Before dawn the next day, a rapid knock at the door interrupted Fang Zheng and Senka's sweet dreams.
"Seriously, what the hell is going on this early?"
Glancing at the pitch-black sky outside, Fang Zheng yawned, got out of bed, walked to the door, and flung it open. An elderly man in a butler's uniform stood outside, staring at her with a grave expression.
"My deepest apologies for disturbing you at this hour, but... please come to the hall immediately!"
Having said that, the old butler hurried away. Fang Zheng exchanged puzzled looks with Senka, who had only just climbed out of the other bed.
"What's wrong, Red?"
After hurriedly putting on her clothes, Senka came over to Fang Zheng and asked curiously. Fang Zheng merely curled her lip.
"We'll know when we get there."
Just as Fang Zheng had said, the moment the two arrived at the hall, they understood what had happened.
At the far end of the hall, a woman was hanging from the Angel statue in the middle of the staircase.
More precisely, she looked as though she had been impaled on the longsword in the statue's hand and raised high into the air, displayed before everyone in that posture.
Though her eyes had been brutally gouged out, leaving only two enormous hollow sockets, her kimono and long black hair still made it clear that she was Hiten Ryuri—the representative from the Department of Legal Affairs who had appeared before everyone yesterday and declared that she was in charge of the matter.
"Ugh...!"
At the sight, Senka trembled and instinctively moved closer to Red Ponytail beside her. Although she had studied magecraft, this was her first time seeing a corpse in person. The corpse's horrific state made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"..."
Unlike Senka, Fang