Murder

Taking a couple of silver coins, Greem headed towards the market floor. There, dozens of shops were open. Some sold potions, others equipment. However, none of that interested Greem at the moment. After training for the whole day, he had finally mastered the [Hyena Heavy Cleave], and decided that he would celebrate and reward himself with a delicious meal in his favourite restaurant called the [Ogre Tavern], because of the oversized portions they served.

As a body refinement acolyte, he needed to eat a lot, and this tavern was the best place for his appetite.

Emma Johnson was the owner of this shop, and her looks were just...mesmerizing, to the points that many acolytes lost a fortune in an attempt to seduce her. If not for coming across the rumour that she was actually an 80-years-old witch in a 20-years-old woman's skin, Greem would have gladly taken her on a date.

In the tower, you needed to be wary of everything and everyone you encountered. After all he was known as a lone wolf with respectful behaviour despite his assassin profession. Still, officially, coming back with the bodies of wild beasts from times to times earned him the reputation of a 'hunter', and his best clients was obviously Emma Johnson, who purchased the flesh of those huge beasts for a hefty sum.

===

By the time Greem came back to his room, he was shocked to see three white-robed apprentices from the [Truth Order] knocking on his door like fanatics.

Greem naturally recognized them. Jean, the Investigation Party Leader, was accompanied by his two subordinates: Ellen and Frederick. Knowing that Jean was an intermediate rank acolyte, Greem gulped inwardly. He knew that his affiliation with Black Rose was impossible to trace, but he still felt a bit of fear.

"Did you witness anything unusual in the previous week, Greem?", Jean was staring coldly at him while Ellen did all the talking.

Greem appeared puzzled, unable to process why they would be knocking on his door: "What happened? Was there a fatal accident during a magical experiment?"

Ellen shook her head: "No, someone was murdered in their room."

Greem was shocked: "Murdered? Who died?"

Jean spoke slowly, his eyes fixed on Greem's face to catch any reaction. "It was Cynthia Luret."

Greem frowned. He knew Cynthia, an ordinary beginner rank acolyte who had mastered three spells and was younger than him. Obviously, she was quite talented, and he had heard rumours of her successfully brewing her first potion. Alchemists were rare, and talented ones were even rarer, so her name was quite famous.

He wondered why they were questioning him though.

Even as an assassin, Greem would never dare to kill someone in the Citadel. After all, it was forbidden by Magus Rutherford, and he knew that a divination spell cast my a real magus was incomparable to that of an acolyte.

Jean explained, "We need to check every apprentice's room, including yours."

Frederick added, "Move aside quickly, or we'll blame you for the murder. Do you want to face the consequences?"

Greem felt angry but suppressed it. He wondered if they had the courage to search the rooms of Librarian Jess, Fire King John or Steel Demon Gale, the advanced rank apprentices in the tower.

Despite his unwillingness, he reluctantly stepped aside and allowed them to enter his room.