Chapter 22 - Arson Case

 "Ha..."

I let out a sigh. It is what it is. I guess sitting still and waiting for the perpetrator to come to my feet was not in line with the approach of this voice.

'Go and find out something myself.'

I had already confirmed the voice's ability. There has never been a time where its instructions failed to aid me.

As long as it hinted towards any clues leading to the true culprit in some way, I had no reason to refuse.

The question now was whether the knights would allow me to tag along in their pursuit or not.

'Marvin probably won't mind, but the person in charge of the case is Eloise.'

I hadn't spoken to Eloise since the last time we bet on chess. She was still an uncomfortable person for me. But of course, I couldn't help but follow the voice's dictates.

“Excuse me, Sir Spencer.”

As I spoke, Amon paused his meal and directed his gaze towards me.

“May I accompany the others to the scene of the arson incident?”

“…Yes?"

It wasn't just Amon who was surprised. Marvin's eyes burst in surprise as he exclaimed.

“They Lady wants to go to the arson scene? Could it be, because it's my first case?!"

“Well…”

I smiled awkwardly at Marvin, who was unaware of my true intentions. Having sensed the unusual atmosphere, Amon stood up.

“Shall we head outside?"

I left my seat and followed after Amon.

He took the lead and headed towards a narrow-shaped room. It was a place I had never visited before, but I recognized it to be a location best for private conversation, looking at how cramped and completely blocked off it was.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your meal."

When I apologized, Amon shook his head.

“It's fine. More than that, what's on your mind? Why suddenly accompany the arson incident case?"

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how much I should tell him. I couldn't mention the voice, so I had no choice but to lie.

However, it would be nearly impossible for him to grant me permission in exchange for a lame excuse. Amon was extremely wary of putting me, who was not a member of the Templar Knights, into a dangerous situation. He seemed to bear full responsibility for my safety.

It would be difficult to convince him with just anything.

“Well… I think something is strange.”

"Strange?”

“I heard that the arson incident occurred a short distance away from the Bolev residence. I don't think it to be a mere coincidence.”

"That's true, however..."

Amon tilted his head.

“That would be a matter of probability. Usually, arson incidents transpire in downtown areas, and this location happens to be within the largest downtown area around here."

“Ah…”

“Wouldn't that be an answer to your concerns?”

It was a pretty solid response. It seemed like he wouldn't fold as easily as I had hoped.

I reached up to touch my forehead, deliberately avoiding his cold blue gaze.

"Lady?"

"Ugh…”

I scrunched up my face and closed my eyes.

“Actually, while I was listening to the arson incident earlier, something like an image came to my mind.”

"What? Do you mean regarding the Bolev case?”

"That's right. It's hard to pinpoint exactly, but something is bothering me…”

I blurted out such words and acted like my head hurt from the memories flooding back to me.

“Of course, nothing is certain. I don't even know what exactly it has to do with the Bolev case. But if there is even a slight possibility, wouldn't it be better to check it out?"

“But Lady, the arson case is not in my line of work. I cannot allow you to go without me.”

“It’s really fine. While I was listening earlier, Marvin claimed that they had already figured out a plan, and he said they would simply go undercover for a while and catch the culprit. I will just quietly watch from behind.”

The voice instructed me to accompany the case. It meant something would happen today that would be of assistance to me. As I persisted, Amon let out a deep sigh.

“If you say so…”

He glanced at me as if he couldn't help it.

“I will accompany you.”

“It's still summer, but it's good that nothing was dry, Lady. The fire didn't spread much.”

“Yes, that's true. What a relief."

As Marvin chattered away, I tried to tune out his words and focused on my surroundings. Cleon Street was familiar to me, as I had visited the Bolev residence multiple times in the past and had many memories associated with the area.

"Anyway, I didn't expect Lady to come with me."

I smiled awkwardly at Marvin's inquiry. I felt the same way.

Amon, who barely allowed me to accompany him, instructed me to stick close to Marvin. In other words, he assigned Marvin as my escort.

The problem was that since one of the two Templar Knights responsible for the case would be unable to fulfill their role, Amon stepped in to fill their place.

I got on my tippy toes and peeked into the distance. Amon was leading the group alongside Eloise.

Of course, Marvin and I were at the back of the crowd, making it difficult for us to catch sight of the two. The presence of the mercenaries and ordinary people cramped together, along with Amon's attempt to remain incognito in plain clothes, made it even harder for me to distinguish him.

"Lady, I think we should take another lap before heading for the shop."

"Yeah, got it."

Marvin suggested that we wander the streets a while more before arriving at our destination. The group of mercenaries couldn't remain on the roadside for a long period, so heading inside the store was an ideal solution.

However, crowding the store all at once would raise suspicion, so we at the end of the group decided to take one more lap and join the others later.

As we strolled about the alley, I asked Marvin a few questions that had been dwelling in my mind.

“When did you say the incident occurred?"

“Ten days ago.”

10 days… A week before Russell was murdered. No matter how much I pondered over it, the whole idea was brilliant. It was clear that this incident was involved in the Russell case. I just didn't know how or in what ways.

“What is the operation again? You said you were luring the culprit in, right?”

"Oh, actually…”

Marvin lowered his head and whispered in my ear.

“Didn't you hear that explosive materials were found at the scene? We spread the word to catch the trail of the culprit."

“You mean you spread rumors?”

"Exactly. That way, the culprit will return to the scene to retrieve their evidence. We just have to lie dormant and pounce on them.”

"How do you know you'll catch them today?"

“A few selected Knights guard the area near the general store, and they change personnel every three days. We are expecting that the culprit will sneak in during the time the knights are switching positions. If not today, then in another three days.”

No, it would probably be today. Otherwise, the voice wouldn't have asked me to accompany you.

“Of course, the shift ends by midnight, so you don’t have to be so nervous already.”

Despite his words, Marvin's expression seemed to be the most rigid as he glanced about his surroundings. I copied his movement and replied.

“Anyhow, there are a lot of people.”

"That's probably because the store used to be a vast shopping center. One of the largest general stores has been burned down. People seem to be more crowded on the streets nowadays because they have to stop by multiple places to retrieve things that could have been bought from one location."

“Is the burnt store the largest of general stores?”

"Right."

I did think the scene was rather huge.

Marvin explained.

“That is also the reason the food quality in our cafeteria has become a bit poor.”

"Yes? What does that matter?”

“We were also receiving deliveries from that general store. However, delivery was cut off for nearly two weeks, so food materials were naturally short in supply.”

"Ah…”

It appeared that the poor perception of nobles' towards the cafeteria food stemmed from this reason.

“So the Knights Templar also receives deliveries? That's interesting."

"Of course. As I said, it's a very large store, so they deliver to about anywhere near here.”

"Anywhere near here?"

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

"Wait… Did the Bolev duchy also receive deliveries from there?”

"That's right. Since it is nearby.”

Marvin nodded his head nonchalantly.

Could this form a connection between the two cases? However, the cut-off delivery and Russell's death felt so distant from each other. It didn't seem like the voice planned to help me anytime soon.

I was lost in thought when Marvin continued.

“Oh, come to think of it, that explosive material. It was discovered inside the cart containing goods intended for delivery to the Bolev residence."

"What did you just say?"

I unconsciously let out a shrill scream. Marvin seemed taken aback at my violent reaction.

“Why are you so surprised?”

"No… Isn't that a bit strange? The fact that the explosive materials were discovered inside the wagon headed for the Bolev residence implies that if they exploded just a little bit later, the Duke's house, not the general store, would have been burned down.”

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