"What if somebody decided to kill Thorgan because of the threat he poses to them or the faction or organization behind them?"
There was a tense moment of silence for a moment when Simon said these words, and Interrogator Zebos narrowed his eyes for a moment before waving his hands and shaking his head.
"That’s not possible and doesn’t make sense for several reasons. The main reason is because Thorgan just arrived and we were still not certain about his shadow affinity grade."
"Nobody would take the risk of killing Thorgan because of a threat that had not been allowed to grow into a sprout yet."
Although Zebos said this, Simon could see a tiny flicker of doubt and calculations in his gaze.
He decided to say more and water the seed of doubt he had subtly planted in Zebos and those outside the room.
"I guess so, but I’m assuming Pellin had a lot of enemies with his nature. Somebody might have snapped."
Zebos shook his head slightly while rubbing the space between his brows.
"Don’t worry yourself anymore. We’ve thought about all of that."
Simon nodded, and he stopped right there.
His goal which was to plant a seed of uncertainty and doubt was accomplished.
Investigators hated uncertainty, and with the words he just said, there was no way Zebos and those outside would not consider the possibility of this case being as a result of an internal dispute between factions or worse... The attack of a rival clan or kingdom.
Even though this seed might not sprout into a full blown tree, it could become a weed and delay the investigation in this case for some time, thereby giving him more time to get stronger.
’Instead of leaving things like this, it’s better I subtly shift the investigation toward something else or someone else.’
’And that’s not all... I have one more thing to do. Before he asks me to do it, I should take the initiative.’
Without hesitation, Simon removed the spatial ring that was on his finger and placed it at the center of the table.
Zebos raised a brow when he saw this. He shifted his gaze from the ring to Simon.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Simon stared into Zebos’ eyes with his own eyes filled with sincerity.
"Even though I don’t have a strong attachment to Thorgan, he stood up for me and we fought together. He was good to me, and I want to be cooperative."
Zebos narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If you don’t believe me or you still believe that I’m the culprit, then you can check my spatial ring and even search my room."
Zebos’ eyes flashed with surprise.
Very few would agree to do such a thing, and those who were confident in doing what Simon just did were either the innocent ones or those who were so certain that there was no evidence, that they had cleaned up everything.
’Which is he?’
Zebos was curious as he stared at Simon’s eyes that were filled with sincerity.
’The last thing I was going to tell him to do is to give me his spatial ring so that I can search it for any clues, but since he’s willing to give me, then no problem.’
Zebos took the ring, then he sent his perception inside the ring.
’He already wiped away his demonic energy imprint on it.’
Zebos looked inside, but the only things he saw were a few clothes, some food, and bottles of water.
Nothing else.
’There’s really nothing in here.’
Zebos withdrew his perception, then he flicked the ring back to Simon.
"We’ve already searched your room, and we found nothing."
’Of course you won’t. I already swapped my storage ring with Akaza and anything that can implicate me is in my storage ring.’
’It’s in this situation I’m grateful that those bastards of the Iron Fangs attacked me. If not, I would have taken a longer route to hide my spatial ring.’
Simon thought as he caught his ring and wore it.
He looked at the Zebos, then he cautiously and carefully asked.
"Is that all? Can I go?"
Zebos stared at him for some seconds before releasing a sigh while nodding his head.
"Yeah. You can. There’s no point in keeping you here anymore."
Simon bowed while patting his chest with relief. He then looked at Zebos with a solemn expression.
"If I ever obtain any clues related to Thorgan’s killer and death, I’ll make sure to report to you no matter what."
Zebos smiled wryly behind his mask.
"If you’re able to find something that we couldn’t, then it means your luck is great."
Simon shrugged. "I hope so."
He then stood. "I’ll be taking my leave, Interrogator Zebos."
Interrogator Zebos nodded, then Simon walked to the door, but just as he grabbed it, Zebos spoke.
"For your sake, I really hope you’re innocent because if you’re not, then the clan would do a lot worse to you than what Pellin did to you."
Simon was about to speak, but Zebos’ next words made his pupils to instantly constrict into pinholes.
Fortunately for him, he was facing the door, so neither Zebos or those outside could see the change in his reaction.
"If we’re not able to find the culprit or culprits, then the clan plans on hiring a Soul Mirror Demon to find out the truth."
A second later, Simon looked at Zebos with a curious and at the same time baffled expression.
"What’s a Soul Mirror Demon? I’ve never heard of them before."
Interrogator Zebos nonchalantly waved his hand.
"They’ll teach you in school or you can read about them in the library."
Simon nodded, then he turned and opened the door.
But once again, before he’s able to leave, Zebos says quietly, almost like he was speaking to himself.
"You are either innocent... or very dangerous."
Simon smiled faintly without looking at the interrogator.
"Is there a difference in this clan?"
Zebos watched him leave and thinks.
’This one will either become a monster... or die trying.’