Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Gadriya gazed at the trembling waitress and posed her final question, like a future trainer issuing a final, all-out order before the outcome of a battle.

However, the only response she received was a blank shake of her head—

“I haven’t seen Luna either. I thought she was with you guys… To be honest, although I met this apprentice who works in the palace gardens a few months ago, Luna’s whereabouts have always been unpredictable, like a shuttlecock swaying in the wind. Is there something you need from her?”

"No, it was just a casual question."

Just as the monk was about to end this fruitless conversation, a rough, hoarse voice came from the back of the tavern—

"Emily! Where did that three-year-old cider barrel go in the cellar?"

The curtain was suddenly flung open, and a middle-aged man wearing a leather apron walked out, clutching an empty wine glass in his hand.

He was the tavern owner and the waitress's father.

"Just put it in the usual spot."

Miss Emily, the waitress whose name was called, turned around and answered—

"Didn't the royal palace recently reduce its orders? That barrel of wine should still be in that innermost corner."

"I've looked." The boss, who had just been busy with renovations, shook his head vigorously. "There's nothing there. Could it have been stolen by those damned guards?"

The boss's daughter frowned in disapproval.

"This...this is impossible. It's just a barrel of wine. Even if they drank it all on the spot, they wouldn't have taken such a big barrel, would they?"

"Who knows?" the shopkeeper said irritably, wiping his brow. "Maybe they secretly carried it away using that clay giant statue at the palace gate. Anyway, the wine is gone."

Just then, Cattleya noticed that Emily's expression suddenly changed for a moment—she might not actually know where the cider was, but this waitress named Emily had clearly remembered something.

“That barrel of wine…” the monk suddenly spoke up, “was it originally intended for the royal palace?”

The father and daughter were both stunned.

The shopkeeper was the first to react: "Yes, His Majesty the King... that former king, loved this flavor the most. But he seems to have gotten tired of it these past few days and unilaterally stopped ordering."

A barrel of cider reserved for the king disappeared on the day he was murdered.

This reminded Cattleya of the last words Hugo XVI uttered when he bid farewell to them, the travelers—

[Luna... I've been craving cider lately, could you send some over when you have time?]

Looking back now, those might have been Hugo's true last words before his death.

Was that Hugo's impromptu remark? Or was it some kind of hint the king gave to his spies?

Is this just another useless sideline, or has she finally rolled a useful number?

"Cattleya, what have you found?"

The newcomers were Lian Wu, a group of thieves who had split up.

This usually reliable thief was now covered in tattered packages and smelled of something that had been rotting in a garbage dump.

Under the murderous gaze of the waitress Emily, he wisely stopped outside the tavern and began exchanging information with Cattleya right there on the dirt road.

Splash splash—

The thief unpacked his bags one by one, scattering all sorts of junk on the ground, making it look like a mobile junkyard.

"You spent a whole day's action points and all you brought back was this... trash?" Cattleya picked up a fairly intact rattle drum, wrinkling her nose in disdain. "Do you really think you can find that bearded man who spreads rumors with these children's toys?"

“For you and me, these things are indeed just children’s toys,” Lian Wu said, as he continued to pull things out of his seemingly endless pockets. “But they all once belonged to that suspicious person who spread nursery rhymes on the street.”

As he sorted through the debris, he recounted the day's investigation to his teammates...

"As far as the king's execution case is concerned, the nursery rhyme that person spread can no longer be considered a rumor, can it?"

Upon hearing the rumors circulating on the street, Cattleya narrowed her eyes.

Whether it's the detail of chopping the king's head off with an axe or the description of the garden where the incident occurred, this information should have been kept secret by Count Leclerc and no outsiders should have known it.

"That's precisely the crux of the matter," Lian Wu said solemnly. "The details of the murder deep within the palace shouldn't have been leaked. The only reasonable explanation is that the person who fabricated the nursery rhyme was an insider—"

“It could even be the murderer himself,” the intuitive monk replied without room for doubt.

“And we can use these items to trace the clues and find that person.”

The thief crossed his arms.

At this moment, only one unopened small package remained in front of him, and judging from its size, he could at least confirm that it did not contain Hugo's head.

"This is the world of games, and we can take advantage of its unique mechanics."

"You mean... the [Lost Item Tracking] magic that Yueju learned from the labyrinth scroll?"

Cattleya raised an eyebrow in suspicion—

“But according to the settings Wanlong showed before, these ordinary items that the other party only used once and have no emotional connection with cannot be used as a medium for casting spells at all—at least one of the two conditions must be met. Even I in reality cannot predict any accurate information based on the things that the murderer used to deceive children.”

"Tools for soothing children are really not worth mentioning. So... what about this?"

The thief Lian Wu's usually calm voice finally revealed a hint of smugness.

It was because he found this item in the garbage heap that he was so confident in rushing back to reunite with his teammates.

At this moment, he finally opened the package that had never been seen before.

Lying inside was a magnificent scepter!

There was even a noticeable dent at the top of the staff, as if it had been used to strike something forcefully.

Chapter 447 The Cane at the Hub Under the Blade

To be fair, it's necessary to clarify something for that mysterious bearded suspect—

He did not carelessly discard his tools of crime.

In the stinking garbage dump, the scepter and the small toys were disposed of separately. Judging from the mud on Lian Wu's body when he found the scepter, the prop had even been carefully buried.

However, the cats living in the junkyard have always had a penchant for collecting shiny objects.

These "treasures," along with the toys, naturally ended up deep within their secret lair as part of their daily activities. Even so, if Lian Wu hadn't used the thief's unique [Treasure Search] skill at the location where the toys were found, out of his cautious gaming habits, he probably would have missed this crucial piece of evidence.

The entire chain of events is clearly traceable and logically consistent.

This is definitely not a perfunctory clue hastily thrown out by the game host to appease a player's impromptu skill check!

"Are you sure... this is the scepter that Hugo was fiddling with in the palace?"

At this moment, facing the important item that Lian Wu had pulled out from the bottom of the package, the martial monk Cattleya marveled at it with the eyes of someone looking at a rare artifact—given Hugo XVI's status and manner of death, this item would indeed deserve such treatment in later generations.

"Based on my [Appraisal] level, I can almost certainly confirm that they are the same item. You can also do an [Appraisal] yourself if you don't believe me."

Lian Wu gripped the scepter through the fabric to avoid leaving fingerprints, his tone unusually serious.

"Besides, who else but a criminal would discard such a valuable item in a junkyard? This isn't some children's toy; even Meow Meow knows to dig it out. I don't think that finding such a valuable item at a time like this is Wanlong's reward treasure for us."

"With my [Appraisal] level, I'd better pass. It's just that the timing of this item's appearance is a bit coincidental... like someone is urging us to move the plot forward faster."

Cattleya shook her head meaningfully—

"Speaking of this scepter, judging from the damage to the top, it seems that Hugo may have fought with someone."

"No." Lian Wu shook his head solemnly, stating the conclusion he had reached through the [appraisal]—

"The scepter has only one broken spot, clearly caused by a single blunt force strike. Although the head of the scepter had been wiped with fabric, blood is still visible deep within the carved patterns—I can conclude that this weapon once delivered a precise and devastating blow to someone. And someone who suffered such a blow would never be in such good spirits dragging a cart all over the capital. So rather than saying this was a weapon the king used for self-defense, it's more likely... a murder weapon in the hands of a criminal."

"So, the real direct cause of Hugo's death might not have been beheading?" The monk blinked.

"Yes, the human cervical spine is not something that can be broken easily."

Lian Wu gestured horizontally as if severing a head—

"Based on the marks on this piece of evidence, I think the murderer must have first seized the scepter, then knocked out or killed Hugo XVI, and finally used an axe or other sharp blade to dismember the body."

"That makes sense. The force required to knock someone unconscious is completely different from that required to break a limb."

The female monk, who was also skilled in combat in the story, nodded knowingly, then frowned—

"But if that's the case, there should be another weapon used for beheading. Lian Wu, have you checked other parts of the junkyard?"

“I used up all my remaining action points for this,” Lian Wu nodded matter-of-factly. “Unfortunately, although I found the spot where the cats had ‘dug’ and discovered the scepter, there were no other clues there.”

“That’s very strange.” The monk rested his chin on his index finger knuckle. “Both are murder weapons, so why did the perpetrator specifically bury this scepter when discarding his personal belongings?”

"Perhaps it's because the murder weapon still had some use."

The thief thought for a moment and then offered his opinion—

"Although the scepter is priceless, it is both conspicuous and cumbersome. Its nature as a royal treasure makes it difficult to sell, which is why we try to find ways to discard it. As for the tool that has been used to cut people... let's just treat it as an axe for now. Once the bloodstains are washed away, it is no different from a normal tool for chopping wood, so there is no need to discard it."

"I think it would be much stranger for someone disguised as a toy merchant to carry an axe with him."

Cattleya did not agree with this seemingly reasonable statement.

"Besides, he just dismembered the body. If he wanted to change his appearance and appear in front of the children, he would at least need to change into clean clothes, right? You chased the murder suspect all day long. Apart from the junkyard, did you find any places where clothes and murder weapons might be hidden?"

The thief frowned and thought for a long time, but finally shook his head helplessly: "No... I asked all the pedestrians along the way, and none of them had heard of any suspicious people covered in blood on the street."

“Then, the other party may have used some bloodless method to dismember the body…” the monk analyzed. “After all, it’s impossible that we are the only ones in the world who have superpowers or magic; Pokémon may have been involved as well.”

"But if that's the case, why didn't the murderer use that magical power from the beginning?"

Lian Wu pointed to the damage on the head of the scepter, his tone serious—

"If one can dismember a corpse without getting blood on his hands, why would he go to such lengths to come before the king, snatch the scepter from Hugo, and then knock him unconscious? This is completely illogical from a murder standpoint. Could this have been just a random, impulsive crime?"

"If this was an isolated crime, then the secret room in the garden must have been a coincidence. Otherwise, how could the perpetrator have managed to completely conceal himself in such a hurry? The crime happened by chance, the perpetrator escaped by chance, the head disappeared by chance, and the secret room was formed by chance... I don't think Wanlong would have designed such a clumsy puzzle."

"That's true. If this case was a coincidence, it's physically impossible to explain the bearded man's actions of spreading rumors before and after the incident."

echoing Cattleya's increasingly enthusiastic reasoning, even Wu pointed to the pile of broken toys on the ground—

"Preparing these things, whether by making them yourself or buying them from others, will take at least several days. If the other party is just trying to stir up trouble on a whim, there simply won't be enough time to gather the necessary materials."

"Maybe... that bearded man was originally a grocer who owned a large number of toys?" Cattleya became cautious at this point.

“That’s even more impossible.” Lian Wu denied it on the spot. “In order to spread the nursery rhyme, almost all the idle children in the city have had close contact with that bearded man. If he’s an acquaintance, it would be too easy to be discovered.”

"So, we're back to where we started." The female monk shrugged.

"The perpetrator meticulously planned the events leading up to and following the crime, but made a major oversight in the crucial step of killing the victim. As a result, although this case did not appear to be an impulsive crime, the perpetrator managed to seize the victim's weapon and knock him unconscious in close combat."

"...!"

Lian Wu suddenly furrowed his thick eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" the monk asked, noticing his travel companion's unusual expression.

"Could it be a counterattack?"

The thief, who had risen through the ranks from the bottom of society, clenched his fists and hammered, speculating with a hint of excitement—

"The real killer might actually be King Hugo! After knocking the victim unconscious with his scepter, he chose to conceal his identity for some reason. So, he swapped clothes with the victim in the palace, cut off the victim's head, and let the original attacker become the headless corpse of the 'king' in his place—this can explain the contradictions in the killer's actions!"

“If the criminals are targeting the real Hugo, then this situation might not be impossible…” Faced with Lian Wu’s speculation, Cattleya wavered for a moment.

But the next second—

'No, that's absolutely impossible.'

At that moment, the voice of the third traveler who was not present—the magician Yueju—suddenly entered their minds like a cold arrow.

His figure then slowly emerged from the end of the long street, followed closely by a man who looked like a guard.

He approached his two companions and spoke using his actual vocal cords—

“I examined the fingerprints on the headless corpse in the palace and confirmed that it was indeed the deceased king… Also, I seem to have heard that someone here needs a professional magic user to cast the [Lost Item Tracking] spell?”

Chapter 448 The Blade That Gains the Ox with One Horn

After a simple exchange of information, the travelers learned the following facts—

1. Based on fingerprints found in the palace, the deceased can be tentatively identified as King Hugo XVI. The body was decapitated with an axe, the tool suspected to be the one lost by the court gardener Sander, but the king appears to have lost his mobility before the decapitation. Based on unusual bloodstains on the body and the murder weapon found in the junkyard, the victim's head was struck heavily with the king's scepter before being laid flat on a flat surface and decapitated. However, the count's men searched the entire palace but found no similar location with significant bloodstains where the body was dismembered.

2. Before the body was discovered, the travelers had seen the living king in the palace gardens. Sande and the guards who were originally with the king withdrew, leaving the king alone deep within the gardens after the travelers left. Later, Sande, noticing something amiss, discovered the headless body under a fruit tree in the garden. The Count immediately implemented an intelligence blackout and has currently detained five people who were present at the scene and had knowledge of the incident: Sande, two royal guards, a guard on duty near the gardens, and the elderly maid who happened to be at the scene.

3. Based on the traces at the crime scene, it is inferred that the bloodstains and axe marks on the tree trunk against which the body was leaning when it died were fabricated beforehand, but the traveler did not see those marks when he arrived in the garden. This suggests that someone carried blood and an axe to the tree to create a disguise after the traveler left, hoping to mislead the investigators.

4. Before and after the incident, the main entrance to the garden was always guarded. The only secret passage connecting to the outside world was monitored by Earl Leclerc of the Black Moon. Furthermore, there were only five rows of footprints leading into the garden, which corresponded perfectly with the actions of Lian Wu, Yueju, Cattleya, the waitress Emily, and the gardener/spy Luna, with no overlap, making it virtually impossible for an outsider to infiltrate. The king's footprints at the crime scene ultimately led to the location of his death; although his head had been removed, there was only one row of footprints left under the tree—however, the footprints in the garden were unlike those in the secret passage. Due to the paths and vegetation, the discontinuous footprints on the soil could have been forged.

5. A month before the incident, a bearded man spread rumors of a "possessed evil dragon" at the Black Crocodile Tavern, leading the traveler to the palace. Strangely, on the day of the incident, the Black Crocodile Tavern was suddenly sealed off by guards due to the rumors, allowing the traveler to enter the palace a second time. However, according to the king's testimony at the time, Hugo XVI himself had not issued an order to close the tavern, and Leclerc also had no authority to appoint guards without his permission. After the traveler left the tavern, the guards inexplicably withdrew. The waitress confirmed that the guards surrounding the tavern were genuine and not disguised.