The next day, the entire group was gathered in a room. This room used to be King's office.
"For a king, the room was honestly tiny and plain. Zero luxury, just the bare minimum," I thought.
Suddenly, Ragnor spoke first:
"Do you have any idea who the culprit is?"
His voice was filled with impatience.
"We still don't know the culprit's identity, but before your arrival, Nox and I investigated and found a few clues," Mélanie replied calmly.
She gestured to Nox, signaling him to explain their discoveries. He bowed his head obediently.
"After the explosion and King's death, I scanned the floor using a device I created: a magical scanner."
Curious, I immediately interrupted him:
"How does a magical scanner work?" I asked with interest.
"I'll explain it in a simple and quick way," Nox exclaimed in a hurried voice.
Nox's explanations were incredibly fast, but I still managed to understand how the device worked. Here's what I understood:
Point 1: In this world, everyone possesses mana. Mana and blood coexist inside every person's body.
Point 2: Mana is distributed evenly throughout the entire body.
Point 3: If you use too much mana without resting, your body becomes exhausted and overheated. The consequences can be terrible: it can range from a coma to death. To recharge mana, you need proper sleep and physical rest. With a good night's sleep, your mana reserve becomes fully restored again.
Point 4: When you walk through a room or touch something, you leave traces of your mana behind, invisible to the naked eye.
Point 5: Therefore, thanks to the magical scanner, those traces of mana can be seen.
So, using the magical scanner, Nox scanned the floor and managed to find the culprit's mana traces.
Nox finished his explanation before continuing:
"The mana traces form footprints with very large strides. They can't belong to a human, nor even to an elf."
He paused before adding:
"So I deduce that the culprit is a beastman."
Ragnor, Ren, and I — even Ren, who usually found the discussion boring — frowned.
"A beastman killed the King of the Beastmen. Why? For what reason?"
"How pitiful and pathetic. Inferior beings of the same race killing each other," Ren said mockingly.
Suddenly, everyone glared at him.
"This isn't the time, Ren," I whispered into his ear.
But he absolutely didn't care and let out a yawn. Despite everyone's irritation, we decided to continue the discussion.
"How are you sure it's a beastman?" Ragnor asked curiously.
"Thanks to the footprints and the questioning I conducted with the guards. They said that before the explosion, they fought clones of a tiger," Nox replied.
Suddenly, Mélanie, who hadn't spoken in a while, intervened:
"And I deduce that this tiger is a mercenary. Why kill a king without being hired and paid? Especially when assassinating a ruler only brings trouble."
"She's not wrong," I thought.
"So Elena hired a mercenary to kill the king," I whispered without realizing it.
Suddenly, Ragnor lost his temper:
"Stop accusing Elena without proof!" he shouted, violently slamming his fist onto the table.
"Shut up, Ragnor. How much evidence do you need before you finally accept the harsh reality? My mother, Elena, is a narcissistic and xenophobic criminal, yet you still keep defending her. I remind you that you agreed to join us to dethrone her. So instead of defending her, help us and stay quiet!" Mélanie exclaimed in an angry yet controlled voice.
She stared intensely at Ragnor, who tried to avoid her gaze.
Ren whistled.
"I have to admit, for an inferior being, you're pretty badass," he said to Mélanie while looking at Ragnor with a mocking grin.
I was shocked. Ren had just complimented someone. Sure, he insulted her at the same time, but it was still a compliment. This was a historical moment that only happened once every thousand years.
Nox spoke up to calm the situation, his voice calm but firm:
"Calm down, Princess. We still haven't found the culprit, and you're already arguing."
Mélanie froze for a moment, her eyes leaving Ragnor's before lowering her head, visibly coming back to her senses.
"You're right, Nox. That was truly childish and vulgar of me," she replied.
Mélanie returned to the original conversation, resuming a composed tone as though the argument with Ragnor had never happened:
"With the clues we currently have, we can theorize that this tiger is hiding in the Pariahs' District, also known as the Forgotten District. That's where mercenaries are hired and paid. This district is located in the city of Govon, a city known for its inequalities."
Ren stirred dramatically.
"Oh no, don't tell me we have to travel again! I'm seriously tired of this."
The group completely ignored his complaints. Offended, Ren started sulking in the corner. I broke the silence:
"Are we going there on foot or by carriage?"
"Please let it be by carriage," I prayed internally.
"Don't worry, we'll travel by carriage," Mélanie replied.
7 hours and 30 minutes later.
We arrived in Govon. It was a clean, large, lively city.
"Is this really a city of pariahs?" I asked.
"We're currently in the rich district, idiot," Mélanie replied coldly.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived in the poor district: the Pariahs' District.
The difference was brutal. The Pariahs' District was filthy, disgusting, filled with vulgar laughter, graffiti-covered walls, and strange stares.
Disgusted, Ren exclaimed contemptuously:
"I, Ren — perfection incarnate, feline emperor — find myself in such a district. This is truly beneath me. But at least after enduring this filth, I'll receive 100 gold coins."
"But look on the bright side: we finally found a place worthy of Ragnor," Ren added.
Ragnor ignored the provocation. Ren looked surprised but said nothing more.
Suddenly, a silhouette dropped heavily from the roof of a dilapidated building and crashed onto the ground right in front of us. It rose back up with superhuman agility, its eyes glowing in the darkness as it blocked the group's path.
When the dust cleared, we finally saw the silhouette's appearance.
It was a massive and intimidating tiger.
"Oriana, did you hear that? That humanoid cat claims he's an emperor. If I kill him and sell his body at an auction, I'll become rich!" he said to a coin.