Beginning the Investigation

Speaking in partially broken, halting language, the five of them chatted until midnight.

Dr. Sven was in quite good spirits, seemingly unperturbed by the ghoul attack on the messenger. Perhaps at this stage, she merely viewed it as an ordinary dark incident—an attitude likely shared by most people here.

Through this conversation, however, Lynch and the other three gained a preliminary understanding of the city's sole doctor—or healer, to use the terminology of this era.

Ms. Sven was an arcanist, and a fairly skilled one at that. According to the estimates of Diana and Judy, who both possessed some knowledge of arcana, her strength was roughly equivalent to a rank two or three Soul Severer. By the standards of the Fifth Age, that was relatively low, but in the context of the Third Age, it would count as mid-tier combat power even in a major city.

She had begun traveling across the two continents with her mentor at the age of fourteen, resolving issues with various heteromorphs and cultists while helping many people along the way. After her mentor succumbed to illness during their journey, she saw the expedition through to the end according to their itinerary. At twenty-nine, she returned to the Seler Republic to care for her aging father. Yet perhaps because she had been away for too long, her father was unwilling to spend much time with her, treating her coldly every time they met and repeatedly telling her to get lost and never return to Noran.

Over those fifteen years, she had long grown accustomed to the outside world. That was precisely why she had warmly invited Lynch and his companions to stay when she saw them arrive from afar, feeling an instinctive affinity toward them and choosing to overlook any subtle oddities they occasionally displayed.

Fearful of giving themselves away, Natalie and Diana feigned a language barrier and spoke very little. Lynch, on the other hand, drew upon architectural details, combined customs from his original world's medieval era, and blended them with the historical background of the Fourth Age to spin lengthy tales of Middle Earth's local customs and geography. He deliberately embellished these stories, ensuring that even if he slipped up somewhere, it would merely be dismissed as boasting with a laugh.

All in all, they got along quite well. Not only did they close the distance between them, but through calculated subtlety, Lynch managed to extract a substantial amount of information about the city without drawing suspicion.

Deep in the mountains beside the small city, there had indeed always been a ghoul tribe. But since Dr. Sven had returned less than two years ago, there were many details she wasn't privy to, so her lack of answers when Lynch probed earlier had been genuine. What was certain, however, was that ever since the ghouls began wandering around the city's perimeter, the majority of the townsfolk felt a degree of panic. This was a normal reaction, which at least suggested there was no widespread collusion with the ghouls among the populace.

After their talk, the four were certain that events here had indeed undergone significant changes.

The attack on the messenger today had put the knights under the city lord on high alert. Previously, people had only spotted ghouls lurking nearby without any overt aggression, and sending for reinforcements had merely been a contingency. But now that casualties had occurred, preparations were mandatory. The patrol Diana and Judy had spotted earlier was part of these defensive measures.

Though Lynch had mentally prepared himself, confirming this still left him feeling somewhat uneasy. Having lost his greatest advantage—foreknowledge—he would once again have to rely entirely on his own efforts.

Then again, when haven't I had to struggle and scrape by in dire straits? A challenge of this level is hardly enough to faze me. At the very least, Dr. Sven can be ruled out as the instigator behind the scenes, giving us a secure rear base to rest properly and get through the first night.

As for the investigation, that would have to wait until tomorrow.

This was Lynch's first time spending the night inside a mystery relic's memory, and he couldn't shake a lingering sense of unease. At times, he found himself missing the soft bed and sun-warmed, crisp blankets on the second floor of 221 Villa Avenue; at other times, he wondered what the two ladies in the rooms to his left and right were doing. Drifting through these wandering thoughts, he finally succumbed to a dazed sleep.

Whether due to interference brought on by his high inspiration or a lack of psychological resilience, dreams plagued him incessantly throughout the night. The content of his dreams was completely different from what he had anticipated—there was not a single ghoul element. Instead... he couldn't even make sense of what he was seeing, only witnessing an endless expanse of twisted light and shadow.

Bizarre, surreal, and kaleidoscopic.

These shifting colors and shapes did nothing, simply existing there, utterly indifferent to Lynch's will. Yet Lynch keenly sensed that hidden within the light and shadow were countless eyes, staring at his every movement with cold, untainted gazes that traversed boundless time and space.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The eerie stares were ubiquitous, fixed relentlessly upon Lynch every single second. He had no idea how long this torturous, distorted nightmare had lasted when the sound of countless people clashing brass gongs seemed to ring in his ears.

Wait, that's not right.

Lynch snapped his eyes open. Daylight streamed through the window; the first night had passed without incident.

The relentless thudding did not vanish with the departure of the dream. As his sluggish mind slowly whirred back to life, Lynch finally realized that someone was banging on Dr. Sven's front door.

Someone at the door so early in the morning? Did something happen?

Slapping his cheeks vigorously to shake off the grogginess, Lynch swung his legs out of bed and reached out to grab his cane—only to clutch empty air.

Right, canes aren't fashionable in this era. Blood's Temptation was put away inside Miss Diana's bracelet.

Stepping out of the bedroom, he found the ladies also emerging from their respective rooms, bleary-eyed with sleep. The moment they saw Lynch, the three women froze in shock and nearly shrieked aloud before remembering where they were, looking slightly embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sven had already rushed downstairs to open the door, and the sound of urgent, rapid conversation drifted up.

“What are they saying?”

“I'm listening.” Judy gestured for quiet, retreating to the corner of the staircase to listen intently for a moment. “He said Kemitt is dead.”

What? The messenger who was injured yesterday died?

Lynch's expression darkened, a headache brewing behind his temples.

This man was the direct embodiment of the variables cropping up in the situation, carrying immense symbolic significance in occultism. Events surrounding such a person often concealed intricate, complex connections, especially concerning critical matters of life and death.

His death was definitely not simple.

Before Lynch could ponder further, Dr. Sven turned around and hurried back toward Lynch and the others.

“I need to head out. Kemitt has passed away, and his body is at the barracks. I must go take a look.”

“Didn't you say his condition started improving last night? Did his injuries take a sudden turn for the worse?”

“More than just improving—he was already showing physical responses last night, which was a sign that he was about to wake up,” Dr. Sven explained naturally, harboring no guard against the four of them. “He died suddenly this morning. He might have regained consciousness right before he died, and he reportedly had a look of sheer terror on his face.”

Lynch frowned. “What was the cause of death?”

Dr. Sven gave a subtle, grim expression. “That's exactly what I want to find out, which is why I need to go inspect him. I suspect his death wasn't as simple as a relapse of his injuries. It's very possible something killed him. We need to examine him as soon as possible.”

It seemed their thoughts aligned. Exchanging glances with the others, Lynch offered, “May we come along with you? Would that be convenient?”

“There's nothing inconvenient about it. I'll just introduce you as acquaintances from my travels in Middle Earth. No one in the barracks would dare stop guests I bring along. But why do you want to go?”

“If we don't uncover the truth behind his death quickly, panic might spread throughout the city. If that ends up disrupting the harvest, our entire trip will have been for nothing,” Lynch explained smoothly. “Besides, we come from major cities and have seen a bit more of the world than the locals here. Perhaps we might be able to help. Two heads are better than one, after all.”

“Very well, but you had better brace yourselves mentally,” Dr. Sven said in a low voice. “I've heard the corpse's condition is exceptionally bizarre. Don't let it terrify you.”

A chill ran down Lynch's spine as he nodded cautiously.