CHAPTER_34: Group Analysis

As the door creaked open, the sound of a creek could be heard, signaling the arrival of six individuals. Leading the group was a man wearing a distinguished grey hat, carrying a large suitcase, and two guns holstered at his waist. Following closely behind him were three familiar faces recognized by Ragnar. Finally, a striking woman with dark, flowing hair and bold lipstick entered, a shotgun resting casually on her back.

"Senior Albert! Senior Velvet! We've been awaiting your arrival," Xavier exclaimed with excitement. "I've gone ahead and ordered a wide variety of meals for us. The total cost was around 10 Gold Coins, so please indulge and enjoy!" Xavier continued to express his enthusiasm for the two figures.

Bane and Garnette are here too. I'm thankful that nothing happened to them. Ragnar let out a sigh of relief.

Also, Ms. Guinevere is here with bandages around her face.

"Ragnar!" Bane called out as the redhead maid managed to prevent Bane from escaping.

"Ragnar!" Garnette's voice pierced the air.

"Both of you! Let's allow the detective to handle things first before you bombard him with your voices," Guinevere said, sounding frustrated like a weary babysitter.

…

"We've finally arrived," the man declared, removing his grey hat and placing the large suitcase on the table where Ragnar and Xavier were seated.

"It was certainly interesting to interrogate both of the female maids. They were quite honest, as one would expect," Ms. Velvet remarked with a playful tone, settling down next to Xavier.

"I had a different experience. My person not only struggled to tell a convincing lie but also made the interrogation quite challenging," Mr. Albert added, shooting a frustrated glance in Bane's direction.

"And what about you, Xavier? Did you encounter any difficulties with your interrogation?" He proceeded to open the large suitcase.

Xavier's smile widened as he responded, "It was actually quite enjoyable. We even ended up discussing our favorite drinks!"

"Since you were the one who selected him, I assume you've done some background research on this individual," he remarked, gesturing towards Ragnar's presence as he proceeded to open the large suitcase.

As he unveiled the contents of the suitcase, he carefully extracted a silver core with a lengthy wire coiled around it. Delicately, he positioned the crystal ball on the table before retrieving another device in the shape of a dragon's head. Methodically, he connected the plug to the dragon's head-shaped device.

Finally, he pressed the button on the device, and it hummed to life.

"It's all set. The preparations are complete," Mr. Albert announced. "Ms. Guinevere, please bring the two of them here!"

"What is that silver ball?" Ragnar asked with curiosity.

"You're not familiar with this?" Mr. Albert sighed. "As expected from westerners, this is a core that stores energy used to power various types of technologies. There are different types of cores, and this one is a silver core, which holds more energy than a standard core of its level. You'll come to understand it better as you spend more time in this region."

"Well, this really isn't the best time for a lesson. Mr. Xavier will be able to explain it to you tomorrow," Ms. Velvet said to Ragnar.

As they continued their conversation, Ms. Guinevere, Garnette, and Bane arrived at their seats and sat down.

"Let's get started now!" Xavier exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Let's start with my conversation with Sir Bane Viper. It took a long time because Mr. Bane was always lying. However, he did mention that the man had two dark eyes and a goatee. I then showed him some photos to identify the suspect among all the carriage drivers in the city."

"After that, things took an unexpected turn. Bane pointed to a man who matched the description, but it turned out that the carriage driver had passed away five months ago, which is quite confusing," Albert explained.

"Wait, are you certain that Mr. Viper was telling the truth?" Ms. Velvet asked with a puzzled expression.

"I can assure you that I was telling the truth." Bane defended himself with a confident gesture.

Wait, how did Bane manage to see what the driver looked like while I was on the front? I couldn't even see the driver properly to even describe him.

Bane's temple glistened with sweat as the tense situation dragged on.

"Truth be told, I did see the driver's face clearly, and it aligns with Bane's description," Ms. Guinevere, the redhead maid, finally disclosed about the theft.

Ms. Velvet looked at Guinevere with a puzzled expression and remarked, "You never mentioned that before. Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Ms. Velvet, I beg your pardon, but as a detective, it is your role to ask the questions," Ms. Guinevere responded honestly.

Ms. Velvet shot her a look of irritation.

"Actually, she does have a point," Mr. Albert interjected before continuing, "Let me proceed."

"Initially, I had my suspicions about him, but his relentless insistence that he was not lying made me reconsider. Additionally, the recent death of a man five months ago also raised red flags for me," Mr. Albert continued.

"Senior Albert, could you please explain the cause of the carriage driver's death?" Xavier inquired, seeking further clarification.

"It was a grimoire attack, the same one that unleashed destruction five months ago," Mr. Albert elaborated, providing more details.

"So, his death isn't related to anything unusual?" Ms. Velvet questioned, jotting down notes in her booklet.

"This does sound weird. There is something unusual about this," Xavier said, closing his eyes as he bit a piece of cooked meat from his plate.

"What do you mean?" Ms. Velvet resumed her notes.

Xavier pondered over the question, "Ragnar, you didn't mention anything about the driver's appearance, did you? Can you tell me which seat you were in?"

Considering their previous conversation, Xavier couldn't recall Ragnar describing the driver's appearance at all. It seemed odd for someone as meticulous as Ragnar to overlook such a detail.

However, Ragnar hesitated to answer the question, wary that it might raise suspicions against Bane, just like the constant suspicions he faced the day before.

"Um… I sat at the back, so I couldn't see the appearance of the driver." Ragnar answered the question with a lie.

"Also, I did see the driver's face a slight bit when we left the carriage, but there were a lot of guards covering his figure; that's why I couldn't see him properly."

I had no choice but to lie.

Garnette and Bane noticed this play by Ragnar and decided not to intervene.

"Was Garnette next to you, Ragnar? Between Bane and you?" Xavier inquired.

Ragnar affirmed and replied as Xavier took another bite of meat.

"Let's proceed and trust Mr. Viper's answer!" Xavier yelled with enthusiasm as he sipped on his favorite beverage.

"That's one thing done. Now, let's continue with my results." Mr. Albert unveiled a booklet from his pocket. He slowly turned the pages to recall the results.

"Ah, yes," Mr. Albert recalled.

After taking some time to consider, Mr. Albert finally spoke up. "It's a bit confusing, but if I recall correctly, Mr. Viper mentioned that the driver's personality seemed to change after the three of you departed from the carriage, isn't that right?"

Ms. Velvet couldn't contain her surprise. "That's exactly what Garnette mentioned to me as well! I couldn't wrap my head around how something like that could have occurred."

Xavier chimed in eagerly, "Ragnar also made a point of mentioning it!"

"It's really bizarre that he actually changed personalities," Mr. Albert remarked, closing his booklet.

"I've heard about a disorder like that before, especially since my father was a doctor," Ms. Velvet responded.

"Let's definitely continue this conversation tonight. Ms. Velvet, it's your turn to share those results you've been working on," Mr. Albert said before taking a bite of meat.

"Oh, right," she said as she turned the pages of her booklet. "Let me start strong with this one. Ms. Guinevere told me that the carriage number had been written by a guard earlier."

The group turned their attention to Ms. Velvet, their faces filled with uncertainty and confusion.

The revelation could prove to be invaluable in their search for the carriage, as they could use a location tracker powered by a Gold core. This core had the ability to generate thousands of mystical energies, making it possible to detect even the slightest movement by anyone.

"That would be incredibly useful! It could help us pinpoint the carriage driver's location!" exclaimed Xavier as he enthusiastically slammed his hand on the table.

Ragnar was completely unaware of this. The only core he was familiar with was the "Molten Core," which he had used as an alibi to avoid suspicion from the Royal Knights on his first day in the city.

His knowledge of this type of core came from Cliffe, an experienced individual. Cliffe had described it as a rusted sphere of iron. Despite Cliffe claiming it to be a mere legend, Ragnar had never believed that cores actually existed.

Did Bane hear of this before? I guess he learned something while I was away. Ragnar glanced at both Bane and Garnette, who understood the situation.

"However, as per Lady Ana's instructions, she will only reveal the carriage number tonight when all the high-ranking officials are present," Ms. Velvet affirmed, despite the excitement.

Bane was taken aback, "What do you mean by 'all high ranking officials being present?'"

"Recently, the Citadel Detective Agency entered into a contract with the Citadel Government to partner in fighting crime. Since the thief stole unique artifacts, the government needs us to capture the thief," Mr. Albert explained in detail.

"And tonight would be the time to fill the contract where all officials are present, even the mayor," his explanation abruptly ended.

Huh? I get it now. Ragnar analyzed the situation as usual.

Ragnar expressed his thoughts, "So you're saying that all four of us witnesses would be involved in the meeting between the detective agency and the government?" The other witnesses were equally taken aback by this revelation.

"Why am I being dragged into this? I didn't even do anything!" Bane exclaimed, gesticulating in frustration.

As Bane continued to voice his protest, Xavier fixed him with a chilling stare that immediately silenced him.

"I suggest you keep those mouths of yours shut, Mr. Viper. Your tongue is as venomous as a snake's."

Bane fell silent and chose not to retaliate against the threat.

Bane, you really shouldn't mess with that guy. He's really scary. Ragnar sighed.

"Let's keep going!" Xavier returned to his original lively attitude.

Ms. Velvet and Mr. Albert both nodded in agreement.

"Ah, I have another piece of information, but once again, Lady Ana advised me not to reveal it just yet," Ms. Velvet confirmed. "It's about the actions of the thief that Ms. Guinevere observed."

Mr. Albert agreed and responded, "It would be more beneficial if we all could listen to it together."

"That's not the main reason why Lady Ana suspended me for sharing this," Ms. Velvet embarrassingly explained.

"Understood," Mr. Albert acknowledged. "It's your moment, Xavier. Please share your findings regarding Mr. Ragnar Frostpyre."

Xavier smiled and said, "I'm not really sure." He pulled his booklet and turned the pages. "Well, my booklet is actually pretty empty. Also, all the results I have are the same as the others or already known."

"We're actually quite useless, but I would like to ask a question to you, Mr. Albert, after the meeting tonight," Xavier finished with no hints given to the other detective.

"What? How? You even picked the person you're supposed to interrogate. How did you not get anything?" Mr. Albert glanced at Xavier with a confused look.

"I mean, Ragnar did say the carriage driver didn't talk to any of them. That's all I've got that hasn't been said yet," Xavier embarrassingly explained.

"Sure, sure. At least we're done for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll have to really investigate that driver. Ugh! This will be hard for us."

"For sure," Ms. Velve replied.

"Everyone, we're done. Go sleep now, or join the event or whatever." Mr. Albert stood up and stretched.

Everyone stood up in sync except Ragnar and Xavier, who were both eating the meal Xavier had bought.

"Wait, you're leaving already? What about these orders I bought for all of you?" Xavier dramatically convinced everyone with a sad tone.

"That's yours now," Mr. Albert said before noticing Ragnar. "I mean for both of you."

…

In the faraway district of Lowfire Market.

The night symbolized beauty, just as the moon smiled at everyone's existence.

One of the men remarked, "The moon bears a resemblance to Luca's eyes. It's almost as if he's watching us commit these dreadful acts."

"If Luca were to stand before you, reciting a poem of unimaginable beauty, how would you react?" another man asked.

"I would do what anyone in my position would do - plead for my life. I am not someone of significance for Luca to show mercy. After all, Luca's poetry symbolizes death."