“Solace, you’re slacking again, aren’t you?”

The words of Captain broke through the daze in my head, and the hand I’d been using to support my head slipped. Thankfully, I managed to stop my head before it slammed into the table.

I turned to glare - barely - at him and complained, “Captain, I’m not slacking. I’m just being lazy. It’s only slacking if there’s something I should be doing, but there’s nothing to do!”

“Hah,” a heavy sigh came from Captain’s mouth. “Your reasoning is valid, but I’d rather you put those smarts of yours to something better!” His hand chopped the back of my head without warning, and my face finally ended up on the table.

“Captain…!”

He continued without hearing my complaint. “Even if you’re the student of Lady Alera, now that you’re part of my team, your status has no importance.”

“...I wasn’t using my status, though…” Ah, I couldn’t stop the complaints, but at least I lowered it down to just a mumble, right?

“What was that, Solace?” Ah, the captain noticed!

“N-Nothing, sir!”

He looked at me - he was glaring at me, right? Right? - for a few seconds before finally turning away. It took all my effort to stop the instinctive exhale that would’ve exposed me for being too nervous for not having done anything…

Wanting to distract him from the previous events, I opened my mouth again. “Captain, since you don’t want me to laze around, does that mean there’s something to do today?”

“Right,” he nodded and sat down at the far end of the table. “But we’ll wait for at least one more before heading out. You can never be too careful when dealing with a potential murder case.”

“Murder?!” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. Death wasn’t uncommon, and as much as I hated it, it was also common for people in the abandoned district to end up killed by someone. The reason this was so shocking is that in order for it to be enough of an issue to be brought to us, a Sorcerer must’ve been killed!

Captain glared at me again… I must’ve shouted too loudly due to my shock.

Um, since he isn’t saying anything else, he’s basically saying that he won’t say anything more until someone else arrives, right? Which makes sense, I guess. Why explain things twice when he can just wait and then only explain once?

Ah, I want to rest my head on the table again…

“Yo, Solace- Oh, Captain, you’re here…!” Haha, seeing Copper’s startled face when he realized that it wasn’t just me here is great. Even better, no more waiting!

“Mmm, well, Copper, you’ll be helping as well.” Now that there were two of us - I guess that’s enough for this, though I don’t really know? - Captain began explaining. “In the last five days, three Sorceresses from the most recent batch went missing. They’re just D-Grades, but it’s still concerning.”

“Have we confirmed if they’re dead?” Tch, Copper stole the question I was going to ask.

“No,” Captain shook his head, “But I already acquired a Bloodline Trace from the most recent one to go missing. A girl named Silver, if I recall correctly. Hopefully, she’s still alive.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“Hold your horses, Copper. We can’t just go in without a plan, and it also wouldn’t do to come up with a plan while on the move.” As expected, Captain is cautious about things. “Solace, assuming we find Silver alive, what would you do?”

Eh, me?! I don’t like being called out suddenly like this, but… “Um, I’d ensure her safety and then secure the surroundings in case the perpetrator is there… Ah, but that assumes there’s an actual culprit and she hadn’t just gotten stuck or something.”

“Close, but not quite. It’s the other way around. If you go to secure the girl before checking the area, there’s a chance we get ambushed and end up all dead. Our job is to capture the culprit first and foremost, and I’d rather pay one life for success than four for failure.”

“...I see.” I hung my head, not in shame of getting it wrong, but from the shame of having to not care about the life of a girl over my own. Even if that is dependent on her even being alive…

“Then, if Silver is already dead when we get there, what would you do?”

At least this time, I can guess the order to do things in. “Secure the area first. Then, if it hasn’t been too long and no cleansing was done, then I’ll begin to investigate.”

“Alright. Then, let’s go. All of the girls went missing overnight, and Silver’s case had barely been reported a few hours ago. Hopefully, we can investigate without running into the culprit.” With that, Captain stood up and led the way out of the room.

Me and Copper followed behind, through the halls of the city lord’s mansion, through the streets and alleys of the city, and finally into the labyrinth-like abandoned district.

Eventually, after jumping a wall to get into an otherwise inaccessible area, we had arrived.

“This is eerie…” A whisper-like voice escaped from my mouth involuntarily. It was a strangely large clearing for this district, with four small buildings lining two of the walls and a fifth one off to the side.

“Right…” Captain’s voice was more severe than usual - uh, could this actually be a concerning situation? “Be cautious. The terrain makes it impossible to fully secure the area.”

Following those words, he raised up the red thread in his left hand and cast a spell with his right. Bloodline Tracing, using the material made from another spell, if I remember correctly. From his casting hand, a red light shone onto the leftmost of the four rooms.

So, we entered the room, with Copper going in first, but…

“There’s nothing in here.” He moved out of the way so that the captain and myself could see inside without having to walk all the way in. Copper flicked the sleeve of his robes in annoyance, “Is this really the place, Captain?”

“According to the trace, this is where she should be…” Although I couldn’t see his face, I imagine that Captain’s brows were furrowed.

Hmm, but why would the Bloodline Trace be inaccurate? More importantly, it should be tracking Silver’s blood, so why is it saying here when there’s no blood- Ah! “Captain, could the murderer have used Blood Jewel Conversion and hid the jewel here?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Captain turned to look at me in shock. Haha, I bet he never expected me to figure it out before they did! But his words… “See, this is why I told you to use your smarts for something useful!” As soon as he turned away, I grit my teeth in annoyance.

Hah, now’s not the time to be mad, I guess.

“Well, regardless of the truth of things, we can confirm with at least 90% certainty that this is where Silver died.” Captain put his serious face on again and looked at me, “So, Solace, is there anything here?”

“Let me check.” My left hand reached up to grab the smoke-like crystal on my neck - a Whispering Crystal - and, as I made the 135 degree star hand seal, I simultaneously made my essence flow from my core to my left hand, then to my right hand as the seal was made, and finally back to my core.

One out of sixteen seals done. Two, three… six… eleven… and finally, the sixteenth seal.

A faint aura emanated from the crystal as a greyish tint covered my vision. Soul Sense was cast, but no matter where I looked, I couldn’t see anything. Nor did my ears pick up anything beyond the natural sounds of the region.

“Captain…” I didn’t even have to say; he knew what I was going to ask for immediately.

With the Bloodline Trace now hanging from my left hand, I then made the 135 degree star seal again and followed it up by designating the red thread as the target. This time there were twenty-three hand seals in total, and before the final one, I tossed the thread into the air and took hold of my necklace once again. This time, a grey flower with blue highlights that made it look like a face - a Ghost-Faced Flower.

Over 50% of my essence was drained by this spell, but Soul Calling was the only way to get answers about what had happened here. And so, in my grey-tinted vision, a faintly glowing orb appeared.

Whew. It hadn’t been too long, thank God. “Silver, can you hear me?”

But that joy immediately faded as screeches beyond the range of normal hearing filled my ears. Ah, her soul is in too much pain… I have to make this quick, or she won’t survive all the way to Hell.

Gritting my teeth at the cost, I quickly cast another - shorter at least - spell. With it, the ripples of smoke across Silver’s soul came to a halt, and her screeching stopped. I dislike that it forces her to obey my commands, but I can’t afford to pacify her naturally.

“Silver, how did you die?”

“I was heading home… something wrapped around my body… I tried to scream, but… they covered my mouth… bound me up, dragged me… They cast… put a hand on my chest…” Even though she was just a soul, it seemed like Silver had shivered with fear. “Painful! Something tore out of me! Then… darkness…”

“Alright… Thank you, Silver.” Damn, I didn’t get enough info from that. I didn’t want to use this, and I’m afraid she won’t make it to Hell, but with this she can get revenge at least, right?

Agh, I’m so selfish! Yet, no matter how much I admonish myself, it won’t change my choice. A fourth spell, and my hand drew a black thread and needle from Silver’s soul. Her brightness immediately dropped by a degree or two, but she still flew out of the building towards the distance.

Huh? I’ve not seen a soul depart like this before…

“What?!” In front of my eyes, Silver’s soul completely vanished. It was like, something whisked her away! That’s not how a soul should depart at all!

“What happened, Solace?” My sudden reaction startled both Captain and Copper, so I quickly took a deep breath. One, two… Alright.

“After drawing out the Karmic Needle, her soul drifted towards the air instead of the ground.” I had to suppress my body’s trembling due to anger at someone interfering with the natural motions of souls without any good reason. “She disappeared. Someone or something had to have taken her away.”

It’s different from what I do. At most, I will call them back or see them before they depart - but I will do my best to ensure that they will be able to make it to Hell. Of course, not every soul can; there are things that prey on souls on the way there, but I still won’t purposefully make them unable to make it there!

“I see…” Captain frowned, but eventually shook his head. “I have no knowledge or experience with this. You should just report it to Lady Alera when you next see her, Solace.”

“Yes, Captain.” That’s what I was planning on doing anyway.

And it seems Copper had something to say… “So, Solace, what did you find out?” Never mind, he’s just complaining about me focusing on something else. But since it’s related to souls, it’s more important - and so, I glared at him before relaying what Silver had said to me.

After finishing, both of them fell into thought. Surprisingly, Copper was the first to say anything. “So, she was entangled by Blood Chains, captured, and taken here for the assaulter to use some unknown spell to take some unknown thing out of her, which then killed her.”

I nodded; the series of events made sense. “Captain, what do you think?”

He shook his head. “There’s not enough information. With how many of the young ones we teach Blood Law, it’s impossible to know who it is. More importantly, it could be a wandering Sorcerer, or even if it is a student, it’d be one who has learned at least three spells.”

“Blood Spike, since it’s required to learn more, Blood Chains, and Blood Jewel Conversion, right?” Yeah, that is three, but…

“There’s also that unknown spell, right? Ah, this makes things too complicated.” Copper expressed my thoughts perfectly. Ugh, I can guess what he’ll say next, though. “Solace, that thing you got from that soul… What can we use it for?”

“Well, it’ll react if the person who Silver has grudges against - so the murderer - is nearby, but other than that, I can only use it for some offensive spells against the target.” Captain fell into thought at my words, and when he motioned to me, I handed over the Karmic Needle.

On the other hand, Copper got up and walked out of the room. “I’m going to check the area. Maybe there are more slaughters that happened here. This place is hidden, and three have gone missing, after all.”

Despite following him - simply since there was nothing else to do - I shook my head. “Don’t be dumb, Copper. Anyone with the slightest amount of intelligence would know not to commit multiple murders in the… same area…”

My words trailed off as I took in the bloody scene in front of me.

Copper turned to look at me - he’s gloating, isn’t he, “It seems that this murderer does lack that level of intelligence.” I just glared at him in response. It’s totally not because I didn’t want to keep looking at the horrible scene in front of my eyes.

Thankfully, Captain walked in, and he could definitely check it out himself. Though, I had to completely turn around when he went to inspect the dead girl’s corpse. “Her fingers were slowly destroyed one by one… The cuts across her body were done to be painful without being too deadly. And this… There’s severe bruising on her chest…”

He stood up, after which I finally turned around to look at the body myself. He didn’t have to say anything, I could already tell what it meant. “Whoever did this… wanted her to feel as much pain as possible before she died. They- They tortured her.”

“Yes. And it’s just a guess, but the ultimate cause of death might be that unknown spell that killed Silver. It seems to need contact, and that heavy bruising on this girl - on Dust’s chest matches the pattern from grabbing like that.” Captain looked at me, though I can feel that he doesn’t have much expectation. “Are you still able to summon her soul?”

I shook my head. It's been too long.

“It’s strange that her blood is still here, unlike the aftermath of making a Blood Jewel… Did they learn it after, or did they leave the blood for a specific purpose?” After a bit more thought with no results, Captain shook his head with resignation.

He then turned to Copper and handed over the Karmic Needle. “You take this and watch to see if the culprit returns. If so, do not engage, just try to determine their identity at most.”

“At daybreak, switch with Solace. Solace, your job will be to watch for any Sorceresses that pass through this general area over the course of the morning. Chances are, they’ll return the same way, and any of them could be a target. If you encounter the culprit, again, don’t engage.” Ah, the Captain’s glare is really intense this time. “And I mean it. Don’t engage; this murderer seems to be after Sorceresses specifically.”

“Yes, Captain.” As much as I want to try engaging, I know that I probably won’t be a match for this person. It’s not a matter of strength; I’m an A-Grade at peak Rank 1, but I don’t know Blood Law spells and am also lacking in fighting experience.

“Alright. Solace, you can return to the mansion once the morning passes. We’ll figure out what to do once we have more information.”

Hah~. I really hope we manage to catch this murderer without much trouble.

I didn’t just jinx things, did I?