After finishing dinner, I also solved Manda’s troubles. After paying the bill, I was satisfied and ready to leave.
"Then, I'll leave first."
"Wait a minute."
"I paid my share, don't worry."
"...That's not what I meant!"
So you definitely mean something more troublesome, right - I thought so but didn't say it out loud.
"You were just patronizing me, what about you? Is there any progress in investigating the deceased's social circle?"
"...There is still a point, after all, my side has been marked in a clear direction from the beginning."
I returned to my seat.
"Last night I visited Mr. Wyatt, the owner of the attic, and also inspected the crime scene."
"That's it..."
"At Mr. Wyatt's place, I asked for some information, but as for the crime scene... nothing was found."
I originally planned to tell Ferrinold’s discovery, but after thinking about it I gave up.
It's best to confirm whether that kind of thing is related to the case by yourself, otherwise it would be bad if it interferes with Manda.
"Based on the information provided by Mr. Wyatt, I can probably determine what to do next."
"Really? Do you have that information with you now? Show me."
"...No, I'm not you. I don't bring irrelevant things when I go out to eat."
"Okay...have you left it at home? Can I go and have a look?"
"Huh? Now?"
"What if?"
Manda asked naturally.
"Aren't we going to continue the investigation tomorrow? I have to join in, so I need to know all the current information."
"Okay... As I said before, my house is very messy and broken, and I have a cohabitant."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Let you be mentally prepared."
"Well...you won't do anything too extreme, right?"
Putting down the tableware, Manda looked disgusted, crossed her arms, and looked at me with squinted eyes.
"If you do anything extraordinary, I will call the police!"
Well...I knew it would be this reaction.
"Do police officers also need to call the police? Don't have too much confidence in yourself, young trainee police officer."
"I really don't want you to say that...and I am respecting the facts, not self-confidence."
What a speech that is not to be outdone.
"...Okay, okay, madam, trainee police officer."
"Don't call me that!"
Manda took a sip of water, placed a few Weiben on the dining table, and then stood up.
I saw that only half of the small portion of curry rice she ordered was moved.
"It's not good to waste food."
"I, I'm losing weight."
"Oh~~"
Since it was about weight, I didn’t ask any more questions.
We walked slowly, one behind the other, in the moderate wind.
The lights on the street are pretty bright today.
"It hasn't snowed for a long time."
"Yeah..."
Arrive at the doorstep.
The moment I put my hand on the door, I remembered that I had forgotten to bring Ferrinold dinner. However, after a brief hesitation, I knocked on the door as if nothing had happened.
The door is open.
Ferinod, who was standing in the house, saw me and was about to complain, but then he noticed Manda standing behind me on the right.
Ferrinold and I exchanged tacit glances.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh~~ Where have you gone, Mr. Detective? Didn't you spend a lot of money to bring back such a wonderful beauty?"
"What...?!"
"I can lend you the two-dimensional book to play with."
I just go with the flow.
"It was just given to me for free. Deal~~Thank you~~ Mr. Detective!"
"Hey! Hey! You! I'm not the person to do that kind of thing——!"
Manda finally reacted and let out an angry roar. Her current face was like a fully inflated red balloon.
"Oh oh oh~~This beauty has quite a personality, Mr. Detective."
"Yes, and I'm still losing weight."
"This, what does this have to do with losing weight! No...I already told you that I am not the person to do that kind of thing!"
"Okay, okay~~ Anyway, let's talk in the bedroom first."
"Yeah, let's chat slowly in the bedroom~~"
"Why! Why did you enter a place like that! Didn't I say... wu, wu ah ah ah!"
"Wow~~ Mr. Detective, she cried..."
The joke has gone too far.
"Okay, okay... I'm kidding, Manda, it's my fault."
"Woo... I'm so annoying, so stop talking! Wu..."
"Okay~~Beauty, the detective is just joking~~"
"Ugh...I'm back!"
"No, don't you still have some information that you haven't read?"
"I won't watch anymore! I'm going back! I'll never pay attention to people like you again!"
Manda said bitterly while wiping her tears.
This guy's childish temper is clearly exposed.
Later, I stood at the door for more than ten minutes and tried my best to persuade Manda to return to her normal state.
You must exercise caution next time - this is the lesson I learned afterwards.
"I'm telling you... don't listen to that person's nonsense. I'm definitely not the person to do that kind of thing..."
After entering the door, I heard Manda still behind me emphasizing to Felinold in a low voice.
I gave Felinold some money, asked him to go and settle the dinner, and then sent him away.
So, Manda and I were the only two people left in the room.
"Anyway, let's go to my bedroom first."
I declare this.
"Go to hell, pervert!"
As a result, I got such an inexplicable reply.
"...I mean I keep all those materials in my bedroom."
"Eh? Ah...that's it..."
Only then did Manda let down her guard again.
"Just trust me for a moment..."
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"I, it's not your fault that I'm like this! It's definitely your fault!"
I'm used to this unreasonable speech.
"...Then wait for me and I will take out the information."
After I left these words, I walked away.
When I came back, Manda still maintained the same posture with her hands folded across her chest.
"So many?!"
Manda refers to the thick stack of paper in my hand.
"A large part of it is painting, so let's sit down first."
I spread the papers on the table.
"What painting?"
"Portrait."
After getting the personal information about Simur that Manda gave me, I asked someone to help me draw the people in Simur’s social circle and some of the people in Manda’s notebook.
I went to see Mr. Wyatt last night to ask him to help me identify these paintings.
"This is the preliminary scope of suspects."
"...Where did you get it?"
"Uh, well..."
There is no doubt that...with my own strength, if I want to do this kind of thing, the only thing I can rely on is my "little friends".
No matter where you are, money is nearly omnipotent, so as long as you are willing to spend money, there will always be someone who is willing to track other people for me and record their appearance with a magic tool for quick drawing.
And as a "stalking pervert" like this, I know quite a few of these notorious people who stand behind "above and aboveboard"...
Maybe this is how people differentiate themselves... I often think so.
In order to get the painting before meeting Mr. Wyatt, I spent a large part of my savings - although it is not a big amount, it is definitely a big investment for me.
What I didn't expect was that I just finished the commissioning at noon yesterday, and actually received all the paintings in the afternoon. The efficiency is really amazing...
It would be great if I could entrust them to help me handle the case directly...
However, Manda, who is a police officer, must not be told that I entrusted a "fool friend" to do this kind of intrusion on other people's privacy.
"I got it anyway, don't ask those meaningless questions..."
I won’t do anything that doesn’t please both sides.
"...I always feel that the origin of these paintings of yours is unknown."
"Since the origin is unknown, there is no need to meddle in other people's business, right? Stop being so nagging, I have to get to the point quickly."
"Well...you, can't you have a nicer attitude!"
"Okay, okay, sorry, okay?"
"Your apology is of no use at all!"
I shrugged helplessly and took out four portraits from the table.
"I showed all these paintings to Mr. Wyatt last night. According to his identification, these are the people who belong to Schimmel's social circle and who appeared in the attic on the night of the crime."
Then I drew three more pictures from these four:
"Three of them are residents of the attic."
I handed all these paintings to Manda.
"In addition, at six o'clock in the afternoon, the ground floor of the attic will be turned into a pub. There are many people entering the attic between six o'clock and nine o'clock. You probably didn't write down their names in your notebook."
"Well...if it were set up as a tavern, there would indeed be non-residents who have been in the attic since nine o'clock..."
Manda seemed a little regretful.
"In this way, the initial witness information is almost useless..."
"It still works...the four people you saw are only a temporary list of suspects, and there is a high possibility that the scope will be expanded in the future."
"I know."
"I haven't investigated the specific relationship between them and Schimmel yet - so that's what we will do tomorrow"
"...You are quite thoughtful."
"No need to be so surprised... Oh, by the way, didn't the lord come to the attic on the night of the crime? Who was the noble he went to meet at that time?"
"I don't have very clear information about that noble lord... I only know that he came from the imperial capital about a year ago, and the incoming lord at that time personally welcomed him."
"..."
"What's wrong? Do you think this case is related to that noble lord?"
"No, I didn't mean that..."
After denying it, I added with a wry smile:
"If it's really related to the nobles, it's not a case we can solve."
"That's right."
Manda also smiled.
......
It didn't take long for Manda to learn all the information I got. She has a very strong comprehension ability and kept writing down in her notebook while listening. On the contrary, my descriptions were always very complicated, even for me.
I can’t even listen to it.
After everything was explained, Manda left. It was not too late, so I just walked her to the door.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow~~"
Less than ten minutes after Manda left, Ferrinold came back.