Lucia and Allison curiously looked at the lunchbox.
The man before them opened the box and behold! Steam rose and fragrance wafted through the air. It was as if the food was served right out of the kitchen.
There was a bowl of tomato soup which had a cute caricature like red face floating on the surface, constantly smiling and laughing audibly.
Four flatbreads with angry faces made of dough had frowning expressions and every few seconds they would get so angry that a puff of smoke would rise from their forehead.
A big serving of roasted chicken was what drew the most attention. Its meat looked emerald encased and along with the colorful and fragrant sauces coated on top it greatly stimulated one's appetite.
It was the dishes Russell had bought earlier at the Bright Light Inn for lunch: spicy roasted leaf-feather chicken, four fuming flatbreads, and a bowl of happy-face tomato soup!
Seeing that it was way past lunch time and the sisters seemed to be intending to skip lunch completely to focus on investigation he proactively offered to share some with them.
They have now moved to a corner so they don't have to look at the dismembered body while having their lunch. Patrol Officer Robert and others were there keeping an eye on it back so there's no need to worry.
Both sisters were not shy to accept the food. Each took one fuming flatbread and focused on the roasted chicken that had been served on a separate plate for them.
If not for the fact that an Air Wall was shielding the ubiquitous stench from that corpse then they would surely have lost all appetite for the day.
Evaluation of Russell on their mind also went up a notch because of this, at least he was a sensible fellow. After having their portions they were left craving more but they really couldn't bring themselves to ask for more shamelessly.
After all, they were all strangers who just met and sharing lunch was more of a good gesture done by a colleague. It was obviously not some kind of obligation.
Though the two girls were only fifteen they understood bottom-lines in social interactions much better than many adults.
"It tasted very delicious! As expected of Bright Light Inn!"
"I feel my ether reserve has been replenished somewhat. Now I can cast a few more spells without having to rest to absorb ether dust for another round!"
Lucia praised the food while Allison was happy to be able to save some time. At this moment Russell asked with a glint in his eyes, "Oh? Aren't you two done collecting information?"
"How could that be? It's only been a few hours since we began and in the middle we were also interrupted by that battle."
"At best, we had confirmed his age, type of grimoire he practiced, and the foreign ether signatures within his body. We still need some time to follow that last clue and uncover more details about the culprit."
"Is that so? Then you would be at the crime scene for a bit longer?"
"Yes. Why? Did you discover something we haven't?"
Lucia suddenly widened her eyes as she asked. She hadn't forgotten that Chief Constable Walter had personally mentioned his talent in the field of investigation. Though he said it was only mentioned by a friend, she naturally didn't take it literally.
In her opinion, it was his way of showing his endorsement by not appearing nepotistic.
"I might have found a clue. Let me confirm with you. The grimoire practiced by the victim was necromantic, yes?"
Both sisters nodded at the same time. This was what surprised them the most. Turns out it wasn't even an arcane mage they were dealing with. They had already judged it to be infighting among the Death Abyss members.
If not for the fact that their excellent work ethics made it so that they wanted to persist for a bit longer to see if any clue about their hideout in this town could be gleaned from this dead body then they would have long concluded the case with this evidence and called it a day.
"But what if I told you that he practiced a metal elemental grimoire?"
"Impossible!"
"You must have made a mistake!"
Both of the sisters denied instantly.
Through the results from the clairvoyance spells both of them had confirmed from the traces that the type of ether that had long since etched itself on the very cells of that man was of death element.
It wasn't just any death element as there were indeed some rare arcane magic disciplines that utilized it but his was the evil type borne of resentment and grudge, signature characteristics of those necromancers.
"Alright, it seems I have to provide proof to make you believe it. Come follow me!"
Russell only chuckled as he moved to go back to the crime scene. Two sisters glanced at each other and with some hesitation they decided to first see what he wanted to show them.
It was only because he shared his lunch with them so they were in the mood to humor him!
Robert was a bit surprised to see him telekinetically picking up a body part with ether. He looked at the sisters and not seeing them object he didn't meddle by stopping him.
"Look at this part, it's his left underarm's only intact skin. By using the Ether Insight spell you would also see why I came to a different conclusion."
Two sisters did as he told and suddenly their eyes went wide, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Metal elemental ether is actually being drawn by it!"
"This…"
"I think that the grimoire he practiced focused on the magnetic aspect of metal element. Other parts of his body had been thoroughly tempered by the culprit to create a smokescreen that he was also a dark mage and it was simply internal strife that caused his death."
"Perhaps it was fate in the unseen or karma of their misdeeds, this little bit of skin happened to be overlooked by them which would now completely change the narrative of this case that could earlier be dismissed by simply stating… infighting among criminals."
He explained his conjectures softly while looking at the distance, giving a sense of detachment and aloofness.
It has to be said that his pose indeed left a deep impression on these two geniuses as their eyes now held a hint of admiration and respect compared to the earlier polite distance and amused curiosity.
If it could be said that previously the two sisters were simply humoring him and had slight doubts about his "talent" that Walter mentioned but now they had some belief in him and started taking his words and opinions seriously.
Lucia used a clairvoyance spell based on this new information and further confirmed his words, "It's indeed as you said! The victim is not a dark mage but a genuine arcane mage. He practiced a metal elemental grimoire!"
"Thankfully, you noticed this clue in time otherwise we might have really been led by the nose!" Allison sincerely thanked him for this crucial discovery.
She really couldn't help but feel fortunate that their first case didn't have to end in blunder from the clever schemes of the culprit. She decided to say a few good words for him when writing a report for this case later.
Russell nodded before adding, "Since we know the age and the practiced grimoire, why don't we identify the victim first?"
"Well, I originally wanted to follow the line of clues from the foreign ether in his body but now that it has been confirmed that the culprit possesses bizarre means to fabricate the grimoire origin then following the conventional practices would only play into their hands."
"So… let's follow your suggestion for now."
Lucia agreed after a bit of contemplation.
They went to a nearby police station and checked the public registry. With many clues on their hands they quickly found a civilian mage whose public information largely matched.
Heading to the address of his rented room, they inquired with the landlord first about his information. The landlord was greatly startled seeing police right after waking up from his afternoon nap.
He quickly answered all he knew about that tenant, "Luka? He came to rent that room four months ago. He isn't a local of this town. I later checked and found that he joined the Pegasus Wings Escort Agency to make a living."
"What about his social circle? Do you know any of his friends or any coworkers who came to visit him recently?"
Allison pressed on.
It was worth mentioning that only Robert followed behind the trio like a shadow without interfering in any of their investigation procedures.
The other four of his team were instructed by the sisters to send the body to the morgue in the headquarters for safekeeping and also for any later needs.
"Ah, no. He was a very taciturn guy. I never saw other people except food delivery ever visit him."
"What about neighbors? How was his relationship with them? Any conflict?"
Russell asked in a flat tone after the sisters were done asking him. He naturally knew the answers to solve this case so he was now simply guiding the sisters to the truth by following the protocol.
"Speaking of which, around a week ago the tenant from the room on his left had a big argument with him in the middle of night. Because their quarrels were too loud I remember going back to mediate."
The landlord said with an awkward smile. As for whether he went to mediate or to shout at them for not letting him have a good night's sleep it was tacitly understood by everyone.
"What were they quarreling about?"
Lucia asked with a sharp gaze. She had a feeling that this might be a turning point in this case.
"Ah… Something about not keeping his words and trusting outsiders easily."
Russell gave a look to Lucia before taking the lead to head upstairs. Two sisters were visibly excited! With their sharp minds how could they not understand that they were pursuing in the right direction.
Upstairs, he first opened the room Luka had rented. He earlier took the spare key from the landlord. Inside the room, it was clean, way too clean!
Except for the necessary furniture there wasn't a single additional thing. Only after the two sisters arrived did he finally go inside the room. The trio checked the place and tried to find any clue to Luka's death.
While they were here, Robert was asked by the sisters to bring that neighbor over to them. It wasn't long before sounds of collision rang from the next door.
"The neighbor must have been uncooperative."
Allison chuckled, not minding his heavy handed approach.
Three of them stopped their search and waited for Robert to bring the person back. Soon, a man entered the room with a fearful face. It seems that he didn't expect an Adept Mage to knock on his door today.
"What do you all want? Bringing me here."
"No need to be so nervous. Just answer our questions truthfully. That night last week, what were you quarreling with Luka for?"
Lucia asked gently but this neighbor guy reacted extremely agitated after hearing her questions, "What quarrel? I don't know Luka well enough to go out of my way to quarrel with him! That landlord mentioned it in passing yesterday but I thought he was joking and now you police are also saying this. I was out of town for over a month and just returned two days ago!"
"Huh?" Lucia was shocked. She quickly asked for evidence and this neighbor went back to his room to bring out some receipts he had in his bag from making purchases at another town. The dates and locations on it indeed backed his words.
"Let's ask the military garrison to check this guy's entry and exit record from the city gate. It will confirm if he is telling the truth or fabricating his alibi!"
Allison wanted to double-check and when they finally returned from the city gate it was already evening. The sunlight was fading away and night was nearing its descent.
The result: he indeed told the truth!
"Somebody was impersonating him that night? Why, though? What did Luka even have for the culprit to go to such extents?"
Allison fell into a deep doubt. She felt like there existed a far deeper secret behind his murder and it wasn't out of simple anger or greed. There was also another thing that puzzled her from the very beginning.
With spells on hand completely reducing a corpse to ashes and scattering them away with the wind would have been foolproof for their crime.
Why bother displaying his body in public? They even created a smokescreen to mislead the subsequent investigation.
"The culprit is related to the Mayor!"
Russell suddenly gave a shocking answer startling both the sisters and the following Robert simultaneously.