After leaving the Wanderer Alliance and enjoying coffee in the coffee shop, Manda and I started wandering aimlessly.
"I have to admit that even if time is tight, there are times when we have to wait."
"Yeah, why do we always encounter some unexpected things? In the final analysis, it is still bad luck..."
The hourly bell sounded.
It's already afternoon.
"The weather is quite good today."
"Yes, it's cloudless..."
The breeze blows on my face and the sunshine is warm, a rare winter day suitable for going out.
This is winter, a scene similar to spring but completely different. It can be called the spring color in winter.
"Where to go next?"
"I don't know either."
We all sat down on a bench by the roadside.
Manda's body fell backward slightly, closing her eyes to relax.
"The weather is so nice~~"
"Yeah, it would be better if I could lie on the bed and sleep..."
"It makes people not want to think about anything..."
"People don't want to go anywhere..."
"Winter is the best~~"
We continued talking sentence after sentence.
This kind of atmosphere has never appeared before, at least when I was with Manda.
"..."
"..."
"It always feels like...we are very much like we are dating."
"...Please don't say it, it will make me want to die."
"Okay~~"
"..."
"..."
"...Hey, Gu...old man? That's your name, right?"
"I actually know."
"Isn't it common sense to know other people's names?"
Manda opened her eyes and looked at me lightly.
"Indeed..."
"So, what's the name of the person in Miss Harriman's room?"
"...Eh?"
"Don't act stupid. You definitely know that she is the 'very beautiful person' that Mr. Hammons mentioned. Wasn't she with Miss Harriman on the night of the crime?"
"Why did you switch to this topic all of a sudden..."
Actually, it’s not that sudden.
This guy must have thought about it for a long time before deciding to ask me.
"What are you asking me for?"
"I told you, there's no point in pretending to be stupid."
There was a little dissatisfaction in Manda's casual tone.
"Didn't Mr. Hammons say that? That person always comes to the attic to see Miss Harriman. Even a resident of the attic will know her. As the owner of the attic, Mr. Wyatt must also know it, right? And you are here
I met Mr. Wyatt not long ago, didn't I?"
"Well..."
"I don't think Mr. Wyatt has any reason to withhold this information, what do you think?"
"Uh...what you said is absolutely true."
Under the sudden torture, I didn’t know how to answer.
"That person was not among the four suspects you provided me...so you did it on purpose, right?"
Manda was still pressing forward step by step, although her tone was still so calm that it didn't look like her... No, it looked very much like her during the interrogation.
"...Sorry."
Being cornered, I had no choice but to apologize.
"Oh, you..."
Manda sighed helplessly.
Speaking of which...this guy seems to be the person who has heard my apology the most times.
You are truly worthy of being a police officer - the only emotion I can think of is this.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, how should I put it..."
"Don't let it pass by."
"Well..."
I can't think of any other way to deal with it except to deal with it.
"That person is your friend?"
"...No, I'm not familiar with her."
"...Tell me everything you know."
How is that possible...
"...Her name is Snow, and she is a wanderer. That's all I know."
But I couldn't stand Manda's constant glare, so I still told some information about snow.
"Eh - Is that so? You are not familiar with her but you still know her name and identity? You are indeed the one."
Is it my imagination...Manda's tone seems to have become sinister.
"Well..."
"Not only did you have contact with Miss Harriman, but you were also in Miss Harriman's room on the night of the crime. There is no doubt that she is the biggest suspect, but you are unwilling to say anything about her?"<
/p>
"..."
"Speaking of which, whether you are hiding the truth or not, now that I have discovered her, I will definitely investigate to the end."
"You are wasting your time by doing this."
"It doesn't matter."
Manda said coldly.
"Since even you are unwilling to tell me the truth."
"...You are really willful at a time like this."
"You are the one who is willful, because this is a murder case...and you are covering up a suspect."
......
The next day, I met the lord.
Everything happened very suddenly.
I remember... the place was in a large open-air market. I don't know why I went to that place.
The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm definitely not going to buy anything.
After all, I have no money.
The lord was alone at the time, and I didn't see any guards around him. Plus, he was wearing a hat, so I didn't recognize him at first.
Until Gale said:
"Hey, look at that big man in front of you, isn't he your lord?"
"...Really or falsely?"
The "big man" Gale mentioned had just received a bag of fruit from a vendor and was walking slowly.
Judging from the expression on the stall vendor's face, he didn't look very respectful.
The people around me showed no obvious signs of being suppressed by their bloodline, and were all doing their own things normally.
"I can't be mistaken."
Gale still insisted.
So, I quickly caught up and when I came to the "big man", I pretended to glance casually.
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Detective?"
But for some reason he discovered it.
The person in front of me looked completely unrelated to the lord at first glance, but after using Gale’s double observation power, I noticed that his eyebrows and beard were all fake.
"...I salute you, my lord."
"As expected of a detective, have you noticed it... There are too many people here, please don't tell the truth."
The lord smiled, and the fake beard stuck to his chin trembled slightly.
"Yes."
"Thank you very much."
The lord started to move forward, and I followed him.
He is so approachable.
I thought it would be difficult to negotiate with a noble.
"I just came to Woolworth not long ago. I learned a lot about Woolworth through files, but I learned very little with my own eyes. That's why I hide my identity from time to time like you have seen.
Take a look around - I thought it might help me manage Woolworth."
"I admire your approach."
I'm not trying to be flattery.
"Of course, in order to better hide my identity, I suppressed my bloodline suppression - you must have noticed it a long time ago, right? Forgive me for saying nonsense, haha..."
"Ah, yes..."
Attention must be noticed, but it relies on observation rather than feeling.
Except for His Majesty the Emperor, the bloodline suppression ability of all nobles is controllable, but it is rare for a lord to actively suppress bloodline suppression to take over the people.
What a nice person.
"What about you? Mr. Detective, how is the case going?"
"Thank you for your trouble..."
Hmm...I feel a little uneasy when asked by someone with the status of a lord.
"For now, there is still a lot of progress."
"It would be great if there is progress."
My answer was so vague, but the lord still expressed his approval.
"I take this case very seriously, not only because it is the first incident I have encountered since taking office, but also because it involves the life of a Woolworth, so please do your best."
"I will do my best."
In this case, you should send more people to help me, Lord...
"Mr. Detective, can you tell me your opinion?"
"Opinion?"
"Well, my opinion."
Are you asking such an unclear question without explaining it...
"Well...I think, someone died...someone died for this, so...I have to find the murderer, otherwise, well...
The deceased will not be able to rest at ease...that's pretty much what it feels like."
I stammered as I thought about it, without any awareness of what I said.
What kind of emotion do I want to express...I don't know, maybe there is no emotion at all.
"That's it..."
The lord made no comment on this.
In the following time, the lord and I talked intermittently about a lot of discussions related to the case, but they were all of irrelevant content.
I continued to follow the lord, watching him chatting and laughing with the vendors, and buying something from them from time to time. It was a very harmonious scene.
Ten minutes later, we walked out of the market, and the number of pedestrians beside us gradually decreased.
"Mr. Detective."
"...Ah, yes."
The lord's voice seemed to come from a very far away place, bringing me back to reality in a daze.
"Well... I know it may be very rude to say this, and there is a high probability that it is my personal misjudgment, but I still want to say..."
Even so, there was no hesitation in the lord's eyes.
"I always feel... Mr. Detective has an attitude of not having anything to do with this case. I don't want... Ah, maybe it's my misunderstanding, I'm sorry."
...Eh?
I suddenly felt guilty like when I was caught stealing something.
"No no...thank you for your correction..."
In fact, I am grateful to the lord for speaking so implicitly.
......
At night, I lay in bed.
The lord's words kept ringing in my ears.
It’s none of my business...
This is probably what Ferrinold wanted to express to me last time.
Absolutely correct.
It's none of my business...I do always handle cases with this attitude.
But...there's nothing we can do.
I don’t know Shimuel, and her death has nothing to do with me.
Regarding her death, it is really difficult for me to feel any emotion such as sadness.
Those sounds turned into a roar like fireworks.
After seeing the magnificent fireworks, you still want to experience the poignant beauty of candlelight, but you can't do it no matter what, right?
In a daze, I heard someone saying:
"Yes, someone died this time, Mr. Detective..."
In a daze, I was talking to myself:
"Yes, this time, an unrelated person died, right? Mr. Gu..."