The room was drenched in blood.
The air was thick with the stench, and the grotesque scene strained everyone's nerves. Aside from Loki Familia, several residents of Rivira Town were also present.
A muscular man with a black eyepatch and a vicious expression spoke up:
"Hey, Finn, never seen this kid before. One of your new recruits?"
He looked Bell up and down, his tone both arrogant and suspicious.
"Doesn't look very strong. Get him out of here. This isn't a place for kids to play house."
"Bors, I can vouch for this boy's ability and character." Finn avoided answering the familia question.
"...Even the Braver acknowledges him?"
The man called Bors immediately lost his swagger. If a top-class adventurer recognized the youth's standing, provoking him further would only cause problems. Rivira's title as a rogue's town wasn't for show—strength directly dictated status here.
Bell glanced at Bors. Judging from the crowd's reactions and the man's own behavior, Bors was likely the leader of this town.
"So, have you identified the deceased?"
Ignoring the earlier mockery, Bell went straight to the point.
Riveria answered with a sorrowful tone, "The deceased is Hashana Dorlia…"
"Ganesha Familia… Level 4…" Ais added.
Bell had already formed a suspicion from the dark brown skin and their encounter last night. But hearing the name still sent a chill through him.
"...You're certain?"
Bell frowned deeply, regretting not insisting the guard stay with them the previous night. Because this was a safe floor, and lulled by the town's boisterous atmosphere, he had let his guard down.
How could he have made such a basic mistake?
Finn noticed the youth's turmoil.
"Bell Cranel, you knew the deceased?"
"I saw him last night with Lefiya-san. And he was the one who greeted me when I first arrived in Orario." Bell answered honestly.
Riveria immediately understood what that deeply knitted brow meant.
"Bell Cranel, no one could have foreseen this case. You bear no responsibility."
Bors let out a long sigh and muttered a curse.
"Yeah… someone actually had the guts to kill in Rivira Town. Haven't seen that since those two drunken idiots ages ago."
Bell's expression remained grim, but his thoughts were sharp.
"With his body in this condition, how did you confirm his identity?"
"He had no identification on him, and no companions came to claim him. So we used the Status Thief."
Bors looked at the youth with a hint of disbelief. Even as a Level 3 adventurer, if someone he'd spoken with last night ended up like this, he would have spent half an hour cursing in shock before getting himself together.
But beneath the youth's crimson eyes, reason and anger rested side by side in silence.
"Status Thief?" Bell repeated the unfamiliar term.
"It's an item that reveals the abilities hidden behind an adventurer's status," Bors explained.
Only those with the Development Ability Mystery could craft such an item, using divine blood as the core material. Its numbers were few, but its usefulness was exceptional.
For high-level adventurers, checking an assassin's identity with a Status Thief was common practice.
Yet this white-haired kid hadn't even heard of it.
Bors was surprised, but since the boy had Finn's guarantee, he didn't press the issue.
"The Status Thief doesn't fail. The sacred script was interpreted by the Nine Hell, so there's nothing wrong there either." He cursed the situation viciously. "The victim was the Lv4's Hard Fist Fighter… Damn it…"
As Rivira Town's strongest adventurer, Bors was still one level below Hashana. Yet Hashana had been brutally murdered by some unknown assailant.
There were no signs of struggle. No one had noticed anything, which meant the victim likely hadn't even had time to scream.
Even if influenced by Evilus methods, a Level 4 adventurer being killed without fighting back was impossible—unless the perpetrator's ability was already on par with first-rate adventurers.
Realizing this, everyone's expression grew heavier.
"What about the perpetrator's characteristics?" Bell asked again.
"I'll answer," Riveria said. She seemed to have heard something unsavory before, judging by the cold look she cast toward Hashana and the innkeeper. Having a dignified elven princess investigate alongside street thugs was rather inappropriate.
She turned to the boy, her expression softening. "The perpetrator arrived at the inn with Hashana Dorlia. She was wearing a cloak, her face hidden. We only know she was female and well-built."
Riveria continued recounting the events. "She used expensive Magic Stones as payment to rent out every room. The innkeeper took the money and went out drinking. When he returned, this was what he found."
"...Magic Stones?" Bell repeated, noting the detail.
"We suspected them too, but they were just high-quality Deep Floor stones. Nothing unusual," Finn replied. "The only suspicious thing is the victim's belongings."
Inside the blood-soaked backpack, everything had been rummaged through and scattered.
"The cloaked woman was clearly searching for something," Finn said. "When she couldn't find it after killing Hashana, she vented her rage on the corpse."
Everyone listened quietly as the Pallum captain laid out his reasoning.
"To clarify the situation for you," Finn continued, "we found a bloodstained piece of parchment among his things. From the remaining text, we determined that Hashana had accepted a commission from someone, went alone to the 30th Floor, and retrieved some kind of item."
Bell understood—the criminal must have targeted Hashana because of this unknown object. "So there's a high chance she's still in Rivira Town..."
Finn nodded. "Yes. With that level of obsession, and without obtaining the item she wanted, the culprit is very likely still hiding somewhere in town."
Hearing this, Bors' eyes widened. "You're serious? Someone who can kill a Level 4 is still in Rivira?"
"It's only my hypothesis," Finn said, licking his fingertip. Since the boy reached the same conclusion, this unsettling suspicion couldn't just be his imagination.
Finn turned to the others. "Bors, seal off Rivira Town. Bete, take a high vantage point and watch for any suspicious individuals. Tione, Gareth—work together and make sure no one slips out."
After giving out assignments, the Pallum captain faced the boy. "Bell Cranel, that's the situation. Do you have any other thoughts?"
"..."
Bors glanced at the thinking youth and scoffed.
Everyone knew the available information was far too limited. The only certainty was that this was a premeditated murder. The perpetrator had targeted Hashana's belongings from the beginning—they had come fully prepared.
"We'll just check them one by one. If Rivira Town is sealed, we'll eventually find the culprit."
Bors clearly held no hope for the youth. Someone who didn't even know about the Status Thief—how could he offer anything useful?
"That would likely play right into the perpetrator's hands," Finn countered. "Inspecting people's Status violates the confidentiality treaty. Before we find the culprit, a riot will definitely break out."
If the crowd panicked, not only would the killer escape, but more people might die.
Finn could invoke the authority of Loki Familia to force everyone to comply. But the residents of Rivira Town mostly belonged to mid-tier familias. Doing so would plunge Loki Familia's reputation into the abyss.
Without checking ability values, investigating based solely on body shape would be flimsy at best.
With so little information, even the brilliant Finn found himself stuck.
While everyone else frowned in thought, Bell spoke softly:
"Why did the perpetrator crush the head?"
"Hah? What the hell are you talking about, brat?" Bors cursed at the bizarre remark.
"No. I just think it's strange if it was meant as an act of venting rage," Bell said calmly.
The killer had prepared meticulously. She had used herself as bait to lure the victim into close proximity.
Bell continued, "After committing such a brutal act, why isn't there any damage on the rest of the body? According to prior testimony, no one noticed anything, meaning the perpetrator had plenty of time to take out her anger."
If the cloaked woman had truly fallen into madness from failing to find the item, there was no reason she would have left the rest of the body untouched.
Bors tugged at his eye patch and sneered.
"Of course it was to hide the victim's identity."
Bell had expected that answer. He looked around at everyone present and pointed out the most critical flaw.
"You all know about the Status Thief. If the goal was to hide the victim's identity, would the culprit really leave the entire back untouched?"
"...?!"
Everyone froze for a moment.
It was precisely because the boy didn't know about the Status Thief that he noticed this blind spot.
The perpetrator had prepared thoroughly. Wearing a cloak, leaving no clues beyond body shape—someone that cautious, someone capable of killing a Level 4 with ease, would never be unaware of the Status Thief.
This potion circulated in the black market. Though expensive, in Rivira Town—a lawless place where no trade was forbidden—information about the Status Thief was common to anyone with ears.
Finn fell into silent thought, the boy's remark opening a new path in his reasoning.
The perpetrator hadn't forgotten the Status Thief at all. She used it. She wanted investigators to step straight into the trap she had set.
But where was the deception hidden? What advantage did it offer the criminal to allow everyone to learn the victim was Level 4? Was she planning to take advantage of the lockdown to search for what she wanted? Or was the act of crushing the skull not an outburst of rage at all, but something with another purpose...
Finn felt he was closing in on the truth, yet he was still missing the single thread that would tie everything together.
The air seemed to shiver in the silence.
Bors, Tione, and the others had already left to carry out Finn's order to seal off Rivira Town. Those who remained held their breath, afraid to disturb the thoughts of the boy and the Braver.
Riveria quietly stepped forward, gently draping a white cloth over the body as if offering a final gesture of mourning.
Amid the chilling scent of blood, Bell spoke first.
"When I saw Hashana-san yesterday, he was wearing a helmet that covered his entire head. Is that how he usually dresses?"
"Yes. I've never seen his face. He wore it like that when he came to the inn yesterday too. That guy always wears a helmet when he comes to Rivira Town. Everyone in town knows that." The innkeeper who had stayed behind answered immediately.
"Perhaps it's out of reverence for his own Familia God. The God Ganesha always wears an elephant-headed mask and never shows his face," Riveria added.
A face suddenly flashed through Bell's mind—bushy beard, dark brown skin, a hearty smile.
He clearly remembered it. On the day he first arrived in Orario, Hashana-san had not been wearing a helmet.
Could the culprit have crushed the skull to hide something?
The identity of the deceased, and the person he'd met last night, truly was Hashana. If it wasn't an attempt to swap the body entirely, then what could the cloaked woman accomplish with the head?
The skull, the ears, the eyes, the skin…
Bell suddenly grasped what the culprit had wanted to conceal.
"The skin…"
His voice was quiet, yet it slammed into Finn's thoughts.
That thread he had been missing, the final piece of the puzzle, settled neatly into place.
"You mean… the skin on his face?" Finn's brow furrowed.
In Orario, anything was possible. Skinning a person and reusing it, as revolting as it was, wasn't unheard of. Evilus had used far worse methods.
"Exactly. No one has seen Hashana-san's face. If she used someone's face as a mask, she could fool everyone easily. As for her build, she could fake it, or hide it under loose armor," Bell explained.
Everything pointed toward a woman. And the cloaked figure only needed to use that assumption to evade suspicion. While everyone's eyes were on the female adventurers, she could disguise herself as a male adventurer no one questioned, and use that chance to search for whatever she wanted.
The deduction had reached its end.
The tense air in the room softened.
Tiona, hearing the words "falsified physique," glanced down at her own flat chest, pursed her lips, and said nothing.
Riveria watched the youth, genuine admiration in her eyes.
Ais stood silently, gaze fixed on Bell.
Finn began planning their next steps. Keeping the boy involved had definitely been the right choice.
"Gather all the adventurers in town. Riveria, you and the others will pretend to investigate the women. Gareth and I will quietly check the suspicious male adventurers."
Finn's expression was grave. Even with the target clearer now, any misstep could endanger the townspeople.
As he worried over the strategy, Bell-san spoke, slow and steady:
"Finn-san, there's no need for that."
His voice was firm, courageous, like he was forcing down the anger inside him.
"On the day I arrived in Orario, Hashana-san wasn't wearing his helmet."
The words echoed through the room, cold and sharp.
"I saw his face clearly. I remember it."
A cold wind stirred Bell's white hair, brushing through the sorrow buried in his crimson eyes, letting his words sink into the suffocating scent of blood.
The crystal above remained dim.
The dawn everyone waited for had yet to come.
...
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