"I've arrived!"
Arriving in the city of Mare, Maria gets out of the carriage and squints at the strong sunlight as she sits in her seat and stretches out her stiff body.
"But it took a long time."
"I'm sorry Maria, I could have come sooner if I could borrow a servant from my father..."
Prince Albert then came out of the carriage and offered an apology.
We all decided to go to the sea and left the royal capital about a week ago.
Even though I had a break in the city along the way, I had been rocked by the carriage all the time, and the fatigue I felt in my body was also reasonable.
If you can use Pegasus or other servants, it will only take about half a day, so Albert can't help but feel sorry.
"I wish His Majesty could be a little more flexible."
"In the first place, the servant is an important piece of equipment of the Knights, it can't be used for travel legs.
"Oh!? Then you should have asked your father!"
"Don't you know it's impossible!"
Leon and Julius, who came down next, start arguing.
The two sons of the kingdom's knights and vizier, respectively, seem to be incompatible and often fight like this.
However, there is no such stiffness as before, they are just playing with each other.
For a time, not only they but also the other reverse harem members were in a difficult state, but through Maria's persistent persuasion, they managed to reconcile.
You can frolic, but why don't you move first?"
The two are praised by Prince Wilhelm, the king's brother.
He is the only adult member of the group to accompany him as the person in charge of this trip.
Without him, this trip would not have been possible.
「... Maria, Iko?"
Leaving everyone in such a noisy place, a boy who looks frightened apart from them tugs at the hem of Maria's clothes.
The son of the head of the Kingdom Sorcerer, he and Gino are the only junior characters in the game.
Under the innocent superiority of such a younger boy, Maria, whose mental age was over 40 years old, including in her previous life, easily collapsed.
"Well, Leon guys seem to be busy, so let's go see the mansion first."
"yes...!"
""Aa
Maria pulled Gino's hand and he smiled slightly.
The two of them went straight to the prepared mansion, and Albert and the others, who had been left behind, realized that they had been outsmarted and hurriedly chased after them.
"Anyway, there are various shops."
Once Maria and the others had left their luggage at the mansion, they decided to look around the city for the time being.
The sun was already setting because it was late when she arrived, but Maria looked with interest at the still bustling city.
"This area is for nobles from outside, does Maria have anything she wants?"
"Hmm... I'm here and I want a swimsuit."
Maria answers Albert's question while remembering the scenario of the game.
Certainly, if you went to a swimsuit store in this city, an event must have occurred.
It's a simple event to catch the voyeur shopkeeper, but whether you do this event or not will have a big impact on the next chapter, so be sure to do it here.
"Mi, swimsuit!? Well, around here..."
However, Albert, who does not know Maria's intentions, is upset and his eyes swim.
Certainly, going shopping for a swimsuit together may be quite a hurdle for him.
"If it was a swimsuit store, it would have been on the street over there, I'll show you around."
"Thank you, Julius!"
"Gununu..."
Julius, who did not let go of such a small gap, takes Maria's hand, and Albert bites his teeth.
Enjoying Albert's reaction, Maria headed to the store.
"Huh... What's this?"
Julius led her by the hand, and Maria was stunned when she arrived at the shop.
The knights stood in front of the target shop and blocked it, and there was a large crowd around it.
The somber atmosphere blows away the buoyant mood I had been feeling before.
"What the hell is all this fuss about?"
"Oh, nobles, no, it seems that the owner of this shop was killed."
"What...?"
When Albert asked the assembled people about the situation, Maria's thoughts stopped at the reply.
There would have been no such event in the game.
Also, the next event proceeds by listening to information about the criminal organization from the shopkeeper who was originally caught here, but this is a messy scenario.
「... What do you mean?"
I try to work my blank head, but I don't understand the meaning.
It is true that the scenario has changed several times due to Maria's own actions, but this is the first place she has been to, and Maria has not done anything yet.
But how is it possible that the scenario could be so seriously affected?
"Hmm, is Maria still curious?"
"Well, yes, I'm afraid of murder in such a peaceful city."
Perhaps misunderstanding Maria's contemplative appearance, Albert looks into Maria's face worriedly.
Maria was confused, but she couldn't tell Albert and the others the truth, and managed to get away with it with an appropriate excuse.
"Alright, Maria, wait here, I'll ask the knights about the situation."
"Your Highness, I will accompany you."
"Then I'll go too, because my knowledge as a doctor will be useful."
Albert is followed by Leon, his bodyguard, and Wilhelm, a doctor.
The presence of these two people will be enough.
"I'm sorry, you two ask for Maria."
"Leave it to me."
"Okay..."
Leaving Maria to the other two, Albert and the others decided to clear the crowd and talk to the knight in front of the shop.
"I'm sorry, I want to tell you a little about the situation."
"So, Your Highness!? Please wait a moment, I'm calling the captain now. Taicho!"
If you call out to the knight standing in front of the store, the knight, surprised by the prince's presence, rushes into the store and brings the captain, a middle-aged knight.
"Oh? What, at this busy time... Your Highness!? Why are you here?"
"I'm sorry, I heard that a murder had taken place and came to ask about the circumstances."
"Anyway, that's it here, so please go inside."
The captain who came out with the knight suddenly appeared and his eyes went blank at the royal, but he quickly regained his composure and led Albert and the others into the shop.
"Hmm, I heard that a murder occurred, but the inside of the store is quite beautiful."
Albert looks around, but there is nothing particularly strange about the colorful swimsuits on display in the store.
"It's not here, it's the space for employees in the back."
"Can you show me?"
You'd better stop, it's hell. If I see something like His Highness, I'll collapse."
Apparently, the scene is in the back room, and he asks to be shown, but the captain frowns and refuses.
"Are you trying to say I'm weak?"
"I didn't say that, I just..."
Albert, whose pride as a man was hurt by this remark, bites into it, but the captain scratches his cheek in annoyance with a troubled face.
"Then it's okay, I've been through some shambles. I won't be upset by a few things."
I'll show you if you say that, but if you feel sick, get out of the house right away."
"Okay, show me around."
Finally guided by the defeated captain, Albert and the others step into the back room.
"Uh...!?"
As soon as he entered the room, which was sealed by a barrier, the smell of blood hit his sense of smell, and Albert couldn't help but groan.
"What, this..."
Albert and the others witnessed a sea of blood that spread all around them and countless scattered remains of human limbs.
And the main body lying in the center of it was brutally stripped out of its contents and was dying.
"Ugh..., ugh...!"
"Your Highness!?"
At the horrific scene, Albert suppresses his mouth and kicks him on the spot.
I desperately endure the sensation of something sour rising from the depths of my stomach, but the scene I saw earlier is burned into my mind and I can't leave.
Leon is outside with Albert, which is too stimulating for you."
"I'm sorry, I'll leave the rest to you."
When Leon sees Albert leave the room, Wilhelm approaches to check on the corpse while wearing gloves.
"No wonder, all our young people have seen this scene, is Lord Wilhelm okay?"
"Well, I'm used to seeing corpses in my profession, so I haven't seen them this bad in a long time..."
"Well, a corpse devoured by a demon wouldn't be this bad either."
Exchanging words with the captain, Wilhelm checks the condition of the corpse.
The corpse shows no trace of witchcraft and is rarely stabbed by a sharp knife – probably a knife based on the depth of the wound.
(Is it incapacitated by taking away the magic stone that serves as a catalyst in the first place...)
There are signs of resistance, but there is little evidence of fighting in the room.
Perhaps it was run over unilaterally.
Based on the equipment that remains, this victim was probably a sorceress of her own.
Who is the culprit who overwhelmed it so much?
"Do you have a star for the culprit?"
"That's not at all."
"Not at all... Is it?"
Even the Knights are not incompetent.
Especially since this city is an important stronghold of the kingdom, the knights placed there are more elite than in other cities.
I don't think they have any clues at all...
"Uh... It is certain that there was someone other than the victim in this room, but no trace was found. I guess they destroyed the evidence, but there's nothing you can do about it if it's made so perfect."
The captain shook his head as if to give Wilhelm a hand.
Even so, it seems that the criminal is a very troublesome person who can completely destroy evidence.
"I feel like I can narrow it down to that many people, but is there anyone who has a grudge against the victim?"
I'm embarrassed to say that this guy was wanted five years ago in the royal capital for dabbling in a noble lady. It seems that he was hiding in this city and voyeurizing by setting up a recording crystal in the changing room."
"Voyeurism, isn't it..."
"Yes, and I heard that they were connected as a criminal organization and sold the videos behind the scenes, and many of them must have been victims of the crime."
Wilhelm certainly knows that such crimes exist.
However, I was surprised that such a thing was being done in such an ordinary store.
"I see... Could it be the revenge of the victimized nobles, or the wrath of the criminal gangsters and get rid of them?"
"All I know is that this guy had a lot of resentment."
"Is that so..."
Yes, this victim has countless wounds, but the direct cause of death is that he was decapitated at the end.
In the meantime, the victim is believed to have been alive.
Perhaps the perpetrator did not kill the victim immediately, but deliberately dismembered her body with the aim of inflicting despair and pain.
How much resentment did the perpetrator have against this victim man?
"Hmm?"
The investigation was not good, but as he examined the corpse to see if he could somehow find any evidence that could lead to the culprit, Wilhelm felt a slight discomfort with the scars.
However, I don't know the true nature of the discomfort.
"I haven't seen anything like this since 20 years ago."
"Ah, the last war with the Empire?
Wilhelm looked up at the captain's muttered words.
Looking at the sea of blood that spreads all over the place, the things that were human beings scattered around you, it is no wonder that this scene reminds you of that hellish war.
"Oh, was His Highness also on that battlefield?"
"I was just in the back as a medical team."
Peace is now being made, but the Empire, then the kingdom's nemesis, waged war almost every year.
What seemed to end the year as a mere skirmish quickly turned into a quagmire and caused enormous damage to both countries.
The cause is still unknown.
However, the kingdom lost many excellent nobles such as the Duke of Azurite, who was the commander of the royal knights at that time, and the empire also lost many lives.
As a result of that war, peace was made between the two countries, but Wilhelm, who was a member of the medical team at the time, still remembers the terrible battlefield.
(Yes, this is the same wound I saw then.) Wounds caused by the Imperial Magic Tools──)
"——!"
The moment he came to the idea, Wilhelm first doubted his sanity.
There is a certain person who uses magic tools,
Commoners.
So who did this?
Did a mere commoner kill a nobleman, even a former kingdom sorcerer?
"It can't be..."
He spits out denial, but the evidence in front of him proves that the idea is not wrong.
All the wounds inflicted on this corpse were caused by blades enhanced with the same magical power.
Magic tools have a weak output but always emit a certain amount of magical power.
If you are a living nobleman, your magic will inevitably be uneven, but the wounds on this corpse do not have that.
In the first place, if you are a nobleman, you can use your own magic without relying on such magic tools.
"Did you find out anything?"
「... No, nothing. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"Well, that can't be helped, thank you for your cooperation."
"Uh..."
In the end, Wilhelm was unable to convey this idea to the knight in front of him.
I thought it was ridiculous, and I didn't think people would believe me when I told them.
── But
(What if there were commoners who could kill nobles?)
It will be a natural enemy of this country.
The nobility of this country is in the position of ruler simply because he is strong.
The strength of the supernormal power of magic and the commoners are in awe, which is why they honor the nobility as heavenly beings.
Overturning that common sense Unusual existence(irregular) I can't imagine how much it will affect this country.
「...」
There is no confirmation anywhere, it's all a delusion.
But Wilhelm felt a cold sweat run down his back.
Name: Gino Margus
Gender: Male
The son of the head of the Kingdom Sorcerer, he is the heir of the Margus family, which has produced excellent magicians.
He is a genius born with enormous magical powers and a talent for magic from birth, but on the contrary, his brother was born without any magical powers.
As a result, his brother was stripped of his nobility and exiled at a young age, and he became terribly afraid of getting involved with anyone, neglecting his power.