Several hours had passed since then.
(But honestly... asking me to track down bandits without a single lead...)
Ren understood that the client, the Arnevelde Company, was desperate for those very leads and wanted him to uncover them, but that didn't make the task any easier.
How was he supposed to start?
If he were a professional investigator or an experienced adventurer who specialized in this kind of work, it might have been one thing, but Ren was neither.
He was currently by the lakeside where he had hunted the Berserk Fish.
Sitting on the ground, Ren looked up at the sky, feeling the lingering chill of the spring snow through his seat. A few clouds drifted lazily across the clear, early spring sky.
"...I mean, the knights have already been mobilized for this investigation. Why haven't they figured anything out yet?"
The bandits—or rather, the bandit gang, given the scale of the crimes—had first targeted the workshops of magic tool craftsmen living in the Imperial Capital.
Strangely, they had stolen documents and other non-monetary items rather than gold or valuables. It was possible that someone was offering a fortune for those specific records.
"Even if they escaped under the cover of night, they left almost no traces behind."
From what he had heard, the group was like a phantom mist.
"—One thing is certain, though: there’s a Dispel user among them."
Dispel was a specific type of skill used to nullify seals or effects created by mana. Jelququ was a prime example of someone who had honed that power to its absolute limit.
Furthermore, Dispel wasn't just for breaking seals; it could also interfere with the functioning of magic tools. In The Legend of the Seven Heroes, that power was frequently required to open magically locked treasure chests.
Ren reasoned that the thieves had used this ability to bypass the security devices protecting the workshops. If they had simply smashed their way in, they would have drawn far too much attention from the knights and the public.
"I should start by suggesting this to the guild."
While it wasn't much to go on, it was a solid lead. Ren decided to relay his theory to the Arnevelde Company. Once he returned to Erendil, he would stop by the guild and have the staff send word to the client.
"...What else?"
He stared up at the sky, deep in thought.
The people at the Arnevelde Company weren't fools. They had likely already considered everything Ren had just realized, and the knights surely had as well. Ren racked his brain for any other points worth sharing.
"A Dispel user... and these specific thefts..."
He puzzled over the meager information for several tens of minutes.
Though he was sitting on the ground, he had spread out a Little Boar Pelt beneath him—a hunting essential from his home village. Thanks to the fur, the cold didn't seep into his bones, and the cool breeze helped keep his head clear.
—If this were a scenario in a game, how would I have approached it?
He felt a bit silly for falling back on that line of thinking, but having hit a dead end, Ren finally embraced the idea.
"It has to start with the Imperial Capital..."
First, there was the question of how the bandits left the city.
The capital was heavily guarded, but if the thieves were experts in stealth and acted in the dead of night, an investigation would be incredibly difficult. However, the knights and guards weren't incompetent. They were seasoned professionals, and it was hard to believe they would simply let a group of criminals slip through the gates so easily.
"...Something still feels off."
Ren clutched his head, unable to shake the feeling that he was missing a piece of the puzzle, yet unable to visualize what it was.
Eventually, he summarized a few key points to investigate and stood up with a determined "Alright."
The ice covering the lake was already thin and cracking in places. Ren looked into the water, feeling a twinge of regret that he hadn't hunted more Berserk Fish during the peak of winter. The fish were swimming leisurely now, no longer possessing the ferocity they displayed during the colder months.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
That same night, inside the Imperial Castle.
Prince Radius had just finished his bath, and his hair was still damp, sticking to his skin where a light sweat lingered. He sat on a sofa, nursing a cold drink while he contemplated the situation.
"Now then..."
He muttered to himself as he gazed at his glass. His reflection showed a man with a deep frown etched between his brows.
"It truly is impossible. No matter if the crimes occurred at night, how could they have vanished so completely? Even if they managed to flee, there should be a trail of clues leading away from the scene."
Radius had only begun to personally focus on this disturbance a few days ago. As the Third Prince, his schedule was packed with official duties. After finishing the final exams for the Imperial Academy’s Special Merit Class in January, he had been swamped with state affairs, including three diplomatic trips abroad in a very short span of time.
Despite the grueling schedule, he showed no signs of exhaustion. However, his absence meant it had taken some time for him to receive a detailed briefing on the case.
Knock, knock.
"Who is it?"
"It’s me, nya."
Recognizing Mirei’s voice, Radius called out, "Enter."
Mirei walked in, holding a letter. "Did I disturb your thinking, nya?"
"I don't mind. Has something happened?"
"Yes, nya. There’s something I thought I should report, nya."
Mirei handed the letter to Radius and sat on the sofa opposite him without waiting for an invitation.
As her master broke the seal, she continued, "It’s from the Erendil Branch of the guild, nya. Unfortunately, only a few adventurers have stepped up to take the request, but on the bright side, we’ve received something like an interim report, nya."
Radius wasn't pleased by the low turnout, but the prospect of an interim report piqued his interest. He began reading immediately.
"—Someone reached the same conclusion we did, and with far less information."
"Nya? What do you mean, nya?"
"Read it yourself. It’s quite fascinating."
Mirei took the letter back and scanned the contents.
It detailed a report from an adventurer who had accepted the request that day. The guild had relayed several specific questions and observations on the adventurer's behalf.
The report focused on the state of the security devices at the various workshops. The adventurer wanted to know exactly how the devices had been disabled during the thefts and what their current condition was. Furthermore, they asked if anyone with the Dispel skill was employed by any of the victimized workshops.
"It’s a strange thing that several workshops were hit, yet the bandits left practically no traces," Radius remarked.
The implication was that the thieves had an accomplice within the Imperial Capital. Naturally, the guards and knights were already working under that assumption. But there was more.
"These security devices are massive magic tools. If someone breaks in, the devices are supposed to either neutralize the intruder or trigger a loud alarm to alert the outside."
This time, however, the devices had likely been shut down by a Dispel user.
"The key is how they disabled them. These devices are integrated into the very structure of the workshops. Smashing them would have been far too loud and impractical if they wanted to remain undetected."
"So they had to use Dispel or something similar from the start, nya."
"Exactly. Or rather, destroying them all was simply not a realistic option."
Mirei gave a knowing look. "It would be impossible for a single Dispel user to handle all the thefts alone, nya."
"Precisely. That is why multiple crimes were committed in a single night," Radius explained.
The Dispel user wasn't there to steal; their only job was to move from workshop to workshop, disabling the security. The actual thefts were carried out by accomplices who slipped in as soon as the coast was clear. By splitting the labor, they drastically reduced the time required for each job.
This matched the information the investigation had uncovered so far, but the details had been kept strictly confidential. The authorities were managing the flow of information carefully to avoid tipping off the enemy.
"It would definitely be easier to plan if they had an insider at one of the workshops owned by the merchant companies, nya."
Mirei’s observation echoed Ren's reasoning. Having someone with internal knowledge was an undeniable advantage for planning such a heist. Since the thieves seemed to understand the industry so well, the first people to investigate were those within the trade.
The same applied to how they vanished without a trace. It was suspected that they had been hidden away temporarily and then smuggled out when the heat died down.
"The adventurer who sent this reached our level of deduction almost immediately with very little data. It seems they phrased it as an inquiry because they lacked definitive proof, but they were definitely on the right track."
At this stage, it hadn't been confirmed that a member of the merchant companies was involved, but it was the strongest lead they had. It would be foolish not to investigate it. In fact, many people, including the knights, were already looking into that very possibility.
"I’ve heard that the security devices at the targeted workshops were designed to completely seal the interior from the exterior. I suspect they stole some of the components, modified them, and attached them to a carriage to slip out of the capital undetected."
"Usually, modifying or repairing such things would take forever, nya. But as you said, Your Highness, if they had a meticulous plan, they would have prepared for that in advance, nya."
"Exactly. That’s likely how they escaped without leaving a trail."
"I also heard the lookouts were taken down pretty easily, nya~"
"Yes. But the workshop owners and the merchant companies are also to blame. The fools were so afraid of their technical secrets leaking that they delayed reporting the thefts to the knights."
The report didn't reach the knights until well after the incident had occurred. Even with the finest guards and knights in Leomel stationed in the capital, an investigation is bound to struggle when the initial report is delayed. Radius intended to see those responsible for the delay punished.
"They were so worried about their future business that they let their own positions be compromised."
"Well... knowledge is their livelihood, nya. But Your Highness, could the person who delayed the report also be working with the bandits, nya?"
"I think the probability is low, but I haven't ruled it out. We’ll be looking into that tonight as well."
If it turned out they had no connection to the thieves and were simply trying to protect their profits...
"I can understand their perspective, but the bandits and their accomplices counted on that greed. It shows how cunning they are."
Radius let out a long sigh and looked at Mirei.
"Mirei, can I leave things here to you?"
"Of course, nya. You can leave the small stuff to me. But where are you going, Your Highness?"
"I’m heading to Eupeheim. I want to speak with Ulysses. Knowing him, he’s probably been looking into this behind my back. I want to hear his thoughts."
Radius stood up to change his clothes. Mirei left the room to handle her assigned tasks.
"...Still."
Radius thought back to the adventurer who had submitted the report.
He had heard that this person had arrived at the same conclusions as him almost immediately after accepting the request. While the knights and civil officials would have reached that point eventually, this adventurer had been remarkably fast.
The fact that an adventurer—not a trained investigator—had shown such insight with limited information filled Radius with genuine admiration.
"I’ll have to meet this person eventually."
But for now, he had other priorities.
Once he had finished changing, Radius gathered a few belongings and left the castle with his personal guard. They boarded a magic ship, setting a course for Eupeheim.