After that, Duanmu Huai and Olgis were taken to a church and temporarily detained… but Duanmu Huai didn't mind, since he did need to figure out what was going on in this city. The priestess girl named Lorena didn't hide anything and quickly explained the situation to him.
It turned out that a series of murders had been occurring recently in the holy city, causing panic among the residents. According to survivors who had encountered the assailant, they all described the killer as a doll-like girl with silver-white hair. As a result, the holy city had been actively investigating and searching for the culprit during this time…
"A doll-like girl with silver-white hair?" Duanmu Huai frowned upon hearing this. "So you suspect Olgis did it?"
"I'm very sorry, Sir. We truly hope that's not the case… but your companion does match the witnesses' descriptions." Lorena bowed politely.
"That's fair." Duanmu Huai spread his hands helplessly. After all, the description was far too specific—and it just so happened Olgis fit it perfectly.
"However, we didn't do it."
"Then how will you prove that?" Lorena asked.
"I don't need to prove anything." Duanmu Huai shook his head. "It's quite simple to verify we're not the culprits. If we stay here, and another murder still occurs, then obviously it has nothing to do with us, right?"
"This…"
It had to be said, Duanmu Huai's logic genuinely caught Lorena off guard. She excused herself briefly, then returned and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, then we'll proceed as you suggest. If another murder happens, it will confirm that the two of you are innocent. But until then, please remain here and do not act on your own."
With that, Lorena turned and left. Duanmu Huai then looked over at Olgis.
"A doll-like girl with silver-white hair… Olgis, do you have any impression?"
"No…" Olgis quietly shook her head. "I'm the only one Father created."
"Hmm… that's true…" Duanmu Huai stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Even so, for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that while Olgis hadn't committed the crimes, this incident wasn't entirely unrelated to her either. It wasn't based on evidence—just a certain intuition…
So, for now, he chose to wait and see.
And the change came even sooner than Duanmu Huai expected.
That very night, Lorena returned to their cell, bowing with an apologetic expression.
"I'm truly sorry. This was all a misunderstanding. You're both free to go."
"So, another murder happened?" Duanmu Huai asked calmly.
"Yes, the Church is currently tracking the murderer, but it's already confirmed that the case has nothing to do with you two. I'm truly sorry for the way you were treated…""No, that's not important, Miss Lorena." Duanmu Huai waved his hand dismissively. "If possible, could you take us to the crime scene?"
"Huh?" Lorena was stunned by Duanmu Huai's sudden request. "This…"
"Olgis was mistaken for the murderer, which means we're not entirely unrelated to this incident, are we? In any case, we want to do our part and get to the bottom of what really happened."
"...…" Lorena was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Please, follow me."
Led by Lorena, Duanmu Huai and Olgis left the church, made their way through the streets, and soon arrived at the crime scene. The area had been completely cordoned off by knights, and a thick stench of blood hung in the air.
Duanmu Huai quickly spotted the victims—their bodies had been cut into pieces, with severed limbs strewn across the ground. Seeing the grisly scene, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but glance at Olgis again. If he hadn't been with her all day, he might have suspected her too.
Not only did the culprit look similar to Olgis, but even the style of combat was eerily alike…
Olgis herself stared silently at the carnage, visibly taken aback and deep in thought.
Lorena stepped forward and began explaining. According to surviving witnesses, the victims had been on their way home after a night of drinking and celebration when they encountered a girl walking alone. Fueled by alcohol and bravado, they began flirting with her—only to be violently dismembered moments later.
The girl then calmly walked away, leaving the few who hadn't approached her screaming in horror. Their cries attracted the patrol, who then secured the crime scene.
"That's the sequence of events."
"I see. Then, can you bring those survivors here?" Duanmu Huai suggested without hesitation. "Since they saw the doll-like girl, they should be able to confirm her identity in person, right?"
Lorena found his idea reasonable and quickly instructed the knights to bring over the trembling young men.
At first, the men behaved relatively normally—but the moment they caught sight of Olgis standing beside Duanmu Huai, they immediately shrieked and collapsed in fear.
"It's her! That demon—it's her!!"
The knights reacted immediately, raising their weapons and pointing them at Duanmu Huai and Olgis.
"Enough! Calm down!" Lorena shouted, trying to restore order. "Are you absolutely sure it was her?"
"I-I'm sure! It's her, it's her!!"
"Are you certain?" At that moment, Duanmu Huai stepped forward and loomed over the frightened men, eyes cold and sharp as he stared them down.
Looking at the tall warrior in terrifying power armor, the young men trembled even more in fear.
"Look closely. Are you sure the person you saw looked exactly like her?" Duanmu Huai gestured for Olgis to step forward.
Obediently, Olgis walked in front of the group. Seeing her up close, the young men shuddered again—but after a moment of hesitation, they realized she wasn't making any threatening moves. Slowly, they opened their eyes and nervously examined the doll-like girl before them.
"Well?" Duanmu Huai pressed.
"...…" The young men exchanged uneasy glances before one of them cautiously replied, "She's a bit… different…"
"In what way?" Duanmu Huai asked.
"Well… her clothes. That doll was wearing a white dress… and her hair—it was messy, not tied in a ponytail like this. And also…"
At that point, the young man paused, glancing warily at Olgis. "The feeling… she gave off a different feeling."
"Feeling?"
"Yes… that doll felt crazy. Like she had some kind of mental issue…"
A doll with mental problems? Duanmu Huai and Olgis exchanged glances, both clearly confused by that statement.
After dismissing the witnesses, Duanmu Huai led Olgis aside.
"Olgis, what do you think?"
"I don't know, Master… This confuses me greatly. I do not understand… why a doll's mind would be abnormal…"
"Hmm… I can imagine." Duanmu Huai nodded, unsurprised by her response.
From the start, Olgis had always given off a robotic, methodical impression—she had her own logic, but she lacked understanding of human emotion and reasoning. However, based on the witnesses' description, that other doll was clearly different.
Of course, this wasn't entirely impossible. Just as with a robot uprising, the cause wasn't necessarily self-awareness—it could just as easily be a programming error or a breakdown in logic.
"It seems… this is going to be interesting," Duanmu Huai muttered, glancing at the system quest prompt that had just appeared in front of him.
(End of this chapter)