As per the king's request, after completing all necessary paperwork at the Adventurer's Guild, George began his investigation into Melody's killers as a registered Adventurer.
First, George looked for clues and physical evidence from Travis' written report. Divine Power signatures would typically serve as evidence and a lead on the killer; however, Melody's killer solely utilized the blade's sharpness with Reinforced Blade disengaged. Moreover, the bandit raid left behind a chaotic mix of Divine Power signatures, rendering Melody's killers untraceable.
Without physical evidence, George then reasoned. The demons who killed Melody should be heading to the capital, since that was the path Melody was guarding. Furthermore, the bandits reported that Melody had given orders to target a black-haired boy and his siblings with arrows, and that only children remained in the carriage during the fight. George paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, before outlining three possible scenarios to guide his investigation.
1) Scenario 1: The adults survived but, as a result of the encounter, they altered their plans and avoided the capital altogether.
2) Scenario 2: The adults survived and relocated to the capital, possibly acquiring a new residence through rental or purchase arrangements.
3) Scenario 3: The adults had been killed, leaving the children to fend for themselves in the capital, which would likely have led to their eventual placement within the orphanage, where they would need to work for the Adventurer's Guild.
Scenario one held little significance for George, since his primary objective was to identify a suitable target and demonstrate to the king that he had taken action. Therefore, he focused on scenarios two and three.
Utilizing his temporary knight clearance, George gained access to the real estate trading and rental records. However, after discreetly investigating several families, he was unable to identify anyone suspicious.
"Perhaps Melody killed the adults, or maybe they're hiding in the slums," George pondered while discreetly observing a family, seated inside a stationary carriage parked across the street. A father was joyfully engaging with his toddler son inside their new home. A fleeting, unsettling thought, rooted in his Royal Covert Division habits, crossed George's mind, “Why not just kill them and be done with it?”
However, working as an adventurer, his actions now had to be based on concrete proof, and murder was not so easily forgiven. Unlike working under the Royal Covert Division, where the king had all the powers and connections to cover up almost everything, adventurers were contractors under the Guild's supervision. Those who breached the law risked facing temporary suspension of their Adventurer's License or criminal prosecution.
As George reflected on the Urie events and detected a spy watching him via Mana Scan, he thought, “Is this why the king sent the request through the guild? So if I slip up, the spy can gather evidence, and the Guild can take me in?”
“What do you think I am, Your Majesty, a bloodthirsty monster?” A sudden, wry laugh escaped George as he thought, “If not for your orders, I would never have taken so many lives. Isn’t that right, Leslie?”
“Of course, dear, you’re a righteous, chivalrous knight,” Leslie's gentle voice whispered in his mind as he imagined her tenderly placing her hands on his cheek. “There may be collateral during the Holy War against demons, but you don't need to take another innocent life again in your retirement. Those messes from His Majesty now fall upon the new members of the Knight Order; you may rest now, my love.”
Lost in thought, George lifted the beer bottle to his lips, taking another swig. He found that it was easier to talk to Leslie when he was drunk.
“What about the quest, though?” George asked Leslie.
Leslie then responded reassuringly, “You're not a knight anymore, remember? Adventurers fail quests regularly; it’s no big deal.”
George was then startled. The king had always been unyieldingly strict about completing missions successfully, no matter the cost. Those who failed their missions were not easily forgiven and would sometimes be executed or assassinated. However, he was an Adventurer now. "Perhaps the king doesn’t care anymore?"
The burden of successfully completing missions and fearing for his life had borne down on George for decades. As the thought of abandoning the quest crossed his mind, a profound sense of relaxation and jubilation swelled within his chest. A wide, uncontainable smile spread across George's face as he savored a sip from his beer bottle.
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"However, there is one thing on my mind," Leslie said in a worried tone. "What if the black-haired boy is now living in the orphanage? If the government discovers him, and certain Inquisition Knights intervene, many orphans could become collateral victims."
“He's just a boy, and it's possible that the information hasn't prompted any action,” George reassured, but due to Leslie's evident concern, George added, “Just in case, I'll check whether the boy is really at the orphanage.”
"Remember, there's a spy following you. Don't let him find out what you're doing," Leslie said, her expression turning stern.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful." George responded reassuringly, and upon taking another sip from his bottle of beer, George succumbed to sleep, utterly inebriated.
On the next day, as the sun reached its peak, George stirred in the carriage, suffering from a pounding hangover headache. The thrill from being able to give up the quest still excited him, and he decided to rest in the carriage. "I never thought skipping out on work would feel so good."
It wasn't until the afternoon when he reported to the guild about failing the quest. However, as soon as he prepared a quest failure report, guilt weighted on him.
"What if a demon committed a murder because I halted the investigation? Should I also investigate the slums?" George thought as he felt a rock sinking in his chest. "However, I need to investigate the black-haired boy. I will work harder to compensate my slacking off."
With renewed enthusiasm, George then started investigating the black-haired boy from Urie. In contrast to the readily accessible real estate records, the orphanage fell under the jurisdiction of the Adventurer's Guild, posing a new challenge for George. Due to child protection laws, George couldn't access the orphanage's records without a court warrant. It was more work, but George had to collect the information on his own.
In order not to alert the spy, George set up a daily schedule, mimicking that of a typical retired knight. At 6 am, George would wake up, head to the gym, and then engage in light exercise followed by a shower. Afterwards, he'd pick up a newspaper at the Merchant's Guild and enjoy a leisurely breakfast at a restaurant near the Adventurer's Guild, where he'd discreetly gather intel on each black-haired child lining up in front of the guild.
Around 9:30 am, George would visit the once-crowded, now subdued job board at the Adventurer's Guild, after most quest takers had departed for their assignments. By 10 am, once the job queues had largely dissipated, George would select local, low-paying quests nearing their deadlines, typically posted by the community's more disadvantaged members. Depending on the quest, George occasionally had lunch at the Guild's cafeteria, where he would gather more information about the black-haired children through eavesdropping and observation. In the evenings, George would grab a six-pack of beer before returning home, marking the end of his day.
On the next day, after he observed the children during breakfast, George visited the job board again.
"Escort needed. I'm a single woman trying to visit my dying grandmother in a countryside village. Please help. Here are the details:…"
"Not only is the reward paltry, but this type of quest is also perilous, given the number of bandits in the area. It'd require a party of bronze or silver ranked adventurers," George commented. As a Gold ranked adventurer, he could have taken the quest. "Sorry, but you'd have to stay in the city, it's better for you."
"Missing child: He went missing during a harvesting quest. I have put in all my money as the reward. Please help. He is a boy with..."
"In nine out of ten cases, he was attacked by a wild beast." George remarked somberly, "I'll go take a look."
As a former Covert knight, George was adept in tracking trails. He soon found the boy's remains in the aftermath of a wild beast attack, and reported back to the guild that day.
"Please return the money to his mother, she'll need it." George refused the reward money as he left, and the receptionist thanked him on behalf of the mother.
On the next day, George took on another quest to investigate a missing adventurer's party on an escort mission. In times of famine, there were many quests related to bandit attacks or missing children. Despite George's efforts, all he could do was carry everyone's remains back to the city. As a single person, he was powerless to prevent any of the tragedies. Every day, he continued to watch the heartbroken family members whom he helped from afar. The feeling of powerlessness and the haunting of his victims continued to weigh down on the former knight, as he indulged in intoxication, talking with Leslie.
"Why am I clinging to life when so many people, who are more deserving of life, are dead?"
"There must be something that you still need to do in life," George's imaginary late wife replied.
"But then, what is it?" George asked back, "Isn't it just because I'm a coward?"
"Of course not. You're the bravest knight I've ever seen." Leslie reassured George, "Just keep looking, I’m sure you’ll soon find what you need to accomplish."
Following a diligent month of investigation, George successfully assembled a list of work schedules for all black-haired children working at the Adventurer's Guild, which housed the orphanage. Then, he further narrowed down the list based on the information he had acquired.
On a serene Saturday morning, as children formed a line in front of the guild, a gray-haired elderly man, casually holding a newspaper, strolled past them and commented, "Urie was a lovely place, wasn't it?
A boy, with striking black hair and piercing Emerald eyes, looked up into the old man's eyes in surprise, his intense gaze meeting the stranger's for a fleeting instant before he quickly looked away.
"Bingo," George thought, "I found you, Urie's black-haired boy."