Pokémon Detective Case Files.

“Then go find the king’s everyday items, such as his scepter, stationery, and table—basically any smooth surface that can leave a mark. Find some finely ground charcoal powder and sprinkle it on the places the king has recently touched.”

He gave the guard a thumbs-up, a hint of smugness in his smile—

"Did you know that, unlike a gardener's axe, everyone has a unique 'product number' on their fingers that can't be faked?"

It's time to let this era witness the criminal investigation technology of 500 years of civilization.

Chapter 444 A Still Striving Push

Blueberry has both good news and bad news.

The good news is that someone successfully rolled a "Great Success" die with a score of 98 while trying to extract fingerprints.

This allowed him to bypass the cumbersome procedures of accessing royal documents, and with only rudimentary tools like charcoal ash and a brush, he successfully extracted clear fingerprints left by Hugo XVI in the court of the United States five hundred years ago. He even used these fingerprints to completely reconstruct a simple day in the life of this king: the formal morning prayers, meals alone, browsing unimportant books, stamping pre-prepared memorials, receiving visitors arranged by the count, and finally, a stroll in the garden…

The bad news was that all the fingerprints he found along the way matched the ten fingers on the headless corpse.

This can only mean one thing—whether it's the king who can only play the role of a puppet in the palace day after day, or Hugo XVI who met with visitors yesterday, or the cold corpse lying in the temporary morgue right now, from beginning to end... it's all the same person.

Hugo XVI, it is likely that he is indeed dead...

The headless body was placed on a carved wooden bed that served as a makeshift mortuary. It was clear that an Ice-type Pokémon had performed embalming on it—the skin still had an unnatural bluish-white color, and at least it had not yet begun to rot.

The headless body lay stiffly on the bed. Because the face was not visible, it was impossible to tell whether Hugo XVI's expression was peaceful. If it were the Hugo that Yueju knew, he would probably die with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

"...Could it be that I guessed wrong?"

Looking at the severed neck that appeared to have been brutally cleaved by an axe, the mage instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck, letting out an incredulous groan, as if a chill had swept over him.

"If you've come to this point and still hope to uncover the truth behind His Majesty's murder through conjecture, I advise you to give up now."

Lopa, the bodyguard who had always been by his side, scoffed disdainfully.

"Even if we take a step back and assume, in your fantasy, His Majesty could conjure a scapegoat out of thin air, like a Pokémon using the 'Substitute' move... then how would this scapegoat infiltrate the heavily guarded royal gardens? Why would it willingly come to its death? And even if such a person did exist, how would His Majesty, having faked the corpse, disappear from the scene?"

"These problems are actually not problems at all—the kingdom is so big, as the king of this country, isn't it easy for Hugo to find someone to be a scapegoat?"

Lingju sighed reluctantly.

"As for the method of disappearance... whether it's 'teleportation' or using a Flying-type Pokémon, there's always a way. Anyway, this is Unova five hundred years ago, and there aren't even any security cameras around. The so-called 'perfect locked room' is simply impossible, which is why I tried to bypass the locked room itself and look for a breakthrough from physical evidence or corpses."

"I knew you chose the detective route because you were looking for shortcuts," Lopa scoffed, his tone laced with sarcasm that seemed to refer to no one in particular. "Looks like your forensic investigation has failed miserably. So... what brilliant ideas do you have for autopsies?"

"That's rather intriguing."

Lingju pointed vaguely at the corpse in front of her, as if she held an autopsy report in her hand, and began to recite—

“Look at the cross-section of this head. Although it was clearly chopped off with a weapon like an axe, the cross-section is relatively flat. It’s brutal, but not crude—I mean, the wound is mainly a vertical slash, with almost no trace of pulling to the side.”

"What does this mean?" The guard frowned, looking puzzled.

"This means the executioner wielded the axe from top to bottom," the magician gestured, mimicking the action of tilling the land with a hoe.

"The axe cleanly and decisively cleaved the cervical vertebrae using its own weight, rather than cutting back and forth like a throat slit. This means that when the victim's head was severed, they were already lying flat on the ground—either dead or unconscious. This also explains why there was far less blood on the front of the body than expected. Usually, victims who die from a throat slit will have a lot of blood splattered in front of them, and if the torso was upright at the time, that blood should mainly remain on the front, but in this case, the blood was more concentrated on the back."

"What's the problem with that?"

"Two questions." The magician, like a lobster soldier who had just molted, proudly held up two fingers—

"First, since the body was lying on its back when it was beheaded, the axe marks left on the tree trunk must be faked. In addition, the splattered blood on the bark must have been left by someone when the body was moved to the ground."

“No, that’s impossible.” Lopa’s face was full of doubt. “Your reasoning is too far-fetched. Can you really conclude that His Majesty was not killed under the tree just because there were no tear marks on the slash marks? We saw it with our own eyes.”

“A striking image always leaves a preconceived bias in people’s minds, which is why we need evidence and reasoning.” The magician shook his finger dramatically.

“Besides the suspicious points on the body, there is another piece of evidence.” He pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere, on which was a simple diagram of the marks on the tree trunk.

"Wanlong never includes useless clues in her mystery plots. Therefore, these three seemingly random parallel scratches must hold the key to solving the case—"

The magician turned the blueprints toward the guard—

"If you firmly believe that the decapitation occurred under the tree in the center of the garden, then you might as well temporarily put yourself in the murderer's shoes and answer me honestly: when your first axe had already split His Majesty's neck bone, where would the second axe land in order to completely sever that noble head?"

"..."

Lopa stared silently at the three diagonal lines of varying lengths on the drawing.

“Let me tell you!” Yueju said without waiting for a reply. “After the first axe blow, the head, now without skeletal support, will tilt to the other side of the cut. Regardless of whether this causes the body to topple, if the killer insists on continuing to decapitate the head, subsequent blows will inevitably be angled to sever any remaining muscle tissue—and the closer to complete separation, the more the axe blade will deviate from its intended point of impact.”

His fingertip emphasized the diagram—

"Under no circumstances could such an act leave these three nearly parallel marks! The reason these illogical chopping marks appear on the tree trunk is precisely because they are fake! Someone I initially suspected was His Majesty, but who turned out to be someone else, cleverly carved these pre-arranged 'axe-cut marks' on the tree trunk in an attempt to mislead our investigation towards this fruit tree!"

"I... still can't fully agree with your reasoning."

The bodyguard, Lopa, took a few deep breaths, his tone regaining its usual businesslike calm—

"Ultimately, my duty is merely to monitor your actions. Whether your conclusions are correct is ultimately for Count Leclerc to decide."

An awkward silence followed his words. After a moment, he looked back at the magician—

"I remember you also discovered a second problem, right? What was it?"

“It’s nothing serious.” Lingju shrugged relaxedly. “After realizing the first suspicious point, the second anomaly should have been obvious.”

“You don’t need to act like you’ve already found the culprit and keep us in suspense,” the guard said sarcastically. “Besides, you’re not a real detective; at best, you’re just a homeless intermediate-level mage.”

"Identity doesn't mean everything. Whether you're a true detective or a king of high rank, you can be at a loss for what to do in a moment of trouble. The problem is—"

The magician Yueju took a serious step forward—

“Since the axe marks and bloodstains on the tree trunk are likely fakes, and the body was indeed lying flat somewhere when it was beheaded—then where exactly did this dismemberment atrocity take place? You see, although there were disordered footsteps inside the garden, there were no large areas of bloodstains anywhere except under the fruit tree where the body was.”

“Are you implying…” Lopa caught a terrifying conclusion from Blueberry’s narrative.

“That’s right,” the magician said decisively. “I believe that Hugo XVI was not murdered in the garden at all!”

Chapter 445 The Headless King's Wine Jar

While Lantana was playing the role of a detective in front of Hugo's corpse, the warrior monk Cattleya was following her "inspiration" as she wandered around the vast capital.

This series of so-called investigations led her astray into a secret meeting of a heretical cult in an abandoned mill, where she nearly got into a fight with masked fanatics who worshipped the symbol of birds. While investigating the sewer outlet, she was attacked by a mob of rodents led by a giant Rada. Without any superpowers, she barely managed to escape the predicament, only to stumble upon a sudden incident where noble guards were chasing a fugitive...

Each event seemed suspicious at first glance, like scattered pearls, with no connecting thread, let alone any connection to the missing head.

Aside from discovering and rescuing a Daruma baboon that had fallen into a well and turned to stone while exploring a dry well that seemed to have accumulated energy, Cattleya decisively skipped these side quests that were clearly deliberately set up by a narrator to trick her into wasting her time.

However, even after avoiding all the traps, the female monk still couldn't find any clues about the head.

After being led by [inspiration] almost circling the entire capital, she looked up and suddenly found herself standing once again in front of that familiar wooden door—

The sign for the Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern swayed gently in the evening breeze.

It felt like everything had returned to square one.

At this moment, the guards who had surrounded the tavern yesterday had naturally already retreated to the palace. From beginning to end, no one had figured out whose orders they had been given.

Based on the timeline, these guards, who were loyal only to the king, should have received their orders when the travelers first met him. However, judging from Hugo XVI's words and actions before and after his death, the late emperor seemed unconcerned about the rumors and did not appear to be the type to engage in such underhanded tactics.

Count Leclerc of the Black Moon also couldn't explain it.

It's not that he lacked the ability to mobilize guards—although the king claimed that the Earl of Black Moon needed his approval to mobilize troops, considering His Majesty's near-puppet status during his lifetime, there might have been a lot of room for maneuver... But then again, without a sufficiently compelling special purpose, why would that powerful earl bother a humble tavern?

"Ah! It's Master Gadriya!"

Upon merely catching a glimpse of the monk's plain robes from afar, the tavern waitress waved enthusiastically—it seemed that, unlike the travelers, this witness who had also witnessed the king's final moments had not been imprisoned by Count Leclerc.

"Thanks to everyone's help yesterday, the crisis at our Black Crocodile Tavern has finally been resolved... Ah, because of the previous lockdown, the place is still a bit messy. If you would like to have a meal, I can take you to a nearby restaurant... Of course, as promised, we will cover the cost of the meal."

“No need.” Gadriya hadn’t expended much energy on the journey and now only wanted to find Hugo’s head as soon as possible. She looked at the waitress in front of her, “Have you heard about the King?”

"Are you referring to His Majesty's passing? This..." The receptionist looked troubled and leaned close to the monk's ear, whispering, "This morning a stranger came to warn me not to talk about this with anyone."

That's probably one of Earl Black Moon's men...

The monks were not surprised by this. Even three travelers, each with their own unique skills, could be dragged into the palace's torture chamber in their sleep. Naturally, the waitress who had also met Hugo XVI was not entirely unaffected.

However, the difference in treatment between this young lady and the travelers was far too great, wasn't it? It seemed that they hadn't considered the possibility that this waitress was involved in the regicide at all.

No...not just waitresses.

Cattleya suddenly realized that the reason why she and her companions were so easily released by Leclerc was not entirely due to the magician's clever words.

The fundamental reason is that the count also believed that the travelers could not possibly be the real murderers of the king, which is why he so generously allowed them to escape imprisonment and even participate in the investigation.

As the parties involved, they naturally felt that this judgment was reasonable, but... how did the count rule out the suspicion of the traveler and the waitress?

Could it be related to the missing Luna? Where is that guy now?

As she pondered, Cattleya subconsciously activated another [Inspiration], her gaze sweeping across the tavern's interior, and her expression faltered—

The interior of the Black Crocodile Tavern had been transformed into a construction site.

The oak tables that had been placed side by side were pushed against the wall, covered with dust-proof linen. Several porters were carrying freshly sawn planks, moving among them, the air filled with the fresh smell of sawdust. Several bags of cement were piled in the corner, and a loach was lazily curled up on one of the bags, dozing. The original bar counter had been half removed, revealing the brick and stone structure underneath, and the workers were discussing how to reinforce it.

"This is a bit chaotic, has it been attacked by robbers?"

"No, no, no, that's not true. The tavern is just taking the opportunity to renovate," the waitress quickly explained.

"My father was worried that the guards' visit would affect the tavern's business recently, so he decided to take advantage of this downturn to renovate the tavern. You see, the king recently passed away, and there might be a short-term alcohol ban or something similar soon. It's good to lay low for a while... As for the guards, they did cause some damage to the tavern, but the damage was still within an acceptable range. The interior was a mess, some furniture was damaged, and supplies needed to be replenished. Plus, the renovation will take time, so it seems that Black Crocodile won't be able to open for business normally until next month."

The female monk frowned, noticing the details: "It's just investigating a royal scandal... surely they don't need to ransack the place? Are they looking for something else?"

"Perhaps they're looking for some kind of evidence..." the tavern owner's daughter said presumptuously.

“That’s impossible,” Cattleya interrupted crisply.

"When the guards surrounded the Black Crocodile Tavern, the king's murder had not yet occurred. At that time, the only issue on the surface was the royal rumor of 'possession by an evil dragon,' and that was the reason the guards surrounded the tavern... And rumors are precisely the least likely things to leave physical evidence."

Although the monk is accustomed to relying on her intuitive, innate abilities, this does not mean that she is not good at thinking.

On the contrary, as the first of the three travelers to meet a certain detective, she was the most familiar with this framework of logical deduction.

"Is there anything hidden in your tavern that you can't reveal publicly?"

"I'm not quite sure... I don't think so." The waitress opened her eyes wide in confusion, more out of ignorance than guilt. "Maybe the guards thought we had some valuables hidden in our tavern and wanted to take this opportunity to rob us."

Cattleya shook her head, relentlessly pursuing the question: "Then let me ask you another question—when the guards withdrew from the tavern yesterday and you started taking stock of the losses, did you notice any stolen property? Did your parents, who run the tavern, behave anything unusual?"

"No, really no."

The waitress answered very seriously—

"When we were surrounded by guards yesterday, my father immediately grabbed the money from the counter and moved it. After all, a tavern is a place with many people coming and going, and we wouldn't hide our valuables here—there was nothing unusual about it. However, my parents had a heated discussion when deciding on the renovation plan."

"It doesn't seem like a huge loss, nor does it feel like the tension of having a secret suspected."

Cattleya nodded thoughtfully.

"This suggests that the order to surround the tavern was most likely not directed at the tavern itself, but for some other purpose. In this light, the fact that a large number of guards were transferred from the palace on the day of the king's assassination may not be a coincidence. It is necessary to confirm with Leclerc to see if those transferred troops created an opportunity for the palace assassination."

"Oh...right, waitress."

When the murder case was mentioned, the monk suddenly remembered the primary mission of his trip.

She lightly clapped her hands together, her gaze suddenly locking onto the waitress's eyes. Under the waitress's surprised gaze, she asked solemnly—

"Have you seen the head that the king accidentally lost in the two days since you returned from the palace?"

Chapter 446 The Source of Production Rumors

"I...I've never seen anything so terrifying!"

As if startled, the waitress immediately denied it, shaking her head like a frightened cooing bird.

"Haven't you noticed anything unusual since we parted ways yesterday?"

Caldelia pressed on, her languid tone tinged with a hint of complaint.

The waiter immediately panicked—

"If we're talking about anything unusual, aside from hearing about the king's passing and the fact that you three guests disappeared from the inn early this morning, there shouldn't be anything else that seems strange... But you travelers should know more about those things than I do."

She twisted the hem of her pub uniform, racking her brains—

"Besides that, since the tavern was closed yesterday, I didn't hear any other news from the usual customers. Even if I wanted to provide you with new clues, Master Cattleya, I'm powerless to do so."

It doesn't seem like he's lying...

Cattleya's general ability [Insight] activated successfully. Although it might not be effective against a deep-thinking person like Leclerc, it should be enough against an ordinary person like the hostess.

"Then... what about Luna?"