Clip-clop, clip-clop—
Colin was sitting in the carriage, quietly listening to the information Arthur had brought back, with a grilled fish by his side.
When Arthur returned, the residence had already been tidied up.
At Regina's suggestion, he was now on his way with her to the Patrol Department's archive room.
After a while,
"...Master, that's all the information I've managed to find," Arthur concluded his report.
Sigh~
Just then, they arrived at the Patrol Department.
"Mm," Colin responded without changing expression and got out of the carriage with Regina to enter the archive room.
As soon as they entered the archive room, Regina immediately started flipping through the archives without pause.
Colin, with a calm demeanor, followed suit, waiting for the right moment.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Regina, frowning, suddenly sighed,
"There's still no trace to be found...
Perhaps, this is truly nothing more than a bizarre incident."
She slowly put down the archive and continued,
"Even if that's not the case, there's no point wasting more time on this matter given the current lack of leads..."
Colin said nothing.
If he had not noticed anything amiss, he would undoubtedly have agreed with Regina and put this matter aside, waiting for a similar event to happen again, or simply letting it fade away.
Such an approach was very common in this world.
After all, only a few ordinary people had died in this event.
Had a wizard been involved, the matter may not have passed so easily,
and if it had involved a peak apprentice like Berkeley, it might even have directly alarmed a wizard from the Lap School...
But it was not so... it was merely the deaths of thirteen insignificant common people.
Colin sighed inwardly.
Although he lacked the urge to right wrongs and champion justice, the existence of the Patrol Department, Holt's final words, and the emphasis that people like Berkeley placed on such events still led him to sense an unusual air.
...No supernatural force uncontrolled by a School could be permitted on the island.
After all, he was still a member of the Lap School.
He understood very well the principle that one's fate is linked with others'.
"Perhaps there's another possibility."
Colin put down the archive and said casually all of a sudden.
He had instructed Arthur to inquire about that man from the surrounding vendors after he left.
Most vendors knew nothing about the middle-aged man shrouded in red mist, but as luck would have it, the grilled fish vendor did recognize him.
Tempted by ten copper coins, the vendor told Arthur everything he knew.
According to the vendor—
The man's name was Phil, who lived in the slums of West City, and was a fisherman. He would come to sell the sea fish he caught to the vendor.
It seemed he was a bachelor, always coming and going alone; he was not seen to have family or friends.
But it was said that he had been married before and had a wife.
Indeed, coincidentally, that wife had left him just two years ago.
"Another possibility?" Regina asked, puzzled.
"Yes, another possibility," Colin stood up and put the file he was holding back onto a shelf in the corner.
"We may have been investigating in the wrong direction... Perhaps the situation isn't as complicated as we imagined."
He turned to face Regina and said slowly,
"The missing woman in the murder case, Lisa, actually had a husband before becoming Bigu's mistress.
It was only after Bigu took a fancy to her that she abandoned her husband and followed Bigu."
"You mean to say, Lisa's former husband killed her a long time ago?" Regina said, her tone somewhat mocking.
She had already come across this information at the start of the investigation.
"Perhaps," Colin replied with a faint smile, unconcerned by the sarcasm in Regina's voice, "at least, Lisa's original husband had ample reason to do all this."
"A commoner? A mere fisherman?" Regina shook her head, "How can that be, Colin?"
"Why not find that fisherman and question him?"
"Colin." Regina shook her head, stood up, placed the file on the shelf in the corner, and turned to look at Colin.
"The traces at the crime scene at Tulip Residence No. 79 were obviously caused by supernatural powers, while Lisa's original husband was just an ordinary fisherman."
She sighed.
"In fact, before you arrived, I had already sent Guards to investigate him, his name seems to be Phil or something... but no matter what, he's just a regular person, a regular fisherman."
Colin remained silent, although he knew that even if Phil wasn't the murderer, he was inextricably linked to him.
But he could only hint so much; he couldn't explain why he knew...
The two packed up the files and walked out.
Today just happened to be Monday, their turn for desk duty.
Inside the lobby on the first floor, Regina expertly made her way to her usual window seat and quietly pulled out a hefty book to read.
Colin also went to another window seat across the way and sat down; it was also the seat he had chosen the first time he came here.
As usual, he took out the Hope Defense Field and began to read it carefully.
Although the Patrol Department's basement had a training ground, it clearly wasn't convenient for practice during desk duty. After all, when practicing with Golden Paper, you can't adjust the output power like in a battle; it had to be at full force.
But exerting full force would easily reveal his unusually rapid improvement.
And for traditional Wizards, mastering Witchcraft often doesn't rely solely on practice but more on continuous research and learning.
If he practiced continuously, that too would seem conspicuous.
To master Witchcraft, practice alone is not enough; one must also research and learn to fully understand the underlying principles and thought processes.
Usually, Witchcraft manuals only provide a standard template.
Being able to cast Witchcraft does not mean one truly has mastered it; it's very possible one merely follows the steps outlined in the manual.
Only by truly understanding the principles behind it does one truly master Witchcraft.
Take the Fireball Technique as an example.
Any Wizard casting it for the first time produces fireballs of the same size, the same shooting speed, and identical explosion timing.
But as one's understanding of the Fireball Technique deepens, Wizards can adjust the size, speed, and other variables as required.
A Witchcraft manual is just a template.
The stimulating principle behind the template is the true Witchcraft.
Unfortunately, for Colin, this kind of research and study obviously isn't as efficient as using Golden Paper.
After all, Golden Paper requires constant practice.
Yet, some improvement can still be made. On the other hand, it also allows for the verification and consolidation of the knowledge gained from Golden Paper.
He slowly flipped through the pages of the Hope Defense Field manuscript in his hand.
But Colin was somewhat unable to concentrate.
That invisible blood-red fog always made him feel restless.
In any case, now that he lived on this island, he was, in a sense, tied to the fate of the island, or rather, to the fate of the Lap School—if...
Creak—
Just as he was engulfed in concern, the door beside him suddenly opened.
A Steel-armored Knight walked in.
"Gentlemen," he removed his helmet and made a gesture of respect across his chest.
Then, lifting his head, he spoke clearly and swiftly:
"The Heart-Ripper Devil has appeared again."
Colin's expression grew stern as he slowly put down the manuscript.
The Guards had privately coined the term "Heart-Ripper Devil" for the perpetrator of the Tulip Residence murder case.
"Give us a detailed account of what happened." Regina put down her book as well, her brow furrowed as she spoke in a grave tone.