Let go of me, you tax-wasting parasites! Listen here, kid! You might think you’re famous, but if I spread this story to the media, you’re finished!”

“Why is he acting like that?”

“Just ignore him, Name. He’s trying to extort settlement money from you.”

“You’re rich anyway, right? Transfer 10 million won to my account by today. Otherwise, I’ll spread rumors everywhere until you get expelled from the academy!”

He seemed emboldened because I had used aura in my assault.

News about academy students using violence and getting expelled was a common topic.

“I think you’re under a big misunderstanding. The academy is actually quite lenient about self-defense. Should I recite the internal regulations for you?”

Ever since I was disqualified from the competition due to the 120cm height restriction, I had memorized all the foundation’s regulations.

“I’ll tell the media…”

“Go ahead. Korean citizens are quite strict when it comes to drunk people.”

In 2052 Korea, drunk drivers are viewed the same as sex offenders and serial killers.

Besides, intoxication hasn’t been a mitigating factor in sentencing for ages.

“I’ll sue…”

“I’m a minor under the Juvenile Protection Act?”

“You… you…!”

The man’s face changed through various shades of red and blue.

It’s amazing how short-sighted some people can be.

Unlike my previous life, in 21st century Korea, even people like him are protected by the state.

If he had been born as a commoner in medieval times and acted this way, he would have had his limbs broken by alley thugs and been fed to dogs.

Even if he had been a nobleman, he would have had an axe in his head after a trial by combat.

‘This tactless guy was born in the right era.’

The proportion of rude people is similar now as it was then, but this is why they seem more noticeable to us.

I clicked my tongue and walked past the man as he was being dragged to the interrogation room.

“Well, take care. It’s a shame my tax money is feeding prison meals to people like him.”

“Are you done talking? Just wait until I get out, you little—”

“Please calm down! Chief, please take Name downstairs quickly!”

The man with 14 prior convictions continued to resist pathetically as he was dragged to the individual interrogation room, still trying to maintain his pride.

“There’s a fruit slushie shop outside. Want me to buy you one, Name?”

“The shop across from the police station? I should politely decline, but I’ll gratefully accept instead.”

“Hahaha, that’s the spirit!”

The sounds of his struggling gradually faded.

As we were about to turn a corner past the narrow corridor of interrogation rooms, a very irritating sound reached my ears.

[Fucking orphan bitch, what’s so pretty about her that everyone’s making a fuss?]

I shook off the officer’s hand and quickly ran to the interrogation room the man had entered.

“Hey! Name! Name, where are you going!”

BANG-!

I kicked open the door of the 3-pyeong interrogation room with enough force to break it.

The police officer and the man sitting across from each other jumped up in surprise.

“Name, why did you come in here! It’s dangerous, get out quickly…!”

The young officer shouted urgently.

Regardless, I approached the handcuffed man and looked up at him.

“What are you going to do? Want to go another round?”

“If you’re confident, try hitting me here.”

“What?”

“You said something earlier about what you’d do when you got out of jail. Why don’t you try it now?”

“You rotten girl…!”

As I slowly approached, the man took a step back.

All his earlier bravado was gone, and he clamped his mouth shut cowardly.

He had barked confidently when there were bars between us, but now that the bars were gone, he lowered his tail like a day-old puppy. Or more accurately, like a dog.

The officer who had followed me in didn’t intervene, seemingly finding the situation quite amusing.

I looked around.

The entire interrogation room was treated with anti-mana measures.

Not only did the impurities in the mana interfere with circuit formulas, but even aura couldn’t be properly utilized.

It felt like trying to swim upstream against a torrential downpour.

But I endured the pressure of the massive repulsive force, and finally managed to infuse a tiny bit of aura into my fingertips.

The man had nowhere else to retreat and slumped down onto the chair.

“Don’t you have something to apologize for?”

“If anyone should apologize, it’s you—”

“Fine. I prefer it this way too.”

I raised my hand lightly.

[Pride: Hybris]

Losing the will to fight after taking a hit from a fighter is related to human survival instinct.

Ordinary people’s legs immediately go weak and their bodies tremble.

The same applies to aura hearts.

Humans evolved to become submissive in order to survive against the strong.

The people cannot disobey the commands of an arrogant king.

“My body… off… officer, my body!”

“Huh? What’s wrong, mister? What’s happening?”

The world was entirely purple.

I curled my five fingers like gripping a baseball and pressed down hard on the crown of his head.

“What is this.”

Sizzle-

Purple smoke leaked out from where I pressed, accompanied by a burning smell.

“Aaaagh! Aaaaargh!”

The man flailed his arms in pain.

I applied more force and infused more aura as he struggled.

“Aaaagh! It hurts! It huuuurts!”

“Whoa! Name! What are you doing? Get off, get off!”

The officer who had been watching with a smirk behind me panicked and pulled me away by my armpits.

The man fell from the chair with a groan.

Five distinct circular burn marks were clearly visible on his head.

Hair would never grow there again, and any transplanted hair would fall out.

It was the maximum revenge I could exact with a minimal amount of aura.

“This is bad…”

The police officers frowned deeply, holding their foreheads.

I dangled in the air, quietly smiling.

I wanted that slushie, but I wonder if he’ll still buy it for me now.

* * *

Despite the incident I caused, the kind-hearted police officer took me directly to the slushie shop.

I hope this person gets promoted soon.

“Slurp.”

While I enjoyed my refreshing pink cherry slushie, he sighed deeply.

“I feel really sorry, but if I went back in time, I’d do exactly the same thing.”

“Haah… tsk. No, haah… it’s our fault too. We were wrong to just watch because we found it amusing.”

“I’ll keep it a secret for you.”

“It doesn’t matter if you keep it secret if that guy blabs.”

“He absolutely won’t talk. Once you taste that, your will completely disappears. If he does say something, though it’s unlikely, please call me again.”

“Name, even so—”

The police officer continued lecturing about how private punishment is wrong in a constitutional state and how great power comes with great responsibility.

I nodded each time, agreeing that he was right.

“Well, in this money-obsessed country, you’re rich so it doesn’t matter much to you. But we have rabbit-like children to feed, so please try to understand.”

“I don’t have money.”

“Yes, thank you for understanding… Huh? Don’t you have 200 billion…”

“I spent it all long ago. I’m completely broke.”

He couldn’t believe this fact until I showed him my account balance directly.

I sucked on the cherry slushie through the straw, rolling my eyes as I wondered how to save money.

This sweet and sour drink is delicious.