Mischievous Lolita in the Doll

"Hmm...so the killer might not have known the victim well, and it was a random killing..."

“When I looked inside the third victim’s body, I saw something strange.” Sack struggled to think of adjectives. “It was so…so…”

He stammered for a long time, but no one could understand what he was saying.

At this moment, the fish shop owner walked over with a long face.

"Officer Elsa, you have to do justice for me!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Yes, it's me.

Elsa assumed the fish shop owner was there to accuse them, so she quickly reassured him, "Please don't be nervous, we will catch the murderer as soon as possible."

"Huh? A murderer?" The fish shop owner looked bewildered. "What murderer? I'm talking about my shop being vandalized last night by some damned bastard!"

Upon hearing the fish shop owner's words, Elsa scratched her head awkwardly, realizing he hadn't come to criticize them after all.

"Don't panic, take us there first."

Although their primary task right now is to find the serial killer, they can't ignore the plight of the people. Besides, why was the fish shop owner's shop vandalized last night? There must be something fishy about this; it might be related to the sacrificial murder case they're currently handling.

Feeling a little guilty, Mir awkwardly scratched his crotch.

The group followed the shop owner to his shop, and the first thing they saw was the door that had been smashed to pieces.

Summer Night and the cross-dressing duo turned their attention to Mir.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't do it," Mil said calmly.

"This guy is too arrogant. He smashed my door," the fish shop owner explained to them with a mournful face. "He not only smashed my door, but also smashed my TV in my shop. What's most infuriating is that after he smashed it, he put a hundred meters of trash on the TV wreckage to provoke me."

Mir secretly swallowed.

"Hmm—" Elsa reached out and rubbed her smooth chin. "Looks like it's an act of revenge."

"Huh? My shop has always been a small business, and I haven't offended anyone. Why would someone retaliate against me?"

Xia Ye squatted down to examine the smashed television and the 100-meter bill, but found nothing.

"You smashed down a front door, didn't the people living around hear it?"

“We imposed a citywide curfew last night, so no one should dare to come out,” Elsa replied to Summer Night.

“That’s not all,” an old woman said as she approached them. “That rascal threw a firecracker into my shop last night, scaring my chickens so much that they ran all over the place. It took me a lot of effort to catch them.”

"Who are you calling a scoundrel, you old hag?" Mil glared at the old woman without making a sound.

"It sounds like a complete hooligan committing a crime," Carlo remarked. "There's no trace of magic around."

“If it were just an ordinary thug committing a crime, why would he choose to do it last night?” Sack suggested. “Let’s check if that scoundrel left any fingerprints; maybe they’re related to the murder.”

No, this really has nothing to do with the murder case. Don't waste your time here. Mil was feeling incredibly guilty inside, but he remained outwardly calm.

The group took the scanners Elsa had given them and started checking fingerprints. Before long, they realized how silly it was. There were customers in a fish shop every day, and who knew how many fingerprints were left behind (Sack: I don't know).

"Can you tell what damaged this TV and the front door?" Xia Ye asked the others.

"Hmm~" Elsa squatted down to examine the television. "It looks like it was damaged by being repeatedly hit with a stick-like object."

"Boss, do you have any sticks or anything like that here?"

"I had a rolling pin there, but I found it was missing this morning."

"So, does that mean the culprit took the rolling pin here, caused the damage, and then took the murder weapon, which might have been imbued with his magic, away...?"

“That doesn’t make sense either,” Carlo retorted. “What about the front door? Does the prisoner use the Force to steal the rolling pin, then smash the front door before going in and breaking the TV?”

"Maybe he didn't come in through the main gate," Xia Ye said, offering her opinion.

Mir panicked as he watched the group get closer and closer to the truth, wondering what he should do to disrupt their reasoning.

"Yes, I did it."

He readily admitted his atrocities, preferring to admit it rather than let them waste time guessing. It wouldn't be good if they deduced that the perpetrator was a child.

As for why I jumped out so openly... well, the more sins one commits, the less burden one carries.

The others looked at him with astonishment after he confessed to his crimes.

"Why? I've already made you fish soup, and you still won't let me go?" This is what the fish shop owner, the victim, said.

"It really is you." This is the cross-dressing duo.

"Alright, since the criminals have confessed, let's go back. I'll write a bill for the fish shop owner and send it to Dean Eileen later." This was the captain of the guard team, who was used to handling all sorts of cases committed by Mil.

"No! I'll pay for it myself! If you dare let Eileen find out, I'll kill you!" Mil grabbed Elsa's shoulder, who was writing something in her notebook, and threatened her.

If Eileen finds out what she did, the little girl is going to get a beating again.

“Threatening the police, another demerit.” Elsa added a few more strokes to her little notebook.

Mir immediately sprang to his feet and bowed deeply to Elsa at a 120-degree angle, his incredible physique astonishing everyone present.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me!"

Where is your integrity?

"Integrity?" Mil scoffed. "That kind of thing is as useless as the diapers you changed when you were a kid."

"You would have been better off helping us than doing this at such a crucial moment last night."

If Mil had been there last night, the murderer might have already been caught. With Mil's incredible speed and terrifying strength, even the speed that the shadowy figure displayed could not outrun him.

Furthermore, that shadowy figure's abilities are more mysterious and don't seem like they can fight head-on. Once Mil catches up with him, he should be able to defeat him like a certain purple character with a 5A stat.

"So why did you do something like this?" Carlo asked, picking his nose. "Did you go out last night just to do this kind of thing? How bored must you be?"

"No, I came to buy fish yesterday. Didn't you see that hundred meters?"

"You bought fish in the middle of the night? And you even smashed my door and TV?" The fish shop owner looked at his "enemy" with red eyes.

“I didn’t smash the TV or the door,” Mil said seriously, looking at the fish shop owner. “They were fighting, and I couldn’t stop them.”

"Do you think we police officers would believe your nonsense?"

Don't believe me? Impossible! My excuse is so perfect, how could it be exposed?

However, this "hooligan smashing shop case" is now closed, and there's no need for anyone to waste any more time on it.

I thought I could find some clues here, but it turns out this guy did it... Xia Ye looked up at the small window of the fish shop with some disappointment. On the wall below that window, there was a faint but clearly child's shoe print...

←To Be Continued

Chapter 40 I can rub your back

Mil's intelligence isn't particularly high. Neither the loli nor the doll showed any signs of being very smart. For example, his actions when entering the fish shop this time, which he thought were foolproof, still left a barely noticeable shoe print.

Xia Ye looked thoughtfully at the shoe print on the wall, which was clearly left by a child. Looking at the shape of the shoe print, it was impossible to imagine what kind of posture the owner had left it on. Usually, when people climb over a wall, they would only leave half a shoe print at most, but this one was complete.

Judging from the shape of the shoe print, it should be a slipper, which reminded Xia Ye of the children's slippers the girl was wearing last night...

Actually, there was no need to think so much. Xia Ye had a suspicion when she noticed the size of the shoe print.

"Boss, are there any children around here?"

It's still worth asking about this, as it might have been left by a child living nearby.

However, if it were the footprints left by an ordinary child, how extraordinary must that child be to leave such an intact footprint at such a height in such an incredible way? Xia Ye thought to herself.

The shop owner, who was asked the question, replied blankly, "It's normal for some children to run around around here. Why are you asking this?"

"No, it's nothing." Xia Ye shook her head.

“Miss Xia Ye, this guy has already admitted that he was the one who caused the damage yesterday. I know this kid very well. He would never take the blame for someone else. You owe him a Mila and he’ll remember it for a hundred years.” Carlo started to slander Mila… well, it can’t really be called slander.

Although somewhat unwilling, Xia Ye did not pursue the matter further.

After Mir compensated the fish shop owner, the group left the shop and discussed what had happened the night before.

“What happened yesterday was absolutely bizarre. I’ve never been in a situation like that before. I almost went crazy, but thankfully Carlo woke me up.” Sack tried his best to make others understand how dangerous the situation had been, but he could only recall the events to a limited extent.

"So what exactly did you see?" Mil asked with a weary expression. He was more concerned about the money he had just lost than about what had happened to Sack.

Or should we just not pay Carlo back?

He felt that this was indeed something worth considering.

"...I can't quite remember. Every time I try to recall the scene, my head hurts. But I can feel how real it was. It's definitely not something an illusion could do!"

"So, does that mean the enemy might possess mental attack capabilities?" Elsa frowned, looking somewhat serious.

The others also felt a bit of a problem. Aside from the minor police officers, the only ones among them who could relatively easily deal with pure psychic abilities were Xia Ye's [Sorcerer] and Sack's [Saint's Light]. However, Sack had been completely helpless against the enemy's attacks last night. Xia Ye was even worse off; her level wasn't even as high as Sack's, and her only means of attack was to slap magic in the face.

Mill wasn't among the serious people; he was still grieving over the money he had lost.

“The key is that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. We don’t even know the specific area. It feels like we’re playing a real-life version of Werewolf… Meanwhile, we’ve had a whole day and night, four people have died, and we still don’t have a single clue.” Elsa’s voice trembled as she spoke, and she seemed about to lose control of her emotions again.

"Officer Elsa, calm down!"

Sak unleashed his light once more, and Elsa calmed down a bit, but still seemed somewhat agitated.

Mil glanced thoughtfully at Elsa's pocket; he seemed to sense something, yet also seemed not to.

Elsa's emotions calmed down completely.

"I'm sorry, I've been too nervous these past few days..."

Xia Ye frowned and glanced at Elsa, sensing that the policeman's demeanor was odd.

“How about this, I’ll keep watch with you tonight, and I’ll catch the criminal as soon as he shows up,” Mir suggested.

He didn't plan to transform into a loli to keep watch tonight. Anyway, he had been sleeping in Eileen's place in loli form for the past two days, and there wouldn't be any big problem if he did it just once today.

“That’s great!” Carlo rubbed his hands together excitedly. “That guy ran too fast yesterday. Even the police, who had predicted his escape route, couldn’t catch him. With you here, we’re sure to catch him.”

"Then you guys go ahead and search for clues. Call me tonight. Thinking things through isn't really my thing." Mil waved and left. He felt like he was just a henchman, the kind who would cause trouble from time to time.

He went to the flower shop he'd visited the day before, knocked (just a regular knock), and shouted loudly, "Miss Angela, I'm here to help!"

Damn! This guy was actually picking up girls while we were busy?

The group looked at Mil with regret as he ran to the flower shop, but their immediate priority was to find out what the three sacrificed people had in common.

……