Chapter 166 - <9>
Late at night, Edward left the inn with Anna.
The late-night air that hit his cheeks was cold, and the strong wind felt less like a chill and more like a sharp pain slicing at his skin. Feeling winter’s imminent arrival, Edward readjusted the scarf wrapped around his neck. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before snow fell. It seemed they wouldn’t be able to leave this city until spring.
Unable to go out in his usual light attire, he and Anna were heavily bundled up as they hurried to the Birdfolk Assembly Hall, the scene of Ashok’s murder. Anna, short in stature and jogging to keep up beside him, was buried in her winter clothes tonight, which made her look even younger than usual. But contrary to that impression, her expression seemed to be tightened by the cold and tension.
They had confirmed the location during the day, so the two of them walked on in silence without getting lost. Their footsteps echoed loudly on the deserted stone pavement. The oil lamps continued to burn with small flames, but the surroundings were even darker, making the red-hot flames of Sara's lamp seem dazzling.
As they navigated a complex path of stairs, squares, and bridges crossing the lower levels, they suddenly came upon an open space with a clear view. In that space was a front yard, and a three or four-story building. Unlike the cramped private houses, it was a building designed for large gatherings of people, and it was the very place they were heading for: the Birdfolk Assembly Hall.
“Where should we hide?”
With their destination in sight, Anna asked, looking around restlessly. There was no place to hide on the assembly hall side. If they were to hide, it would have to be on the side of the private houses they had just come from, or behind this assembly hall.
“Well… what should we do?”
“Um, maybe we should split up. What do you think?”
“If we believe Anil’s words, that shouldn’t be necessary.”
“You’re right. Anil is reliable.”
According to Anil, the back of the building abutted the rock face of the upper level, and there was no way to enter from behind. Therefore, everyone entered through this front entrance and then split off to various entrances inside the building for different purposes. That’s why the guards could monitor for suspicious individuals trying to enter the assembly hall by standing in this location.
Since it was situated in an open area, the space was wide, and it was a perfect place for surveillance, as it overlooked the city below. Even if they were wary of intruders from the windows, it was certain that they could keep watch with a small number of people.
The assembly hall stood in the center of a well-maintained square, and as he had heard, two members of the Autonomous Guard stood at the entrance. According to Anil, it was also used as a practical building where important national meetings were held, and it was the most heavily guarded place after the holy site.
That alone hinted at the high standing of Ashok, who had tried to hold some kind of meeting at this place. Since that person was killed here, it must have been an extraordinary emergency for the Autonomous Guard. That was easy enough to imagine just by remembering the marks of assault that Ritz must have received right after his arrest.
“For tonight, let’s just check whether there’s any coming or going from the entrance during the time until Ritz was arrested by the guards.”
“So, if there’s nothing, we’ll watch another place tomorrow, right?”
“That’s what it comes down to.”
“…I see. I hope something happens tonight.”
At Anna’s words, which sounded as if she wanted some kind of problem to occur, a smile involuntarily tugged at his lips. It was true that the quickest way was for the real culprit to make some kind of reaction. But there was no use in expecting that from the culprit.
“Things won’t progress that easily. In this situation, waiting is important.”
“Waiting, huh? I’m not good at that…”
Anna, who was not a short-tempered person, muttered and sighed. He urged the unenthusiastic-looking Anna to move to a small space in the back of the alley they had just come from. It wouldn’t be good to stand here talking in a place that was easily visible to the Autonomous Guard.
Conveniently, in that space, there was a ledge of rock that looked like it had been started and then abandoned, and it was like a bench that could comfortably seat both Anna and Edward.
As the two of them sat down there, Anna placed the luggage she was carrying at her feet and let out a big sigh. With the lack of progress in the steady investigation over the past few days, Anna was probably at a loss as to where to direct her emotions. Although she was confident in her stamina, the unfamiliar situation of searching for the culprit in a murder case with no end in sight had completely exhausted her over the past few days.
“Are you tired?”
“My body isn’t tired, but my mind feels tired.”
“I imagine so. It’s not a common situation.”
“You’re right…”
With a small sigh, Anna gazed at the lamp she was holding in her hand. The roaring flame let out a high-pitched sound and brightly illuminated Anna’s face. To Edward, it looked like nothing more than a vigorous flame that occasionally let out a strange cry, but to her, Sara was one of her friends.
“Altman-san and Kenny-san, they always do this kind of work, don’t they?”
As if talking to herself, and in a strangely serious tone, Anna muttered that, and Edward showed her a soft smile.
“That’s right. In Kenny’s case, it might be even tougher. He often conducts secret investigations.”
“That must be hard.”
In a heavier tone than usual, he involuntarily looked at Anna’s expression, and her face, illuminated by the flames, was a little dark.
“Is something wrong, Anna?”
He asked gently, and Anna looked up and looked straight at Edward.
“Investigating people with suspicion is really hard, isn’t it? Someone framed Ritz as the culprit, and we have to find that someone. But there’s no one who looks particularly suspicious anywhere, everyone looks normal. But somewhere in this city, there’s a person who pinned the crime on Ritz. When I think about that, everyone starts to look like a bad person.”
After saying all that in one go, Anna sighed again.
“Somehow, suspecting people is really tiring.”
“That’s true. You really want to trust people, so it must be especially tiring for you, right?”
Anna fell silent for a moment, then placed Sara's lamp next to her.
“I used to think that there were no truly bad people in this world. But lately, I’m not so sure.”
She muttered that, burying her face in her thick muffler, and fell into thought. With the situation of a stakeout until morning, there was plenty of time, so Edward waited for Anna to speak again, his eyes turned towards the assembly hall. Eventually, Anna looked up.
“I never want to suspect people from the start, but there are people in my life that I just can’t forgive. So, I don’t know what to do… What do you do, Ed-san?”
At the pure eyes seeking guidance, he couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. Edward was not as noble a person as she thought. The image of the perfect king Edward that she saw was probably a person with a very wide range of tolerance for good and evil in people, but that was not the case.
“I make it a point to have eyes that can discern the truth.”
“Eyes that can discern the truth?”
“That’s right. It’s a problem to suspect or believe everyone indiscriminately. You should strive to properly discern the true nature of that person.”
From the time he learned of his position in his childhood, Edward had imposed that on himself. He had sought the truth so as not to listen to sweet nothings, not to be swayed by worldly rumors. As a result, Edward had started a civil war of his own will and decided to take the throne.
“Effort?”
“That’s right. Until now, haven’t you been looking at the world through a single thin cloth called your own ideal, that ‘there are no evil people among those you meet’?”
“But that wasn't an ideal, it was because I believed it…”
“Yes. By believing that, you were fitting people you hadn’t even met yet into a box called the scope of your thinking. That’s why people who fall outside of that box become incomprehensible.”
“Are you saying I wasn’t seeing the truth?”
“Am I wrong? For example, the people you can’t forgive… I believe it’s my brother Stewart and a man named Jin, but…”
“Yes.”
“My brother was a villain from the moment you saw him, but Jin was different, wasn’t he? When you first saw him, what did you think?”
“Uh…”
Anna, who was at a loss for words with a taken-aback expression, Edward watched quietly with a smile, waiting. Eventually, Anna muttered softly.
“Because he was Ritz’s subordinate, I thought he wasn’t a bad person.”
“I imagine so. But if you had properly observed the person named Jin, you would have been able to know that he had some kind of malice. To discern a person is to observe from there what that person is thinking, what they are trying to do. To blindly trust a person and be betrayed later is to see your own ideals, not the person.”
He intended to say it softly, but it seemed to have resonated with Anna as a heavier word than Edward had thought. But if she were to live in Ciedena or a similar city in the future, rather than her hometown, it might be the most important thing she would have to learn.
He placed a hand lightly on the dejected Anna’s shoulder and patted it gently, speaking as if he were admonishing his real grandchild.
“Listen, Anna. Your ideal is noble, and the way of thinking that everyone is a good person is something that not everyone can do. In fact, Ritz and Franz, for example, are the types of people who start by suspecting the other person first.”
“You’re right.”
“But by discerning the person and then thinking about what you can do that is best for them, won’t you be able to get closer to your dream of ‘saving people’?”
“…”
There was no reply, but Anna seemed to be listening intently to Edward’s words. Not to comfort her, but as a predecessor in life, as someone who would die before her, he continued to speak with all his heart, so as to give her some kind of guidance in her future life.
“To be able to discern what is necessary and what is not necessary after discerning the other person and give it to them is what it means to save people, at least that’s what I think.”
When he finished speaking, Anna looked up at Edward with a slightly troubled expression.
“Do you think I can do it?”
“I’m talking to you because I naturally think you can.”
“…But where should I start?”
To Anna, who tilted her head with a genuinely clueless expression, Edward smiled softly.
“Why don’t you start by trying to see the truth of that person without setting any limits from the start? Investigating a case is the same. Try to observe the other person intently. If you do that, you should be able to distinguish between those who speak the truth and those who are hiding something, at least to some extent. Then you won’t have to suspect everyone.”
“To see properly… I see.”
“Yes. With your own eyes.”
“…With my own eyes.”
With that, Anna looked down for a while and then looked up.
“I’ll try to look at their faces properly, and their eyes. Not to see if they’re lying, but to see what they’re thinking.”
“Try your best.”
“Yes!”
If she were truly his granddaughter, she would have become a ruler several times better than Greig. But unfortunately, his real grandson was Greig, who was full of pride. If only he had half of Anna’s mental flexibility, he would be a little better.
No, on second thought, it was Gerald who was closer to her in age. In that case, his son Gerald would be a better ruler.
Unaware that Edward was thinking such things, Anna showed a smile that seemed somewhat more cheerful than before. It seemed that the source of her greatest mental fatigue was having to make a choice between whether someone was telling the truth or lying.
By first looking at the other person without preconceived notions, there would be things that would become visible. That would lead to knowing people. In the case of Edward and Ritz, they also tried to gauge the other person’s reaction by lightly probing them, but Anna didn’t need to do that.
As long as her partner was Ritz, all she had to do was to firmly find out the truth by the side of Ritz, who would do that to the other person.
“I’m so glad I talked to you, Ed-san. I feel like I can’t whine like this when Franz is around.”
Anna said with a bright expression.
“Do you feel you have to be considerate of Franz?”
“I do. He gets down easily, gets tired easily, and gets cornered easily. But he’s easier to understand than Ritz, since he doesn’t bottle things up.”
From the cheerful tone in which she said that, it was clear that to Anna, Franz was a child no different from the children at the orphanage. In terms of appearance, Franz was older, but mentally, Anna was several steps ahead. If Franz heard this, he would probably express his anger at the injustice.
“Oh, are you laughing, Ed-san?”
“You’re just like Franz’s mother.”
“I’m not, I’m his older sister! I’m not that old!”
When Anna insisted, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Anna laughed along with him. After laughing for a while in hushed voices, Anna looked straight up at Edward.
“You’re like a real grandpa, Ed-san, and it makes me happy.”
For her, who had no real family, being thought of as family was very important.
“Thank you. Both Patty and I think of you as our real granddaughter.”
“Hehe. I’m so happy.”
On Anna’s bashful face, a moving shadow passed by. Startled, he turned around and saw that someone was approaching from close by. He regretted for a moment his lack of tension, having been caught up in conversation when he was supposed to be hiding, but running away in a situation where he was likely already spotted was even worse than being found.
“Is something wrong?”
To Anna, who tilted her head, not noticing anything, Edward gave a bitter smile.
“It seems our chat went on too long.”
“Huh?”
“It seems we’ve been found. By the Autonomous Guard.”
“What?!”
As Anna looked around in a panic, she seemed to have seen the shadow of a person approaching on the oil-lit stone pavement, and she gave a sheepish, embarrassed smile. To such an Anna, he joked and shrugged.
“It means you shouldn’t get lost in conversation when you’re on watch.”
“You’re right.”
In the meantime, a guard appeared before the two of them.
“Is someone there?!”
At the challenge, Anna replied cheerfully.
“We’re here.”
“…W-who are you!”
The guard, faced with an old man and a girl who were smiling without resisting or running away, sitting on the stonework, froze for a moment.
“Umm, good evening.”
“…!?”
“Thank you for your hard work on the late-night patrol!”
The bewildered guard’s eyes widened when he recognized the two of them, but then he let out a deep, long sigh. From the guard’s attitude, it seemed that he had no intention of sending them to the guard headquarters as suspicious individuals.
This guard seemed to know about the two of them. He observed his face for a while, but Edward didn’t recognize him. But as if she recognized him, Anna let out a small voice.
“Oh! You’re the one who showed us to Ritz’s cell, aren’t you?! And twice at that!”
The guard, addressed in a cheerful and fun tone, nodded slightly with a bewildered expression.
“Yes.”
“I knew it! You kept me company with a lot of chatter. I haven’t been to the cell for a few days, but is Ritz doing well?”
“Yes. He is eating his meals properly.”
The young guard, whose actual age was unknown, stood there at a loss as to how to deal with the two people he had met in an unexpected place, answering Anna’s questions. Knowing from past experience that the conversation would not progress if he let Anna continue, he stepped in between them.
“You may find it suspicious that we are in such a place at such a time, but there is something we wish to investigate. I’m sorry, but could you grant us permission?”
“What are you investigating?”
Thinking that he was more talkative than Anna, even though he was bewildered, the young guard turned to Edward with a sigh of relief.
“We are to conduct our own investigation here to find the true culprit of the Ashok murder case. Have you not heard from your superior?”
“I have.”
“It’s about that matter.”
To the guard, who had taken a listening stance, Edward explained carefully, just as he had to Franz. The guard listened silently for a while, then nodded in understanding.
“Indeed, our perspectives may be different.”
“Then you don’t mind?”
“No.”
The guard, who nodded slightly, changed his expression and continued.
“But as a condition, I will accompany you.”
He didn't think they, as outsiders and companions of the suspect, would be trusted unconditionally, so this was a good condition. But if he didn't raise a slight objection here, they wouldn't be able to move. Edward looked at the guard with a slightly displeased expression.
“…Do you suspect we will do something?”
“No. But I would like you to understand our position as well.”
The young man, who said that with a firm expression, also had a hint of apology in his voice. It would be meaningless to bargain with this young man any further.
“I understand. Then I will ask for your assistance.”
“I apologize. I will just go and speak to my colleague.”
The guard ran back to the vicinity of the building, said something to the two men who were standing like gatekeepers, and immediately returned. When he looked at the men who had been the gatekeepers, he saw that they were looking at him. They were concerned, but not wary.
“Thank you for waiting.”
Once it had come to this, he had no choice but to use this situation to his advantage as much as possible.
“No, I apologize as well. Please, have a seat.”
He urged the young man to sit on the large stonework that still had room even after the two of them had sat down. At first, he refused, but at Anna’s urging, he reluctantly sat down. The result was a formation where Anna and Edward were on either side of the guard. After a moment of awkward silence, Edward opened his mouth with a bitter smile.
“May I ask your name?”
“…Me? My name is Susir.”
“You know our names, I presume?”
“Yes. Your Highness Grand Duke Edward, and Anna-san.”
It seemed that just by being Ritz’s companions, their names and positions had become known within the Autonomous Guard. But given the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped.
“Is your investigation already over?”
If they believed that Ritz was the culprit and that fact was unshakable, then the investigation would have already ended. He asked with that in mind, but contrary to his expectations, Susir shook his head.
“No. My squad leader believes that the culprit is someone else, so we are investigating.”
“Your squad leader?”
“Yes. I believe he came to inform you of the arrest, did he not?”
“Ah, that…”
Only when it was mentioned did he remember the face of the man who had first come. The man, who was accompanied by his subordinates, was named Dayaram, as he remembered. As luck would have it, the squad that was guarding the assembly hall tonight was that very squad. However, the squad leader himself was not present, as he had an important matter to attend to. He understood the situation, but he didn’t understand why Dayaram was continuing the investigation.
“Wasn’t the culprit determined to be my subordinate?”
“Most of us think so, but the squad leader has known Anil since he was a child, and he seems to think that if he says he’s not the culprit, then there must be some truth hidden there. So only our squad, including the squad leader, is still investigating the case.”
“I see… That is a relief.”
Just knowing that there were people among the Birdfolk who were still pursuing the truth was reassuring. It was also a blessing that they happened to meet someone from that squad.
“Shall we exchange information? Though the information we have is practically zero…”
He thought it was a somewhat convenient proposal, but Susir shrugged slightly and nodded.
“I don’t mind. We are also at a standstill.”
Even after their investigation, they apparently couldn’t find the woman Ritz had met, and they also didn’t know why Ritz and Ashok were together in the assembly hall. If Ritz was the culprit, it was a mystery when and how he went to the place where Ashok was. Even though Ashok was clearly seen by the guards, Ritz was not seen at all.
Unlike a Birdfolk, Ritz couldn’t jump, and he couldn’t even use spirit magic. In that case, to go to the room inside the assembly hall without being seen by the guards, he would have had to climb the wall on his own. But if he did that, he would have stood out.
“How about the Tashkur Liberation Front?”
“…There seems to be a misunderstanding, so let me explain. The Tashkur Liberation Front is a name that we in the Autonomous Guard use for convenience, and we don’t know if it actually functions as an organization.”
“What?”
At the unexpected words, he stared at Susir, and Susir nodded slightly.
“We are aware from what Anil told us that there is an entity that has used the name Tashkur Liberation Front and its crest to write threatening letters. It is certain that there are people who use that crest to assert their existence, as there have been instances where they scattered manifestos from the sky using that crest, but it is unclear whether they are acting as an organization.”
“So there’s a possibility that this was made to look like the work of the Tashkur Liberation Front, but it’s actually not…”
“That is a possibility. However, it is overwhelmingly the people on the side of the Tashkur Liberation Front who held a grudge against Ashok. If they claim to be the Liberation Front, we will recognize them as such.”
“I see…”
“Is the Liberation Front one person, or many? Perhaps the people in the entertainment district know, but if they are being investigated in connection with Ashok’s murder, everyone will keep their mouths shut. Ashok was that kind of person.”
Ashok seemed to have earned the resentment of the mixed-bloods, outsiders, and the common people with weak spiritual power. But if a group with unknown activities was involved, this case was complicated. If a real organization was involved in the crime, it might be possible to contact them, but if their true nature was unknown, it would be impossible to even investigate.
Other than that, the information he got from Susir was not much different from what Edward and the others had investigated. Edward’s sword, which Ritz had been carrying on the night of the incident, had not yet been found. They had searched the shops run by the Birdfolk, and the weapon and tool shops in the entertainment district, but had not found it. The Birdfolk shops were higher up than the entertainment district, and it was a relief that it would have been somewhat difficult for outsiders like Edward and the others to go and ask questions.
Conversely, Edward and the others had been asking questions in the shops in the entertainment district and the merchants’ stalls, which were difficult for the Autonomous Guard to investigate, but neither side had found anything, not even a clue. It was a conspicuous sword, so a merchant would remember if it had been sold, but there was not even a story of anyone having seen it.
He had proposed an exchange of information, but there was no particular information on their side to share. They had not found the view from the window that Ritz had seen, nor the woman he had met, and there was no information from Faye.
To kill the long time until dawn, Anna told Susir various stories, but he was interested in only one point. That was the story of when and who had put the sheet that had been covering the victim’s body. It was indeed strange that the sheet was white, even though both the victim and the suspect were covered in blood.
“The sheet that was covering Ashok-san, was it from the assembly hall?”
“Yes. It was from the lodging facilities.”
“I see. But why did the culprit put a sheet on him?”
Anna tilted her head, and Susir nodded.
“It is indeed a strange story. It would be proof that there was another person besides Mr. Alster.”
“The Birdfolk don’t have a custom of always covering the dead with a sheet, do they?”
As Anna said, for the Birdfolk, who had a different way of life, there might be things they were not aware of. But Susir sighed slightly and shook his head.
“No, we don’t.”
“I see…”
At that answer, Anna sighed and propped her chin on her hands, covering her cheeks. It was as difficult for Anna, who had never been involved in investigating a murder case before, to think of a clue that would lead to the culprit as it was to make Kenny Fort cook. With nothing else coming to mind, Anna propped her chin on her hands, looking dazed.
When they had left the inn, it was already close to midnight. Since then, the night had grown deeper, and it would soon be dawn. Even with winter clothes on, the cold that seeped in was a little hard to bear. The night was coldest just before dawn.
Watching Susir, who was thinking about the sheet Anna had brought up, Edward turned his gaze to the assembly hall. The assembly hall in the dim light, faintly illuminated by the oil lamps, had a more oppressive atmosphere than when seen in the sunlight.
Perhaps Edward’s own feelings, knowing that a murder had taken place here and that the truth had not yet been brought to light, made his impression of this building even darker.
As they watched the building and their own shadows fall on the stone pavement, swaying in the light of the oil lamps, the three of them fell silent in their own ways. When he glanced at Anna, he saw that she was propping her chin on her hands, her large green eyes half-closed, swaying slightly. It was no wonder, as she had been investigating until evening and had been up until this hour. She had only been able to take a nap at the inn for about two hours.
Thinking that there was no point in the two of them watching over a situation with no change, he was thinking of sending Anna back to the inn where Franz was, when the sleepy Anna muttered something in the exact same posture as before.
“Maybe they hide it because they don’t want to see it…”
Not understanding the meaning of the words she had said on the spur of the moment, he looked at Anna, and Anna, still with a sleepy expression, muttered again without moving.
“Maybe they hid it because they didn’t want to admit they killed him…”
With those words, he realized she was talking about the sheet. It seemed she had not been sleeping, but thinking.
“Even though they were the one who killed him, it’s useless to hide it.”
Silently, Edward slowly turned his gaze to the assembly hall. If there was some meaning to the act of covering the person one had killed with a sheet, then Anna’s thought was indeed correct. But it was incomprehensible to hide the person one had killed oneself.
What kind of situation would lead someone to hide a body from their own sight because they didn't want to admit to the murder? Despite having left the victim and suspect alone in that room and having engineered a situation where suspicion would not fall on them, leaving behind evidence that clearly indicated a third party was present simply because they didn't want to see it—wasn't that a clear contradiction?
And yet the culprit did it. What was the meaning of it?
Susir, who had been silent for a while, looked up.
“I just remembered something…”
“What is it?”
“We order and analyze data from the Sarnia Federation, where there are many incidents, every year. I just remembered that according to it, covering the body with something after the murder, or making it so that it can’t be seen, often means that the victim was close to the culprit.”
“…I see. If that’s true, it would match the condition of the wounds on Ashok’s body.”
“That’s right. A single stab to the chest. That was the fatal wound.”
“Then, then Ed-san!”
Anna looked up at him happily. She seemed to think that this would clear Ritz of suspicion. But the situation was not that simple.
“In that case, wouldn’t that mean the culprit was an acquaintance of Ashok?”
Without looking at Susir, he muttered that with his eyes on the assembly hall, and Susir let out a confused voice.
“Theoretically, yes, but isn’t the person who was holding the weapon at the scene still closer to being the culprit?”
“That’s a good point. But I would be grateful if you would use this thought in your future investigation.”
“Of course, I will take it into consideration.”
Susir nodded in a serious tone. He probably intended to tell his squad leader, who was continuing the investigation. But the conclusion that an amateur like Edward had come to might have already been confirmed by the professional investigator, the squad leader.
“I see… so we still need evidence.”
With a voice full of disappointment, Anna fell silent again. It seemed she really couldn't think of anything else. After another long, long silence, Edward noticed that Anna, who was next to Susir, had really started to doze off while holding her luggage. She was exhausted from being considerate in various situations, and not having someone to joke around with.
Thinking it would be dangerous if she fell over, he stood up and moved next to Anna. Anna, who had started to sleep soundly leaning against Edward, was slowly laid down, her head resting on his lap. But Anna didn't move a muscle. She must have been very tired. Seeing that, Susir showed a youthful smile for the first time.
“She seems tired.”
“This child is still young, she needs her sleep.”
“Is she your granddaughter?”
Even though he should have known he was a grand duke, Susir asked seriously. If he admitted it, Anna would become the child of Edward’s illegitimate child, but there was no problem with that. So he just smiled gently without saying anything. That alone seemed to convince Susir that Anna was his real granddaughter.
In fact, to Edward and his wife Patricia, who had wanted a daughter so badly, Anna, who was also the object of his best friend’s affection, was as precious and cute as a real granddaughter. No, she might be even cuter to Patricia than his real grandson, the selfish Greig.
Remembering the face of his wife, who had been more saddened by Anna leaving the capital than by her husband going on a journey, he felt a little sentimental. He had decided that this would be his last journey, but he had come quite far from his own country. He had been to a neighboring country before, but he had never been this far from his own country. As a king, he couldn’t do that.
Despite this situation, he suddenly sighed at his complete freedom. Before the civil war began, Edward had once told Ritz about his real dream. Edward had wanted to be an adventurer who traveled this continent, if he were allowed. He had wanted to know not just a small world, but the whole world.
He looked up at the sky and exhaled, and the freezing air froze his breath white.
It was a strange thing. Just when he thought his friend who had disappeared for a long period of thirty-five years had returned, he was now on a journey across the continent, which had been his real dream. He always made fun of and teased his best friend Ritz, but to Edward, he was truly the one and only irreplaceable person with whom he could be himself, not a king.
He couldn’t leave that Ritz behind in Tashkur and let him serve his sentence. He couldn’t create another long period of emptiness between him and his friend. Edward didn’t have much time left. In that time, if he didn’t make Ritz open his eyes, he wouldn’t be able to die in peace.
Ritz was lonely. But if Ritz opened his eyes, there were many people who loved him and were waiting for him. If he didn’t tell him that, he would regret it more than he could bear.
That’s why Edward had a duty to bring Ritz back to Sears. Edward was not the only one who cared about Ritz. Patricia, Shasta, and the newly met Kenny and Altman in Sears all believed in Ritz’s return.
If Edward couldn’t solve it on his own, he was not averse to writing a letter, having it delivered to Sears, and calling Kenny and the others. He was that determined for his friend.
As the quiet time passed lazily, with only Anna’s breathing and the occasionally crackling oil lamps marking the passage of the incident, the sky on the opposite side of the assembly hall began to bleed with light. Dawn was approaching.
The faint presence of people began to waft from all over the city. For merchants and those involved in agriculture and livestock, dawn marked the start of their workday. The time this city, centered on livestock farming, woke up was surprisingly early.
But no one came to the area around the assembly hall where they were. In the dim light at the edge of his vision, a few people gracefully flew down the mountain, but none of them were acting suspiciously. Eventually, Susir, as if he had lost his patience, took a deep breath and turned to him.
“Are you still staying here?”
“Yes. I think I’ll stay here a little longer. Ashok’s body was found a little later, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. A few hours later. But at that time, there are people out in the city, and I don’t think it’s possible to carry someone in.”
Susir probably wanted to return to his post soon. Being with them, who were considered a part of the culprit’s gang, must be mentally exhausting. But he couldn’t go back here.
“…I’ll have you wait a little longer. This child has fallen asleep too.”
“I see.”
Watching the disappointed Susir from the corner of his eye, Edward turned his gaze back to the assembly hall. The assembly hall was as quiet as ever. Was it this quiet on the day of the incident as well? If so, where was the clue to solving the case?
A week’s worth of fatigue and weariness crept up into his chest. Was there no choice but to entrust it to the Autonomous Guard’s Squad Leader Dayaram, who was still moving without giving up, even though he couldn’t do anything on his own?
Just as he was starting to feel weak, he heard a sound that was not often heard in this city. A sound that was quite common outside of Tashkur… the sound of a horse-drawn cart running on the stone pavement.
“A horse-drawn cart, at this hour?”
As he unconsciously muttered it out loud, the horse-drawn cart appeared at the edge of his vision at the same time. A horse-drawn cart, pulled by a large black reindeer and loaded with cargo, was coming towards the assembly hall with several men on board.
“What is that?”
“Oh, those are the people who take care of the birds of prey at the assembly hall.”
“The birds of prey?”
“Yes. They are used for rituals, so they are kept in the back of the assembly hall. They don’t require much care on a daily basis, but once a week, they do a major cleaning.”
“Once a week…?”
“Yes.”
It was exactly a week ago that Ritz was involved in that murder case.
At the strange coincidence, Edward silently watched the horse-drawn cart. The horse-drawn cart, loaded with cargo, passed in front of him. There were large, well-dried bundles of straw, several large metal containers, perhaps for feed, and several bundles of tree branches.
“Did that horse-drawn cart enter the assembly hall on the day of the incident last week as well?”
“Yes.”
“So, there was no one else who entered that building with a large amount of luggage on that morning last week?”
“That’s right. There were no other large gatherings at the assembly hall on that day, so no food supplies came in either.”
“I see. Was it at this time last week as well?”
“That’s right. They always come to this assembly hall at the same time every week…”
As he answered, Susir seemed to have understood what Edward was getting at. He looked back at Edward, who had a dubious expression.
“Are you saying that horse-drawn cart is suspicious?”
“Is it strange to think so?”
“But they are trustworthy people who were hired to take care of the winged ones. Such a foolish thing…”
“If you are sure that they are the designated people, then my theory is wrong.”
He told Susir without taking his eyes off the horse-drawn cart. Before Susir could say anything, the men on the horse-drawn cart casually exchanged greetings with the guards and passed through the gate of the assembly hall. Just as Susir didn’t think there was anything suspicious about their identity, the Birdfolk guards didn’t show any signs of suspicion. When he slowly turned around, Susir shook his head slightly.
“No way…”
It was only natural not to be suspicious of a usual habit, a usual sight. But if they knew that the guards thought so, this horse-drawn cart would be the perfect hiding place for the culprit.
“I would like to speak with them, if you don’t mind.”
“…Yes. But would it be alright if it’s after they finish taking care of the winged ones?”
“Of course, I don’t mind. It’s not a problem to rush now.”
Susir smiled at the nodding Susir, and Susir also gave a bitter smile with a sigh. It was hard to tell from his expression what he was thinking, whether he was thinking it was an unexpected oversight, or whether he was amazed that he would suspect such a thing. But he could somehow feel that he was thinking that some kind of breakthrough might be opened.
Just as he was about to wake Anna and go inside the assembly hall, he saw several guards jump from the lower level to the assembly hall. As he was watching to see if it was time for a shift change, it seemed that was not the case. The guards who had jumped up were clearly in a panic about something.
Sensing that something was wrong, just like Edward, Susir stood up.
“Something seems to have happened. I’ll go check.”
With those words, Susir ran back to his comrades. As he was watching them talk for a while, he saw Susir pointing at him and explaining something. He couldn't hear their voices, but seeing Susir beckoning, Edward shook Anna awake.
“Anna, would you mind waking up now?”
“…Huh… Oh! I’m sorry, I fell asleep!”
Anna, who was a light sleeper, woke up as if she had jumped up. She looked around and finally noticed that the guards had gathered and were staring at her.
“Um, are they calling us?”
“It seems so. Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
As they approached them in a situation where they couldn't guess what had happened, a man who seemed to be of a higher rank than Susir gave a small bow to Edward. He seemed to be considerate of their position. But his eyes were sharp. It was certain that some kind of problem had occurred.
“Did something happen?”
Anna, who was still not quite understanding the atmosphere after just waking up, asked them leisurely, and the man who had bowed shook his head with a heavy tone.
“I’d like to say this has nothing to do with you, but… it seems that’s not the case.”
After hesitating for a while as if to shake something off, the man began to speak.
“Our squad leader has not returned since yesterday, after saying he was going to meet someone who might know about the case for which Mr. Alster is a suspect. Do you know anything about it?”
The man who said that in a heavy tone looked straight at Edward.