Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Suspicious Village (1)
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"Inspector..."
"Inspector...? Are you alright?"
Is that the setup?
My outfit was just a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, and with my hair color and length, I looked plenty suspicious.
The fact that they were calling me inspector without a hint of doubt meant the tower was handling it automatically.
"...I'm fine. Could you first explain the situation?"
I gave an awkward smile to the old man looking up at me subserviently.
I had no idea what was going on yet, but maybe I should just play along for now.
"Yes, then I'll gather everyone right away, so please wait inside my house for a bit."
"Yes, understood."
I gave suitable responses to the village chief, who kept bowing repeatedly.
The village chief roughly explained where his house was, handed me the key, and then started yelling at the top of his lungs to call the villagers.
'Mafia game... something like that?'
The chief had mentioned a 'suspicious guy.'
Probably something like finding the culprit. No tower commands or wiki strategies had appeared yet, so it was hard to say for sure.
Just as I found the chief's large house on one side of the village and was about to unlock the door...
Swoosh.
"..."
'A woman?'
I turned my head at the presence I felt, and there she was—a woman with disheveled hair and deep dark circles under her eyes.
"..."
"...?"
For some reason, she was staring right through me.
Her face showed no sign of life at all, sending chills down my spine.
She stood in the middle of the road, head slightly lowered, then approached me.
Her right arm, tucked inside her outer clothes as if hiding something, was twitching.
"What do you want."
"..."
"...Don't come any closer."
How long had it been since I'd faced a woman?
No matter what I said, she didn't respond.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips at my involuntarily trembling voice.
-When will our Seol grow up and make noona feel good?
The sensation of that hand stroking my cheek came back to life.
A nauseating feeling, like bugs crawling all over my body, made my head spin.
"Fuck off, I said don't come!!"
"..."
Chills ran through me at the sight of her—not just trauma, but her staggering steps looked suspicious too.
Whether I yelled or not, she kept approaching with her shadowed face.
Her invisible arm twitching, she drew slowly closer—
Creeak.
"I'll kill you..."
"..."
Muttering something incomprehensible, she brushed past me and entered the chief's house.
"...What the hell was that."
I grimaced at the woman disappearing beyond the door. My body was shaking without me realizing.
This was why I couldn't leave the house, though it hadn't been this bad before.
Maybe I'd grown too used to the solitary tower life where being alone was normal; a gross feeling was filling my body.
-If you act up, I'll kill you. That bitch dumps so much money into our orphanage.
-Just go smile for her, okay? You're top-grade, so she won't touch you... yet.
"Haha... fuck..."
I'd ended it all with my own hands, but when would I fully escape it?
'The village can't just have men.'
There had to be women too. It couldn't be a men-only village.
To find the 'suspicious guy' here, I had to get used to it.
'They're gone now. It's all over.'
I went through self-hypnosis I hadn't done in ages, taking deep breaths repeatedly.
"Hoo..."
At least the air was nice.
Painful memories I didn't even want to recall kept surfacing, but the sunlight felt good.
After being cooped up in dim, stuffy spaces, my body at least was happy to be out.
Step—
As I slowly caught my breath, footsteps approached from this direction.
One, two, three...
The villagers the chief had called were gathering one by one.
"..."
Some glared at me sharply, others trembled while looking around, and elderly folks were hunched over.
All of them were entering the chief's house.
"Inspector?"
"Ah, just feeling a bit queasy."
"Yes... Please come in first. Everyone left in the village is gathered now."
I forced a smile at the chief's words as the last to arrive.
He tilted his head at my trembling, but soon smiled and pointed to his house door.
"And so—"
The ten villagers sat around the long round table.
At the center, the elderly chief was explaining the village situation to me.
'Mafia game confirmed.'
That was my conclusion from the chief's story.
The village had only about thirty residents.
An isolated place with no nearby cities or villages.
People without hometowns or anywhere to go had gathered one by one, forming a self-sufficient little community.
Aside from occasional supply wagons or passing travelers, it was just them.
They'd lived helping each other in their small society for over a decade when suddenly, someone was murdered.
Two days later, another, and two days after that, yet another—the bodies were different each time.
Faced with this terrifying phenomenon anyone would fear, the chief asked a traveler entering the village to report it to the capital.
'And a month later, that's me, the dispatched inspector.'
At least, that was the setup.
Details would only come from investigation, but minor parts were probably glossed over.
The Tower of Wisdom likely just wanted me to find the culprit. Nothing else mattered much.
"So, this gentleman will stay in the village for three days starting today to assist with the investigation as the inspector."
"...Name's Han."
I gave a short introduction at the old man's gesture, standing briefly to bow.
I deliberately avoided my full real name to prevent awkwardness.
The tower would handle it, but I just didn't want to reveal my name.
Clap clap clap.
'Hostile much.'
About half of the ten reacted... sort of.
A young nun, one middle-aged woman, an old lady with white hair, a boy who looked under ten... and the chief.
The rest didn't even react.
They glared, ignored me, or didn't spare a glance.
'Don't trust me, huh.'
Hard to say.
Until I knew their personalities and what had happened here, I couldn't read those looks.
"What if that guy doesn't catch the culprit in three days?"
"Indeed... If so, nothing to be done..."
"Hmph, turns out he's just a useless scholar after all."
The chief replied bitterly to the man glaring at me.
His face was scarred. Not big and scary, but lean and quick-looking... honestly, like a thug.
Not that I saw him as a scholar or useless because of that. Thug bastard.
"So? What do we do? Just talk to him?"
"What do you think?"
"..."
The chief turned to me at the middle-aged woman's question—the one who'd clapped earlier.
What to do?
As the investigator here, no need to hear stories with everyone present.
No one would confess 'I'm the culprit' here, so interrogating one by one was probably right.
"Just go about your daily lives. I'll visit each of you."
"He says so, so everyone go back to normal—meeting adjourned for today—"
Clatter-!!
Thud-!!
As the chief stood to end the meeting, the woman who'd kept her head down slammed her chair back.
'That woman from earlier...!'
"Dieeee—!!!"
Her chair flew far back and crashed. She climbed onto the round table, pulling a sharp knife from her bosom and screaming.
Her eyes were rolled back. Rage or whatever, separate from my trauma, those eyes sent chills.
"U, uwaaaah!!"
She charged straight at the chief.
With murderous intent, no hesitation.
Thud-!
The panicked chief fell back on his butt.
Frozen in place, no thought of fleeing.
Of course, I was frozen too at the sudden event.
"Die!!!"
The woman reached right in front of the chief, leaping off the table and raising the knife—
Thud-!
"Enough."
"Let go!! Let me go—!!!"
The huge man next to the chief grabbed her knife wrist and spoke lowly.
'What height...'
Easily close to two meters.
The bodybuilder-muscled man looked at her impassively.
"Wh-what are you doing!! Take that knife away nowww!!"
"Y-yes, yep!!"
At the trembling chief's shout, a young man rushed over and took the knife.
With the big guy fully restraining her, it was easy.
"Get... get that bitch out now! Th-that crazy—!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
At the chief's words, the big guy started dragging her out by force.
She thrashed wildly, but the overwhelming strength difference let her do nothing as she was hauled away.
"..."
"..."
Silence enveloped the table after they left.
Snicker.
As I frowned wondering what the hell this was, someone laughed.
"Scholar confirmed. Freezes up at that and thinks he can catch the culprit? Some unknown monster?"
"..."
"What, gonna arrest me? Or point at me as the culprit? Oh no~ now I've made him hate me~."
The man who'd glared at me from outside the whole time.
Grinning with his chin on the table, he shrugged at me.
I wanted to snap back, but here I needed to stay cool—
"Yes, you're in big trouble."
...Do I? I'm the inspector dispatched from the capital.
Here to help, so why act like that if he wants aid?
'He could be the culprit anyway.'
No good getting played by what he wants.
I felt suspicious stares on me.
"...What?"
"I have privileges granted by His Majesty the Emperor. Do you know what you've just done? Do you know my status?"
"Just a few words, what nonsense—."
"I could execute you summarily right here. Confident enough to try me? Think the title of Imperial Inspector is for show?"
It was totally for show.
They just handed it over when I arrived.
"On what charge—"
"Lèse-majesté, blasphemy, obstruction of official duties."
"..."
"Want me to explain each?"
To investigate properly, better establish position first.
If looked down on or doubted, everything would take longer.
"Not worth my time. I could leave this village. You'd just suspect each other and self-destruct anyway."
"..."
The thug grimaced and averted his eyes, lowering his head.
He wanted to retort but held back, like a dog tucking tail and whining for mercy.
"I-inspector...!! Please, for this old man's sake, not those words...!!"
"Joking, joking. But I do need to clarify: I stayed put earlier because I judged no need to intervene."
"Ha!"
"That man would react and stop her. Calculated her gaze, speed... the table variable, everything."
"Ahh... Otto, yes... As expected of the inspector...!"
Otto must be the big guy's name.
A casual throw, but stares toward me shifted a bit.
Shoulders lifted slightly at looks like I was impressive.
"Everyone, go home first. I'll visit individually."
"Tch..."
The thug left first at my words, stomping out.
Others followed one by one.
"Hoo..."
"Are you alright?"
"Ah... Thank you."
Alone with the chief, I extended a hand to him still half-fallen.
He grabbed it, stood, shook himself off, and grimaced.
Bam-!!
"Those bastards definitely have the culprit among them..."
"..."
"I'm absolutely not the culprit. Maybe everyone except me is..."
'Saying that suddenly makes you super suspicious...'
I smiled awkwardly at the chief slamming the table and muttering.
Everyone seemed suspicious. No clue where to start.
"...Do you know why that woman from earlier attacked you?"
"...She suspects me."
"That's all?"
"About a month ago, after the second victim, I sealed the village. No other cities nearby. Isolated, no passersby, can't move easily."
Sealed the village...
Heard it was isolated earlier. But why seal it?
"Couldn't let the culprit escape. Must catch them at any cost...!"
"What's that got to do with her attacking?"
"Her husband was killed a few days ago. She'd been saying to leave since a month ago, but couldn't because I sealed it."
"...How'd you seal it so no one can leave even if they want?"
The village was wide open. Not a prison; could sneak out at night easy.
"Food."
"Food?"
"Hid all preserved food in the basement. Only I know the key spot. Walking to another city takes weeks; impossible in this untouched place."
"No need to walk—"
"Horses, cows—all slaughtered by my hand."
"..."
"Absolutely no one can escape this village... until the culprit is caught...!!"
The chief yelled, fists clenched, body trembling.
I squeezed my eyes shut at his emotional speech face.
'Isn't this guy the culprit?'
Or how has he survived this long?
"...Ha."
Finished a suitable chat with the chief and stepped out.
Still bright sunlight enveloped me. No ants in sight; I chuckled unwittingly.
Couldn't fully understand the chief's madness, but as a tower device to maintain the story, it was acceptable.
His grandson was killed early too, so blinded by revenge maybe.
'Real issue is what now...'
Three days given.
Heard one would die tonight.
One every two days, so today was the day.
Dunno if I could stop it, but probably not.
Coldly, no incident was also a problem.
'...Better if there's at least some evidence.'
Didn't want to see someone die, but thinking it was a hologram dulled the repulsion.
If I fail, I die; no attachment to fake lives.
'Interrogate one by one first.'
With that thought, descending the chief's front steps and stepping on ground—
Find the serial killer culprit by the morning meeting in 3 days
Wrong culprit designation: Immediate death
"Yeah yeah, figured..."
The tower message appeared like now it starts.
Dunno if I could find the culprit in three days, but had to somehow.
'Wiki, analyze quick this time?'
I chuckled wryly at the wiki starting analysis as always, then headed toward the villagers' houses I'd heard about.