Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 181 Killing someone doesn't mean destroying their spirit; how terrifying!

"Um—Mr. Charlotte, is this some kind of prank? If it's bullying, that's going too far. You can't be looking for a smuggler to assassinate Commander Arubert, so you're just making someone else take the blame? I'll publish this in the newspapers!"

Saipan was making harsh remarks.

He seemed genuinely angry at being slandered, his expression clearly showing grievance and indignation.

Aqua whispered, "Charlotte, are we mistaken? I don't think Saipan is a criminal. Didn't he help us publish the article in the newspaper?"

This guy only remembers the good things others have done for him.

Moreover, the one who helped publish the newspaper was the real Saipan, while the Saipan in front of us was a fake. Besides, Huihui didn't think this was a good thing.

"Whether it's true or not, you'll know once you try it; it's genuine."

"Here it comes!"

Kazuma Sato shrugged and walked toward Saipan, causing Saipan to nervously take a few steps back.

"Wait, wait—violence is not allowed! Do you intend to extract a confession through torture? If so, I will fight back!"

"I almost forgot, you're not weak either. 3 meters? — Barely enough. Oh well, let's give it a try."

Kazuma Sato, on the contrary, seemed to value his life.

He raised his right hand in a strange pose and then shouted, "Steal!"

'

Steal treasure with this right hand!

A dazzling light flashed by in an instant, leaving no time to react. When the light faded, no one knew what Sato Kazuma had done, but they saw a smug, mischievous grin on his face. Under everyone's gaze, he slowly opened his arms.

A human face mask appeared in his hand.

Everyone instinctively looked at Saipan, who was slowly lowering his arm, which he had instinctively used to shield his eyes from the bright light. They discovered that the person standing there was not Saipan, but an unfamiliar face.

The boy had delicate features and was about the same age as Sato Kazumasa, but his drab hair and mature attire made him look somewhat strange.

The unknown boy slowly exhaled, staring intently at Charlotte as he asked, "How did you find out?"

The sound also changed.

This contrasts sharply with Saipan's mature and obsessive voice.

"To be honest, I didn't notice it at first. I have to say your acting skills are superb. Putting aside my own experience of just meeting the others, even Loris and the others were fooled by you, which speaks volumes about your acting skills."

"Forget the compliments, let's get straight to the point."

66

It's a handkerchief.

"Hands, handkerchiefs?"

"This is probably a little trick that even you didn't expect. The first time I met you in Commander Arubert's office, you took out a handkerchief to wipe your sweat, and just now when Commander Arubert was resurrected, you were still wiping your sweat with a handkerchief—I think that handkerchief might have some special meaning for you."

"Hmm."

It has to be said, it really was a coincidence.

Captain Albert had just been resurrected and was very weak, but he still insisted on entertaining Charlotte. At that moment, Charlotte unconsciously suggested wiping her sweat with a handkerchief, only to be told, "I'm not used to using a handkerchief."

If Aqua hadn't resurrected him, Charlotte might never have discovered this seemingly insignificant detail.

That's why Charlotte became suspicious of the reporter Saipan.

"Criminals always return to the crime scene; this is a proven criminal psychology, especially since you haven't obtained the real corona stone yet, so it's even less likely you'd leave. Based on this, the more suspicion there is, the more likely you are to be the prime suspect."

First, you were the first to receive news of the Knights Commander's assassination. Although Commander Albert cursed the reporters for their keen sense of smell, at that time, Lieutenant Loris only notified the prosecutors, unless there were people from the newspapers among the prosecutors, which there were none. This is the first point of suspicion.

Secondly, when you arrived at the crime scene, your first observation was of the murdered Knight Commander. As someone disguised as a reporter, this is understandable; it perfectly reflects a journalist's job. The problem is, you didn't ask about the fake Corona Stone afterward, not even glancing at it when it was placed on the table. This is a legendary, rare treasure, priceless, and no one could ignore it. Yet you remained indifferent, unless—you knew it was a fake from the start.

Ultimately, it was probably because of me that you developed an unnecessary sense of crisis, leading you to decide to assassinate the Knight Commander to escape this false identity and then replace him with the reporter Saipan. Whether there was any personal grudge involved is unknown, but precisely because he had some connection to us and possessed the very convenient identity of a reporter, you took advantage of the situation to impersonate him, stay by our side to gather intelligence, and then join us to find the real Corona Stone and intercept it—am I right, Mr. Smuggler?

Charlotte was full of confidence.

It has to be said that this person's luck was incredibly bad. The plan was flawless, but the previously silent Captain Albert was resurrected by an extraordinary goddess, leading to suspicion from such an unexpected angle, and then his true colors were exposed—

The smuggler sighed again, "Really—I knew I hadn't done anything wrong."

"What?"

"That dragon egg was a gift I gave you on purpose."

"————I almost forgot about this if you hadn't mentioned it. Hey, why did you try to frame me?!" Charlotte said, somewhat angrily.

The smuggler shook his head.

"Of course I didn't want you here. I had a feeling that you, who were both high-ranking members of the Demon King's army and cultists of Eris, would become an obstacle for me, so I threw this troublesome dragon egg at you first, hoping to get you caught in the vortex and leave you with nothing to do. I didn't expect that you would still become an obstacle for me in the end—really, what a troublesome guy."

But actually, if he hadn't thrown the dragon egg problem at her, Charlotte wouldn't have had to ask Claire for help. If she hadn't asked Claire, she wouldn't have forged the family heirloom without permission, and she wouldn't have been sent here as an assistant.

It's all the karma that smugglers themselves have sown!

"So, you want to struggle a bit?" Charlotte looked at him. "Let me make it clear beforehand, these knights are quite strong, and they're angry because you assassinated Commander Albert. They might not hold back."

"I surrender."

The smugglers simply raised their hands and allowed themselves to be arrested by the knights.

However, just as he was about to be taken away, Charlotte seemed to remember something and said, "I forgot to mention, actually that..."

The corona stone is real.

"—What?"

"The corona stone that's often mistaken for a fake is actually real."

"ah!?"

The smuggler's expression froze.

Charlotte, seemingly oblivious, said, "However, it's understandable that you were deceived, because even Commander Arubert thought it was a fake. The real one is actually in the Church of Eris. It turns out that the Corona Stone in Commander Arubert's possession is genuine. The Church of Eris played a trick on us."

Charlotte learned about this through Huihui.

After all, the eyes of the Crimson Demons can see the magic contained in objects, and the enormous magic contained in that corona stone looked real no matter how you looked at it. Charlotte then locked onto the target through various clues.

"Oh dear, I would have succeeded if I had taken the fake corona stone, but I ended up getting caught here—what a pity."

"puff"

The smuggler spat out a mouthful of liquid, then his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Seeing him collapse miserably, Sato Kazuma said with some sympathy, "To kill someone and then destroy their spirit, how terrifying—"