Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Bro, what are you doing at the door?" "Timing it." "Timing...?" After answering his puzzled voice, I opened and closed the front door at roughly one-minute intervals. Without an accurate timer, this was the only way. That was how the moon rose, and a short time passed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Night has fallen. The Inspector's movement is restricted. Time until confinement ends: 8:00:00 '... Okay.' I flashed a satisfied smile at the message. Wherever I was, as long as I stayed inside, it was fine. "Bro, I'm sleepy..." "Alright, alright, let's go to bed, kiddo." And as a bonus, I could spend the night with someone else too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Something's definitely off here.' Lying next to the kid, I blankly stared at the farmer's incident notebook. Special Notes - Goes to bed early every night. - Hears loud noises from the blacksmith every night. One contradiction I'd found after sorting out the church commotion. Could someone who goes to bed early really hear the blacksmith shop? And the places weren't even that close. I'd asked the blacksmith to test it, and the chances of hearing it in his sleep from the farmer's house were slim to none. The blacksmith said he didn't do any work that made big noises anyway. If it was loud enough for the farmer, others would've mentioned it to me too. So, the farmer probably really heard it from outside. 'Whether by choice or not, I don't know.' Whether it was split personality, sleepwalking, or being controlled by someone... The farmer himself probably did go to bed early. He really heard the late-night blacksmith noises too. That's why he felt wronged, looked exhausted, and trembled in fear. 'He's dimly remembering killing people in reality as if it were a dream.' Fearful that it might really be his fault, and what would happen after he died, he left it in his journal. At least, that was the most likely based on my deductions so far. It all fit perfectly. If he was being controlled... the nun was suspicious, but... 'Nothing turned up in the nun's house.' The reason I'd called everyone to the church early in the evening and caused a scene was to have my assistant search the houses of the two most suspicious people. The overly confident nun and the overly anxious farmer. The farmer was anxious because he didn't want to reveal his diary or dreams. The nun was confident because her place was spotless. 'I need to dig up everything on the nun tomorrow all day.' To use my one lie detector effectively, I had to learn everything about her tomorrow. Was she just a pure cleric, or the mastermind behind it all?
"Mom... Dad..."
"..."
I turned my head slightly at the voice from beside me and looked at the sleeping kid. Tears streamed down his face even in sleep—who knew what he was dreaming. Even knowing this world was fake, it stirred up complicated feelings. Living as an orphan couldn't be easy. I knew it well—acquired orphans suffered more than natural ones. Losing what you once had was harder. Even knowing this world would vanish anyway, I felt sorry for this kid's future for no reason. Swish, rustle. "Don't end up like me—live kindly and smartly."
Don't make regrets like I did, and keep that sharp sense of yours.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "—Thank you. No, just curious."
"Yes, please take care of it, Inspector."
On the morning of day three, after finishing my talk with the village chief, I stepped out of his house. 'It's quiet.' Maybe because of the incident I'd orchestrated yesterday, the village was eerily silent compared to the first two days. It felt just right for a place with serial killings—chillingly so. Step. As I walked toward the kid's house, I organized the info I'd gathered by asking around. 'The nun is the most recent arrival after the merchant.' A year ago, old lady Martha, who was gathering herbs outside the village, found her staggering in, soaked from the rain. Her face was gaunt, limbs skeletal thin. Her clothes were torn—who knows where she'd gone wrong—and she had various wounds. She'd been living as a nun in the capital when she heard her parents back home were critically ill and headed there. But her hometown was burning for some reason when she arrived, and it collapsed. 'She wandered in that state and ended up here.' Could she really have stumbled into this village by chance? Even on the brink of starvation, with no other towns or villages nearby, how did she survive? 'I heard she gradually brightened up here and started praying for everyone...' There were more than one or two suspicious points. But if she was the culprit, why wait a whole year? 'Tonight, an incident will happen.' And I could reliably monitor one person through the night. There was a chance it'd be me, but since the first victim was the old lady, I figured they wouldn't kill me. 'Monitor the farmer then?' I'd know if he was the culprit, but would it mean anything? The farmer was almost certainly the perpetrator anyway. I was curious how he did it, but if he was being controlled, it'd be a waste of a precious chance. So.
"Whew."
Not thrilled, but to investigate properly and erase this nagging doubt, monitoring the nun was wisest. 'Still got the lie detector too.'Knock knock. "Bro!"
The kid came running as soon as I knocked.
"Sorry, but you'll have to spend tonight alone."
I gently pushed his forehead away with a smirk.
"Why?"
"Gonna reliably watch one person."
"Sister Nun?"
Sharp kid. I nodded slightly, and he looked anxious.
"It'll be fine. You stay at the blacksmith Otto's tonight—I'll ask him."
"Got it."
"Oh, and before dinner, take me somewhere."
"Yeah, anywhere—just say."
"To Hans's field."
I ruffled his nodding head wildly, then followed his lead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The sun set, and the moon rose. After leaving the kid with the blacksmith, I stood in front of the nun's house.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Night has fallen. Enter indoors immediately. Time until forced return: 1:14 I'd worried about exactly when the movement restriction kicked in, but the tower kindly informed me. As long as I entered the nun's house before that timer hit zero, I wouldn't be able to leave after. I was curious what would happen if she chased me out, but it'd work out somehow. Knock knock. "Oh my, what brings you at this hour?"
"I know it's late, but I have something I must ask. Is that alright?"
"Of course, anytime. Come in."
The nun opened the door without hesitation, stepping aside with a smile. Creeak. I entered, closed the door, and opened it again—the movement restriction message popped up immediately. Below it, my eyes caught a vase holding a single wilting flower. 'Don't hesitate if you want to live, Han Seol.' Deep breath in the two-of-us-alone situation, eyes squeezed shut then open. With the resolve to uncover everything in the next eight hours, I turned around— "'Welcome', Shepherd." 'Hallucination?' I squinted at her beaming voice.
"So, may I ask what brings you here?"
"......
I'm worried something might happen tonight." "Hehe, no need. I'm fine." "Still, I'd like to check. Mind if I stay by your side all night?" Her eyes blinked at my words. They slightly widened, scanning me up and down, then she smiled even brighter and nodded. "You suspect me?" "......" Thump! Thump! "Strange. I clearly 'welcomed' you..." 'Not a hallucination.' I let out an incredulous chuckle. She's being so obvious. Why? Thinks I have no evidence? "If you suspect me, then do so. Watch me till morning like you said, right?" "......" "It's the night an incident happens, after all." She turned away, saying do whatever. "I have prayer time," she muttered loud enough to hear, ignoring me completely. Swish. Following her, I entered a room with a massive cross and a statue in place of a god. There she knelt devoutly, hands clasped in prayer. A holy book on her lap, soft lighting illuminating her. Flawless nun image—no flaws. 'Is she really just praying?' Couldn't figure out how to use the lie detector. All my senses screamed she was the culprit, yet zero evidence. Maybe something would turn up if I watched. I bit my lip, standing at the entrance, watching her motionless form. One hour, two hours. Over three hours passed, and she hadn't budged. 'If she can control the farmer, how does she do it?' Hypnosis? Brainwashing? Magic? If she had that power, why use the farmer? '...
No.' Using the farmer isn't the goal. The goal is murder itself—whether for pleasure or some ritual needing lives. "...
Hehe."
"...!"
My body stiffened at the sudden laugh. Squinting at her, she trembled faintly, still in prayer pose. Like she was thinking of something amusing.
"Whew, need a break."
"......"
"Shepherd, don't just stand there watching. If you're suspicious, look around the house?"
"That alright?"
"Yes, if it helps you, absolutely."
Chills for some reason. Her stretching like loosening stiff limbs, the smile at me, that laugh earlier. 'Definitely the culprit.' I was convinced she was guilty.
"Not sure you'll find anything, though."
"Gotta check anyway."
"Hope you do."
She said search freely—I'd make her regret it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Time until confinement ends: 0:00:12 "Whew..."
Dawn broke. I took a small breath, watching the timer at the door approach zero. The nun had prayed all night. Looking exhausted—like dark circles from this—she smiled purely with a "Hehe" as day came.
"Inspector!! Inspector!!" 'Here he comes.'Bang bang bang! "I heard you're here!! A victim appeared...!!"
I chuckled dryly at the voice outside. I'd half-expected it, but sure enough, an incident happened—even though the nun just prayed. Step. I slowly turned at the footsteps. She'd slipped out of the prayer room unnoticed, smiling at me.
"See? I'm not the culprit."
"......"
"You were here all night? Did you see me do anything?"
So brazen. Too brazen—it gave me chills instead.
"I must pray for the departed, so I'll go first. Feel free to look around as long as you want."
She brushed past, grabbed the doorknob, then changed her expression. Creeak. "Wh-who's the victim...?"
"Rosa... the innkeeper..."
"Rosa...!!" Thud! She gasped, covering her mouth in horror, and dashed out like a shocked movie heroine unable to contain her grief.
"Ha."
"In-Inspector...?" Ding! As the nun vanished from sight, a notification came from the silent wiki.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
🧠 Tower of Wisdom
📖 1st Playthrough 50th Floor Clear:Find the true culprit.
📋 Temporary [Incident Notebook] Activated.
🛡️ Temporary [One-Time Lie Detector] Activated.
👣 Temporary [One-Time Footprint Tracker] Activated.Pfft.'This seals it.' I smiled at the wiki's strategy guide. My hypothesis became certainty. "True" culprit—right as I thought.