The Youngest Member Filming a Parenting Show is Adorable - Chapter 274
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【274】
“…Yes. You’re quite perceptive.”
“You’ll be caught too.”
“That’s a fair point.”
Din answered weakly, squeezing his eyes shut.
Finding the culprit was normally a job for the police, but this was a locked-room murder aboard an ultra-luxury cruise ship. One wrong move and the entire vessel could descend into panic.
If someone had noticed something, it was better to swallow one’s pride and accept their help.
Though I couldn’t know where the murderer was hiding, as long as we were sailing across the open sea, they had to be somewhere on this ship.
The faster I unraveled the trick, the easier it would be to solve the case.
“If we don’t hand over the murderer in custody the moment we dock at Whithirian, the ship might not be able to proceed to the next port. That would be troublesome—I came here to enjoy my vacation, after all.”
I knew all too well how irritatingly persistent those Whithirian fanatics could be.
Divine power, divine love, divine salvation.
They spouted such nonsense and could justify anything under the name of their god.
Because they despised magic so intensely, they’d even blanketed their entire nation in holy power, preventing even a trace of mana from entering.
The only reason the Mado Empire’s cruise ship could even dock there was because it relied on ‘magitech engineering’ rather than ‘magic’ itself.
‘At least they need to allow that much so they can trade and make money.’
After pondering for a moment, Rasifer lifted himself into the air and flew toward the ventilation shaft.
“A… a Wizard?”
“A Wizard!”
As if that alone would accomplish anything.
Their shocked expressions were rather amusing—it wasn’t as though I were flying through the sky itself.
“You there, the captain, was it? Let’s examine the inside together.”
Before tearing away the metal grating of the ventilation shaft.
Rasifer cast a spell on Dean Edenwall as well, levitating him to the same spot.
Of course, since I wasn’t being particularly kind about it, Din ended up flailing his arms and flipping upside down in mid-air… but at least he could still see inside.
“Tear it out.”
Rather than touch it myself, I simply tilted my head, and Din gritted his teeth, using both arms to wrench the metal grating away.
Crack!
After the somewhat violent sound echoed, the two of us peered inside together.
“I feel a chill. There’s still moisture here. And this metal grating is bitterly cold.”
“Of course it is. An enormous amount of dry ice must have filled this passage.”
“But if dry ice could kill someone, then why does the Hall of the Deep Sea, which is completely covered in dry ice on the floor, have no such problems?”
At Din’s question, Rasifer clicked his tongue in irritation.
“That’s because dry ice sinks to the floor. That Elder would have been kneeling to pray.”
“Ah…!”
“If I were investigating, I’d suspect those who knew the victim’s daily habits well. They’d be accomplices at minimum.”
I suspected the Priests from the same Religious Order as the victim.
It was the kind of thought ordinary people could make but would prefer not to.
However, Rasifer showed no hesitation.
Because.
I’ve never been particularly fond of priests to begin with.
They’re human beings with the same hot blood flowing through their veins as anyone else, yet they’re praised as sacred and virtuous simply because they believe in God. It’s absurd. And I despise how they point fingers at Wizards, calling them servants of Satan.
But to reiterate, Whithirian initiated this hostility first.
‘Well, perhaps someone wanted to prevent Whithirian and Quaion from growing closer….’
The motive for murder remained unknown. I could only speculate.
But there was no reason he should have to uncover that either.
Behind Rasifer as he held Superti’s hand, Dean Edenwall, still hovering in the air, shouted out orders.
“Find out if a large quantity of dry ice has ever gone missing! Verify the priests’ alibis! Make sure no other guests are affected.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And the staff! Gather the human employees and the mechanical staff separately!”
The culprit had likely noticed that this ship operated almost entirely on mechanical automatons. While the police would respond to an incident, they surely knew their numbers weren’t sufficient to handle all three thousand passengers.
“Pel, are you worried?”
“No. Not particularly. I’m fine, Shu.”
“Hmm, but you can’t resist when something piques your curiosity. You can go investigate and find out the truth.”
As Rasifer gazed into Superti’s round, gentle eyes, he felt his mind suddenly clear of all concern.
“No. I’ve already forgotten about it.”
Yes, what did it matter who the culprit was or what the truth was?
It wasn’t a serial killing anyway.
Rasifer, watching Superti’s adorable profile as she fell deep in thought, came to a halt when she stopped walking.
“You know, Pel, if we use tracking magic, couldn’t we catch them right away?”
“Probably.”
“Then let’s just solve it ourselves. If we go back to the room like this, we won’t be able to enjoy ourselves. The atmosphere will be gloomy! Besides, they’re a bad person. We should punish them.”
At Superti’s words, Rasifer immediately infused his magical power into the corpse.
If the culprit had used that much dry ice, they would have suffered frostbite themselves.
By now they’d be preoccupied with hiding it… half a day would be enough to catch them.
Of course, that was assuming he took action himself.
* * *
I decided to stay in my room until Rasifer returned.
I was tired from playing so much, and drowsiness was creeping in.
As I yawned, I picked up a book and shuffled over to the sofa. While turning pages to the sound of the night sea’s waves, I switched on the communication device before it got any later.
Crackle, crackle!
But for some reason, the communication device wouldn’t connect.
Staring blankly at it, a certain possibility occurred to me.
“A magical reflection field created with holy power…?”
There was no other reason the communication device wouldn’t work. What on earth was happening?
I called for the mechanical butler, but it didn’t come.
Narrowing my eyes, I had no choice but to snap the book shut.
It would be faster to go out and find out directly what was going on….
“Huh?”
The door is locked…isn’t it?
I jiggled the door handle a few times, then tapped my lips thoughtfully.
[Flammeus, the Flame Spirit King, says this is suspicious.]
[Atif, the Emotion Spirit King, shrieks.]
[After the locked-room murder, every room on the ship has become a sealed chamber!]
The Spirit Kings refrain from sending messages while I’m on a date with Rasifer—it’s their way of being considerate.
But now that a special situation has arisen, they’ve all rushed to send messages.
[Aurora, the Water Spirit King, says a mana reflection barrier has been erected on this ship.]
[Of course, someone like Rasifer could break through it and move freely, but it seems he’s observing the situation for now.]
“Hmm, if I get help from a Flame Spirit, could I melt this door handle?”
[Flammeus, the Flame Spirit King, pounds his chest confidently.]
Ssssshhhhh!
Soon, the Flame Spirit breathed fire from its mouth, melting the door handle. A Wind Spirit cooled it down since it was scalding hot, and finally the door opened.
Holy power is completely opposite in nature to mana, but it’s similar to spirit magic.
In other words, a mana reflection barrier cannot suppress spirit magic.
Even with a powerful mana reflection barrier, I remained free.
“Hello! Is anyone there?”
“Please open the door!”
Stepping into the corridor, I heard the sound of people pounding on doors from all directions.
I used a Wind Spirit to open all the doors at once.
Whoever was doing this had no right to confine people without consent or notice.
‘Besides, if something this suspicious is happening, it might actually be better if people were in chaos and running around. I can’t be certain what the culprit is trying to do, but… maybe they locked people in their rooms to prevent them from interfering?’
If that were the case, the people in the restaurant, ballroom, and performance venue might also be confined.
That’s when it happened.
[Aurora, the Water Spirit King, points to a small paper crane.]
“Rasifer’s paper crane!”
Looking around, I spotted the paper crane resting on a protruding decoration on the ceiling and brought it down using wind.
It probably couldn’t reach me because of the mana reflection barrier.
[Shu, there’s something bothering me, so I’m heading to the Hall of the Deep Sea. If you’re coming out, let’s meet there.]
Mother, who had read the note with me, sent a message.
[Aurora, the Water Spirit King, says subtle vibrations occurred near where the Mermaid Show was held earlier.]
“Then I need to go check it out!”
Moving quickly toward the elevator, I realized it wasn’t working and took the stairs instead.
That’s when I descended the stairs about twice.
‘A second corpse…?’
I discovered a Priest lying collapsed with blood streaming from the back of his head.
It was that young Priest from before.
“It’s a second murder!!!”
At the same time, the people following me screamed.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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