I was about to ring the handbell to order my fifteenth highball.
　A new candidate was ushered into the common room.

'Wow!'　You have a lot of visitors!　You're a wise man indeed!

　The one who showed up was a blonde girl with a twinkle in her eye.

'My name is Anna!　Nice to meet you!

　Then he introduced himself to everyone without being asked.
　Everyone, including me, was amused.

''Ah, um. Which way is Sage-sama?!

　Furthermore, Anna mouthed something I didn't understand as she scurried around the common room.

'What?　The wise man is dead, right?
You've got to be kidding me.　Oh, yes!　Maid!　May I have a look around the mansion?
Yes, that's fine. As long as it's not a locked room, you're welcome to look around as you wish.
I understand!

　As soon as she answered cheerfully, Anna ran off in a flash.

''What was that?''
It was like a storm.

　But the wise man is still alive... hey?
　Without having time to think about that girl's words, more visitors arrived.

'Humph!　They're all looking for their inheritance.
A baboon, that's right!

　A fat sorcerer and his overly skinny squire who looks like he's just done something bad.

Rufois, what are you doing here?
'Ho ho, look who it is, it's the fallen diad!
Diedo!　Don't get your name wrong, fool!

　Sparks fly between the loli hag and the fat sorcerer who stood up abruptly.

'You know each other?'

　In case you're wondering, we both started to get excited.

This fat guy is a sorcerer who is an accomplished sorcerer through his parents' connections!
What?　You are the one who thinks of magic as nothing more than a tool for advancement, as a vixen!

　Oh no, it's something that the little guys seem to get along with each other.
　After that, "I am the one who deserves a wise man." "No, I am! And then the usual exchange began, so I had no choice but to enjoy my happiness with my own fair tiki and the highball I ordered.

'Humph. I can't stay in the same room with this woman!　I'm going to be confined to my stateroom.　Let me know when you get another candidate or something like that, okay!

　The fat sorcerer left the room without waiting for Teene's reply when he thought he had said the full range of death-flag lines. The squire followed him with a look of panic.

''Hmm, can I go to the bathroom too?
Come in. The nearest bathroom from here is at the end of the door on the right.

　I thanked Teene and then left the common room.
　I knew it, or rather, Lori hag followed me.

'You, Rufois. I can't hand over the wise man's legacy to him alone...!
It's like we have a history.
"A lot happened with him when we were at the Academy of Magic. After that, he continued to spread unwarranted negative publicity and insidiously harassed our workshop....Eeeeeeee, I won't allow it!　It makes me angry just to remember!

　I explore my surroundings while going through the loli hag who is swearing while walking down the hallway.
　After all, it's built like a nobleman's mansion that I sometimes visit. Generally, this kind of architectural style is the uniformed knowledge (copy and paste) that the gods bring to humanity, or an arranged version of it, so at a glance, it doesn't feel strange. It's not, but the atmosphere is unpleasant.

''Hey. You'd better not be wandering around this mansion too casually.
Hm?　Well, that's probably true. And I'm sure you'll deduct points for behaving like a wise man candidate.
"...that's the thing, though. Isn't that kind of weird?
Mm, what's so weird about it?

　I ask the old woman, who doesn't seem to be feeling the least bit suspicious, an empirical question.

'That wise man's title and Ruler's explanation that he's going to select a candidate to take over the legacy. Isn't it strange that that hasn't happened at all since you arrived?
'There's nothing wrong with that. That homunculus has led us to the room where the candidates are gathered. Wouldn't it be normal to wait until everyone was here to explain?
When do you think they'll have all these candidates?
'That, of course, will be ready by the end of the day, I'm sure. Otherwise we wouldn't have kept them all waiting in that room!

　Certainly, the lolly hag has a point.
　If what was supposed to be there was where it was supposed to be.

'When was the last time you received that invitation?'
Hmm?　That's right, about six months ago now. From there, we'll be ready to go--
He subpoenaed me. And I arrived the same day.
'Yes. What's so funny about that?
It's just plain weird. Your arrival today is an accident. It's just a coincidence. Because there's no date and time specified on the invitation, which is absolutely necessary in order to get all the participants together and play the so-called 'game'.
Ah!

　Finally, the lolly hag seems to have noticed.
　They had just arrived at the bathroom, so they finished their business and continued talking to each other.

Suppose that the invitation letter was sent to all the candidates who arrived today. But the timing of when it arrived and even the time between when it arrived and when it arrived here are all different. So, if we assume that the magicians gathered today just happened to arrive today...
There's no way we're going to have all the candidates here today...
'That's right. Well, it's possible that my question is based on the wrong premise.
Assumptions?
'First of all, the assumption is that the information letter is the same for all of us. To be honest, I'm getting very suspicious of this one. There might be an invitation with a date and time specified. On the contrary, it's possible that the content may even be completely different.
Content. That's certainly possible.
Yeah. So maybe there's a discrepancy in the information you've been given. Maybe there's no way to specify a date and time in the first place. In that case--

　Right after I almost said that.

'Caaaaaaah!!!'

　A girl's scream like tearing silk at the very right moment.

'The selection (game) will have started long ago, I suppose!　Oh no, it's getting interesting!

　As I said it, I had left the loli hag behind and activated my light-winged sprint, turning into light and running out.



　The screams were roaring throughout the mansion, but I didn't need to use my ability rather than trace back to the source of the sound.

''Ah, ah........''

　Anna slumped in front of the open door.
　Her gaze was fixed on the far side of the room, with fear sticking in her gaze.
　Needless to say, it was Anna who screamed. I put my jacket on her and then I look into the room too.

　Honestly, it's a familiar sight to me.
　So I may not be able to explain the awfulness of it all very well.
　I'll give it a shot, though.

　There was a dead body in the middle of the room.
　Or should I say a collection of pieces of human flesh that had been chopped up into small pieces? The whole body, not to mention the four limbs, had been chopped into pieces and did not retain the original form of a person.
　The floor and walls of the room have been dyed red with splattered blood, and the room's original coloration is completely obscured.
　It's a large room in its own right. It wouldn't have been like this if it had been cut with a normal, sharp blade.

　I witnessed such a scene and I thought to myself, "I knew it.

I knew it. I see, that's what you're trying to do this time.

　A mysterious project is held in a mansion in the middle of nowhere.
　A detective is at the scene.
　An unusual murder.

Well, in that case, I guess I'll just have to go see what's going on. It's not going to be very convenient or interesting.

　I activate a certain cheat ability that I rarely use on a regular basis.
　The next moment, I felt a dizzying sensation and wobbled. I must have received the magic effect that I had resisted when I invaded the forest.
　When I use this ability, my resistance goes down by a whisker. It's no wonder, though, since most of my powers are no longer available, except for the kind of curse I received from the f*cking gods.

　Now I'm Nautito, no magic.
　A true mere human, Ryouji Gyakagi.
　It may seem like there's only a downside to this, but this time it's fine.

''What happened!?''

　It was the huge man in the common room who ran over.
　A little behind him was a witch, a little girl, and a dandy. A handsome sorcerer walks in gracefully. Much later, a breathless loli hag who is out of breath.
　There is no sign of the pale sorcerer.

Hmm, yeah. I know, someone was killed. You want to see?

　I'll have the guys who arrived check out the room as well.

This is.........

　The giant man wrinkles his brow and makes a difficult face.

'Oh my gosh, that's amazing,'
Huh.

　It was the witch and the little girl who reacted swiftly.

''What the hell happened here........''

　The loli hag was most stunned.
　Meanwhile, calmly observing the situation were an English dandy and a handsome sorcerer.

'Those not here are Mr. Rufois and Mr. Caron. Mr. Caron remained in the common room, so if it's not the mansion's people or the homunculus that's dead in there, it's either Mr. Rufois or his retinue, right? Or maybe they're both dead here, though.
'What?　That Rufois........dead.......?

　The loli hag is dumbfounded when she hears about the British Dandy.
　Indeed, at a glance, it's hard to tell whether it's just one person or two. That's how horrific the scene is.

Ladies and gentlemen, what is wrong with you?

　Before I knew it, it was the homunculus maid, Teene, who had appeared.

'What's the matter with you, sir?　Rufois is dead!
Your Lordship? I apologize for the discomfort I have caused you all. I apologize to you all. My condolences to the deceased.

　Teene replies to Lori Hag's protest with a completely emotionless formulaic phrase.
　It was too bizarre an exchange, but was it natural for the magicians of this other world? No one says anything.
　Rather, it was the loli hag who had the most honest, human-like reaction in this scene.

''Were there any other candidates?''
'No, sir. All of the candidates who have arrived so far have been met by all of you here.

　The handsome sorcerer calmly confirmed to Teene as he tried his best to do so.
　If that testimony is true, then by a process of elimination, it means that the one who is dead is Ruaphuis or his followers, or both.
　The handsome sorcerer's confirmation process proceeded further.

''This was Luafois-dono's guest room, wasn't it?
No, this is the room we were going to provide Mr. Died with.
What?

　Lori hag was naturally surprised by Teene's answer.

''So that's what happened. It goes without saying that he was killed after Lord Ruaphuis left the common room. With the exception of a few people, we were all in the common room, and then the murderer--
No, no, no. Wait, wait, wait, wait!

　The lolly hag, sensing that the cloud of conversation was getting darker, desperately pleaded her case.

''The ones who left the common room were Lady Anna, Oblio Diedo, and Toris Gallinoy. Do you mean to say that one of them murdered Lady Ruaphuis?
Oh, it wasn't me!　It's not!
It's not me who did it!
And in case you didn't know, neither did I.
Hmm. At least that means those three people don't have alibis, right?

　The British Dandy makes a supplementary remark.
　Oh my, is this a trend that could possibly lead to you being on the side of the killer?

No, no!　Perhaps it is possible that the squire betrayed you and Ruaphuis killed you!
'That statement would be laughable if you were serious as a sorcerer, Mister Diedo?

　The handsome sorcerer's tone sounded more like a condemnation of the bypass of the statement itself than an assumption of culpability.

''You'll know it when you see it. That trick is not something that is possible for an ordinary person to do. The culprit is clearly a magician. Probably due to the wind attribute, vacuum wave magic. If the wind wasn't blowing at the same time as the slice, there would not be blood all over the room like that.

　The handsome sorcerer puts the situation in precise perspective.
　And his assessment is probably not wrong. That corpse was instantly chopped into pieces by wind magic.

''Of course, if you're saying that the squire was actually a sorcerer, then that's a different story.
No, no the little man can't use magic. I'm sure of it. I'll testify to that.

　The gazes of all of them directed at the gulping Lolibabaa become severe at once.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''Ah, um!''

　Anna, who had been slumped, suddenly stood up and began to speak, gesturing in a hurry to excuse herself.

'Actually, the door was locked, so I knocked on it. Then the door opened by itself... and when I looked in, I saw a dead body inside.

　Hoho. If what you say is true, then....

If what Miss Anna says is true, that means the room was locked up, right?

　The British dandy had the same idea I did.

'A locked room?　Such things can be mended as much as you can with the magic of locking.
...Oh dear. I'm no expert on the occult, though.

　The English dandy cowered as the handsome sorcerer cut him off without a word.

Well, who murdered Lord Rufois is a trivial matter. The question rather lies elsewhere.

　This handsome sorcerer is unusual in that he can easily dismiss a murder case as a trivial matter.
　

'Unfortunately, this is the kind of incident that has happened. Will the succession ceremony for the title of Sage be cancelled?

　Yeah.
　None of us here are worried that we might be attacked by a killer. They're all confident that they can turn the tables on him.
　That's not surprising, considering the reason we're all here and what we're all here for.

''No, sir. That point remains unchanged.''
'Well. That's good to hear.

　The handsome sorcerer smiled at Teene's reply.
　It was one of the deepest smiles I've ever seen.

''One more thing I need to confirm, is it correct to assume that the selection of candidates has already begun?''
I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question, sir.
Very good.

　With one cough, the handsome sorcerer turned to all of them and held out his hands.

'As you've heard, gentlemen. As you have heard, gentlemen, it seems that this event is 'that way'. So if that's the case I don't think there's any longer any need for us to meet all together in the common room, is there?

　No objections were raised.
　There was no way.

Then let me wish each of you good luck.

　One by one, one by one, they leave the scene as the handsome sorcerer turns his back on them and leaves.
　They would each start to move on for their own purposes.

'So what do we do now?'

　He asks the lollygag hag.

'Well I don't need to ask. I can only show you that you are worthy of the wise man's legacy.
Ha, that's the way it should be.

　This is how we began to move again.