Chapter 154

Sir Leshach looked at Ian, intrigued.

'I don't know the wizard's skills. But...'

The name Wizard Ian was one his subordinates had told him about.

Sir Leshach didn't even know that a person named Ian existed in the world.

He only gave high marks for the part about helping the Knights of Saint Santiago and Golden Finger Takarion.

However, at this moment, Sir Leshach made a definitive assessment of Ian.

'Ian is clearly a wise wizard.'

The idea of a wise wizard solving riddles was something he had only thought existed in fairy tales from long ago.

But Sir Leshach had to revise his thinking.

Right before his eyes was a wise wizard who seemed to have stepped out of a story.

The only person who knew the full story surrounding Necromancer Maria was Ian alone.

Everyone in the village thought Maria was a murderer.

Sir Leshach had also been assuming as much to some extent.

But Ian had found some new possibility amidst the sea of confusing information.

If it had a reasonable basis...

If Maria claimed innocence, Sir Leshach was willing to agree.

"Wizard Ian. Explain about the 'starved ghost'."

After sending the children away, Ian spoke in a calm voice.

"Just now, I happened to witness Maria being overwhelmed by the mystery of death."

"What did it look like?"

"She was trying to dig up the ground to eat worms."

"..."

"..."

The young baron wore a shocked expression, and even Sir Leshach looked slightly surprised.

"That's certainly not a normal occurrence."

"If an ordinary person had seen Maria, they would have just thought she was crazy."

Ian said impassively.

"Just like the Robert couple thought."

Robert and his wife's faces turned pale.

The young baron pressed the couple.

"Speak! Did you know about Maria's strangeness?"

"W-Well...! We knew she had a big appetite, but..."

A big appetite.

That was also one of the reasons why Robert and his wife hated Maria.

Sometimes she would eat like a demon had possessed her, and it was unbearably irritating.

But Robert and his wife failed to recognize the mystery of death clinging to Maria.

Maria was truly 'possessed'...

"We didn't know it was because of a ghost!"

"That's enough."

Ian glared at Robert and his wife.

Guilty as they were, they couldn't say another word and returned to their original places.

"As I saw, and as Joseph and the Robert couple know... Maria is in a state of being tormented by a 'hungry ghost'."

Joseph nodded reluctantly.

"I acknowledge that... But what of it?"

Thud!

Ian struck the ground with his staff.

"Maria has never properly learned necromancy. She doesn't know how to control the mystery, and instead, she has only shown signs of being overwhelmed by it."

"Ah."

Sir Leshach let out a low exclamation. He understood what Ian was trying to say.

Sir Leshach was also a cleric who had studied scripture and the Maronius language.

He had some knowledge about magic.

"I see. If Maria... got caught up in a mystery by accident..."

Impressive, as expected of an educated man!

Ian grinned and continued Sir Leshach's thought.

"Yes. She wouldn't have had the leisure to harm anyone."

"What nonsense...!"

"If Maria had accidentally possessed a ghoul, rather than killing people, she would have gone looking for rotten meat!"

"...!"

"...!"

The young baron and the villagers were simultaneously shocked.

Ian declared loudly.

"The mystery that clings to Maria is precisely the 'hungry ghost'!"

The three truths Ian aimed to prove were these.

Maria's motive for murder, her means, and whether it was feasible for her to carry it out.

Ian not only demonstrated the ambiguity of Maria's motive for murder, but also proved that even the feasibility was unclear.

Maria could have accidentally possessed the ghoul. That could happen due to the whims of the mystery.

However...

The possessed Maria wouldn't have torn Eric to death.

Maria, dominated by the mystery of death, would only have been transformed to crave food.

"Seeing her try to eat worms convinced me. The mystery clinging to Maria has no aggression."

"...But couldn't she have killed Eric in order to eat him?"

Joseph cried out urgently.

But Ian shook his head.

"Remember the corpse. What state was Eric's body in?"

"That's..."

Joseph quickly shut his mouth.

The person who buried Eric's corpse was Joseph himself.

Eric's body was badly damaged, but there were no signs of cannibalism...

"Let me summarize the situation for you."

Ian spoke again.

"On the day Eric was murdered, Maria had lost consciousness and collapsed due to someone's actions."

"At that time, the 'real culprit' of this incident controlled a ghoul to kill Eric. Then they quietly slipped away."

"You all thought Maria was the culprit because she was the only one who could control ghouls."

"Sure, Maria could possess a ghoul."

"However, Maria's ghost is one that's only fixated on food. If Maria had borrowed its power, she might have craved food, but she wouldn't have attacked people."

"..."

A heavy silence blanketed the courtroom.

The only thing that cut through that deathly silence was the sobbing of a girl.

"Hic... huuuuk...!"

It was Maria.

Forgetting that this was the lord's courtroom, Maria pressed her head to the ground and wailed.

"Uwaaaaaa!"

Kira and Belenka hurried to calm Maria down.

But Maria couldn't stop crying.

Relief at not being a murderer.

Guilt towards the deceased Eric.

And anger towards the real culprit.

All sorts of emotions swirled chaotically in the small, fragile girl's heart.

That pain and resentment were not emotions that could easily subside...

Ian waited to let Maria cry her heart out.

As Maria's crying subsided, Sir Leshach spoke.

"I understand sufficiently. Ian. It's difficult to see Maria as the culprit who harmed Eric."

"That's right."

"Continue speaking. Is the real culprit you're thinking of in this village?"

The villagers held their breath as they looked at Ian.

Ian slowly nodded.

"Yes. They are."

Amidst the mixture of shock and sighs.

Ian said.

"Shepherd Pael."

"...!"

"It could only be him."

Pael stepped forward with a sour expression.

He spoke to Ian with a look of incomprehension.

"You mean me, sir?"

"I mean you, Pael."

Pael looked around.

As if searching for an escape route.

"Suddenly saying such a thing... it's quite perplexing and troublesome."

The villagers nodded.

Ian's accusation seemed too outlandish.

"Surely you don't think I'm the murderer just because I witnessed the killing? It's a bad habit to accuse without solid evidence..."

Ian let out a snicker.

Pael's reaction looked exactly like that of a guilty bastard.

"You know what, Pael? In detective novels, when the detective points out the real culprit, the criminals always say this. 'Do you have evidence?'"

"... What novels?"

Ian lamented the wretched medieval reading level.

Read some books in the library once in a while, damn it!

Even though there's no library, no books, and no knowledge to read...!!!

"As you said, one reason I think you're the culprit is that you're the only witness."

Pael immediately put on an aggrieved expression.

"If you suspect me just because I reported it..."

"I'm suspicious because you reported it. Listen carefully. If Maria didn't possess the ghoul. Who controlled it?"

"..."

"At the scene, there was only Maria, Eric, and you. Eric is dead, and Maria was unconscious. That only leaves you, doesn't it?"

Scratching his head, Pael said.

"A hidden necromancer could have..."

"That's even stranger. A passing necromancer attacks a villager with a ghoul out of boredom? And it happens to be a boy Maria was close to?"

The vagueness of the motive.

When Ian pointed that out, Pael immediately retorted.

"It could have been a weird necromancer! Wizards are eccentric by nature, after all!"

The residents nodded.

Even Sir Leshach seemed to agree.

Ian's pure and innocent heart was about to be wounded.

This is wizard hatred! Discrimination!

The reality that such words were persuasive was depressingly bitter...

"No. You had a motive to kill Maria's boyfriend candidate."

"Oh ho. Me? Do you really think so?"

... This bastard.

He's not even trying to hide it anymore?

At Pael's brazen response, Ian spat out.

"You wanted Maria, didn't you?"

At that, Pael burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Just like a wizard, you're talking nonsense! You're saying I killed Eric to have Maria for myself? Learning necromancy and preparing a ghoul?"

"..."

"Wizard. I don't... sense any mystery of death from Pael."

Joseph whispered as if giving advice.

You're saying this knowing that, right?

Of course, Ian knew that too.

"No. There's no need for that. He was a necromancer from the start."

Pael's parents and acquaintances were startled.

Our child... was a necromancer from the beginning?!

Pael sneered at Ian.

"What are you saying now..."

But Ian cut off Pael's words.

"'You' were originally a necromancer. Nameless wizard."

"...!"

Ian's target was clear.

Not Pael, but the wizard hiding behind Pael's shell.

Pael's acquaintances looked at him in shock.

Pael didn't seem flustered or try to deny Ian's words.

He was just... smiling.

"Kuk kuk... You've got a decent head on your shoulders, wizard."

Ian gazed calmly at Pael.

Shepherd Pael.

He was a necromancer who had infiltrated the village.