TSWJ 13

 A Clue Hidden Among Their Belongings

As I’ve mentioned before, Pierce really gives off the impression of a respectable young man.

Put him in a school, and he’d be a prodigy. Put him in a company, and he’d be the star employee.

From the perspective of someone who had studied alchemy, he reminded me of the most beloved student in a research laboratory.

And today, my impression of him was updated.

He was indeed the most beloved student in the laboratory… but as it turned out, he was also a psychopath who regularly conducted insane experiments.

“The basement is surprisingly comfortable and pleasant, isn’t it?”

Looking at the utterly bleak gray walls, I had no choice but to stiffen my expression.

Where on earth are we going…?

“Watch your step as you come down. There’s no need to be too frightened. The basement is quiet right now, so you won’t hear any screaming.”

Which meant there had been screaming before.

“Oh, didn’t one of the guys yesterday say he saw a ghost down here?”

Which meant people were still screaming…!!

“Anyway, be careful. It’s dark.”

He took the lead, carrying a lamp.

I followed directly behind him—literally sticking as close to his back as I possibly could. I lost count of how many times the cold air brushing against me made goosebumps rise on my skin.

Fortunately, the corridor wasn’t very long.

At the end stood a firmly shut black iron door.

When Pierce opened it, I caught sight of Rashak’s back.

I couldn’t help flinching. Only then did I remember that Rashak hadn’t summoned us here.

Even if I was his secretary… interrogations involving torture were supposed to be confidential, weren’t they?

Was it really okay for me to just show up like this? I hadn’t even been working here for a full week!

While I was overwhelmed by those anxious thoughts, Rashak turned his gaze toward me.

The next moment, he asked a completely unexpected question.

“What time did you arrive at work?”

“N-nine o’clock. I arrived exactly on time…”

He smiled.

“Good job.”

It was a surprisingly bright smile, completely out of place in this bleak atmosphere.

It was equally out of place for the Rashak I knew from the original novel, so I couldn’t help flinching for a moment.

Honestly, though…

He really is handsome.

“So, how’s it going?”

Pierce approached and asked. Rashak clicked his tongue.

“Same as yesterday. They’re not saying anything.”

“All three of them?”

“All three.”

I followed Rashak’s gaze.

Beyond a massive glass window, a man was tied to a chair.

Standing in front of him was Mr. Fidel, the head of the assassination squad. Somehow, he looked even more terrifying from this side of the glass.

Wiping a bloodstained knife with a towel, he spoke.

“Apparently, he has no desire to die peacefully.”

Good grief.

I just want to go home today, too.

“What do you think, Hiel? Do you see anything?”

At Pierce’s question, I shook my head vigorously.

“N-no. Nothing at all.”

“Nothing like what happened at Sterling? You know, something that suddenly lights up?”

“No.”

At my firm answer, Pierce looked disappointed.

I turned my head and looked through the glass again.

The man tied to the chair was one of the pursuers who had chased me onto the rooftop last week.

You know, the mustached man who had been leading the group.

…His face is a complete mess, though.

It was covered in wounds, as if he had been treated rather roughly in here.

However, his tightly sealed lips made it perfectly clear that he had resolved not to say a single word.

Wait a moment. If he still hadn’t said anything, then…

“So, you still haven’t caught the actual spy inside the organization?”

Even after asking the question, I startled myself and hurriedly covered my mouth.

It seemed far too bold a question for a secretary who had only just started working here.

But Rashak didn’t look offended. Instead, he gave a small chuckle.

“That’s right. That’s the problem.”

His straightforward admission only made me more nervous.

I remembered what I had said to him last week.

“I think I may have caught the spies…”

I had originally caught some pursuers, but calling them spies had seemed more appropriate than saying, I caught the people who were chasing me.

Strictly speaking, the man before us was an underling sent by the spies.

Even so, I had used the word spies, and Rashak had paid me the promised one hundred million.

But the critical problem of identifying the actual spies remained unresolved.

Good grief…

It’s bothering me a little…

After all, I had already received the money.

I knew this was beyond my abilities, but I still felt uncomfortable about it.

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do right now.

I had learned interrogation techniques during my knight training, but I had never actually used them in the field. As for torture, I knew even less.

Isn’t there something I could do to help?

While I continued staring through the glass, an idea suddenly crossed my mind.

If I try that method…

However, I couldn’t bring myself to speak immediately. The chances of hitting a dead end were far greater than the chances of finding a useful lead.

Still, if there’s no other option…

I cautiously asked Pierce,

“Have you secured their personal belongings?”

His blue eyes immediately lit up.

His voice practically thundered through the room.

“You’ve thought of something again!”

“I’m not sure it’ll work…”

“You’ve thought of something! Haven’t you?!”

And then the same thing that had happened before repeated itself.

Uncomfortable beneath that sparkling gaze, I turned my head away.

Then Rashak looked at me.

Then Mr. Fidel, beyond the glass.

And even the mustached pursuer tied to the chair joined in, staring at me.

Aaah!

Desperately avoiding everyone’s eyes, I finally managed to answer.

“If we examine their belongings… there might be some clues.”

We arrived at a room somewhere in the basement.

“These are all the belongings we took from them.”

Various weapons were laid out on the table.

There were daggers, small bombs made through alchemy, powders that appeared to be poisons, bundles of folded banknotes, and even belts covered with numerous pockets.

Pierce asked,

“What are you planning to do?”

“Well… these three men were working together, right? They probably stayed in the same place before leaving it.”

Rashak, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“So you’re looking for traces they have in common on their belongings.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh! Then we might even be able to find their hideout. You’re like a detective!”

In a sense, it really was detective work.

Examining the suspects’ belongings—in other words, the physical evidence—was something I had also been trained to do during my knight training.

“Then… I’ll take a look.”

I carefully began examining the items.

This world didn’t have techniques like fingerprint analysis, but just in case, I put on a pair of gloves.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the daggers. They showed signs of frequent use, suggesting that their owners were fond of them, but they were otherwise remarkably clean.

I considered analyzing the poison, but that would probably take too much time.

Besides, I suspected Rashak might already be investigating that aspect, so I decided to leave it for now.

The small bombs were exactly what their name suggested: small, simple devices made using an officially established recipe.

Even if I dismantled them, there probably wouldn’t be any distinctive marks that identified their maker.

Then all that’s left are these belts.

I carefully opened one of the pockets attached to a belt.

The poisons, small bombs, weapons, banknotes, and everything else had already been removed, leaving the pocket empty.

I carefully examined the little crevices inside, running my fingertips through them to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

And when I finally withdrew my hand…

“Something’s stuck to your fingers, isn’t it?”

I nodded and picked up a glass dish from beside me.

A tiny amount of fine, pure white powder clung to the glass surface.

Wait, could this be that strange… suspicious… kind of drug…?

…Apparently not.

“I’ll check the other pockets, too.”

After secretly letting out a sigh of relief, I put on a fresh pair of gloves and examined the remaining pockets.

There was a small amount of powder in every single one.

In other words, all three men had spent time in a place where this powder was present.

My initial hypothesis had been confirmed.

“Can you determine whether it’s resin?”

“Yes.”

I immediately moved to the table beside us.

The alchemy equipment I had asked Pierce to prepare was waiting there. I selected a reagent and dropped a few drops onto the glass dish.

“A yellow… precipitate is forming.”

“That means it’s resin.”

“…That’s a little vague. Resin has so many different uses.”

Pierce frowned as he spoke.

He was right. Resin was used for all sorts of things, including shipbuilding, the maintenance of carriages and carts, printing, and woodworking.

However…

“It could be a special kind of resin.”

“A special kind?”

I separated the precipitate again and transferred it to a small dish.

“Yes. I’ll need to examine it more closely, but…”

At that moment, the tip of my finger accidentally brushed against the dish containing the precipitate.

Clink.

A small, clear ringing sound echoed through the room.

I froze.

Several tiny silver flecks mixed into the precipitate had begun to glimmer faintly.

Thinking I might have imagined it, I touched them again with my fingernail.

Clink.

The silver particles briefly shimmered like starlight before fading away.

This was…

“Resonance stones?”

“Resonance stones?”

“They’re minerals that react to sound.”

In response to Pierce’s question, I lifted the dish to eye level and examined the silver particles.

“They’re added to rosin used for high-quality string instruments. They’re also occasionally used as alchemical ingredients.”

“For string instruments…”

“Well done.”

Rashak smiled and gave a small nod.

“Pierce. Contact the intelligence squad and get me information on abandoned theaters throughout the capital.”

His eyes held the unmistakable glint of a hunter who had just found the missing piece of a puzzle.

“I’ll go to the site myself.”