Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 398 The Problem of Refugees
Ethan felt he had come at the wrong time.

When they entered the city gates, they found the entire city shrouded in an extremely oppressive atmosphere. Fortunately, the city's sheriff, Chief Black, gave Ethan a chance to explain. When he learned that Ethan had come from another world through a teleportation ritual, his expression became extremely strange.

“Just a few days ago, people here were celebrating.”

In the afternoon, Winter returned from the street and gathered enough information. The reason for all this was obvious—the Grand Summoner Hetia was dead. She was found dead in the basement of her house, her heart pierced by a sword, clean and swift. By the time the servants arrived, Hetia was already lifeless, and the murderer had already left.

However, some residents witnessed Heitia being stopped on the street by a group of people dressed as ragged refugees, and she took them back to her mansion.

Now these refugees have disappeared without a trace. The police station in Gear City has posted wanted posters all over the streets and alleys based on the descriptions of concerned citizens. This morning, a caravan passing through Riverside Town brought back terrible news - when they passed through Riverside Town to resupply, they found that the once peaceful and tranquil town had disappeared and was replaced by a deep pit.

"It seems we were approached by demon king followers disguised as refugees. Our sense of crisis is still too weak."

It's easy to see that Ilya's personality is very different from Solan's. After learning of Hetia's death, she didn't seem to feel any grief for Hetia for a moment. "This shows that the Demon King's power has not been completely eradicated. We must bring this news back to the capital."

"teacher……"

Ethan lowered his voice and whispered in Winter's ear, "When will the aftereffects of this hypnosis end?"

He was already finding it hard to stand it anymore.

Especially since Solan always has the face of a hot-blooded young man, and always ends his sentences with the peculiar verbal tic unique to young ladies from the capital.

"do not know."

Winter shook her head innocently. She didn't want Solan to return to normal so quickly. Ethan's reaction to the young lady's verbal tic was just too funny. "Now, you need to apply for a permit to leave the city."

Normally, a single word from the hero would be enough to stop them, but the current situation is somewhat delicate.

Under Rowena's hypnosis, Solan identified himself as Ilya and switched his identity to female. Although Sheriff Black gave them a chance to explain, they had to remain in Gear City under surveillance until Solan returned to normal—after all, this was only Ethan's side of the story, and the police station had to confirm that Ethan and Winter had no hostility towards the hero.

“I just went around asking around and found out that there are no teleportation arrays between cities in the Silver Glow Empire. Only a very few mages can master teleportation spells, and Saint Mage Ilya is one of them. We can stay in Gear City for a few more days.”

While strolling through the streets, Winter also heard some interesting news: "The Other Shore has also been here, but she may have already boarded an airship bound for the capital."

Long red hair and a dashing appearance.

Such characteristics are very rare in the Silver Empire. Especially when the residents of Gear City mentioned that a few days ago a girl with a appetite comparable to a monster had swept through the city and even attended a banquet hosted by Baron Flin, Winter was almost certain that the glutton they were talking about was the Other Shore.

The morning after the other side left, the Grand Summoner Hetia was assassinated in her own home.

Winter suspected that this was not a coincidence.

Sheriff Black mentioned that Hetia only had one penetrating wound from a sharp weapon, and there were no sounds of fighting coming from the basement of the mansion, which meant that Hetia was most likely killed with a single blow, a method that did not seem to be the style of a Demon Lord's follower.

As the Knight Commander of the Imperial Capital, Bi'an usually resorts to subjugation unless she has a compelling reason to kill Hetia.

The three of them booked a room at a hotel in Gear City.

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the hypnosis, Solan was somewhat listless. After entering her room, she fell asleep immediately. Winter decided to go out and inquire about some news, because she smelled a familiar scent in this seemingly prosperous city.

The stench was reminiscent of the empire under Julius's rule.

When the two went downstairs, the atmosphere on the first floor of the hotel was already somewhat unusual.

The conversation ceased, leaving only a deathly silence. The innkeeper's expression was unusual, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. However, when he looked at the musketeers who had suddenly entered and the middle-aged man in fine clothes, he swallowed all his words.

This is absolutely not something he should get involved in.

He could only glance at Winter with a guilty look, and when Baron Flint asked Ethan and the others if they had moved in, he gave them an affirmative answer.

After that, Flint, that scourge, and his musketeers stayed on the first floor of the hotel and refused to leave.

Fulin's eyes lit up when he saw Lin Dong coming down the stairs.

Her legendary, rare silver-white, waist-length hair and ruby-like eyes made him want to possess this beauty immediately.

But soon, he noticed the young man behind Winter.

After some observation, it was found that the latter had thin arms and legs and was probably a migrant from elsewhere, not worth worrying about.

Too many upsetting things have happened in Gear City these past few days, especially after the death of the Great Summoner Hetia. The nobles are in a state of panic. Some say that a group of Demon King's followers are hiding somewhere in Gear City, which has scared Flin so much that he hasn't dared to go out for days. He's almost driven crazy by this.

This morning, he heard good news from his servants.

A refugee arrived in Gear City, and his appearance was astonishing. Upon hearing this, Fulin could no longer suppress his loneliness and brought his musketeers to the inn in the city.

Today, Lady Luck was on his side, and he learned of Winter's whereabouts when he searched the second inn.

A brief eye contact solidified Fulin's resolve.

He missed the wandering knight a few days ago, and he absolutely cannot miss this pie that has been delivered to his door today.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

Winter took the initiative to step forward and inquire.

Fulin could hardly suppress the smile on his lips, and even the way he spoke pleased him deeply.

“Some changes have recently occurred in Gear City, and they are related to you outsiders.”

He feigned toughness and said in an unyielding tone, "You need to be investigated. Don't be nervous. If you have nothing to do with those demon king's followers, we will release you soon."

Upon hearing this, the innkeeper sighed helplessly.

This is a lie that Fulin often uses. His son followed suit and not long ago took a girl away from the street. No one has seen her since. This kind of thing happens several times almost every month, not to mention the civilians who are silently abducted.

The Flint father and son were notorious in Gear City, and commoners avoided them at all costs.

"This is a misunderstanding. We are new here and have never had any contact with the Demon King's followers."

Winter took a few steps back warily, took Ethan's arm, and timidly hid behind him. When Baron Flint wasn't looking, she winked at him playfully.

"Actually, we won't stay in Gear City for long. If the police station hadn't temporarily shut down the supply of airship tickets, we would have left Gear City tonight."

This familiar feeling of déjà vu. Ethan sincerely advised the other party that if Baron Flint was a man who would listen to reason, then there was still room for a dignified resolution.

It's easy to tell from Baron Flint's attire that he was a respectable man, or rather, he tried his best to appear respectable.

“Come with us. You have no choice but to come.”

Fulin's face was grim. He was very skilled at this. Often, as long as he raised his voice slightly, these migrants would be terrified and obey his orders without question.

However, the sudden appearance of Baron Flint reminded Ethan of an old friend.

It's also Gear City, and it also stems from some conflicts that could have been avoided.

Ethan, the eldest son of Imperial Heavy Industries, was once infected with the Red Death due to his stubbornness and died young. Now, Ethan thinks that Flynn is also a virus carrier.

Seeing that Baron Flint was determined, Ethan, out of concern for a critically ill patient, accepted his invitation.

Upon entering the manor, he and Winter were unsurprisingly assigned to two interrogation rooms. The captain of the musketeer team was in charge of interrogating him. It was easy to see that he was a trusted confidant carefully cultivated by Fulin, and it was certainly not the first time he had faced such a scene. He locked the door and prepared the torture instruments in one smooth motion.

If the common people of Gear City were in such a predicament, their fate would already be sealed.

The interrogator neatly arranged various chilling instruments of torture on a tray. The last time Ethan faced such a scene was in the capital, when an experienced judge was in charge of his interrogation.

"Sheriff Black mentioned that the Grand Summoner Hetia was investigating a case the evening before her death, in which a couple reported Baron Flint, alleging that he had framed and imprisoned their daughter."

Ethan took the initiative to start a conversation to avoid an awkward silence.

His initiative surprised the interrogator, because usually when civilians see these instruments of torture displayed on a tray, their legs go weak with fear, and they often can't even utter a complete sentence. If they are even more timid, they might even urinate on the spot.

But no matter how they react, the outcome will not change.

They will eventually confess their crimes, giving Baron Flint a legitimate reason to execute them.

"Are you a private investigator?"

The interrogator asked in bewilderment, otherwise he couldn't understand why someone facing certain death would care about a case that had nothing to do with them.

"You can think that way, so I'd like to hear your opinion."

"You wish to accuse the Baron."

The interrogator couldn't help but laugh. He almost wanted to praise Ethan's positive and optimistic spirit, as well as his fearless sense of justice; otherwise, he would have found it difficult to ask such witty and humorous questions.

"Indict Baron Flint? Of course not, why would you think that? It makes absolutely no sense."

These words puzzled the interrogator once again.

He also felt that Ethan was very clear-headed, unlike those who were completely blinded by a sense of justice—if the laws of the Silver Empire could convict Baron Flin, why would they have been "invited" here?
"After that, another bizarre case occurred at the police station. The next morning, the detectives who came to work at the police station found two corpses missing their upper bodies in the back alley, a man and a woman. There were traces of monsters gnawing at the broken parts of their bodies. To this day, they have not been able to confirm the identities of the two victims. After the murder of the great summoner Hetia, the case was indefinitely shelved."

Ethan understood the difficulty of manpower shortage. Currently, all the detectives in the police station were scattered throughout the streets and alleys of Gear City, searching for the whereabouts of the group of refugees who were suspected to be followers of the Demon King.

"My question is, where did that elderly couple who sought help from the Grand Summoner go?"

"how could I know?"

The interrogator blurted out, already showing signs of impatience, but at the same time, unease was quietly creeping into his heart.

Because he noticed that Ethan's gaze never lingered on the torture instruments; there was no fear in the young man's eyes, he seemed to be truly focused only on the bizarre case before him.

"In other words, Baron Flint did not order you to kill that couple."

Ethan gleaned the answer from the interrogator's reaction; if it was Baron Flint's revenge, many things didn't make sense.

If it were for the purpose of intimidating the lower classes, he wouldn't have allowed these two corpses to remain unidentified for so many days. But if it was just to kill them to silence them, the more likely outcome would have been that the couple were shot in the head rather than losing their upper bodies.

"The Grand Summoner was the last person to see that couple. Is it possible that she killed them?"

Ethan then posed a new question.

"Shut up!"

Fear gradually overwhelmed the interrogator's heart. He tried to mask his unease with anger, and strode towards the tray, attempting to grab one of the sharp instruments of torture.

But then he heard a sharp meow, followed by a searing pain on the back of his hand.

A black cat, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, jumped onto the cart and overturned the tray.

The wound on the back of his hand was so deep that the bone was visible, and there were charred marks at the edges. The black charred marks continued to spread, corroding the surrounding intact skin.

"If that's the case, then the person who killed the Grand Summoner might not necessarily be a follower of the Demon King."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"We don't have much time."

Ethan heard footsteps approaching from afar, and the temperature suddenly dropped.

The interrogator slumped to the floor, exhaling hot breath as he spoke. He noticed a thin layer of ice forming on the floor, seeping into the room through the crack in the door.

"Dong dong dong, dong dong dong -"

There was a knock on the door.

It sounded to his ears like a death knell.

The door, which should have been locked from the inside, was easily pushed open from the outside, and a woman with long white hair poked her head into the room.

"Aren't you finished talking yet?"

"almost."

Ethan stood up, looking down at the interrogator. "Mr. Interrogator, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

(End of this chapter)