Chapter 87

"After confirming the physical characteristics with Karlin's family, the result is that the Mage's Corpse is indeed Karlin. A Mercenary Mage is now wanted. Her name is Amber. According to records, she is 23 years old. Her main specialty is fire-based magic."

"Yes. I'll leave it to you."

My prediction was correct. Karlin had long since become a corpse in his own room, along with the mercenaries and priests. The real culprit had already fled the scene. Mercenary Mage Amber. I was plagued by an unpleasant feeling.

I had no idea where I'd been found out. Was it when I put a wanted notice for an investigator in the Southern Mercenary Guild? Or maybe Evangeline had noticed my actions when I inquired with the Magic Tower and the Mayor of Aberdeen about the related issues. The important thing was this: Evangeline was toying with me.

If she wanted to hide her identity, she could have just fled elsewhere. She already knew I was investigating, and even what I was investigating. Besides, my investigation methods were off-track from the start, so she could have just ignored it.

But this crazy bitch took on the name of Mercenary Mage Amber, joined the mercenary group I had ordered to search, and committed the atrocity of annihilating the mercenary group and the priests. This was a clear provocation. And there was no countermeasure. I couldn't tell if this Mercenary Mage Amber was Evangeline's true identity or a disguised identity she'd assumed after killing another mercenary mage.

"Fuck, if she could transform, why did she wear a mask?"

This was the part I really couldn't understand. If she could perfectly disguise herself as a completely different mercenary mage, why did she wear a mask? Was she some kind of concept-addict? The person in charge perfectly described Mercenary Mage Amber's identifying features. This meant that Mercenary Mage Amber was either not Evangeline herself, or Amber's identifying features were not Evangeline's bare face.

I had already requested an investigation into Mercenary Mage Amber from the Mercenary Guild. Right now, the Mercenary Guild must be in a desperate situation. After all, a mercenary they had trusted committed a mass murder in the Magic Tower.

"Couldn't she be a stooge of Evangeline's?"

The person in charge brought up the theory of a stooge once again. It was still a plausible story, so I reserved my judgment. Everything would be decided after Amber was caught. I sat on a chair next to the Magic Tower Morgue and suppressed my anger. The feeling of being played by Evangeline was utterly unpleasant.

A large club placed in the center of the Magic Tower caught my eye. That giant club, so out of place in the Magic Tower, was a club installed by the game developers as foreshadowing, with plans to add an event boss later. I had come to this world before the DLC was released, so I never got to beat that boss.

Roughly speaking, according to the work's content, the lore was that it was an artifact discovered underground, but its purpose was unclear, so it was hung in the center of the Magic Tower City for decoration.

The person in charge was running from the direction of the club. His face was pale from being caught up in the successive twists. His thick glasses were fogged up. He ran to where I was sitting.

"After checking the Magic Tower's surveillance barrier, there were no traces of teleport or other movement magic used in the direction of the city."

"Is it possible to check something like that?"

"Since there are quite a number of mages who come and go via teleport, a barrier that senses the traces of that magic is installed in the sky."

The person in charge said that no matter how great a mage Evangeline was, if she had used teleport to get out of the Magic Tower, a trace would have been left. If that was true, it meant Mercenary Mage Amber had roughly used teleport only to escape the immediate crime scene, and then moved on foot...

"Then are there no traces of her moving on foot?"

"We've confirmed a mage with a suspicious appearance heading towards the Dwarf Kingdom."

It seemed there was nothing the Magic Tower's magic couldn't do. I looked towards the Dwarf Kingdom and scowled. The city's appearance was utterly disgusting, so I had no desire to go. Mountains riddled with holes like cheese, and round, flat houses. I let out a sigh.

Priest Elson seemed to want to leave soon. In principle, I too should have followed Priest Elson to preside over the funeral. But on the other hand, I might have had to chase Evangeline and ask around for her whereabouts in the Dwarf Kingdom. I had to decide between the two.

"It would be better for the Magic Tower to investigate directly, rather than an outsider like me. I will delegate this part to the Magic Tower."

It wasn't like there were any pretty women among the dwarf bastards, and it had already been a while since Evangeline, or Amber, had fled to the Dwarf Kingdom. Even if I ran, it was enough time for her to have already passed through the Dwarf Kingdom, and I didn't think I'd find any particular evidence even if I went there.

"Then, Priest Elson, let's depart to preside over the funeral."

The person in charge informed me he would report my words to his higher-ups. It was a sensitive issue for the Magic Tower as well, so they would put their all-out effort into the investigation itself. I didn't expect any gains from the Dwarf Kingdom, but I wished them luck for now.

"It is a regrettable incident."

We roughly handled the corpses of the mercenaries and priests and loaded them onto a cart. All that was left was the task of handing over these corpses to their families one by one. Priest Elson said so as he looked at the corpses. It was a case where several priests had been killed by a mage. From the perspective of Priest Elson, who had lived the priest life for a long time, it must have been no different from his family members dying.

"If we catch Evangeline quickly, such tragedies will cease to exist, won't they."

I said. I was sincere. I had to get rid of Evangeline. But there was no way. Even though I had stated the solution, I myself felt frustrated. It was easy to talk about a solution, but putting it into practice was incredibly difficult. Priest Elson looked at me slowly, then nodded his head. It meant the preparations were complete. I boarded the carriage again with Priest Elson.

The short Magic Tower visit was over. Priest Elson handed me a document with the priests' hometowns written on it. I checked the list and asked Priest Elson.

"Is a priest's funeral different? I'm worried I might make a mistake as I'm not familiar with the procedure for presiding over a priest's funeral."

"I will be by your side to guide you."

Looking over it, there were no priests from our territory, but there were about two from the Amur Territory. I heard things have been tough there lately, and now that two priests, who are most needed for the poverty relief project, have died, it was certain to become even harder.

"First, we will go to the nearest territory, Erietta Territory."

Priest Elson said so, showing me a map. He said one of the priests was from here. The mercenaries planned to stop by the Mercenary Guild in Erietta Territory to hand over the corpses. Erietta Territory was famous as the granary of the Southern Region. From the very entrance of the territory, a vast wheat field, so expansive it could be mistaken for pasture, greeted us.

The sight of the wheat swaying back and forth like waves whenever the wind blew was truly a spectacle. I was whistling while admiring the scenery. Priest Elson, seeming to disapprove of my behavior, frowned and fiddled with his necklace.

Such a vast wheat field continued all the way to the front of the church. It was an enormous scale even compared to our territory, to the point where I became curious about the tax paid by the territory residents here. Priest Elson had the priests' faces confirmed at the church and designated the priest from Erietta to begin preparations for the funeral.

This preparation process would take quite a long time, so I made a proposal to Priest Elson.

"The preparation time seems quite long, so I'll take some workers and go hand over the mercenary corpses to the Mercenary Guild."

"I would be grateful if you could do that."

In truth, for someone of the High Priest's stature, there was nothing to do during the funeral preparation process. I was, after all, the highest authority in the Southern Archdeity Church. Menial tasks like moving coffins or setting up candles were not for me to do.

However, if I watched from the side, it was obvious the other priests and believers would feel burdened. I could already see the believers sweating profusely, their bodies stiff with the fear of making a mistake during the funeral preparations.

Because of this, Priest Elson also agreed to have me at a distance before the funeral began in earnest. Watching priests prepare for a funeral wasn't to my preference either.

I called a few workers and headed to the Mercenary Guild. The Mercenary Guild of Erietta Territory boasted the largest scale in the south. Roughly, if the corpses were handed over here, on the assumption that the mercenaries' families were in the south, the bodies would be delivered within a few days.

Fortunately, the Mercenary Guild and the Archdeity Church were quite close to each other. It was clearly built this way for convenience, as mercenaries often received help from priests. After walking just a few steps, we could see the Mercenary Guild building.

The Mercenary Guild building, seen in person, had the feel of a luxurious inn. In-game, it was a building similar to a tavern, but the actual Mercenary Guild had a much more quaint and elegant feel. The people standing at the main gate of the Mercenary Guild flinched and stepped back at the sight of me arriving with corpses on a cart. I spoke.

"I've come to hand over the corpses of the mercenaries who participated in the Magic Tower dispatch request."

At those words, the mercenaries in the Mercenary Guild swarmed out to look at the corpses. It seemed that since a large amount of money was at stake for this case, the mercenaries who had participated were also prominent people. It made sense they'd come to gawk at the deaths of famous individuals. But there was no time for that now. The moment I was about to raise my voice to disperse the mercenaries, a languid female voice came from somewhere.

"What's this-, why are you all out here? Did you come out to greet me?"

I turned my head toward where the voice came from. Eyes with deep dark circles, pink long hair, and a tall stature that seemed to exceed 180cm, with a busty chest that looked ready to burst. A smirking face and a staff to support a staggering body.

I knew who this mage was. The mercenaries also seemed to know this mage's identity. As soon as she appeared, they all scattered in every direction.

"Fuck, it's that crazy bitch. Let's bounce."

"Hey, hey, hurry up and run!"

The mercenaries stealthily disappeared like soldiers who had spotted a nasty sergeant. Wandering Mage Soya. One of only two in the mage job class among the original work's heroines. That woman was now in front of me.