Buying Out A Life

Ethan carried a gas lamp in his left hand and a detector in his right, searching every room. The needle on the detector stayed in the blue zone the entire time, and it made no shrill noises, which meant everything in the house was normal.

According to the information sent by the Containment Bureau, Roxanne didn't seem like the sort who would turn into a ghost and come back for revenge, either.

The attack on neighboring Riverside Town had left everyone on edge. So as soon as the Imperial Union Bank staff discovered the body, they sent it to be cremated along with the Clown Uniform and hood Roxanne usually wore. The guild sent three professional Demon Hunters to accompany the body through the entire process, using the rites they performed for fallen comrades.

The rites would let the deceased's soul rest in peace and prevent it from becoming a Vengeful Ghost.

Ethan had been in the Haunted House for nearly an hour when he finally heard a key turn in the lock at the entrance.

Ivy came in, looking somewhat tired.

"It was the rain. Marshall said the branch in Brookwood Town held a Social Mixer that day and invited Roxanne to liven things up. The staff said he'd been caught in the rain on his way there and seemed completely out of it. His performance at the mixer went wrong, too. He knocked over a bottle of expensive red wine while doing acrobatics and got scolded."

Ivy tried to sum up as concisely as possible what Marshall had told her.

After Ethan left, Marshall had still been angry, so his choice of words had been less... charitable.

He thought Roxanne was useless, a coward, unable to handle even the most basic performance. He'd been scolded and caught in the rain, and that was all it took for him to get so upset that he killed himself.

Marshall felt nothing about Roxanne's death. After Ethan left, he complained to Ivy that the dregs at the bottom of society only ever caused them trouble.

They had given Roxanne a job and a way to make a living, but what did they get in return?

Even after this ungrateful clown died, he continued causing trouble in the apartment, seriously delaying their work.

Ethan stated his opinion. "He wouldn't have killed himself over something this trivial."

Ivy mentioned that Roxanne had made a mistake at work that day. That likely meant something had already gone wrong before then. Now, all they knew was that Roxanne had ended his life in this apartment, and they had no way to determine whether a Cursed Object had also played a part in his death.

Ivy looked surprised. "You knew him?"

"Sort of. I handled the handover with him during the guild's annual meeting. I remember him as an optimistic, dedicated person."

To be honest, Ethan admired Roxanne.

Roxanne's existence had shown Ethan a completely different kind of life. If, when he'd first arrived in Brookwood Town, he hadn't found a free place to stay through the guild and had instead taken out a huge loan from the Imperial Union Bank to buy a house, he'd probably be living under a mountain of debt by now, too.

For people unable to repay their loans, the Imperial Union Bank thoughtfully had jobs ready for them.

Roxanne was cheerful and good at making people laugh, so he became Brookwood Town's "official" clown. In reality, though, every job he took was assigned by the Imperial Union Bank. Other people decided where he went, whom he entertained, and how many hours he worked each day.

There was a saying that went around the guild.

Once you owed money to the Imperial Union Bank, it was as if they had bought out your life.

Until you paid off your debt, your strength, your mind, and your freedom were all at the disposal of the Lofik Consortium.

And in this era, there was no such thing as labor law.

Ethan later learned that people without any particular skills were sent to do manual labor in the mines near Brookwood Town. A batch of them had also been sent off when Gear City was building Military Factories on a massive scale. They worked at least ten hours a day, doing nothing but backbreaking labor. Some of them left and never returned to town. Before long, no one talked about them anymore.

Being a clown wasn't easy. On top of his demanding performances, Roxanne had to rack his brains during every break, trying to come up with new ways to make people laugh.

A joke only worked once. He had to keep coming up with new material.

Ethan had learned all this in the conversations they'd shared after the guild's annual meeting.

Back then, they had sat by the fireplace on the guild's first floor, with beer for the celebration on the table. Roxanne had told Ethan all the new jokes he'd come up with and asked him to judge them as an audience member.

Roxanne enjoyed it. He loved seeing people happy because of him.

Ethan had also seen people nitpick Roxanne during his performances. In people's eyes, a clown was beneath them. The Imperial Union Bank staff made no effort to hide their contempt when they spoke of him.

That clown, who was always bringing laughter to others, reminded Ethan of a saying: There is only one kind of heroism in the world—the kind that loves life after seeing it for what it truly is.

Ethan figured that if he and Roxanne had swapped places, Great Banker Marshall would probably have eaten a Fireball Spell on his way to work one day.

Now it seemed even heroes had their breaking point.

After finishing her inspection with the detector, Ivy said, "There's nothing unusual in the apartment. Maybe something Marshall did triggered the curse. The Witch could have done this, too."

"It could also be time-sensitive. The curse might take effect at a specific moment, for example."

Ethan added.

Ivy didn't know that Becky and her seven old butlers had already been buried in the earth outside the cabin in the woods. She was constantly on guard against the Witch and her minions sneaking into town.

It was a shame the Imperial Union Bank had cremated Roxanne's body. Otherwise, the Scroll of Necromancy could have helped them find out what he'd been through in the days before he died.

"Mm, that's right."

Ivy paused. She thought this was probably why detectives always needed assistants. Working with Ethan made her feel as if she'd grown another brain. Investigations became twice as efficient.

For example, Ethan had already come up with an Investigation Plan. "Miss Chloe and I will stay in the apartment. You go find out where the deceased went in the three days before he died and whether he showed any unusual behavior. After all, you're also the town sheriff, so the residents will be more willing to give you information."

Ivy neither agreed nor disagreed. "I'll bring you something to eat tomorrow morning. I won't forget this time."

Then she paused to think and added, "I hope you and Miss Chloe don't dig up another body this time."

"I'll do my best."

Ethan had to emphasize that this was a world full of danger, and this case involved some unknown Cursed Object. The danger was obvious.

The only thing he could promise Ivy was that he wouldn't deliberately create any corpses.

But if a corpse tried to attack him while he was asleep, the outcome would be beyond his control.

Now, as an E-Class Investigator with the Containment Bureau, he had witnessed a familiar name hanging himself in this apartment. Naturally, an instinctive reaction had taken hold of him.

He wanted to know why Roxanne had died.

The case was a mystery, and Ethan had no clue where to start. Perhaps he should try solving it by process of elimination.

First, he could rule out Miss Becky and her seven old butlers.

They had airtight alibis.