"So Flandre is going to be a tainted witness!" Flandre Scarlet raised her hand and asked.
"Bah, bah, bah! What tainted witness? Flandre, you are a specially invited expert for the Lungmen Guard Department's Major Crimes Unit, personally hired by Governor Wei. This time is just for summarizing and archiving after successfully solving the case," Beatrice reached out to cover Flandre Scarlet's mouth and quickly reminded her.
"Oh, so that's how it is!" Flandre Scarlet scratched her hair, then followed the others to the Guard Department in a daze.
Fortunately, they were technically working at the Governor's Mansion before, so the three of them arriving at this hour wasn't considered being late. However, they ran into trouble just as they were preparing to close the case.
The trouble naturally came from the victim's family. Although the unreasonable woman from before wasn't there, the representatives expressed total rejection of the case conclusion, which stated:
[The murderer resisted arrest and was killed on the spot by Superintendent Chen Huijie, Superintendent Hoshiguma, and Officer Beatrice of the Guard Department, assisted by expert Flandre Scarlet; the scene was engulfed in fire, leaving no intact corpse of the murderer].
After all, these three were the ones who had stopped them from contacting that other Blood Demon yesterday. Furthermore, the claim that one Blood Demon and three Guard Department officers killed another Blood Demon without physical evidence, photos, or even a body—closing a case based solely on the testimony of four people with a short sentence—was naturally unacceptable to the victim's family.
Moreover, the other party claimed they had never heard of a second Blood Demon in Lungmen, so how could it be that they encountered one during the day only for another to kill the victim at night? He seriously suspected it was a play directed and acted by the Guard Department themselves to cover up the fact that the murderer was actually that Blood Demon girl being protected by them.
"You! I told you it wasn't her. If you want to suspect someone, you need evidence. Baseless suspicion... believe it or not, I'll lock you up right now for obstructing justice," Beatrice looked at the man with cold eyes.
"There's no need for this officer to be so angry, nor is there any need for such trouble. I have a way to at least prove the murderer isn't the little Blood Demon lady behind you."
Just then, a somewhat lazy and flippant voice rang out from the doorway. As everyone looked over, Flandre Scarlet cried out in surprise.
"Whoa, what a big Carp Spirit!"
...A brief silence followed.
"Ahem, good afternoon, officers... I am a detective commissioned by the victim's family to help investigate and gather evidence... You can just call me Lee. Of course, who I am isn't really important. What matters is that I might be able to clear this lovely young Blood Demon lady of suspicion."
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, the self-proclaimed Detective Lee introduced himself before continuing.
"You say you have a way to clear Flandre Scarlet of suspicion?" Chen Huijie looked at him skeptically.
"Naturally. Although I've accepted the commission from the victim's family, in all fairness, I also don't believe this lovely young lady before me could be the murderer," Lee answered very naturally.
"Speak then, what method!" Hoshiguma also looked at him suspiciously, wanting to hear his brilliant idea.
"It's actually quite simple. I investigated the bodies of the three victims and found that there is actually a bite mark on the neck of the youngest child. However, because the bodies were covered in wounds and the sight of a mummified corpse is quite shocking, most people subconsciously ignored the existence of this bite mark."
Lee took out a prepared photo, showing the mummified corpse of the boy who was once chubby but now thin, and pointed to his neck. The group looked in the direction he pointed; there was indeed a very faint bite mark. It wasn't obvious among the many wounds and was hidden by the wrinkles of the dried skin, making it difficult to spot at first glance unless one was specifically looking for it.
Now that it was pointed out, it naturally became the strongest piece of evidence.
"To be honest, I believe this bite mark was not made by this Blood Demon lady. Based on the traces, this should be a mark that only at least an adult male could leave. Therefore, we only need to compare this Blood Demon lady's bite pattern with the wound on the deceased to rule out her suspicion of murder."
After Lee finished speaking, he placed the photo on the table and stood quietly to the side.
"Very reasonable. So, sir, do you think this can be used to rule out the criminal liability of our expert, who was personally invited by Governor Wei?" Chen Huijie nodded, then turned her sharp gaze toward the man who had been rambling earlier.
Seeing this, the man didn't dare to say another word. After all, Chen Huijie had put it that way; if he continued to question it, the only path left would be to take his whole family and get out of Lungmen. And that was assuming others would even let them leave. One must know that many people wanted to curry favor with Governor Wei. If getting rid of his family would make Governor Wei a bit happier, many factions would likely not mind lending a hand to do the Governor a favor.
He quickly nodded, fearing that any delay would be interpreted as having further objections, which if reported to Governor Wei, would truly be the end for him.
Flandre Scarlet's bite mark was simple to get. Hoshiguma took a piece of bread from her cabinet and handed it to Flandre; after Flandre took a bite, the mark remained on it. The bite mark from the corpse was also quickly brought over by the forensic doctor. When the two were compared, the difference was so stark that even someone with severe astigmatism could see they were different.
Only then did everyone breathe a complete sigh of relief. Before, it was just witnesses and testimony, but now with definitive physical evidence proving Flandre Scarlet wasn't the killer, there were no more obstacles to closing the case.
Just as the man was about to leave in disbelief, Chen Huijie called out to him.
"There's one thing I forgot to mention earlier, and I think I should tell you now. When the murderer was killed, it wasn't just our people at the scene; Governor Wei's direct guards were also there. Our application to close the case was also approved by Governor Wei and Lady Fumizuki. Alright, you two may leave!"
If the evidence was to let him know that Flandre Scarlet indeed didn't do it, then this sentence was to clearly tell him that the person he kept accusing of harboring a Blood Demon was precisely the highest authority in Lungmen. The man's face turned pale instantly.
"I... I certainly didn't mean to question Governor Wei... Officer Chen knows, after all, with such a big tragedy in the family, I had to get a clear explanation..."
"Yes, and we've given that explanation. The Major Crimes Unit is not a place for receiving guests. You two may leave!"
Hoshiguma stood up and walked slowly toward the door. The pressure forced the man to subconsciously retreat, and Lee also tactfully nodded to the group before following him out of the room. After the two left, Swire picked up the business card Lee had left on the table.
"Lee's Detective Agency? Interesting fellow."
Although the other party only appeared once, he had solved a minor nuisance for them, making them remember his name. It could be said his client got the truth, Flandre Scarlet was cleared of suspicion, and he entered the sight of the Major Crimes Unit. Everyone got what they wanted; it seemed everyone profited immensely from his intervention.
Is this that Lee? Her other memory didn't have a deep impression of him. Although he had the bonus of an animated short, perhaps the other memory didn't like furries, and it just so happened that Lee's Detective Agency was full of them... so that memory's knowledge of the short was limited to just the title.
However, when Lee's Detective Agency was mentioned, Flandre Scarlet remembered his identity. One of the only two six-star Merchants in the game, the strictest father to the Mizuki Roguelike Knight boss, the best spokesperson for soggy noodles, and the Lee whose phrase "I'll have two bowls" swept across the land. She didn't expect to meet him at this point in time. But he was indeed someone who left a deep impression.
After things were settled here, Hoshiguma sent her home. As for our beat cop Little Tiger, under her superior's urging, she could only return to her patrol duty reluctantly. Old Chen went to archive the case.
By the time she got home, it was already noon. She contacted Alina, who happened to be looking for her as well. The reason was that, except for the medical team staying behind, Dr. Kal'tsit and the Reunion Movement had reached a preliminary cooperation agreement, and she was preparing to leave. The good news was that Dr. Kal'tsit also promised to arrange for someone to help check Talulah's body.
"That's wonderful!" Flandre Scarlet was very happy to hear this. Although she knew many spells, most were focused on destruction. For this kind of delicate soul magic, Patchy or her sister would probably have no problem, but she really didn't have any good solutions.
Over the next few days, Flandre Scarlet returned to her daily routine. Aside from occasionally dealing with Beatrice's harassment at night, she spent most of her time reading or watching TV alone, occasionally being taken to the Major Crimes Unit by Hoshiguma or Chen Huijie to help handle some troublesome evidence.
"Flandre-chan, tomorrow is a sunny day. Let's go on an outing together!" Beatrice hugged Flandre Scarlet and said enthusiastically.
"Huh?" After finishing the books for Alina, Alina needed to transcribe them to spread the knowledge, so Flandre had basically been alone these past few days except for their daily chats. However, considering her previous experiences going out with Beatrice, she always felt that although Little Tiger was a good person, being with her always led to various troubles. The key was that, to prevent her from turning a 'trouble' into a 'dead trouble,' Beatrice would always hold her back.
So Flandre Scarlet was a bit hesitant about going out together.
"Don't worry, this time it's organized by the Guard Department. Not far from where we're docked is a beautiful tourist town. The department arranged for us to go there to investigate a smuggling case, and they gave us a whole week. It would be a pity not to go and have some fun with such a good opportunity..."