"Master?"
Vera stopped abruptly and looked back, asking gravely, "How long has this Spirit World creature been dead?"
"Uh, about twenty minutes?" Lorry estimated roughly, then briefly outlined the key points, such as Altair's suspected Sequence 6 strength.
At this, Vera shook his head slightly. "Then we're too late.
"According to the mysticism materials I have, the moment a Spirit World creature dies, the other party to its contract will sense it.
"Twenty minutes-you can do a lot in that time."
Damn it-that bastard got away. Lorry secretly gritted his teeth. "What about Councilor Begat, then?"
Vera shook his head again. "No."
He sighed softly and continued, "You're an informant I recruited. Naturally, I believe what you say.
"But every councilor holds a position of considerable importance in the kingdom. Without sufficient evidence, even the king and the churches won't move against them lightly."
Lorry suddenly said, "Ms. Mia at the Hunting Forest below the mountain is Director Damik's widow. She once mentioned that her husband had secretly met with Altair and Councilor Begat before his death."
"That sort of testimony doesn't prove anything, unless..." Vera thought for a moment, then said, "She witnessed it herself and is willing to cooperate with questioning."
Lorry carefully recalled what she had said and fell silent.
He seemed to remember the widow mentioning that a servant had relayed the matter to her.
Vera seemed to notice his informant's sudden drop in spirits and asked, "What are you thinking? Can't accept it?"
Lorry exhaled forcefully and answered honestly, "A little."
Vera chuckled. "A while ago, I carefully studied the connections between these cases. I finally understood why you're so keen to investigate this matter.
"Frankly, I admire that about you.
"But at the same time, we have to acknowledge something else. Bad people aren't