An Empty Heart (Part 2)

Even if Lita's performance far surpasses that of a top-tier Magus, she shouldn't have acted so irrationally.

But looking at it now...

This Lita is hardly a top-tier Magus. She's a monster no less powerful than Aozaki Touko, and might even be the holder of Jewel-Grade Mystic Eyes.

No wonder they were so confident, and no wonder they had connections with the true owner of this Rail Zeppelin. These guys are definitely not simple beings.

For Lehmann, this immense sense of oppression had gradually surpassed the pressure he had faced when confronting the Mineralogy Department Lord, and was even approaching the level of Barthomeloi.

As for Hansa's words, he secretly thought they were exaggerated.

After all, this aura had reached a point where he could feel the threat of death.

The last person to do something so easily was that venerable Dead Apostle Ancestor from the Burial Agency, the one who bore the crown—that madwoman Narbareck. Even a bow had never given him such a deadly feeling.

What's wrong with this guy? Just as I thought, is he a monster of that level?

If what he thinks is true, this matter is in serious trouble. If things go wrong, none of the people on this train will escape. He needs to find a chance to inform Rovey and Aozaki Touko to strike first... Tonight's auction will most likely be canceled.

In an instant, different thoughts arose in the minds of everyone present.

"What on earth is going on?!"

At this moment, Lita had no time to care about what others thought; instead, she angrily questioned the hostess at the front of the room.

As for Rovey, who broke the container, she didn't blame him. The reason was obvious to everyone.

Rovey had obtained their consent in front of them before he started, and he didn't use even a tiny bit of magic power; he simply smashed the bottle against the container holding the Mystic Eyes.

In order to maintain the performance of the Mystic Eyes to the greatest extent and to facilitate its observation and maintenance, the container used to seal it is not a precious metal or something with full defensive capabilities, but a crystal container that is more convenient for preservation.

Even so, the crystal container was protected by a full array of defensive and anti-theft spells, along with various other countermeasures. It shouldn't have been broken so easily. Yet, this unimaginable event occurred before their very eyes today, without any warning.

It is more accurate to say that a simple physical collision caused the completely sealed container, which should have required special techniques to open, to be opened from the outside so easily, or rather, smashed open.

The idea that a broken glass bottle could shatter a barrier comparable to that of Grand Rank Master is truly unbelievable.

Furthermore... these [Mystic Eyes of Insight] currently being displayed are not the kind of highly destructive or lethal demonic Mystic Eyes. Their inherent magical properties cannot leak out and damage the container itself, so...

"Someone must have tampered with it beforehand..."

Lita's face darkened considerably upon realizing the correct answer. She glanced at the hostess beside Rovey and questioned in a sullen tone, "Is this how you bunch of useless people do things? You didn't even know the spell on the container was lifted and the contents were switched?"

"I am extremely sorry, I will immediately investigate the cause."

The hostess, who had been questioned by Lita, looked flustered and quickly bowed to apologize.

Although the preservation and care of the Mystic Eyes were not her responsibility, the theft still occurred under her supervision. Given the gravity of the mistake, she bears significant responsibility and must provide a satisfactory explanation to everyone present.

--clang!!

The next moment, there was another sound of shattering glass. At the same time, Rovey next to him smashed another container holding Jewel-Grade Mystic Eyes, and the carpet was completely stained amber.

"Hmm, it broke again... Did they really get switched out?"

He picked up a shard and examined it with great seriousness. His thoughtful remark made the already stiff-faced host feel as if she were in an ice cave, and even through her blindfold, it was clear that she was about to cry.

She then hurriedly left the restaurant area without even bothering to clean up the scene.

"...waste."

Watching her hurried departure, Lita's lips twitched slightly, and she uttered a word utterly out of character. She then suppressed her burning anger, but her expression didn't improve much. This time, she turned her gaze to Rovey, who had replaced the hostess standing beside the food cart.

Do you know what happened?

She lowered her voice and asked coldly.

None of the others noticed immediately, but Rovey did. There must be some reason she didn't understand. Now, among all the people in the restaurant, Rovey was the prime suspect.

"It's an illusion."

To this, Rovey calmly answered Lita's question.

"Illusion?"

"Um."

He nodded slightly, then raised two fingers and channeled his magic to create several strands of golden light, which he flicked directly at the Mystic Eyes and the fragments of the container below.

--call out!

A streak of light flashed by and then landed on the ground.

Suddenly, the golden light dissipated and covered the fragments, causing the four Mystic Eyes on the ground to change dramatically.

"Although my major is Alchemy and Jewel Magecraft, I am also highly skilled in illusion magic, which is why I was able to detect something amiss. I believe Miss Lita can attest to that, right?"

"..."

Lita didn't answer, because she knew that Rovey was alluding to the incident two days ago when she tried to seduce him with the charm of her Mystic Eyes but was thwarted.

"Let me take a look..."

Seeing Lita's tacit agreement, Rovey nodded slightly, then raised his finger to pick up a pink petal from the side of the food cart, gently crushed it, and then blew it into a cloud of colorful powder into the room. At the same time, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What amazing illusion magic... Although it's different from my Golden System, it's still the most top-tier illusion magic in the world."

"It seems to use flower petals as a medium for casting spells. This kind of Magecraft undoubtedly belongs to the Age of Age of Gods. It is somewhat similar to the methods of Merlin, the Magus of Flowers. Huh? Could it be that Merlin secretly sneaked into the car last night and stole the things? Hmm, that is indeed something he could do."

Rovey was talking nonsense with a straight face, but judging from his serious tone, it was as if he was joking with everyone present.

"... Merlin? How could something so absurd be possible? But..."

Ignoring Rovey's offhand truth, Lita grabbed a handful of petal dust floating in the air, sniffed it, and a slight look of surprise crossed her eyes. Because she truly sensed something from it—

"This is indeed an illusion from the Age of Gods, imbued with the magic of that Age of Gods."

"What?!"

His surprising remark caught everyone off guard, who had initially taken Rovey's words as a joke.

The illusion of the Age of Gods...

It should be noted that much of the foundation of Magecraft has been lost over the years.

The Magecraft and magical power of the Age of Gods are not the same as those used by Magus of this era. If this is truly an illusion from the Age of Gods, then wouldn't that mean...?

"Could it really be Merlin?"

Not just Rovey, but everyone else suddenly had this absurd idea pop into their minds at this moment.

Even the dignified and beautiful Lita couldn't help but look grim and bewildered by the strange occurrence.

Although she didn't keep her Mystic Eyes open for extended periods, even without actively activating them, the Jewel-Grade Mystic Eyes possessed an unimaginable level of insight and perception. Yet, even with such eyes, she didn't immediately notice anything amiss with the exhibits. Instead, when she saw that the containers were intact, she subconsciously assumed there was nothing wrong with them.

This level of illusion...

She even genuinely believed that Merlin from the Starry Sky had come out to commit the crime.

Moreover, because the murderer did such a thorough job, he replaced the contents without anyone noticing, without damaging the container at all, and even added a layer of illusion to deceive others. This made everyone subconsciously feel that there was no problem when they saw the same intact container as yesterday, since the container was still safe and sound, which meant that it had not been opened.

So even someone like her, who possessed the Mystic Eyes, was misled, let alone the others. Apart from Rovey, who indeed had a high level of illusion skills, no one else noticed anything unusual about this.

So... what exactly happened?

"Hmm, just an ordinary gemstone with magical properties...?"

Just then, Aozaki Touko suddenly muttered to herself.

She had already left her seat, grabbed two Mystic Eyes that had rolled off the ground, and examined them closely.

Because Rovey had just dispelled the illusion, these things revealed their true nature: four magic gems of different colors.

The magical aura they felt through the container was emanating from the gems themselves.

Seeing this, the other Magus around also crowded around, eager to examine the gems in hopes of finding some clues.

Lehmann was the first to receive the gem, since his family's Magecraft used special gems to create high-quality artificial Mystic Eyes, so when it came to Mystic Eyes and gems, he was naturally the first person in the room to receive them.

However, after observing carefully for a while, he could only shake his head helplessly and then handed the gem to the next person.

"No, these gems are just inferior minerals, not artificial magic Mystic Eyes made of gemstones. The magic and mystery they contain don't even meet the basic requirements for making ordinary artificial Mystic Eyes."

Lehmann explained to everyone, "These four gemstones of different colors come from Northern Europe, probably from a mine in one of the countries of Finland or Norway. However, these things have already been sold all over the world, so there are no clues at all."

"Tsk... Even the family Magus who created the artificial Mystic Eyes have said so. It seems there's no other way. So, Miss Crown, who revived the Northern Europe, what are your thoughts on this?"

The one who spoke up this time was Hansa.

He unusually adopted a serious expression.

In response, all Aozaki Touko could think of was Lehmann's statement that the gemstones originated from Finland and Norway...

In Finland, could it be...?

As if she had thought of something, she glanced at Rovey without making a sound, but at that moment he was talking with Lita, discussing what had happened.

It wasn't until Hansa called her several times that she came to her senses, gently shook her head, and replied, "No, although I'm reviving the Northern Europe foundation, there are many Northern Europe foundations. What I'm good at is runes. As for Northern Europe Jewel Magecraft, you'll have to ask the Mineralogy Department."

"I see... Well, there's nothing I can do about it then, but one thing is for sure, things have gotten interesting this time."

Hansa shrugged, then turned to look at the tense-looking crowd.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the carriage had completely frozen.

After all, the theft of the Rail Zeppelin... it's like a huge joke.

You should know that this thing is a moving legend and calamity. It always seems that those who enter it are missing something. This is the first time I've heard of someone stealing the Mystic Eye Train.

In the past, there were Magus who caused trouble on the Mystic Eye Train, but apart from Aozaki Touko who escaped, all the others disappeared inexplicably and no one has seen them since.

Without exception, they were all dealt with by their mastermind.

However, in the past, the most the disturbances were just damage. But this is the first time since the train started that the prepared goods have been looted before the auction even began. This will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the auction and is a devastating blow to the train's reputation.

While the people behind him began to discuss the missing goods, Rovey Wei was sitting opposite Lita, trying to comfort her.

Thanks to Rovey's comforting words, Lita's anger subsided somewhat.

She then asked Rovey a few questions about illusions.

To this, Rovey nonchalantly displayed his Golden System illusion technique, letting her compare the two. After all, the illusion wasn't his creation, and even if he told Lita the other party's true identity, she wouldn't believe it. It was none of his business.

After careful examination and comparison many times, even though the two completely different magical properties indeed indicated that the illusion was not set up by Rovey, Lita still felt that this matter was definitely related to the man in front of her, but she still couldn't find any evidence.

Because no matter how she examined it, Rovey's Magecraft was entirely based on modern Western techniques. The illusion she had just used, however, belonged to the Age of Gods; while there were some connections, their essence was completely different.

Therefore, without any evidence, she could only express her reluctant gratitude to Rovey.

Rovey then suggested, "Instead of just waiting here, let's wait for the staff to give us an explanation."

"Um..."

Hearing this, Lita nodded slightly, agreeing that what he said made some sense.

Almost immediately after they finished speaking, the restaurant door was opened again from the outside.

The train conductor, the hostess, and several staff members with strikingly similar faces and expressionless expressions walked in.

"I am deeply sorry, dear guests who have traveled from afar. Due to the mistakes of our organizers, this train journey has resulted in a very unpleasant experience. On behalf of all the staff on the train, I would like to express my apologies to you."

As soon as they entered, the train conductor, whom they had met just two days prior, led all the staff in bowing deeply to apologize to all the guests present, their sincerity evident in both their words and actions.

However, what Lita clearly wanted was not this meaningless explanation.

"Stop wasting time, just state the results of your investigation."

She said coldly.

"Regarding this incident, we have defined it as the first and most serious theft case since the Rail Zeppelin began operating. The specific details of the incident are still unclear, but based on the incident, it is estimated that it occurred in the afternoon after I ordered the staff to submit the list to each guest and to take today's exhibits out of the collection room."

The train conductor said with a serious expression, "According to the investigation, we sent the list at 5:00 noon, retrieved the collection at 6:00 pm, and had staff check it at 7:00 pm before storing it in the train's depot."

"So... where is the last staff member who had contact with the Mystic Eyes?"

Lita went straight to the point about the case.

"He's dead..."

The train conductor answered calmly.

"Dead?!"

This result was indeed somewhat unexpected.

"So, he might have been killed by the murderer after 7 p. m.?"

Lehmann said, frowning.

"No... He committed suicide, and by taking his own life. There was a fruit knife stuck in his body, piercing his heart."