Symphony for the Insect Princess

well.

The first person did it successfully.

The first step is often the most important, and it’s great that nothing went wrong.

What would they do next? They'd probably check the barrier first, then, desperately, use tracking magic to find a clue, and then... once the second person was successfully taken out, they'd basically be successful.

Don't worry, everyone has a share.

Anyway, it doesn't matter the order, everyone will die in the end.

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York almost squeezed out the words through his teeth.

"Everyone, stay here and don't move, especially don't run around! This is murder, a very sophisticated murder! The nearest branch and police station are several kilometers away. In any case, get in touch with them first - Chloe!"

"Uh, huh?"

"Use magic to send a message! Call all the Zelah branches and security forces in the territory! Even if it's Harvest Festival, they must come!"

"Ah, yes!"

Chloe, whose face was still pale, had not yet recovered from the shock, but as a high-level magician, she would not make a mistake because, after all, the magic of sending messages was easy for her.

She stretched out her hand and chanted softly. Immediately, a beam of white light rose from her hand, circling in the air before flying out at an astonishing speed. Then—

"No! Something's wrong!"

Chloe suddenly opened her eyes wide, a look of disbelief on her face.

"What's wrong!?"

"The messaging magic...it can't fly out!"

"What!?"

York was startled, then remembered something.

"Ellen, Lux, come with me! Chloe, you stay here and protect everyone! You and Ellen are the strongest here!"

"B-but-"

"No buts! The shadow servants who were supposed to be guarding my father during the Harvest Festival didn't respond to my call. There are only two possibilities—either they were killed too, or they are the murderer! Either way, hold on tight!"

The three of them immediately rushed to the hall door, which was the door leading to the outside, as fast as they could. York whispered a command to the door and it opened automatically. The three of them then rushed out.

For a moment, the hall fell silent, with only the pale-faced Chloe mumbling as she stretched out her hand and released one ice ball and fire ball after another. It was a very effective warning spell that took a short time to set up. The ice and fire balls would automatically attack any enemy that came their way.

In less than half a minute, curses and rumbling noises were heard outside the door, which lasted for nearly a minute before they died down. During this time, the others could only wait silently in the hall.

“…Hey, everyone.”

The silence lasted for a while, and it was broken by Lukes who came back from outside, his face still ashen.

"Everyone, it's best to come out and take a look. Things are getting difficult."

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Enchantment.

One of the oldest, most diverse, and most widely used forms of magic.

Defense, sealing, alert, enemy search... the uses are countless, and barrier magic can be found from the most basic magic to the most profound forbidden spells.

Although the barrier has undergone thousands of years of development, some basic rules will not change.

For example, giving the same barrier too many functions will make it unstable, and it will be more effective to create multiple barriers that each have only a single function.

For example, if a barrier wants to operate autonomously and exist for a long time without the creator, it must have a core that can replace the creator.

For example, any barrier has its limits, and once it exceeds the limit, it will collapse... and so on, there are many more.

As a great noble family, the Zelah family would certainly not be ambiguous in this regard.

Far from the city, the patriarchal mansion was shrouded in multiple barriers: defensive barriers, sealing barriers, warning barriers... Layer upon layer of barriers, like upside-down bowls, enveloping the mansion tightly. During the day, some barriers would be closed for easy access, but at night, all barriers would be open, fully protecting the mansion from any unauthorized entry.

It is a matter of pride that the Zelah family's barrier was created hundreds of years ago by the kingdom's court magician - not a magician, but an extremely noble being who is superior to senior magicians and great magicians. It is extremely strong, stable, and sensitive, and is still very useful even today, hundreds of years later.

And now, the once most indestructible wall has become the most desperate cage.

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Dazzling silver light bloomed wantonly, condensing into a giant silver-white sword as tall as her. Enormous magical power continued to pour into it, and the light on it became increasingly condensed. Ellen, the eldest sister, gripped the hilt tightly, her eyes slightly closed, repeatedly concentrating and compressing her power. The moment she reached her limit, she opened her eyes wide.

"ha!!!!!!!!"

The greatsword swung forth, and a massive, silvery-white gust of wind roared forth, overturning the earth in its path and causing the surrounding trees to sway violently in the raging storm. The next moment, the gust of wind collided fiercely with the glass-like barrier, sending ripples rippling through the barrier, seemingly on the verge of shattering, yet in reality, it remained remarkably strong. After wrestling with the gust of wind for several seconds, it was the gust of wind that vanished first, while the barrier rippled a few times before returning to its original state.

"Huh... Huh... This move is quite powerful among the ones I'm familiar with, but it still can't break it! Not even a crack is left! The barrier built by a wizard-level figure is indeed beyond the reach of a high-level magic warrior like me..."

Allen gasped and wiped the sweat from his forehead helplessly. The giant sword in his hand quickly shrank and turned back into its original knight's sword.

A high-level magic warrior in his early twenties is equivalent to a high-level magician, which is quite remarkable in the small country of the Kingdom of Aaron.

The so-called magic warrior can be considered a variant of the sorcerer. After countless years of development, they now share equal prominence with the sorcerer. While the sorcerer uses the mystical power of magic to create miracles, the magic warrior's approach is much simpler and more ruthless. They do not delve into the study of advanced sorcery, but instead refine their magic within, infusing some of it throughout their body to strengthen it, while releasing the rest to combine with their martial arts. In battle, they primarily rely on their strong physical fitness, sophisticated martial arts, and the direct release of their magic power to inflict damage on their enemies.

Generally speaking, a magician can develop in all aspects, while a magic warrior focuses on combat. A powerful magic warrior can't destroy a city with a single blow like a forbidden spell mage, but if it comes to a one-on-one battle with a magician, the magic warrior's chance of winning is much higher than that of a magician, after all, they specialize in combat.

Magic warriors who were canonized or served the nobility were often called knights. Allen was an important member of the Red Silk Knights, the largest knight order in the Kingdom of Aaron. He possessed outstanding strength at a young age and was favored by many important figures.

However, even she was powerless now, and her attacks could not cause any damage to the barrier.

"It seems that we are really trapped in our own barrier..."

The mansion's defensive barrier is two-way, defending against intrusion from outside and preventing thieves from escaping from inside. The inner side is usually closed, but now it is activated, trapping everyone here.

"You're the strongest in terms of pure combat power here, Ellen, but you're powerless... Chloe!"

“—Uh, here!”

Chloe, still pale, was startled by York's sudden call.

"As you can see, the murderer must have tampered with the barrier, making it impossible to escape. Come on, Chloe, use your advanced magic to break it!"

"Okay, okay, please stand aside! Great Ice Queen, freeze the moment and eternity, the extreme cold storm..."

Chloe chanted a spell in a low voice, and a powerful cold air condensed in her hands. Everyone else stepped away.

"...cleans all impurities, a waterfall of frost!"

The frozen water elements transformed into an extremely powerful cold current that rushed towards the barrier. Although the cold air had been greatly compressed, the escaping cold wind still made others' teeth chatter.

chi chi chi...

After the cold fog dissipated, thick frost formed at a certain point in the barrier. The middle position was eroded by the cold air, which looked quite pitiful, but that was all. The barrier of the barrier itself did not suffer any obvious damage.

"Failed..." Lux muttered, and York tutted.

"If we can't do it alone... Ellen, Dorothy, do you think if you all attack together with all your might, you can destroy it?"

The two women looked at each other—

"I'm afraid not."

"I can't do that with my words."

"If brute force doesn't work, try breaking it, Dorothy—"

“—Impossible!”

It was not Dorothy who answered York, but Anhans, who looked at him as if he were a fool.

"After all, it's a masterpiece by a wizard-level master. And Dorothy isn't too deep into enchantments, right? After all, her major is ice and fire elemental magic."

"..."

Dorothy, who was at a loss, looked at Anhans gratefully, as if she was encouraged, and there was a hint of pride in Anhans' eyes.

"So, Brother York, even though you're a layman in magic, you can't be ignorant of these common sense, right? Don't make things difficult for yourself—"

"Shut up! It's not your dad who died anyway!!"

Lillian, who had been silent all this time, suddenly yelled, startling everyone. Her shoulders were still shaking violently, her lips were pale, and she looked a little hysterical. For some reason, she kept holding her lower abdomen.

"Um...Lillian?" It was the first time that Anhans was yelled at by this little sister, and he was a little at a loss for what to do.

"Ah... no, it's nothing... I was just a little too excited... but you should stop talking nonsense."

"...You seem to have a stomachache?"

"I'm just too nervous, that's all! I'm so annoyed!"

After saying that, she returned to Nia with a gloomy face and squatted on the ground with her knees hugged.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

York coughed lightly and said, "I know everyone's feeling... bad, and so am I. After all, this happened so suddenly. The mere confusion and fear before the sadness is enough to make people lose their minds. So I hope everyone please stay calm no matter what. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then, just in case, let's all act together and carefully check the edge of the barrier..."

"That's not necessary. I finished it just when you went out." Anhans said. With a wave of his hand, seven exquisitely made puppets came out from the darkness, gathered around him, and then shrank to the size of a palm and returned to his pocket.

Using puppets made using magical engineering as familiars is his research direction as a puppeteer.

"According to the report sent back, the edge of the barrier is flawless, without any flaws or gaps. The option of breaking through by force can be discarded."

"...Alright then, everyone, let's return to the lobby for now."

Chapter 5 Footprints

It was eight o'clock in the morning.

The sun became brighter, illuminating the hall even more brightly through the large glass windows, but no one's mood improved.

Crafa's body was left untouched in the spot. York, Ellen and Anhans stood around the body. Chloe, whose face was no longer so pale, concentrated on maintaining the defensive magic. Lillian, Molly and Nia were still huddled in the corner with grim faces. Lux stayed by their side to prevent them from doing anything stupid. Nellis stood at the intersection of the three of them, a very delicate position.

York's eyes swept over the body and he muttered, "The heart was dug out, but there were no obvious injuries elsewhere. It can be roughly determined that he was killed in one blow, and—"

Anhans squatted down and gestured at the horrible wound.

"This size... is just right for digging out the heart 'completely'. Why?"

"So the criminal wants his father's 'undamaged' heart?"

"That guy must be a pervert! And the cut is really neat..."

Neat enough?

York immediately asked, "Allen, you are most familiar with weapons. What do you think this was made of?"

"Well... unless you're a master among masters, you can't make such a beautiful cut with a large object like a sword or a machete. And judging by the precision... it must have been something small and sharp like a dagger or a knife."

"...If I remember correctly, the weapons used by my father's two shadow servants were daggers."

""...""

During the Harvest Festival, all servants and guards have holidays. In the entire mansion, only the master of the house is accompanied by two shadow servants who rarely appear in public and hide in the dark to protect his safety.

Now that the head of the family is dead, the two shadow servants have disappeared.

There are only two possibilities: they were killed, or they are the murderer themselves.

And now it seems...

"I think it's almost certain that Shadow Servant has betrayed us, right?" Anhans shrugged. "They have the strength, the weapons, the stealth skills, and the opportunities to commit crimes are overwhelming—"

"—but there is no motive."

"Aha?"

A soft female voice suddenly interrupted.

Everyone was stunned for a moment before realizing whose voice it was.

At some point, Nellis also came close to the corpse and observed it carefully, looking very focused.

"...I say, what did you just say, Naellys?"

"It's Nelris."

"It doesn't matter what you call me. I really hate being interrupted when I'm talking—"

"Nelris is right. If it was truly the Shadow Servant's doing, what was their motive?" York interrupted. "As the eldest son, I can tell you clearly that Shadow Servant figures are carefully selected through numerous rounds of scrutiny and have a clean past. The Zelah family treats them extremely well, making the chances of them being bribed extremely small, not to mention the various spells and incantations used to guarantee their loyalty. In theory, betraying the Zelah family wouldn't benefit them in the slightest."

"But...but...even though the possibility is small, it's not impossible! And--" Anhans, a little exasperated, looked around, and his eyes lit up when he locked his sight on the corpse, "--Yes! The heart, they must have some purpose, some evil intention or something, to want to use your master's heart to do something--"