The second incident happened that night.

''That must be Ruafois-san's squire........''

　Anna is looking up above her head, checking in a faint voice.

''Hmm. It would look like an impossible crime if this wasn't another world, though.

　Similarly, it was the British Dandy who looked up to the heavens.
　The other sorcerers gathered there were wordlessly observing some corpse.

　The scene is the lobby we passed when we came to the mansion.
　The corpse of the squire was hung from the ceiling by a single hook stuck into his chest.
　However, the direct cause of death is not the hook but the numerous stakes driven into his body. Even now, blood is dripping from the stakes, spreading a stain on the floor.

''Is it safe to assume that this is a corpse that was brought up and hung from a hook?

　The lobby of the mansion has a vaulted ceiling. And it's three stories high. In other words, the ceiling of the lobby is at the height of the third floor, and unless they used a 10-meter-long ladder to carry the corpse, or a pulley or something like that, it was a killing method that definitely involved witchcraft.

''Wow, because it wasn't me!　That magic is rudimentary and can be used by anyone here!

　She's a loli hag with a style of digging her own grave every single time.
　If I hadn't been with her, she would have become a corpse first thing in life.......

Well, what do you think? Toris-kun.
Well, I don't know if it was this guy or not but...
Oh, hey!　I'm counting on you!

　Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.

Well, at least it wasn't a crime scene.
Well, why is that?

　The handsome magician smiles and confirms it with a smile.
　I mean, the only one who hasn't noticed is probably the loli hag.

'There's obviously not much blood falling from the ceiling. It's more natural to assume that it was hung from the ceiling after he was killed somewhere other than here.

　There are only so many drops of blood on the floor that I can count. Even if the timing of the murder was just now, if he was murdered here, it should be more than that.
　As far as I can tell, that squire was killed about the same time that the fatty died. The skin all over his body was pale, and I could tell by looking at the corpse that it was after he had lost a lot of blood.

The first time I saw it, I was in the middle of the night," he said, "and yet........was it Karon or something? He's not here again. Isn't it surprising that that man is the culprit?

　The loli hag is really doing a great job of flagging the death of the pale sorcerer, but no one is listening.
　I was more surprised that the other sorcerers had gathered again.

''Hey, why don't we let him down quickly?

　At Anna's suggestion, the body was to be carried to the floor as soon as possible.
　As with the earlier investigation, we used levitation magic to get to the ceiling, and the giant man and I volunteered to do the work.
　And then the English dandy conducted an inspection of the body....

I see. I knew he had it in him........

　The guide was found in the squire's pocket.
　Miraculously, the stake was not pierced, and the letters were barely legible, though they were red with blood.
　It reads like this.

'To all the candidates, I say to you. Come to my forest for a wise man's inheritance. In the workshop of the one you detest most, it will be found.

　It was a more direct and direct statement than I'd expected.

''Hmm. So this is what happened with the discovery of Lord Ruaphuis's body in Died-dono's room.''

　A handsome sorcerer who nodded as if he was satisfied with his work.

''Um, Mr. Teene. Did you tell Ruaphuis-san about Diedo-san's room or something?
"No, sir. But the layout of the rooms is posted over there so he can see them.

　In response to Anna's question, Tine pointed to a corner of the lobby.
　A map with the layout of the mansion was posted there. Carefully, the names of each of the guest rooms are written on it.
　I'm the only one who doesn't have a name written on it.

'Well. I think it's time for you to explain.

　The handsome sorcerer pressed Teene with a voice full of suppressed anger.

'What the hell kind of flavor is this?　The person who searched as the guide said, was found dead at the place described there. It cannot be a coincidence. What in the world did the wise men intend to gather us together?
I understand that this is to determine who will inherit the wise man's legacy.
"Cut the bullshit!

　The handsome sorcerer struck Teene on the cheek with the tin cane he was holding.
　The sound of hard objects colliding with each other with a thud sends a wooden spirit into the lobby.
　Teene, who was hit, did not move slightly. His expression does not change either.
　The assailant, a handsome sorcerer, seemed to have numbed his arm and held the back of his hand in irritation.

''I am not in a position of leisure to continue to go along with this kind of travesty. If this whole inheritance of the title of sage is bullshit, then I'll be sent home tomorrow.

　With that statement, the handsome sorcerer resigned his place.
　The reason he doesn't leave now is probably because it's already late at night and it's far from the human settlement.
　I hope that decision won't be fatal.

''Oh. I'm kind of blown off my feet...''
Let's go back to our room...
Yeah. Staying up late is the worst thing you can do for your beauty.

　The women also returned to their rooms early.

'I suppose I'll explore the mansion for a while now to find the real murder scene, huh?
I'll help you.

　The British Dundee and the big boys are apparently continuing their investigation.

So what do we do?
I think we've found what we're looking for. Let's sleep on it today and think about the rest tomorrow.

　The loli hag answers in a sinking voice, perhaps shocked.

''If that's the case, I guess I'll just go back to sleep...''

　The loli hag seems to be holding out a lot.
　In fact, I'm sure she'd be a lot sharper if she slept.
　I can't afford not to sleep now.

　...and well. I was thinking a little casually at the time.
　I didn't know that the case would quickly come to an end.



　So, I'll draw a conclusion.
　Early in the morning, a body was found in the basement of the house.

　The victim is a pale, pale wizard named Karon, who has never been seen again.
　When he was found, his body was dry as a mummy. He had been drained of water using a dehydration spell.
　This man's death was half expected, and the contents of the invitation, including the fact that it hinted that if you looked into the basement, you would find an inheritance, was not at all unexpected.

''I didn't expect........that even they (.......) would be unconscious.

　The loli hag mutters with a somber face.
　Well there wasn't one corpse that was found.

''These wands and clothes are Lord Rhine's........''
This is her costume.

　The bodies here were found before noon.
　Among those who didn't show up at the underground scene, the handsome sorcerer and the witch's robe (...) clothes (...) were found outside the mansion.
　Coincidentally, the scene is the same place where they first met the victim, a handsome sorcerer, and both of them have turned to white ashes, leaving their clothes behind. If I ate the molecular decomposition spell, it would look just like this.

''What in the world is going on........''

　The loli hag muttered stunned.

'At this rate, that big guy who didn't come to the basement this morning might be dead somewhere.

　The only two people here right now are me and the loli hag.
　The English dandy and the gothic lolita girl are checking out the underground scene, and Anna is accompanying them.
　I'm not sure where the other sorcerers are, so I went outside to look for them, but this is what I found.

"There is no possibility of that person being the culprit... or indeed...?

　As expected of a lolly hag, she wasn't that brainy.
　In light of the fact that this was the scene of the crime, plus what they said yesterday, it was clear from the fire that they had given up on their heritage and were about to leave the forest.
　In other words, they were retirees and there was no reason for them to be killed by their candidate's rivals. These two corpses completely defy the premise that sorcerers are killing each other over the Sage's legacy.

'Well. It looks like the case has reached its climax.

　To tell the truth, the reason I went out of the mansion was to find out what the strange feeling I had yesterday was, but once I got outside, I knew the reason so easily.
　So this is the last check, just in case.

''Hey ... do you think the Sage's legacy is somewhere in the mansion?
'What's the point now ... of course it's obvious. You were summoned for that selection.
I know,

　Once again, I look around at the scenery.
　There's nothing but a forest and nothing but a mansion.

"...Yeah, I guess so. All the mysteries are pretty much clear.

　I grinned at the astonished Lolita hag, and smiled at her.