The night's clamor gradually dissipated, and the south market of Silvermoon City fell silent again.
Rosen lay in the room at the Hound's Home Inn, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
With eyes closed, scenes from the Selrandis cottage replayed in his mind in vivid detail.
The so-called 'ironclad evidence' found in the house was naturally planted by someone else.
Because the smell of embalming fluid was so distinct, Rosen would have noticed it being poured in the room.
And due to the home protection spell, the culprit had a limited window to plant the evidence.
Only this night, after Selrandis left.
The timeframe was very short. Even for a highly skilled framer, it would be difficult not to leave a trace.
So Rosen observed, again and again, from every angle.
Every piece of evidence on the floor, every inch of the wooden boards - nothing escaped his scrutiny.
He zoomed his vision to the extreme, wishing he could see down to the very bacteria on the surfaces.
When Rosen angled his view to the window between the upstairs bed and partition, his gaze suddenly froze.
In the crack of the window sill was a small black smudge - the damp, muddy soil commonly found around the market.
It had clearly been wiped, but the uneven texture of the wood left many nooks uncleared.
His mind stirred: "Could it be left by Teacher herself?"
But more details quickly emerged.
"It's a footprint. Though wiped, the approximate shoe size can be discerned.
"Though not exact, it's certainly at least 1 size larger than Teacher's shoes!"
No one knew Selrandis' measurements better than Rosen himself.
He knew the location of every mole on her body, not to mention obvious details like her shoe size.
Though tall in stature, Selrandis had ample thighs and slender calves, making her feet smaller than average for her height.
So this footprint was evidence of an intruder in the cabin!
Rosen's spirits lifted. He focused intently on finding more clues.
Admittedly, the infiltrator had been extremely prudent. Aside from the print and mud specks, no other traces were left.
But Rosen was not discouraged in the least. Rather, he felt invigorated.
"Now I have the intruder's approximate shoe size and thumbprint, and know they can use magic. So where do I investigate next?"
He calmed his mind and pondered carefully.
A framing this meticulous meant the culprit was very familiar with Teacher's life.
And by Lasprin's account, she had lived modestly and rarely interacted with others these past 2 years.
That is, her social circle was very small.
He just needed to find those who had recent contact with Teacher - likely suspects.
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"So, any prime suspects?"
Indeed there were.
He recalled tonight's encounters, focusing on three individuals:
First, Mr. LeVille. Second, the bounty hunter Orleck. Third, the intermediate battle mage Veronika.
Mr. LeVille was the least suspicious - clearly all talk and no action.
The other two were highly suspicious.
Similar in height and build to Teacher, they could impersonate her for the setup.
And both could use magic, and had been lurking around the south market.
Rosen opened his adventure log and pulled up images of them, analyzing closely.
First Orleck.
Inscrutable, with a nonchalant air throughout, as if a mere spectator.
Plus his bizarre behaviors earlier.
Rosen felt if he was the culprit, his skill must be extremely high.
Next Veronika.
When Shabore said her magic was inferior to Teacher's, a flash of resentment crossed the intermediate mage's face.
'Aha! This woman is clearly jealous of Teacher!'
That made her suspicious too.
He had the approximate shoe size of the culprit, and the wet snow made footprints in the ground easy to find and compare.
But the results were disappointing.
Both had larger feet than Teacher's.
As for fingerprints, it was too dark outside to discern clearly. He would need to observe them specifically later.
For now, he had exhausted the available clues. To progress, he would need to investigate more deeply.
"But deeper investigation would be very dangerous for me."
"Whether Veronika, Orleck, or some hidden mastermind, they are all far stronger, able to kill me easily."
"I could bring Uncle Shabore... no, he's too close with Orleck, and a blabbermouth - could startle the snake in the grass."
"So, should I continue investigating?"
The opponents were beyond his limits. Reckless confrontation would likely lead to his death.
He couldn't help thinking:
"Since Teacher told me to believe in her innocence, it means she hasn't given up on me."
"Then would she allow me into such danger if she knew I was investigating?"
"No, she would surely protect me secretly, ensuring I investigate smoothly."
So with Teacher's covert help, he could likely overcome opponents beyond his own strength.
Unless the enemy was so powerful even Teacher couldn't handle... then they would probably perish together.
Rosen fancifully thought: "Hey, dying alongside a beauty isn't so bad."
His mind was made up.
'I'll start investigating first thing tomorrow morning, and get to the bottom of this no matter what!'
But he still couldn't sleep.
"Since it's a test, there will be a grade. The better I do, the more Teacher will value me, and the more inclined to impart precious knowledge."
"The ideal outcome is directly exonerating Teacher and restoring her reputation."
So he had to improve his abilities.
'My opponents could be mages, warriors, or stealthy assassins lurking in shadows.'
'I'll face magic, blades, venomous daggers, even unseen cold arrows!'
Upon reflection, Rosen found a major weakness in himself.
'I'm utterly defenseless against sneak attacks like cold arrows - a child's slingshot could injure me.'
Just like how he had exploded Celeste's marble.
He needed a reliable solution, or he'd be cornered as soon as the investigation began, forcing Teacher to jeopardize herself to rescue him. How embarrassing would that be?
So, how to block unseen arrows?
Soon Rosen conceived a preliminary defense spell idea.
He immediately entered the virtual machine and opened the spell framework database.
A glance and his eyes lit up.
"Low tier constant structure spells, Mavka triggers...aha! Teacher has long provided me the development tools!"
Without delay he began creating a new spell in the virtual space.
Two full hours passed in the experimentation.
At 3 AM, a stream of information flashed through Rosen's mind.
"New spell registered: Repulsion Field."
Opening the spellbook:
Repulsion Field
Type: Triggered extraordinary logic 4-star spell
Spell Power: 8.9 (Low tier superior)
Description: The spell forms an energy membrane over the caster's body. When an external impact exceeds the preset threshold, it activates a powerful field lasting up to 5 seconds, imparting extreme reverse momentum on the intruding object.
The effect lasts 30 minutes total, trigerable 3 times cumulatively.
Cast Limit: 1 second
Mana Cost: Variable
(Note: Cost corresponds to the mass of intruding material imparted momentum.)
With this spell, Rosen had partially covered his greatest combat weakness.
But with his low mana, its effectiveness remained to be seen.
"I'll just do my best."
Already 3 AM, unable to sleep, Rosen simply started meditating.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four breaths.
Strangely, the usual meditation limit didn't come.
Just as Rosen grew puzzled, the power brewing within him these past days suddenly burst forth!
In an instant, the hazy red orb in his consciousness sea vanished, transforming into a translucent golden glow like glazed glass.
Then the stars in his consciousness sea blazed with bright intensity, each distinct as a glowing jewel.
Though the golden sun still enveloped the starsea, it no longer obscured their brilliance.
Streams of information rapidly flashed through his mind.
"Mana successfully promoted to Low tier!"
"Total mana +150%"
"Strength +40%"
"Polarity +20%"
"Mana recovery rate +100%"
A breakthrough! His strength surged tremendously!
Rosen slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of joy in his heart.
"So this is true clarity of contemplative visualization. Not bad!"