Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Scott walked through the museum, picking up items from time to time and putting them in evidence bags for isolation.

It’s more like waiting than searching for evidence.

After making sure that the people from the Church of Mother Earth and the Mechanical Heart had completely left the church, Scott recalled the feeling under his feet and returned to the place where he had last stood when he was talking to Emlyn.

There was a subtle touch under the carpet.

right here.

He lifted a corner of the carpet and caught a glimmer of light.

It was an obsidian earring that had been broken in two pieces.

********

"Name?"

"Carolina Rahimi."

"Do you remember the day the Harvest Church exploded? Why did you go to that church?"

"…I was on the street and saw Dodger Lamar's performance. I suddenly felt so happy and wanted to see it again. They said there was another show at Harvest Church at 3pm. I would definitely skip work to see it…"

……

"Name?"

"…Otmar Rojas…"

"Why were you at Harvest Church?"

"...I, I was on the street and saw Dodger Rama's performance..."

"Have you ever seen this person?"

"Is this... is this the magician from Dodger Lamar's crew? I seem to have seen him chatting with Mr. Dodger Lamar on the street..."

……

"Name?"

"I'm Juno Meadows."

“Why were you at Harvest Church on the day of the bombing?”

“I was the nurse on duty at the hospital.”

“So you didn’t go to the museum to see Dodger Rama’s show?”

"I went to see the benefit performance of Dodger Lamar in the atrium foyer. It was a very small one. I wanted to go to the museum afterwards, but I thought better of it."

"Why forget it?"

"...Sir, I'm the nurse on duty..."

"Have you seen this person?"

"A Fifth Epoch-style magician? He seemed to be asking me for directions to the psychiatric ward with a police officer..."

"Visited? Who did you visit?"

"Sir, the psychiatric ward is a confidential unit in our hospital. I have no right to tell you any information behind that iron door."

"Besides these two, have you seen any other strange people coming in and out of the psychiatric ward?"

"...No, but it seems that Dr. Emlyn White suddenly wrapped himself up tightly and went in that day..."

……

“Remember what happened in the museum on the day of the explosion?”

"...I...I don't remember! I, I only know...that performance..."

"No... sir... I seem to be climbing a wall... Wait, sir, who tore my face..."

"I don't know sir, I was in the hospital and then the alarm went off and before we could evacuate, the hospital exploded."

"Red light... that, that! That red glow!"

“No, no! I don’t know, I don’t know anything! Aaaaa——”

"...Hehe...Brother Doctor...Hehe..."

……

...I don't know, I can't remember, I forgot, I'm crazy, the doctor's legs are so white...

Wait, what is this?

Scott looked at the stack of inquiry records with a headache.

The most important piece of intelligence on the day of the bombing was missing. Scott wanted to find out what happened inside the church between the bombing and the restoration, but they still had no clue.

The memories of the witnesses were destroyed by the foul curse, and some witnesses even suffered mental damage due to the red glow they were summoned. The psychic effect was also not ideal, and the souls of the victims were also fragmented by the red glow and the power of the curse.

…Damn it…

Scott motioned irritably to his subordinates.

"Next person."

A blond, blue-eyed boy with an aristocratic temperament sat in the inquiry room.

"Name?"

“Lynn Venturi van der Rohe.”

"Venturi van der Rohe?" Scott perked up. "Are you a descendant of the Valkyrie?"

"Yes, Valkyrie Margaret Venturi van der Rohe is the ancestor of our family."

Talking about the glorious history of his family, Lynn became excited.

"You see, this complex and interesting surname is unique to this family. Back then, we..."

"I'm not interested in your family history." Scott interrupted ruthlessly, "Were you at Harvest Church on the day of the bombing?"

"Yes, sir. I was a volunteer at the church museum at the time, mainly explaining the museum's collections to tourists. But when I was explaining the [Margaret's Oath], I suddenly found that the sword had been taken out by the management. Before I could discuss the explanation with the management, the church exploded."

Scott frowned. When describing the period before the explosion, the survivors began to speak incoherently, their memories were fragmented, and their minds were confused. Lynn's testimony seemed to be the clearest statement Scott had heard today.

[Margaret's Oath] was originally a family heirloom of the Venturi van der Rohe family, but it was forcibly requisitioned by the Loen royal family at the beginning. It is understandable that Lin En cares more about it.

"Go on," Scott gestured.

"I heard the sound of the glass cabinet breaking. Someone smashed the display cabinet. Then I saw Mr. Dodge Lamar taking the [Glorious Gold Cup] away and shouting. After he finished shouting, there was an explosion in the hospital next door."

"Fortunately, Mr. Merlin rushed out in time to help us stop Dodge Rama..."

"……Wait."

斯科特眯起眼睛。

"Who is Merlin?"

This is a name that has never appeared in any previous confessions.

"Merlin Hermes, a street artist. He's really nice! I met him on Sphinx Boulevard, when I was handing out flyers on the street. You know, lunch break is the best time to hand out flyers..."

"Hermes? A magician?"

"Yes, a magician who feels very old-fashioned, in the Fifth Epoch style. I really like it. The retro performance is particularly..."

"Does he believe in a lost god?"

"I don't know. We didn't ask. At the time, we thought it was more important to distribute flyers, so I..."

"What did you talk about at the time?"

“We didn’t talk much. I just praised his performance. The magician was very happy and said he would help me realize three wishes.

“I was very happy, and then I rejected him.

"Finally, I happened to find two gold coins in my pocket. They were well made, so I gave them all to Mr. Merlin as a souvenir. Wow, I think this magician and I really get along well. He..."

"Why don't you make a wish to him?"

Damn it, why are you still throwing money around on the street? If you have a lot of money, why don't you give it to me? If you don't want money, I still need it!

"Why would I need a magician to fulfill my wish? My family is rich and well-off, and I can get whatever I want. If I can't even get it, it means that the goddess thinks that I'm not destined to have it - then what else can I ask for?"

...The kid thinks things through quite thoroughly.

"…tell us in detail about the fight between the magician and Dodger Lamar."

"Okay, sir, let me tell you..."

Lynn, who was always interrupted, finally got the chance to speak freely.