All the slaves were gathered inside a cowshed on a farm.
The ground was muddy, mostly covered with dung, and a heavy, putrid smell filled the air.
However, some were used to that smell...
It was a strange mixture of grass, dirt, and dung, a strong but familiar, even endearing, odor to some.
Mayor Duville stood before them in the middle of the cowshed, the fresh air brushing against his thick mustache and stirring it slightly.
He looked up at the clear sky above and realized that time was passing faster than it should.
More than three decades (three hours) had passed since O'Verde's body had been discovered.
He sighed deeply, then lowered his gaze to them.Their looks were varied, completely contradictory.
Three guards were verifying the slaves' statements, holding their papers that proved their identities as slaves of O'Ferd.
One of the guards, tall, stepped forward and said:
"Mayor, there is no contradiction in their statements. All the slaves entered the slave hut around ten o'clock at night.
And there is one more thing... A slave named Leward Cashin was granted his freedom last night after a conversation with O'Ferd.
He hasn't entered the plantation since, but has remained sitting in front of the hut on a chair."
Dovell whispered to himself
"So that's it..."
Then he said in a low voice
"This draws attention to him. Leward Cashin... is granted his freedom, and then O'Ferd is immediately killed.
But that alone is not enough to condemn him.
He took off his hat and scratched his scalp with his hand; it was slightly itchy.
I need a barber...
Then he said:
Who was the last person to enter Owerd's office the night before?
The guard answered quickly, reviewing the information.
"According to them, it was a maid.
After she and three other maids had finished preparing dinner, she entered around eleven o'clock before midnight.
She said he didn't want to eat dinner then and ordered it to be brought at midnight.
And it was done, and then she went back to sleep."
At that moment, Leeward and Niall entered with the guard who had been sent to fetch them.
Niall was so drunk that the warden had to help him walk to where the slaves were standing, fifteen of them.
The warden said,
"Mayor, I've brought the last two. They were in a tavern nearby."
Leeward showed no interest and stood about five paces away from the mayor, without queuing with the slaves.
This was deliberate.
To show that he was no longer one of them, but merely a suspect in the case.
Dovell noticed this and spoke in a firm tone,
"That's fine. Why don't you take your place with the rest?"
He sensed danger in Leeward's gaze, that this person was outside the usual pattern of obedience.
Leeward replied coldly
"I am no longer a slave. I gained my freedom last night.
Why should I stand with them when I am not one of them?
You can only consider me a suspect.
He did not hide the fact of his freedom; he stated it truthfully.
It was an attempt to lessen suspicion, not increase it.
But the mayor frowned.
"Isn't that what increases suspicion towards you?
You gain your freedom, and then he is killed or immediately retaliated.
Suspicion grew in his eyes.
Is this someone who deliberately speaks the truth with confidence because he is innocent?
Or because he is adept at manipulating facts?
He did not know.
DuVell said.
You're Leward Cashin, aren't you?
I need you to provide me with everything you did last night... but wait a moment."
He looked back, behind a low wooden fence that enclosed the enclosure.
There were Giggy, the Org Detective, and Special Superintendent Auggie.
They had arrived after Auggie had summoned the Org Detective, and on the way they had met Giggy, so they had returned together.
It wasn't out of friendship, but because Giggy wanted to be present at the investigation, perhaps the culprit would be revealed quickly.
But that seemed unlikely at this moment.
In fact, Giggy had already begun preparing his brother's grave, obtaining a burial permit, and officially confirming the death.
Even so, he delayed a little to see the investigation with his own eyes.
The Org Detective was a man with gray hair, youthful features
Despite being forty.
The reason was obvious: his self-care and appearance made him look younger.
Finally, Dovell said:
The investigation will begin now.
Guard, take Leeward's statement and write it down accurately, then compare it with the statements of the other slaves.
Then he turned and left the pen.
The guard replied:
Yes, Mayor.
He took out a piece of paper and a quill, and approached Leeward.
He began to question him in a precise and methodical order....
All the important members arrived at Overd's office:
Mayor Dovell, Detective Urgh, and the Special Superintendent
Ogi, in addition to the influential large farmer Geshi Kantem Monoth.
said Deauville, stepping forward
This is a crime that remains extremely mysterious; even the murder of O'Verde was not something to be expected in these times."
The mayor opened the office door, and a pungent smell exploded in their faces, much worse than before, as if it had been fermenting inside that closed atmosphere all the time.
Detective Org immediately coughed, took a small white towel out of his pocket, and covered his nose with it.
She smelled rather pleasant, but despite that, he whispered to himself:
The smell is still extremely bad..."
Khalaf entered behind the mayor, followed by the others.
Org said, examining the scene with his expert eyes:
"The situation is very bad, these are random and completely disorganized stabbings... the killer must have been in a hurry."
He realized it the moment he saw the gashes spreading across Overd's chest.
"He must have been in a lot of pain at that moment. Unfortunately, there was no one with him..."
Geshi said in a broken voice, his chest tight with sorrow, as he began to imagine how his older brother must have felt in his final moments.
He remembered a conversation they had had several years before, when he had tried to convince him to start training himself to master Spiritual Energy and the power of the Stenma Blood, even if only minimally to protect himself.
But Overd's reply then had been simple and clear:
"I am not a fighter, brother, but merely someone who seeks peace and cultivates quietly as our ancestors did."
Geshi unconsciously clenched his fist.
"Damn it... If only he had listened to me, this wouldn't have happened, but it's too late, and regret is useless now..."
The Monoth family was primarily a farming family
Unlike other clans or fighting families.
Yet, they had a hereditary legacy passed down from generation to generation: the power of the Stenma blood.
The heir to this power became the clan ruler.
But their specialties were often not in direct combat, but in foreign relations with emerging nations or empires outside the lands of Orgathia on the United Continent.
Or, in some cases, relying on brute force through armies of coercion.
This, in particular, was not the approach of an agricultural clan like the Monoth.
Augie said matter-of-factly,
"We must begin with preliminary measures, Mayor and Investigator Org. The investigation may take time to catch the murderer... Perhaps we should surround the village and prevent anyone from leaving.
Detective Urg nodded immediately in agreement:
"I was about to say that... We must stop the criminal from escaping first, although there is a possibility that he may already have, in which case surrounding the village now may be of no use."
Geschie took a step forward, his gaze sharp as knives:
"Even if he escapes, I will pursue him to the ends of the earth... He will not escape my grasp. Just find out who he is, Mr. Urg, and I will bring him to justice."
Determination was evident in his eyes.
He did not appear to be someone who would let his brother's murderer get away with it.
A heavy silence fell for a few moments, before Mayor Duville broke it, saying:
"Special Superintendent Augie, take a group of guards and begin surrounding the village limits at once... We must take a preemptive step."Yes, Mayor."
Augie left the office immediately to carry out his assigned task.
At that moment, Detective Urg moved inside the office and approached Overd's body.
His hands were covered with a faint spiritual aura that clung to his skin, like a gray glove radiating weak heat.
"I'll begin now..."
He plunged his fingers into several slits on the corpse's chest.
They were shallow... only about five centimeters deep.
The weapon used wasn't small, but the stabs were relatively long, indicating that the knife hadn't been driven in deeply.
Either the killer hadn't been stabbing hard...
Or his physical strength was weak, so he couldn't deliver quick, fatal stabs.
That's why the stabs were so many, random, and hasty.
If the assassin had been physically strong, he could have killed him with one deep stab to the heart.
Many possibilities raced through Org's mind:
Either the assassin deliberately didn't stab deeply to enjoy torturing Ord in his final moments...
Or he was simply physically weak.
He thought it over carefully, then decided to use an ethereal piece to delve deeper into the investigation.
He slipped his hand into his white fluttering robe and pulled out a brown belt made of sturdy leather.
He opened the belt, revealing three jewel-like ethereal pieces, precisely placed within their designated recesses.
He pulled out a crimson ethereal piece.
Geshi was amazed by the sight.
"He's so rich to own three ethereal pieces... even
"I, and I barely have one to use for ranged combat."
The Etheric Pieces were gemstones crafted from the Khamer Stone
a rare stone found in deep caves.
It possesses the ability to absorb the foundation of spiritual energy and store it within itself without affecting its essence.
It can also contain the power of the Stenma Blood and techniques derived from it.
This is why the Khamer Stone... which resembles a diamond with its excellent void structure... was the best material for crafting the Etheric Pieces.
Each Etheric Piece possesses a specific ability
such as Lightning Ether, or Shock Ether
and is classified according to the strength of the effect inherent within it.
Org closed the belt and returned it to his robe, then grasped the crimson Etheric Piece in his hand
He surrounded it with his spiritual field, and faint crimson sparks began to dance around his palm.
His spiritual aura revealed his power
Rank 2, Solid Warrior, Rank 3... Peak.
Immense power for an investigator.
"Seeer's Ethereal Piece... Activate..."
He activated the piece in his hands, and it immediately began to work...