Chapter 31

“So, what now?”

Leo directed his golden eyes toward the ceiling, his body gone limp with relaxation.

It didn’t look like he had given up because his crimes were exposed; rather, it seemed as though he was surrendering to a pleasant languor, seeing the end of an enjoyable game in sight.

“What do you mean, ‘what now’?”

“It’s all just a theory, isn’t it? Everything you’ve said. Where is the evidence? How are you going to prove I did it?”

“That’s right! If we search him, he’s probably got the key he swiped from Jin on him. Either that, or it’s in his room,” Bob said, sounding as if he’d just hit upon a brilliant idea.

“I wonder about that. If I were him, I would have used every ounce of my strength to hurl that key through the hole in the wall while the second floor was still blanketed in smoke. It’s not like he had any plans to use it again. With Leo’s physical strength, he could probably throw it as far as the forest if he used magic enhancement. The key was merely a way to buy time until the frozen blood melted. A single key dropped in the woods isn’t something you’d find easily unless the knights conducted a massive search.”

“That sounds about right,” Leo agreed, as if discussing someone else’s problems.

“A body search isn’t necessary. Back then, you promised me you’d help prove who the culprit was, didn’t you, Leo?”

Leo wasn’t the type to break a promise, nor would he tell a pointless lie. I was certain of it.

“Of course, I remember. I did indeed make that promise. What would you have me do?”

Sure enough, Leo nodded as he spoke.

“Everyone present will go to the cathedral basement together.”

“Wh—wait, that’s…”

Archbishop Mintz, his face still deathly pale, let out a voice while his mouth worked like a landed fish.

“No, that’s fine. Doing that will bring everything to a definitive conclusion.”

Ice let out a weary sigh.

Perhaps she just wanted it to be over.

“No, wait. A moment ago, I said that if it were me, I’d blow it up during the Foundation Festival, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that might have been a big fat lie.”

Leo let out a smirk.

“What do you mean by that?”

“In truth, I might have already swapped the statue back to the original the very day after I had you all confirm the face.”

“Mugh…”

Ice grew flustered at those words, but I spoke up.

“Is this a final struggle? Or just a prank? Stop messing around, Leo.”

I realized I was suddenly, incredibly exhausted.

The sheer fatigue made it painful even to stand; at this point, all I could think about was finishing the conversation so I could finally sit down.

“It’s the same either way. Listen, Leo. Once this entire group goes to see the statue, and we find that the face Kirio and I saw isn’t Princess Victie’s, it’s over.”

“Is it? That might prove the head was swapped, but it doesn’t prove that I was the one who did it, nor that I’m the culprit behind this incident.”

Leo looked slightly dissatisfied, likely wanting to complain about how I was trying to rush the case to a close.

Let’s play a little longer.

I could almost hear his voice saying those words.

“As long as Kirio and I saw the same face as the swapped head, the culprit of this incident is either the same person who swapped the head or, at the very least, an accomplice. And you were the one who invited us to the cathedral basement so that we would see that swapped head, Leo. You were also the only one who had the opportunity to switch places during this incident.”

Exhausted, I exhaled deeply and stared into Leo’s golden eyes.

The more I looked at them, the more beautiful they seemed.

“Hey, Leo. There’s a criterion for judgment common to both our papers, right? The standard that we should judge things universally and rationally. That was the point you were so fired up about—the one you said would change the world. Well, Leo? If you judged based on that standard, would you be able to conclude that you are the culprit in this case?”

“You’ve got me there.”

Leo gave a wry smile, acknowledging I’d scored a point.

“If you put it like that, I have no choice but to answer: Yes, I would be judged as the culprit. If we go to the cathedral basement now and the head swap is revealed, that is sufficient grounds to identify me as the criminal.”

“Then, let’s go—”

As Raika started to stand up, Leo raised a hand to stop her.

“It’s fine. It’s a pain. Besides, we already know the result. I haven’t put the head back yet because it was too much trouble.”

And so, for the umpteenth time today—and most profoundly yet—silence swallowed the great hall.

Everyone stopped, not even daring to breathe. They were frozen.

“No way… then, it really was you, Leo…”

Leo looked at Kirio, who was staring with wide, bloodshot eyes, and gave a small laugh.

“Yeah. Splendid work, Van. It was me. I’m the one who killed her.”

The culprit then admitted to his crime.

“Why?! Why did you do that to Victie?!”

Uraenus’s eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. He lunged at Leo, only to be frantically restrained by the knights.

“Watching a living corpse is an unpleasant experience,” Leo stated.

He stood up.

His figure seemed even more massive than usual. It was confidence. He was overflowing with such self-assurance and spirit that he looked like a giant.

He didn’t look at all like a criminal whose sins had just been exposed.

Compared to him, I—the one who had unmasked him—felt like a tiny, insignificant thing.

I was exhausted; I wanted to fall into a slumber as deep as mud right this second.

Feeling utterly incapable of opposing the giant before me, I unconsciously took a step back.

It seemed the others felt the same way. Jin, Raika’s guards, and several knights all kept their distance from Leo, looking as though they had been completely overwhelmed.

“To live is to act with intent. Those who do not are merely corpses. It was a mercy for a childhood friend; I simply thought I’d provide the coup de grâce.”¹

As Leo spoke with such nonchalance, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Ice’s face lost all color and Mintz began to tremble.

“Leo.”

I was helplessly tired, but there was still something I had to know.

“The head… what did you do with the Princess’s head?”

That was my one glimmer of hope.

Princess Victie’s head still hadn’t been found. I had thought perhaps he’d hidden it under the tekito-cloth, keeping it frozen when they swapped places.

Amidst that smokescreen, there were countless ways to dispose of it. He could have shattered it with magic, thrown it somewhere random, or buried it deep in the earth.

But I couldn’t believe Leo would do something like that. No—I didn’t want to believe it. I held onto the hope that the head was being kept safely somewhere. It would be a consolation for the Princess’s parents, and for Kirio and me, who knew Leo as a friend. It would allow us to believe that Leo still felt some affection for her as a childhood friend.

“The head?”

But at that question, Leo flashed a smile that looked remarkably like a predator baring its fangs.

“Leftover dessert alone just wasn’t enough.”

For a moment, the meaning didn’t register. I stood there like a statue, and then—

“Huh?”

The realization hit me a second later.

No. That’s impossible. That’s insane.

“Uaaaaaaagh!”

A scream rang out, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor.

When I looked back, Uraenus was lying face-down. He had fainted the moment he understood what Leo meant.

And it wasn’t just Uraenus.

Everyone was now swaying as if on the verge of collapse, their faces ghostly pale.

Myself included.

This was madness.

“It’s not like I ate it whole. I crushed it with magic as I—”

“Shut up!”

Ice screamed, her pale face twisted with a ghastly, demonic intensity.

“Hmph. Fine then.”

Leo then cast a sidelong glance at Geralt.

Amidst the chaos, Geralt was the only one who had quickly regained his composure. Though his face was a bit pale as he leaned on his cane, he glared back at Leo.

“I’d expect nothing less. It’s the difference in experience, Van. You still lack grit and intensity. Consider it a goal for the future.”

He turned his gaze back to me and said those words.

“Leo…”

Kirio, who had huddled close to me and was shaking, called his name.

Leo gave her a brief glance.

“Van, take good care of Kirio. Still… heh. I thought I was the one holding the cards, but I was being held too. Hmph. I know it’s foolish, but it can’t be helped. It’s the karma I was born with.”

He muttered something that sounded like a warning to me, or perhaps just a monologue to himself.

“What are you talking about?”

I asked, not understanding his meaning, but Leo only gave a wry smile.

Finally, the knights, Raika, and Jin sprang into action, drawing their swords and surrounding Leo.

“How noisy.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Goodbye, Van. We likely won’t meet again. Being your friend was quite enjoyable. You look exhausted; you should get some sleep.”

That’s what Leo said.

I know.

It wasn’t just because I tried to solve the case. It’s because the culprit was you, Leo. My brain is short-circuiting because I don’t know how to process the fact that you’re the criminal—whether I should be sad, or shocked, or angry. That’s why I’m so tired I can’t stand it. I don’t want to think about anything anymore.

But those feelings didn’t come out as words; only a ragged breath escaped my lips.

As I watched Leo being led away, I stumbled over to a nearby chair and collapsed into it.

I didn’t have the energy to tell Kirio “Don’t worry” as she peered anxiously into my face. I didn’t care about the sudden commotion growing around me. I simply closed my eyes.

And then, I let go of my consciousness. I felt only the relief that my role as the detective was finally over.

No one would ever want a role like this. Yet, it seems this world needs a Great Detective.

As that thought crossed my mind, my consciousness sank into the depths of a dark abyss.

With this, I won’t have to think about anything.

And so, the case was solved.