Chapter 105: Overwhelming Power
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 105: Overwhelming Power
Yernil had bumped into that red-haired woman as she was leaving the dormitory.
What did that mean?
It meant Yernil hadn't sensed the woman's presence as she entered through the dormitory's back door.
Of course, Yernil was only human, so such a thing was possible. She couldn't detect and react to every sound around her like a robot.
But in that particular moment, she should have.
Why?
Because she had sharpened every nerve in her body to return to the scene of Teramond's murder.
Her hearing was in a state of extreme sensitivity, honed to track the professors' voices.
Therefore, it was a contradiction that Yernil had missed the sound of the red-haired mage's footsteps or the rustle of her clothes as she entered the dormitory.
In other words…
‘That woman used noise-suppression magic.’
That was why she had bumped into Yernil.
The probability of her being the real culprit was now close to 100%. After all, a regular student wouldn't use noise-suppression magic to sneak into the dorms in the middle of the night.
From my perspective, Bipa and Mugol were completely unrelated to Teramond's murder. They had likely never even met Teramond and couldn't have cared less about some university slave.
However, despite my telling him this…
"Then we'll bring all three in for questioning."
Consul Peterson's response was firm.
"This only adds one more suspect; there's no reason to exclude the Wyndham duo from the investigation. Their corpse explosion and object memory erasure magic are still suspicious. Besides, they have no good reason to be visiting Sohen at this time."
The reason was the elevator and Ingelam, but that wasn't something I could carelessly talk about right now.
"Furthermore, didn't they almost kill Caleb? After Teramond, Caleb was the next one to nearly die. Could the two incidents really be unrelated?"
Right. I guess that's the only way he could see it.
Bipa. Mugol.
Don't blame me.
You dug your own graves.
"Let me tell you my theory, Caleb. The Wyndham duo had an accomplice they were communicating with, and that was the red-haired mage."
"Hmm…"
"If they were innocent, why would they have fled the dormitory like that? Because they thought Caleb was a possessor and attacked him? The normal reaction, upon realizing their mistake, would have been to apologize and surrender."
A very valid point.
"But to fight the professors, wreck the dormitory, and even attack the constables to escape? I still find the Wyndham duo more likely culprits in Teramond's case than the red-haired mage."
Consul Peterson was already mass-producing wanted posters with the Wyndham duo's descriptions and distributing them throughout Sohen.
To that, he added one more: a "red-haired woman."
Even though Yernil hadn't gotten a good look at her face.
"Regardless of the Teramond case, the Wyndham duo will face heavy punishment. Outsiders storming into Sohen and attempting to murder a university student?"
The Consul's pride was clearly wounded.
"In Sohen, the attempted murder of an innocent freeman is punishable by death! We'll catch them and execute them."
"…So that's the situation."
Bipa handed Caleb's note to Mugol.
"Things have gotten really fucking complicated. But why is he telling us this?"
"The part at the bottom is the key. Read it."
[I am willing to settle regarding the series of crimes you committed: trespassing in my dormitory, assaulting me, falsely accusing me of being a possessor, and attempting to murder me. This will significantly reduce your sentence. If you wish to negotiate your sentence, please send a reply with information about Hyedam and the Inter-floor Village.]
"He's not trading for information on the elevator anymore. He's trading for a deal on our sentences."
"Damn it."
The tiger beastman's brow furrowed.
"Since when have we been playing right into this guy's hands?"
"This is tricky. What should we do?"
"…"
The tiger beastman's mood soured, and sharp claws extended from his fingertips.
Mugol scratched the back of his neck with them.
"If we're not trading for information on the elevator, it's not worth it."
"I think so, too."
"But it's true that we're cornered."
"…"
A brief silence fell.
Bipa's mind was a mess.
Their original plan had simply been to spy on Sohen's Public Security Headquarters to see how much they had investigated since Ingelam's death.
If possible, they would find the elevator's location and destroy any related materials there.
Did things go wrong because of Caleb? Or was it because of the murderer who killed that wizard, Teramond or Almond or whatever his name was?
"Let's catch the murderer ourselves."
"You mean the slave-hating criminal?"
"Yes," Bipa said.
"Sohen's Public Security Headquarters is always struggling with finances and manpower."
That was why they indirectly entrusted the back-alley security to organizations like Blackdog and awarded medals to citizens who showed exceptional skill and a sense of justice, even recruiting them as citizen constables.
"If we help with the investigation, they'll definitely acknowledge our contribution. Let's use that to get our sentences reduced."
"You think catching some killer will get us off the hook for attempted murder?"
"Of course not. But let's start by increasing the number of cards we can play. And more importantly…"
Bipa found the murderer to be a nuisance.
"I just want them out of the way. It's annoying being lumped together with them."
Mugol agreed on that point.
"A red-haired woman, he said?"
Now, Sohen's most dangerous Deep Layer duo was on the hunt for a murderer.
‘No reply.’
A bit disappointing.
Did I lowball them too much?
An offer to settle my assault case was probably of little interest to them.
Perhaps if the Consul had actually caught them and was about to execute them, but right now, Bipa and Mugol still had other options.
Worst case, they could just escape Sohen and wander the outskirts, using the labyrinths of the barbarian tribes.
Though that would seriously mess up their plans for the Inter-floor Village.
‘I really want to find out about Hyedam and the possessors in the Inter-floor Village.’
It was a topic related to possessors, and a story connected to a past I didn't know. I felt a compelling need to find out.
But it couldn't be helped.
Even if those two were uncooperative, I had other ways to approach it.
"The Inter-floor Village tour? It was fascinating."
Namely, asking the professors.
"We toured all the way from the 1.5th Floor to the 3.5th Floor."
Meldini excitedly recounted their adventure. During the last labyrinth opening, Meldini, Isilof, and Dalstream had conducted a research trip to the Inter-floor Villages.
It was to uncover the identities behind the Commemorative Coins, like the Tier 10 Magic, the Mass Annihilation stele, the Dagger Raptor, the Gourmet Whale, and the Spider Doctor.
If I waited for the professors' research, maybe something would turn up.
"Unfortunately, neither Professor Isilof nor I managed to obtain any particularly important information this time," Meldini said, looking a bit sheepish.
The Inter-floor Villages were places that adventurers usually ignored even if they knew how to enter, as the rewards rarely justified the risks.
"But Professor Dalstream seemed to have some ideas. Let's wait and see."
"Caleb, you shouldn't worry about such things for now. Whether it's research or labyrinth adventures, you have to be alive to do them," Isilof said.
"Speaking of which… Caleb. Are you really going to do it?"
"I'm against it as well."
The professors looked deeply worried.
The Consul had devised a plan to use me, a citizen constable, as bait to lure out the murderer, and I had agreed to it.
To be honest, I was a little skeptical.
Common sense dictated that if I, a guy who had almost died two days ago, started wandering around outside, it would look like an obvious trap to anyone.
Unless the killer was a complete idiot, would they really approach me to try and kill me?
‘Of course, it might not work. But for now, let's try every possible method.’
To that end, the Consul had made two preparations. One was to confine(?) Yernil in the most heavily guarded area of the Public Security Headquarters, and the other was this.
‘Soul Preservation.’
Nathaniel's Temple offered such a service.
It was a spell that bound an adventurer's soul to their body for a certain period, preventing it from departing.
That way, even upon death, the soul wouldn't leave, allowing for revival through proper treatment and a resurrection scroll.
"However, if the body is too severely damaged, the Soul Preservation will break," Bishop Azello explained at Nathaniel's Temple.
"And the price is one million gold for one week of Soul Preservation."
It was so expensive it made me want to curse.
It really hit home that Avison, who had entered the 1st Floor of the labyrinth with this buff, was born with a diamond spoon in his mouth.
Still, I wouldn't have to spend my own money.
"This is for the security of all of Sohen, so couldn't you give us a little discou—nt?"
The poor Consul, struggling with a budget deficit, attempted to haggle, but he knew it was impossible.
"The price of Soul Preservation is non-negotiable, Consul."
If you couldn't pay and thus couldn't get Soul Preservation, and then you died?
Then you were meant to die. It was Nathaniel's will that you die.
"Show me the will of the god, Consul!"
Just as expected from religious fanatics.
"Here… is one million gold."
Consul Peterson handed over the money he had prepared.
Next was the protection detail.
"We meet again, Caleb."
Inspector (provisional) Neko and the constables under her command. The Orc Fighter Urgash and the priest Mikhail, whom I'd seen before, were there, along with a few additional constables.
Someone from the university had also joined the operation. And it was…
"Isel!"
Upon hearing the news of the slave-hating crimes, she had been anxious, and when she heard I had been attacked by the Wyndham duo, she had returned to Sohen immediately.
"This is a joint operation between the Magic University and the Public Security Headquarters. Caleb, I will take responsibility for your safety, so please do not worry."
"I suppose this will let me repay some of the debt I owe you from Avison's case."
Clorence had also joined.
And two of Meldini's assistant instructors.
"If they're not possessors, then all students of the university are like one family."
It was Jacob and Scarlett, the two from the Slave Management Department who had cast Lie Detection magic on me and swung the Scale of Fairness around, 'harassing' Yernil.
But the forces for this operation didn't end there…
"And since there's a possibility the Deep Layer duo might attack, I will be commanding this operation personally."
The Deep Layer adventurer, Consul Peterson himself, stepped forward.
"My head still stings from that cheap shot the tiger brat gave me. This time, I'll pay him back. Don't you worry about a thing, Caleb. I'll blow up anyone who even gets close to you."
Professor Meldini, of course, had joined as well.
"I am still skeptical about this operation, but it can't be helped, Caleb."
Professor Isilof, too.
Wait a minute.
Is this really necessary?
I figured the real culprit was, at best, the person who murdered the 2nd-floor mage Teramond—just another run-of-the-mill lunatic, typical of Sohen's criminals.
Was this level of manpower really appropriate…?
This was the kind of force you'd use to capture the Wyndham duo, wasn't it?
"And there will probably be a few more."
Consul Peterson chuckled as if he still had a trump card up his sleeve.
"Who?"
"Although Teramond was murdered on a bright university street, from the criminal's perspective, wouldn't a deserted, gloomy place with poor security be preferable to a place like that?"
Ah.
I understood.
"Caleb will wander through the Blackdog's alleyways late at night to lure out the culprit."
He meant that if any trouble started there, Krom the Orc Berserker would come charging out with his axe, veins bulging on his scalp.
Along with the members of Blackdog?
I was starting to feel a little sorry for that red-haired woman.