Chapter 167 - <10>
That afternoon, Dayaram was found in an inn on the lowest level of Tashkur. He was with the dead body of the woman who was believed to have spent the night with Ritz.
When Franz heard this, he felt as if he was about to faint from the turn of events. The place where Dayaram and the woman were found was too close to the place where he had been walking around. They probably would have found the view from the window tonight if they had looked.
The part that went from the lowest level to the center of the entertainment district was not strictly divided into levels. It was intricate and complex. The lowest part was where they had been searching yesterday, and the inn, which was about one level up, was a building like a private house that was not even registered as an inn.
According to Edward, the lodging fee was incomparably cheaper than the inns in the center of the entertainment district, and in return, it was paid daily. People who couldn't pay the fee were kicked out on the same day, but it seemed to be useful for people seeking a brief lodging.
Of course, that information was brought by the Autonomous Guard. If this inn had not been paid daily, the discovery of Dayaram and the woman’s bodies would have been further delayed. On the morning Dayaram went missing, the two of them were found in a gruesome state by the innkeeper who had come to the room to chase out the woman who had not come to pay from the previous day, and the Autonomous Guard was notified.
Moreover, the weapon that killed Dayaram was the sword of Edward that they had been looking for. Fortunately, Edward and Anna had an ironclad alibi of being with a member of the Autonomous Guard, and they were quickly acquitted.
The Tashkur Autonomous Guard members, who came with a sorrowful look with Edward and Anna, naturally interrogated Franz and Anil, who had been staying at the inn that day for the reason that it was awkward to meet his sister. Franz, who had been looking for the view from the window that Ritz had seen in a place very close to where Dayaram was found on the same day, was naturally suspected of murder by the Tashkur Autonomous Guard.
But the time Dayaram had gone out saying he would ‘meet with someone involved’ was far from the time Franz and the others were searching, and since he had been at the inn ever since Dayaram had gone out, which was testified by the inn’s employees and Anil, he escaped trouble.
The next day, after receiving a report that the Autonomous Guard had carried out all the bodies and evidence, the four of them, including Anil, decided to visit the scene where the bodies had been carried out.
In Ritz’s case, they were not able to see the scene because of the special circumstance that it was the Birdfolk Assembly Hall, but this time, since it was a lodging facility on the lowest level, it was allowed.
When Franz arrived at the actual scene, he sighed. The place where he had been wandering around two nights ago was clearly visible from the stairs at the entrance to the scene. It was a nasty feeling to have a murder committed right under his nose. The thought that the culprit might have been watching them search with a sneer was more unpleasant than creepy.
Urged by Edward and the others who were walking ahead, Franz stepped into the lodging facility that had become the scene. The walls surrounding the corridor made of old wood were stained in places from rainwater intrusion and looked shabby.
Every time he walked, dust danced in the light coming in from the large window at the end of the corridor. The part where the wall and the corridor met, where people didn’t walk, was filled with a mountain of dust. It was stirred up every time a person walked and the air moved.
That said, it wasn't that there was no sign of human presence. From the doors that were lined up at equal intervals, he could occasionally feel the presence of people moving around. But this corridor lacked the feeling of life of a place where people lived, and he understood that the lodgers did not feel the need to clean.
Edward, who was walking at the front in silence, put his hand on one of the doors. Perhaps because it was poorly fitted, the door opened with a creak.
“This is it.”
In place of Edward, who had entered the room, Anna beckoned to Franz and Anil. He nodded slightly and followed the two of them. Edward and Anna had been with the Autonomous Guard members when Dayaram was found and had seen the scene for themselves.
Even though he knew full well that it had already been cleaned up, he imagined for a moment that there was a dead body and his feet froze, but he calmed himself and closed the door behind him. The first thing that jumped out at him was the large window. The amount of light coming in from this large but dirty and hazy window was small, giving a somewhat dim impression.
“The window… just this one?”
“Yeah.”
He asked no one in particular, and Anna nodded, stood by the window, and pushed it open. A little more light came in than before. And what he saw in front of him was a stone sculpture standing adjacent to the window, a little ways away.
The pointed Twin Towers, and the three adjoining pointed roofs… But all of it was much smaller than he had imagined.
“This…”
Surprised and at a loss for words, he walked to the window, and he was shoulder to shoulder with Anil, who had approached the window with the same surprise. The two of them silently looked out the window. And they knew the identity of that sculpture.
It was the city’s symbol, the Twin Towers, which were also a holy site, and the sculpture modeled after the houses of the elders that adjoined it, which was attached like a symbol to the top of the long, massive fortress that completely surrounded the city of Tashkur at the entrance.
“So this is what created that scene at night, when it was illuminated by the oil lamps through this dirty window… is that what you’re saying?”
Anil muttered in a dazed tone. That’s why they couldn’t find the scene that Ritz had drawn in the picture even after looking for it. He had never imagined it would be something like this.
Shaking his head slightly, Franz sighed. If he had known from the beginning that it was a scene reflected in the window, Franz might not have known, but Anil might have. What a waste of effort. If he had known, he might have been able to find the woman’s whereabouts sooner and save her from the real culprit.
“Shall I explain the scene?”
Edward called out to the two of them, who were standing dejectedly near the window. He nodded silently, and Edward beckoned Anna and had her sit on the bed. There was no mattress on the bed, which should have been there, and the rough wooden frame was exposed.
“The woman’s body was on this bed. Her identity has not been revealed, but since it completely matched the composite sketch that Anna got from Ritz, it is clear that it was her. The Autonomous Guard members are going to take the body back and have Ritz confirm it.”
“Did none of the guards know the woman?”
“It seems not. Still, thinking that there might be someone in the entertainment district who knew her, they are going to call in Madam Faye, who is the most knowledgeable about outside women, and the Sarnia Federation merchant who serves as theまとめ役 of the merchants and ask them. But considering that no information has come to us from Madam Faye yet, I don’t think her identity can be confirmed by her.”
While Edward was saying that, Anna lay down on the bed. She crossed her arms on her chest and closed her eyes. Her fingers were loosely open, and their shape was like wings.
“You know, she was dead like this. And on top of her body, just like last time, there was a pure white sheet.”
Anna said in her usual relaxed tone for a dead body. There was no sense of urgency, but when he thought that the woman in the composite sketch was really dead there, the image of Anna and the dead body overlapped, and he couldn’t help but shiver. Edward continued Anna’s explanation with his own deductions.
“Unlike Ashok, the woman was stabbed in the back. The weapon that killed this woman has not been found, but it is presumed to be a dagger. And since only we, the Autonomous Guard members, the victim’s family, and the real culprit knew about the sheet, it was concluded that this was not unrelated to the Ashok case.”
“So the culprit is not Ritz, who is currently being held?”
“The possibility of that has become higher.”
If so, does that mean that the possibility of Ritz being released has emerged? They couldn’t prevent the second murder, but that alone was a relief. To Franz, who was thinking about such things, Anna, who was still lying down as a dead body, began to explain her posture in more detail.
“In the case of Ashok-san, he wasn’t holding his hands like this, so they said the culprit probably did this right after he killed him, before his body got stiff.”
At the woman’s body that Anna was demonstrating, Anil raised his voice as if he had noticed something.
“That way of crossing the arms and the shape of the hands, it’s the form that the Birdfolk are made to take when they die.”
“…I heard the same from the Autonomous Guard. It’s not a custom of ours.”
“In that case…”
Franz crossed his arms lightly and muttered involuntarily. Then Anna, who had been playing the part of a dead body, sat up with a jump.
“That means the person who knows that is the culprit, right?”
“So the culprit is… a Birdfolk?”
“Or someone who knows this custom and is trying to make it look like a Birdfolk did it.”
Then it couldn’t be asserted either way. There was a sense of powerlessness, as if they had gone back to the beginning. Couldn't they determine whether the person was a Birdfolk or an outsider?
“Next is Dayaram. Anna, can I ask you?”
“Yes, Ed-san.”
Anna, who had moved to the wall, thought for a moment and then sat down a little to the side of the wall and floor, which were stained black. The moment Franz realized what that black thing was, he covered his mouth.
Even though it had been wiped clean, had dried completely, and had been cleaned, the trace was clearly the mark of blood that had flowed. The reason she had avoided it was probably because even Anna, who had thick nerves, couldn’t sit on top of a pool of blood.
“It was like this, wasn’t it?”
Leaning against the wall, Anna hung her head. She had her legs thrown out. This time, her large eyes were wide open.
“That’s right. He didn’t have a characteristic appearance like the woman.”
Edward, who said that with a bitter smile, looked at Franz and Anil.
“Unlike Ritz, Dayaram was killed. Naturally, he was not made to hold the weapon that stabbed the woman. Probably in Ritz’s case, the culprit tried to pin the blame on someone from the beginning and get away with it, but in Dayaram’s case, it was a sudden crime, so he couldn’t. As proof, Dayaram resisted with his bare hands, and his hands are full of cuts from trying to block the weapon.”
With that, Edward shrugged.
“The weapon that killed Dayaram was my sword. It’s not a good feeling.”
Edward’s sword, which had become the murder weapon, had been taken to the Autonomous Guard headquarters.
“But it’s strange, isn’t it? Dayaram-san was a member of the Autonomous Guard and was strong, right? Still, if the culprit had a sword, would it be no good…?”
Leaning against the wall and sitting down, Anna said that and tilted her head. In Anna’s mind, a strong person meant someone with the strength of Ritz. It was true that if it were Ritz, even if the other person had a sword and he was bare-handed, he would be able to achieve some results. But there weren’t many people at Ritz’s level. Normally, if the other person had a weapon, even a soldier would be no match. But Anil’s reaction was different.
“For Dayaram-san to be defeated by the culprit with his bare hands…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Dayaram-san is a very strong wind user and martial artist. He’s a person who uses a unique technique that combines spirits and martial arts, and he doesn’t get defeated easily.”
“Is it not possible to think that the culprit was strong enough to defeat him…?”
“I can’t imagine that. In the first place, I don’t understand why Dayaram-san’s hands are injured. He’s a person who uses the wind spirit to blow away the opponent and then uses martial arts when their posture is broken. Why would he have to grab a sword with both hands?”
As he was talking, Anil became emotional, and in the end, he finished by shouting and closing his mouth. From his reaction, he could somehow guess.
“Did you know Dayaram-san?”
“I’ve known him since I was a child. Since my father is that kind of person, Dayaram-san often gave me advice. He was a man of few words, strong, but kind, a person I could respect.”
With that, Anil smiled weakly. It was clear that Dayaram was a closer existence to him than his real father. Anil had not only lost his father, but also his confidant.
For a while, no one could speak in the heavy atmosphere, but Edward silently patted Anil’s shoulder in consolation. After letting out a big sigh that contained the pent-up heaviness, Anil apologized softly.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. It’s natural to be confused by the death of a family member.”
“Thank you.”
Though weak, Anil smiled faintly. After patting Anil’s shoulder once more, Edward confirmed that it was okay to continue the conversation, and Anil nodded. Seeing that, Edward turned his gaze to Franz and Anna in turn.
“What if we consider that Dayaram couldn’t fight seriously?”
“A situation where he couldn’t fight seriously?”
“From what I’ve heard, Dayaram doesn’t seem to be a heartless person. He seems to have been re-investigating the case according to Anil’s claim. In that case…”
“He hesitated with the culprit and was killed?”
“He probably didn’t intend to be killed. But there is a possibility that he received a fatal blow from the culprit while he was hesitating.”
What kind of existence would the culprit be? As he tilted his head, not being able to imagine it, Edward asked Anil.
“What do you think?”
“That possibility seems likely.”
Anil, who answered that calmly with his hand on his chin, seemed to have thought of something, and his expression quickly became stern and stiff. While perplexed by the dramatic change, Franz stared at Anil. In front of Franz, Anil, with dark eyes that were different from before, looked up at Edward.
“In that case, the person who killed Dayaram-san would have been someone Dayaram-san was considerate of, right?”
Though it was a question, there was a tone in his speech that seemed to have decided on the culprit. With that tone, he had an idea. Anil was suspecting a certain person of being the culprit.
“My sister and Dayaram-san were also acquaintances. Because of that, Dayaram-san and Barat were also acquainted. If the one who attacked was Barat, Dayaram-san would surely have thought of my sister and would not have been able to fight.”
Anil groaned that with burning eyes. It seemed that the theory of Kamala’s lover, Barat, being the culprit had not been completely dismissed and had been smoldering inside him.
“Calm down, Anil.”
“In fact, he hasn’t shown up even once since the incident, and he’s been hiding from my sister!”
“Anil…”
Anil turned his burning gaze of hatred towards the window. It was as if Barat was there.
“Could you let me act separately from here on? I want to find Barat before my sister does. If my sister is killed while I leave him alone, I won’t be able to forgive Barat.”
“Wait.”
Without listening to Edward’s voice trying to stop him, Anil put his foot on the frame of the wide-open window. He was going to jump out on the strong wind that was rushing up Tashkur.
“I won’t be able to help you for a while, but if Ritz-san is released, please withdraw from this case. If Barat is the culprit, I will capture him with my own hands.”
With a strong-willed expression, he said that and looked around the group, and his gaze stopped on Franz.
“Franz, thank you for investigating with me. Everyone, please be careful on your journey.”
Leaving a stiff smile behind, Anil disappeared out the window. He was carried away by the strong wind and flew up to the upper levels. He was probably going to jump to the entertainment district.
As if all the strength had left his body, Franz grabbed the window frame. It seemed there was nothing he could do about Anil’s anger and sadness. He could only sigh at his own powerlessness. It was Anna who patted Franz’s shoulder.
“It makes you feel really sad, doesn’t it? I wish my head was better.”
He didn’t know if she was comforting him or complaining, but Anna muttered in a more subdued voice than usual while looking out the window. Anna, too, was probably in pain because she could understand Anil’s sadness and anger.
“Even if we can use spirits, we’re useless in times like these, aren’t we?”
Anna, too, seemed to be frustrated with herself for not being able to do anything in this case. Franz, who was also a spirit user and had even fewer opportunities to be useful than Anna, could only nod silently. As the two of them stood side by side and looked out the window where Anil had disappeared, an unbearable fatigue washed over them.
How on earth would this case end? How could they catch the culprit? Was Barat really the culprit?
Anna, who was propping her chin on her hands and looking out the window, gasped for a moment, and then stared at the sculpture as if glaring at it. Wondering if there was something, Franz also looked, and he saw a faint red substance attached to the tip of the sculpture. Franz, who had bad eyesight, couldn't tell what it was.
Anna turned her face swiftly to Edward, who was standing behind her. The momentum of the turn caused Anna’s braid to hit Franz squarely in the face. The attack had a surprising weight to it, and Franz, who was holding his aching nose, was about to shout in anger, but he swallowed his words at Anna’s single sentence.
“Ed-san! Look at that!! Isn’t that blood?!”
“What?”
Edward, who had walked up to the window, strained his eyes at the place Anna was pointing. Franz also narrowed his eyes and stared at it. It was a few drops that had fallen together in the middle of the sculpture of the Twin Towers and the three adjoining roofs.
“…There’s no doubt that it’s blood.”
At Edward’s murmured words, Anna nodded greatly.
“Right?! I wonder if the people from the Autonomous Guard noticed?”
“No, they didn’t. We should go and inform them now.”
“Then let’s go right away!”
“…Yes.”
But Edward fell into thought after those words. To the silent and unmoving Edward, Anna called out.
“Ed-san?”
“The fact that there is blood there… means that the culprit can fly.”
At Edward’s whispered words, he realized. The culprit was a Birdfolk who could fly. But Barat, whom Anil suspected, was a mixed-blood.
“Then, the culprit isn’t Barat?”
“…Not necessarily. We don’t know whether he can fly or not. And do you remember Faye’s words?”
“Madam Faye’s?”
“Yes. That the mixed-bloods have some kind of secret.”
“Oh…”
Come to think of it, Faye had been about to say something like that.
“Franz, sorry, but could you lend me your rapier?”
“Yes.”
He handed Edward the rapier he wore like a charm, and Edward smiled at the two of them.
“Franz and Anna, please inform the Autonomous Guard about the bloodstain. After that, I would like you to inform Ritz of the progress of the case.”
“What will you do, Ed-san?”
“I’m going to the madam’s place. She might have information about who the murdered woman was.”
For Franz, who was not good with brothels, it was a great relief not to have to go with him.
“Understood.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Leaving those words with a smile, Edward opened the door and left without looking back. Taking his eyes off the closed door, Franz turned his gaze to the window that had been left open. He couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the motif of the building that was their group's destination.
The Twin Towers, and the three adjoining roofs.
“…Somehow, the holy site of this city seems so far away.”
Anna, who seemed to have understood what he was looking at by following his gaze, sighed with a strange, limp smile. It was the first time he had seen Anna with a tired face, smiling bitterly. At the same time as he thought that even Anna could smile bitterly and get tired, Franz realized that his own mental fatigue was considerable.
Usually, when he was mentally exhausted, there was someone he could take it out on, but now that person was not there. He had great reservations about Edward, and it was meaningless to take it out on Anna because she wouldn't understand his sarcasm as sarcasm. And Anna also lacked the partner she could talk to and interact with in various ways, not just as a target for her frustrations.
For the two of them, the existence of the impudent, unflappable older companion who had always been with them since they set out on their journey was quite large.
Eventually, Anna, who had let out a small breath, looked up at Franz and smiled.
“Let’s go, Franz.”
“Yeah.”
The holy site of the Birdfolk was still far away.