Volume 2 Chapter 30 Autopsy
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(The group that attacked Her Excellency yesterday was Azraelian. Moreover, they were clearly skilled. They were not ordinary people… Could it be that the apostles of Azrael…?)
’Looking at the corpse might reveal something.’
”You’re right, let’s hurry.”
Kian responded and began walking toward East Street, where the morgue was located.
* * *
East Street was quieter compared to Central Street, but particularly in front of the sloped road leading to the morgue, there were no signs of people.
Receiving the distant voices of adventurers heading out to hunt from the eastern gate today, Kian climbed the narrow cobblestone slope.
On his right, a gloomy stone building with a red roof came into view.
In front of the building’s entrance, a black iron gate was installed, which was usually locked.
However, today the usual lock was missing, and the gate stood half open.
It was likely a sign that visitors had arrived before Kian.
’Those blond, shaved head, I suppose?’
(Is Guild Master Friedrich here?)
’No. Those shaved head and the dark elf, along with several men──most likely those conducting the autopsies.’
There were no guards.
Perhaps they entered along with Oswald when they welcomed them.
As Kian gently pushed the iron gate, a sinister high-pitched creak echoed through the desolate alley. He hesitated for a moment but continued forward.
Slipping through the fence, he found himself inside the property.
The wooden door at the back also seemed to be unlocked.
As he approached the double doors, the buzzing of flies brushed past his ears, and a faint stench reached his nose.
”Don’t be afraid,” he muttered under his breath, steadying himself.
Kian quickly pushed open the door and stepped into the stench-filled morgue.
Even though it was morning, several candles were burning in the dark room.
Several figures were standing around the bed where the corpses were lined up in the back.
The tall shadow in the center turns around and spreads his arms.
”Hey, Kian!”
”Good morning, Sir Oswald”
Today’s young nobleman with shaved blond hair had a white cloth wrapped around his mouth.
He can’t see his mouth, but he can tell from his eyes that he is happy to see Kian.
He walks deeper into the morgue, wondering why this man has such a high favorability rating.
The young noble, Oswald, relaxed his golden eyes.
”Good morning. I believe I told you to drop the honorifics, but… you seem serious, so I guess you won’t use casual language with me.”
”Haha… I appreciate your friendly intentions, but in public, it’s still… I’ll do my best.”
”Mr. Kian”
Another person, a dark elf dressed in leather armor, approached Oswald.
She also had a white cloth wrapped around her mouth and held a wooden container containing some kind of ointment in her hand.
”Good morning. If you don’t mind, please take this.”
”Good morning, Ms. Aisha. What is that?”
”It’s a type of scented oil. If you apply it under your nose, it’ll help with the smell. Just keep in mind it only helps a bit, so I recommend covering your mouth with some cloth like we do.”
”Thank you. I’ll make use of it.”
While Kian was preparing, Oswald, who had stepped closer, frowned and began to speak.
”I’m sorry. Even though today is Quest day. After a brief questioning, let’s head to the Quest as planned. I suppose we’re keeping your companion waiting?”
”No, she’s also working on her task. I think she’ll be fine until noon.”
”I see.”
”Thank you for protecting Her Excellency Maribel yesterday. We would also like to extend our gratitude.”
”No… I just completed a quest as an adventurer.”
”Her Excellency is fine and uninjured. Christina is also safe. Thanks to you. …Maybe Her Excellency’s habit of going out is not cured because she somehow manages to escape danger like this. Anyway, Kian, I’m going to ask you to tell me a few things about yesterday, but first, would you like to look at the bodies with me? You’re an Azraelian, aren’t you? When you see them without their masks, you might find that they were from the same hometown or former friends.”
”Okay.”
Oswald nodded, put his arm around Kian’s shoulders, and led him towards the corpses lying on the beds.
”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to show you something like this before the fun picnic.”
”No, Sir Oswald, thank you for your hard work.”
”As a knight of Her Excellency, I’m just sticking my nose into the matter to the bare minimum. Let me introduce you to the Anatomist…”
One by one, Oswald introduced the practitioners from the adventurers’ guild’s healing clinic, knowledgeable individuals from the Western Church, and the captain of the East End guard.
Once the greetings were finished, everyone promptly dove into the main topic.
”Some of the corpses have been dismembered.”
The practitioner from the healing clinic──the coroner──cast his gaze towards the beds where the bodies were laid out.
Without going into detailed descriptions, those who had become victims of ‘glasses’ Kian yesterday lay sprawled on the beds in a macabre state.
For now, it seemed they had been crudely stitched together, with their limbs sewn back on haphazardly.
”These are definitely the work of Mr. Kian’s sword, aren’t they?”
”Yes.”
”Kian, I’m sorry, but could you show me your sword?”
”Of course. It might be a bit noisy, but I will unwrap it.”
”I’ll help. Aisha, please assist as well.”
”I’ll help too!”
The captain of the guard also stepped forward next to Oswald.
He was a grizzled man over 40.
But he turned a reverent gaze towards Oswald.
”Thanks. But I don’t need that many hands to make sure the wound matches the blade.”
”Sir Oswald, this way”
”Oh. ──Wow, this sword is really noisy. Why did Renaud design it like this?”
”Perhaps the sound of the wind is a substitute for chanting magic.”
It was Aisha who answered Oswald’s question.
She also seemed to find the sound of the Windsong Blade unpleasant, and her long brown ears were floppy.
Everyone there was disgusted by the strange sound of the Windsong Blade, and went to match the blade with the corpse.
From the ones in the back that are not scattered to the ones in the front that are scattered, one by one.
Despite using incense and cloth, a strong stench of decay pierced Kian’s nose as they moved.
While a normal person would have thrown up, Kian felt no nausea due to his profession.
Calmly checking the bed in the mortuary.
(There are… a total of 9 bodies)
’That is a lot.’
(Ah, but from their manner of death, it’s clear who my victims were)
Of the 9, the 6 that are dismembered are undoubtedly those Kian had slaughtered yesterday.
The other 3 are unknown.
One has had its wrists cut off.
Another was shot through the right eye.
The last one was the corpse of a woman, slashed diagonally from her shoulder.
’The one without wrists is the one you chopped off with a vegetable cutting tool before fleeing from the street market, isn’t it?’
(Yeah, now that you mention it, I did do that)
It seems he bled to death because he couldn’t apply pressure to his wounds after losing both hands.
At that time, the assassins were focused on chasing Kian and his group, so they likely couldn’t attend to their injured allies.
For this man, it was literally the greatest misfortune of his life.
(That means the one with the brain shot is the one I took down with a wooden sword throw. …Then what about the woman?)
Among the lined-up bodies, the one furthest from where Kian and the others are standing bore a large slash mark across the shoulder.
Oswald and the others clink their swords together and nod.
The Windsong Blade also seems to match the scars from the cross-cut.
(Ah, I see. She’s the last woman I killed.)
’She fell into the sewer. Well… it would take a miracle for a normal person to be saved.’
Oswald and the others put the Windsong Blade on the wounds of the dismembered corpses one after another.
After a while they finished their work and returned to Kian with their swords.
The healer at the healing clinic adjusts the position of the cloth as he speaks.
”The scars on the dismembered corpse roughly match the shape of the blade of Mr. Kian’s magic sword.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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