Voluue (1/2)
PROLOGUE: CORPSE ON A RAINY NIGHT
“The newspapers are going to make a fuss over this”
A man said He seemed to be around fifty years old He had a firm, barrel-like body
“Well, it is astounding Even I find this hard to believe”
A voice answered hie of the other one They both wore grey hats of the saly worn out, and the hat of the young man was brand-new They were the kind of hats worn by the sheriffs of Ismo Republic
The twoin Fullbeck City, Ismo Republic
Theman was called Kalon
It wasn’t yet night-ti in street corner while it was drizzling and had no umbrellas, droplets of water trickled down the brim of their hats
“It’s quite horrible”
Moodly said His eyes were un from the corpse at his feet
It was a wo had she been left in the rain? Her soft silken slip-dress was as wet as if it had fallen into a river Her flowing blood s in a thin red
The corpse had no head
“It’sa headless body It’s just like some suspense movie”
Kalon said He saw the severed head at the edge of his vision It was lying about three meters away He stared at the face which became deathly pale
“If this were a ht?”
Kalon cracked a joke with a twisted voice
“Stupid, ould obviously have only minor roles”
Moodly retorted, his voice calm
They both knew that corpse They have seen her face countless of times Sometimes she was an Armed Librarian Sometimes she was an ancient queen Sohtless cheating wife They have seen her displayed on the white screen a the hustle and bustle of the cinema countless of times
Her name was Parney Parlmanta There were none who didn’t know her name in the movie capital of Fullbeck
“Come here”
Said Moodly
“Take a look at that wound”
The two crouched down and looked into it
“Do you see?”
“What am I supposed to see?”
Moodly pointed at the cut surface
“Both flesh and bones were sliced off in a straight line”
“…Right”
“The neck has some pretty hard bones Even if someone tries to decapitate a person, they would have to use a saw or some heavy blade In both cases, there would be some unevenness in the lines of the wound”
“What does that mean?”
“Whoever killed her wasn’t a noric”
“…So, does that anization is on the move?”
“Either soanization”
“Perhaps… an Armed Librarian?”
The two locked gazes Either way, it was not at a level they could handle They had no training in Magic; they were normal people
“Let us preserve the scene and leave it for Central Security”
“I agree”
The two took sheets out of their government-sanctioned hopper car and covered the corpse One for the body and one for the head
When they finished preserving the site, Kalon went back to contact the authorities Moodly stayed behind
The ’s shadow and took out a arette and his matchsticks became wet in the rain and were thus useless
Al the corresponding Book If they were able to find Parney’s Book they would probably iht about this, he heard so from behind
“…Who is it!”
Moodly pulled out a pistol He regretted his decision to stay behind
If the criet for them Startled, he went closer for cover
“Are you also looking for Lascall Othello?”
The person in front of him spoke It was a man’s voice
“Don’t move!”
As he turned the gun’s muzzle to the man, Moodly saw him
He had no face The man wore a mask The mask had no eyes or mouth He couldn’t see in front of him… He shouldn’t be able to see
The faceless man carefully looked at Moodly Moodly could feel that he was looking at him from beneath the mask
“…A sheriff, huh You arrived faster than I thought”
“Don’t move!”
The facelessHowever, Moodly could understand – he was on a different level Even if he were to fight thata tank, it wouldn’t help at all
“Don’t move…”
But he was still a sheriff who served forbut try to apprehend the crih he kneas less
“Don’t move”
“The sheriffs of this city are excellent Worthy of praise”
“…Don’t move”
“Oh excellent sheriff Unfortunately, this case will not be solved”
Moodly instinctively replied
“Why?”
“Because the case was just now solved The death of this pitiful actress is the end of the incident”
“…What do you mean?”
“She went searching in the darkness She touched on things that mustn’t be touched upon That pitiful woman received her punishment and lost her life”
“…I don’t get it”
“You mustn’t”
The faceless man said
“Oh excellent sheriff You are tasked with protecting this city You ht”
Saying this, the man departed
“Good-bye I pray for your good health”
“Wait!”
The faceless man turned around
“Who is Lascall Othello?”
“…I will now give you a chance to take back your words”
“I didn’t hear anything I don’t know anything”
As expected, the day after, newspapers were filled with articles about the murder of Parney Parlmanta However, no matter where Moodly looked, he couldn’t find any infor to the man known as Lascall Othello
Eight years passed since then – enough tiotten
There was the smell of coffee in the air Freshly brewed, hot, thin coffee It helped awaken his body that became heavy with alcohol the previous day
Who’sthis His daily routine was to boil water as soon as he woke up
Holding his slightly aching head, Mattalast raised his body Just as he did so, he heard the voice of a wo from the kitchen
“Oh, are you awake, Matt?”
Oh, thought Mattalast The voice he heard ell-known to him
“Did you stay here, Hammy?”
Mattalast got off the bed as he scratched his head He slipped his bare feet into shoes and headed for the kitchen
“Sorry for intruding Do you remember yesterday?”
Ha hair in a ponytail so it wouldn’t interrupt with her work and wore an apron she pulled out of soest warrior at all She see more than a sloppily-dressed housewife
“Mmm, not really”
Mattalast answered
“Didn’t we drink a bit after work yesterday? Your house was closer Since it was troublesoht”
So that’s it, Mattalast thought as he reached the table Ha in front of him
They were in Mattalast’s house at Bantorra Library’s don In this unglahtly narrow kitchen, a study, a bedroo room It was more or less of the size for one person to live in
Generally speaking, Arhly paid With someone near the top like Mattalast, he could afford a house ten tiht about how bothersome it would be to clean it up
The preparations for breakfast were as stove and bread was heating up in the toaster On the table was a salad ar and salt Next to it alnut butter and chocolate sauce
“How s?”
“Four s”
Staring at the clock’s second hand, Has into the pan