Damn, I recarneted As A Judge in Fantasy World

The franchise business was being promoted at a considerable pace.

The local nobles who signed the contract each returned to their fiefdoms and looked for a suitable site. It was to meet the location requirements Abel had requested.

The problem was that it cost money, and in the case of Count Leod, it could not be helped.

Did that mean he couldn't enter the franchise business? No way.

Although somewhat weakened by a series of failures, Count Leod was still a powerful figure in the provinces. If he saved steadily for a few years, he would probably be able to recover sufficiently.

So, Abel happily lent him some business money—just by receiving slightly lower interest rates than other places.

"If the annual interest rate is 5%, it's no different from a free lunch," Abel thought.

This was not a modern society where financial loans were common. In reality, the only cases of lending money were at the level of usury.

In most situations, the annual interest rate would exceed 50%.

In this environment, offering just 5% must have made Abel seem like more of a god than a saint in the eyes of Count Leod.

Oh, of course, Abel took suitable collateral. These nobles lacked cash, but they had plenty of real estate.

"The reaction was a bit intense," Abel mused, recalling the situation at that time. He couldn't help but laugh. Everyone forgot about their dignity and resorted to extreme measures that would only be expected in a temple.

"I have a lot of money, so maybe I should try opening a bank," Abel pondered.

He could earn money from the difference in interest between deposits and loans. It might even be possible to settle banknotes naturally.

There were many great benefits, but the problem was Abel himself.

"I have too much work to do," he muttered.

"It looks to me like you're just playing," Peltron said curtly, noticing Abel lying on his desk in the office.

"What is this guy talking about now?" Abel wondered.

"Playing around? Can't you see that I'm dying from all this hard work?" Abel retorted.

"The employees do the work anyway. The boss just tells them what to do."

"Wow! You're ignoring me just because I live in a rural area? Tens of millions of locals won't stay still if you keep this up."

"Hey, that's not what I meant. Do you admit that you have a lot of side jobs or not?"

"There are several positions," Abel admitted.

"You have to change your mindset every time you go to a different place," Peltron added.

"It seems easy to you because you're not the one doing it."

"If something someone else does looks easy, they are considered an expert," Peltron quipped.

Abel snapped.

"Taaak!"

He gave the annoying Peltron a hard slap on the head.

The little bat-like creature's body was thrown far away before bouncing back.

"Why are you hitting me?" Peltron protested.

"Because you're cute."

"Ha! That excuse is ridiculous."

"If you weren't cute, I would have killed you," Abel replied flatly.

"It's cute... right?" Peltron hesitated.

Instead of answering, Abel simply stared at him. Peltron took a step back, a frightened expression crossing his face.

"Ugh! These are the eyes of a crazy person!" Peltron cried, suddenly throwing himself out the window.

Abel raised an eyebrow. "Can that guy even fly? Isn't he just a bat with a pattern?"

Bang! As expected, the sound of Peltron crashing into the ground echoed after his failed attempt at flying.

Shaking his head, Abel focused back on the court documents. "Let's finish this quickly and move on."

Today, the court only worked in the morning. Since Perias had so many tasks to handle, he was focused on city hall work.

As Abel turned the first page of the documents, a rather unpleasant word greeted him.

Fraud?

Just like in his homeland, fraud was rampant here. From small schemes like overcharging to selling counterfeit goods, it was as common as in modern Korea.

The reason was simple: it was difficult to track embezzled funds, and the level of punishment was not severe.

Why? Because those in high-ranking positions needed to enjoy their share of the spoils.

Fraud on a large scale was often perpetrated by nobles, and they usually got away with a fine or a suspended sentence.

This time, the damage was quite significant. "The suspect is Viscount Eplin, and the victim is Baron Lamont," Abel read aloud.

Coincidentally, the case involved nobility.

Count Eplin was an official at Perias's city hall. The case had likely been assigned to Abel because it was a difficult trial in many ways.

"But why on earth?" Abel wondered.

The salaries of city officials weren't bad. Of course, it wasn't like they could freely use the budget or receive bribes as they did before, but it wasn't so bad that they couldn't maintain their dignity.

Viscount Eplin, like most bureaucrats, even owned a few shops in prime locations.

"I guess I'll have to look into it a little more closely," Abel decided.

He immediately summoned Viscount Eplin's character information. Since Eplin was a city official, Abel could access details about his whereabouts and current activities.

====

(Person Information)

Name: Randy Eplin

Status: Viscount

Position: City Hall Sewerage Management Department Manager, General Store Manager.

Relationship: Not good

Status: Dissatisfied with reduced profits, feeling inconvenienced by job changes, considering closing one of the stores.

Overall Ability: B

=====

Randy Eplin wasn't a talent dispatched from the Dapan Group.

In the past, he had been a rookie in the service for about two years.

Due to a lack of practical skills, his role had been changed, and he seemed to have adapted well.

But he was an ordinary person who should have been dismissed long ago.

These days, the sewerage department didn't have much work. Still, this was too much.

Through the staff management window, Abel found Randy Eplin at a private gambling house in the underworld.

Under imperial law, that wasn't necessarily a big problem.

Because entertainment options were scarce, gambling was almost tolerated.

But if this turned out to be a scam, the situation would be entirely different.

"If you want to prove a crime, you have to see it for yourself," Abel concluded.

He got up from his desk and headed straight to the prosecutor's office.

As a judge, Abel lacked direct investigative authority. He could only give instructions to investigate.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In this case, he had no choice but to work with the inspector.

Dripping!

"Who are you?"

When Abel knocked on the office door, a haggard-looking man emerged.

The man's pupils dilated the moment he saw Abel.

"Your Honor! What brings you here?"

The man, who stuttered while speaking, was none other than Prosecutor Corbin Sears.

But why did he look so worn out?

Abel tilted his head and asked, "Why is your face like that?"

"That's... I can't sleep at all these days," Sears admitted.

"I guess it's because of this trial," Abel surmised.

Fraud cases were notoriously challenging.

But Sears's response caught Abel entirely off guard.

"No. My wife is too scary."

"..."

Abel stared at Corbin Sears for a long moment, utterly baffled.

Corbin Sears' demeanor carried an air of meticulous professionalism, but there was something slightly off about his behavior today.

"Do you need some Cordyceps Sinensis Dan-Hwan?" Abel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? I'm still fine!" Sears responded, startled.

"Oh, isn't this it?" Abel teased, noticing the inspector's flustered reaction.

The exchange revealed a peculiar vulnerability in Sears, an otherwise composed and diligent man. It seemed that his authoritative stance faltered when it came to personal matters.

This reminded Abel of Count Eddie Hewitt, who was rumored to live in fear of his son's psychopathic tendencies. He couldn't help but wonder if Sears was dealing with a similarly delicate issue.

"Has your wife committed a crime?" Abel asked, half-jokingly.

"Oh, that's impossible," Sears replied, shaking his head emphatically.

"Then why are you scared?"

Sears hesitated before admitting, "Actually, I have a bit of an obsession with myself. To the point where I even attach myself to people."

"Uh...," Abel muttered, genuinely taken aback. This was not the answer he had expected.

Abel had always regarded Sears as a solid bureaucrat, a man of principle and duty. But, as the saying went, no one truly knows what goes on behind closed doors.

While Sears' professional life was spotless, Abel realized his personal life might be far messier. Despite his upright reputation, Sears rarely attended social gatherings, a stark contrast to someone like Cordell McNeil, who thrived in high society.

"Then it's a typical delusional disorder," Abel thought. He was no psychiatrist, and there was little he could do to help Sears navigate this internal struggle.

"You must have had a hard time," Abel said sympathetically.

"I thought things would get better if I just took care of myself, but that wasn't the case," Sears admitted, his voice tinged with regret.

"How about getting help from the church?" Abel suggested.

"My wife is already a believer in Armid," Sears replied. "But her mind is filled with doubts."

"This is serious," Abel remarked, sensing the depth of the problem.

"It's all my karma that I have to endure," Sears sighed. "By the way, what brings you here?"

Abel decided it was time to move past pleasantries and get to the matter at hand. He tapped a stack of court papers on the desk with his fingertips.

"Are you in charge of the Count Eplin gambling fraud case?" Abel asked.

"Yes, I took charge," Sears confirmed.

"It seems like you're having trouble verifying it. Would you like to go with me?"

"The investigation is almost finished," Sears replied, his tone shifting to one of reluctant confidence.

"So, did you find the stolen funds?" Abel pressed further.

"...No," Sears admitted, his confidence quickly deflating.

Abel understood his frustration. Fraud cases often left victims suffering, even after the trials concluded. It was a harsh reality of their world, one that neither justice nor conviction could always resolve.