C79: The Approaching Nightcrawlers (1)
Trina Ryanhowl, who was leading the way, stopped and looked back.
“Leader? What’s the matter?”
“……No. Nothing. I just felt like someone was looking over here.”
“No way.”
Lloyd said so by fixing his glasses under the hood, but Enya was different.
“The leader has a better sense than us, so just in case. That’s why we’re here.”
“Hmm.”
It was Trina Ryanhowl’s fault that the three men, sent to investigate the mystery of Bellbot Rickson’s death, are now roaming the alleyways in the middle of the night.
She, who has a good sense, came here with two deputy officials as if she were hooked on something.
Lloyd was dissatisfied and complained. For him, who values reason and scientific thinking, the sixth sense seemed like a children’s fairytale.
“The back alley it’s all about gangsters fighting and killing each other and vagrants anyway.”
“It’s a little different this time.”
“What’s the difference?”
“That’s what my hunch is saying.”
“Another hunch?”
Lloyd couldn’t say anything to Trina, because Trina was clearly his superior, and above all, her senses were surprisingly good.
She made a lot of achievements that didn’t make sense thanks to her good senses and has been successful in missions, which others thought were impossible. Therefore, Lloyd did not show it on the surface even though he was unhappy.
“It’s here.”
There were several bodies scattered at the scene.
“It’s… quite a lot of bodies.”
“Is there some kind of war going on here?”
“There must have been a fight between the organizations.”
Trina strode toward the bodies and confirmed it by squatting in front of one of the dead bodies, especially one that stood out.
“An assassin.”
“What? What?”
“This body. It’s not just a regular assassin.”
Trina frowned at the sour smell from the bottle hanging from the waist of the body.
“It’s a poison. A special poison used by Calsapa assassins.”
The body itself seemed no different from the others around it, but it was nothing more than a disguise to avoid being noticed by the other party.
At Trina’s words, Lloyd and Enya also came closer and checked the body.
“Indeed. There are definitely signs of training, rough hands full of calluses and even the small scars on the body. This is not something we can see in the back alley bastards.”
“Wow. The Calsapa Assassins are the famous assassination group from the Southern Fatima dynasty right?”
“They are terrifying bastards who don’t even spare their lives to kill their targets. But why is he in this back alley……?”
Trina got up.
“Leader?”
“He’s a Calsapa Assassin, but maybe he came all the way here because he was wandering around to gain experience after training, or he was kicked out for lack of ability.”
“But isn’t he a highly trained assassin?”
“Yes, it’s true that they’re not the kind of people who would be stuck in this place.”
But such a Calsapa Assassin died in the back alley, it was an unbelievable result.
“The cause of death is probably a wound on the forehead. A thin blade pierced his forehead at once and it fell from top to bottom.”
Trina looked up at the night sky full of clouds that was blocked by the walls of the alleyway, making it seem cramped.
“I don’t know who his opponent was, but he’s very powerful, seeing that he finished it with a hit without any injuries on his body.
The Calsapa Assassin was killed by a blow. Trina stopped the autopsy, and moved her steps to the darker side of the alley while Lloyd and Enya followed her in silence.
When they arrived at another location, they saw another group of corpses.
“Is this by magic?”
Enya asked, looking at the corpses all over the place.
It was impossible without magic that nearly 10 people were cut and killed by something at once in these alleys.
“I guess so.”
“It’s amazing that a wizard can participate in a fight in such a place like this. Then maybe that assassin too?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Lloyd, who found something, opened his mouth.
“Leader, there are more bodies there.”
In the darkness beyond the crowded bodies, there were two more dead bodies.
Trina realized that the two bodies were also Calsapa’s Assassins.
“This is the same as the first one. One died from having his heart penetrated and the size of the wound was the same as the first one, so he was killed by the same person. Was it a surprise attack from behind?”
Someone made a surprise attack on an assassin. How the hell? And in the case of the second corpse, the neck was cut by something sharp.
“The first two were killed with the same weapon, but the last one is different. Lloyd, check your feet there.”
“Yes?”
“There are marks left near there.”
What do you mean, marks….?
Lloyd looked carefully at the ground near his feet, half in doubt and as Trina said, there were slight traces of metal scratching the ground.
“This is….”
“The weapon that killed the first two Assassins must have fallen to the ground. If so, the picture is roughly drawn. The Calsapa Assassins and these corpses we’re trying to kill someone.”
However, the opponent was not an ordinary person and they were all killed. The last remaining Assassin succeeded in taking the opponent’s weapon, but eventually lost.
“The thing that cut off the neck was a sharp weapon. It specializes in cutting rather than stabbing. It must have been a dagger since the wound wasn’t very wide. If so, it must be the black sword stick used in the first place.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“You might think it’s a rapier, but look closely. The opponent who killed the assassin is a human who specializes in finding other people’s loopholes. If such a human used a stabbing sword, he would have a sword hidden in his staff.”
“I see.”
“And this trace. The assassin was trying to engage in a close-quarters battle with the opponent. If the opponent was a swordsman using a rapier, he wouldn’t have tried to do that. He had guessed that it was an opponent that he had to fight at close range but that’s not the case.”
“You have great reasoning skills.”
Lloyd had no choice but to admire Trina’s reasoning ability to grasp the course of the situation in an instant. Enya didn’t even need to say anything because she was already staring at her boss with immersed eyes.
“It’s not a big deal. I also learned only moderately from someone I know.”
“Who did you learn to reason from?”
“It’s just a quick way to find clues around you rather than reasoning. He told me right away that I have a good sense and that I can learn easily.”
“Who the hell is he? And when did you learn…….”
“A few years ago I met him when I was visiting another county.”
“What is he doing?”
“He’s a private detective.”
“What? Only a detective?”
Obviously, a detective is a great person because he’s specialized in finding clues and reasoning. Even so, he could teach Trina, whose senses are far beyond the general population?
“He’s a detective, but he’s quite a freak. That’s how good he is. Sometimes, I was surprised by his nonsensical reasoning.”
“I can’t believe the captain said that…….”
They were surprised to hear Trina, who’s always calm and charismatic, say that.
“Whatever it may be, this was no ordinary fight given the bodies scattered here. Since they hired the Calsapa’s Assassins, the attackers have risked their lives.”
“Is that related to the death of Bellbot Rickson that we are investigating?”
“We don’t know that yet. However, it is certain that there will be quite a stir in the back alley of Leathervelk.”
Trina carefully looked around to see if there were any other clues.
‘Well, the rough finding is that only two people who have made all this happen’
One man and one woman.
The marks and traces of shoes carved on some bodies are clearly visible.
‘One side uses a knife and the other is a wizard.’
Trina approached the wall of the alleyway and glanced at it with her fingertips. Then she rubbed her fingers and smelled it. A subtle scent was hidden between the stenches of this place. Traces of the smell still linger in the alleyway.
‘This smells like diffusion.’
Diffusion incense was famous for increasing the conductivity of mana, but she knows that it is used when dealing with wizards.
‘The Assassins moved knowing that their opponent was a wizard but they failed. Didn’t they know he was using a sword?’
That means both the man and the woman were wizards. However, one of the two also handled the sword well. The assassins didn’t know that so they died.
‘A wizard good with swords…….’
Trina’s eyes shone sharply because there was a similar guy in her memory, a man who wore black shadows and stole all kinds of expensive things. The most famous thief she tried to catch again and again when she was not yet a Knight Commander, Arsene Lupin.
“The safe in Bellbot Rickson’s mansion has disappeared. Is that him?’
At one point, she thought he had disappeared without a clue, left this job and went into hiding.
‘The mysterious thief that suddenly reappeared, a werewolf cryptid, suddenly appeared and the secret abandoned factory that was burned.’
Trina was sure that all these clues were connected.
“The confirmation is complete.”
“Already?”
“Yes, I got everything I could get here.”
“So what do we do with the bodies?”
“Leave it alone. I’m sure the cleaners in the back alley will take care of the bodies in these places anyway.”
Trina knows the rules of this place. No one is surprised or asks about the corpses. Even if dozens of people die, it is not even listed in the newspaper the next day. It is natural for the world to disappear behind the emptiness without being part of the great flow of times.
“Then what are you going to do now? Does the investigation end here?”
Trina shook her head at Lloyd’s question.
“The investigation continues.”
“But we haven’t had any results yet. If we keep going on like this…….”
“Yeah, so this is actually the last time.”
“Yes?”
“So, let’s go to the place where the last clue might be.”
Trina turned her head and stared in the direction of the place.
“I’m going to Theon Academy.”
* * *
Early in the morning the birds were chirping.
Rudger worked steadily in the teacher’s office even on days when there was no class, but he decided to rest in his private accommodation today.
It was because of the accumulated fatigue from having been too busy lately.
He had to deal with the <Almighty Stone> incident and after that was over he has to take care of Leathervelk back alley.
‘But it’s a good thing.’
Rudger sighed, lying on a fluffy sofa.
He was able to use the excuse that he was giving the test questions because it was the first test period. Thanks to this, he didn’t have to go to the teacher’s office and stayed in his accommodation and rested.
“Knock, knock.”
A knock on the door woke him up.
Who is it? He tried to pretend he wasn’t there, but if he dared to come all the way here, he must have known he wasn’t in the office.
Rudger immediately got up from the sofa and opened the front door.
“Ah! Mr. Rudger!”
“Miss Selina.”
So it was Selina who came to visit him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah. Because Mr. Rudger didn’t come to the office today.”
“Yes, I don’t have classes today, and I’ve been troubled by the exam questions.”
“I see.”
Selina stared at Rudger’s figure, blurring the end of her words. This is because she saw Rudger dressed comfortably at home for the first time after seeing him dressed neatly every time.
Of course, he was properly dressed with trousers and a shirt, but that alone was new to her.
‘You’ve loosened your hair too.’
The hair that he usually ties looked different because he completely untied it. Maybe he didn’t sleep well, because he has dark circles under his eyes, but even so he has a decadent beauty.
Selina sighed in admiration and remembered why she had come here.
“Mr. Rudger. The reason I’m here is because I have a guest looking for Mr. Rudger.”
“A guest?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you send an employee and Selina herself…….”
“Hehehe. I can stop by on my way anyway, so I decided to come. That’s good for each other, right?”
“I see. So what kind of guest came to see me?”
Selina replied with a bright, innocent smile.
“Knights from the security bureau.”
“…….”
Rudger frowned, but Selina didn’t notice it.