strokinit Chapter 35 Doubt
Chapter 35 Doubt
The next morning, before dawn, there was a loud banging on the door of the sentry post.
The knocking was loud, startling Snowball and Helford. The two furry creatures huddled together, Snowball even trembling like it had Parkinson's, its fur standing on end.
Who is it?
Seeing the snowball turn out like this, Zag became alert as well. He quickly put on an outer garment, maintaining a posture where he could use the [Fireball] spell at any time, and carefully opened the door.
"Sentinel, I'm here to inform you that the information you provided is very important. We can now confirm that an alchemical potion that can turn people into werewolves has appeared on the market, and the number of victims is far more than two. We found more at the Golden Helmet Grain Store, a total of twelve victims! Including the one at the Association's headquarters and the already deceased Ranmir, there are fourteen in total!"
The visitor was an advisor to the association. Zag recognized him; his name was Liam, a stern-faced young mage who looked to be only in his twenties. He always maintained a "decent" demeanor, even folding the collar of his robes at a neat angle, and holding his staff as a walking stick.
But Liam looked travel-worn, though his clothes were no different from usual, his face showed obvious fatigue. Zag guessed that he had just returned from Golden Helmet Fortress, and might not have even had time to go to the Association's headquarters before coming straight to him.
"Oh, is that so?"
Zag was taken aback for a moment—
He didn't quite understand why Liam had specifically come to talk to him about this.
To put it bluntly, although he discovered the matter and reported it to his superiors, it wasn't really his responsibility, and he didn't have the ability to manage it.
Normally, he is only responsible for reporting any abnormalities that he cannot handle to the association's office; what happens afterward is none of his business.
Think about it! He's just an insignificant sentinel! He doesn't even know magic, so there's no way he'd be involved in handling something like this! How could he possibly come all the way here to "report" these details to him?
Moreover, it was the association's resident consultant, the top person in charge at the local abnormal incident handling association's resident office, who came to "report" to him!
Has Liam taken the wrong medicine?!
But soon, Zag's still somewhat groggy brain, still half-asleep, finally caught up with what Liam had said, and he immediately forgot about the other's purpose in coming to "report" to him.
"Wait, Golden Helmet Grain Store!? What does that mean!? The werewolf incident is related to Golden Helmet Grain Store!? That alchemist and Lady Grace are in cahoots!?"
Zag stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
He thought the Golden Helmet Grain Shop gang was only after money, but he never expected them to kill him!
Liam stared silently at Zag, observing him while shaking his head and saying, "No, Mrs. Grace was unaware of this. She claims she was told to cooperate in raising grain prices, but knew nothing about the werewolves."
"So what exactly happened? I'm completely confused!"
Zag was oblivious to Liam's scrutiny, his mind filled with the scenes of Lady Grace asking him to "cooperate" with the grain store on previous occasions.
Although Mrs. Grace did not explicitly "collude" with him—a word that even he found offensive—to say that she was completely unaware would be a joke.
In short, he was genuinely a little skeptical that Mrs. Grace was completely unaware of the situation.
But if Lady Grace has dealings with that mysterious alchemist, things become increasingly dire.
Liam's tone was somewhat harsh, or rather, he didn't seem to be answering Zag's question, but rather warning him: "One of the advisors under the Golden Helmet has betrayed the kingdom, worshipped an evil god, and then deceived his superiors and subordinates, demanding that Lady Grace cooperate in raising grain prices in the name of the Earl, and diverting embezzled funds to an organization that worships an evil god..."
"That's roughly the situation right now. If you know anything else, just tell me. I've already reported this case directly to the Research Court using special methods. At the earliest, the Golden Palace will send someone over to investigate within three days."
"What else do you know..." Zag belatedly realized Liam's warning and wariness, but he couldn't understand why. He scratched his head and brought up the news he had just learned yesterday: "I did just learn something. Flint, the mage from the Lonely Tower Mage Guild who's been staying at the tavern recently, told me that the alchemist couldn't possibly be from the Dawn Mage Tower, because the Dawn Mage Tower doesn't have a profession called 'Alchemy,' only 'Potion Mastery.' But at the time, that alchemist didn't even know what 'Potion Mastery' was, so Flint believes that the other party is definitely not a mage from the Dawn Mage Tower."
Liam nodded: "Very good, is there anything else?"
Zag spread his hands: "No, you know, I know absolutely nothing about magic. I learned everything about this case by accident."
"I heard you recently adopted a stray dog?" Liam asked. "May I see it?"
Upon hearing this, Zag's heart tightened suddenly.
He let it slip at the market yesterday, and Liam already knows today—it's only early morning, the market's just opening! Some vendors don't even come this early!
"Uh, yes, I do have one."
Rationally, Zag knew he should trust Agorah—after all, Agorah was one of the Nine Holy Spirits, and it was Snowball who requested the blessing as a follower. Elijah, a novice mage, shouldn't be able to see the problem, but he was still incredibly nervous.
Fortunately, Zag was best at lying and pretending, so no matter how nervous he was, his expression was no different from usual.
He beckoned to Helford, who was curled up in the corner of the bed: "Coal Ball! Come here!"
Helford was much more nervous than Zag. He was so scared that he tucked his tail between his legs, timidly approached the door, and hid behind Zag's thighs, refusing to go any further.
Helford's posture naturally aroused Liam's suspicion. The advisor from the association immediately began chanting an obscure ancient Elvish phrase. Then, a pale golden light spread from his body, landing on Zag and Helford.
Fortunately, Agora's blessing was very reliable. Liam didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He even politely apologized to Zag after finishing the spell: "I'm so sorry, this case is too serious. I had to check everything that was suspicious. Well, the stray dog you adopted is indeed just a dog. I was being paranoid."
Zag was somewhat surprised that such an arrogant mage from the Golden Palace would apologize, but he still replied politely, "It's alright, it's all for the safety of the town, I understand."
However, just when Zag thought he had beaten the game, Liam's words scared him half to death again—
"But, Sentinel, may I ask why there are traces of fire magic in your house?"
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[Snowball's Science Corner]: Normally, spells chanted by mages are chanted in Ancient Elvish, which stems from the saying that "Ancient Elvish is the most orthodox language for describing magic".
"That's all nonsense!"
Snowball commented as follows.