Chapter 373

【Except for the confessing Karina and Aozaki Touko, everyone else was in an uproar because of her words.】

【Reines: "This is bad..."】

【If she didn't realize she had been set up by now, she would truly be a fool.】

【Now, explaining anything was meaningless; she was already deep in the mire. No one would care about her defense, and no one would speak up for her.】

Tohsaka Rin: "Sure enough, she's been identified as the killer."

Gilgamesh: "Hahaha, this kind of plot full of conspiracies and schemes is more to my taste."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "This is a premeditated action; even the Golden Princess's request for help was likely..."

Tohsaka Rin: "Sigh! In other words, the killer is this Byron?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Hard to say, but in the current situation, his suspicion is clearly the greatest."

Darnic: "What a ridiculous double act."

Fiore: "Wantonly using people's sympathy, it's disgusting."

Astolfo: "Are all magi such despicable beings?"

Everyone: "..."

If you want to complain, complain, but don't fire indiscriminately at everyone.

【"This really cannot be ignored."】

【Byron looked at Reines hypocritically and said: "I hope you can explain what is going on, young lady of El-Melloi."】

【He couldn't have just found out now; from the moment he called Karina in, it was clear that at the latest, between learning of the Golden Princess's death and arriving here, he had already grasped the general situation.】

【Reines: "Indeed, Miss Tiadra did discuss this matter with me, but I swear I did not kill Miss Tiadra. After all, there is no point in killing the person who proposed fleeing to me, right?"】

【"Is that so? If the terms of the escape couldn't be agreed upon, couldn't a conflict have occurred?"】

【The dark-skinned man, Mick, suddenly spoke up to make trouble.】

【Reines was so angry she gritted her teeth, but she didn't dare act rashly.】

【She knew these bastards were waiting for an excuse—an excuse sufficient to kill her directly.】

【Once she died, all the blame could be placed on her; with no one to testify, they could take the opportunity to make a move and seize the remaining power of the already declining El-Melloi.】

【Gray was also furious; her right hand was already gripping Ad under her cloak tightly.】

【She wanted to act, but was secretly stopped by Reines.】

【Once she acted, the crime would be confirmed, and there would truly be no turning back.】

Tohsaka Rin: "Well, this confirms it's a trap."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "No, this case doesn't seem that simple."

Waver: "I feel the same way."

Tohsaka Rin: "Hey, hey, doesn't their behavior explain everything?"

Extra Feng Xi: "That's just their base nature at work."

Extra Feng Xi: "No matter what happens, their first thought is to suppress their opponents and plot benefits for their own families. They don't care who killed the Golden Princess at all."

Extra Feng Xi: "Even the parties involved themselves don't care, do they?"

Tohsaka Rin: "... Stop talking; my impression of the Mage's Association is getting worse and worse."

Artoria: "Despicable conduct; how can such people deserve to sit in leadership positions?"

Darnic: "That's why such a corrupt organization as the Mage's Association should have been overthrown long ago."

Extra Feng Xi: "Hehe, you are half a catty to their eight taels; don't laugh at each other."

Darnic: "..."

【Byron: "In any case, it seems necessary to investigate you in detail."】

【"Yes."】

【Reines pretended to be calm and said: "I hope to receive polite treatment, especially since I can only drink good black tea with delicious scones for breakfast. Otherwise, it would be a waste of the thoughts I had to provide assistance."】

【Byron: "Assistance? What do you intend to do, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte?"】

【Calling the other party by their full name meant that the facade had been torn off; there was no need to pretend to be polite anymore.】

【"That goes without saying, Byron Balereta Izelma."】

【Reines said in a joking tone: "I will find the killer for you, betting on the honor of El-Melloi."】

Kayneth: "Hehe, Izelma, very good."

Waver: "Teacher, calm down."

Kayneth: "Rest assured, I am very calm."

Illya: "So this time it's Miss Reines's turn to be the detective?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Impossible; she isn't good at this at all. In the end, it will probably still depend on the Second."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "If the person involved before had been the Second, he would never have been schemed against so easily."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "And with such a big incident, the Second, as the head of the family, naturally cannot stay out of it."

Kayneth: "Sigh, Reines seems very clever, but compared to those old foxes who are full of schemes, she is still far behind."

【A moment later, everyone left, leaving only Reines, the two girls, and Lord Balereta.】

【That's right, this Lord took the initiative to stay behind to monitor Reines.】

【Originally, Aozaki Touko volunteered, but Byron refused on the grounds that she was also a suspect.】

【Inorai, who arrived last, was very interested in this situation and took on the task herself.】

Kayneth: "Hmph, Inorai, this woman is truly like a ghost that won't go away."

Tohsaka Rin: "Lord, it's impossible for her to be the killer, right?"

Because of Aozaki Touko's previous example, they didn't dare to believe Inorai's performance anymore.

These magi are all experts at turning their backs on people.

【Inorai: "Then, where do you intend to start the investigation?"】

【Reines: "If possible, I want to start with the room layout and the corpse."】

【Although she said so, facing the cruel corpse and smelling the thick blood, Reines almost vomited.】

【Inorai: "I see, do as you please."】

【Spending a few seconds to steady herself, Reines began the on-site investigation.】

【The room was the size of an ordinary cafe; the main furniture included a bed with a canopy, a table with a jellyfish-like lamp, several paintings that looked like Impressionist works, and a simple bookcase with a few introductory magic books called 'Grimoire'.】

【Every item was a luxury item befitting the name of the Golden Princess, but in terms of variety, there was a feeling that only the bare minimum was collected.】

【There was a window and a door in the room, as well as a skylight, but the structure was not something a human could enter or exit through.】

【If one were to consider the skylight, it would be more practical to think about what kind of magic could pass through walls.】

【Finally, there was the corpse.】

【"... This was really cut thoroughly; I can't even tell what the murder weapon was."】

【The torso and limbs were neatly cut and separated, and the cross-section was so clean that one couldn't help but widen their eyes.】

【There were no signs of resistance on the body, and judging from the cross-section, it was likely that the victim was killed before they could resist.】

【The investigation ended, and the task of collecting the body parts was naturally handed over to Trimmau.】

Illya: "Ugh, it seems there are no clues at all."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Cut very neatly, no signs of resistance, and the activated magical lock—these are all clues."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "However, because the killer is a magus, the usefulness of these clues becomes minimal."

Tohsaka Rin: "Yeah, when a magus commits a crime, there is nothing they can't do."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It's impossible for there to be no signs of resistance; could the Golden Princess have been bound or drugged before being killed?"

Waver: "It should be drugged; the victim's expression shows no pain." ===== CHAPTER 375 =====