"In cop dramas, they say, 'visit every crime scene,' but it doesn't matter how many times an amateur visits.

"Interviews are not going well either.

　The next day, Natsuki and the others went around the place where the body was found, but the results were just as Toya had said, with no results.

　Not only do Toya and his team not have the skills to investigate the remains of a dead body, but the scene has not been preserved, and there is no way that there are any such items left.

　The fact that they were commissioned by the lord, Natsuki's appearance, and Yuki's ability to talk made it possible for them to ask questions without any problem, but whether this would lead to solving the case was another matter.

　The content of the question would be very vague, since he has not even prepared a sketch of the subject of the conversation, and the common people have a very rough sense of time.

　"They don't remember what they were doing on what day of the month, and since they don't own a watch, there is no way they can answer "around what time" if you ask them.

　Besides, the estimated time of death as far as we know is after sunset.

　In the daytime, we can still say "after how many bells have rung," but the last bell of the day rings at sunset. After the sun goes down, the time becomes more ambiguous.

　Furthermore, there are no security cameras and no passersby conveniently taking pictures with their phones, which would certainly make the investigation more difficult than it would be in modern Japan.



　After visiting the scene of the death, Natsuki and the others moved on to investigate the missing person.

　They spent that day, the next day, and the day after that, asking around to talk to the people involved, but unfortunately, the results were equally unsuccessful.

　The only result was that we were able to confirm the whereabouts of one of the women.
　The status of the remaining nine cases is as follows, but the information is quite vague in each case.


　She disappeared while I was away from her for a while (male, 8 years old).
　When the landlord went to ask for the rent, no one was there (male, 33 years old).
　He said he was going out for a drink after work and then left.
　She said she was going to a friend's place and then disappeared (female, age 12).
　She went out to shop for dinner and did not come back (Female, age 13)
　When I visited my daughter who lived alone, she had disappeared (Female, age 16)
　When an acquaintance visited her house, she was not there (Female, age 21)
　When I visited her house, she was not there.
　When an acquaintance visited their house, they were not there (Female, age 32)


　Natsuki and his friends went back to their room and pondered over the information, but it was not easy to come up with a good idea, and Toya threw himself on the bed and was helpless.

We've been able to reduce the number of cases, but ...... the number of people who are missing is less clear.

It's not like we're on the clock. If you have a day job, it's not surprising if you don't show up for work, and if you don't live with your family, it's hard to know.

The age group seems to be younger, but it's hard to say if it's a trend or not.

There are more young people here than in Japan. There are more young people than in Japan, so it's not surprising to see this result if the population pyramid is correct or if there are more young people in .......



If we could find out anything after asking around for two and a half days, Sazius and the others would have already found it. We're not professional investigators, you know.

I'm not a professional investigator," he said. "There's a certain level of expectation that Viscount Nenus has, isn't there?

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　If this were the case, the Japanese police would have no trouble at all.

In the first place, you are investigating on the assumption that there is a kidnapper, but you are not certain, are you?

It's not certain, but it's true that the kidnapper was missing for a while and then found dead, almost certainly murdered.

Oh, I see. At least there's a murderer. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will help you out.　I'm sure you're not the only one.

If you think of it as kidnapping, there's a high risk of women and children being targeted, yes.

Well, they are not the kind of people who can be ransomed, and if I may say so, kidnapping adult males does not seem to have much merit.

　The missing people are all commoners.

　It's not like you're a nobleman or a wealthy merchant, the amount you can pay in ransom is limited and the risk of being caught at the time of delivery is more of a disadvantage.

　In other countries, you can kidnap them as slaves, but in this country where slavery is prohibited, the risk is too great, and even if you take them to another country, it would take too much time and effort, which would be more disadvantageous than aiming for ransom.

The other thing that caught my attention was the ...... "female, 16 years old". As Sazius pointed out...

Well, ......, that's the part where the family was pretty salty about it.

　The last time the missing woman was seen was in the so-called "s*x district" where she was known to be walking with a man.

　The man was found dead in the area and the woman is missing.

　The woman's family thought that she might have killed him in a love affair, and when Toya and his friends went to talk to her, they were told to stay out of it.

The situation is similar, isn't it?

...... You're not going to be found dead, are you?

I'd like to solve this before it happens, if possible. It's not like it's going to be the same thing.

　It's not that it's going to be the same thing, but it's not that it's not going to be the same thing. According to the explanation Toya and the others received from Sagius, a woman's body was found in the canal a little over two months after the man's body was found.

　The woman Toya had pointed out had also gone missing about two months ago.
　It's natural for him to be curious.

But as it stands, we have no idea who the killer is, and we can't even look for him. If only we had a suspect. ....... I'm not sure if you're a detective or not.　I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.



I don't have any. In the first place, I don't want my relatives to have a dangerous person who encounters a case every time he goes out somewhere.

"Ah, it's true that Japanese detectives are like that. It's like the law of cause and effect is distorted. Sherlock wouldn't have that problem.

"He's a decent detective there. Basically, they solve the cases that come in as requests. Japanese detectives, for some reason, tend to be involved, to be there at the scene.

　If such a person was a relative of mine, the number of my relatives would decrease every Bon and New Year.

　However, if we use real-life detectives as the basis for this story, most of the investigations would be very simple, so there would be no room for a "great detective".

　At best, the level of detecting industrial espionage is limited, and murder is completely the domain of the police.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was a classmate, but ...... that's complete speculation. We don't have any leads.

I'm not sure what you mean. Oh, no, it was the winter before that.

Still, it's been a few months since we've been here.

　The first case Sazius investigated after the body was found in Pining.
　The victim disappeared in Kergu in the winter.

　Did he come to Pining afterwards and get involved in the case, or was he already involved when he was in Kergu?

　It's unclear at this point, but even if he was involved in the incident in Kergu, three months have passed since Natsuki and the others arrived.

　Considering this, it is a little weak to say that the incident occurred because their classmates were transferred.

　No, even if the timing was right, it would be speculation, just as Natsuki said.

　Once again, Natsuki and Yuki were silent as they looked at the data.

　In the meantime, Toya was pacing on the bed, pacing this way and that, as if he was thinking about something or not.

...... In this situation, would it be better to focus on looking for the missing person rather than looking for the killer?　If we can find that one, there's a good chance the killer will be in the vicinity.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea?　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to try. At least we know the names and faces of the missing people. ...... We need to find someone who can draw portraits, though.

I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm not sure what to make of it.　If it works and we run into the killer, we're in trouble.



There was some concern about that. Do you think he'll be back tomorrow?

"If all goes well, yes.

　We hadn't set a definite schedule when Haruka and the others left, but we had agreed that it would take one day each to get there and back, and two to four days to collect.

　If he had finished the collection in two days, he would have returned today, but as it was already evening and he hadn't returned yet, it would have to be tomorrow or the day after.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

　Of the nine remaining missing cases, four were reported before the Territorial Guard investigated, and of those, one was independently requested by the Adventurer's Guild.

　It is said that even the police in Japan do not look into mere disappearances with much enthusiasm, but in this case, it was more than that.

　If there is nothing like this case, they do not investigate much, but only check the person who reported the body when it is found.

　Therefore, if we really want to look for them, we have to look for them ourselves or ask the adventurer's guild for help. .......

I think it's a matter of money. It's hard to afford to hire people when you're an average person.
There are many people who are just barely making ends meet.

　The only person who told me that he had sent a request to the adventurer's guild for a search was a woman 13 years old.

　The only one who said she had submitted a request to the adventurer's guild was a 13-year-old woman who ran a small store and managed to raise the money for the request by pushing herself too hard.

There was also a 12-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy. I'd like to help the kids, but ......

You seemed to be giving up on them, when I asked you about them.

Yes. The boy, in particular, may be ......".

　In fact, it is not uncommon for people to abandon their children in this world, or to cut them off.

　When there is a shortage of food, the choice between adults who can work and children who can't work is which to "dispose" of.

　In reality, disposing of the adults who can work does not add anything to the food supply, but rather negatively affects it.

　In the Viscount Nenus territory, there is an orphanage that functions reasonably well, so you could leave the child there, but it would be a little difficult to do so when the child is about eight years old and has some sense.

　It would be difficult to leave her at an orphanage in the same town and have her come back without permission, and it would be impossible for an ordinary person to take her to another town. Then, there are not many ways we can take.

...... Well, tomorrow we'll go to the Adventurer's Guild. If they're sending out requests, they might have some information.

Right.

Okay!　Then let's get it over with for today. It's no use worrying about it!



　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it'll help.

　Natsuki and the others followed Toya's lead and were also cleaning up the materials when Mary and the others came back.

We're back.

"You're back!

Welcome back. Are you with Master Iliad today?

Yes. In the morning I was mixed in with the training, and in the afternoon I studied and ...... also had tea and sweets.

　In the past few days, while Natsuki and the others were conducting their research, Mary and the others participated in the training of the territorial army, as Natsuki had said, and then basically spent the rest of the day with Ilias.

　She and Ilias had gotten to know each other quite well by spending a lot of time together in the carriage on the way to and from the escort request, and they had become casual enough to talk.

　If he were an aristocrat, he would probably raise an eyebrow, but Viscount Nenus doesn't seem to be too concerned about that, and it hasn't become a problem.

　On the contrary, he even seems to be encouraging it.

　Only he knows where his intentions lie, but there is no doubt that Iliad's desire to learn is increasing now that Mary and the others have joined.

How is the training going?
"Yes, everyone is very kind. Of course, the training itself is tough.
It's fun!

　In fact, from the point of view of the territorial soldiers, Mary and the others are much stronger than Toya and the others, who are clearly stronger than them.

　They are weaker than us, so their self-esteem is not hurt, and they are not so weak that they are no match for us.

　They are not so weak that they are too weak to be taken seriously, but they are strong enough to keep up with the training, and as little girls, they are well loved.

How are Toya and the others doing?
I have no idea. If it was so easy to solve, it would have been taken care of already.

　If it were easy to solve, it would have been done by now.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that kind of work when I become an adventurer.

"Are you okay, sister?

Me?

When you become an adventurer, you won't accept such requests. I'm going to earn money by killing demons!

　I'm not going to take any of those jobs when I become an adventurer," Mitya replied cheerfully, waving her right hand in the air.

That's right. You're a smart girl, Mitya.


"Ehehe.

　Mitya smiled shyly as she was praised by the smiling Natsuki.

　In the case of Natsuki and the others, they did not choose to take on this job, but were forced to accept it.