Volume 1 Chapter 19 Detective Hero
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
When I opened my eyes, the sun was still way past noon.
I must’ve been knocked out for about 3 hours, but I couldn’t sleep more because last night’s event kept my brain buzzing and awake.
What exactly happened last night?
Mr. Laken said he would start the investigation tomorrow, but what if the criminal decides to strike the village tonight?
What would a famous detective do in a situation like this?
Was it “a scene repeated a hundred times”? Or maybe “the incident happens at the scene”? The scene is the dock, but I can’t leave the village right now, so that’s out of the question.
Talking to the victims is important too, but after so many questions, they’re probably all wiped out and sleeping by now.
That’ll have to wait; I’ll go visit them once things calm down.
For now, looks like I’m stuck here today.
Speaking of which, I remember a famous detective who solved cases without ever leaving their room.
A shut-in detective… that could be cool.
I decided that, so I crawled back into bed again.
I’ll figure out the truth with just my gray cells; if I sleep again, that’s totally fine too.
First things first, let’s list what I know in the right order.
Ms. Flare and the others gathered at the dock in the evening to do laundry, and when night fell, they started bathing in the old dock like it was a tub.
They were hit by sleepiness in the water and passed out, but only Ms. Erin noticed something was wrong and couldn’t resist, falling asleep too.
Normally, if someone falls asleep in the water, they would drown, but the women were lying on the dock, still asleep.
Mr. Munin, worried about Ms. Flare being late, barged into the village head’s house, which led to the discovery of what had happened.
Sister Lucia, Mr. Laken’s daughter, went to see if something happened at the dock.
Mr. Munin, head maid Nara, and butler Sebas went with her.
The four of them found the naked women still asleep on the dock, and under Lucia’s orders, Mr. Munin and Sebas went back to tell the village head.
Mr. Laken, after hearing the news, declared an emergency and rang the bell.
That’s when I woke up to the sound of the bell.
—
Mr. Laken, with his armed servants, headed to the dock, and on the way, we joined them.
The village men followed, making a big group.
Lucia led the women and moved the knocked-out girls into the warehouse, while the men kept watch and searched for the criminal.
My Searching skill didn’t find any monsters or suspicious strangers.
Well, I guess that’s about it.
Now, I just need to think things over, right?
Was it “The truth is not always just one”? Something like that? I think there are truths for every person, and apples stay apples because someone is looking at them.
Honestly, I don’t quite get it, but I think it means I need to think from different viewpoints.
How the women were made to fall asleep is unclear.
The fact that Elf Ms. Erin was caught off guard means the criminal is probably really skilled.
Bringing the women to the dock was probably the work of the criminal.
If they were left alone, they would have drowned quickly.
It’s unlikely that one person could pull over 20 adult women onto the dock, so there are probably multiple criminals.
As for their goal, it seems they didn’t steal anything.
We’ll have to check tomorrow if any laundry is missing.
If underwear was stolen, that’s definitely a clue.
From pulling the women out before they drowned, it’s clear they didn’t want to kill them.
It might’ve been a kidnapping, but maybe Lucia and the others arrived too soon, so they couldn’t fully stop it.
If that’s true, the criminals are likely outsiders.
Maybe illegal slave traders or something like that.
Wait, villagers wouldn’t know outsiders were bathing at the dock.
I thought they were just doing laundry.
So, maybe the criminal is one of the villagers?
Even now, three years after marrying, Ms. Flare is still unbelievably beautiful.
I heard many men still can’t get over her.
Apparently, Mr. Chaa drunkenly boasted that he’d kidnap her and take her away.
He got told off by Mr. Laken later, but it sounds suspicious.
Well, usually, someone who looks obviously suspicious isn’t the criminal.
There’s no need to involve over 20 people just to target Ms. Flare.
But maybe Mr. Chaa helped the slave trader.
Maybe he got Ms. Flare and planned to share the other women with them.
No, no, it’s not good to make accusations without proof.
It’s more likely that the criminal is someone we least expect.
Like… Ms. Lucia?
She was the first to discover the scene, and she’s beautiful.
That could be a pretty likely guess.
Mr. Laken could be a suspect too.
It’s common for the village head to be the criminal in dramas.
Speaking of dramas, the maid looks suspicious.
Then, the butler too.
It’s always a twist when the devoted husband turns out to be the criminal.
Oh no, now it seems like everyone in the village could be the culprit.
There’s also the chance that the criminal is a monster.
Speaking of water, maybe it’s a kappa.
They say kappas pull out your Shirikodama (soul orb).
But what is Shirikodama (soul orb)?
Are kappas even in this world?
If we’re talking about monsters going after women, vampires are also suspicious.
But they usually go for virgins and don’t like water.
If the criminal is a monster, what could they want?
I don’t think it’s just to eat them; maybe they want to suck their energy?
It could be for sacrifices or to lay eggs in children.
We might need to check carefully for weird eggs using the Searching Skill.
Well, I think Ms. Lucia will make sure to check properly.
Or maybe this is a warning?
The women might’ve angered something powerful and got punished for it.
Could it really be the curse of the quail?
By the way, all the collapsed women shared chicken ham with everyone.
Maybe it’s just some weird natural thing, like they fainted from toxic gas, and a kind fairy helped them?
Hmm, there are still too many missing pieces for a detective show.
It would be great to have a skill like a great detective, but is there even such a thing as a detective job?
For now, I need to check the alibis of suspicious people, visit the victims, ask questions, check if any underwear is missing, see if there are bite marks on their necks, look for parasitic monsters, and check for any signs at the scene.
That’s the plan for tomorrow.
Yes, you really need to use your legs to find out!
I should’ve watched more mystery dramas after all.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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