NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 15 - Catching the Thief
“I did not steal your thesis. I swear on the Goddess Irene.”
“Me neither! Why would I steal a piece of paper when it’s not even a jewel?!”
“I too know nothing about the thesis theft. We don’t write theses in the Knights’ Order, so I didn’t even know such a thing was needed.”
“I-I said before too, I’m really not the culprit! Please believe me!”
As expected, they all deny it. I knew they would.
What did I expect from these bastards?
Conscience? They couldn’t possibly have such a thing.
“Oh, is that so? Then who could be the culprit? Tiffania, who’s not here?”
“…That could be possible.”
“Yeah. It must be her.”
“That Tiffania… to think she would commit such a shameless act.”
“Well~ Elves are known to have nasty habits, you know.”
Wow, look at that personality, immediately selling out their comrade. I knew they were that kind of people, but still.
“Yes, of course, the possibility of it being Tiffania isn’t zero. I admit that too. But I think the probability of Tiffania being the culprit is less than 1 percent.”
“Why?”
Saint Beatrice asked, so I should answer.
“Elves basically hate humans, right? Tiffania was also extremely averse to contact with humans. Having lived alone in a hut in the forest for decades, she has severe anthropophobia. She wouldn’t come to a place like the academy where lots of people gather. Moreover, I think if a noticeable elf had snuck into the academy alone, rumors would have spread. Like ‘Hey, didn’t an elf come into the academy today?’ At least, the only elf walking around the academy at that time was Misha.”
“…What if she disguised herself with magic? Elves can use various types of magic, can’t they?”
“Good point, Diana. If that’s the case, then Serena the magician would be the most suspicious.”
“What…!!”
Serena’s eyes shook greatly as attention suddenly focused on her.
Honestly, you’re the most suspicious one.
You were ready to sell your soul to look good to the hero.
“No… wait! I’m suspicious because my job is a magician? If that’s the case, wouldn’t the thief be the most suspicious? I mean you, Diana!!”
“Well…? Honestly, don’t we all know how desperately the fallen noble from a traitor’s family tried to remove the traitor’s stigma? ‘Sneaking into Faust’s room to steal the thesis to please Lucy von Letlerea.’ Isn’t that a plausible story for Serena…?”
“Hey! You’re the one who was sentenced to life imprisonment for stealing the palace treasures and was released on the condition of joining the hero’s party! Aren’t you just as desperate not to be abandoned by the hero? No, in the first place! If there’s a thief among the party members, shouldn’t the criminal who had the job of thief from the beginning be suspected first?!”
An ugly argument broke out among the comrades.
To think they’re passing the blame to each other, saying you’re the real culprit…
Maybe one of the two is the real culprit, or maybe they’re really making a fuss because they’re wrongly accused.
Serena is suspicious, but her words aren’t entirely without reason.
Diana was such an unstoppable thief that she was marked as an A-class wanted criminal in the palace and wanted posters were distributed nationwide. She was caught in my trap while trying to rob the palace just for fun, ending her thief career, but people say human nature can’t be changed.
She might have been itching to taste the hard-to-break habit of theft again after a long time.
Or maybe she wanted to get revenge on me who caught her. It’s possible.
“I’m not the culprit. I have evidence.”
The great thief who once stirred up Aurelia said shamelessly.
“If I had stolen something like a thesis, I wouldn’t have stolen just that. I would have touched all the valuable things in Faust’s room. And I would have definitely left traces of my presence. That’s the style of Diana’s thievery. In the past, I always tried to show off my existence by drawing my symbol as graffiti at the crime scene or writing in the newspaper that I was the culprit, right? Would someone like me quietly steal just the thesis? The pride of a great thief doesn’t allow it.”
This story was also somewhat convincing. This one was such a provocative thief that she would proudly announce the date and place of her visit before breaking into the palace.
At that time, I felt slight traces of an intruder in my room, but it was just an inevitable presence left behind, not an impression of deliberately showing off their existence. Other items besides the thesis were also safe.
Her crime method is clearly different from Diana’s.
“Th-Then by that logic, me too! If I had stolen Faust’s thesis, I would have mocked and taunted Faust in front of him and made a big fuss! That’s what I would have done back then! Right, Faust?! I’m that kind of bitch who would do that and more, aren’t I?”
Hooh… Serena, that girl who usually only spouts nonsense, is making a convincing argument for once.
Yeah. That’s right too.
If Serena was the culprit, it’s a bit strange that she kept quiet instead of coming forward first to mock me and laugh about stealing it.
Then does this mean it’s not these two?
…Knight Alice?
“Why are you looking at me, Faust? I am an honorable knight. Surely you don’t think I would steal someone else’s belongings like a petty thief?”
“Being a saint is also an honorable profession. That’s not an excuse, Alice. Do you have any evidence that you’re not the culprit?”
“…When exactly was the day the thesis was stolen?”
“October 27, 1083.”
“If it was that day, I was probably receiving training at the Knights’ Order. The Knights’ Order and the academy are 200KM apart. Doesn’t that establish an alibi?”
“Can you prove that?”
“Of course. I’ll submit the record of receiving training later. Let me ask one more thing. The fact that you were accused of plagiarizing the thesis means you submitted a thesis later, right? So what was stolen wasn’t the thesis itself, but the content of the thesis, correct?”
“Yes… it’s a story that’s entirely possible if the thesis was transcribed.”
“Then I’m even more certainly not the culprit. I can’t read.”
“…………”
“My nickname at the Knights’ Order was ‘Blockhead’ for a reason. The instructor at the academy said things like ‘They say blonde beauties are stupid, and looking at you, I can see that saying is true’ or ‘It would be faster to teach a snail short-distance racing and a fish how to climb trees than to teach Alice how to read.’ I especially can’t understand any of the difficult terms you use. It would take all day even for simple transcription. There’s no way someone like me could be the culprit, right?”
Well, I know how stupid Alice is too. It’s not once or twice that I’ve been amazed by this one’s foolishness… This one who always argued “It’s not that I’m stupid, it’s that the world is unnecessarily smart” is now honestly admitting her own low IQ, leaving me with nothing more to say.
Especially since she says she’ll prove her alibi too, her suspicion becomes even lower.
Then inevitably, there’s only one person left.
“…Beatrice. It’s your turn now. Where were you and what were you doing that day?”
“I was probably praying at home.”
“Is there anyone who can prove that?”
“There is.”
“Who is it? Bring them here.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because that person is the Goddess who oversees this world. The Goddess was watching over the prayers I offered. She is my witness.”
“…So in the end, there’s no human who can prove your innocence?”
“……”
The atmosphere in the room became heavy.
I approached the saint who was shamelessly closing her eyes and clasping her hands together.
A distance close enough for our noses to almost touch.
The saint opens her eyes slightly in a sly manner.
“Hey Beatrice. Do you know how suspicious you’re acting right now? Why don’t you try to claim your innocence more desperately?”
“I want to ask you in return, Faust. How should I prove an alibi for a day when I was really just praying? Should I have someone by my side to be a witness every day in case of any possible suspicion? You know how often I pray, don’t you? Yesterday too, I was praying at home. If someone was murdered yesterday, am I the culprit? Because I can’t prove my alibi.”
“…At least in this place right now, you’re the most suspicious.”
“Tiffania, who isn’t here, isn’t 100% innocent either. You would admit that too, right? Above all, Serena, Diana, and Alice all have a slight possibility of being the culprit. I hope you don’t make the mistake of rashly making a decision and giving absolution to the shameless culprit, Faust. Because you’re a smart person.”
“Hooh… Is that flattery? That’s not like you.”
“Not necessarily. I remember giving you quite a lot of compliments, don’t I? When we were dating.”
“……..”
“Ah. Come to think of it, there was one more clue to prove my innocence. After we broke up, I resolved never to visit your room again. Is this reason enough? New hero?”
“……..”
Damn it.
Who on earth is the culprit?