She is not an investigator.

"So I wouldn't mind repeating it again, including other things I said to you back then."

"You mean you'll help me cut steak in the future?"

"of course not."

Olivia put her hands in her pockets, silently turned around, and started walking back the way she came.

And her voice slowly reached Igris's ears.

"you are mine."

As for the word "assistant," it has probably already vanished with the wind.

The Gods' Folly - Regret: Chapter Five, The Lost Painting

At the museum entrance, Olivia greeted the people at the door, who didn't ask any questions and let Igris in without asking anything.

This is probably the difference between having an identity and not having one. People don't know Igris, but everyone knows Olivia.

As Igris entered the second-floor exhibition hall, the familiar sounds of conversation reached her ears once again.

"It's impossible for him to take this painting out so easily. The most likely explanation is that he's a staff member here, which also explains why no one was able to find him."

It was Detective Byron who, even after almost half a day had passed, was still discussing the case, which was commendable, and the clues he mentioned were also noteworthy.

Upon seeing Igris, Byron, who was talking to his assistant Tros, stopped what he was doing, turned around, and greeted Igris.

"Hello ma'am, how can I help you?"

It's clear that his attitude towards Igris has improved considerably since their first meeting.

However, this also led to Olivia being neglected.

"Of course not, we just wanted to see if you had any new developments."

Olivia slowly stood in front of Igris, shielding her behind her, and took over the conversation.

Olivia appeared hostile, probably because of their previous rudeness, which was normal, even for Byron.

Although he did prefer to talk to Igris, it didn't matter; as a detective, he was never picky about his clients.

"Clearly, we plan to conduct a search within this museum in order to find the painting that may have been stolen."

He deliberately used the word "maybe," probably because he had gathered enough clues and conducted enough investigations during this period, realizing that the possibility of him actually intending to take the painting out was extremely small. Therefore, the most likely scenario was that it was still hidden somewhere, somewhere that no one had noticed.

"Of course, it's also possible that your security is still inadequate, which is why someone can bring such an obvious painting in and out of here without being noticed."

The detective's exact abilities are still unknown, but his foul mouth certainly reminded Igris of an old friend from afar.

It wasn't Constantine. Constantine was quite polite, and he seemed to be referring to Biyanka.

Actually, it was Pasa. Igris had almost forgotten how long it had been since she'd seen that guy who never bothered to make a face.

"I hope your professional skills are even more impressive than your words."

Olivia crossed her arms and retorted without any hesitation, then casually called over the museum's current temporary caretaker.

"As the detective said, have you noticed any suspicious people coming and going as they please?"

The answer to this question is obvious, and Olivia's purpose was not to learn anything from it, but simply to express that the possibility proposed by Byron was completely nonsense.

"...Today, the only people coming in and out of here are you, Miss, your assistant, and the two of you."

"Then the answer is quite obvious, isn't it?"

Byron shrugged, indicating that he was simply making necessary deductions and had no intention of finding fault.

Olivia didn't intend to make a big deal out of it, but the problem was that if the painting hadn't been taken away and was hidden in the exhibition hall, or even possibly in the exhibition hall on the second floor.

嗏

"But you didn't find it, did you?"

Igris stepped forward from behind Olivia and stood in front of Byron.

Byron glanced at Igris with a flicker in his eyes, touched his chin, and seemed to want to smoke again.

Meanwhile, Tros, who was standing to the side, continued his unfinished conversation, nodding and saying...

"We searched everywhere we could think of, and considered how to hide the painting as quickly as possible without it being discovered in that chaotic situation. We even considered the possibility that the painting might be damaged, but unfortunately, we still found nothing."

"However, it is worth mentioning that the frame of the painting weighs about five kilograms. When the painting was moved, perhaps due to some carelessness, it left some small scratches on the wall."

Even though Byron knew it wasn't much of a clue, he still told Igris about his discovery.

Although he lacked manners, he was not stingy with his discoveries and reasoning.

"Besides... because the frame itself is not easy to carry, no one would be foolish enough to carry the frame and steal the painting, but the murderer did do so, and I did not find the disassembled frame here."

Byron's voice faded slowly, followed by Olivia's voice.

"But both the painting itself and the frame have mysteriously disappeared here at this moment, and have gone unnoticed by anyone."

"That's exactly the problem."

Byron looked at the markings on the wall, then at the surrounding glass curtain wall, and said after a moment of contemplation.

"Either the murderer mingled among the staff and took the painting off its frame and rolled it up when no one was looking, or they took the painting, frame and all, when no one was around. But if that were the case, everyone should have noticed it the moment the banquet started."

At this point, Byron suddenly looked up at Olivia, who was also deep in thought.

“Miss Olivia, could you please inform your men to find and bring over the person who first discovered the painting was missing? Perhaps we can get some clues from him.”

"of course can."

This was not a particularly difficult thing for Olivia, and apart from the nobles, everyone else at the banquet was well taken care of to prevent any accidents from happening.

Soon, a male servant who looked nervous came over.

Byron did not hesitate and asked directly and decisively.

"What did you do the moment you discovered the painting was missing?"

"Uh... I, I shouted it out, which drew everyone's attention to what was happening here."

Seemingly unprepared for Byron's question, he hesitated slightly before answering seriously.

That was exactly the situation at the time, because Olivia was also present, and it was because of this shout that she noticed the painting had been stolen.

"So... do you remember exactly what this lost painting looked like?"

"Yes…"

He turned his head slightly, looking at the empty wall and the place where there should have been some paintings, and fell into a dilemma.

"...I don't remember."

"Then what do you remember?"

"I know... this painting is worth thirty thousand gold coins?"

"Yes, you know its value because you are a servant, so you know that you must not damage that painting at any time... and you need to stay away from it as much as possible. Do you remember who told you about its value?"

“It was Rag, my colleague, who specifically reminded me before the banquet started.”

"Rag".

Byron nodded and looked at Olivia.

"Next, would you please have this Rag come over here?"

The Gods' Folly - Regret: Chapter Six, The Non-Existent Lost Item

“Rag…this person is not on the register.”

"No?! How could that be? We all know him! I... I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth!"

"Shhh."

Byron raised a finger and looked at Olivia with a half-smile.

"It looks like we've found a good lead."

Olivia stroked her chin, not answering, but turning to look at Igris.

"Igris, what do you think?"

"Everything in this museum is indeed registered, right?"

Igris glanced at Byron, whose eyes were gleaming, put her hands in her pockets, and asked with some curiosity.

“But you seem to know a lot about that painting, even the weight of the frame. But if it were in the second-floor gallery, you probably wouldn’t have had that many chances to see it. I mean… how do you know that?”

This was a bad suspect, and Igris had drawn the flames to the detective.

After all, it's easy to explain. He could ask the staff here, ask the person in charge, or check the information on the lost items. He would have countless opportunities to clear himself of suspicion.

That's not the point. The point is that Igris's problem will broaden the scope of suspects.

"Before launching an investigation, I always make sure I have all the information I need, ma'am."

Surprisingly, he did not show any displeasure at Igris's questioning of him; instead, he looked at Igris with great interest.

Igris continued to ask, seemingly unconcerned.

"So, it's clear that this gentleman was misled to some extent by the man called Rag regarding information about this painting. Does this also mean that the painting itself might not be worth 30,000? Or, is the painting itself somewhat... fake? Does this painting even exist?"

"What I can tell you is that the painting does exist."

Byron stopped thinking and patiently explained.

"This painting is another work by a once very famous painter, the legendary genius painter who painted 'City in the Sky and Sea.' Although it is not as valuable as that painting, it is still a very precious work, and 30,000 gold coins are more than enough for it."

City of sea and sky.

Igris had heard of the name; it was painted by Krisuna's father, a legendary painting that enabled them to rise to the top, its value immeasurable.

While this painting may not be as valuable as "Sea and Sky City," it still holds value because it is by the same artist.

“What I mean is…did any of you actually look at that painting carefully? At the beginning of the banquet.”

Iglesias first looked at Olivia, who shook her head, indicating that she hadn't noticed at all.

This is normal, because she was preoccupied with Igris at the time and it was difficult for her to focus on anything else.

"You mean, it's very likely that the painting was already gone when the banquet started? How is that possible? There were so many people at the banquet; they're not blind, and they couldn't possibly not have noticed it..."

Byron suddenly stopped talking.