Chapter 414
As a member of the imperial family, Bertus met me at the entrance, probably coming to investigate an incident that occurred inside the palace.
Fortunately, without any explanation, Harriet and I were able to enter the sealed Ministry of Magic building with Bertus.
“You want to investigate?”
“uh. I want to do whatever I can.”
At my words, Bertus tilted his head. It’s like I don’t know why I’m trying to get involved in this case.
But he turned his gaze to Harriet, who was standing next to me, and nodded.
“I heard that Saint-Ouan is doing research at the Ministry of Magic… … .”
“huh… … . The culprit was the person in charge of the reading room I was in and out of.”
“… … okay?”
Bertus nodded as if he didn’t know that fact. Bertus narrowed his brows and sighed.
“It must have been a big shock. Are you friends or… … ?”
“No, rather than being friendly… … . Just because we talked about something yesterday… … . Something was weird yesterday. I talked to the people at the Imperial Magic Ministry earlier… … .”
“Okay, you can hear it from there.”
Bertus crossed his arms and looked around the Ministry of Magic.
“There’s nothing wrong with having an extra head to think about. Let’s go together, for now.”
Bertus didn’t seem to think we could figure anything out, but he allowed us to investigate together.
* * *
After the incident, it seemed that Bertus had come to the Ministry only after it became clear that the Ministry of Magic and its surroundings had been secured.
Yesterday Charlotte stayed in the dorm, do you know what happened?
Together with the attendants brought by Bertus, we headed to the Ministry of Magic Research Archives where the incident took place.
“It doesn’t matter to me, but I think Reinhardt will be fine too. will you be okay?”
“me? what… … ?”
“I need to see the body.”
Since the site will be preserved, they may have to face a rough situation from now on, so they ask if they can handle it.
“Ah, uh… … . Yes. are you okay.”
Harriet looked a little daunted, but nodded as if she could bear it.
Harriet must have had a weak tolerance for such things, but now that I think about it, I saw a Chimera at the Aaron Mede Mansion last time. Even the remains of countless chimeras that Ellen cut and dismembered.
Even if you don’t have tolerance, it’s not that you don’t have the experience of witnessing a horrific scene.
“Okay, then let’s go.”
We moved towards the Ministry of Magic Research Archives.
The attendant briefed us on the incident as well as Bertus.
“The estimated time of occurrence of the incident is estimated to be around 2:00 am last night. As the suspect, Dwynn is the on-duty duty attendant Arjelkka, Sadman von Grintess, and Linia Wenson, who were in the process of classifying and deciphering the newly stocked magic books. It is judged that he killed a total of three people and then fled with the magic books.”
The research data room was underground even in the Ministry of Magic, and it was located quite deep. The locks were unlocked right now, but I could see that it was not a place anyone could enter without permission.
“Current estimates suggest that Lothar Dewin hid himself in the research archive without leaving work and committed the crime in the early morning hours, when only the officers were left.”
The summary of the incident is that he killed the magicians who were on duty at the time when the number of people in the research library was reduced to a minimum, and then escaped by stealing the magic books.
“You mean you don’t know how you got past this guard?”
“… … For now, it is.”
At Bertus’ words, the attendant nodded.
Even now, the security has been strengthened, but the Ministry of Magic Research Archives must have been thoroughly prepared for problems including theft.
Like the Temple Gate, there must have been a security checkpoint installed, as well as guards.
It seemed that Harriet and I didn’t understand, and Bertus explained further.
“Rosor Dewyn is the only one suspected as a suspect because he doesn’t have a record of leaving work. And, he committed the crime, but no one saw him leave the Ministry building, and there’s no record. Of course, he has no record of leaving the imperial palace.”
“… … what?”
“That means Rossor Dewynn might still be somewhere in the imperial palace, or even hiding somewhere in the Ministry of Magic building.”
At those words, Harriet as well as I swallowed.
“There’s no way that clumsy camouflage magic or invisibility was used. Because there are all countermeasures for that part. So, the problem is, I don’t know if Siror Dewyn remains in the imperial palace, and if he does, how he got out is unknown.”
This case could be more dangerous than Harriet and I thought.
“Haha, what are you afraid of?”
Harriet and I looked a bit fed up, and Bertus burst into laughter.
“If the Ministry of Magic wasn’t safe, I couldn’t have come myself, right?”
Bertus tried to reassure Harriot and me that we wouldn’t have to worry about what might happen inside the Ministry building.
“As long as there’s someone who can kill three people in the Ministry of Magic research archives and get away without being noticed, life is always at risk.”
“You know, if you want to reassure me, just reassure you, if you want to scare me, just scare me.”
“It means nothing is certain yet.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s just like that.”
We just had a normal conversation like we did at the temple.
I felt the attendants around me staring at me like a monster.
Oh right.
Was he a prince?
Seeing me say it casually and Bertus calmly accepting it seemed like something impossible to happen in real life to them.
That’s right.
Isn’t this a friendship between the top 1% and the bottom 1% or something? Even if I am the champion of Ars.
The deeper you go, the worse the situation becomes.
Anyway, amidst the astonished admiration of the attendants, we were soon able to arrive at the scene where the incident had taken place.
“Suck!”
As soon as Harriet saw the scene, she covered her mouth.
“I heard, but… … . To think it would be like this… … .”
Bertus frowned and let out a short sigh.
I was prepared that there would be a body.
“what… … . this?”
However, I couldn’t have imagined that he would be dead with his eyeballs pulled out, his fingers and toes torn apart, and his internal organs poured out.
“As already reported, all three victims… … . They were tortured for a long time and then killed… … .”
The brief words of the attendant explained what had happened at the scene.
* * *
I don’t know if you can call it a clue, but something like that was added.
Rossor Dewyn didn’t just kill the watchers, he tortured all three before killing them.
why torture?
Harriet covered her mouth with her gaze averted from the scene, as if she couldn’t have looked at this terrible and gruesome situation any longer.
Even I, who had grown somewhat tolerant of the horrible sight, was nauseated.
“All the watchers who were in charge of analyzing the spell book were high-ranking wizards belonging to the Wizards who possessed the combat capabilities of a top-notch battle mage. They were also familiar with battles who had a history of participating in the Pandemonium War.”
“Is it because they were only killed by office workers?”
“… … yes.”
Wizards also have different fields.
Members of the Imperial Magician Order and having a history of participating in the Pandemonium War, they must have been among the highest ranks in the world of wizards.
And as a suspect, Dewyn may have excellent skills, but he was in a position that had nothing to do with combat.
“You were hiding your skills.”
Therefore, it is inevitable to conclude that the victims are not incompetent, and that Dewyn is not an ordinary wizard in the first place.
A spy planted by Cantus Magna in the imperial family.
I had no choice but to put more and more weight on that side.
“Robert Dewin is assumed to have had considerable knowledge in black magic. It was confirmed that a significant amount of black magic distribution was formed in the air as well as the body. Of course, it has been purified now.”
“Black magic?”
“Yes, among black magic, Regenerate magic has a similar effect to healing, so I guess it was used.”
At the word healing, Bertus tilted his head.
“Healing… … . Oh, maybe that’s it.”
Bertus looks at the dead bodies.
“It looks like they forced her to the brink of death, then forcibly regenerated her and tortured her again.”
“Nonsense… … .”
At Bertus’ words, Harriet’s lips turned blue and her body trembled.
“The regeneration magic of black magic makes the caster feel great pain in exchange for a powerful regeneration effect. You can think of it as a method of equivalent substitution of pain and healing.”
“It’s a spell for torture rather than healing.”
“Yes, I know it as magic actually created for that purpose.”
I thought only priests tortured like that, but warlocks use the healing process itself to inflict greater pain.
It was a horrifying sound just to hear. Harriet shuddered at the word that the dead had been tortured, then forcibly reanimated, and then tortured again, murdered in terrible agony.
There was an emotion in Harriet’s eyes.
anger.
Harriet was angered beyond sadness and fear at Rossor Dewyn who did this.
“If the magic book was the purpose, I would have just killed him. What was he trying to find out by torturing them? … .”
“me… … . know… … .”
Harriet answered Bertus’ question.
Harriet must have been the last thing Rossor Dewyn talked to before committing the crime. It had disappeared, and Harriet had explained it to the investigators in a bewildered state.
“The source of the stolen magic books. I would have tried to figure it out… … .”
But seeing the torture scene, Harriet seemed to have a clear idea of what Lothar Dewyn really wanted.
* * *
Ellen and Charlotte walked through Aligarh Shopping Mall and soon arrived at their destination.
“Here it is. If I remember correctly.”
A shabby shop where you can reach the boy who saved him.
“Looks like no one is there.”
“I guess so.”
It felt like it hadn’t been in business for quite some time. As the Demon King rose to prominence, the owner of the scroll shop also disappeared.
– rattle, rattle
Ellen went to the door and pulled the doorknob, but of course the door was locked.
Charlotte murmurs helplessly.
“There shouldn’t be anything special even if you go inside…” … .”
“I guess so.”
The other day, Charlotte forced the door open and entered. However, it would be difficult to find traces of the one who was determined and evaporated now.
Even Charlotte knew that the only clue she could get was that she wouldn’t get much information. But it was one thing for her to think so and to actually realize it.
It’s too late.
If only I had visited the Demon Castle a little earlier. If only I knew the truth a little sooner.
If only he had been a little more hardened and caught the store owner and interrogated him.
Then the world wouldn’t need a hero, and Ellen and Reinhardt wouldn’t have to be in such danger.
But funny.
It is true that the existence of the demon king is still saving Charlotte.
The existence of the Demon King made people feel the need for a hero, and because of that, Reinhardt and Ellen’s support for Charlotte guarantees their safety.
If the times had not been suspicious and gloomy, the world would have reacted with dismay to the owners of the sacred objects. Therefore, the position of the warriors would not be relatively large, and Charlotte would not have been guaranteed survival through the protection of such people.
In the end, the demon king is still acting as a driving force that keeps Charlotte’s life alive.
Ellen tilted her head as she looked at the tightly closed shop door.
“But in case you don’t know, shall we break it down and go inside?”
Ellen calmly said that without asking the landlord’s opinion. Of course, it’s just that you pay for the repair later.
“Yeah, I’ve come this far, but there’s no reason not to check… … .”
“Ladies, the business there was closed a long time ago.”
Someone spoke to them from behind.
Charlotte turned to see a middle-aged man with a shaggy beard wearing an apron.
There is no choice but to have nothing in the empty store. But it’s not over yet, and there’s no reason to give up.
‘okay… … . yes.’
“Did you know the owner of this store?”
“hmm? I rarely see it.”
Because the last resort of inquiry was left.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I tried to grab the straw.
And Charlotte found a straw.
