Chapter 51: Continuing the Investigation

Three days later, Levi once again went to MI7 and found the Old Butler.

“You want to investigate the Lancaster family?”

The Old Butler was somewhat surprised.

“This case hasn’t ended yet?”

“The case can be considered closed, but the problem has not been completely resolved.”

Levi gave a brief explanation.

“According to my investigation, everything stemmed from the Lancaster family who first lived there. So I want to conduct a further investigation into their situation and see if I can find more clues.”

“Mm……… fine, wait a moment.”

The Old Butler picked up the telephone, gave two soft instructions, then nodded at Levi.

“Alright, if you find anything, report back as soon as possible.”

“No problem.”

This was where the intelligence unit differed from the police.

For the police, solving the case was the most important thing.

Once the case was solved and closed, that was the end of it.

As for what lay behind the case, they did not care—nor could they, in truth.

After all, cases happened at every moment in Mist City.

If each one had to be investigated from beginning to end with absolute clarity, then no number of policemen would ever be enough.

But the intelligence unit was different.

This was precisely their job.

If they felt something was suspicious, digging to the very bottom was only natural.

“By the way, how do you plan to write this case up?”

Levi asked curiously.

He knew that every mysterious case he solved might end up in the Exploration Newspaper.

So Levi very much suspected how they were going to write this one———no, how they were going to fabricate it.

“It’s already written. Here, have a look.”

The Old Butler chuckled and handed over the manuscript at his side.

Levi reached out to take it, then scanned through.

Hmm, nothing much in the beginning.

It simply connected the deaths that had occurred at that place, naturally piquing the readers’ curiosity: why were people dying here?

Then, of course, it was time for the brilliant and heroic detective to make his entrance! After investigation, he discovered that the first owner of the house had a fondness for plants, and in the garden of the house he had planted a flower species from a distant foreign land.

But this flower, when in bloom, released a neurotoxin that, over time, caused hallucinations and neurological disorders in the people living inside the house.

For this reason, the residents of the house had reacted one after another in various abnormal ways, and tragedies had inevitably followed.

Upon realizing this, the detective solved the case, found the remains of the mysteriously missing people, and for safety’s sake burned down the house and garden together into ashes.

At the end, the author even urged readers to beware of introducing foreign species they were unfamiliar with, to avoid similar tragedies………

Good grief, it almost sounded plausible.

If Levi himself had not known otherwise, he would have believed it too.

“Well written.”

“Story comes first, after all.”

The Old Butler made no attempt to conceal his newspaper’s talent for fabricating stories———or rather, that was their very mission.

Other newspapers might need to stick to the facts, but they absolutely could not.

Otherwise, things would get messy.

“That’s true enough……….”

Levi nodded, then prepared to leave.

But the Old Butler quickly called him back.

“By the way, although this investigation cost us some losses, it was very effective. All departments are willing to coordinate with us now. In the future, there may be many times we’ll need to trouble you.”

“Understood.”

Levi was not surprised.

At least for now, his work was like that of a policeman or a firefighter—unless humanity went extinct, it would never disappear………

“And also, that procedure you suggested earlier—we’ve already arranged it. From now on it will become a standard regulation. But some people are asking if we could use prisoners for the first wave of probing and testing? For example, death row inmates. Release them into those environments to determine the level of danger?”

“My personal recommendation is not to do that.”

Levi shook his head.

“After all, this isn’t as simple as a poisonous environment. Those evil things are clever and intelligent. I don’t think the prisoners would want to die either. If they made some kind of bargain with those entities and turned against us, it would be trouble.”

“You’re right. We’re here to solve problems, not create them.”

The Old Butler clearly agreed.

Then, curiously, he looked at the briefcase in Levi’s hand.

A neat rectangular case, outwardly simple enough, but the Old Butler remembered Levi had not carried such a thing before.

“Why are you carrying that now?”

“It’s more convenient for self-defense.”

Levi gave a brief explanation without elaborating.

The Old Butler nodded.

“Indeed. In this line of work, who knows where danger might come from. Better safe than sorry.”

They chatted for a while longer, then Levi took his leave.

As he walked out of the office, a clerk came in.

“Mr. Levi, here are the detailed records on the Lancaster family.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Levi accepted the file and began flipping through it.

From the intelligence, this family had largely stayed out of sight most of the time.

Or rather, the Lancaster family’s brightest moment was during the Unification Wars when they followed Emperor Arthur and, for their merits, were granted titles and land by the Empire.

After that, the Lancasters had steadily declined, and by the current generation had almost squandered everything away.

Even during Emperor Arthur’s time, the Lancasters had not held much status.

At most, they were mid-to-upper rank, with little political influence.

Perhaps precisely because of this, they managed to survive the Empire’s political upheavals again and again———mm, another reason being that the Lancaster fief was located near Mist City.

The saying applied: “the monk might escape, but the temple remains.”

Of course, that was speaking of the past.

In the early days of the Empire, Lancaster lands were considered outlying territory.

But as Mist City expanded again and again over the years, the Lancaster estate went from being “in the neighboring province” to being “on Mist City’s outskirts.”

The haunted house had originally been a resting place before entering Mist City.

In the past, whenever the Lancaster family went into the city, they would first stay overnight there, and then enter the city the next day.

But now, that house had been absorbed into Mist City’s residential districts———within the seventh ring, no less.

Levi had no interest in Lancaster family gossip.

What he wanted was the Lancaster mansion.

After all, according to the account, his ring had been found in the Lancaster mansion’s secret chamber.

To figure out what the ring really was, it was clear that investigating the mansion directly would be most effective.

Old records were hard to find.

But fortunately, the Lancaster family had only truly disappeared from sight within the past few decades.

So with some effort, Levi managed to locate the mansion.

However……………

Looking at the record on paper, Levi raised an eyebrow.

【Lancaster Manor, homicide case, status (abandoned)】

The second sheet contained the details of the murder.

【Lancaster Manor Murder Case, deceased: Mr. Roger Brando, Madam Martha Brando】

【Case type: Robbery-murder】

【Perpetrator: Coste Klope——caught on the spot】

【Verdict: Death penalty】

According to the record, this Coste had apparently been the Brandos’ servant.

On a rainy night, he killed the Brando couple, stole their property, and fled, only to be arrested by the police.

The whole process looked straightforward enough.

Levi also remembered that Eliza had said Lancaster’s wife recalled they had sold the ancestral mansion to pay off gambling debts———meaning the buyers had been this couple?

Unlucky, indeed.

That was all the investigation notes recorded.

After all, a difference engine was not a computer, nor did it have massive storage capacity.

Fortunately, Levi had been in this world long enough to have some connections.

So he quickly went to the police station and found———Inspector Lestrade.

“The Lancaster Manor robbery-murder?”

When Levi explained his purpose, Inspector Lestrade was momentarily stunned, then became instantly excited.

“Hey, you’ve come to the right man!”

“Don’t tell me this was your case, Inspector Lestrade?”

“Of course……… not. At the time I was just a rookie, only responsible for keeping order and such……… The case itself was handled by another officer. But, hmm……… come to think of it, I remember this case quite well, because it was the very first murder case I experienced after joining the force.”

Inspector Lestrade bit down on his pipe, a nostalgic look on his face.

“Was there anything strange about it at the time?”

“Strange?”

Inspector Lestrade scratched his head.

“Not really. According to the police, after receiving the report they went to Lancaster Manor, and upon entering the front gate they found the murderer standing in the hall with a blood-stained knife, right beside the corpses of the couple. The place was in complete disarray. It was practically catching the thief red-handed. He was arrested on the spot.”

“Report? Who reported it?”

“I think it was a postman. He was driving his carriage on the return route and heard a scream from the manor. So he went to the nearest police station to report it. But, now that you mention it……….”

Inspector Lestrade frowned as he tried to recall.

“Actually, yes, there was something strange.”

“Mm?”

“The manor was quite large. But when we arrived, the entire place was turned upside down, like a gang of robbers had ransacked it. Yet according to footprints, fingerprints, and traces left at the scene, the only person there was the culprit himself. That’s odd. How could one man have the strength and energy to search through the entire manor like that?”

“Do you know the manor’s exact location?”

“You want to go there?”

“I’m planning to take a look.”

“Perfect.”

Hearing Levi’s words, Inspector Lestrade stood up excitedly.

“I’ll go with you! Let’s treat it like a trip!”

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