"First, we need to determine how they managed to steal the item," Lynch said, tapping the box thoughtfully. "You mentioned earlier that this evil god's authority includes teleportation?"
"Correct. However, I have been holding the box the entire time, and it has never left my person. For anyone to use an ability on the box is equivalent to using it on me. It would have to pass through a confrontation with me first, and it would be impossible for me not to notice."
"I see. Yet the event has indeed occurred. Are you truly certain it never left your person? Not even for a moment?"
"Hm? Please do not question my loyalty to the Goddess."
Knight Rick's expression turned solemn:
"I swear by my loyalty to the Lord that I would never lie to shirk responsibility. I followed the escort procedures throughout the entire journey and never let go of the cargo."
"You misunderstand, Knight. I am not questioning your honesty. In fact, I only became a Soul Severer five days ago, so my knowledge of the mystery world is quite shallow; I am merely analyzing this according to standard logic," Lynch said, looking at the large ships docked by the pier. "My method of investigation is to pick out every unreasonable detail, find the cause for each, and finally string all those reasons together. That provides the final answer to the case. For instance, I am currently considering the attack from earlier."
Knight Rick frowned, looking at Lynch with questioning eyes.
"The probability of two separate groups targeting this ship at the same time is not very high. Theoretically, the attack and the theft were likely the same incident. But if they planned to steal the item quietly, there would have been no need to cause such a commotion. Moreover, deploying dozens of seabirds and three river porpoises—the explosives alone would not be cheap. Even crazy cultists, when faced with the cold reality of Lande pounds, would not be so reckless. Therefore, this attack should not exist, unless..."
"Unless it was essential?"
Knight Rick looked at Lynch with surprise, realizing that the man had straightened out his own train of thought in just a few sentences.
"Exactly. That is my judgment. The next step is to reexamine the events from earlier and see where the problem lies. But unfortunately, I know nothing about the attack, the water thieves, or the escort process, so I fear I cannot help you find the key to the problem. You... hm? Did you think of something?"
Lynch noticed that Rick's face had suddenly turned ashen, and his breathing had become ragged.
"I have failed the Goddess's trust. I did indeed let go of the transport box."
Rick hung his head, his fists clenched, his voice trembling and low:
"When I was hiding the ship, because I was transporting a holy memory, the mystery level was too high. If I remained integrated with the holy memory, my abilities would be interfered with and could not possibly function. So, I had to let go of the box, sever my connection with the holy memory, and use a circuitous method to integrate everything with the ship to hide it. During that time, the cargo was always at my feet, but... but I did let go of the cargo for those few seconds."
It seemed they had found it. Lynch and the Archbishop exchanged a glance and nodded at each other.
"The first question should have an answer now. They investigated you, understood your abilities, and forced you to use them through several fire attacks, seizing the chance to steal the cargo. So, the next question is: how did they seize those few seconds of opportunity..."
"No, it was not just a few seconds," Knight Rick stated firmly. "Once my ability takes effect, they would never be able to find the target again. So, the only time they could act was during the interval between me putting down the box and the ability taking effect."
"About how long?"
Knight Rick thought for a moment, then suddenly picked up the empty box, knelt on one knee, set it down, and pressed his palm against the ground.
"Just like this. Less than a second."
"You said earlier that if they had teleported while you were controlling the cargo, you would have sensed it. So, their timing must have been extremely precise. They could not have acted in advance, or you would have discovered them, right?" Seeing Knight Rick confirm this, Lynch pursed his lips, recalling knowledge he learned when studying for his driver's license back home. "Human visual perception and the subsequent reaction to consciousness have limits. Less than a second is already beyond the reaction limit. Even if one were staring right at it, it is unlikely one could react in time. I am not an expert, but can this level of precision be achieved with abilities like prophecy?"
"Impossible. Perhaps some people can increase the accuracy of prophecy to one hundred percent, but achieving precision down to the second is impossible. There are too many interference factors involved in specific timing; there is simply no way to get an accurate result. Even divine oracles can only be specific to the hour."
Lynch frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "If prophecy is impossible, are there any other ways to measure time so precisely? Down to the second..."
"No, there is one more way." Rick suddenly widened his eyes, nearly shouting. "After my ability takes effect, the target does indeed not exist from an external perspective, but the ship is an exception. For those on the ship, everything is normal except for the surroundings becoming somewhat illusory, and the target remains present."
"I see. A few seconds, while still short, is much longer than less than a second. And the perpetrators would know exactly when it starts and ends, without worrying about being discovered by you if they acted too early." Lynch tapped his palm with his fingers, his eyes narrowing and flickering. "So, at the time of the incident, there must have been an insider on the ship, though it is also possible they teleported on temporarily."
Rick looked grim and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I would rather believe someone teleported on."
"Hm?"
"The escorts are all senior priests, and the sailors participating in the transport are all devout believers. Their faith has been tested; it is impossible for them to be fake," Rick explained. "Besides, during the time of the incident, the sailors were all on deck preparing to dock. You should have seen them too. They could not have had time to do anything else. I... no, that is not right."
Rick seemed to remember something; his expression changed abruptly. He called over the officer who had been giving orders when they docked and asked a few questions in a low voice. The officer's expression also grew tense. He immediately signaled several sailors, and the group ran toward the gangway.
Lynch knew something was wrong. Seeing Archbishop Trinlais signal him to stay and guard the cargo, he felt relieved to follow them.
"Did you find something, Knight?" Lynch sprinted, barely managing to keep up with the sailors and Rick.
"Not everyone was on deck." Rick ran back onto the deck along the gangplank without looking back. "There were two people still in the infirmary."
"Hm?"
"Two sailors had unexplained diarrhea last night and eventually fell into a coma. The captain had them placed in the infirmary to rest, planning to ask priests from the Hall of Suffering to help diagnose them later, so they did not participate in the battle earlier. If there was anyone on the ship secretly sabotaging things, it could only be them—especially since no one had the time to pay attention to their actions during the battle."
The group quickly ducked into the stairs below deck. The infirmary door was right at the bottom of the stairs. The officer kicked the cabin door open, and the group immediately let out a sigh of relief.
The two patients were already sitting up, looking in surprise at the intruders.
"You two..."
Just as the officer was about to walk over, his arm was pulled back by Lynch and Rick simultaneously. The next moment, the heads of the two sailors suddenly exploded like watermelons, and blood sprayed out like a fountain, surging wildly throughout the infirmary.
Rate on N.U.
