One of the two elves in the same grade, somehow also ended up here, piled together.
"Hey, how did you get caught too?—"
Pulling the cloth gag from the elf's mouth, Lanen asked.
"—I haven't heard any rumors about missing students."
The elf's face turned red as he said, "Thank you for saving me. I was captured yesterday evening with that classmate over there… the one surrounded by those girls. My sister probably doesn't even know I'm missing, and no one else noticed either. Thanks to you, otherwise I might not have seen tomorrow."
Lanen laughed. "No need to thank us, we're classmates. It's what we should do."
The elf's face turned even redder. "Um, could you untie me?"
"…Oh, of course, sorry I forgot…"
By the time all three were freed, the black-robed man had fully woken up, and Officer Old Mac and the teacher were interrogating him.
Seeing his predicament and realizing he'd been caught, the black-robed man seemed to lose all courage and resolve, spilling everything like beans from a sack.
"Deputy Director, I believe your name is Taylor Denton, right? Why would you commit such evil acts? Given your high position, it's not worth taking such risks."
Taylor Denton's eyes had lost focus, staring blankly as his lips moved, beginning to ramble about his story.
"Yes," he slowly raised his head, gazing emptily at the woven roof. "I'm Taylor Denton, of the Denton family. I don't know if you've heard of us, but we're an ancient lineage of mages."
"I'm my father's second son. The family's influence is strong, but extremely conservative. Everyone in the family takes pride in our name and history, and they're all obsessed with ancient magical practices. No child is allowed to attend public education or study arcane arts."
"If anyone is caught learning arcane arts, they face terrible consequences—ostracism, scorn, and the withdrawal of all resources. Especially the last part. Falling from a high standard of living is a powerful deterrent."
"So, everyone pretends to be enamored with the family's ancient traditions, spurning everything else. Who knows how many truly believe it? But it doesn't matter, because regardless of their thoughts, they all follow the rules."
"But the family isn't fair. Only strength determines your worth, and our training methods heavily rely on talent."
"Unfortunately, my talent isn't great, so the family invested little in me. I'm over forty and still just a deputy director in a powerless department, all because I lack the strength to compete for more family resources."
Hearing this, Lanen couldn't help but interject, "Deputy director isn't enough? And you became deputy director of the education bureau without ever attending school?"
"Of course. Isn't that common sense? You need a powerful recommender to hold a government position. With that, even if I never went to school, I could still be a leader—isn't that common sense?"
Common sense… Lanen felt a surge of frustration in his chest, too exhausted to retort.
And the word "family" reminded him of outdated terms like "clan elders"—vestiges of systems that hindered societal progress, infuriating him to the core.
Taylor Denton continued, "By ancient tradition, the family holds an annual tournament, ranking everyone's strength by age group. Higher ranks receive more family resources."
Lanen interrupted again, "But these days, magic duels are considered barbaric and ignorant."
At this, Taylor turned his head, his eyes briefly focusing on Lanen before returning to their vacant stare at the roof. "Young man, if anyone in the Denton family said that, they'd be hung up and beaten."
"So after all this, you still haven't gotten to the point. Why did you kidnap Beta and the others? Were the cases from the past two years your doing?" Elina snapped.
"My talent was poor. The family looked down on me, and I received far fewer resources than others. That made it even harder to catch up to those with better talent and more resources. It's a vicious cycle."
"Until four years ago, when I found this ritual in the family's old records—or rather, piles of parchment. It can steal someone's talent. It took me a year of study to barely understand it enough to perform."
"Three years ago, using my position in the education bureau, I carefully selected my first target: a boy from a modest family but with excellent talent. He had many siblings, reducing my risk. I stole his magic talent, and my year-end ranking shot up. The family allocated me significantly more resources."
As he spoke, a nostalgic expression crossed his face, making everyone's teeth grind.
"Last year, I struck again. If I succeeded this year, I'd almost certainly earn the family's recommendation to become director. From deputy to director—that's a huge leap. But…"
Lanen kicked him hard.
"What happened to the people you took last year and the year before?!" the magical flora and fauna teacher demanded, glaring.
"Buried in the woods nearby."
Fury burned in everyone's hearts, along with a chilling realization—today, the victim list had nearly doubled.
"I considered feeding them to animals, but worried they wouldn't finish and leave traces. So I just buried them."
After a round of punches, Old Mac asked, "Why commit your crimes at the zoo?"
Taylor, now bruised, still stared blankly. "First, it's close to the school, making it easy to find targets—talented prey can only come from schools. Second, this desolate hill is rare, with few people around. I pulled strings to secure this spot under the guise of building a storage shed."
"What about the roof?" Lanen asked.
"Ran out of money…"
"I only had enough for the walls. By the time I got to the roof, I was broke, so I used a fishing net and added branches to hide it from aerial detection. Practicing ancient magic is expensive. If you're not frugal, even a high income can lead to a vicious cycle."
The truth was now fully exposed.
Old Mac addressed the group. "I'll need all of you, especially this lady"—he gestured to the magical flora and fauna teacher—"to help escort him to the police station. We have secure holding facilities there. Next, he'll face a fair trial, and unless something unexpected happens, he'll be executed."
"Also, I'll need you to run an errand—notify my colleagues. With such a big case solved, they'll need to work overtime for the bonus. And you'll all need to give brief statements."
Everyone agreed readily and smoothly escorted the criminal, Taylor Denton, to the nearby police station.
On the way, Lanen mused, "Perhaps only by moving forward can we stay vibrant; clinging to the past breeds all kinds of darkness. This applies not just to individuals and families, but to factions, nations, and even human civilization as a whole."