Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: A New Life (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[The investigation into last night's Recourdak I attack is still ongoing. The Edshilla Police Department claims to have identified the perpetrator but has yet to disclose their identity...]
Elise turned off the news. The TV was full of nothing but idle chatter about yesterday's events.
Scrape—scrape—
Instead, she gazed out the window and listened to the sound of an apple being peeled.
Scrape—scrape—
Rhythmic and precise. Quiet and composed. It felt that peaceful, yet strangely uncomfortable. Even burdensome.
"Haa..."
With a sigh, Elise finally turned to look.
"...I told you nothing happened."
"The news says otherwise. Well, I'm just glad you're safe."
It was her mother, Celine. Celine offered a plate of apple slices and asked flatly,
"How'd that go?"
Here, "that" referred to Yael. She didn't even consider him human anymore.
"I met him."
Her father had called him Petra's stain, her own greatest mistake.
The only reason they hadn't put him down was simple blood ties.
Her parents despised him utterly, and he loathed them just as viciously. That's why Elise had gone to see him herself.
"He said he'd stay put."
"Good. And the other one?"
"...Other one?"
"There's one besides you."
Sion Askal.
Elise tilted her head innocently.
"He was caught on the sports field CCTV."
"We ran into each other by chance. It was for a treasure hunt assignment."
That was her excuse. Celine just raised an eyebrow without a word.
"...But how did it end up like that with him?"
Elise quickly changed the subject. Celine answered dryly.
"Treat him as less than human now."
Yael.
He was her older brother. He hadn't always been a madman. One day, he suddenly flew into a frenzy and killed their grandfather and the family knights.
The doctor had summed up his condition in four letters.
Qi Deviation.
"He's already dead. Don't give him another thought."
He was dead.
Or rather, he no longer existed in this world. Officially, anyway.
"But what about the kid who got killed?"
"That chief prosecutor's son? What can you do."
Celine bit into a freshly peeled apple slice as if she couldn't care less. Crunch crunch— Listening to that sound, Elise asked,
"Then, do you know who Belen Dex is by any chance?"
"Mm. The one you subdued with magic?"
It stung a little. The situation back then made it hard to claim she'd done it alone...
"He's a copycat killer. Of Noah Lusille."
"A copycat?"
Celine continued expressionlessly.
"Yes. Noah Lusille tracked down and killed her own copycat. That's how it'll be announced publicly. Don't worry. You're not involved in the case at all."
"..."
Elise thought of Sion Askal.
He'd said Noah Lusille was innocent, but that was just desperate nonsense to save his own skin.
No way the "Demon of Mirinae" was some framed victim. She was a vicious murderer straight out of the textbooks.
"More importantly, when are you going for the witness interview? I can adjust the schedule."
"This weekend."
Going on a weekday would just mess up her condition.
"Alright."
Celine stood up. Not a shred of concern for her daughter to the end.
Was it trust in her, or just a lack of interest?
Her father not even showing up suggested the latter.
"Yes. Goodbye."
"...Oh, right."
Suddenly, Celine turned back with a grin.
"The new Elorance 2013 S/S line should all arrive by the end of the week."
"...Really?"
Elise mirrored her smile.
Elorance. Even their cheapest line cost 10,000 ren per piece—a titan in luxury fashion. Alongside Bellinta, Zeolre, Lumière, and more, Celine always handed her the latest from brands everyone coveted.
"Wear them pretty."
"Of course."
The S/S line was rumored to be especially stunning. She'd wear each once and toss it, but just imagining the scent of a pile of new arrivals in her dressing room... lifted her mood a bit.
Some jealous types sneered that "the wearer becomes the luxury," but it was the opposite. She was already luxury, so what she wore had to match.
Ring ring ring—
Her smartphone alarm blared suddenly.
[Hey, you okay? We don't have to go?]
It was from Kain.
"Kain? Traksil?"
Celine had peeked. Elise shot her a glare and hid the phone.
"What? Between mother and daughter. Mana stone demand's spiking, so he'll be thrilled. High stone prices for the next decade or so—stay on good terms."
"...We've been friends for ten years."
"Really? Alright, I'm off. Call if anything comes up."
"Yes."
Celine waved as she left the hospital room.
Click—
The door closed softly.
Elise was alone.
"..."
Alone in the hospital room.
Sunlight drowsed outside the window, but she was the only one inside.
She opened the window first. A breeze flowed in.
Alone.
She placed a hand on her chest again. Her heart ached.
Because she was alone.
Her breathing grew shallow.
Because there was no one else.
She gritted her teeth, trying to hold it back.
It didn't work.
"...Ah."
Elise bolted up. Panting, she flung open the door and dashed out barefoot.
Luckily, there were people in the hallway.
A nurse.
The nurse stared at her in surprise.
"A-are you okay?"
Now, she wasn't alone.
"Hoo..."
Elise took slow, deep breaths.
Her pulse settled quickly, the panic subsiding.
"Yes. I'm fine. It's nothing."
"If anything happens—"
♪♩♬♪—
Classical music rang from her smartphone. A call. The screen read "Inspector Renjet."
—Miss. It's Renjet.
Inspector Renjet from the police department. One of the few especially friendly to Petra—and Elise in particular. In simple terms, someone they "backed."
"Yes, Inspector. What's up?"
—Do you know a witness named Sion Askal?
"...I know him. He was with me then. Why?"
Elise brushed back her hair as she asked.
—Well, Prosecutor Rena suddenly showed up and is conducting the interview on Sion Askal her own way...
"What?"
Elise's brow furrowed.
Petra had allies like Renjet across the continent, but there were also those openly hostile, beyond just refusing backing.
Prosecutor Rena Helder was a prime example.
"Did you tell my father?"
—Not yet.
"Then stay put. I'm coming right now."
Elise quickly slipped on her sneakers.
* * *
...I'm sitting in the witness interview room right now. Across from me isn't a cop, but some prosecutor.
"Honestly~ now that the suspect's identified, this witness stuff isn't important."
Damp, frizzy orange hair sways in front of me.
"Still, just one simple question."
Shampoo or body wash—the fresh scent from someone freshly showered tickles my nose.
"Sion. You went into the Recourdak quarantine zone, right?"
Prosecutor Rena Hadel. Perched on the interview room desk, she looks down at me and asks.
I answer.
"No. I didn't go in."
"Come on. CCTV shows your path leading right there. I'm not pinning that on you. Treasure hunts might take you in. Just—did you see this person in the quarantine zone?"
Rena casually slides over a photo. I look at the face.
"No. Don't know them, and I didn't enter the quarantine zone."
I push the photo back with a short reply.
"...Come on. Lying about this could be a big problem~?"
Rena leans in, pulling out her smartphone. Her damp hair brushes my cheek.
"Look."
Her phone shows footage. CCTV.
"You're crossing the sports field, bold as brass. Quarantine zone's at the far end."
Unbelievable. She got hold of Recourdak's CCTV...
I'd half-expected it.
With the treasure hunt excuse, strutting openly was more reasonable than sneaking.
"I was just nearby. Treasure hunting."
"Liar. You went in. I know everything? There was someone else there too, right?"
Rena whispers in my ear.
—Elise Petra.
I stare at her calmly and shoot back shortly.
"I didn't go in."
Her face hardens. She tilts her gaze, scans my body, and smirks.
"...Pft. Kid. This hurts you, not me. You don't know? Elise is fine. She's got backing for days. You? What do you have? House? Car? Connections?"
Thud— Rena nudges my chair leg with her foot.
"We call you types little people? Little people get life-ruined for lying when caught. Nobles won't help. So spill. Okay?"
"..."
Rena taps the desk. I stay still, then pick up the photo.
"There~ now we're talking. Elise was chatting with the guy in that photo in the quarantine zone. Just say that. Not asking much. No harm to you, no responsibility."
The photo.
Rena Hadel probably thinks it's "Yael."
Looking at it, I can't help but chuckle.
"Never seen the guy."
Not a lie.
Truly never seen that face.
It's not Yael. Completely different appearance.
No idea where she dug up this photo, but it's barking up the wrong tree entirely.
Petra aren't amateurs. They know scattering fake info is more efficient than erasing it outright.
"No clue why, but wrong tree. Little guy like me doesn't know them."
I hand the photo back. Rena's lips twist into a sneer.
"Kid. Know who that is? Who you're covering for?"
"Nope."
"Murderer. Not some one-off killer either. Elise Petra was with that murderer. Still not talking?"
Well, Yael's definitely a psycho killer.
Petra's Achilles' heel ahead of re-election.
"...Yeah."
Ironically, I despise the Petra family as much as this prosecutor.
If she's out to topple them, I might even help.
"Not talking."
But it's not Yael.
I want him to live peacefully and die peacefully. Not get hounded like last life, oxidized because of some punk like me.
No more snitching.
"Not 'don't know,' but 'won't'? I gave you a fair chance. Your choice. Get out."
Rip—! Rena shreds the photo and jerks her chin at the door. I stand to leave, then turn back.
"Hey, got a business card?"
"What? Why?"
"Can I have one?"
"..."
Rena stares like I'm nuts and laughs hollowly.
"Ha. Haha. Oh, card. Right. Gotta give you my card..."
She pulls one from her pocket, pretends to hand it over, then crumples it.
Flick— Tosses the wadded-up card like trash.
"Take it."
I silently pick it up from the corner.
[Rena Hadel] [Case Prosecutor]
[Affiliation: Edshilla Prosecutor's Office]
Rena Hadel.
Chief prosecutor in ten years.
"Yes. Got your card."
Among the people I know, she's one of the rare few truly "just."
In this rotten world, zealously pursuing and upholding the most undervalued value.
Rare even among public officials.
"I'll be in touch. Might have tips later."
Rena waves me off.
"Kid, just get lost. Before I nail you for something."
"Gonna go anyway. 1 PM class."
"Fuck. That's why—get out. Sucks having punks like you as juniors."
Rena shakes her head.
I tuck her card neatly into my uniform's inner pocket and head out.
Grrrrowl!
Sudden intense hunger surges from my gut. People in the police hallway glance over.
"...Where's the cafeteria."
I hurry to find it, then pause.
Sniff sniff—
I sniff the air. A familiar scent wafts in.
"This..."
Elise's perfume.
"She's getting interviewed too, huh."
I walk on casually.
Elise or not, I'm starving to death right now.