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Chapter 33………………………….
“You really haven’t changed at all, have you.”
Facing the woman looking at him with obvious displeasure—Letta Blanket—Del smiled faintly. Judging by her reaction, it seemed she hadn’t recognized him.
“People usually remember others by distinctive features,” Theodore’s words came back to him.
Was it because the silver hair and violet eyes were gone? Or maybe because he was wearing glasses. It seemed difficult to immediately connect this ordinary-looking woman to Delcia Hendel.
Even though he had deliberately chosen that very impression, it still felt strangely unsettling.
“Emily Foreitla.”
“I’m Inspector Blanket. I’m in charge of this investigation. Though I must say, you’re quite young.”
“Yes. I’ve been given the opportunity to take part in this investigation. I will do my best until the end.”
“I hope those words continue to hold true.”
Letta’s blunt response made it obvious she was dissatisfied with the collaboration. Of course, Del shared that sentiment to some extent—but for very different reasons.
“I apologize if I came off as rude. Given the national security implications, I may have rushed things.”
Just bear with it, Inspector.
“That’s fine. It’s a good thing that you’re taking this seriously.”
As expected from someone who valued diligence, Letta’s tone softened considerably. Del exhaled inwardly and glanced at his teammates behind him, who were once again wearing arrogant expressions.
If this was an improvement compared to three days ago when they first met, would anyone even believe it?
That day, once he casually cast an illusion spell, the mages had quieted down as expected. At their level, they would have immediately recognized the caliber of the caster. After all, what else did academic societies do besides paper presentations and magical demonstrations?
And among them, he was noticeably young. A young mage capable of producing something like that with a simple gesture already narrowed the field of possibilities. Especially since it was a spell based on research his own master had presented about five years ago.
The others, initially confused by the sudden calm among the mages, quickly adjusted their attitudes accordingly. Some even began openly observing him.
There were eleven people in the special investigation team including himself. Excluding him, there were four mages; the rest were elite specialists carefully selected from various fields.
Originally, they were supposed to have ten members, but he had been added in urgently. Still, better thirteen than nothing—though thirteen was considered an unlucky number in the magical world. Many historical incidents involving magic were associated with that number, which made even this rational group wary of it.
“We will now provide the information we have independently gathered. If there truly is a spy within the team, they must be feeling the pressure right about now.”
“That was quite accurate, wasn’t it?”
As Del echoed Emil’s words, he instinctively turned his head.
Letta, calmly studying the mind map drawn on the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk.
“Some of these are slightly different from your understanding.”
She erased several lines and redrew them, filling in new text. Del focused on the corrected sections—mostly related to the “New Drug Incident.”
Letta’s subordinates carried in stacks of documents and neatly piled them on the table. There were not only files but also several thick books that looked like yearbooks.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Letta Blanket, Inspector at the Finessa Headquarters in Jasha. I am also the chief investigator of this case, so there is likely no one who understands this incident better than I do.”
Jasha—the governmental organization responsible for public security and law enforcement in the Rosa Republic.
A unique institution found only in Rosa on the continent, combining both military and police functions. As a result, its members were highly skilled in combat and widely admired by civilians.
Though looking at Letta, with dark circles pressed under her eyes like the bottom of a burnt pot, one might question that admiration.
Following Letta’s formal introduction, the members of the investigative team also introduced themselves one by one. Letta’s aides, Krem and Sally, distributed silver brooches to everyone.
“Please keep these with you. They are specially custom-made items.”
“What are they?”
“Name tags. Made with a special technique. If you carry them, you will be able to receive cooperation from Jasha.”
Del examined his own badge with curiosity. The finely engraved patterns—were they magical in nature, or purely technological? Magic could be broken more easily, so perhaps it was technology after all.
While he examined it, Letta continued speaking.
“Since Jasha handles national security, there are many internal secrets within this headquarters that must not be leaked outside. I trust you will all keep this in mind.”
It was essentially a warning: investigate, but don’t go digging where you shouldn’t—or else.
At the cold tone, one of the team members, Johan, raised his voice.
“We are here for the sake of the nation. What is the meaning of this insultful assumption!”
“My apologies. In our line of work, we must be suspicious of everyone. I only said it in case something unexpected occurs. I hope you won’t take offense.”
She managed to sound both conciliatory and completely unapologetic. Johan, red-faced with anger, had no reply as Letta bowed slightly and continued.
“First, there are four key points in this case as organized by Jasha.”
Who, why, how, and what.
“From our investigation of the barrier transmission tower, we determined that the shutdown was caused by external interference. We questioned the three employees who were present that night and held the keys required to operate the magic circle. One of them has unclear memories.”
Sally pinned photos of two men onto the board: Pamel Anderson and Nolan Rockvald.
“We observed a similar situation recently during the interrogation of a key suspect in the Polonell Hotel incident.”
“The Polonell Hotel incident… the one involving the mana amplifier drug?”
“Yes.”
Letta nodded lightly and continued.
“Therefore, we are proceeding under the assumption that the perpetrators of both incidents may be collaborating—or possibly the same individual. Memory erasure can be handled with drugs, but memory manipulation magic is highly complex. Only about three mages within Jasha are capable of it.”
She also added that analysis of the corpse of a magical creature found in this case showed strong structural similarities to one of three creatures that had emerged two months ago from a magic circle in the city center.
“We believe it would be best to investigate each case separately while carefully identifying overlaps and anomalies. My subordinates are already out conducting inquiries.”
Hessel raised a hand.
“Is it possible to restore Anderson’s altered memories?”
“It is possible, but it will take more time.”
“Then leave it to me. That’s my area of expertise.”
Letta studied him for a moment before nodding.
“Then I leave it to you.”
Next, Adrian Bain, a lawyer and member of the investigative team, spoke.
“Is that all regarding the barrier tower?”
“Humans always leave traces. Forensics has sent additional materials. Let’s review them together and discuss.”
Del, listening absentmindedly, noticed Letta suddenly looking at him as if something was odd.
“And now, moving on to the drug case. Our narcotics team is currently analyzing the substance.”
Del, who had been leaning on his elbow, twitched slightly.
“Pardon? Narcotics?”
“Magic pharmaceuticals team.”
Don’t abbreviate that!
“Also, we raided the place where the Zoro Trading Company conducted the drug experiments, but the test subjects had already disappeared—someone had clearly been there before us.”
At the time it had been chaotic, but fortunately most of the data remained intact. Judging from the dead researchers and the ruined facility, it was assumed that the test subjects had revolted, killed them, and escaped.
Based on tracks and traces, the test subjects were likely beast-kin.
“Fortunately, the remaining materials were recovered. The key ingredient in the drug recipe is a particularly rare plant, so we are tracing supply routes.”
Del pointed at the largest diagram on the board—a golden herb resembling lily of the valley.
“This… you mean the plant called Lepidra?”
“Yes. It was written in the manufacturing notes. The process was also documented in detail, so understanding the situation was not difficult. However, the plant is extremely rare even on the black market, so we are investigating how such a quantity was obtained.”
“Maybe they cultivated it themselves?”
“That seems unlikely, as no related information was found at the site. We considered whether the test subjects deleted everything before fleeing, but other data remained relatively intact.”
Unlike the others, Del carefully controlled his expression. It seemed Theodore had wiped the relevant traces clean before leaving. Given the nature of cultivating Lepidra, it was understandable.
“After capturing Rockvald and his associates, we also questioned company employees. However, one of the girls who worked as an errand runner is missing. She hasn’t reported to work since the day after the incident.”
A faint smile crept onto Letta’s lips.
“What’s interesting is that almost nothing about her seems to be true.”
“What?”
As murmurs spread, Letta continued calmly.
“Nella Horfi. Eighteen years old, just had her birthday. She came from a rural village called Emmental, entered employment with a recommendation from a deputy manager at the Seitan Trading Company, and worked there for over a year. She was described as sociable and diligent.”
Del stared at the paper assigned to him. On it was the name Nella Horfi, along with a photo of a girl with braided blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles under both eyes.
“But when we conducted inquiries, no one in Emmental recognized her. The deputy manager also did not remember her. When we asked employees about her work, no one could give a clear answer.”
A search of her residence also yielded no evidence. It was as if she had simply vanished—like a ghost. The only clue left was reconstructing her movements on the day of the incident.
Because of this, Letta had been unable to let go of her doubts even while ordering the investigation.
Was the girl the culprit—or a victim connected to the real culprit?
“We must find this girl.”
Letta’s gray eyes gleamed sharply.
