Clue in the Footprints

The lord's Manor stood on the westernmost edge of town, near Twilight Forest and pressed against a mountain range that stretched into the forest, with a field of wheat separating it from the town.

This location could hardly be called ideal. It had been chosen entirely for the soil conditions—

The closer one got to Twilight Forest, the better the quality of the Star Plum.

Most of the Star Plums grown by the townsfolk were black, speckled with flecks of white, like mulberries dusted with a little frost.

The Star Plums produced by the Manor, however, were a deeper violet, eliminating any possibility of passing off inferior goods when submitting the required quota.

Thus, whenever someone passed through the dim forest and emerged into clear skies and sunlight, the first thing they would almost always see was a vast berry orchard glittering like starlight, surrounding a three-story villa.

By the time Tang Qi had followed the mercenaries on foot for twenty minutes and barely reached the Orchard, he was certain Anbi could not be the thief.

How could a little girl like her have had the time to move a ton of Star Plums and spend forty minutes making a round trip?

"Why not take me directly to where the footprints are?" Tang Qi suggested.

Black Snake remained silent and led the way on his own.

At that moment, merely hearing Tang Qi's voice made him feel inexplicably irritated.

He realized that he had unknowingly been affected by magic.

So alongside his impatience, he had developed an extra measure of wariness—

He did not understand how a Spellcaster could have fallen to Tang Qi's level.

Remaining on guard was the most basic form of respect one could show a Spellcaster.

The moment they entered the Orchard, the scent of plums filled everyone's nostrils.

Since Star Plums grew on waist-high fruit bushes with dense branches and leaves, vast stretches of ground still looked soft and damp even after drying in the sun all morning.

The closer they got to the foot of the mountain, the fainter the fruity fragrance became.

Before long, Tang Qi saw that the Star Plum bushes along the mountainside had nothing left but lush green leaves.

"There."

Black Snake stopped the group from proceeding farther and pointed directly at a distinct trail of footprints.

The damp soil made the prints easy to distinguish.

Judging by their direction, the thief had wandered around the Orchard for quite some time, leaving a jumble of irregular footprints.

It was even difficult to tell whether they belonged to only one person.

Then, after apparently gathering enough Star Plums, the thief had climbed over the Fence and headed straight toward town.

The footprints were relatively small and somewhat distinctive.

"The fruit growers all saw it. The thief was short!

"Now the footprints are identical too. What else do you have to argue about?"

Jackal pointed at Anbi's shoes.

They had compared the footprints that morning. Otherwise, they would not have sent her to the execution platform.

"It really wasn't me. I've never been here."

Anbi clutched Tang Qi's hand tightly, on the verge of tears.

Poet was her only lifeline.

Tang Qi, meanwhile, examined Anbi's shoes.

They were typical handmade leather ankle boots, caked with quite a bit of mud. They were filthy, yet the more he looked at them, the more familiar they seemed—

The boy beneath the execution platform earlier appeared to have been wearing the same pair:

"Where did you buy your shoes?"

"My sister bought them from Tobias the shoemaker."

"Is he the only shoemaker in town?"

"Yes, but my sister bought these boots for me. I didn't steal them..."

Tang Qi looked at Black Snake.

"I saw the same style on other people's feet, with only differences in shoe size."

Black Snake understood his implication.

"But the shoe size matches, doesn't it?"

"The shoes are a little too big for me," Anbi hurriedly argued.

Tang Qi shrugged and explained.

"She's still growing, so her shoe size will gradually increase. Catherine couldn't possibly have custom-made a pair specifically for her, so she would deliberately buy them a little larger—

"In other words, if you gather children around her age in town and compare them, you'll get the same result.

"Besides, I heard the shoemaker's boots were stolen too, weren't they?

"That can't count as evidence for a conviction."

"Oh? So you want to clear her name? Then you succeeded."

Black Snake folded his arms with interest and looked Tang Qi up and down before continuing,

"But that changes nothing. If we can't find the stolen Star Plums, I'll still fulfill our agreement."

Tang Qi neither agreed nor disagreed.

But Anbi, beside him, clutched his sleeve tightly.

Though her name had been cleared, she somehow looked even more worried.

Tang Qi stroked the little girl's furry ears in an attempt to comfort her.

Then he crouched down and carefully examined the seemingly chaotic footprints.

This was the only clue.

And also the strangest clue—

"A ton of Star Plums would fill at least twenty standard wooden barrels.

"To move that many Star Plums in a single night, either it was a group effort or they were transported in batches.

"Yet there's only this small, irregular trail of footprints crossing the Fence."

Tang Qi raised the inconsistency.

Black Snake narrowed his eyes in thought.

Jackal, on the other hand, failed to understand and simply said whatever came to mind.

"Then they must have moved them over several days. It didn't rain the two days before that. Even if there were footprints, the rain would have washed them away."

"It rained heavily last night, so it's understandable that the Orchard wasn't properly watched. But if the thief had opportunities even on clear days..."

Tang Qi did not spell it out.

Yet Jackal still grabbed him by the collar, furious.

"You're saying it was our fault? Don't get too full of yourself, bastard!"

But the angrier he became, the more it proved Tang Qi had struck a nerve—

There had never been any thefts in previous years.

These mercenaries drawing salaries had naturally spent their time drinking themselves senseless.

No one had bothered to do their duty and guard the Orchard properly.

Tang Qi looked at Black Snake. "We're all in the same boat."

Taking Tang Qi's identity as a Spellcaster into account, Black Snake could not quite gauge him. For the moment, he pulled Jackal away.

"Let him keep looking."

After Jackal released him, he could not resist spitting on the ground.

Tang Qi straightened his clothes and continued asking,

"So when was the Orchard last tended?"

"Three days ago."

A skinny fruit grower answered in a trembling voice.

He had been the one to spot the thief last night, but the culprit had vanished in the blink of an eye.

The instant he realized the Orchard had been robbed, he reported it to the mercenaries, who had spent the night drinking and returned at dawn.

That was how the current situation had come about.

"This place is close to the forest, and the climate is humid. Even in summer, it only needs watering once every three days..."

"In other words, the earliest batch of Star Plums may have been stolen three days ago."

Anbi could not help muttering, "Wouldn't they have gone bad by then...?"

Tang Qi continued studying the only clue. He was nearly lying on the ground, his pupils focused as he carefully analyzed it.

"The footprints lead straight toward town, but nearly every household grows its own Star Plums. It's hard to find a reason for anyone to go to such lengths just to steal the lord's Star Plums.

"Also, the spacing between the steps varies little, which means the thief was neither hurried nor slow while leaving—

"Hm? No, that's not right..."

"What isn't right?"

Everyone had been quietly listening to his orderly analysis, and they hurriedly asked.

"The depth of the footprints is wrong." Tang Qi sounded surprised.

Jackal could not help stepping forward. He stared at them for a long while but still found nothing amiss.

"How can you tell?"

Tang Qi pointed ahead.

"Follow this trail of footprints to the Fence as naturally as possible."

Jackal frowned. "You're ordering me around?"

Tang Qi looked at Black Snake.

The latter coughed lightly.

"Do as he says."

Jackal wore a face like a miserable shoehorn as he pursed his lips and walked to the Fence.

"Now walk back."

Tang Qi ordered,

"This time, walk backward."

Jackal did not understand Tang Qi's intention, but under his boss's pressure, he reluctantly complied.

"So? What does that prove?"

"Now crouch down and take a good sniff."

"What's there to smell in footprints... Ugh! When the hell did I step in horse shit?!"

Only then did Jackal realize what had happened. He glared angrily at Tang Qi.

"Wait, you messed with me!?"

Tang Qi grinned at him as if he were an idiot, but said nothing.

Yet Jackal's actions made not only Black Snake, but even Anbi notice something strange.

"When walking backward, your toes touch the ground first?"