Another Clue

The four of them sat in Leonard's house, staring at each other.

They had suddenly found themselves with nothing to do.

Just a short while ago, they had been racing against the clock, unable to exchange more than a few hasty words on the go. Now, the four of them were abruptly left as mere onlookers. Dr. Sven had gone to inspect Leonard's condition in hopes of finding a cure through arcana, while Knight Terry had rushed off to trace the origin of the murder weapons. As for the four of them... they had simply been abandoned right there in Leonard's house in the southern corner of the city. The worst part was that neither Sven nor Terry had even realized it.

You can't just toss us aside after using us! That's completely unethical!

After exchanging blank stares for a few seconds with the two auxiliary soldiers who had been left behind to guard the crime scene, Lynch found the silence rather dull. The auxiliary soldiers looked thoroughly baffled, while Lynch awkwardly averted his gaze, pretending not to hear Miss Diana snickering beside him.

Meanwhile, Officer Natalie, who had received professional training, didn't snicker at all—she laughed out loud.

In truth, none of them actually blamed Dr. Sven or Knight Terry. If anything, they were somewhat moved by their reactions.

At the very least, it showed that those two genuinely wanted to protect this city—though, regrettably, they ultimately failed.

Why was all this happening now? What had actually taken place in real history? If those victims hadn't died at the hands of ghouls, then what about the ghoul invasion? That was an event that occurred normally in both tests, so it ought to align with history.

Lynch couldn't find answers to these questions just yet, but there was at least one thing he was certain of.

The crisis of the ghoul transformation was far from over, because the relic memory hadn't ended. Therefore, no matter who the mastermind behind the scenes was, they undoubtedly had further moves prepared.

“What do we do now?” Officer Natalie asked naturally. “Go back to Dr. Sven’s house and wait for news?”

“No, now isn't the time to stop. The culprit could launch the next attack at any moment,” Lynch said with a frown. “Kemitt and Leonard mean the first step of their ritual was a success. Furthermore, Leonard's existence proves that one can fall ill without even being injured. That means the perpetrator could create a second Leonard without any warning. Disaster could strike at any second.”

For a moment, the three ladies fell silent. That was indeed the biggest problem right now.

“And there's something I don't quite understand,” Lynch hesitated before continuing. “According to Mrs. Nightingale, creating an occult problem is an extremely complex matter, right? It requires defeating the wills of three evil gods in the same area at the very least. So why is there a plague here? Could this plague be just an ordinary epidemic and not an occult one?”

“You misunderstand, Mr. Lynch,” Miss Diana said. “What we experienced back then was a plague of the highest magnitude, triggered by an eruption of Divine Authority, unleashing maximum impact worldwide all at once. In reality, if one merely wants to create a localized occult plague, it isn't nearly that complicated. It can be achieved by utilizing the effects of certain mystery relics, or even using the worship of evil gods in tandem with secret concoctions and secret rituals. However, the simpler the process, the weaker the effects and range. Some are hardly different from a mundane epidemic, showing almost no trace of mystery.”

“I understand now.” Lynch nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder the plague here only shares nearly identical symptoms without features like airborne transmission or instant outbreaks across distances. It seems our era faced an enhanced, upgraded, advanced version of this. Still, the situation here holds great reference value for us. From that perspective, it seems we really ought to thank the Lord of a Billion Radiance for giving us such a golden opportunity.”

“So what now?” Natalie pressed. “Go find that mad old man?”

“No, that old man set our appointment for tonight, so there's no rush. If there were an emergency, he'd come looking for us himself. You can't apply common sense to people who mess with time and prophecy—just ignore him for now.”

Recalling Ms. Skye from the round house back in Wilson Town, Lynch shook his head. He stood up and looked at the sunlight outside the window, estimating it to be around three or four in the afternoon.

“I want to head outside the city first—exit through the South Gate. While we're at it, we can plant the last five fruits. By the time we return and feed yesterday's ten, the timing should be just about right.”

Norin's South Gate was not particularly bustling. South of the city lay a gravel wasteland with no farmland or roads, so very few people passed through. There was only a single official soldier wearing leather armor; the other three gatekeepers were all auxiliary soldiers.

A gravel wasteland was certainly unfit for planting human-faced fruit, yet Lynch looked as though everything were proceeding exactly as he had planned. He casually brushed off the gateguards with a few excuses and left the city.

Seeing through his obvious ulterior motive, Officer Natalie waited until they had cleared the gate before asking, “Is there something here?”

“They investigate the culprit and solve problems in their way, and we have ours. Working together from both ends is the fastest method,” Lynch said. “I think Leonard entered the city through the South Gate when he returned last night.”

“Hmm?” The three ladies were clearly unable to follow Lynch's train of thought, freezing in surprise. Officer Natalie asked in confusion, “I asked earlier—the capital is to the east. Shouldn't he have entered through the East Gate?”

“I just feel he came through the South Gate, so I came over to check,” Lynch said, suddenly flashing a mischievous smile and winking slyly. “How about a wager? If you lose, you have to—ow!”

Lynch hopped around on the gravel ground holding his right leg, feeling as though his toes had nearly split open. Caught between curious, probing gazes on one side and a terrifying 'say another word and I'll kill you' glare on the other, Lynch immediately chickened out and quickly changed the subject back to business:

“The murder weapons—he hid them in his own home. That proves he went home to hide them before delivering Kemitt to the barracks. Otherwise, carrying around such large murder weapons, no one in the barracks could have missed them unless they were blind. And if he had entered through the East Gate, sprinting through the city with a bloody Kemitt while taking a detour in the opposite direction to hide the weapons first would be completely unrealistic. So the most likely scenario is that he circled around to enter through the South Gate, hid the weapons at home on his way, and then proceeded to the barracks. Of course, it's also possible he did enter through the East Gate, having hidden the weapons outside before entering and retrieving them this morning, but—”

“That couldn't be,” Miss Diana interjected, her attention instantly diverted. “I noticed earlier that the woodpile where the weapons were hidden had fresh bloodstains on it. If he had hidden them this morning, the blood would have dried long ago and wouldn't have stained the woodpile. Besides, there wouldn't have been enough time—when we arrived, the city gates had only been open for a short while. But that raises another issue: others might not have realized he was suspicious earlier, so they assumed he entered through the East Gate. No one brought up the gate question, so even if the East Gate guards didn't see him enter, they wouldn't care if no one mentioned it. But if the South Gate guards saw him riding in through the South Gate, such a strange occurrence would definitely be questioned and reported. Not to mention he was carrying an injured man and murder weapons—there's no way the South Gate guards wouldn't have noticed...”

“And that is the biggest question,” Lynch sneered. “Why didn't the South Gate guards notice?”

“Either they were distracted by something, or... they're in on it together.”

Officer Natalie spoke with a grim face, voicing an answer that made the atmosphere grow heavy. Then, she suddenly grabbed Lynch's wrist and pointed at a spot on the ground near the low city wall.

It was a patch of light-colored ground, speckled all over with dark brownish stains.

Dried bloodstains.

The four exchanged glances, realizing that Lynch's deduction was very likely correct.

Those four guards at the South Gate were very likely involved.