Chapter 570 – Incident
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Men and women carrying large backpacks on their backs.
They were Sarah’s group and friends.
It is said that they came to find Sarah who disappeared.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were the one who saved Sarah…”
The guy named Fallon, who came to her senses, bowed his head to me after hearing what happened to Sarah.
For someone who attacked him like a madman, he was saner than I thought.
When her Sarah heard her screams, it seemed like I was trying to do something rough to her, and it was a misunderstanding.
Although I felt a little offended that he didn’t know my good intentions.
I neatly accepted his apology.
“How did you find Sarah?”
I was curious, so I asked.
Sarah’s group are ordinary academy students.
He was not an expert in searching for missing persons.
Finding Sarah, who had lost her way in this vast forest, was nearly impossible unless you were an expert.
“Popo, this guy’s strength was great.”
Fallon’s gaze turns downward.
-Heh! Heh!
I saw a dog-like animal… No, a dog-like animal walking around with its tongue sticking out and its tail wagging under people’s feet.
‘Is that guy tracking Sarah’s scent?’
It seems so.
Even though Sarah met her friends, she didn’t look very happy for some reason.
In particular, there was an awkward atmosphere flowing with Fallon.
‘What? Did you fight?’
Maybe it’s my mistake.
Even if that were the case, it wasn’t something I would care about.
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“Is this place interesting?”
“There’s a lake too!”
“Was there a villa in a place like this?”
“Look inside this! How long has it not been maintained?”
The quiet forest became noisy.
The academy students who visited Sarah were wandering around her villa and talking loudly.
I don’t know if it’s because she’s looking for her lost friend, or if she’s just like that, but her face is so bright.
There was already a guy swimming in the lake.
Should I say that I am quick to adapt?
“If we just clean it up a little, I think it’ll still be usable. How about making this our hideout?”
A male student says that.
Little? Is that… Useful?
He is a very positive guy.
But he wasn’t the only positive thing.
Sarah’s friends suddenly gathered together and started cleaning the villa.
‘What are they doing?’
It was absurd.
It was difficult.
But it’s not my house, so it’s hard to say anything.
If these guys found their group, they should think about going back… Somehow they didn’t seem to have any intention of going back.
I felt that things were going a bit wrong.
“…”
Camping cars are the problem.
I had to put it in my inventory… But it couldn’t help but be awkward to show those guys that ability.
It was an extremely rare occurrence in Zephyria for civilians to use subspace, and I had no idea what kind of butterfly effect would befall those of us who wanted to operate quietly by showing them that.
It was worth trying to silence Sarah by saying she was a lifesaver, but not the others.
Silencing one person is completely different from silencing seven people.
What if you scare them away?
… I don’t think that’s a very good idea either.
If these guys even report it to the police, it could be a headache.
Even though he is using a pseudonym… It won’t mean much once the investigative agency gets involved.
I decided to discuss measures to deal with this in the car with Suni and Celestia.
“Why are you making it so complicated? Can’t we just handle it?”
Celestia’s words were just about getting rid of the guys. As expected from an archdemon, she made a refreshing and bloody sound.
There is no denying that it is the simplest and easiest method.
This is a place where there is no communication whatsoever.
And the place where Sarah and her group played was by the river a long way away from here. So, even if they went missing, there was almost no possibility of determining their relationship with us.
〈 That’s right, why are you worrying when you can just ask? 〉
The devil in my head whispered.
〈Who is the devil? You are the great devil, right?〉
I wasn’t so bad as to murder and destroy innocent people.
(Isn’t this a camping bus? How did they drive it here?)
(I think I heard that you can’t fly around here?)
(Was it originally here?)
(Could it be? No? It’s this clean?)
(I know that one. I begged my mom to buy me that, and she got hit in the back with a smash. She’s a new model.)
(What are these people doing?)
Outside the car, Sarah and her group can be heard rustling.
I think I became curious about a large camping car in an unexpected place.
These people don’t know how many times their lives come and go in this place… And they are talking carefree.
After much thought…
In the end, I decided to leave Sunni behind.
“Huh? Me? You want me to stay alone? Hmm… I want to go too…”
Sunni was disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.
I just decided to take it easy and use this place as a base to explore.
I thought those guys would get sick of it and leave after a day or two.
There might be a way to just empty the camping car and explore, but I didn’t trust those petty guys.
I had no idea what those curious guys would do to the camping car. And when something like that happens, will I be able to treat those guys like I do now?
That’s right.
Leaving Suni in the camping car was not for me, but for those guys.
I left Suni to guard her camper, and Celestia and I set off to explore Helena’s villa.
I followed Celestia.
Because she sent the incarnation in advance, her movements were unstoppable.
Well… The lake is big, but with Celestia and I’s abilities, the search will take two or three days at most.
I thought I might be enough on my own, but Celestia might have been able to see something that I couldn’t.
Like the last lab, there may be a secret space that only Celestia can open.
‘Something I can’t see…’
Expanding consciousness gives me the transcendental cognitive ability to see without having to see it with my own eyes.
Because a great deal of information has poured in from that transcendental cognitive realm, I feel as if I have become omniscient.
Therefore, I did not have much doubt about the information coming into my consciousness.
‘… But is it really trustworthy?’
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Has this unnecessary suspicion gone away?
When I think about it, I didn’t see the room that Helena hid in subspace in Selby’s secret laboratory.
Doesn’t that mean that there is a gap in the exploration ability using consciousness expansion?… No, there is a gap.
‘What do you think?’
I asked Cosmos, who seems to know me best.
〈Well… Nothing is perfect in this world. Of course, you shouldn’t trust too blindly. Just think of it as a way to comfortably see places that are out of your field of vision.〉
It’s convenient to be able to see places you can’t see just with your thoughts.
I brought my wide-spread consciousness into my body.
I closed my eyes.
Smell. Waves of sound hitting all directions. The flow of air that touches the skin.
Even with my eyes closed, the transcendental sensation my body receives… A new perspective opens up, different from when I expand my consciousness.
〈There are various ways to see the world. Aren’t there things that can only be seen and felt by having your body? 〉
‘Like sex?’
〈…〉
Cosmos seemed speechless at my amazing insight.
Celestia stopped.
I found another old villa by the lake. In the villa, an incarnation of Celestia stood tall.
You can think of it as a kind of marking.
“Did you go inside?”
“I looked around once.”
The Avatar created for reconnaissance alone had its limitations.
“Is it possible that a space similar to Selby’s laboratory was created?”
“Maybe not, but I haven’t heard anything from Helena directly.”
“Then let’s go in.”
I realized that it is important not only to simply expand consciousness, but also to see and examine for myself.
It can also be called cross-validation.
I walked into the villa with Celestia.
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As the sun was setting, I returned to the camping car.
There was no result from the search.
Still, I will be able to tour all the villas on Lake Steed by tomorrow.
“Unho, where have you been?”
Fallon, who saw me returning, hurriedly approached me and asked.
I told Sarah and the others my real name, not Bark. Uno is the Great Evil, and Bark is in Zephia. I thought it wouldn’t matter if I promoted under my real name.
“… What’s going on?”
I asked, puzzled by the appearance of Fallon, who hurriedly came out to meet me.
“… A rape and murder incident occurred.”
Guy Fallon said with a sad face.
This was again… An unexpected surprise.
“Carol was raped and murdered by someone.”
Carol? I think it was one of Sarah’s group.
“… Is that so?”
Fallon’s eyebrows twitch at my dull answer. I felt an inexplicable hostility.
“Is that so? Is that all you have to say?”
I am a woman who cannot even mix words.
I couldn’t understand this guy’s attitude.
“This is absurd. Then, do I even have to shed tears? And are you even an investigator at the Public Safety Agency?”
“. Not really, but… I’m studying criminal investigation at the academy.”
“Investigation assistant.”
“Joe, assistant?!”
Looking at Fallon’s face turning red, he seemed to roughly understand what the assistant meant.
“I had nothing to do with it. If it was rape, were there even traces of semen?”
“Yes…”
“Then, a DNA test will be all that is done. What you need to do now is not to play as an investigator, but to report it to the police.”
“…”
