Chapter 405

【Waver's hand pointed directly at the pharmacist Mio Brishisan Clainers.】

【"N-no, h-how could it b-be m-me..."】

【Mio slumped directly onto the floor, trying to move away from his teacher while shaking his head.】

Illya: "This guy is acting really well."】

Rin Tohsaka: "If I didn't know the answer, I wouldn't have thought he was the murderer."】

Caules: "Looking at his performance, you can't tell at all."】

Fiore: "Truly, you can know a person's face but not their heart."】

【Waver said coldly: "Do you want me to be more detailed?"】

【"Flat!"】

【"Yes!"】

【Flat couldn't wait to take out a set of clothes and a leather bag; they were the Golden Princess's clothes and a travel bag.】

【"Just as you said, Teacher, the things were hidden near that fountain!"】

【Waver: "Several legends of Siegfried also mention that the fountain was the place where he washed off the dragon blood and met his death; in one respect, it also has this magical significance."】

【"That's right, this is not difficult; I think it is nine times out of ten."】

【"However, I was truly only just now convinced that you are the murderer. After all, the people Lei Jina and the Bai Yin Princess would protect are at most you and Mr. Islor."】

【"The reason it is not Mr. Islor lies in Trimmau. If it were Touko Aozaki and Lord Baljelleta, they might be able to stop Trimmau from operating; perhaps Atrum Galliasta could do it too."】

【Atrum: "Maybe it's superfluous."】

【Waver: "However, your abilities are too specialized in weaving and pharmacy. Not to mention repelling Trimmau, to make her stop operating requires seeing through the composition of the internal magic formula."】

【"By the way, my disciple Flat is good at this kind of magic, but this is more difficult than expected; at least it is not magic I can do."】

【"As for you, although it was a coincidence, the detailed investigation you did on Trimmau at the social gathering paid off."】

【"Although in this sense, it was my foster sister who had a flaw at that social gathering."】

【Reines: "I was nervous on enemy territory."】

【Waver: "Moreover, staining Trimmau with blood was also going too far; there was no need to go to that extent."】

【"According to Reines's position, she would be driven into a predicament in this tower anyway. Because of this, I had the leeway to think that the culprits of the Golden Princess case and the Karina case might be different people."】

Shishigou Kairi: "I see. Thinking about it this way, this kid's suspicion is indeed the greatest."】

Rin Tohsaka: "To be honest, I didn't see that the Bai Yin Princess and the others were protecting Mio."】

Caules: "So, solving cases must be done by professionals."】

【Islor: "Then, is it really..."】

【"..."】

【This time Mio didn't continue to deny it; he slumped and laughed, and the trembling from just now stopped abruptly.】

【"Because... why can't I?"】

【It echoed extremely emptily in the hall.】

【"I, I have known her for a long time. Even though we have known each other for a long time, even though I am the one who knows her best, I didn't know that she..."】

【"S-so, I wanted to collect at least a little bit of her... traces before she died."】

【Before Reines took Gray and Trimmau to track the footprints, Mio was also trying to find out the murderer of the Golden Princess.】

【Or perhaps he had no will to find the murderer, just as he said, he wanted to collect a little bit of her lingering scent before she died.】

【When he met Karina at the fountain, she had likely prepared to escape from Byron's side.】

【"I questioned her, and she was very surprised. Because Karina said, said she was the Golden Princess."】

【"Al-although I couldn't believe it immediately, do y-you understand my joy at that time? Because, because, ev-even if Tiadra died, the Golden Princess didn't die! That beauty, it wasn't damaged at all!"】

【"H-however, she said she wanted to escape, wanted to escape from Lord Byron, and take the Bai Yin Princess and Lei Jina out of this Twin-Faced Tower."】

【"She said, so M-Mio, you come and help too."】

【"How could I, how could I possibly allow such a thing to happen!"】

【For Karina, Mio should have been a reliable childhood friend. Precisely because she felt that even if the truth leaked, he would be willing to help, she told him the secret.】

【However, her thoughts and Mio's were not necessarily the same; rather, they pointed in the completely opposite direction...】

【"Even if she died, she should have restored that beauty! Ev-even if I killed her, I had to keep her! The Bai Yin Princess's research should also continue!"】

【"Because, w-we had already seen that end point."】

【"Because we had tasted the fruit, we should move further forward! As a mage, we must do so!"】

【The scene suddenly fell into silence again.】

Illya: "Wh-what kind of reason is this!"】

Shishigou Kairi: "Truly pathetic; the person you trust most is the least trustworthy."】

Laeticia: "Mages, is there not a single normal person among you?"】

Extra Feng Xi: "This is a question of values. Because the environment they lived in since childhood is different, don't expect to understand mages with the values of ordinary people."】

Rin Tohsaka: "... Root, is it really that important?"】

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "The Root is the dream of all mages."】

Extra Feng Xi: "People are crazy; it's even more impossible to reach the Root."】

【"... What you said, as a mage, is not wrong at all."】

【Waver said in a deep voice: "You didn't hesitate to use your childhood friend as a living sacrifice to achieve your wish; as a mage, it is a matter of course."】

【Mio: "S-s-since that's the case..."】

【Waver: "However, since that's the case, why didn't you ask her to die for you?"】

【"!!!"】

【The surrounding mages widened their eyes, as if they didn't understand what Waver was saying.】

Rin Tohsaka: "???"

Illya: "What is he saying!"】

【Mio: "What did you say..."】

【Waver: "Before you didn't hesitate to kill your childhood friend to keep her, why didn't you ask her to die for you? Why didn't you beg her, saying, 'For the sake of fulfilling my selfishness of wanting to see ultimate beauty with my own eyes again, let me dissect you to my heart's content'?"】

【"Since you said that it is an unattainable dream, why didn't you cheerfully and proudly ask the Bai Yin Princess and Lei Jina to be living sacrifices?"】

【"Wh-wh-where is there such a ridiculous..."】

【Waver's words made Mio look like he would foam at the mouth at any moment, his mouth constantly opening and closing.】

【Waver: "You say where is there such a ridiculous proposal? But it's only to this extent?"】

【"Not just out of personal desire, intending to trample on the countries of the world without the support of divine will or great righteousness; not for a delusion of wanting to see the Sea of the End with one's own eyes, completely depriving many war gods and great lords of their honor and pride, and still wanting to call them to be on par with oneself."】

【"But you can't even make people believe in a delusion of this extent, and you still want to realize your dream?"】

【"Whether a mage or not, for a person, the self is absolute. No matter what kind of good or evil deeds, we cannot know whether we have truly saved or harmed others."】

【"However, whether it is a mistake or a misunderstanding, since you say it is the way of life you have chosen, then hold your head high."】

【"Since you want to fight for yourself, at least try to infect others with your self-righteousness."】

【"Wrong. From the beginning, before falling into this ridiculous investigation, you should have stood tall and declared, 'I killed Karina to prevent her from escaping.'"】

【"Your actions are purely despicable."】

【The sanction was given; everyone seemed to hear the sound of the guillotine blade falling.】

【Mio was stunned in place, unable to recover for a long time.】

Shishigou Kairi: "Oh, what sharp words."】

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Indeed, even if this kid says it in a high-sounding way, it doesn't change the fact that he killed someone."】

Kayneth: "It would have been better to persuade Karina to commit suicide herself."】

Laeticia: "I can't understand, I really can't understand the thinking of you mages."】

【"Hmph..."】

【Waver smoked his cigar with a bored expression and slowly cast his gaze toward the Bai Yin Princess and her servant beside him.】

【"Why did you protect him?"】

【"..."】

【The Bai Yin Princess's expression was still hidden under her veil, making it hard to see, but she finally spoke this time.】

【"... Actually, if Mio hadn't killed Karina, we should have met up with Karina that night and escaped."】

【Waver: "Even so, why?"】

【Bai Yin Princess: "You should know, right? You only know the reason, Lei Jina."】 ===== CHAPTER 407 =====