Chapter 26: Dealing With the Star Thieves
"How dare you treat us like this, Sophie Wexler!" one of them roared, leaping from his chair and lunging toward her.
Before he could reach Sophie Wexler, a transparent protective wall shot up and repelled him. The officer behind them warned sharply, "This is the Healer-class Protection Association!"
How dare they openly provoke and even try to harm a Healer-class individual right inside the Protection Association.
"Sit down!"
Sophie Wexler raised an eyebrow at the Energy Wall before her and marveled inwardly. ’As expected of the Galaxy. This barrier is pretty impressive.’
But even after sitting down, the group was still fuming. One moment they were out having a good time, and the next, these people had shown up out of nowhere and hauled them here.
They had been completely stunned when the people from the Healer-class Protection Association first showed up.
"What do we do? Don’t tell me they found out we hired Star Thieves to teach Sophie Wexler a lesson," one of them asked in a panic.
After all, the Empire’s penalties for openly bullying a Healer-class individual were severe.
Another, trying to stay calm, smacked the panicking one on the head. "Shut up!"
"Star Thieves are tight-lipped. They’d never rat us out. If they did, they wouldn’t last long in their line of work."
Every organization has its own unwritten rules, and the Star Thieves know the consequences of breaking them better than anyone.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hired Star Thieves in the first place. So it couldn’t be about that.
And sure enough, after they were brought in, they weren’t treated harshly—just told to sit and wait.
Racking their brains, they figured that besides the Star Thief incident, the only other thing that would get the Protection Association involved was the money Sophie Wexler had talked about.
They had assumed she was just bluffing back then. They never thought she would actually dare to go to the Protection Association for help!
That’s why every one of them was gnashing their teeth in hatred at the sight of Sophie Wexler. Never in their lives had they been treated this way!
Sophie Wexler stood her ground, watching their savage expressions, looking as if they wanted to eat her alive. She found it amusing. They were the ones who had started this trouble, yet now they were acting as if it were all her fault.
"Miss Wexler, which matter shall we address first?" the officer asked.
The main reason they had contacted Miss Wexler was that they had apprehended the Star Thieves who tried to harm her.
The first thing Sophie Wexler had done after regaining consciousness was report to the Healer-class Protection Association that Star Thieves had tried to harm her, providing a video of the incident from a micro-recorder.
It was all thanks to the small Light Brain she wore on her wrist. Otherwise, with no surveillance devices in that alley, they likely would have never found the Star Thieves.
Sophie Wexler glanced at the furious group to her side, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "Let’s deal with the Star Thieves first."
She shot them a meaningful glance, and only continued when she saw them avoid her gaze.
"These individuals seem a little unstable. Let’s give them some time to cool off before we proceed."
"Alright," the officer agreed, glancing at the group. He then gestured for Sophie Wexler to follow him in another direction. "This way."
Since it was confirmed that the Star Thieves had attempted to harm a Healer-class individual, they had already been placed in custody. Sophie Wexler was led to an interrogation room.
When the two Star Thieves saw Sophie Wexler enter, their faces twisted with rage. "Officer, we never actually hurt her! In fact, we were the ones whose Spiritual Seas were attacked!"
Sophie Wexler scoffed. "Let me correct you. I was acting in self-defense."
’If Cillian Forrest hadn’t been there,’ she thought, ’there’s no way I could have escaped the attacks of two C-level spiritual power users unscathed.’
The fact that she wasn’t harmed was one thing, but it didn’t negate the fact that they had intended to cause harm.
She wasn’t some forgiving saint who would just let the matter slide because she hadn’t been injured. Not a chance!
Besides, it wasn’t like Star Thieves had clean records. The fact that they were already in custody was the best proof of that.
After all, since she hadn’t suffered any physical harm, the Protection Association wouldn’t normally keep them in custody. At most, they’d detain them for a few days and issue a reprimand.
The fact that they were in custody could only mean this wasn’t their first offense, and that the Protection Association had already found evidence of other crimes. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have progressed this far.
She had merely given things a little nudge from behind.
Just as the two Star Thieves were about to argue, a wave of spiritual power washed over them. The officer commanded, "Quiet!"
He then turned to Sophie Wexler. "These two have harmed several Healer-class individuals. We’re very grateful to you, Miss Wexler, for providing the evidence that led to their capture."
"We asked you to come in to confirm the details of the incident one last time and to inform you of the outcome of their case."
"Do you have any questions regarding how this matter has been handled?"
Sophie Wexler glanced at the official report before her. The penalties were determined by the Empire; she had no objections.
However, Sophie Wexler narrowed her eyes at the two men and asked, "I only have one question. Who hired you?"
"No one." At this point, they had no room to argue, but they would never betray their client. It was their code. No matter how many times they were asked, they stuck to their story: no one had hired them.
Knowing she wouldn’t get anything out of them, Sophie Wexler wasted no more time. She signed her name on the document and left the interrogation room.
When she came out, the group was still sitting in the waiting area. They glared at her with resentful expressions as she emerged.
Sophie Wexler gave them a meaningful look, then a slow smile spread across her face as she walked toward them.
"Sophie Wexler, you really went to the Healer-class Protection Association over a little bit of money? I guess we underestimated you."
We always thought she was an idiot and wouldn’t dare make a scene. Who knew she actually had the guts!
"Allow me to correct you," Sophie Wexler said calmly. "It’s not ’a little bit of money.’ It’s seven million Star Coins."
"If I recall correctly, a sum of 50,000 Star Coins is enough to constitute a case for extortion, isn’t it?" Sophie Wexler asked, turning to the officer beside her.
"That is correct," the officer replied with a nod.
After receiving his confirmation, Sophie Wexler turned back to the group with an innocent look on her face. "You all kept refusing to pay me back. I had no choice but to seek help from the Healer-class Protection Association."
"But you said we had a week!" one of them protested. "It’s only been a few days!"
"Did I?" Sophie Wexler asked breezily. ’So what if I did? Can’t I change my mind?’
"I have the transfer records, the itemized receipts, and the chat logs. If you don’t pay me back today, then according to the laws of the Empire, you will face..."
Before Sophie Wexler could finish listing the penalties, one of them cut her off. "Alright, fine! It’s just money, right? Like we can’t afford it. We’ll pay you back, you pauper!"
The man’s expression twitched at the thought of seven million Star Coins. It felt like a knife twisting in his gut. But if he was formally punished and brought shame upon his family, they would kill him when he got home.
So, gritting their teeth as if their hearts were bleeding, the group scraped the money together and paid Sophie Wexler back.
Sophie Wexler checked her balance and smiled. "See? It would have been much easier if you’d just done this from the start."