"..."
"...By the way, what kind of person is Miss Schimmel?"
After raising this question, I observed Xue’s reaction.
"It's my friend."
Xue is still very calm, with no emotional fluctuations visible.
"She loves to joke, but she only does it to people she knows."
"Eh...so you are quite familiar with her."
"She is my friend."
While emphasizing again, Xue's slender and cold eyes glanced at me, which made me feel an inexplicable pressure.
"What do you think of her death?"
I still asked this question.
"I don't know..."
"In other words, you don't know your own emotions?"
"No, in other words, I don't know how to answer."
"Well..."
"Anything else you want to ask?"
"You actually asked me..."
"In other words, I don't want to be tricked by you."
"Huh?"
"Our time is precious, isn't it?"
"So that's what you meant..."
Xue meant for me to finish asking and leave as soon as possible. The look in her eyes just now was probably a sign of impatience.
So cold~~ I haven’t seen you for almost a month.
"Are you injured?"
"What?"
"Cleaning the pacification area must be dangerous, right? Are you injured?"
"...We didn't encounter any demons, so we came back a few days earlier than planned."
"That's it."
"I don't understand the meaning of your question."
"Yeah~~Actually, I didn't come here specifically for interrogation or anything today..."
I smiled awkwardly:
"Of course I just have to ask whatever comes to mind..."
"You still aren't going to tell the truth."
...It seems that they don’t have any sympathy for me.
"Before I came back, you started asking around for news about me. After I came back, you came to see me immediately. It's impossible for you not to be prepared for this."
Snow's faint voice is like a blade, chipping away at my disguise bit by bit.
"In other words, I'm very curious about how you followed me here."
Except for the fact that I followed her, everything else Xue said was right.
Fortunately, the "preparation" that Xue thought of and the "preparation" that I really made were not the same thing.
So, I met Xue’s gaze.
"Sorry~~"
Then he apologized.
"..."
Xue and I each drank a few drinks and left the tavern one after another. No one said anything during the process.
......
The next time I encountered snow was on the third day since then.
This time with Manda - she asked to meet Snow.
Manda contacted Snow through the Wanderer Alliance, and as for me, I was just a character who came to watch.
At this time, I had already met Manda, and we were walking side by side on the street with our heads lowered.
"The snow hasn't stopped yet."
I mean the weather.
I have been using this sentence as a greeting recently.
"Yeah, I really hope the weather can be better."
Manda muttered softly, it seemed that she didn't really like being surrounded by snow.
"Lest you worry too much, let me tell you first. Mr. Stank is with other Wanderers right now, so don't worry."
"Okay."
Manda had just officially ruled out Mr. Stank as a suspect the day before yesterday - the reason was that Mr. Stank and his wanderer friends left the attic after ten o'clock on the night of the crime, and he did not come back until four in the morning.
At the moment, we are moving in two directions - "The murderer wants to kill Schimmel" and "The murderer uses Schimmel's death to promote the next assassination".
Although I already know which one is correct, Manda still refuses to give up the idea that "the murderer wanted to kill Schimuel".
"Speaking of which...if there is really another assassination, how long do you think it will be before the murderer takes action?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"Have you made any progress these days?"
"No..."
During this period of time, I have been in a dazed state, not caring about the passage of time at all.
Even now, I am still at a loss as to when I should wait and what I can do.
Overall, nothing was done.
"...Are you sick?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"I always feel like you have no energy..."
"Oh, is it because I didn't tease you as usual and made you feel bored?"
"That's weird!"
Manda squeezed me with her body as if she was angry.
Although she didn't use much strength, I almost fell down.
"Hey, hey, the road is slippery."
"Well...then don't always say that kind of thing!"
Manda walked forward with strong steps, as if she wanted to leave me behind, her short brown hair messy in the wind.
I caught up with her.
"Walking so fast, be careful not to get lost."
"I'm not a child!"
"Okay, okay...then watch your steps, don't cry if you fall."
"You...hum!"
Oh, oh, oh, I’m angry.
As we were about to arrive at the place we agreed with Xue, Manda emphasized to me:
"...I'll just ask her when I see her later."
"What about me?"
"Just don't do unnecessary things."
"Okay."
We and Xue... to be precise, Manda and Xue agreed to meet at a coffee shop next to an intersection.
It is said that places like this are often dangerous, maybe the clerk is someone who specializes in eating corpses...just kidding.
Before that, Xue didn’t know that I had followed me, but when she saw me, she wasn’t that surprised.
Of course, she still didn't take the initiative to say hello to me this time.
There were no other customers in the coffee shop at this time, so we sat down at a location farthest from the door.
By the way, my suggestion is to choose a coffee shop as the meeting place.
"Then I'll start."
This was Manda’s first sentence after sitting down.
"Uh...before that, why don't you decide what to drink first?"
As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Manda stepped on me hard under the table.
"I'll just order the same thing as you."
Snow was surprisingly cooperative.
"Well...so do I."
Manda had no choice but to tell me.
So I got up and asked the barista at the front desk for three beers.
"Why... is there beer in a coffee shop?"
When I put the beer on the table, Manda had a dumbfounded expression.
“I recommend this place just because of the wine~~”
"Did you have this purpose..."
"What? You can't drink? Then——"
"Of course I can drink! I'm an adult, okay?"
The age of adulthood in this world is 16.
Having said that, Manda was unwilling to reach out and take the wine to her.
"Well...then, I——"
"Ah~~Let me introduce first, she is Manda, a trainee police officer of the police station, hiss——!"
I interrupted Manda again before I could finish my words, but Manda kicked her legs violently under the table.
In pain, I looked at Manda angrily. Just when I was about to complain, Manda took the initiative to bring her face towards me - with a very scary smile.
"I told you, right?! I'll ask, that's it!"
"Yes..."
Wow...the words he spoke word by word were so threatening...it was so foul.
I'm at peace.
"Huh...then, I really want to start asking."
"Are you a trainee police officer?"
Xue directly ignored Manda's statement.
"Um...yes."
"In other words, are there no official police officers to investigate?"
"The trainee police officers are also formal and have the qualifications for interrogation."
"Oh? In that case, please do."
...What is this? A trial that stops at the click of a button? I looked at Xue Chu's calm face with confusion.
"Thank you for your cooperation, may I ask——"
"Introduce yourself, my name is Snow."
"Hey..."
Manda, who had been interrupted countless times, made a very low sound of dissatisfaction.
Then she glared at me inexplicably, as if I was the one who started everything...well, it was indeed me.
"Okay, Miss Xue, I——"
"Just call me Snow."
"Uh...!"
Xue repeated her old tricks, and I vaguely saw the corners of her mouth raised.
Hey, hey, you must have done this on purpose, you guy...it's not a good idea to bully a police officer.
And Manda started to vent her anger by pinching my hand.
"What do you want to ask? Trainee police officer?"
"I, my name is Manda Li!"
"Okay, so what do you want to ask? Trainee police officer?"
"Uh...!"
Xue's uncooperation made Manda frown.
Well, well, yes, this guy is so difficult to communicate. You should understand now, right, Manda?
"What were you doing on the night of the crime?"
"I'm drinking with this guy next to you."
"What..."
"Hey! She's asking you about what you were doing in the attic!"
I quickly interrupted, but it was too late. Manda narrowed her eyes and glanced at me, showing an unsmiling smile:
"Oh~~I see, it turns out you two knew each other at that time..."
"Yes, in other words, you are the third party intervener."
"Uh...!"
The conversation couldn't proceed for a long time, and Manda probably gradually felt that "this person is more difficult to deal with than that handsome, charming, lonely old gentleman."
Well...even I am always choked by the snow and have nothing to say.
"Just kidding."
Xue added this sentence calmly - when Manda started to puff up her face.
Manda reacted and had to cough to cover up her embarrassment and return to her serious appearance.
"Please...please don't make such silly jokes. I'm on a case-handling mission."
"I believe you, trainee police officer."
"Well...then where did you go after drinking with him?"
"Huh? Why don't you just ask about the attic?"
"Shut up."
"Eh~~"
"That day, after drinking, I sent a lost little girl to the police station and then went to the attic."
"Okay, please tell me the little girl's name and the related time."
Xue told Manda everything honestly, and Manda quickly entered the state. She took out a notebook and pen from nowhere and wrote down the key information.
"Did you go to the attic alone?"
"Oh, I'm not sure about that. In other words, maybe a private detective is following me."
"...You and I had already separated by then, okay?"
"...Ahem, so it was the attic you entered alone, right? Did you go find Miss Harriman as soon as you entered?"
"Yes."
"Did anyone see you entering Miss Harriman's room?"
"No, I turned into Cousin Shimuel at that time - this is my ability to find a mate."
That’s the thing. No wonder Ferinod has never seen snow.
"...Why do you do this?"
"It was Schimuel's request."
"Well..."
Manda bit her lower lip in distress.
If it was Miss Schimmel's request, there would be no way to judge whether it is true or not - after all, Miss Schimmel cannot come back from the dead to testify for Snow.
"How long were you in Miss Harriman's room?"
"Two hours and five minutes."
"So precise..."
"This is a rule set by Schimmel - you cannot stay with the same person for more than two hours and five minutes in a row."
What a strange rule, Schimuel is quite rigid in some aspects.
"Then will anyone come to visit during the trip?"
"There is a tenant who comes to deliver newspapers. I know him."
"About what time?"
"I don't know."
"Don't you know this time..."
"Sheemour said she would tell me when the time comes, so I won't care about the time in between."
Ah~~I know this, just like those writers who are rushing to finish a manuscript. They will never count how many words they have written until they reach the target word count, in order to protect their overwhelmed hearts.
"Okay, you left the loft after eleven o'clock that night, right?"
"Yes."
"Has anyone seen you?"
"I don't know."
"...You really don't know anything."
Manda stared at Xue with a hint of mockery.
"In other words, just because you are not the murderer, you know nothing."
Xue responded coldly to Manda.
"Oh? But even the murderer will choose to give the minimum explanation in most cases."
"Subjective conjectures are not practical. In other words, guessing cannot find the murderer."
This chapter has been completed!