The Half-Centaur's Trap
I have no idea how I ended up in Gilorian.
It wasn't like a game reincarnation. It didn't feel like I'd been reborn in another world after dying.
Some reason pulled my soul into this new world called Gilorian, and it felt like I was getting steady patches so I could live reasonably here?
Of course, it wasn't accurate.
It was just a vague feeling.
This place was where magic unfolded. Some people flew through the sky, and certain lives were born inside flames.
Only living beings that could move, that is. Not just bacteria.
Various demi-human races strolled the streets, and the Tower of the Demon King occasionally rose in the distance. Vampires even made bartenders popular.
It was a place where every scrap of knowledge I'd learned on Earth had become useless.
Astronomy was no different.
The rotation speed was about twice that of Earth. A single day stretched to forty-eight hours, with sunlight lasting for extreme durations.
Two suns existed, moving in opposite directions. They only shone in the same position for fifteen minutes a day.
Just fifteen minutes.
During those fifteen minutes, no life on the planet could cast a shadow.
Shadows of living creatures, and even inanimate objects, all vanished except for those originally tied to shadows.
Gilorian Empire citizens called that fifteen minutes the 'Wind Hour.'
Probably because two blazing suns had made them crave cool wind.
The Tearel in the video, wearing a hat, didn't seem to be hot at all. Nor did she hide her shadow from below.
Two suns hung high above, yet a long shadow stretched from Tearel's feet.
Only Dark Elves could cast shadows during the Wind Hour.
Tearel, the High Elf. Shadow. Dark Elf.
Amid countless words, my thoughts began to churn.
And then.
"Inspector, a warrant for arrest has been issued."
Piaje's secretary interrupted my thoughts.
* * *
Piaje had hired Tearel as her driver after performing incredible document work—drafting the arrest warrant application.
Arresting someone required mountains of paperwork.
The target was probably going to cause trouble.
If I called them in for questioning, they might not show up.
It felt like they were going to bolt.
I had to write the details in a sophisticated tone.
Well, even if it was tedious, the document work itself wouldn't be that difficult.
The real problem was the judge who would review the warrant.
They said, "If you don't wash the dishes, you won't break any."
Judges preferred to reject warrants to avoid headaches later.
If they rejected a warrant and the criminal escaped?
That would be the fault of the investigation agency that hadn't monitored them properly.
On the other hand, if they issued a warrant that turned out false, it would cause internal friction and even affect their own career.
The Empire's citizens would hate them.
Why did they care about public opinion?
Half of the judges in the Gilorian Empire were appointed by recommendation from the Imperial Palace. The other half were elected by the Empire's citizens.
Fortunately, Piaje's secretary had exceptional skill in roasting judges of that sort.
They said it was their own business secret, but they never gave details. I vaguely guessed it had something to do with their natural advantage as a dwarf and their convoluted life.
It didn't matter.
Thanks to them, I had brought in the driver.
A man in pitch-black clothes had his thin lips pressed tightly shut.
"I will invoke my right to remain silent until my lawyer arrives."
* * *
Tall, with well-developed muscles. Black skin like the night sky.
Long golden hair that shone like thread.
Intense purple eyes that glowed.
An unforgettable appearance.
The kind that stayed in your mind once seen.
Tearel's driver, who always accompanied her outings.
He probably spent more time with her than even her husband, Chairman Demison.
"Yes, then listen to me for now."
I played the scene from the video recording in front of the driver.
The video showed Tearel in an abnormal state.
And the time recorded beneath it.
From five seconds, suddenly fifty-seven seconds. Then back to sixteen seconds.
Click. Click.
By the way, I hadn't adjusted it.
I had just pressed the button briefly for each time frame.
"See? The times recorded in the video are all over the place. Who touched this?"
I didn't bother checking his expression as usual.
I just kept speaking while pressing the play button.
On the opposite side, Piaje's secretary sat recording.
"It seems the person who touched the video wasn't very attentive to their surroundings. Or maybe they were just looking straight ahead when walking."
Click.
"I don't know what shadow is forming underneath."
Click.
"Look. Isn't it funny? During this time, the shadow should be long to the left, but it's shifted to the right. And the next one is shifted left."
Click.
"It's like the sun is going back and forth like a clock's hand."
Click.
"And during this time, there shouldn't be any shadow, but there is. See? This shadow here..."
I paused the button and stared straight at the man in front of me.
We stared at each other in silence.
It was me who broke the silence first.
"Lady Tearel... Are you a Dark Elf?"
It was the Wind Hour, 27:28.
A clear shadow appeared beneath Tearel wearing a hat.
"Since you're a Dark Elf, you should know what this means, right?"
I smiled faintly at the driver.
"Dark Elves don't feel heat, so they wouldn't be aware of the Wind Hour. Right?"
"..."
"Then... what was going on during the cut-off time? It looks like someone brought in a horse. Around the time the Wind Hour was ending, I see a shadow leading a horse. Hmm... the man leading the horse has very long hair."
With that, I pulled out the sword from my pocket.
The driver had been aiming twin swords at me the whole time.
The driver's purple eyes shook strangely.
The driver twisted their wrist at a subtle angle and charged toward me at high speed, holding the twin swords.
The sword seemed to sink deep, but suddenly the sword from the opposite side flew toward my neck in a crescent arc.
'A warrior-type Dark Elf?'
Dark Elves' purple eyes were famous for never missing a single movement.
Because their exceptional body vision could see the flow of oxygen exhaled from trees.
A warrior Dark Elf who observed sharply and possessed excellent danger detection and response.
With twin swords.
I bent my waist to dodge the flying sword and immediately kicked the ground with my foot to leap high.
Then the driver gripped one sword straight forward and the other reversed.
Highly trained swordsmanship that made it hard to read their attack pattern.
The Dark Elf's sword dance had begun.
The ends of the swords that gracefully curved through the air aimed at me. When the twin swords crossed in mid-air, small explosions occurred.
"Are you all right, Inspector?"
I glanced at Piaje's secretary. In the rising smoke, they brushed dust off their clothes.
"It's nothing compared to that."
The driver, who had been listening to our conversation, showed a twisted smile.
"Detective Zeo Blood. It's already too late to call for Capital Defense Force knights, so how about surrendering to us? It's a shame to kill you."
A languid, sweet voice from a Dark Elf.
But unlike the words, the driver's sword dance grew more intense.
Their body spun continuously as the sword trajectory poured down like silver rain.
"Your imagination is lacking. Did you really think I was just a 1st Grade examiner?"
I lowered my stance and charged straight at the approaching driver.
"You can't become a 1st Grade with just a pen."
Smiling as I stared at the driver.
"As expected, humans are arrogant."
The driver prepared the next stance leisurely.
I stared at the driver expressionlessly.
Nothing about a warrior Dark Elf's movements was without reason.
The driver's movements toward me changed.
They twisted their direction in the air, and the swords flowing from their twin swords filled the ground with smoke.
'A gnome...'
Gnomes were the standard attack pattern for elves.
Feint. Sound and strike the opposite.
Using the gnome to hide the intended attack and exploit the moment of judgment confusion to strike from an unexpected place.
A difficult attack even if you knew about it.
I needed to figure out the true identity of the gnome the driver was using.
From the video recording and surrounding phenomena, I had guessed it was a gnome, but I needed to confirm it exactly.
At that moment, an unknown aura rose from beneath my feet.
'...What is this?'
In an instant, it climbed my ankle and bound my feet to the ground.
And the metallic sound of slicing the air.
Ping.
One sword flew toward Piaje's secretary.
This driver intended to eliminate everyone around me first.
A Dark Elf's thinking.
Clang.
I pulled out the dagger stuck in my waist and threw it to deflect.
The driver's sword, flying at fierce speed toward Piaje's secretary, dropped straight to the ground.
"Secretary."
I signaled to Piaje's secretary, who naturally stepped back.
"It's embarrassingly obvious."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
The driver's gnome was indeed a gnome.
A gnome who used earth spirit to tie my feet, while suppressing Piaje's secretary and attempting a hostage situation.
But the driver was still arrogant.
"A dirty dwarf and an inspector... What a crude taste. You've had your chance, so now just die."
The driver spun their twin swords at a noticeably different speed and charged at me.
"You seem to have a crude mouth too..."
The driver's purple eyes grew darker as they ran toward me.
My lips twitched slightly.
In response, white light dots gathered in the air.
The dots formed a massive whirlwind of light and swept away the ominous aura from the ground at once.
It had been embarrassingly quick.
The driver looked quite surprised.
"What... How did my gnome..."
It seemed difficult to accept.
But there was no need to explain.
The driver, confirming their gnome had been recalled, quickly turned and swung their sword toward my chest.
I bent my waist to dodge it, and they raised the sword in their opposite hand high.
While slashing with the blurry twin swords, they twisted the trajectory and closed the distance.
'My feet are free.'
Finally, the gnome's curse had completely lifted.
With my feet free, I rolled my body to secure space.
The driver's twin swords sliced through the empty air.
"Now I know everything."
I straightened my stance and spoke.
If I had been holding back my body to analyze the opponent until now...
Now it was time to end it.
I clenched and unclenched my fist.
Kong!!
A massive vibration.
The air rippled like waves.
"Wh-what is this?"
"I didn't plan to go this far, but because of your crude talk, my mood is ruined."
A Dark Elf with developed intuition accepted the rapidly changing situation with their whole body.
But I would end it quickly.
There was no next attack.
Kong.
With a tearing sound, blue electricity gathered in my hand and shot straight at the driver.
Dozens of electricity arcs burst out.
"A mere human dares... How..."
The driver held their twin swords in front of their chest and ignited their purple eyes.
The swords changed to the same purple as their eyes and grew massively.
Kaboom!
A lightning spear and a sword shield collided.
"Kuaaaaaah."
The driver's muscles swelled as if they would burst.
While enduring the pressure of lightning by stomping the ground.
I clenched and unclenched my left fist once more.
Kong.
From the fingertips, light waves spread like concentric circles.
My vision was swallowed by a wave of light.
"Aah! How is this possible... Aaaaaah!!!! Gnome!!!!"
The driver pierced by lightning let out a sharp scream and shouted the name of the spirit.
"Noisy."
I loaded lightning aura into the dagger stuck in my waist and threw it toward the driver's neck.
Thud.
The knife flew toward the driver and got stuck beside their neck after being pushed into the wall.
Lightning aura spread toward the driver through the wall.
"Aaaaaaaaah."
The driver twisted and screamed, burned black, collapsed, and rolled.
Thud.
And the sound of the deep earth roaring. The earth cracking and tearing.
A pitch-black gnome began to scream and burn out like the abyss.
* * *
"Are you all right, Inspector?"
It was a knight from the Capital Defense Force.
Marian had called ahead just before the driver rampaged.
"I'm not dead."
I pointed at the black lump.
"Ugh. How did you control it so precisely?"
The Capital Defense Force knight prodded the driver with the tip of their sword.
"But how did you suppress them so that they were this well-cooked?"
I had kept their heart intact.
They deserved to pay the price while alive.
Of course, I wasn't sure if they could receive it by walking on their own two feet.
"Elder Knight, this person seems to be Zerkan from the Red Bounty List?"
A junior knight who had been investigating the driver reported with a surprised look.
"Twin Sword Zerkan? No, why is he here... Wait, how? The Inspector alone took down this person?"
The knights from the Capital Defense Force, quickly alternating glances between the black lump and me.
"Is there anything recognizable?"
"Inspector, don't you know those purple eyes? With twin swords. It's Twin Sword Zerkan who single-handedly wiped out a whole platoon of the Capital Defense Force."
The knight flipped their eyes back and checked his eyes again.
It seemed Zerkan had caused quite a stir against the Capital Defense Force.
Looking at the knights' hands that emphasized chivalry, one silver-long-haired knight stepped forward.
Marian had entered.
"Twin Sword Zerkan... What?"
Marian shoved the knights aside and approached the driver, spitting out.
"Are we not even able to identify the identity? That person is clearly one of the anti-Gilorian forces and a goblin who single-handedly killed two hundred soldiers with twin swords."
The knights, looking flustered, began rummaging through something from their pockets.
"His name is indeed Zerkan. But the nickname is wrong. This guy's nickname is the High Elf's Footstool. For such a lewd racial bigot, calling him Twin Sword is too much."
Marian glared at Zerkan and said.
Piaje's secretary's expression changed subtly at Marian's sudden outburst.
I knew that expression.
It was the one that appeared when something was satisfactory.
They were probably satisfied that I had let them vent their frustration.
The knights nodded and stared at me.
"Twin Sword Zerkan. Under Article 2 of the Gilorian Empire Security Law, we make an emergency arrest. The charges are mass murder, and further strengthening is planned."
p>
Upon my words, the arrest summoning circle that appeared in the air glowed blue.
The knights who had confirmed the summoning circle's response arrested the black lump.
* * *
After the knights left with Zerkan arrested.
The gnome that had been with the driver disappeared urgently.
"Do you know where that guy went?"
I asked Marian. Marian hesitated for a moment, leaned against the corner of the wall, and begged the spirit for a long time.
The spirit that had been smiling winked, fluttered small wings, and whispered sweetly to Marian's ear.
"Senior. It's called the Red House on Keorok Hill."
Marian with a satisfied expression.
I said to the knights without hesitation.
"Send arrest personnel there. Tearel is there."
And as expected, Tearel was there.
* * *
The subsequent story was handed over to another investigator.
When the Capital Defense Force investigator and knights rushed the red mansion on Keorok Hill, Tearel got angry instead.
'Damn it. Come in without taking off your shoes!'
The remaining investigation was left to Marian, the detective trainee.
And the result.
"Tearel crazy bitch. All High Elves are the same..."
Marian awakened a new power called profanity.
Piaje's secretary just watched the scene with a faint smile.
"No, Senior. Do you know what the first thing she said to me when she saw me for the first time? She asked if we were going to be tree millers now?"
Tearel was a High Elf.
The most noble and revered among elves.
A race that considered it the greatest blessing to be born from nature and perish into nature, mastering the art of tree cultivation.
But perhaps because she was stained by elitism, she had said this with pride: "If it's a forest like this, it's enough. If not, we can just develop the outer areas."
Her plan was to stage her own disappearance and prevent the Green Elf Salvation Foundation's shareholder meeting from being held.
Red Corporation had prepared a power of attorney in advance to pass a resolution for deforestation.
p>
They had been waiting for all agenda items to be processed as she wanted, after staging a disappearance farce.
It was a rather clever plan.
But Tearel and Zerkan lacked basic scientific and humanities knowledge.
The difference in shadow shape depending on the sun and shadow absorption depending on the race.
And love that embraces children.
That's why they brought on a fatal mistake called failure.
"Our mom went crazy. What's white tanning with a High Elf?"
It was Edelien's statement from the forest boarding school.
It was unclear how much knowledge Edelien, the only daughter, had about her mother's true identity.
But since Edelien envied High Elves, her teenage resentment toward a mother who was a High Elf yet didn't live a standard life seemed significant.
A white tanning machine instruction manual neatly folded in her drawer.
Perhaps the room was messy because it was for staging the kidnapping farce, or perhaps she had been taking traces of the white tanning machine and magic stones to take with her.
The blue blood had indeed been hers, and the research into how Tearel had acquired Dark Elf traits would be a task for the future.
And in front of me sat Chairman Demison, stained with blood.
"I plan to proceed with the invalidation lawsuit for the shareholder meeting. We must protect nature with better technology."
He said he would make a large investment to build an R&D center to develop improved magic stone processing technology while maintaining the current deforestation volume.
I didn't know if the chairman's love for his wife was still maintained.
But Chairman Demison was quickly moving to recover all the donations to the Green Elf Salvation Foundation and establish another nature protection group.
And a few days later, I saw a short news article that the boarding private school where his only daughter attended was facing a financial crisis.
The only daughter had transferred to another private school in the meantime.
I was watching the slight swing of an adamantium balance scale model placed on my desk.
Marian had made it herself as a gift to commemorate her joining.
I began writing the incident report in an office where the quiet silence and the sound of the balance scale intersected.
[Incident Occurred, Arrest Report]
1. Recipient: Capital Defense Force Market Order Monitoring Division
2. Suspect Personal Information
▶ Name: Tearel Erestor
▶ Age: 254 years
▶ Gender: Female
3. Incident Overview
▶ Obstruction of Official Duties through Coercion (Gilorian Criminal Code Article 137)
▶ Fraud (Gilorian Criminal Code Article 347)
▶ Obstruction of Business at Red Corporation (Gilorian Criminal Code Article 314)
▶ Additional charges pending strengthening
▶ Multiple civil lawsuits planned
4. Arrest Date and Time
Gilorian Empire Calendar, Year 2024, Month 15, Day 121
5. Reporter
▶ Freelance Investigator Zeo Blood (#34867-0032)