Chapter 161 - <4>
"From what I saw of the body, it's possible this murder was committed by an amateur, and what's more, by a culprit the victim never dreamed would kill them."
At Edward's calm, collected words, the blood drained from Franz's face. Edward had followed up his detailed explanation of the incident with that casual remark.
"I was also shown the murder weapon, and it was quite ornate. I doubt he would have willingly chosen to wield a dagger like that. Well, it was covered in blood, so I doubt anyone will be willing to take it now, no matter how valuable it might be."
The conversation was utterly out of place in the cozy inn room, bathed in soft sunlight. On reflection, their conversations up to now hadn't exactly been fitting for a quiet mountain inn, but at least they had been better than talk of dead bodies.
Beside him, Anna, who surely had only encountered the unrealistic situation of seeing a dead body a handful of times in her life, just like Franz, rounded her eyes and asked Edward in her usual bright and composed tone, as if she'd just guessed the lunch menu.
"How can you tell that about the culprit?"
"Mostly from the wounds."
"Amazing! What about them tells you that!?"
"First, there were several shallow wounds. A person accustomed to killing doesn't need to stab multiple times to take a life. If Ritz, who prides himself on having a talent for assassination as he begrudgingly admits, were the culprit, it wouldn't have been such a messy killing."
"Um, so you mean if Ritz were the culprit, one stab would have been enough, right?"
"That's right. He wouldn't have even gotten a drop of blood on himself. Judging by the state of those wounds, it seems the attacker stabbed him several times without realizing the first blow had killed him. Not understanding the victim's vital points is the mark of an amateur."
"I see… You're right."
Having once seen Ritz sever an enemy's arm with magnificent skill right before her eyes, Anna nodded deeply. But Franz, who had never been to a battlefield nor was accustomed to seeing dead bodies, couldn't understand why Anna was so calm, and he couldn't help but groan.
"…You're awfully calm talking about a dead body. It's as if you're used to it."
"Well, I didn't see it directly. Besides, I grew up in a church, so I'm not exactly unused to dead bodies, you know."
"Eh…?"
"Funerals are held at the church, you know? When people with no family died, I sometimes helped decorate the coffin and apply makeup to the corpse."
"Ah…"
"And you know, sometimes there are terrible accidents, right? In that case, you have to make them look nice before they go to the Goddess's side, otherwise it would be too sad, wouldn't it?"
"R-right."
"But I still don't like seeing murder or combat right in front of me. It's just too sad to see someone who's alive die helplessly before my very eyes. What I'm used to is the peaceful departure of people being called by the Goddess."
When he had encountered combat for the first time and was freaking out with Franz, Anna had quickly regained her composure, looked at the bonfire, and said, "I'm hungry." Franz finally understood that it was because of this experience. No wonder she could eat even after seeing a dead body. After all, contrary to her appearance, she had lived in a church for thirty years.
Compared to Anna, he felt like such a child. Franz fell silent, secretly feeling down. He realized for the first time that while he had seen a great deal of the ugliness of human relationships in his childhood, he had been shielded from physical fear and death. In other words, his upbringing was the complete opposite of Anna's. Anna, in contrast to Franz, had been involved with life and death without seeing the ugliness of human relationships.
Ignoring Franz, the conversation between the other two continued as calmly and unhurriedly as if it were ordinary small talk.
"So how did you know the crime was committed by someone close to him?"
"No defensive wounds."
"Defensive wounds?"
"The wounds you get when you try to defend yourself when someone attacks you. Normally, you'd try to block with your hands, right?"
At Edward's demonstration, Anna nodded in understanding.
"You wouldn't want to be killed, after all."
"That's right. If there are none of these, do you understand what that means?"
"Um, maybe it was so sudden that there was no time to defend?"
"If he had been stabbed in the back, that could be a possibility, but the single thrust to the chest was almost the fatal wound. In this case, I think it means the attacker was able to stab him from a very close distance without raising his guard, don't you?"
"Hmm. So, that means the culprit was an acquaintance of the person who was killed, and they suddenly stabbed him. And because they didn't know if he was dead, they kept stabbing him until they were sure he was dead."
Anna, who had recreated the scene in a simple but accurate and unimaginable way, didn't seem to notice Franz, who instinctively covered his mouth at the detailed image, and muttered with a solemn expression.
"…That's horrible… Why would the culprit do something like that to someone they knew?"
"The only thing that's certain is that we can't leave this city until we find the culprit who did it."
"You're right."
Anna nodded profoundly. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Franz took out his pocket watch. The time was already about an hour past noon. It felt like more time had passed, but time was surprisingly slow.
"Oh, I'll make some tea. I told them we didn't need lunch since we had a late breakfast. Instead, we're supposed to get a snack."
Anna stood up as she spoke. When Edward returned, she arranged the tea set she had brought from downstairs on a small round table. Then, putting on thick gloves, she took the sooty iron pot that had been warming by the fireplace and skillfully poured hot water into the teapot.
"I asked for something that would be more like a light lunch than something sweet, but I wonder what it will be. It's exciting, isn't it, Franz?"
"…Not really."
"You're not excited? Even though it might be a local dish of this country?"
Without saying a word, he gave her a thoroughly exasperated look. In response, Anna gave him a pleasant smile that wordlessly said, I'm just kidding. For some reason, ever since the incident with Constanze, he felt like she was acting overly like an older sister, and it was irritating.
When Anna dropped a single solid block of this country's unique tea into the pot, a rich aroma filled the room. The type of tea was probably black tea, just like in Yuresla, but unlike Yuresla's, the fragrance was very strong. In this country, they add milk and butter to it, so it must have a flavor that can stand up to them.
After tea had been placed before each of the three of them, Edward began to speak again.
"The first thing we must do is to speak with our collaborator in investigating this case."
"Collaborator?"
He hadn't heard that part of the story yet. He looked at Edward, who gave a small nod.
"Actually, there is a person who says that Ritz is not the culprit. That person has agreed to cooperate."
"A Birdfolk?"
"That's right. He should be here by now, but he seems to be a little late."
As he said that, Edward looked at his pocket watch. Franz instinctively looked at the time as well. Naturally, it had hardly changed from a moment ago.
"Then, I'd better get the tea ready. I'll go get another cup!"
Anna cheerfully said and was about to leave the room with light steps, pulling the door open. The warm air of the room flowed out, and cold air entered. Just as the cold-sensitive Franz was thinking, hurry up and close it, Anna, who was about to rush out, collided with something with great force. The impact sent her tumbling to the floor.
"I'm sorry."
The obstacle outside the door bowed its head apologetically.
"I couldn't quite bring myself to enter the room…"
Standing there was the Birdfolk man, Anil. The confidence that had filled him when he was guiding them on their tour was gone, and he looked haggard. Also, unlike the practical, ordinary clothes he wore when he came from the lower world, today he had changed into the attire of Tashkur.
A cloth called a turban was wrapped around his silver hair, which Anna had described as being as beautiful as frosted pasture grass. The loose-fitting clothes with lots of fabric and the turban were the ordinary attire for men in Tashkur. Women wore brightly colored cloth wrapped like a skirt and draped soft cloth over their shoulders in a folk costume. To this, they would wrap a brightly colored, wool-knitted stole.
It was no exaggeration to say that one could tell whether someone was a Birdfolk or a human by whether or not they were wearing this unique Tashkur attire.
"We are glad you came. Please, come in."
Edward stood up to greet the hesitant Anil, who was still standing outside the door, and welcomed him into the room with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Anna quickly stood up and closed the door.
"This is perfect timing. The tea has just been brewed."
Edward said as he offered Anil the tea that Anna had poured. It seemed he hadn't taken a sip yet. Anil sat down in a chair, looking apologetic, and sipped the tea as he was urged.
"There's more, so please just say so. Oh, I was going to get a cup!"
Flustered, Anna dashed out of the room this time to get a cup. In the meantime, Anil silently sipped his tea and didn't open his mouth. He had never seen this man with such a tormented expression before. Eventually, Anna returned and, after refilling everyone's tea, Anil finally spoke, his words heavy.
"I am so sorry."
At his words of apology, everyone was perplexed. The one who had been killed was Anil's father. Yet Anil was apologizing to the companions of the man arrested as the culprit. From an outsider's perspective, it was a strange scene.
"I am truly sorry. It is only because I was the one who guided you all here that you have been dragged into something like this…"
"Dragged into it?"
At those words, Edward's eyes glinted sharply.
"Does that mean you have an idea of who the culprit is?"
"Yes… probably."
Though his words were hesitant, it seemed Anil had an idea of why his father had been killed. That must have been why, in a situation where it seemed Ritz could only be the culprit, he had defended Ritz, despite being the victim's son.
"Would you mind telling us?"
At Edward's words, which held a firm will beneath a gentle tone, Anil hesitated for a moment before taking two sealed envelopes from his clothes.
"These are letters that were delivered to my father while I was away. If my sister's memory is correct, when these letters arrived at our home, I had not yet met you all. Therefore, there is no way Ritz could have acted in accordance with these letters."
Edward confirmed before touching the letters that had been gently placed on the table.
"May I read them?"
"Yes."
With some consideration for Anil, who would not look at the letters or Edward, Edward picked up one of the envelopes. Edward, who said that small letters had become somewhat difficult to read, usually passed the task of reading letters to Franz, but today he didn't have to.
The characters written there were, contrary to expectations, few and large.
"'We are those who possess freedom. True warriors who will fight until we obtain true wings.' …It's some kind of declaration."
After reading the first letter aloud and muttering to himself, Edward opened the next one. There too, in the same large characters, was something even more disturbing than the first.
"'O you who would break our wings. We warn you, no one can stop us. For those who obstruct freedom, death.' I see. It appears to be a declaration that they will eliminate any who stand in their way."
After muttering to himself, Edward put the letter back and turned the envelope over to look at it. Eventually, Edward held it up for everyone to see. Something like a crest was drawn there. A pair of wings and a pair of swords.
"What does this mark signify?"
"It is the symbol of the Tashkur Liberation Front."
"So you believe that the Tashkur Liberation Front killed your father?"
It was a direct question, but Anil looked at Edward with a strong light in his eyes.
"That is correct. My father was in a position of opposition to the Tashkur Liberation Front, and personally, he was an obstacle to a certain individual in the Front."
At Anil's words, which suddenly seemed to name the culprit, Edward furrowed his brow.
"You know… who the culprit is?"
At Edward's earnest words, which were a mixture of doubt and expectation, Anil was momentarily speechless, then his gaze wandered a little. It seemed to Franz that he was hesitating whether to say it or not. Perhaps this was the reason he had been unable to enter the room in front of the door. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, Anil's heavy mouth opened.
"…I believe that person is the culprit. But I have no conclusive proof. I don't even know if that man is a member of the Tashkur Liberation Front."
Picking up the envelope that had been placed on the table again and looking at it with dark eyes, Anil raised his head as if to cut off his hesitation and looked at Edward.
"The culprit is probably my sister's lover, Barat."
"What…?"
"I have been worried for some time now. He is the lover to whom my sister, who loses sight of everything when she becomes engrossed in one thing, has devoted her all… but there is something shadowy about him, and he seems to be hiding some secret. Moreover, he was always hanging around the entertainment district, which is full of immigrants."
At the sudden revelation of the culprit's name, not only Edward but also Anna was surprised, her eyes widening.
"Then the case is solved, right? Let's tell them that and get Ritz out of the jail!"
Edward gave a wry smile at Anna's utterly cheerful declaration.
"Wait, Anna. Didn't you hear what Anil said?"
"Eh? What did he say?"
"Evidence. There is no evidence at all."
"But, but, if we know who the culprit is, we can tell the Autonomous Guard people, and they will investigate, right?"
At Anna's overly optimistic words, Franz lightly pressed his forehead.
"That's impossible."
"Ehh? Why?"
"You can't just ask them to suddenly arrest someone without evidence."
"But you think he's the culprit, don't you, Anil-san?"
Anna, unwilling to believe Franz's words, looked at Anil. But Anil too could only shake his head weakly. Perhaps thinking that these two unreliable people would get nowhere, Anna looked at Edward.
"Ed-san!"
"Unfortunately, Anna, Franz's words are correct. Without evidence, even if we tell the Autonomous Guard now that the culprit is Anil's sister's lover, we will just be turned away at the door."
"Why is that!? Even though the son of the murdered person is saying so!"
As if all the frustration she had been hiding had burst forth at once, Anna pressed Edward. Perhaps even though she had been acting calm and cheerful, Anna had been on edge. It was still beyond Franz to see through Anna's forced cheerfulness. Edward, who likely understood Anna's feelings completely, calmly gestured for Anna to take a seat and poured tea into the empty cup.
"Drink."
"But…"
"Let's tell a little story. Suppose you baked a cake for Ritz's birthday."
"Yes?"
The sudden change of topic took Anna by surprise, and her eyes widened. Ignoring her, Edward continued.
"But before you could put it on the party table, the cake was eaten. The only ones there were Greig and Joe."
"…Yes."
Along with the nodding Anna, Franz also nodded. In his mind, Greig, Joe, and the kitchen of the Clayton Residence appeared.
"Joe, who was tired from sword practice and sleeping on the sofa, has whipped cream on his mouth. But it's clearly not an act; he really has just woken up. That would make Greig overwhelmingly suspicious, but Greig insists that since Joe has the cream on him, it wasn't him. And indeed, there is no trace of Greig having eaten it."
Saying that, Edward paused. Then he slowly looked at Anna and Franz and smiled like a gentle teacher.
"When faced with that situation, can you point the finger and say Greig is the culprit? If you were wrong, wouldn't you worry about hurting Greig and be unable to say it with certainty?"
After thinking about that question for a moment, Anna gave a firm nod.
"…I see. Just being suspicious isn't good enough…"
Anna hated to hurt people. That's why in this case, she couldn't just blame someone on suspicion alone. By the way, in Franz's case, if Greig were clearly the suspicious one between the two of them, he would have pointed the finger at Greig without hesitation. In such a situation, he was convinced, in a strange way, that Greig was definitely the culprit.
"Do you understand now? A testimony without proof or certainty is far less suspicious than a man found sleeping next to a victim with a murder weapon, after all."
"So, in the end, this won't be over until we find out who the culprit is and find proper evidence, right?"
"That's right."
At Edward's confident nod, Franz let out a sigh. It seemed they would have to investigate properly from the beginning after all. Next to the sighing Franz, for some reason, even Anil let out a sigh. But unlike Franz's, it was a sigh mixed with relief.
"I'm glad I was able to tell you. If I had kept quiet, I might have confronted Barat and asked, 'Did you kill him?' I can investigate a little more calmly now."
"That would be for the best."
"Perhaps I brought in unnecessary information?"
To the worried-looking Anil, Edward returned a smile and lightly patted his shoulder.
"Not at all. Your words have given us a sense of direction. First, we will search for the woman who was with Ritz in the entertainment district. That remains unchanged. Then, let's also investigate Anil's sister's lover in the entertainment district. If he is the culprit, we might gather some information."
"Yes."
Unintentionally, the replies of Anna, Franz, and Anil overlapped. The fact that all three had completely different tones was rather unsettling.
"By the way, Anil, when can you join us?"
"My father's funeral will take place all day tomorrow morning. I will be able to join you the day after tomorrow."
"Then for one day tomorrow, let's try moving on our own. It's likely that more people will be willing to talk if it's just outsiders."
"Understood. Then I will join you from tomorrow morning."
Somehow, things had been settled. At this rate, it seemed they would be taking a break for the rest of the day. But Anna started saying something meddlesome again.
"Do you have enough help for the funeral? I can help if you'd like."
As expected of a child of the church, she had guts. Franz didn't even want to see a dead body. But Anil smiled softly and shook his head.
"It's all right."
"But it must be difficult, right? It's just you, your sister, and your mother, isn't it?"
"My mother passed away a few years ago, so it's just me and my sister."
"Then you're completely short-handed, aren't you?"
"Yes. We plan to have the neighbors help us."
"In that case…"
"The thought alone is enough. We cannot have anyone other than Birdfolk assist us."
Perhaps there were different rules between the races when it came to funerals. Franz was secretly convinced, but Anna tilted her head.
"Why is that?"
To such an Anna, Anil gave a wry smile.
"Our funeral is a sky burial."
"…A sky burial?"
"Yes. We carry the deceased to the funeral site during the night, lay them down in the state they were born, and at dawn, the messengers of the goddess, our winged friends, gather."
"You mean… birds?"
"Yes. In your terms, they are eagles and hawks."
Just hearing that gave him a bad feeling. He wanted to urge Anna not to ask any more, but he was too late, and Anna heard it.
"Um, what do the birds do when they come to the funeral site?"
"They peck at the body of the deceased and return it to the goddess's side."
"Peck…?"
In other words, they let birds eat the corpse. Next to Franz, who clutched his chest, imagining a swarm of birds flocking to a dead body, even Anna had a strained smile on her face.
"…See? We can't have anyone but Birdfolk help. An ordinary person would lose consciousness at the funeral site."
"…You're right. Hehehehe…"
Anna laughed weakly to cover it up. It seemed she had understood that even she couldn't help with that. But for some reason, Edward reacted to those words.
"Could it be that the funeral site is in the holy land?"
"That is correct."
"Then, among the Wind Clan, is it not said that the goddess resides on a high peak, where the birds carry them?"
It seemed Edward had imagined the clan's legends from the sky burial.
"Yes. The goddess is said to be on a distant cloud-capped peak, in a sacred land connected to it. Our Birdfolk wings cannot fly that far, so we have the birds carry them for us."
Another high peak. And a goddess was said to be there. A goddess, not a Spirit King. Then what about the legends of the Spirit King? He was curious, but to find out, they had to solve the case.
While Franz was thinking about such things, Edward was asking Anil about the customs of the Birdfolk. Franz once again listened to Anil's words.
"It is fitting for the Birdfolk that birds play an important role."
"Even if we do not have wings, we are considered their companions. The winged ones are indispensable to our rituals and are always close by."
"The birds must be treated with great care. Are they sometimes gathered for the sake of rituals?"
"Yes, they are. But that alone is not always enough for sudden occasions, so a certain number are always being raised in this city. We cannot raise them in the holy land, of course, but without their existence, weddings, namings, and sky burials would all be impossible."
"Upholding tradition seems to be quite a task."
"Yes. When I'm often outside the city, I occasionally realize that."
The rest of the conversation turned to idle chat about the differences Anil felt between Tashkur and the Sarnia Federation. It was all things Franz had never heard before and was interesting, but it seemed to have no connection to their purpose or the current case.
After a while, Anil left for tomorrow's funeral. To the dazed Franz and Anna, still in shock from the sky burial, Edward smiled.
"There are many different peoples and many different customs. It is a strange thing, though the workings of human life do not change so much."
It was only after he said it that he realized. It was true that the workings of human life were not so different in any country. The endings of words might be slightly different from country to country, or the color of skin, or the shape of houses, but there were no extreme changes like with the demi-human races.
"As the legends say, were they born on this land before humans?"
"That may be so. But no one knows the past. That's right…"
Edward, who was about to continue, cut his words short. Franz continued the words Edward had swallowed in his mind.
That's right… except for Artis Ozmand, who is said to have lived for over fifteen hundred years…
While the two were pensively thinking about such things, Anna, who seemed to have been thinking about something else, suddenly raised her face.
"Tomorrow, am I going to go do the questioning too?"
Without a moment's delay, Edward replied to Anna with a smile.
"No, you will take a change of clothes to Ritz. Ritz will also be more pleased if you go than if we do."
"Then, after that, together…"
"No, no, Ritz must be bored, being cooped up all day. Please keep him company for a while."
It seemed Edward didn't want to take Anna for the questioning. He could somehow understand Edward's feelings.
Judging from the situation, the woman Ritz was with last night was undoubtedly a prostitute. If Anna were to ask that woman her profession and be told, "I'm a prostitute," knowing Anna, she would probably make her explain what a prostitute was until she was satisfied.
That would be a terrible amount of trouble. Franz definitely did not want to take on that role.
"…Then I'll do that."
For some reason, Anna nodded with a disappointed look.
"Why did you want to go for questioning?"
Looking up at the gently questioning Edward, Anna explained with a very serious face.
"I was wondering what kind of person the woman Ritz goes to meet at night is."
"…Ah, I see."
"Because if it's just about being female, I'm a girl too. But Ritz didn't talk with me; he went to a strange woman's place, didn't he? I'm curious if she's a really good conversationalist, or if she's much more of an adult than me and fun to be with."
At Anna's earnest explanation, Franz let out a small sigh. He was grateful for Edward's quick thinking in arranging for Anna to go to Ritz's side. If she had come along for the questioning, it would have been extremely troublesome.
"But Ritz is strange, isn't he? Going out because he wants to spend time with a woman. I wonder if it's not okay for him to spend time with me instead of another woman."
If Ritz were able to do that with Anna, his night-playing would probably stop in an instant. After all, Ritz had once told Franz in a fit of desperation that he loved Anna to a ridiculous degree.
As he sighed at the clueless Anna's words, he glanced at Ritz's best friend and saw him smiling wryly. He was undoubtedly thinking the same thing as Franz.
"Is it because I'm a child and not interesting?"
The part about being a child was the only correct part. To Anna's seemingly self-deprecating aside, Edward gently smiled and offered a follow-up.
"When you're old enough to drink, you can spend the nights with him too. He is an unparalleled lover of alcohol, you see."
"Oh, I see. Ritz wants to drink, Ed-san."
"That's right."
"Oh, I get it. When I become an adult who can drink, Ritz will stop playing around at night."
"Probably."
"It would be fun to become an adult soon and be able to drink together. Besides, if we drink together at home, we'll save money too."
It wasn't really a matter of alcohol or money, but Edward easily deflected the point and smiled. As expected of Ritz's best friend, he was skilled at talking people around. No, perhaps as the former king, Edward was even more skilled at it.
"Oh, the snacks must be ready by now! I'll go get them!"
With a somewhat refreshed expression, Anna dashed out of the room with light steps. As the door closed, Franz couldn't help but let out a small sigh.
"Your Majesty, if you hadn't become king, you could have become a splendid swindler."
"What are you saying? I'm not Ritz. I am an honest man."
"Where? You were just deceiving her, weren't you?"
"I did no such thing. I told her to spend the night with Ritz when she becomes an adult, after all."
"…Hah."
But for that to happen, Anna would have to harbor the same feelings as Ritz. He wondered if that was something he didn't need to think about. Perhaps sensing Franz's exasperation, Edward let out a soft smile.
"To that child, Ritz is no longer a guardian or anything of the sort."
"Huh?"
"To that child, Ritz is her other wing. A person cannot live having lost half of themselves."
"Your Majesty?"
As he furrowed his brow at Edward's incomprehensible monologue, Edward smiled softly.
"When will that child realize it, or will she choose another path without realizing… That is my biggest concern at the moment."
"…Hah."
"I wish Anna would look closer rather than farther away."
At the incomprehensible words, Franz let out a small sigh. Only Ritz could understand what Edward was thinking, but that Ritz was not here now. Without Ritz, most of Edward's words would flow past Franz without him ever knowing their meaning. As he secretly sighed, Anna returned, carrying a silver tray laden with something unfamiliar.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~. It's naan and roasted veal! You're supposed to wrap the roasted veal with vegetables in the naan and eat it."
Happily, Anna placed the silver tray on the table.
"This thin stuff is called naan. It's made with just flour, salt, and oil."
Explaining just as the innkeeper had told her, Anna skillfully placed vegetables and roasted veal on the naan and rolled it up. Instead of eating it herself, she handed it to Edward. With her free hand, she immediately started on the next one.
She quickly rolled a second one for Franz, and then a third for herself, before cheerfully declaring.
"Okay, let's eat! Let's eat and do our best tomorrow!"
Faced with what looked like enough flat, floury bread for several people, Franz let out a heavy sigh. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to eat dinner. When he thought about how if Ritz were here, there wouldn't be any leftovers, he felt Ritz's absence in a strange way.
That's right, Ritz wasn't here. Unlike before, not having someone to push troublesome things onto was somehow empty.
"Time to eat~
Sighing at the cheerful Anna, Franz, understanding that thinking about it would get him nowhere, brought the naan, with its fragrant brown grill marks, to his mouth.