Sincerity Is the Ultimate Weapon

"Buddy, I'd advise you to come clean. Otherwise, even I don't know what unspeakable things Madam Rose might do to you."

Ethan obediently raised his hands above his head and stood shoulder to shoulder with the boss. Leaning close, he whispered, "The last person she interrogated didn't have a single patch of unbroken skin on his body. He screamed all night before finally dying. I'm trying to help you."

He'd gotten a rough read on the situation in the bar. This was the best-informed place in the commoners' district, and Roxanne often came to this bar, called the Gilded Rose, for a drink after finishing work. The only problem was that the Gilded Rose had ties to the border gangs, so naturally they wouldn't take kindly to Ivy, a "cop."

Clearly, their conversation hadn't gone well. It was on the verge of turning violent.

When Ivy pointed her gun at the boss, he reached for the dagger hidden in a compartment beneath the bar.

"I didn't!"

Ivy's face flushed, and the golden hair atop her head even sprang into an excited "X" shape.

"You could have. Maybe he'd confess if he got scared."

Ethan was exasperated. He'd seen the boss's hand shaking just moments ago. If Ivy would cooperate and flash a cruel smile, the man's defenses would crumble completely. Unfortunately, she and Ethan had only been working together for a day, and their teamwork still needed some polish.

After Ivy's denial, the boss slowly reached for the dagger again.

"Fine, she's never tortured anyone she interrogated. But she's killed fifty-six people like you."

The boss stopped moving again. He glanced at Ivy instinctively, but this time she remained silent. She merely frowned and didn't deny it.

That was enough to send the boss into a full-blown panic.

This woman had killed fifty-six people!?

Even the most vicious gang thugs hadn't killed that many!

Ethan had been ready to press the advantage, but his heart gave a sudden jolt too. He'd made up the number fifty-six on the spot to make Ivy seem more intimidating. He hadn't expected what happened next.

Ivy had let him believe it.

Oh, no!

He'd just stumbled upon a horrifying truth out of nowhere!

Now even Ethan felt uneasy.

Sincerity was the ultimate weapon.

When the boss noticed Ivy avoid Ethan's gaze with a hint of guilt, he immediately raised his hands over his head. To avoid becoming the fifty-seventh victim, he spoke up first. "I can tell you about Roxanne. This is a lawfully run bar. I've always been a law-abiding citizen of the Empire. We can sit down and talk this through... By the way, would you two like a drink? It's on me."

Whatever murderous plans the silent Ivy might have been considering, at least the three of them were now seated at the bar, and their interrupted conversation could continue.

"Listen, I don't know if this has anything to do with the case you're investigating, but as far as I know, Roxanne owes the Imperial Union Bank a huge amount of money. He's been living on a tight budget. Every night, they come to the bar and tell jokes about nobles to earn a little extra. We've all told him to stop borrowing from the Imperial Union Bank. He can barely cover the interest with what he makes now, but he won't listen. He's completely in over his head."

Ethan asked, "He's still borrowing from the Imperial Union Bank? Why?"

Roxanne had mentioned that he'd taken out a loan from the Imperial Union Bank to buy an apartment in the commoners' district. He'd have to work in Brookwood Town for more than twenty years to pay off the loan and interest.

Though it felt a little unfair, Ethan immediately thought of some unpleasant possibilities.

Maybe Roxanne had gotten into gambling, or become addicted to potions made by some shady apothecary. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine what could make an optimistic, positive person change so drastically in such a short time and borrow from the Imperial Union Bank again and again.

Roxanne had to know what would happen if he kept doing this. Once his debt became too large to repay, someone would buy out the rest of his life.

"It's for his daughter."

The boss lowered his head with a helpless sigh. At first, they'd thought Roxanne had picked up some bad habit too. But whether it was gambling or potion addiction, they could have helped him quit. This, though, was beyond anything they could do. "His daughter's got a real talent for magic. A Grand Magus from the Astrology Society took an interest in her and offered to teach her."

The three of them fell silent together.

Magic was widely considered the most expensive Extraordinary Path. The materials used to make scrolls and set up arrays all cost a fortune.

Even so, few people could resist the temptation of entering the extraordinary realm—especially when the offer came from a Grand Magus certified by the Astrology Society.

Ethan knew Roxanne had a dream: to pay off his loan and live happily with his family in Brookwood Town.

A simple, modest wish.

But that still didn't explain why Roxanne had suddenly ended his own life and left a curse behind in the apartment.

"You saw Roxanne every day. Had you noticed anything unusual about him lately?"

"Unusual? How could a carefree guy like him act unusually?"

The boss scoffed. "Sometimes I envy him. He's practically suffocating under his debts, but he can still smile. Oh, right—he told me a few days ago that his daughter was coming to town to visit him. The girl had passed the First-Order Magician certification exam, and he said he'd have her come to the bar and put on a magic show for us."

Ethan could picture Roxanne chatting with the boss at the bar after a performance, his weary figure hunched over the counter.

The boss was right. A carefree guy like that...

Ethan's expression suddenly changed. He spoke more emphatically. "You just said Roxanne's daughter was coming to visit him?"

The boss jumped at Ethan's expression and shrank back a little, his voice growing weaker. "That's what he said himself."

"When was this?"

"J-just three days ago."

"Where was she coming from?"

"How would I know? I've never been to the Astrology Society. Does it matter where she came from? The man's already dead."

At the mention of Roxanne's death, the boss flared up. "You're the ones investigating this case, aren't you? Then tell me, how did he die? There's no way he killed himself. The Imperial Union Bank must have driven him to it!"

"The nearest Astrology Society to Brookwood Town is in Morning Star City."

Ivy, who'd been silent until now, suddenly spoke. Her voice was light, and her face still gave nothing away. She sounded as if she were simply stating a fact based on the clue the boss had provided.

"Morning Star City is southwest of Brookwood Town. If his daughter came from there, she would have passed through Riverside Town two days ago."