Chapter 600: Chapter 387: Return to the Cave
Hearing Colin’s question, Conmonds’ heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his back, but his face revealed nothing.
Beside him, Onions, filled with anger, also stopped in confusion and turned his head.
Martina... wasn’t she dead last night?
"Perhaps I remembered wrong; it might have been the night before. When you get old, memory becomes unreliable," said Conmonds, patting his head with a smile.
"It was at dawn three days ago."
At that moment, Orkot, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, suddenly spoke with a voice mixed with blood foam.
Conmonds gave him a glance, his eyes briefly lit up, but quickly subdued again, and turned his head with an appropriately puzzled look toward Orkot.
"I remember very clearly, it was around three in the morning, three days ago. It was still dark, and she struggled fiercely..."
Bang!
Orkot’s voice abruptly ceased as Onions, angrily breathing, clenched his fist tighter, and fresh blood silently dripped down.
"Pah!"
Orkot spat out a mouthful of blood and didn’t continue speaking, only watching Onions with a venomous gaze.
Bang—Bang—Bang!
The whites of Onions’ eyes gradually showed streaks of red, his eyebrows inverted, teeth gritted tightly, as he swung his fists, landing several more punches on Orkot!
Colin frowned slightly, somewhat unclear whether Onions was simply infuriated or had fallen into some kind of bloodlust.
After a moment’s deliberation, he still spoke up, "Onions, that’s enough. Let him live."
Of course, this wasn’t out of pity for Orkot.
After all, if Orkot’s deeds were indeed as Onions described, then he was undoubtedly scum. If Colin hadn’t encountered him, he wouldn’t have interfered, as this world was different from his previous life.
But having encountered the situation, he didn’t mind backing up Onions. Still, Orkot had, after all, practiced the Giant Mountain Breathing Method and was a Great Knight, valuable research material. And when it came to research materials, one must be cherished; allowing Onions to kill him would be a bit of a waste.
"So it seems it was indeed three days ago; I remembered wrong," Conmonds spoke again.
"Is that so?" Colin squinted, carefully observing Conmonds.
Intuition told him that Conmonds was lying, but logically, Conmonds’ explanation wasn’t implausible.
And if Conmonds really was lying... then things were starting to get interesting.
It was just a maid—her death, in this world, what did it amount to?
And now, not only was Conmonds concealing something... but Orkot was even actively helping him cover it up.
Interesting... Colin closely observed Conmonds.
Conmonds’ facial expression slightly changed, hesitated for a moment, and then emphasized,
"It was just an ordinary maid, I truly didn’t pay much attention. But since Orkot says she died in the early morning three days ago, it must indeed be then. I remembered wrong."
Then he turned his head, shouting to Onions, "Martina is dead, Onions. If you have anger in your heart, I can have Orkot return the spear to you.
After all... even if you beat Orkot to death, Martina won’t come back to life."
Hearing Conmonds’ words, the anger in Onions’ heart seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water, and he stopped his swinging fists.
But with the flame extinguished, the searing smoke that rose made him angrily blurt out,
"It’s not about the spear. I just can’t stand Orkot’s wanton killing! Martina was only thirteen, she didn’t even know what a steak tasted like!"
Onions stared at Conmonds, breathing furiously.
It was apparent that he must have known Martina, or at least had some contact with her.
"I understand your pain, child," Conmonds sighed, his face showing regret.
"Where’s her body?" At this, Colin suddenly asked again.
Conmonds’ expression didn’t falter for a second, showing the right amount of confusion:
"Where Martina’s body went, I fear we need to find the servant who handled her to know for sure. But generally, the bodies are taken to the mass graves outside the city."
At the same time, invisible to everyone else, he quietly used his toes to activate a contingency he had already set in place inside his shoe.
Conmonds’ last sliver of hope dissipated with Colin’s probing questions.
He couldn’t explain the whereabouts of Martina’s body—something that Colin would find out if he kept pressing.
Conmonds didn’t believe he could concoct a lie that Colin couldn’t see through; he had to prepare for the worst.
"What exactly are you hiding, Conmonds?" Colin’s expression gradually turned cold.
Conmonds’ acting was excellent; his breathing and heartbeat were under excellent control. But ultimately, he was only human, and with time, some subtle changes in his body, like the scent of cold sweat, had already been noticed.
The morning sun was just right, casting a sharp shadow at Colin’s feet.
And it might be an illusion, but it seemed like faint traces of blue were dispersing from it outwards, turning the entire Wood Family grounds into a cage.
"I’m not hiding anything... I don’t understand what you’re saying," Conmonds continued with a look of confusion.
Either way, this could at least buy him some more time.
Swoosh!
Boom!
Blue Ice Element and orange Fire Element appeared suddenly.
The Ice Element exhaled slightly, and an ice fence formed immediately, encircling the plaza and trapping the Wood Family inside.