I'm sure you'll be able to understand why.

　I've been busy," said Sazius, and Toya pondered for a moment, then nodded approvingly, as if she remembered immediately.

"Yes. Most of the territorial army has been mobilized. And, well, when everything was settled, the woman's body was found.

Did she say anything about a love affair?

Yeah. Well, technically, I found out she was found, yeah. I was going through some paperwork, and the name stuck, so I checked.

　The body was actually found just before the exposé of the Order of the Sutomie Saints took place.

　Needless to say, the Territorial Guard was pretty slammed at the time, not to mention their boss, Sazius.

　Inevitably, a simple report was made, and the body was disposed of.

It was a drowning in an irrigation ditch, so I thought maybe he threw himself in. ...... Later, when I went by there, I saw that the water was not even knee-deep.

It's possible to drown in water as deep as your ankles, though. ......

"Is that so?　We were suspicious, so we looked into it.

Yes. Yes, depending on the circumstances, drowning is possible.

　In fact, it is possible for water to enter the ear, upset the semicircular canal, and cause the person to be unable to stand up and drown.

　However, this is a very special situation, and it is unlikely to happen to a normal, healthy person, unless he or she is drunk, and it is unlikely to be a method of suicide.

It's definitely not a good place to throw yourself, though. It's more of a crash.

Right?　So, after the mayhem in Kergu was over and I had a little more time, I looked into missing persons and such. ......

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

It looks like this.
I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.　That's a bit much, isn't it?

　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

You can't blame them. A lot of them have disappeared because of Kerg. I'm sure some of them died in that conflict,......, but honestly, I don't know!



　Sazius gave a list of people who were supposed to be living in Pining but whose whereabouts were unknown and whose bodies had not been found, but several merchant families and noblemen were destroyed in the Kergu uprising.

　Some of these people may be living in Pining, so there may be an incident that caused them to go missing, or they may have been in Kergu during the disturbance and got caught up, or they may have simply fled the town.

　The situation makes it very difficult to separate the two.

I'm sure you'll agree with me.　I've left in some ...... ambiguities, though.

I think Viscount Nenus said that there were less than ten people.

That's because of the pending disappearance of the victims. What I need you to do is solve the kidnapping case. That list includes unrelated disappearances, because ...... is a(n)(n)(n)(n)(n)(n).

You're saying there's less than 100 people on this list that look suspicious?　You mean, a hunch?

Well, that's what I'm saying, but I'm including the results of my research, okay?

I see. ....... But why did Viscount Nenus consider it a kidnapping?

　This is not enough to conclude that it was a kidnapping.

　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

　The answer to this question came easily to Sazius.

I'm sure you've heard of it.

What?

"Aside from the first case, there's a second one, similar to this one. This one hasn't turned up a woman's body yet, but it's ...... this one.

　The paper that Sazius pulled out showed a pair of men and women, the man was found dead and the woman was missing.

　This is the first time I've seen a man and woman fighting, but the age range of the man and woman is similar to the second case Sazius described.

I'm not sure what to make of it. The type that went away of their own free will. But this one seems to be different. That's my hunch.

　Sazius says this while pointing to the names on the list.

So we're supposed to do this messy job because you think it's a kidnapping?

"Well, I guess so. But I'm sure of it, aren't I?　I'm an expert, after all.



"I suppose that's true, but ......

　In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at the best way to do it.

　In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at a few of the things that are available.

I'll give you all the relevant materials. I'll give you all the relevant materials, and you take care of the rest. To tell you the truth, I'm not good at work that requires a lot of brain power. But you guys look smart, right?　The two elves aren't home right now.

Don't worry, more than half of our brains are still here!

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that," he said.

"Hmm. I see.

"Hey, Sazius. What did you agree to?

No, nothing.　I was just wondering how much Toya contributes to that "brain"?

...... At least I think I'm better than Sazius, don't you?

　In the event that you're looking for the best way to get the most out of your business, you'll want to take a look at the following.

Sagius shrugs his shoulders broadly and shakes his head, "Hey, Toya, take it easy. You're obviously on our side, aren't you?　You can't fight like that and still be smart, can you?　You're good at fighting, but leave the brain work to the rest of us. That's your position, right?

You're so prejudiced!　I'm not sure what to make of this.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing.

I'm sure you'll be able to tell me more about it. I'm sure Mr. Sazius is busy.

"Well, yeah. But if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. It's our job to keep the peace, you know.



I understand. We'll talk about it when we get there.

All right, bye. Good luck with your work, Sazius.

Yeah, thanks.

　Sazius stretched and breathed heavily, and Toya and the others left his office.

　　　　I'm sure you'll agree.

I'm sure you'll agree with me.
It's the only way. But thirty-seven people are missing, that's too many.
But isn't there thousands of missing persons in Japan every year?
No, it's an order of magnitude more.
Oh, tens of thousands?　There are that many missing people in Japan? ......

　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

　In addition, the number of missing persons in Japan is the number reported to the police, and most of them are found later.

　The causes of disappearances include runaways of minors and disappearances due to dementia, and the percentage of crime-related cases like this one is quite small.

　As Natsuki said, the figures are inappropriate for comparison.

　After that, the three of them quietly read the documents that Sazius had given them, but their expressions were not very bright.

　Of course, the contents of the documents were not very cheerful, but it was also probably because they could not easily get a clue to the case by reading them.

　After reading all of them, the first person to speak was Natsuki.

"How was it?

"I don't know. ...... I know what happened, but I don't know what you're asking me to deduce.

Yeah, I know the victim, but I don't have any information on the suspect, not at all.

　The document that was handed to me contained the name, age, and gender of the person who was believed to be missing.

　The list included the names, ages, and genders of the people who were believed to be missing, as well as the circumstances of their disappearance, but it was basically a list of what witnesses had told them, with little physical evidence and, of course, no scientific research.

It's impossible to follow up on everyone on this list, so for the time being, can we leave out the 21 people who are thought to have been members of the Sutomie Order?

"I guess so. If we don't have some reason to omit them, our abilities won't be able to handle it.



"But you know, it's possible that this missing person is involved in Satomi's escape, right?　In relation to that, the missing person that Viscount Nenus is looking for?　It could also be related to that. ......

In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find out more about it on the web.

　As for the 21 people Yuki mentioned, the Territorial Guard also considered the possibility that they were involved in Satomi's escape, and a very thorough investigation was conducted.

　As a result, there were a number of people who were suspected to be heavily involved, but since it was confirmed that they were almost certainly out of Pining, their investigations were to be conducted in conjunction with the pursuit of Satomie.

If anything turns up, Sazius-san will contact us and we'll check on the rest.

There are still sixteen of us, though. ......

"There are five other bodies that have been found.

　Incidentally, these five include the corpse found in the spring and the corpse found in the canal that Sazius mentioned earlier.

Seven men and nine women?

"Why don't we leave out this 14-year-old boy who had a fight with his parents and ran away from home, saying he was going to be an adventurer?　We've already confirmed that he registered as an adventurer, right?　Sazius also said that this is not the case, right?

I'm sorry to hear that.　I feel sorry for him.

"This part is, too.

　In the end, Natsuki and his team left with three males and seven females, after eliminating six more cases that seemed less likely to be incidents.

So, tomorrow we'll start investigating the five places where these bodies were found, and the ten cases of missing persons, is that correct?

"Right. We'll just have to start from there. We have no idea what they have in common.

They're all different ages and genders. I don't have enough data to say anything about the bias of the places. We'll have to do it by foot.

I wish I could. ......

I'm worried.

　Natsuki and the others sighed together at the muddled state of affairs.