Chapter 75

Opera Theater Murder Case (2)

Kleio jabbed Arthur in the side.

"The day will come when you listen to someone's lecture..."

Thanks to that, Fran's perception of Arthur seemed to have improved, but, after all, he couldn't adapt.

"Lei, how do you normally view me?"

"Should I tell you?"

"Well, no. I don't think I can listen."

Fran and Isiel sat in the middle of the parlor, seriously exchanging opinions. Cel took a seat right next to Isiel. After that, Arthur leaned up against the wall as Fran began to draw red dots onto the Lundane map laid out on the table. They were the places where the bodies had been found. It was amazing he had seen all that information alone and that he remembered them so accurately.

'He's a real genius among geniuses.'

As he looked at the map with admiration, he realized that he could do the same thing, suddenly feeling shy. There was a gap between natural genius and the ordinary perception people had of him, thanks to Promise.

"All the bodies were found here, with the opera house in the middle. The cycle of killing roughly overlaps with the date of the shows. No victims have been found since the last performance. The victims identified so far are the flower saleswoman, auditorium guides, stage assistants, and waiting room cleaners."

Pointing to the red dots scattered around the map, Fran began to write down the time of disappearance for each victim.

"The auditorium guide was killed sometime between curtain rise and curtain fall. After guiding the audience to the start of the performance, I've heard testimonies that he didn't appear again at the intermission."

Isiel's response came coldly.

"In that case, it seems highly likely that it was done by a theater official or someone in the audience."

"My thoughts are the same, Kision."

Cel shook her head.

"On every show? They're someone who likes to go to the opera."

"That's why we're preparing before the next show, and these days without any performances, no bodies have been found, and no people have gone missing."

"It's good to hear that, but..."

"It means that when it starts back up, the murders will begin again."

Fran pulled out a blueprint for the opera house and spread it out next to the map of Lundane.

"The opera theater has an east and west gate. The east gate leads to the lower floor auditorium seats, and the west leads to the second floor. Actors and staff enter through the south stage door."

"Is it enough to watch the door? What if the killer hides their weapon?"

"The opera theater was built when Absalom II was alive, and the walls are thick, and the windows are narrow. So, whoever enters has to go through one of those doors. I'll try to track down the etheric reaction by monitoring it before and during the day of the show."

Cel seemed impressed as she let out an exclamation.

"That's a good idea. It wouldn't have helped to mobilize the police if they can't detect ether anyway."

Isiel was closely inspecting the map and blueprint.

"Not only the three doors but also the auditorium and the backstage should be looked at."

"Isiel is right. You have to go to the concert hall to be able to observe the waiting room."

"The backstage and staff passages can be accessed with the help of the opera house staff. My colleagues will assist."

"But Francis, you need more workforce to carry out this investigation as planned. Even if we have just one person watching the stage door, we need at least two people to monitor the gates that have heavy traffic. Are there any more people with ether who can help?"

For the first time, Fran's face was stained with embarrassment. Even at the level of 1, only 0.025% of the population had etheric sensitivity. They had no choice but to recruit helpers who could detect ether from the Defense Force's school. Kleio was keenly aware of his mistake by failing to stop Isiel's speech.

'Ah, Isiel, Fran has no friends at school...'

***

The next day, on Monday, it had been two weeks since they had left the Door of Mnemosyne. Kleio slept the whole time after taking the basic swordsmanship class in the morning. Then, he was led by Cel to eat dinner in the parlor. Cel had led the other children there as well, gathering seven people in total. The parlor held Cel, Isiel, Arthur, Kleio, the Angellium twins, and Fran, who had brightened up considerably.

"Haaa, it's good to get together, but why in my dorm?"

"Boys can't enter the girls' dormitory floor."

"Then, Arthur's room..."

Cel seemed upset by the suggestion.

"Have you seen the state of his room?"

Come to think of it, he hadn't, since Arthur always came in his first.

"You can't go. Lei will get sick."

"It's a dust pit."

Lippi and Leticia shook their heads violently as if they had personally experienced it. Their tied-up hair began to shake.

"Yeah, it's bad, but that much..."

Arthur tried to defend himself belatedly, but the damage had already been done.

"There are staff members who come in to clean. What happened to them?"

"Well, I'm not letting them in because I could lose something very important."

"What's important...?"

"Ah, do you need to understand?"

Fran clicked his tongue like he thought Arthur was speaking bullshit, then revised the plan with Isiel. Kleio only lamented that he was stuck with all of them. He didn't send assassins to the school, but they couldn't know how long Aslan would play by that rule.

'It's important. Yes, it's important to them.'

put her hands on Fran's shoulder.

"By the way, Fran! There are quite a few people with ether sensitivity in the capital. How did you recognize the killer's ether?"

Isiel also nodded.

"Even if the suspect has ether sensitivity, it's unlikely they'll be using their ether in a public place. It's difficult to notice ether below level 5 even with [Ether Detection]."

With an uncomfortable expression, Fran escaped from Cel and pulled out a sketch.

"I don't think we have to worry about that. The ether left on the bodies is incredibly powerful. The suspect's ether sensitivity must be above level 5. The color of the ether is also very different. Like this picture, it's like a thick, red light."

The sketch, using liberal red paint, realistically expressed the ether around the victim's body.

"In ether?"

"How?"

The twins raised their surprise as Arthur, Kleio, and Isiel's eyes went wide. Red ether, like that of the assassins that had attacked them during summer vacation. Since then, the assassins hunting Arthur also had red eyes.

'It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce it's likely related...'

"Normally, the movement of ether remains in the air or in an object for a few minutes after use. However, if there is such clear ether left on the corpse a few days after their death, I'm guessing it will be difficult for the suspect to hide their energy completely."

"Hoh, red ether. I've never seen it before!"

"Even so, we lack human resources. It would be nice if we could get even one more..."

It was then the door banged open, revealing Kleio's housemate Nebo Yardi. His body was soaked in sweat from evening training, and he stopped dead in the doorway as he noticed the parlor was full, still wiping away his sweat with a towel.

"Well, what are you all gathered here for?"

Lippi and Leticia turned their heads as one. Kleio smiled, thinking the two girls were like meerkats. After a beat, the two girls dragged in Nebo with the prowess of a pack of wolves taking down their prey.

"Fran Wight, great. The workforce problem has been solved."

"There's one more right here."

"Ether level 3 policeman."

Nebo shook his arms in embarrassment as all gazes were gathered on him.

"Well, what is it? Let go of me and spit it out!"

After hearing the explanation, Nebo became much more excited than they had before, shaking his fists.

"My house is native to Lundane. The largest stationery store in the Kato district is my home. The opera is right there, so I can't wait!"

Isiel, watching the fully motivated Nebo, expressionlessly asked an important question.

"The workforce problem has been resolved. Then, when is the next show?"

Cel's response came coldly.

"This Friday evening, -The Lord of the Highland- opens. The performance schedule is once every three days, for three weeks."

"But if it's a royal opera, you can't see the upper floors behind the stage. I've been to the opera with my aunt and Leticia before! My aunt writes scripts! She said that the inside of the theater could be seen from the box seats on the second floor!"

"If Lippi asks, we'll get tickets for the show."

Cel, now seeming awkward, struck her palm.

"Ah, what to do? Isiel, I have a problem."

"What is it?"

"I don't have a ticket. The premiere of the opera is one all of Lundane has been waiting for. It's packed with waiting for people. Even my mother could only ask for tickets for VIP customers. Fran, do you have one?"

Fran shook his head desperately. He was good at investigating and researching, but he was clearly completely ignorant of the drama industry's situation. Kleio intervened between them.

"Then... I'll ask Lady Dione."

"Grayer... What magic did she do to get a ticket?"

"She can perform even more powerful magic outside a circle than inside one."

Without rushing, Kleio headed down to the supervisor's office and made a call.

***

Five days later, on Friday evening, Kleio had returned home with Behemoth after finishing classes. A condition from Dione obtaining opera tickets, Kleio was issued strict orders that he needed to dress up.

"Previously, the public relations I learned during my replacement service took good care of the situation. Well, I was fortunate that some clients of Baronet Asel canceled their tour of the Albion opera because it was inexpensive!"

"Opera is an opera; what's the difference?"

"There are some people who think that the unsung operas in Albion are third-class. Well, at least it was helpful to the young master!"

Well, that was somehow both surprising and unsurprising. There were people in his world that thought Italian operas were inferior to English ones, for example.

'By this point, opera is the hottest genre.'

Ultimately, as Dione had said, he was grateful that he could acquire a ticket as a result. The task of monitoring the auditorium on the first day was left to Kleio.

"You can't sing with a novel adaption anyway. Ms. Morgan rewrote the script in verse, but I don't know what the complaints are about. Well, thanks to that, I can watch the performance as many times as I want, so it's good. Haha!"

"...Well, let's just watch it once today."

"I booked today's tickets, but I also have tickets for other dates. Now, don't be noisy, get up, and look around."

"What else do I need to do?"

"You need to get a cape coat too. Hurry!"

Unable to deny his benefactor, Kleio got up and moved his arms around. The ribbon around his neck was itchy and uncomfortable.

'Oh, I really have to go to the barbershop.'

His hair was now long enough to reach his shoulders. His hair, directly Dione's prey, had been tied tightly up with a purple satin ribbon. She was now looking at her masterpiece with satisfaction. When he had actually tried on the summer garden cape, it seemed oddly noticeable though it lacked any decorations. It fit his body well, and the cloak descended below his waist and shook gently with his movements.

'Well, it is a magic tool.'

The autumn night felt deep and muggy, but it didn't feel rather pleasing with the magic tool on. Kleio kept his complaints hidden inside his heart.

"The color is bright gray, giving it an elegant feel that goes well with the master. The moment you put it on, it quickly changed its shape to match you too. Can I examine it later?"

"If you can restore it, you can."

Dione looked like she might begin to drool.

"I'm not confident about that. But, if we could figure out the structure and replicate it, it would be worth a huge sum. I apologize for my lack of abilities."

With that said, they were ready to be on their way to the opera.