Chapter 325: The Conference Meeting, Solomon’s Legal Counsel

Rudy had originally been informed of the mandatory conference meeting scheduled for early the next morning, an invitation he had immediately and bluntly turned down. But after he spent the night manually reviewing the footage and figuring out exactly what Solomon had done, he completely changed his mind.

He woke up early, dressed in his formal uniform, and drove straight to Tartarus Penitentiary, fully intending to attend the meeting and meticulously butcher the case to save the teenager.

When he reached the double doors of the primary conference hall, two stationed guards stepped forward, trying to tell him something about the ongoing presentation. Rudy completely ignored them. He shoved the guards aside and pushed the doors wide open.

The sprawling, amphitheater-style room was packed. Almost a hundred high-ranking individuals had been invited to the briefing. Roughly eighty percent of the attendees were precinct captains, lead detectives, and Awakened tactical commanders from Districts Six and Seven, as their jurisdictions were the most severely affected by the corporate massacre and the dungeon disappearance, making their ongoing investigations the highest priority.

The remaining twenty percent consisted of federal dungeon regulators, forensic specialists, and a few nervous city council members demanding answers for the localized economic crash.

The meeting had seemingly already begun when Rudy entered. The entire room went silent. Everyone turned and stared at him in genuine shock. A few detectives immediately began whispering among themselves, utterly baffled as to what he was doing there.

Rudy was notoriously reclusive as he literally never cared to attend these bureaucratic briefings, regardless of the occasion or how politically sensitive the active case was. He openly told them to fire him if they could, but they never did because he was their most important asset.

As Rudy walked calmly down the aisle to claim a seat near the front row, Chief Kurt scowled deeply from the stage, making it glaringly obvious that he despised Rudy’s sudden presence.

Commissioner Vane cleared his throat and resumed the briefing, pointing to a glowing map projected on the wall.

Only a few minutes had passed when the heavy doors opened again. A junior precinct messenger stepped into the hall, looking incredibly frantic. Everyone turned to look at him as he rushed down the aisle, jogging straight up onto the stage to whisper directly into Commissioner Vane’s ear.

"Sir, there is someone at the main penitentiary gates asking to come inside," the messenger reported breathlessly.

Vane raised his brows in profound confusion. He stared at the messenger for a few seconds. "Why are you coming all the way down here to inform me of that? Routine visitor matters should not be brought to my attention during a classified briefing. There are designated intake officers at the main post who are supposed to handle all external access requests. Just drive the person away, whoever it is, and tell them the official visiting hours have not started yet."

The messenger began visibly sweating. "The intake officer was actually the one who sent me down here to inform you about the visitor personally, Sir."

Vane paused, thinking to himself. ’The intake officer would normally just turn the visitor away since we do not allow civilians inside at this hour, especially without a pre-approved security permit. But if the officer specifically sent a runner down to the secure sub-levels just to inform me... then it must be someone incredibly important.’

"Who is this visitor?" Vane asked, lowering his voice.

The messenger wiped his brow. "Ballsac"

Vane’s eyes widened. He was instantly offended by the blatant vulgarity. He frowned deeply and leaned closer to the messenger. "Excuse me?"

"That is what he said, Sir," the messenger repeated nervously, trying to keep his composure. "The man called himself Professor Balzac. He stated that he is a senior faculty member from the Live Streaming Academy, and he is here acting as Solomon Ketzer’s official legal counsel and primary institutional representative."

Vane let out a quiet, stressed breath. ’If it is a high-ranking official directly from the LSA, I absolutely cannot turn them away,’ Vane reasoned inwardly. ’Especially not when one of their registered students is currently sitting in our custody as the prime suspect in a massive terrorist attack. They are acting as his legal representative. It has only been a few hours since his arrest... I honestly did not expect the academy to act this incredibly fast and deploy a faculty member personally instead of just releasing a PR statement or calling my office. This situation is escalating rapidly.’

Vane nodded. "Let him in. But ensure he goes through all the standard checkups, magical residue scans, and required security paperwork first. Once he is cleared, have an escort take him to my private office to wait for me."

"Yes, Commissioner," the messenger saluted sharply and rushed back out of the hall.

Vane watched the doors close, rubbing his chin in quiet disbelief. ’Who and why on earth would someone name their child Balzac?’ he wondered.

Vane cleared his throat loudly, apologizing to the crowded room for the brief disturbance, and quickly resumed the meeting.

The various precinct captains and lead detectives began voicing their tactical points and investigative opinions. They cited the slow progress on gathering physical evidence from the ruined skyscraper and provided minor updates regarding the forensic teams currently sweeping the rubble for explosive residue.

Just then, the heavy doors of the hall swung open once again. Everyone stopped talking and turned toward the entrance to see who was interrupting them this time.

No one walked in immediately as a dramatic suspense filled the room.

After a few long seconds, Professor Balzac finally strolled into the amphitheater. He wore a long, dark trench coat, his hands stuffed casually into his pockets, and his signature silk sleeping mask pushed up lazily onto his messy hair.

Vane mentally cursed the messenger. ’I told him to take the man to my private office! Why did he bring him directly to the briefing room?! I just want to retire, dammit! I am done with this shit! I am done slaving! I want to fulfill my dream of starting a guild!’

Balzac walked down the aisle without a single care in the world, completely ignoring the bewildered stares of the city’s finest detectives. He casually climbed the steps onto the main stage and turned to face the crowd.

"Good morning, everyone," Balzac announced, his lazy drawl echoing through the hall. "I am the Senior Professor of advanced magical theory at the Live Streaming Academy, and I am here acting as the official legal counsel, primary institutional representative, and designated guardian for my student, Solomon Ketzer."

He intentionally avoided revealing his name to the crowd.

Chief Kurt immediately stood up from his chair, his face flushing with absolute fury. He turned to the Commissioner, protesting loudly. "What the hell is going on here, Commissioner Vane?! Why is this highly classified, internal police meeting getting interrupted by people who have absolutely no say, no jurisdiction, and zero legal interference with this active case?! Why is an unvetted outsider currently standing on our stage?!"

Although Kurt made perfectly valid, logical points regarding security protocols, his real reason for protesting was entirely personal. He desperately wanted Solomon to rot in a cell, and he did not want a powerful academy representative to step in and legally free the boy.

He grew visibly agitated the moment Balzac introduced his credentials.

Balzac completely ignored the furious Police Chief. He walked over to the edge of the stage, grabbed a folding chair from the front row, and casually tossed it up onto the platform. He sat down, crossed his legs, and smiled lazily at the assembled officers.

"I have every single legal right to be in this room," Balzac stated, adjusting his coat. "And I am here to take my student back to the academy. You see, his vacation break has officially ended."