Magnus

The next day, while having breakfast, Dante recollected the details he read about the theft task.

The elder's daughter had gone to the temple of the god of harvest to pray at the arrival of fall. As an auspicious day, the temple was filled with many people from the town and it was during this hustle that her necklace had somehow been stolen from her neck without her realizing it. The necklace seems to be some kind of magical artifact for good health that old man Magnus had given the girl.

"It seems that this old man I met when I first arrived knows some kind of magic. Could it be that he knows that I lied to him?" Dante wondered.

"The arrival of fall was after all the travelers had left the town. Which means that the thief is someone from within this town. A resident." Dante analysed. "Let's talk to Magnus first."

After breakfast, Dante asked Martha where that gerbil old man named Magnus lived. Martha told him that he lived in a small shack on the outskirts of the town. Following her directions, Dante walked towards the shack, to find the old man sitting on the porch taking a long drag of some kind of tobacconist substance.

"The lad who go picked by a golden roc? What are you doing here?" The old man asked with a laugh.

"Old man, I heard you can do magic?" Dante asked.

"Magic? No. I can only perform some healing charms." The old man snorted when he heard the word magic.

"And how is that different?" Dante asked in surprise.

"Charms are ill formed spells without intent. Magic contents the intent of the caster. I wasn't rich enough to become a mage." The old man said with a hideous snarl.

"Rich enough? Not that you did not have talent, huh?" Dante wondered.

"Becoming a mage is a matter of burning resources. You need magic stones. Tons of it! I am a poor old gerbil man, I couldn't even marry into a nobility because of my ugly face." The old man made an ugly smile.

"No wonder you became a money grubbing old man. I came here to investigate about the elder's property theft. Can you tell me about the necklace you crafted for the elder's daughter?" Dante asked.

"It was a simple locket made of wood hung on a thread of flax reed. It has a gentle healing charm that would gradually flush out the toxins within Her body." The old man yawned. "This is old news."

"What toxin?" Dante asked.

"Trade secret. All I can tell you is that the girl was poisoned and I healed her. But all the toxins have not been successfully removed, and so I made that charm." Magnus said.

"So what happens to her now that she doesn't have the charm?" Dante asked in curiosity.

"The toxin will gradually accumulate again and flare up, causing the girl to fall at death's door again." Magnus said.

"So it would be repeat business for you, old man. You can become the Town Elder again for a day." Dante said pointedly.

"Hmph. If I was a scheming person I wouldn't be a poor old sod living in this forsaken town." Magnus snorted. "I may be a money grubber, but I am not a schemer."

Dante did not know how to reply to such a firm indignation, so he nodded and didn't deem a reply.

"Who all knew about the charm and its effects? Before it was stolen and the matter came to light?" Dante asked a crucial question.

"Hehe, boy, you are quite the perceptive one. Other than me, only the little girl and her father should know about it. But if they told someone else..." Manus teased.

Dante raised an eye. This was a potential clue. If the person stole it, they would have one of three reasons. To sell it - this would be impossible since the merchants won't arrive for a year, thus the timing of the theft wouldn't make sense. They themselves were poisoned - they could directly ask this old gerbil for help. The final one was to actively harm the girl. In this case, it would be someone who knew that the charm was involved in curing the elder's daughter. Ofcourse there was also the possibility that this Gerbil stole it so he could make the town elder indebted to him, but Dante's gut told him that this old man was innocent.

"Was anyone else poisoned with the same thing as the elder's daughter?" Dante asked the old man Magnus one last question.

"Impossible." Magnus said emphatically.

"Impossible?" Dante asked in confusion. "Could it be that the poison in the girl is due to some innate disability in the girl's body? Is that why you couldn't completely remove the toxin. It isn't that you couldn't remove it, but it would naturally grow again?"

Magnus looked at Dante in shock and with a stunned expression. "You... how did you...? Hehe, brat, your observational skills seem to be really terrifying. Such a terrifying skill is no less than an innate power."

"Innate power? What is that?" Dante asked in confusion.

"I am not too sure myself. But there are certain superhuman abilities that have been floating through the epochs of time. People who are born with this innate power are not to be trifled with." Magnus said.

"...Innate Power, there is such a thing? Is it like magic?" Dante asked in confusion.

"Magic? No, magic is a skill that is learned. It is the skill of controlling mana. Innate Power on the other hand, I am not sure how that works." Magnus explained.

"How exactly do you know all this?" Dante asked.

"I was studying to be a mage. Do you think I wouldn't know such an elementary thing?" Magnus laughed.

Dante nodded, quickly chaning the topic. "So who ever stole the necklace wished to harm the girl. But you already seemed to know this, so why didn't you explain it to the town elder?"

"Hmph, why should I do something for free?" Magnus snarled.

"Wait a minute, didn't you just tell me all this for free?" Dante asked with frowning eyes.

Magnus suddenly showed a disgusting smile of a money grubber. "Hehe, who told you all this information was free? Now it is your turn to answer my question."