The carriage entered the village we thought we’d never revisit. Fearing recognition, not only Sezan and Asrein but I too wore black robes. Upon dismounting the carriage, a figure wearing a deeply pulled hood emerged from a dark alley. Though initially wary of this suspicious person, they soon placed their hand on their chest and greeted us politely.

“I am Bishop, who serves young master Sezan. I regret that we meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

Though his face remained hidden, even the robe reaching his ankles couldn’t conceal his tall build. I immediately understood what Sezan meant by ‘reliable confidant.’ After the introduction, Bishop stepped back into the alley and said.

“The body has been temporarily placed in a borrowed empty stable. Don’t worry at all – we moved it disguised as cargo.”

Body. That short word sent tension coursing through my entire body once again. Bishop led the way, expertly choosing paths with few people, moving with the familiarity of someone who had lived in the village for years. Following quietly behind, Asrein asked in a low voice.

“Who first discovered the body?”

“A carpenter living in the village. He said he went to the lake to wet his throat while coming down after cutting wood near Bivrint Forest. That’s when he saw a faint shape in the water… At first he thought it was an animal carcass, but when he moved some stones with a long piece of wood, a man’s body with white foam at his mouth floated up.”

A foreign object dimly visible beneath the rippling surface. And a pale face slowly rising up. The scene played unbidden in my imagination, making me squeeze my eyes shut before opening them again. Unlike me, trying to compose myself while wiping my pallid face, Asrein remained calm.

“White foam… Poison?”

“At first I thought it was poison too, but when moving the body, I found a deep stab wound in the neck.”

A stab wound? The man I encountered in the forest had been completely unscathed when I saw him. Moreover, he had worn heavy plate mail below his head, making it difficult to get a knife in.

Still holding these doubts, we arrived at the stable, walled off on all sides. The only way to look inside was through a small wooden window. When we lifted the thin board blocking the door instead of a lock, the stable door opened with a creaking sound. Realizing I would soon have to see the dead person directly, I exhaled shakily. Asrein came close and whispered.

“You don’t have to look if you don’t want to.”

“That’s right, Tae-oh. Tell me what to look for and I’ll go check instead.”

Sezan also offered this considerate option. But when everyone was working hard to uncover the truth, I couldn’t step back just for my own comfort.

“No. I’ll look. That will be most accurate.”

Shaking my head firmly, I followed Bishop into the stable. In the space devoid of even ants, let alone horses, only a stark white cloth lay on top of a pile of straw. Though not even two days had passed since the body’s discovery, an unpleasant smell already stung my nose. Approaching with my sleeve covering my mouth, Bishop knelt on one knee and carefully lifted the cloth.

When he pulled down the cloth to the torso in one motion, the stab wound piercing the neck immediately caught my eye. The face, completely drained of blood, was nearly white, and no warmth remained in the dried, cracked lips. Though his eyes were closed, it was definitely the man I had met. Barely suppressing my nauseous stomach, I nodded with difficulty.

“…It’s him.”

Despite trying to appear composed, I couldn’t stop my legs from trembling. When I closed my eyes and turned my head, Asrein stepped in front of me, naturally blocking my view. Soon after, Sezan guided me to stand in front of the stable, gently patting my back. While calming my startled heart, I focused on their continuing conversation.

“Where are the clothes he was wearing? Was any weapon left in the vicinity?”

When Asrein asked these natural questions, Bishop hesitated to speak for a moment. Their attention turned to his questionable attitude before he spoke while covering the body again with the cloth.

“Forgive my presumption, but it was like this from the start.”

“…What?”

“He was already n*ked when the carpenter found him. And the dagger… he was holding it.”

Suicide? Bishop then testified that the dagger the man was holding matched exactly with the size of the wound. After checking the double-edged dagger himself, Asrein slowly nodded and left the stable.

“I’ll send a reliable doctor here soon. Let’s wait for the autopsy results.”

“Understood.”

Just before leaving the stable, footsteps approached from afar. Everyone became alert to the sound’s direction. The person who came running urgently wore a short tunic with a short sword at his waist. While I was confused by the unfamiliar face, I felt relieved when he called out “Young master!” Sezan stepped forward and asked what was wrong, to which he replied breathlessly.

“We- we found someone who talked with him on the night of the incident.”

“Let’s go right away. Lead the way.”

“Yes!”

Leaving the stable to Bishop, we followed the knight in the tunic. After moving quite far from the village center, we saw an inn with steam rising from its chimney. Though it looked ready to collapse at any moment, a sign clearly stated it was open for business.

When we opened the shabby door, cobwebs decorated every corner, and the smell of damp wood filled our nostrils. We could sense how long it had been since anyone had visited.

The innkeeper, who had been dozing with his chin propped up, woke at the sound of the door opening and spoke listlessly.

“Welcome.”

Blink, blink. The innkeeper with wrinkled eyelids observed the group wearing robes and muttered.

“…Not guests, I see.”

Despite his depleted enthusiasm, he showed quick wit. The last to enter, Sezan’s knight closed the door firmly and addressed the innkeeper.

“Remember what you told me earlier? Explain that in detail to this adventurer sir.”

I had suddenly become ‘adventurer sir,’ but that was safer. When Sezan placed a plump money pouch on the counter, the innkeeper cleared his throat loudly.

“Don’t know his name or age. But he was in an odd state from the moment he entered this establishment.”

“Odd state?”

“Ahem…! Said someone was chasing him. So I thought he was asking to hide and gave him a room.”

Someone was chasing him…. The poacher under the influence of hallucinogens had feared me, mistaking me for someone else. Was he truly being pursued? Or was it just delirious talk? Quietly stroking my chin, I addressed the innkeeper.

“Please show us to the room where he stayed.”

The innkeeper, having pocketed the money pouch, readily nodded and went up to the second floor. He took out one key from the bundle at his waist and opened the door. Despite broad daylight, the room where no sunlight entered held a damp atmosphere and the smell of mold. However, the innkeeper, seemingly unconcerned with our scrutiny, leaned against the creaking door and spoke indifferently.

“This is it.”

“Thank you.”

After the innkeeper descended, we thoroughly searched the room. We pushed aside the dusty drawer and even lifted the bed slightly to check underneath. But no traces emerged. Only a few crawling insects made our fruitless search less embarrassing.

While Sezan and Asrein scanned the room, I quietly went downstairs. The innkeeper, counting silver coins from the money pouch, turned with a start at my approach. Forcing a friendly smile, I asked in an agreeable voice.

“Say, sir. Was there anything suspicious about that person?”

“Hmm. Nothing particularly strange. He came in, didn’t want a bath or meal, then left at dawn.”

“Did he make any special requests before leaving?”

Like asking to deliver something to someone, or leaving something in safekeeping. Or warning not to enter the room. When I gave these examples, his face twisted strangely. The innkeeper, stroking his patchy beard, let out a short “ah” and said.

“Come to think of it, he did ask for something.”

“What was it?”

“Said the pillow was dirty and asked for it to be washed.”

“That’s… all?”

“Yeees.”

It seemed a simple and natural request. Though nothing particularly strange stood out, I asked just in case.

“So did you change it?”

“Hmm, no. Originally I pile up laundry in the yard connected to the back door and do it all at once when I set a day. But I got lazy about drawing water, so I just dusted it off and put it back.”

During his explanation, I noticed a small side door behind the counter, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Besides the front door, that back door was the only entry and exit point. He had asked for the pillow to be washed, then left and became a corpse… His death raised many suspicions. Just before heading back upstairs, having found nothing significant, the innkeeper tapped the counter and muttered.

“Hm? Come to think of it, strangely enough, several pillows went missing that day.”

…Pillows went missing? The moment I sensed something suspicious, I bounded up the stairs. Ignoring those still searching around the drawer and desk, I immediately pulled back the blanket.

“Tae-oh. What’s wrong?”

Though it might be mere imagination, my intuition felt sharper than ever. When I flipped over the pillow inside the blanket, I discovered traces of clumsy stitching. I grabbed the seam to open it, put my hand inside and thoroughly rummaged through the cotton. Finally, something unlike cotton touched my fingertips.

“…Found it.”

The pouch made of glossy purple fabric appeared quite expensive. I opened the pouch releasing a pungent cinnamon scent and emptied it onto the bed. Dried purple flowers fell out along with stone powder containing moisture and fragrance. After examining the contents, Asrein muttered quietly.

“It’s a Dehid flower sachet.”

Dehid…? The item mentioned in the Monster Encyclopedia as something the Sainur likes. So it was a flower. Moreover, I pondered why they would make a sachet specifically with Dehid.

At that moment, Asrein stared intently at the empty pouch rather than its contents. Eventually, he put his hand in and turned the fabric inside out, then saw ‘something’ and deeply furrowed his brow. When I hurriedly stood up, I saw a side view of a lion with a magnificent mane drawn on the pouch. Asrein, whose expression had noticeably hardened, put the sachet in his chest and immediately turned to leave.

“Professor! What is that…?”

Though I quickly tried to stop him, his response was cold.

“Keep everything you’ve seen and heard here to yourself. And don’t try to dig any further.”

With those words, Asrein left the inn. Even Sezan, whom I expected to share my confusion, seemed to recognize the pattern’s significance. Sezan, who had suddenly turned pale, followed Asrein out with his knight. Only I remained alone in the room, completely bewildered.

When I finally tidied up the room and left, the innkeeper sitting at the counter jumped up.

“Hey, young one.”

“Ah, yes, yes. What is it?”

“I just remembered what that fellow was muttering when he left.”

“What?!”

“I’ve been quite forgetful these days, you see.”

“Wh-what did he say?”

The innkeeper looked at a silver coin he had received from Sezan and recited with theatrical flair.

“He who obtains the fire shall obtain the world.”