Chapter 83: Sorceress Research Society
Fisher had a lot of free time for the next few days, as he methodically handled several matters back in Nali. Now, he only needed to wait for results at home each day, while also preparing for his upcoming speech at the Royal Academy and lectures at Saint Nali University. After all, the autumn semester in Nali was about to begin in just a few days.
On the Monday following his discussions with Damien, the latest issue of the “Nali Journal” published Fisher’s article “Theory and Proof of Magic Sources.” This article, co-signed by Fisher and Heilson, detonated like a bomb in the academic circles of Nali, instantly igniting a long-silent community.
Researchers at the Royal Academy learned of the news immediately; seeing that Fisher had produced new results, they were afraid that Principal Damien would be upset, so they avoided the Pink Pavilion, holding back until Fisher’s prominence faded.
They thought things would improve as the autumn semester began, but they did not know that at the opening ceremony, the devil-like Fisher would present them with another surprise.
Fisher’s rental apartment was nearly drowned in various letters—some were congratulatory notes from various academic institutions and individuals; others were invitations for academic debates where scholars expressed confusion about certain aspects of his paper and sought explanations from Fisher; there were also invitations from various magical tool companies in Nali, attempting to discuss the commercial potential of soul-type magic.
It must be said, those guys had quite a sensitive nose for money.
At first, Fisher intended to read these letters, but there were just too many, and he had no choice but to pile them aside to read later, as not all letters needed his attention.
“Fisher!”
After several days of this routine, just before noon on Thursday, as Fisher was preparing his speech upstairs, he was interrupted by Martha’s voice from downstairs. He thought it might be someone delivering a letter again.
“Just leave it downstairs; I will come down to get it during lunch!”
“No, there’s a guest looking for you!”
A guest?
Fisher set his speech draft aside, thought for a moment, made a term on the paper sound more unpleasant, put it on the table, and then buttoned his shirt before heading downstairs.
As soon as he reached the ground floor, he was taken aback by the scene in the living room.
Several individuals dressed in dark trench coats, wearing long hats adorned with knight sword emblems, appeared in his home. They were police officers maintaining security in Nali; there were dedicated police stations in every neighborhood, but the attire of this group was unlike ordinary officers.
“Hello, Mr. Fisher.”
The one speaking to Fisher was not any of the officers but a lady sitting across from Martha on the sofa, who stood up to greet Fisher on the staircase.
She wore attire similar to other officers, but her collar was unbuttoned, and she did not wear the police-specific hat. A scar darkened on her wheat-colored cheek gave her a rugged appearance.
“Hello, what’s the matter?”
“Let me introduce myself; I am Leola, second-level police chief from the Saint Nali Police Department.” As she spoke, Fisher noticed the four-winged griffon badge pinned to her chest, indicating her high rank. “We’ve encountered difficulties in a case we are investigating concerning magic, and we need to temporarily hire you to assist us.”
Saying that, she pulled out a bulging envelope from her pocket, ready to hand it to Fisher. This was the “assistance fee” for consulting experts by the Nali police, typically around ten thousand Nali. Judging by its thickness, it likely exceeded that, maybe nearing twenty thousand.
Fisher did not take it, instead frowning.
“Why not seek other members of the Magic Association? I remember a few members were long-term partners of your police.”
“We’ve already contacted two experts from the Magic Association, but they had no clue about the case. They suggested that Mr. Fisher Benavides might have insights.” Leola left the envelope on the table and added, “They said it’s related to the subhuman race.”
Subhuman race? And related to magic?
Fisher suddenly became interested, as it was surprising that there would be magical attacks related to subhumans even in Saint Nali, and that not even the members of the Magic Association recognized it. Could it be some form of ancient magic?
After pondering for a while, since he had no other business today apart from preparing his speech, Fisher agreed, leaving without even having lunch, departing with the chief police officers. There was no carriage outside the rental home, suggesting that the crime scene wasn’t far away, as they had come on foot.
Walking alongside, Leola said, “Mr. Fisher, do you know about the incident that happened a few days ago on Karen Street?”
“I do; it was noisy enough to close the tram station. That day I was forced to call for a carriage to get back.”
Leola nodded and pulled out a roll of case reports, handing it to Fisher.
“At Apartment No. 3 on Karen Street, a conflict erupted last Friday at midnight. The deceased, Ryuji, male, 34 years old, died from excessive blood loss. There were signs of resistance before death, with evidence of gunfire and magic use; the killer remains unknown, but a strange ‘resonance’ fluctuation was left at the scene.”
Fisher glanced at the case file and quickly arrived at the crime scene on Karen Street.
Apartment No. 3 on Karen Street faced the street outside, with one room’s window completely shattered, exposing the ceiling inside. The external tram tracks were bent, distorted like a twisted pastry, indicating damage caused by gravity-type magic, and several workers from the transportation department were dismantling that section of the track for repairs.
The entrance to Apartment No. 3 had been cordoned off by police, while the tenants above were protesting how the Nali police disrupted their lives. Under Leola’s guidance, Fisher soon arrived at the crime scene on the second floor. The door was ajar, revealing a very messy interior.
On the sofa facing the balcony lay a pool of thick blood, now completely dried after several days; the body had been removed by the police, but the other items had not been disturbed.
“The victim was unemployed, but according to police intel, he had long engaged in underground intelligence work in Nali, acting as an intermediary and selling information to various gangs and foreign forces. Mr. Fisher, the traces of resonance are over here.”
After magic is released, the places where the emblem has jostled the world’s resonance leave very obvious traces. These traces are invisible to the naked eye and can only be seen using special magic or instruments, usually lasting around half a month, while some high-tier magic can persist for several months, indicating that the degree of magic influencing the world’s rules is significant.
In the room, there were several metal rods glowing with magical light embedded in the floor; this device is called a “resonance detector,” used by police to confirm magical crimes. Under the device’s illuminating glow, it could reveal the world’s resonance.
Many places bore marks left by the victim when using magic for resistance, but there was one place the scholars from the Magic Association couldn’t identify, located near the windowsill. Fisher crouched down and looked at the wave patterns displayed by the three rods, which resembled spatial folds, revealing some purple light within the wave patterns, with hints of white also emerging from the purple glow.
Fisher observed that magic for a long while, then suddenly said,
“Four-tier magic, ‘Glorious Blade.'”
“Glorious Blade? Impossible! The resonance of this magic differs greatly from Glorious Blade’s resonance, and its effect is also not as strong as what Glorious Blade should achieve. The two Magic Association experts unanimously believed this magic should be above six tiers.”
Leola turned to look at the crack in the room that extended from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, saying this to Fisher.
Fisher sighed, then reached down to pull out the rod embedded in the floor. In front of several police officers, he moved the rod upward, discovering that the resonance extended upward all the way to the windowsill.
“The two were right and yet wrong; at least their theoretical knowledge is sound—they understand that different species release different traces of magic due to different magical circuits, and they recognized that the engraver of this magic differs from humans.”
“Are you saying this magic was actually inscribed by a subhuman?”
“No, it was inscribed by a human. The Glorious Blade used the medieval version, which should theoretically be less powerful than the modern modified version, but the magic power of the caster compensated for this fact. If he had used the modern version of Glorious Blade, those two experts would likely have predicted it to be seven tiers or more.”
Fisher set down the resonance detector and reached a conclusion,
“The killer is from the Sorceress Research Society.”
“The Sorceress Research Society? That cult organization? But Nali had previously reviewed cases involving the Sorceress Research Society, and there has never been a case featuring such magic.”
“That’s because the previous individuals weren’t up to par; this time, the person involved isn’t simple—likely a ‘synthetic sorceress.'”
Unlike modern magic, medieval magic has a very short shelf life; generally, if it is still effective, the engraving time should not exceed four days. This means the engraver must have personally come to Nali.
“Synthetic sorceress?”
While others were unaware of the Sorceress Research Society’s background, Fisher, who had been searching for the “Undying Sorceress” for a long time, knew better.
This organization was notorious in both Nali and Shivali for often using the quest for sorceresses as a guise for human trafficking. Suspects of sorcery were frequently various young women, with cases of them abducting women common in the countryside and outskirts, but those were merely minor skirmishes made by the branches.
Having visited Cardu, Fisher had heard that they were cultivating a product known as the “synthetic sorceress,” believing that sorceresses were messengers of the Mother God and trying to approach the Mother God through means of assimilation into sorceresses, seeking to listen to her teachings. However, these were just rumors, and it was uncertain if they had succeeded.
However, the characteristics of the Sorceress Research Society can be fully seen in this magic—they tend to utilize medieval magic, akin to the magical fluctuations of sorceresses. If Fisher had not truly witnessed what a sorceress’s magic looked like, he might have been deceived by this counterfeit before him.
“The Sorceress Research Society is studying projects aimed at transforming humans into sorceresses to communicate with the Mother God. If this case relates to the Sorceress Research Society, you can certainly look into some intelligence that this deceased individual was handling.”
Fisher stood up, glancing around, seemingly only this one magic was released by the intruder. The external tram tracks were damaged by the victim’s released gravity magic, indicating that the victim was able to resist for some time after being hit by the Glorious Blade. But could he have left some sort of evidence behind?
“Chief Leola! Chief Leola! The inspection department has news!”
Just as Fisher was pondering, a police officer scrambled up from downstairs, panting heavily, holding onto a steaming black-and-white photo, which seemed to be results from the inspection department.
“What happened?”
“The inspection department found a piece of fabric in the deceased’s stomach with some writing on it; they asked me to bring it back to you.”
Leola took the photo, and as she looked, her frown deepened. Then, with a complex expression, she glanced toward Fisher, who was observing the blood-stained sofa beside her.
“Mr. Fisher, your inference may be correct; please take a look.”
Fisher took the black-and-white photo from her, noticing in the center of the photo was a piece of fabric that had been unfurled. The text on the fabric was somewhat distorted from being soaked, reading as follows:
“The Undying Sorceress has escaped from the Research Society.”
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(The End)
