Chapter 357: Who’s Crazier? (10)

“We’re talking about the same kind of cow, right? The one that produces milk and helps with farming?”

Keter asked Butler Jacques for confirmation.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“So, you’re saying that someone left the other parts of the cows and only ate the hearts. And the only person in Sefira who would do something like that is me.”

“Well... the problem isn’t just the cow. Are you aware that mosquitoes are swarming in Sefira?”

“Mosquitoes? In this cold weather?”

The senses of a Transcendental could find a needle in a desert, but there wasn’t a single mosquito in this space right now.

Butler Jacques shook his head. “There are no mosquitoes near this estate, but once you leave it, there are many. Strange, isn’t it? Mosquitoes are active in this cold, and there are none only around your estate...”

“Is there more?”

“Yes. Sefira would have solved it on their own if it were just one or two incidents, but since this is no ordinary matter, I had to stop you from leaving.”

“Tell me everything.”

“A cave that no one dug has appeared. There were signs that someone lived there, so an investigation team was sent. However, there has been no word from them. People have also begun hearing things at night. They say they hear children chatting. Of course, Sefira investigated everything, but they couldn’t find the culprit.”

The more Butler Jacques spoke about the strange events happening in Sefira, the farther Keter stepped away from the window.

“We’re not the only ones in Sefira right now. Did the others just sit still?”

The Baenians used what was called next-generation magic and science. The Adeusians’ instincts were also like those of animals. People from both countries were here in Sefira now. It was true that Sefira wasn’t skilled in detective work, but shouldn’t the others have been able to help?

Butler Jacques shook his head. “They haven’t conducted a full investigation, but they also failed to discover anything. I am merely a butler, so I can only speculate. It seems they feel it would be wasteful to devote manpower to this bizarre matter when their hands are already full.”

“Not because they think I did it?”

“Now that you mention it, that might be the case. After all, didn’t you play quite some tricks on your first day?”

“That was because Sefira was too serious back then.” Keter scoffed.

“I seem to recall you did something recently as well... In any case, Lord Hissop personally asked me to check whether you might be the culprit. Judging by your reaction now, it seems you are not.”

Keter wore an expression showing that this was all absurd. “If I ate a cow, I would cook the whole thing. Why would I only eat the heart? Also, controlling mosquitoes isn’t even cool. Those pranks aren’t quite my style.”

At that moment, Daat cut into the conversation, also looking extremely curious.

“Then who is pulling these pranks in Sefira? If it were just the children playing around, they would’ve been caught immediately. The fact that the culprit still hasn’t been caught means it’s not an ordinary person.”

Agreeing with Daat, Butler Jacques added, “And they’re only pranks for now, but who knows when a cow’s heart might become a human heart? Moreover, if the cave collapses, it could become a much bigger disaster. What to do...”

He gave a subtle glance at Keter.

“I wonder if some capable person might be able to solve it for us...”

“

Hm?

Me?” Keter tilted his head in confusion.

Butler Jacques continued, “I’m worried... Not many would step forward to solve something no one else can. Even if someone did, they might only make things worse.”

“If you truly say so, then I guess I have no choice.”

When Keter stood up, Daat leaned in and whispered.

“Don’t you need to go to Liqueur? I can handle it instead.”

“I can’t stay out when we have a case. Besides, I already have a suspect in mind, so it won’t take long.”

“Elise, right?”

Only cow hearts were taken, and suddenly mosquitoes were swarming. If one forced a connection, a vampire was the most likely suspect.

“For your information, Miss Elise hasn’t been seen for the past few days.”

Butler Jacques also knew the true identity of the white bat, Slurpie. That was why he had searched for Elise first, but he soon learned that she hadn’t been seen recently.

“Then we just have to find Elise.”

Elise had stayed quietly in Keter’s room until now. However, the moment these strange incidents began, she disappeared. Besides, Elise was the First Vampire. If she truly wished, no one could track her. In many ways, it seemed certain Elise was the culprit, but something about it didn’t sit right with Keter.

“The Slurpie I know isn’t the type to sneak around doing this kind of thing though...” Keter grabbed Butler Jacques by both shoulders and said, “Let’s go to the scene first. All the clues should be there.”

***

The first crime scene was a barn containing the corpse of a cow whose heart had disappeared.

“Five cows died in total. Four of them were butchered and eaten before they rotted. This one was kept just in case.”

Keter crouched in front of the dead cow and carefully examined the wound. There was a fist-sized hole in its side. Keter put his own fist into the hole and then exclaimed in admiration.

“It wasn’t punched through with brute force. The ribs weren’t crushed; they were cut. The suspect curled their hand and carved the heart out. The cut is also extremely clean.”

“I’ve heard a vampire’s nails are as sharp as blades and harder than steel. Then the culprit really must be Miss Elise...”

“Elise is a vampire and she does drink blood, but why would she only take the heart? If she just wanted to eat a heart, she could’ve said so from the start. We would have done that much for her.”

“Perhaps she was bored?”

“Being bored is indeed a serious matter, but let’s keep looking.”

The second scene was where the mosquitoes were. Strangely enough, not a single mosquito came within a hundred meters of Keter, so Daat had to catch one with magic and bring it.

“Big Brother, now that I’ve caught and seen it, this is weird. It’s cold enough for water to freeze, so how can mosquitoes be flying?”

“There’s no trace of mana. If there had been traces of mana, I wouldn’t have left them alone in the first place. However, these mosquitoes aren't anything special either. They’re just ordinary swamp mosquitoes.”

“And the strange thing is that they completely avoid you.”

Daat released the mosquito he had been holding between his fingers, and it immediately flew away.

Keter had been watching it closely, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

“That’s not movement to avoid a predator. It’s flying with a destination. Let’s follow it.”

The place they arrived at turned out to be the entrance to the cave that would have been their third destination.

Caves were Keter’s specialty since he had the Terra Ring, one of the Five Element Relics. Keter pressed his palm to the ground and examined the cave. His eyes then widened.

“This isn’t some regular cave.”

The cave was far deeper and more complex than Sefira had imagined, even more than Keter had expected. When he checked for signs of life, he sensed seven presences. However, those seven presences were clearly those of humans.

Seven people are gathered in one space. It can be said they’re tied up together.

Someone had captured Sefira’s investigation team, but when he scanned for living beings, only those seven people were detected.

Something is living in this cave. Something that isn’t human.

A vampire? But vampires had immense pride. He had never heard of a vampire living in a cave.

“How many more caves like this are there?” Keter asked Jacques.

“Sefira has found twelve. I was told they only posted guards instead of sealing the caves, in case more appeared elsewhere.”

“Tell them to withdraw all the guards. Dork?”

After calling Daat, Keter immediately jumped into the cave, and Daat followed as if used to it.

Once inside, the first thing Keter did was touch the wall.

“It’s smooth, like it’s been sanded down. This wasn’t made by a beast.”

“Big Brother, it’s too dark. I can’t see anything.”

Of course it was dark inside the cave. However, Keter had Sefira’s eyes, so darkness was no problem for him.

“Didn’t you learn any magic for seeing in the dark?”

“I can use magic that warps space.” Daat shrugged.

“Learn some magic useful for daily life too. That’s what magic’s for.”

“Should I go back and learn it?”

“No. Try coating your eyeballs with mana. Your eyes might burst if you mess up, so be careful.”

“

Oh

, coating them makes things a little visible.”

“The thinner the coating, the better you’ll see. Of course, it’ll be twice as hard to maintain, though.”

“This is perfect. Like you said earlier, the cave looks really clean.”

“There are footprints. They’re the boots Sefira’s knights wear. Doesn’t something seem off?”

“

Hmm...

” Daat stared closely at the footprints but tilted his head. “What’s off about them?”

“The stride is way too consistent. Humans can’t walk this perfectly. Moreover, the depth of the prints is too shallow. When people walk in darkness, they tense up, so they always put force into their steps. In short, someone took boots and made these prints artificially. They’re luring us.”

“

Oh...

But for people as strong as us, searching is kind of pointless, isn’t it? If we use mana—”

Just as Daat tried to unleash his mana, Keter flicked his forehead to stop him.

“

Ow!

”

“If you use mana to detect them, they’ll notice too. It’s better not to give your opponent a chance to respond. Besides, we’ve also got hostages right now.”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Come to think of it, you’re still the same even after becoming a Transcendental. How should I put it... you’re very human-like.”

All the Transcendentals Daat had seen weren’t.

Keter smirked. “That’s why I’m stronger than the others. Anyway, let’s follow these prints and fall into their trap.”

Following the footprints, they soon came upon a very suspicious-looking door. The moment Keter grabbed the handle and pulled, a log flew out of the darkness ahead.

“A classic trap.”

Keter stopped the log with a single finger, but that wasn’t the end of the trap.

“Big Brother, a boulder’s rolling in from behind. It’s pretty big.”

“They’re urging us to hurry inside this door.”

Even if Keter did nothing, Daat could handle a boulder of that size. However, it was obvious that whoever was behind all this would never appear if they did that, so Keter and Daat pretended to fall for it and stepped inside the door. Keter’s foot instantly sank into something.

“

Oh?

”

The ground inside was muddy like a swamp. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank. Who would expect a swamp inside a cave? Moreover, the force felt from the swamp’s bottom was unexpected as well.

“Magnet.”

There was a massive magnet beneath the swamp. It didn’t affect Keter and Daat much since they wore cloth, but if someone were in iron armor, things would have been different. No one would neglect wearing armor when entering a dark cave. Sefira’s knights would have come wearing iron armor rather than their usual leather armor too. If they fell into this swamp trap, they would have been instantly dragged down by the magnetic force.

“But killing isn’t the goal,” Keter said.

“Big Brother, do we really have to fall for this? I like these clothes.”

“Then take them off and throw them somewhere.”

“I don’t love them that much.”

With that, the two sank until they were submerged to the tops of their heads. After five minutes, they sensed someone at the opposite entrance.

“Two today,

huh?

”

It was a rough middle-aged voice, clearly one that belonged to a human. Wearing shoes that didn’t sink, he walked across the swamp and came to the spot where Keter and Daat had sunk.

“How long do I have to keep doing this...” the man muttered with a voice mixed with worry and complaint.

He rolled up his sleeves and plunged his arms into the swamp. He was trying to pull Keter and Daat out.

“

Huh?

”

At that moment, his wrist was grabbed instead, and he couldn’t resist the pulling force and fell into the swamp.

Even a trained knight couldn’t hold their breath for more than five minutes. However, Keter could hold his breath for up to an hour. Having pretended to be unconscious in the swamp, Keter rose and checked what he had grabbed.

“

Huh?

”

Of course, it wasn’t Elise, and he was certain it wasn’t another vampire either. Then who was the master of this cave? When Keter saw the truth, he was dumbfounded.

“What is a dwarf doing here?”