Wizard Stone - Chapter 717



Only Krnovel

717. Small fire

“Where exactly did the fire start?”

“Outside the warehouse.”

“Outside?”

“Roy.”

Eredin, who was at the entrance, raised his hand. After sending his servant away, Roy followed Eredin to the place where the fire broke out.

“hmm.”

As the employee had said, the fire started outside the warehouse. Fortunately, the fire wasn’t that big, and only a little bit of soot remained.

“Who was the first person to discover this? Do you know?”

“I heard it was Gordon.”

“… … Gordon?”

“I came here because I felt something strange while practicing. It’s not that far from here in the backyard.”

“Hmm. What kind of training were you doing?”

“Well. Why, because I think Gordon might have burned down while practicing?”

“Well, maybe so.”

If Gordon is timid, it’s possible. He may have accidentally set the fire and was too scared to say anything.

Personally, I would rather it be that way.

“Is there any chance that someone set this on fire on purpose?”

“I think so for now. There’s no fireball nearby, and it’s not a place where a fire can start. And you have a lot of enemies.”

“That’s true.”

I was debating whether or not to bring up Bowser, but in this situation, I don’t think it’s necessary to bring it up.

Like Eredin, he thought of the worst first.

“Of course it’s not like they’re targeting you. It’s more likely they’re targeting the people around you.”

“I guess so.”

If he was targeting himself, he wouldn’t have used fire.

It was hard to believe that a wizard wielding a huge fire sword over 10 meters long would burn to death.

“So, what do you think?”

“Well, maybe Nop saw something?”

“It could have been, if you were here.”

“Not there now?”

“uh.”

Of all places, I sent a letter to Count Cory earlier.

It’s all because of the conversation I had with Louisa. I was hurt by the question asking if I had been in touch with Vivian recently, so I wrote this letter.

Well, I was going to write a letter about the students anyway… … .

“I couldn’t see it for some reason. Hmm. Then what about him?”

“who?”

Roy followed Eredin’s gaze to the corner, where Sarah, Tello, and Lani were standing together, their faces sticking out.

It seems like he came to see what was going on.

“Didn’t you say your cat was good at finding things too?”

“You’re good at finding things. Rani, have you seen anyone suspicious?”

“I haven’t seen it.”

I haven’t seen it.

“… …Not you guys.”

Then Rani cried as if she had been waiting for it.

Roy was about to tell her to come and smell it, but then changed his mind and motioned for her to go. He had a feeling that if Rani came, the two of them would come too.

“what?”

“I haven’t seen it.”

“Then, is it an insider?”

“also?”

“Look. There’s no other trace than the fire. If they started the fire outside, there would have been arrows or branches.”

“Hmm. Couldn’t he have set it on fire and run away?”

“That could be the case. That’s why I told the kids to check the railing. But I wouldn’t take a chance just to start a fire like this. And there’s no need to erase the traces when you’re giving a warning. If anything, I would have left them.”

Now that I hear it, that’s true.

As Eredin said, this is a warning. If we were going to do something right, it wouldn’t have ended like this.

They might have used oil to light a bigger fire, poisoned the kitchen, or made a more direct attack with arrows or bolts.

“But if you’re an insider, it’s a different story.”

“Hmm. Is there anyone you suspect?”

“Well, I have no idea. Honestly, if you just look at the possibilities, they’re all suspects.”

“you also?”

“From your perspective, I would be like that too. You’re a conman.”

“That’s right.”

Roy laughed lightly and focused on the traces again.

From what Eredin said, it definitely seems like the work of an insider.

However, I could not agree that all of my colleagues were suspects.

It was hard to imagine that Irina, Luna, Mila, Marie, Dread, Eredin, Tali, Shugel, and Beek would do such a thing.

So then it’s either the work of a hired hand, a mercenary, a student, or an outsider…

“How is it? Did something happen?”

“No, there is no trace.”

“at all?”

“Oh. If the culprit didn’t climb over the wall without holding onto the railing, then no one would have gotten in.”

“The other side is the same. Oh, maybe he’s a wizard? He doesn’t even have arrows. He must have set the fire with magic.”

“Well, that could be the case.”

Of course, the possibility of that happening is slim.

It was hard to believe that the wizard would have done something like this to warn us, let alone that we could set fire to this place without holding onto the railing.

However, the idea that the fire was set by magic made sense.

“Where?”

“I’m going to go see Gordon.”

“To interrogate?”

“… … to consult.”

To conclude, I didn’t find anything strange.

Rather, the suspicions that had existed disappeared. If he were Bowser or Matap, he probably wouldn’t have entrusted this kind of work to a guy like Gordon.

“Then there’s nothing left. Back when there was an assassination attempt on you, there was Dana and arrows, so there was something I could do.”

“I know.”

It’s definitely a bit frustrating compared to back then.

Of course, it wasn’t like there was nothing. No, to be exact, there might have been something.

When I think of Dana, something suddenly comes to mind.

“Just do some research. Oh, I’ll take care of the students, so you focus on the employees and mercenaries.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have something to do for a moment.”

After giving a vague answer, Roy headed to Mila’s studio.

As it happened, Mila was still in the studio. Only she wasn’t alone, she was with someone.

“Ah, your highness.”

“… … What are you doing here, Dali?”

Roy looked at the desk with a question. It was strewn with the latest works that Mila had shown him before.

“I called you. Why?”

“No, I have something to say.”

“Is this important?”

As Roy nodded, Mila’s gaze turned to Dali. Dali looked at his desk with regret, then got up and left the studio.

“Do you run often?”

“It was the first time I saw you. Why?”

“No, nothing.”

I was worried that maybe he wasn’t practicing magic and was just doing other things, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“What else is going on?”

“Ah. Did you know there was a fire a little while ago?”

“Yes. But I heard it was a small fire.”

“It’s true that it’s a small fire.”

The problem is, we don’t know who started the fire.

Roy brought up the name of the dead employee, mentioning a past assassination, just as Eredin had done earlier.

“Do you remember Dana?”

“Do you remember?”

“That’s good. You told me to be careful because you heard Dana come into my room back then. I was just wondering if you heard anything this time.”

“Did you hear who started the fire?”

“huh.”

“Not at all. I can’t hear that far.”

“yes?”

I had hoped for it. I guess it wasn’t possible after all.

It certainly didn’t make sense that I could hear the sound coming from the studio all the way here.

“Then have you seen any strange people?”

“A strange person?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be today. Is there anyone among the employees, mercenaries, and students who seems suspicious?”

“Well, there are some things that are bothersome.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“Yes. But it’s not a person.”

“… … Leave Tello alone.”

“I’m not talking about goblins.”

“then?”

“It’s a rat.”

“mouse?”

Roy tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

Why is there a rat suddenly here?

“Do you know that there are mice in the house these days?”

“Really? A rat?”

“Yes. It has increased quite a bit.”

“Is it because the weather is getting cold? My house is warm.”

“It’s warm everywhere else. The fireball isn’t just here.”

“That’s right.”

Then why did the number of rats increase?

“I think it started with the graduation exam. Once the students came, the employees started not being able to catch mice.”

“why?”

“Why? There’s a student who raises rats.”

“Trish?”

“I don’t know the name. Anyway, ever since the rumor started going around that he keeps rats as his familiars, the employees can’t catch rats carelessly. If they accidentally kill one, it’ll be a big problem for that rat.”

“hmm.”

It’s a plausible story. Even if you look at it yourself, that familiar doesn’t look much different from a normal rat.

Even if it wasn’t for that reason, if it was true that the rat was there, it must have been very annoying for Mila, the sculptor. Even more so than before.

Now, it’s not just about eating it, it’s about taking the sculpture with it.

It would have been possible if it were just small sculptures on a desk.

“Okay. I’ll tell Trish. Make sure she takes you with her, at least when you go out. I’ll probably catch you then.”

“Well, if possible, don’t let me go out and about, not only when I go out, but also when I’m at home.”

“why?”

“There’s something strange about that rat.”

“What’s strange?”

“Sometimes when I stare at something, it feels like I’m observing it.”

“hmm.”

Strictly speaking, it is not like observing, but rather observing.

When you look at it, the rat is a familiar that exists for that purpose in the first place.

As mentioned before, it is almost impossible to distinguish them from other rats.

Maybe that’s why familiars, especially rats, are banned in magic schools.

Because you could probably just steal answer sheets or other wizards’ research like a normal rat.

… … Looking at it that way, it seems okay.

No, it’s not okay, it’s dangerous.

If Trish’s rat-like familiar were to enter her home, would she be aware of its presence?

I don’t know.

It seemed impossible, unless the rat blatantly revealed itself as a familiar.

Thinking about it that way gave me a little goosebumps.

“Roy?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell Trish to make sure she doesn’t wander around.”

“thank you.”

“Thank you.”

It’s for yourself, not Mila.

I’m not doubting Trish, but I felt like it would be easier to do that for now.

At least until we find a solution for the familiar.

Suddenly, there was one more thing to worry about.

My head was complicated.

Four days have passed since the fire broke out.

In the meantime, although the culprit was never found, there was some good news.

First of all, Trish’s rat didn’t start the fire.

Naturally, I pretended to consult him to see what the rat could do.

To conclude, there was little that could be done.

Because his body was so small, he couldn’t hold or move anything.

Of course, things like poison and flint were no exception.

However, as expected before, it was possible to observe things, such as stealing a glance at the answer sheet, but even that had some limitations.

That’s what it means to not be able to see what’s too far away and to have a hard time expressing what you’ve seen.

First of all, it seemed like he couldn’t communicate like himself.

I couldn’t tell if it was because they were rats or if they were still lacking in communication.

Maybe it’s both.

Anyway, it was a fortunate thing.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t prepare at all. My familiars aren’t just rats, after all.

That’s why I started a new training with Rani.

Since she’s good at smelling, she tried it just in case, and surprisingly, it worked. Rani was able to pinpoint exactly where Trish’s rat was.

I don’t know if this is only possible with Trish’s rats, or if it can find other wizards’ familiars as well, but it doesn’t seem like it would hurt to train them.

Whenever I was home, I would often look for Trish’s rat.

Every time, I was either in the room or with Trish, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Because it was a training that Trish didn’t know about.

If possible, I wanted to hide the fact that Rani was able to find her familiar.

And the same goes for Dokdo.

No one knows that Coroner Gordon was given some poisons, except the parties involved.

Of course, the training itself was secret.

Looking at the results alone, I wondered if it was really necessary to train, but I continued anyway.

There are not only that many types of poison, and its abilities increase the more you use it.

Of course, familiars were no exception.

So two new secrets were created.

No, three?

“Who are you?”

“Sarah and Tello. They’re in here now.”

“her.”

Roy shook his head.

Are you saying there were two people who set the fire?

“Have you talked about it?”

“No. I don’t think I have anything to say. Marie and Buk came too, but I sent them away for now. I think it would be better for you to talk first.”

“good job.”

Surely, he was the only one who could say something to both Sarah and Tello at the same time.

Roy opened the door after asking Eredin to look ahead.

A room like a warehouse that no one uses. In the middle of the room, Sarah, Tello, and Lani were gathered together, waiting to be disposed of.

Just by looking at the trembling, I could tell who had set the fire.

I think I know, but I thought I’d ask anyway.

“Sarah.”

“yes.”

“Did you start the fire?”

“Uh… … no.”

“Tello, is that you?”

no.

“… … There was a fire in this room, and you were the only ones here. If it wasn’t you two, then tell me who started the fire.”

The two people’s eyes rolled at Roy’s scolding.

However, the movements were a bit unnatural. It kept staying in one place and then moving repeatedly.

Naturally, Roy’s gaze also turned there.

“rani?”