Chapter 150

This time, Robert's daughter provided information.

She rummaged through a chest and handed something to Ian.

It was a dagger.

"What's this?"

"... It belonged to my brother. That woman gave it to him."

'That woman' was obviously Maria.

"Maria gave it to your brother?"

Her face contorted with malice as she spoke:

"That b*tch is a sly whore. She gave him this to seduce him."

A dagger as a gift for a man. The recipient must have been quite pleased.

"That woman tried to seduce my brother to become our family's daughter-in-law. It's disgusting to think about now! But my brother seemed to believe she truly loved him."

Ian pocketed the dagger and exchanged a few more words with Robert.

"Thanks for your cooperation."

"Don't mention it! Make sure to hang that b*tch by the neck! Wizard!"

Ian walked down the street with Belenka, organizing the information he'd gathered.

"Those people really hate Maria."

"Of course. She killed their son."

Belenka added:

"But... I think they would have hated her even if the accident hadn't happened."

Saying she was ominous, or a suspicious woman.

Robert's family made it clear they disliked Maria from the start.

"Still, she seemed close with the son."

"Hmm..."

Belenka tilted her head and said:

"It's certainly strange. She didn't harm the people who hated her, but killed the man who liked her?"

Belenka's expression was serious.

"A wizard's thinking is truly incomprehensible."

"..."

Miss Belenka. Are you serious?

Ian stared at Belenka in disbelief.

Seriously, what do Imperial people think of wizards?

Ian shuddered at this wizard-discrimination as severe as racism...

"Kira should be done with her investigation by now."

"Let's go find her."

Ian went straight to the village chief.

But the chief led Ian to an unexpected place.

"Kira went to meet Joseph."

"Joseph?"

"He's Robert's cousin, a young man who works as a gravedigger."

The chief guided Ian into a forest.

In the distance, a red-haired woman could be seen.

"As I thought..."

The chief sighed.

As they approached, Kira was intently observing something with a young man.

When Ian looked to see what they were examining, it was just bare ground.

The sight of grown adults staring at the ground was quite striking.

In other words, they looked like idiots.

If they added Jubal to the mix, it would be quite a sight.

"What are you doing there?"

"Oh, Ian. You're here?"

Kira flashed Ian a light smile before introducing the young man beside her.

"This is Joseph. He works as a gravedigger."

Ian looked at the young man called Joseph.

True to his profession, his complexion was terribly pale.

Ian worried if he was getting enough vitamins.

"Hello, Wizard."

Joseph greeted Ian, removing his hat.

Ian asked the question he was most curious about.

"What are you two doing here?"

Joseph answered with a sinister laugh:

"Kekeke... We were examining the scene."

"The scene?"

"Yes... The place where my dear nephew breathed his last."

"..."

Ian stared intently at Joseph.

This bastard. Why does he talk like that?

You must be the necromancer! Or a black wizard!

Though he couldn't pinpoint it exactly, there was something unsettlingly off about this man.

Ian made a mental note to have Sir Leshach investigate him when he returned.

"My nephew was killed here by that necromancer Maria."

Joseph pointed to a patch of grass.

"There were rotten flesh and maggots left there. That's where Maria had the ghoul waiting."

"Just curious, but what makes you think those were ghoul remains?"

Joseph laughed sinisterly at Ian's question.

"Kekeke... Wizard. In my work as a gravedigger, I've seen countless deaths. I know the difference between flesh that's fallen from a corpse and flesh that's fallen from a ghoul. That was from a ghoul."

It was the same story Ian had heard at Robert's house.

That Maria had summoned a ghoul to commit the murder.

"But Maria... said she had no memory of killing Robert's son?"

"Kekeke... Wizard. Do you believe that?"

To some extent.

Ian nodded.

Maria might have accidentally contacted the mysteries and unintentionally killed Robert's son in an accident.

"It's obviously a lie. How else would you explain the ghoul waiting there?"

"Maybe it was just passing by..."

"There are no ghouls that 'just happen' to stand in one place for hours. That's only possible under a necromancer's command."

... Damn. Why is this guy so logical?

Ian looked at Joseph again.

He'd thought he was just a creepy bastard.

But he was a creepy bastard who made valid points.

"So... you think Maria deliberately killed Robert's son?"

"Of course. Maria used necromancy to murder my nephew. When her crime was discovered, she pretended to have lost her memory."

Only necromancers can control ghouls.

Therefore, Maria is a necromancer.

That was the gist of it.

"Certainly..."

Ian had to reconsider.

An accident caused by accidentally brushing against the mysteries?

From the moment she deliberately prepared a ghoul, this was no accident.

Maria had some motive for preparing the ghoul.

"Kekeke... Wizard, did you perhaps not sense anything strange about that child?"

"Strange?"

Joseph smirked three times more lecherously than before.

Seriously, this bastard really seems like a necromancer.

"I've met those who deal with death a few times. They all had something in common."

"... The mystery of death."

"Exactly. It's hard to explain in words... but I sensed a certain spiritual power from necromancers. And I felt that power from Maria too."

"...!"

Ian was shocked by this gravedigger's sharp perception.

It was something Ian knew as well.

Maria emanated the power of death.

But... why the f*ck can a gravedigger sense it too?

With his creepy pale looks, Joseph seemed like just the type the mystery of death would fancy.

"Maria is definitely a necromancer. Kekeke..."

Ian asked, just in case:

"Have you met Sir Leshach?"

"No. I heard he went to handle some business outside the village. But when he returns soon, I plan to tell him everything I know."

Ian was certain.

If Joseph spills everything to Sir Leshach...

Maria is definitely going to die.

"I was just telling him about that."

Kira approached and whispered.

Ian nodded and said:

"I've heard your story. Thanks for your cooperation, Joseph."

"Kekeke... Don't mention it."

Joseph retreated with a sinister laugh.

Ian gathered his companions to briefly discuss their findings.

"What do you all think?"

"Is there even anything to think about?"

Belenka tilted her head as if to say "What are you talking about?"

"Maria doesn't seem to be the necromancer who created the undead outside the village. But she clearly has connections to a necromancer. How else could she have learned magic?"

That's what Belenka thought.

That there was another necromancer outside the village, and Maria had learned magic from them.

"Sir Leshach probably thought the same, which is why he went to investigate the outskirts."

"So... you're saying someone taught Maria necromancy?"

"We can find out if we interrogate Maria."

Belenka said nonchalantly.

"If we pull out a few fingernails, she'll quickly spill the information..."

"No, sh*t. That's not interrogation, it's torture."

"Pulled out fingernails grow back, you know?"

"..."

That's not the issue here.

Ian gave Belenka an exasperated look.

She snapped her fingers.

"Ian. Get your head on straight. We're dealing with a murderer and necromancer. She won't say anything without some violence."

"..."

"What, did you develop some sympathy because she has a pretty face?"

That wasn't it.

Ian was a modern person, but he didn't particularly object to medieval mindsets calling for harsh punishments for murderers.

Ain't nothing wrong with smiting evil bastards, right?

But Ian hesitated for one reason.

Something didn't sit right with him.

Because there were still puzzle pieces that didn't fit together, Ian couldn't bring himself to suggest torturing Maria.

If Maria wasn't actually a murderer...

Then they'd be torturing an innocent person, not an evil bastard.

"There are two things that still aren't clear."

"Two things?"

Belenka looked at Ian with surprise.

Ian nodded and said:

"First, why did Maria kill Robert's son?"

The motive is unclear. That's what Ian thought.

Belenka seemed to think Maria was just a crazy psycho, but still.

"And second, it's questionable whether Maria could actually kill Robert's son."

"What do you mean questionable? The ghoul traces..."

"That's just evidence a ghoul was waiting at the scene."

They needed an accurate eyewitness account.

At the very least, they needed to hear Maria's explanation one more time.

Kira marveled at Ian's calm reasoning.

"That's... very logical. So Ian, do you think Maria didn't kill Robert's son?"

"Well. Maybe?"

"Wow..."

To be honest, Kira couldn't follow Ian's thought process.

She had never reasoned that way before.

Based on the circumstances, Maria killed Robert's son, right? So isn't Maria a murderer?

That's how most medieval people would think.

This is still a world where evidence-based trials aren't applied.

No, trials themselves are rare in this neighborhood. Ian's way of thinking is actually strange in comparison.

Maria even said she killed Robert's son.

To doubt Maria's guilt at this point?

There's no reason to at all.

But Ian knew at least the basic concepts of 'deduction' and 'evidence'.

In his past life, Ian had indirect experience in the legal world.

Namely through [Legal High] and [Ace Attorney]...!

Though his legal knowledge was only skin-deep... at least he understood the concept of evidence.

As long as doubts remained, Ian didn't want to draw conclusions.

"Hm?"

Heading towards the shed where Maria was locked up, Ian ran into a familiar giant on the way.

"Ah! Mr. Ian!"

Ah. Right. Jubal.

I told him to go play with the kids.

"Hey Jubal. How'd the task I gave you go?"

Despite having forgotten about it until just now, Ian brazenly asked.

Oblivious to Ian's thoughts, Jubal grinned.

"I had fun playing!"

"Waaaah~"

When Jubal smiled, the neighborhood kids playing beside him smiled too.

Hmm. They do seem to have gotten closer.

Jubal may look intimidating, but after exchanging a few words, you could quickly tell he was an idiot.

The kids, arrogantly thinking Jubal was inferior to them, approached to tease him.

Can that be considered getting along?

Since it had come to this.

Ian gathered information from the neighborhood kids.

"Kids. Did you have fun playing with this big brother?"

"Yes!"

"Then, can I ask you a few things?"

Ian asked without much thought.

He figured kids wouldn't know much anyway.

But that was Ian's mistake.

Surprisingly, the kids knew a lot.

"You mean Maria?"

"That sister is always alone. Oh! Except for Eric!"

"Pael keeps going to visit her, but Maria seems annoyed by it."

'Eric' was Robert's dead son.

And Pael was...

"Who's Pael?"

"The shepherd!"

Ah. That guy.

Ian had met him before. When he and Sir Leshach rescued him from the undead wolf attack.

"I-I think... both Eric and Pael liked Maria..."

One girl voiced her opinion.

Typical statement from a teenage girl obsessed with others' love lives.

"Even when Pael saw 'that', he was probably looking for Maria."

"By 'that' you mean..."

Ian asked the girl.

"When Maria used necromancy?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes. When Maria... k-killed Eric. Pael said he saw it all..."

...The list of people to meet was growing.

Pael. The village shepherd. The one who witnessed Maria's necromancy.

Just then, one boy shouted:

"We knew Maria was a necromancer!"

What an attention seeker.

He clearly yelled out of jealousy because Ian was talking to the girl.

Ah~ I know something too~

"What do you mean?"

"Once, Pael took Maria to the sheep pasture. I saw it!"

"..."

Why were you watching that?

Ian was more curious how this kid knew about someone else's date, but he asked anyway.

"What did you see?"

The boy excitedly shouted:

"Maria tried to rip apart and eat a rotten wolf carcass!"

"...?"

What the...

Ian pondered what that meant for a while.

Then he realized.

That must have been an incident caused by the mysteries of death interfering with Maria's mind.