Episode 30
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 30
A scream erupted from inside the window as it was gently pushed open.
“Aah!”
A kind-faced man, who had been wrestling with paint stains on the floor with a long mop, yelped in surprise and fell flat on his rear. Elysia, brushing aside the curtain fluttering in the wind with her right hand, gave a slight nod.
“Good evening, sir. I have a few questions for you.”
“Hah, uh…”
“Ah, first off… sorry for startling you.”
Effortlessly hopping over the windowsill that came up to her chest, Elysia entered the building. She extended a hand to the cleaner, who was still on the floor, and smiled brightly.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Elysia Hemming. I’m investigating a case, and I believe you might be able to provide some testimony.”
The cleaner, taking her hand with a dazed expression, stood up and glanced behind her.
“And that person is…”
Evan, who had followed her through the window, stood there with a blank face. Whether it was the darkness or something else, his usual gentle expression was gone, replaced by a hardened look. She gave an awkward smile before speaking.
“Oh, right, that person is, um…”
Elysia paused for a moment, then tossed out nonchalantly.
“My… handsome assistant, you could say.”
A look of bewilderment flickered across Evan’s face, which had been rigid with caution toward the cleaner.
The flustered cleaner, not knowing what to do, hastily kicked the mops and scrubbers scattered on the floor out of the way, then bowed apologetically with an expression that said, ‘Oh, crap.’
“Ah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you see such a mess, I was just so flustered…”
“Well, I’m the one who flustered you. So, your name is?”
“Thomas Pendleton. As for my title, please call me whatever you’re comfortable with, Miss.”
“Uh… right.”
It was the first time she’d been called ‘Miss’ as a term of respect. Elysia recalled the contempt of the people who used to call her that in <Panic in the City> and felt a little taken aback.
She’d beaten the pulp out of bastards who’d sneered, ‘Hey there, pretty detective girl,’ so she’d always thought she hated the title itself. But now, she realized it wasn’t the title she hated, but the bastards who spat it out.
“So, what brings you here? Did you leave some work behind?”
“No, no. Last Saturday, when you were cleaning this painting room, specifically that workspace over there… did you notice anything unusual?”
“Did something happen?”
Thomas blinked as if he knew nothing. Elysia gave a slight shrug and answered.
“The artwork that was in there was found torn to shreds in front of the main gate. We’re investigating the matter.”
In truth, she had snuck in, but there was no need to mention that. She put on a brazen expression as if she had every right to be there, and the cleaner’s face twisted in shock.
“What?!”
His mouth hung open as if in disbelief, and he muttered to himself.
“There was no artwork inside, so I just assumed the owner had taken it…?”
The painting was already gone by the time the cleaner arrived? Frowning, she immediately took out her notebook and asked.
SYSTEM: You can now jot down your deductions here.
“I’ll need your cooperation. The owner of that painting is absolutely furious. Last Saturday, what time did you arrive here?”
The man swallowed nervously and answered obediently.
“I usually start cleaning around 11 PM and leave the room at midnight. It was the same last week.”
“Do you work alone?”
The man jumped, his face turning pale as he waved his hands in denial.
“I always clean alone, so yes, but it absolutely wasn’t me! Do you know how much that thing is worth? How could a poor man like me ever….”
「Thomas Pendleton’s (Cleaner) Testimony:
— Stayed in the painting room from 11 PM to midnight.
— The painting was already gone upon his arrival.」
As Elysia scribbled furiously, he added firmly.
“The guards can testify that I left the Art Hall with nothing in my hands.”
She looked up with an indifferent expression and replied in a light tone, as if posing a riddle.
“I’m not saying I suspect you, but do you really think the culprit would walk right past the guards carrying a painting that large?”
“…In any case, it’s a fact that I left the building through the main entrance.”
Elysia smirked and nodded. He had a point. While she was pleading with the guards earlier to let her in for just a moment, she had managed to sneak a peek at the cleaners’ visitor log. It confirmed that the cleaner for the Fifth Painting Room, Thomas Pendleton, had left through the main gate at midnight, just as he always did.
In other words, this man was definitely not the culprit….
“Are there any other doors besides the main entrance?”
The voice came from behind Elysia. It was Evan, who had been silent until now. Hearing his question, Thomas immediately shook his head.
“There are none.”
“I understand that wagons frequently come and go from the Art Hall. Are you saying they all pass through the main entrance?”
“The building itself is large, but it was originally designed to be a closed-off space, so I’m told there’s only one entrance.”
As Elysia jotted down the answers to Evan’s questions in her notebook, she heard the faint tolling of a bell twelve times. It was already midnight.
Trailing behind Thomas as he gathered his scattered cleaning tools, Elysia asked.
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Let’s see… nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”
“What about the floor?”
“It was a mess. That young master keeps his tools very tidy, but he tends to spill a lot of paint on the floor. Ah…”
Thomas, as if remembering something, let out a small gasp and turned around.
“Come to think of it, there were an unusual number of footprints that day. The floor was practically covered in them.”
“What size?”
“One set was the usual ones the young master leaves behind, and the other one was…”
Elysia’s brow furrowed as he mumbled, trying to estimate the size with his hands.
“About this big? It looked like a woman’s shoe…”
*
Citing the late hour and his desire to avoid unnecessary suspicion, Thomas quickly packed his tools and left the Art Hall.
As a school employee, he naturally wouldn’t want to get caught up in anything strange. But the fact that he promised to let them know immediately if he remembered anything else suggested he was a fundamentally good person.
Well, with his livelihood on the line, he had no choice but to be cooperative.
Left alone in the dark space, the two turned to look at each other. With a doubtful expression, Elysia muttered.
“Was it really her?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know…”
Rayner’s testimony about seeing Siene Reve entering Lucian’s workspace had sounded suspicious because of his attitude. But if the testimony of a cleaner, a person with no stake in the matter, supported his claim…
“No, no… come to think of it, there’s one other woman who’s a suspect.”
Elysia thought of Marianne Dupre’s face—how she had naturally flared up to defend Siene, yet looked so visibly anxious. She was annoying, but Lucian was skilled enough to be a threat to Siene.
It was possible that Marianne, who adored Siene Reve, held a grudge on her behalf and tore up the painting, but one crucial thing was missing.
Did that woman have the strength to do it?
“Wait a minute, what’s that?”
It was then that a flat, rectangular door, one that looked like it could be opened, caught her eye on one of the walls. Elysia slowly walked towards it, crouched down, and put on her monocle to activate her skill.
SYSTEM: Active Skill ‘Observation’ has been activated. (Duration: 15 minutes)
SYSTEM: Analyzing the size of the ‘Strange Vent.’ Width 104.53cm x Height 60.35cm ➤ Diagonal Length 120.7cm
Elysia’s eyes gleamed. A diagonal length of about 120cm? That was close to the width of Rayner’s canvas. Reaching out a hand to roughly measure it, she narrowed her eyes. If you tilted the canvas diagonally like this, you could probably fit it in.
➤ The handle is worn black from handprints = frequently used
Grabbing the handle, which was covered in smudges, she pulled it down with the force of her body weight. With a clunk, the chute gaped open like a dark mouth.
As she peered down into it with suspicion, Elysia was suddenly snapped back to her senses when Evan yanked her arm. The clean scent of soap filled her nose. A low, masculine voice sounded right above her ear.
“Someone’s coming.”
She had been lost in thought and let her guard down, but for him to sense a presence that even she had missed… Elysia was once again amazed by the man’s green eyes, which resembled the keen gaze of a well-trained military dog. It seemed he hadn’t just been fooling around on the battlefield.
Anyway, why was someone coming all of a sudden? The moment she raised her head with that question, an event window appeared before her eyes.
♥ ! Surprise ! Tension-Building Event:
‘What if we get caught?’ Event has occurred! ((っ´ω`)♥(´ω`⊂ )) Someone is approaching you and ‘Evan Sylvester’ in this secluded room! Try not to get caught and enjoy the thrill with your Capture Target! ♥
Fucking hell, this useless piece of shit system! Don’t do this to me, seriously