"Director!"
"Don't be so hasty, Vivian. You're still as easily flustered as you were years ago." Silver Wing Locust gently patted her head. "Just consider it as accumulating some case-handling experience. Don't always look so wronged. This mission pays triple wages."
"Director Silver Wing Locust, that person who reported the case..."
Haida narrowed her eyes slightly, already guessing the other party's identity.
"Ah, she has already arrived." Silver Wing Locust looked towards Fran, who was gradually walking down the corridor with a pair of silver handcuffs on her wrist.
"Good day, everyone. It's wonderful to see Sister Haida and Agent Vivian here. Could you please explain to those officers that I really have nothing to do with this case..."
"Dr. Fran, hmm... Are you truly completely unrelated to this case?"
Haida narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the smiling Fran with a somewhat skeptical gaze.
She always seemed to appear at just the right moment for these occasions... and never missed one.
But based on their years of traveling together in the Lands Between, Haida was inclined to believe Fran. Apart from her quirky, eccentric personality and somewhat unconventional treatment methods... she was actually not difficult to get along with.
This doctor was rational, polite, even somewhat amiable, and skilled at maintaining an appropriate distance in interpersonal relationships.
Of course, all this was predicated on the two parties not being hostile. Once you stood on a conflicting side from her, she would reveal a cruelty that transcended human ethics...
"Of course not, I guarantee it on my personal character. If I were involved, why wouldn't I have just left after finishing things, instead of waiting here for you all to arrive?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Fran's lips, and she then displayed the silver manacles on her slender wrists. At this moment, she gave off a harmless vibe, as if she truly was just a good citizen who had accidentally stumbled into a crime scene.
"Let's remove the handcuffs first. Were you the ones from the City Hall police department who cuffed her?"
Before Haida could respond, Silver Wing Locust took the lead. After all, she was the highest-ranking Secrets-Hunter present here, so it was fitting for her to make the first move.
"Yes."
Fran nodded in acknowledgment, then calmly stepped forward, deftly removed the manacles from her wrist, and placed them back into Silver Wing Locust's hand.
The director of the Confidential Division keenly noticed a wisp of chaotic black tendrils slithering away and disappearing into the keyhole of the manacles.
"Please don't blame them. This is standard procedure for emergency situations."
Silver Wing Locust observed this doctor girl in the white coat, finding herself completely unable to discern her thoughts from her expression.
The director of the Burial Court knew little about Fran's existence; for example, Black Banyan wouldn't recognize her even face to face.
But Silver Wing Locust, being in the Confidential Division, had received numerous contact reports about her from Vivian long ago and was not unfamiliar with her.
"Of course not. After all, their job is to maintain scene stability before the Secrets-Hunters arrive. They didn't do anything wrong."
Fran didn't care about such an innocuous little interlude. What she was more concerned about was what exactly had happened inside this Sun-Forging Spire, and whether among those few survivors there was someone who could help her repair the power sword.
Of course, she would only hand over the reforging part to them; the technical aspects she would have to find a way to solve herself. While she couldn't restore the disruption field on the blade, she could add some other technologies. For example, the Necrons' [Mechanized Biology].
"...Since Dr. Fran is the first witness to this case, do you have any specific findings?"
Haida lightly covered her mouth and coughed, then quickly steered the conversation to the main topic.
"Unfortunately, even the most skilled medical examiner... would find it difficult to draw any valuable conclusions from a pile of ashes."
"However, these ashes are fresh and still retain some traces from before death, not dampened and able to remain gathered. They should have been burned last night."
Vivian lightly bit her lip, detecting a dangerous scent from her casual description.
In just one night, the entire Sun-Forgers Cult branch was reduced to only a handful of survivors. This was truly baffling... There were many Fire-Chasers of mid-rank and above here, how could they have been so utterly defenseless, offering their necks to be slaughtered?
And the state of death was even more peculiar; people who spent their lives pursuing molten fire and sunlight were all burned to death?
Haida's gaze sharpened slightly as she pondered thoughtfully.
"Dr. Fran, where did you find the survivors?"
"The library. Thinking about it now... it makes perfect sense for survivors to be there. A library full of books is likely the room with the highest fireproof rating in the Sun-Forging Spire."
Silver Wing Locust found a point of illogic in her description and followed this line of thought to inquire further.
"Why would you go to a room like the library, which is deep inside the spire?"
"I was looking for survivors. I searched most of the rooms in the entire building."
Fran blinked, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, her clear amber eyes full of sincerity.
She was indeed telling the truth, though she omitted the minor detail of casually plagiarizing some academic achievements while in the library. Ahem, such unimportant things that didn't help solve the case naturally didn't need to be mentioned.
"Is that so..."
Silver Wing Locust naturally wouldn't believe her words so easily, but for now, what she said matched the scene conditions, and without evidence, there was no need for doubt.
Snap!
She snapped her fingers. Several agents of the Confidential Division in light gray overcoats emerged from the concealment of nearby shadows.
"Can the Category Two ritual [Retrospective Scrying] operate normally?"
"Director Silver Wing Locust, the ritual arrays are severely interfered with inside the Sun-Forging Spire. The images we obtained were highly fragmented, and the intense sunlight caused overexposure, making the specifics unrecognizable."
A Confidential Division agent placed a hand on his chest and bowed in apology.
"That's the most annoying thing about this damn ritual. It's too wasteful to use for minor matters, and ineffective for major ones..."
Although Silver Wing Locust's tone was displeased, this situation wasn't unexpected. Given the secret rank of the Sun-Forging Spire, such rituals were bound to be ineffective. However, she didn't expect it to be a complete waste this time.
"Forget it, bring those three survivors over. Internal members of the cult probably know some inside information."
"Yes."
The agent acknowledged the order and then brought the three somewhat disheartened survivors of the Sun-Forgers Cult to the main hall of the spire.
Silver Wing Locust slowly walked past the three, not hiding the scrutiny and examination in her eyes.
"Malz, librarian. You were on duty at the time of the incident, correct?"
"That's right, it was me."
Malz was an old man in his sixties. He looked dazed and exhausted, even walking lightly with a strong sense of unreality, as if he hadn't recovered from a great shock.
"Sigrid, a newly promoted senior artisan. At the time, you were studying the blueprint for a new sword's construction, so you simply stayed overnight in the library."
"Wuh..."
Sigrid didn't respond to Silver Wing Locust's inquiry, merely covering her face and letting out a dry, hoarse sob. Seemingly overwhelmed by grief, she could no longer control her emotions.
"Lastly, Anderson, the 'Falling Sun Rider' responsible for the security of the Sun-Forgers Cult. You were on patrol duty inside the library that day..."
Anderson's eyes were sunken, his golden hair almost entirely turned to scattered grayish-white. His condition was visibly poor to an extreme.
Colleagues and comrades-in-arms he spent day and night with, the cult he called home, the faith to which he had devoted his entire life... Who could remain unmoved when all these things collapsed in an instant?
"Secrets-Hunter crows, why are you investigating this? Have all those arrogant hunters from the Burial Court died off?"
"Before the special envoy from the Sun-Forgers Cult's main temple in Attilan arrives, everything here is under the full authority of us, these unpopular crows. This is the result of negotiations with your main temple. Please cooperate with our work."
Silver Wing Locust didn't mind Anderson's irritable tone, simply taking out a slender lady's cigarette and lighting it.
Her thin lips pursed lightly, her pretty face momentarily obscured by the rising smoke.
"Why should I trust you? How can you prove you're not deceiving me?"
"Falling Sun Rider" Anderson's face darkened slightly, not believing that the main temple would truly allow the Secrets-Hunters to intervene.
No matter what happened inside the Sun-Forging Spire, this was the cult's territory! Before the Forging Sun's presence, how could the many secrets be so casually exposed for others to pry into?
"Stay calm. Regarding this point... we have of course considered it."
Silver Wing Locust raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she had anticipated this. She took out a brooch set with a gemstone that shimmered with fiery red iridescence and seemingly tossed it to him casually.
The gorgeous gold filigree and the vibrant red carnelian traced a dazzling arc through the air, finally landing steadily in Anderson's hand.
"This... Hmm. This is indeed the main temple's token."
Anderson's gaze sharpened slightly, still seeming somewhat unwilling. But after exhaling a heavy breath, he fell silent, tacitly allowing the Confidential Division's investigation within the cult.
His rank within the Sun-Forgers Cult was equivalent to a Secrets-Hunter director, even slightly higher in terms of prestige and power. In such a situation, he should have taken command.
But since this lady from the Confidential Division had already made contact and obtained permission from headquarters, all he could do now was cooperate.
Seeing Anderson's attitude had changed, Silver Wing Locust began asking about the specific events.
"Now that we've reached a basic consensus, let's start the questioning with Mr. Anderson. Do you remember what exactly happened last night before you lost consciousness?"
"That day I was on night patrol. Passing by the library, I noticed Sigrid was still studying casting manuals, so I went to exchange a few words. Afterwards, I prepared to leave the room, and then at that time..."
Clearly, Anderson rubbed his temples, his brow deeply furrowed.
Clearly, his memory had reached the last moment before losing consciousness, requiring a bit of recollection to answer.
"At that time, I saw a massive surge of blazing light and heat flowing from both sides of the corridor, nearly covering my entire field of vision. So I instinctively stepped back and closed the door."
"Perhaps an explosion of volatile substances... Was it an out-of-control casting or an external attack?"
Vivian pondered for a moment, guessing the nature of the incident.
"Impossible!"
Before Silver Wing Locust could speak, Anderson resolutely denied this possibility.
"We possess the highest level of temperature control technology in all of Norlington, and there were no plans for forging dangerous castings recently. It's absolutely impossible for an explosion capable of killing all the faithful to occur. As for an external attack..."
Anderson let out a slightly disdainful sneer.
"Would anyone really use an 'explosion' to attack the 'Sun-Forgers Cult'? That would be truly hilarious."
"What he says isn't wrong."
Silver Wing Locust then explained the specific reasons and environmental details to her.
"Vivian, look. If there had truly been a violent explosion, the surrounding walls should show signs of shockwaves and fire scorching."
"I see..." Although the question was answered, Vivian still had doubts.
Since both denied the possibility of an explosion, why did Anderson earlier describe seeing "blazing light and heat" surging forward? These were typical explosion characteristics.
After a bit of thought, she gradually understood what the two were trying to convey... That is, what Anderson saw wasn't an explosive shockwave carrying flames and sound waves, but pure "light and heat."
"It seems you understand his specific meaning now."
Seeing Vivian's previously furrowed brow relax, Silver Wing Locust patted her shoulder encouragingly.
"Now let's go through the routine search process in each room. If that anomalous 'light and heat' came from some ritual, perhaps there might be residual ritual arrays... Then we could use that to decipher and deduce the truth."
She then gently stroked the smooth, sleek black feathers of the crow on her shoulder and slightly lowered the brim of her hat.
"By the way, let's also ask Haida and Dr. Fran what they learned from the other two witnesses."
"What does that mean? Aren't they right here?"
Anderson squinted his eyes, his expression turning somewhat strange.
He then looked back at the spaces behind him on either side. Apart from the silent shadows in the corridor, there was nothing. Even the doctor and the tall nun he had seen earlier had somehow left his sight.
"Separated interrogations? So... you suspect there's a heretic among us? Sigrid is the most diligent and devout artisan among the younger generation, and Malz has been a librarian since before you were born!"
His originally pale, almost withered face instantly flushed with a reddish heat akin to molten metal, as if in anger.
"Reasonable suspicion is a courtesy among Secrets-Hunters. Please adapt quickly, Mr. Anderson. We are merely impartially pursuing all 'possibilities.'"
Silver Wing Locust sensed the faint, scorching heat in the air, but simply smoothed her slightly disheveled crimson hair, her gaze calm.
"Hah..." Hearing this, Anderson's irritable mood and the surrounding temperature gradually cooled.
Even though his heart was troubled and restless, he had to admit Silver Wing Locust was right.
--
At the librarian's counter in the library, Haida sat opposite the librarian, Malz, on either side of a square table.
This grief-stricken man in his sixties intermittently recounted yesterday's events. Due to his advanced age and the exhaustion from the ordeal, he had to rest briefly every so often, but his narration was still relatively coherent.
"Sigrid was reading late as usual. It was already very late at night, and she was the last reader in the library. I prepared coffee and some biscuits for her... Afterwards, Anderson came in carrying a lantern. After a brief exchange, he prepared to leave, and then... it all happened."
Haida nodded slightly, her grayish-chestnut eyes calm like an ancient well without ripples.
"So, you and Sigrid were in the library the whole time, and Anderson came in later?"
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL