As the saying went, the person most familiar with a corpse was often the killer. Shirou's words were entirely credible, because he had absolutely no reason to lie.
And precisely because of that, they were astonished. The Golden Princess's beauty surpassed the limits of humanity; reproducing such beauty defied common sense!
But their surprise did not last long, because someone spoke up:
"Interesting. Never mind the Lord of the Department of Modern Magecraft—I never expected the 'Black Wing' (Murciélago), famed in the Department of Law, to be so knowledgeable about modern technology as well. You've truly made me see you in a new light!"
"You flatter me, Lord Baru Yeleta," Shirou replied politely. "After all, I am no magus, merely an ordinary magecraft user."
Touko Aozaki scoffed at Shirou's politeness. That was only because her teacher was not putting on airs before the boy or displaying a magus's pedantry.
Otherwise, even if he were the Lord of the Department of Creation, Shirou would not have treated him kindly. No—perhaps he would already have had a blade at Inorai's throat. That was just the kind of person he was.
"All right, do me a favor and disperse for now. This should be the detective and his assistant's stage."
Inorai's words carried weight. After all, she ranked among the top ten figures at the Clock Tower—perhaps even on par with the old man of Jewels. (The Clock Tower's current Marshal of Magecraft was Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Second Magic.)
After everyone had left, Webber began investigating the case like a true detective, occasionally exchanging a few words with Inorai.
During that time, Shirou and Kirie stood guard on either side of the door, making Webber's eyelid twitch.
Shirou had explained this style of guarding to him before: if anyone dared to come