16 Inquiry

Chapter 16: Inquiry

The next morning, early.

"Hello! Is this Mr. Sulu Portley?"

When he opened the door, two people dressed as police officers appeared before him. A police badge featuring a royal sword surrounded by thorns was pinned to each of their chests.

"Yes, that's me!"

Sulu had known they would come. After confirming their identities, he invited the two officers inside. "May I ask what this is about?"

"Yes, we have a few questions and need to conduct a routine interview."

One officer was a man and the other a woman. The woman took a file from her bag and pulled out a photograph. "Do you know this woman?"

The photograph was in black and white and somewhat blurry. The photographer hadn't chosen a very good angle, but Beatrice was still recognizable.

In the picture, she seemed even more cold and distant, almost inhuman. She gave Sulu a sense of dread.

Her icy eyes seemed to look straight through the photograph at him.

Strange! Terrifying!

What... have I released?

Sulu wondered to himself.

"Mr. Portley? Mr. Portley?"

Seeing him staring blankly, the two officers immediately called out to him. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just spaced out for a moment!"

Sulu invited them to sit on the sofa and poured them each a glass of water. "Sorry... I only have this to drink!"

"That's fine!"

The female officer closed the file, crossed her legs, and took out a notebook. "Could you tell us what your relationship is with the woman in the photograph?"

"Her name is Beatrice. She was my classmate... Well, I used to court her!"

Sulu smiled. He wasn't embarrassed at all.

"She certainly is beautiful..." The female officer smiled. "That's perfectly normal for a young man..."

"Sorry... I heard she was missing. Is that true?" Sulu asked.

"No! She isn't missing!"

The male officer spoke up. "She's currently wanted for three counts of murder and nine counts of intentional assault!"

What?

Sulu's heart jumped. He hadn't expected the Corpse Princess to cause such a huge commotion after escaping.

Ordinary Corpse Maiden Creation merely involved controlling a corpse. Once it got too far from the caster or lost its energy source, it should quickly become incapable of moving—and even begin to rot.

"Beatrice... No! She isn't that kind of person!"

On the surface, Sulu still put on an expression of disbelief.

"Then... Mr. Sulu, can you tell us where you were and what you were doing at seven o'clock on the evening of July third?"

The female officer tapped her notebook with her pen cap and asked clearly.

"I... I was at the White Tower Cafe, on a date with Beatrice!"

Sulu ran a hand through his hair. "She asked me to meet her, but she said I was the one who'd asked her... It didn't get off to a great start, but things went all right after that!"

Molly had probably already told them about this discrepancy, so Sulu didn't hide it.

"You both thought the other person had asked you? What exactly did you talk about? Don't lie to me. We know what you did that night!"

The male officer suddenly spoke, his tone harsh.

Ha. Trying to scare me?

One of them played the bad cop and the other the good cop. He'd seen that routine before.

"I'm not lying..." Sulu laughed inwardly, but acted nervous. When he saw the female officer's encouraging gaze, he continued, "I just told her I'd gotten an invitation from the Green Tree Castle Laboratory. She sincerely congratulated me... Then we said goodbye outside the cafe, and I stopped by the library on my way back. I read there until ten, then went home and went to bed... Oh, lots of people at the library can vouch for me!"

"Is that all?"

The male and female officers exchanged a glance. "Did Beatrice seem... unusual to you that night?"

Sulu pretended to think back. "No!"

"All right, then!"

The female officer asked a few more questions, put away her notebook, and stood up. "If you remember anything else, you can contact me using the information on this card."

She handed him a business card, then left the dormitory with the male officer.

"Wait!"

Sulu walked them to the door, then suddenly asked, "May I ask where Beatrice was before this?"

The two officers exchanged a glance. In a grave tone, the female officer replied, "She was seen in Boy City. Then she disappeared completely..."

Boy City!

It was west of Nia City, where St. George University was located. It took several hours to get there by steam train.

That's pretty far away!

Sulu watched them leave, closed the door, and looked at the card in his hand. "Marilyn Luna! Interesting!"

His preparations might not have been flawless.

If Beatrice had truly lost control and died, and her body had been found, he would still have been a prime suspect.

But now she was a wanted criminal?

Sulu couldn't help feeling that life was unpredictable.

But this is a good thing, too... At least, what does Beatrice's killing have to do with me? There's no evidence linking the two of us... So I'm not much of a suspect. Otherwise, they would have taken me straight to the station for questioning...

Even so, there'll probably be some discreet investigation and surveillance.

Sulu wasn't afraid of being investigated. Most of what he'd said was true. His conscience was clear, and he had no reason to fear that they'd find a hole in his story.

And as for being followed and investigated? He'd welcome it!

If the mastermind saw that he was under police protection and gave up trying to attack him, that would be the best of both worlds.

But Beatrice was another matter. The more he thought about her, the more uneasy he felt.

Her cold, beautiful face from the photograph kept haunting his mind.

Corpse Maidens definitely shouldn't be capable of acting this independently... My ritual was clearly influenced by the Moon... And in many religious texts, the Moon is closely connected to the domain of darkness. It represents death and is coveted by many Evil Gods and false gods...

Perhaps... some being interfered with my ritual, turning Beatrice into a completely new kind of immortal?

A suspicion suddenly occurred to him.

Of course, no immortal being could grow in a single day.

The botched ritual had merely planted a seed, which was why Sulu had been able to control the Corpse Princess at first, using simple, semiautonomous commands.

But as time passed, she would surely grow rapidly. The flower nourished by flesh and blood would become stunningly beautiful—and deadly!

In the long run, she's an even greater threat than the mastermind!

Sulu rubbed his head in distress. "Perhaps... I should write to Rhode and ask him to come as soon as possible!"

There were so many things he wanted to ask his older brother.

Whether it was about Dawn of Gods and Supernatural Awakening, advancing as a Witch Hunter, or how to become a true supernatural being—not to mention how to deal with the new problem that was Beatrice.

Compared to all that, any awkwardness or discomfort could be set aside for now.

After all, four years had passed. People changed, didn't they?