End of the road

 
 The evidence was lined up before me.
 
 What I picked up from there was ——— of course, the magic detector we made.
 
 I slung the main body’s bag over my shoulder, and held the probe in my right hand.
 
 ”Onii-sama, please get the preparations ready.”
 
 Graham-nii-sama nodded at my words.
 
 ”You guys, lend me a hand for a bit.”
 
 After calling out to the Judicial Ministry’s public prosecutor and the official in charge, the went and walked over to the window.
 
 There, the wooden frame with Mistreel wires sat… the magic communications device’s antenna.
 
 ”Up-, -sy daisie.”
 
 Carrying the antenna in their arms, my brother and the others brought it over to the centre of the assembly hall.
 
 In the meantime, I tuned the detector’s dial to the wavelength I’d checked beforehand.
 
 
 
 ”Now then. Preparations are complete.”
 
 In response to my words, the assembly hall became noisy.
 As for the Duke, he glared this way expressionlessly.
 
 The judge blinked in surprise and asked me a question.
 
 ”What on earth is going to begin now?”
 
 ”I will now explain to everyone how we discovered the [second communications device]. ——— Onii-sama, could you please press the telegraph key?”
 
 ”Got it.”
 
 Saying so, my brother sat on the seat in front of the communications device’s main body, and began tapping the telegraph key.
 
 (Toto-Tii-Toto……Toto-Tii-Toto)
 
 From the internal speaker in the communications device’s main body, a weak signal sound could be heard.
 
 I stood right in front of the antenna, pointed the magic power detector’s probe at it, and little by little, turned up the sensitivity dial.
 
 《……Bibi-Bee-Bibi……》
 
 The detector caught the magic power emitted by the communications device.
 
 I began my explanation in a resolutely loud voice.
 
 ”As everyone can see, in this position, the detector clearly grasps the magic power emitted by the communications device. ——— Well now. Then what happens if we go and change the location?”
 
 
 
 While pointing the probe at the antenna, I began walking around it in an anti-clockwise manner.
 
 《Bibi-Bee-Bibi……Bibi-Bee-Bibi………Bi-Ee-………Bi………》
 
 The detection sound gradually became softer.
 
 Eventually, once I had reached the exact opposite location, the detection sound became almost inaudible.
 
 (“”……””)
 
 A bizarre silence drifted across the assembly hall.
 There certainly wouldn’t be nearly no one who hadn’t noticed what [this] meant.
 
 I went half-circle around it again, and returned to right in front of the antenna.
 
 《…Bi……Bi-Ee-……Bibi-Bee-Bibi……》
 
 The detection sound began once more being clearly audible.
 I turned the sensitivity dial back to zero.
 
 
 
 ”Do you understand? The magic power that can be clearly grasped when right in front of the antenna becomes almost undetectable on the other side of the antenna. ——— I wonder what this means.”
 
 I looked around the assembly hall.
 
 ”This communications device’s antenna has an extremely high directionality in the magic power it transmits… in other words, it [only sends magic power in a specific direction]. ——— Onii-sama, the map.”
 
 When I called out, Graham-nii-sama nodded, and instructed [official, spread out the first map].
 
 The official, who had already been prepared, faced the judge’s seat, the senators’ seats, and the audience seats, and then faced the defendant’s seat, all the while having the map unfolded.
 
 An [Ooooohhh…] kind of noise occurred amongst the surroundings.
 
 
 
 Drawn there was a map of the western part of the Heielland Kingdom.
 
 Currently, where the royal capital on the right side was drawn, a red mark had been drawn, and then leftward from there… in the western direction, a thin belt was drawn.
 
 ”This map shows the direction in which the antenna installed in the Duke’s mansion in the royal capital was pointing and, as was clarified in a later inspection, the range to which the magic power waves reached.”
 
 I took a pointing stick out from my pocket.^[1]
 
 ”As you can see, from the antenna installed in the Duke’s mansion, magic power was sent in the western direction, with that maximum range reaching 170km.”
 
 Extending the pointing stick, I indicated the belt-shaped range on the map.
 
 ”And then, the city at the end of that magic power wave was ———”
 
 With a light tap, I hit a single spot on the map.
 
 Everyone gasped, and the judge let out a murmur.
 
 ”Isn’t that Padma, that you had mentioned earlier…”
 
 ”Exactly so.”
 
 I gave a light bow.
 
 
 
 With a quick glance, I looked at the Duke, but he remained unchangingly expressionless while glaring at me.
 
 ———however, looking closely, you could see his clenched fists were trembling slightly.
 
 I asked the Duke a question.
 
 ”Now then, Your Excellency the Duke of Oswell. I’d like you to tell me if you’re aware, but… from here, the royal capital Sanakia, to the border shared with the Principality, how far would that distance be?”
 
 At my question, the Duke’s face twitched.
 
 ”——— 350 km”
 
 ”Is that so! Thank you very much. As expected of His Excellency the Duke who had served in an important position for a long time.”
 
 ”Anyone involved in the country’s internal or external affairs, or military-related matters, should have naturally been taught as such.”
 
 ”So that’s how it was. Thank you for telling me.”
 
 I bowed with a smile on my face.
 
 And then next, I turned to face Graham-nii-sama.
 
 
 
 ”However… that’s troubling, Onii-sama. According to what Onii-sama said, [His Excellency the Duke was in touch with the Principality via this communications device]. But according to what the Duke said, from the Principality to this royal capital is 350 km. Since the range magic power from the communications device can reach is 170km, doesn’t that mean that, even if you sent magic power from the city of Padma, it [won’t reach the border]?”
 
 ”(Pfft…)”
 
 In response to my cheap play^[2], my brother turned his face away while holding in his laughter.
 
 (Even though I tried my best to bring up the topic… I’ll make sure he gets a lecture from Otou-sama later.)
 
 As I puffed out my cheeks, my brother, who had managed to suppress his laughter, nodded, and then turned to face the judge.
 
 His face no longer held any sort of playfulness.
 
 ”Your Honour. The witness’s statement now raises a very important issue. [From the royal capital and the city of Padma, where the communication devices were located, the communication magic power can’t reach the Principality]. ——— however, what would you do then?”
 
 My brother fixed his gaze on the Duke.
 
 ”No way…”
 
 The Duke’s face twiches, and his body trembles.
 
 ”This is what you should do. ——— Official, the second map!”
 
 Bam, the officials spread open the new map all at once.^[3]
 
 
 
 Drawn there was a map from the kingdom’s western part, passing through the border, up until the Principality’s metropolis^[4].
 
 The red line drawn from the royal capital to the city of Padma, extended to a red spot stuck in the kingdom’s western farming region, to the border, and then finally, to the Principality’s metropolis.
 
 
 
 With the entire assembly hall in turmoil, my brother raised his voice.
 
 
 
 ”The Second Knights Order has already searched for the hut in the western farming region, and confiscated a third communications device, along with communication records. Furthermore, they have infiltrated the Principality, and finally confirmed that this communications channel leads to the base of Principality’s Knight Order!!”
 
 
 Drawing in a large breath, my brother pointed at the Duke, and shouted this:
 
 
 ”Accept it, Duke!! I know all about your filthy schemes!!!!”^[5]
 
 
 
 That instant, an unpleasant [Doof!!] sound could be heard from the opposite side.
 
 Turning my eyes that way, I saw the figure of the Duke, banging his head against the desk.
 
 ”This, guy from a commoneeeeer!! How many, how many, how many times! Do you have to get in my waaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!”
 
 ”Die!”
 
 Doof!
 
 ”Die!!”
 
 Doof!!
 
 ”Diiiee!!!”
 
 Doof!!!
 
 ”The impudent bastards risen from commoners, and the king that favours that bunch, you should all just diiiiiieee!!!!”
 
 Bodoof!!!!
 
 ”———UUuooooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
 
 After repeatedly head-butting and letting out a dreadful shriek… our long-standing enemy fainted in an unsightly bloodstained manner.
 

TL Notes:

[1]Girls in this world would all be mad that Leticia’s clothes have actual pockets that are large enough and practical enough to be able to store an entire pointing stick. ↩

[2]this is kinda a pun/double meaning, since the term for “cheap” used here is made up of the kanji for “three + sentence” ↩

[3]this is honestly the first time I’ve gotten any sort of confirmation that there is more than one official present (unfortunately, even now it’s uncertain. Not that it matters much, though.) ↩

[4]weird, first time I’ve seen this word in JP. It says it can also mean capital city, which I assume is what the author wanted to say, but wanted to differentiate it from a “royal” capital, since it’s not a “kingdom”. ↩

[5]…and yet he wanted to laugh at Leticia’s play… ↩

 

This chapter had a whopping 3337 characters, something this stroy hasn’t pulled out in a long time… I’ll just let that be my excuse this time