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Chapter 378 – Murder on a Rainy Night (Part 03)
Murder on a Rainy Night (Rainy Rainy Serial Killer) Part 03
「—And so I exterminated the serial killer in the presence of a Quinbland spy.」
「………」
The Supreme Leader Patricia froze as she listened to Silver Face’s report. This masked apparition always appeared out of nowhere and said the most outrageous things. But today he was far nastier than usual.
「You do know who I am and where you are, right?」That was all Patricia could say.
「I do. You’re Patricia Zylberstein and this is your bedroom.」
「I see. Well, seeing as you’re calm despite knowing that, I have nothing more to say.」
「I didn’t have a choice. This is the only place you’re away from your close aides. And here’s a letter from Emperor Kaglai.」
「From Kaglai?!」
Taking the sealed letter from Hikaru, Patricia moved to the the magic lamp and began checking its contents. As the leader of a country, she showed no semblance of shame despite being in a light nightgown in front of someone.
Five days had passed since Hikaru ran into Alice. As Hikaru said, no murder victims had been discovered since then.
Hikaru asked Alice to get a letter from Kaglai for him, essentially using the Man Gnome’s credibility to convince Patricia. Hikaru couldn’t care less if she didn’t trust him, but he didn’t want to remain a suspect either. Plus he wouldn’t be able to sleep if the case went unsolved.
「The letter says everything you say is right.」Patricia said.
「Figures. That’s why I brought the Quinbland spy with me.」
「Did you say you killed the serial killer?」
「No. I exterminated it. It was an immortal monster.」
「What did you say?」Patricia’s eyes widened.
「I’ll explain it in order, but let me get something straight first. A normal person can’t kill someone without anyone noticing.」
Patricia’s eyes seemed to be saying, “Well you can, can’t you?”
「A normal person can’t.」
「Yeah, yeah. And then?」
「I ruled out the possibility of a Stealth master killing indiscriminately.」
「Why?」
「Because it draws attention.」
「But they won’t draw attention if they can hide themselves.」
「That’s not what I’m saying. What I mean is there’s no one in this world that’s good as me when it comes to Stealth, and there are probably only a few who are a few levels below me.」
「Confident, are we?」
「I’m talking objectively right now. If a guy like that starts a killing spree, it’s going to narrow down the list of suspects.」
Hikaru scoffed. It was unrealistic to assume there was anyone else just like him. His Stealth-related stats had been maxed, he possessed the Stealth God: Darkness Wanderer class, and his stats were further enhanced beyond the limits by his unique ability Soul Blaze. If there was someone out there just like him, he’d love to meet them.
「Also, it’s baffling that the victims are chosen at random. If a human being committed the crime, there would always be some sort of preference, some tendency to do things a certain way. Choosing places that are easy to infiltrate, easy-to-kill victims, etcetera. There are no such things in this case.」
「So that’s why you think the killer is a monster?」
「Exactly. A monster that has lost its humanity has no such preference.」
「But how did you find the monster? They would be elusive.」
Hikaru nodded.
Dealing with Undead-type monsters wasn’t all that difficult. The monster used some kind of ability to hide itself, while searching for people who were alone. The question was: What kind of ability was it? The answer: mana, their own magical power. Only mana could do such a thing in this world.
This was the perfect case for Hikaru, who had maxed-out Mana Detection and Detection Expansion, and possessed the Grand Sonar class. All he had to do was search for “mana”. However, it wasn’t easy at all.
Hikaru needed to walk around town while expanding his detection range to look for mana that didn’t belong to a human being. It was a process that required patience.
The day after running into Alice, Hikaru walked around the whole day, found the mana he was looking for, and headed there at night with Alice. His legs felt like lead from walking all day, and his head burned from overusing Mana Detection, but he had to go or the monster could change locations, which would mean repeating the whole process again. Eventually they found the monster and killed it.
「As to how I found the monsters, I’ll just keep that a secret.」
「A secret, huh?」
「Here’s proof of the kill.」
Hikaru held out a dagger covered in soot. Its blade was warped, a cracked gem embedded on its hilt.
「What’s this?」
「That’s the serial killer. Apparently it’s called an Evil Sword.」
「Evil Sword? I haven’t heard that one before.」
「It’s a high-ranking immortal monster. If a deranged person dies with a strong grudge, his sword becomes a monster.」
「We call that a Flying Sword, though. It’s supposed to be a low-ranking monster.」
「If a Flying Sword is left unattended and kills tons of monsters, absorbing a lot of grudges, it evolves into an Evil Sword. That’s what the old documents in the Adventurers Guild said.」
Finding the monster was easy, and disposing of it wasn’t too difficult. Hikaru took Lavia and Paula with him. Paula slowed down the monster with her holy attribute spells, and Lavia burned it down with Atonement Flame.
But the problem was finding out where the monster came from and why it was active in this city. This was a bit of a challenge. Eventually, however, they found the answer.
「The root of the problem is still unresolved.」
「What do you mean?」
「You wouldn’t want a bunch of other Evil Swords, would you? I found it strange. A Flying Sword requires a lot of blood to turn into an Evil Sword.」
Hikaru recalled the Adventurers Guild’s commission board where countless jobs were posted. The adventurers’ negligence had caused them to pile up.
「The people are too excited about the New World that monsters in the vicinity of Ville Zentra weren’t monitored as much. As a result, the monsters grew in numbers, giving birth to the Evil Sword.」
「………」
「The adventurers’ negligence is a major factor, but—」
「It’s my fault. I think I’m too distracted by Grand Dream that I failed to pay attention to what’s before me.」
「I’m glad you understand. You can have the evidence.」Hikaru headed for the door.
「Silver Face.」Patricia called.「Thank you for taking down the killer— or rather, the monster. I wish to repay you somehow.」
「Not necessary. No, wait. There is something I want.」
「Tell me. If it’s within my power, I’ll give it to you.」
Hikaru turned around.「Next time something like this happens, don’t suspect me right away.」
「…What?」
「I’m not a fan of gory stuff. And I don’t use my abilities for personal gain.」
「Oh, right. I’m sorry about that.」
「Bye.」Feeling refreshed, Hikaru stepped out of the bedroom, leaving a dumbfounded Patricia.
Hikaru left Patricia’s residence. Despite the humidity, it wasn’t raining. Alice was waiting on the moonlit street, clad in the same black cloak.
「I didn’t think it was the work of a monster at all.」Alice said.「My efforts were wasted.」
「You should be glad we got rid of that killer. Feels bad for the victims, though.」
「What’s gonna happen now?」
Patricia said she was partly to blame for this incident. In that case, she should take some sort of measure.
Hikaru’s immediate thought was to demand action from the Adventurers Guild. How would the citizens react if they announced that the culprit was a monster? Would they blame the Adventurers Guild? Or Patricia and other government officials?
Either way, it would pour cold water on this city that had been too fired up about the New World.
「I doubt anything bad will happen.」Hikaru said.
Traveling to Grand Dream had its risks, and there weren’t ships to accommodate everyone. Hopefully some people would realize there was no point in getting too hyped about the new continent, and actually do work instead. Though it wouldn’t feel too good after much blood had been shed.
「Oh, by the way, Silsil. His Majesty asked you to come and visit.」
「No thanks.」
「That was quick. Why not? It’s an honor. He mentioned inviting you to his hometown.」
「Even more so.」
Emperor Kaglai is a member of a race called the Man Gnomes. They controlled the Quinbland Empire from the shadows, and seemed to be exerting their influence abroad as well.
In Hikaru’s mind, they were like the mafia. He’d get sucked down to the bone if he went to their home.
「That’s a shame. Apparently His Majesty has a very interesting book in his hometown…」
「Book!」A female voice interrupted.
She was wearing a mask with star patterns—Lavia. They planned to meet up here, but her timing couldn’t be worse.
She heard it. Hikaru facepalmed.
「Silver Face.」
She tugged at Hikaru’s sleeve.
「Silver Face.」
Tug.
「Silver Face.」
Tug.
「Silver Face.」
「I think you should give up, Lord Silver Face.」Paula gave a strained laugh.
Whatever happens, happens, I guess. Nah, we’ll manage. Come what may.
Should there be any trouble, they could easily escape. Hikaru excelled at running away.
「All right. I guess we’ll accept the invitation.」
Hikaru looked up at the cloudless night sky. Stars were twinkling beside the crescent moon. The sun should be out tomorrow.
A hot summer would then begin. Going north to Quinbland to escape the heat was not a bad idea.