Symphony for the Insect Princess

"enough!"

This time York interrupted him rather rudely, looking a little impatient, which was not like his usual self.

"W-Why are you yelling all of a sudden?! I was just saying something possible, why are you so anxious all of a sudden?"

"No... Sorry, let's stop here. We need further clues—Chloe!"

"Why!?"

"You should be able to use magic to recreate the traces left by someone, right?"

"You mean tracking magic? That's outside of my main subject..."

"I've already told you not to embarrass my sister Chloe. Let me do it. I know tracking magic," Anhans said with a frown. "But don't count on it. Too many people have been to this hall since early this morning. And if your master was murdered last night, it's been too long..."

"Stop talking nonsense and get started."

Anhans shrugged, placed his hands on the floor, and silently chanted a spell. Soon, a ripple of lavender light swept across the floor. As it faded, numerous lavender spots of light appeared on the floor. Each spot was in the shape of a shoe print, overlapping in a chaotic and confusing manner, making it difficult to look at.

"See? I told you it was useless. These are all the footprints left here since last night. It's a miracle if you can find any clues from them."

"Can't these footprints be filtered by time?"

"I can't do it."

"Chloe, what about you?"

"So I don't know tracking magic..."

"Damn... then who else..."

————————————————————————

"He" looked at York scratching his hair in frustration and couldn't help but feel funny.

It's so bad. It's so hard to control my facial expression. If I can't help laughing out loud, I'll be exposed.

Guess, guess, fools, feel free to pin a false accusation on someone—

however,

A girl suddenly spoke.

"I... have a solution. Want to hear it?"

————————————————————————

"Nellis? Do you have a solution?"

"Well, a way to find the murderer's trace."

As soon as these words came out, not only York, but everyone's eyes were fixed on me.

"Do you know advanced tracking magic?"

"I rely on other solutions, use them."

As soon as I thought about it, a few flying insects flew out from my sleeves and landed on my fingertips. They looked like larval rice weevils with dragonfly wings, which was very incongruous, but they looked very innocent and harmless.

"...Relying on these few bugs?" Anhans frowned with disdain.

"Although this insect is a low-level magical beast, its sense of smell and identification ability are very advanced. Just use it like this—"

The flying insects landed on the soles of my boots, squirmed a little, and then flew straight to a few of the footprints on the ground, spinning around. I knew this was a sign that they were eager for my reward, but wait a minute.

"Nelris... So, the places where these insects are circling are your footprints?"

"Yes, if we let them pass over the feet of everyone present, we can distinguish everyone's footprints through smell, shape and other clues. The remaining footprints are the murderer's."

"I see, then hurry up!"

"Wait, I need to explain a little bit, they-"

After all, I wasn't forcing them to work; I was asking them for help as friends, so a reward was essential. I pulled out a small paper bag filled with chopped dried meat. I took out a few pieces and threw them at them. Their soft bodies immediately split open vertically, revealing sharp white teeth. They easily swallowed the dried meat, which was larger than their bodies, and crushed it, squirming with satisfaction.

"—It is carnivorous, and it doesn't shy away from human flesh."

“““““““…””””””””

"So be sure not to provoke them. They can bite and spray acid. It's not fatal, but... there's a risk of disfigurement."

“““““““…””””””””

Everyone looked at each other.

York sighed and said, "It's okay. Just stay still, right? I'm a little worried... but let's give it a try."

"What the hell! Why are you listening to this bug girl?!"

"Be quiet, Lillian!"

"Woo..."

Unexpectedly, she was yelled back at by her eldest brother. Lillian visibly flinched, then snorted loudly and lowered her head in silence.

----------------------

The work was done quickly.

It was fine when the flying insects were crawling on the men's shoes (but the clean-loving Lux frowned, and Nia seemed to be afraid of insects as well). When it was the ladies' turn, they showed more or less resistance (especially Lillian), but they finally completed it successfully.

Now most of the footprints on the ground have been eliminated, and only two people's footprints remain.

One is the deceased Crafa.

The other one... is undoubtedly Shadow Servant.

But that didn't help much.

First, there were two Shadow Guardians, but only the footprints of one of them were found here.

Second, his footprints only led to the source, extending from the upstairs room, probably to the master's room, but it was impossible to tell where they went.

"What...it's all in vain in the end." Anhans sighed disdainfully, as if to say, "I told you it was all in vain?"

"Don't say that. This raises new questions—where did the other Shadow Servant go? Why didn't they act together? Why did the footprints stop around my father?"

"Maybe it can be solved."

Nelris let the flying insects land on the shadow servant's footprints, crawling around, as if collecting something.

"Scent samples collected... Let's begin searching, bugs."

The flying insects immediately took off into the air, circled once, and then flew straight in a certain direction. Everyone watched the movements of the flying insects until they landed on—

"……closet?"

There is a rather gorgeous closet on the side of the hall. The upper layer is filled with decorations, and the lower layer is a small solid wooden cabinet with the door always closed.

The bugs landed on the cabinet door and twisted around.

“““““…?”””””

An unpleasant feeling rises in everyone's heart

Why would following Shadow Servant's trail lead to this cabinet?

The person closest to the cabinet is——

"...Molly, could you open the door for me?"

"Uh, um..."

With a grim face, she bit her lip, grasped the handle and pulled hard.

The next moment, her scream echoed throughout the hall.

At the same time, two twisted corpses - the bodies of the shadow servants - slipped out of the cabinet and fell heavily to the ground.

Chapter 6 Vigilance

"Well……"

Lux used trembling hands to remove the masks of the two men in black, unbuttoned their shirts to observe the spell tattoos on their bodies, and then withdrew his hands as if he didn't want to touch anything dirty anymore.

"How is it? Is it right?" York asked.

"It can't be wrong, it's the two Shadow Servants themselves. We both participated in the selection and review of the Shadow Servants, so we will definitely not make a mistake... Alas." Lux sighed heavily.

"Tsk...this is really troublesome."

York looked at all the people gathered together, scanned them all with his eyes, bit his lower lip hard, and his eyes flickered.

There was not only anxiety in his eyes, but also... a strong sense of vigilance.

As if realizing something, Allen, Anhans, Luke and Nelris all quickly took a step forward, putting some distance between themselves and the others; Allen drew his sword, Anhans released his puppet familiar, Luke took out what seemed to be a defensive magic item and summoned an ice shield to wrap himself, and Nelris dodged behind the furniture to protect her vital parts.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Chloe, Lillian, Molly, and Nia were still a little confused.

"Everyone, calm down and don't do anything irrational!"

York growled, but no one listened this time.

"Everyone...eh? Why suddenly..." Molly looked around in panic, her doll-like face full of confusion and fear.

Allen glanced at her with a gloomy face and said, "Don't you understand? The two shadow servants are dead, which means the murderer is not them. Who else could have done it?"

"…………ah!"

Molly's little brain, which had become dull due to fear, finally turned around, with a look of horror on her face.

At the beginning, the two shadow servants were indeed the most suspicious, that's right.

But now that Shadow Servant is confirmed dead, who could be the murderer?

Or, who else was present?

"The murderer... is most likely among us."

York said with a sad expression.

——————————————————————————————

However, they did not know that in this tense atmosphere, "he" was also stunned for a moment, but fortunately he controlled his expression in time.

How is this going?

That's not right.

If nothing unexpected happens, the bodies of the two shadow servants should have been melted by the corpse-dissolving water!

According to the original plan, they should not be able to find Shadow Servant's body anywhere. In this way, they will naturally regard Shadow Servant as the most suspicious, thinking that they are hiding somewhere in the mansion waiting to take their lives... Thus, their vigilance against the inside will naturally be relaxed, and they will be less likely to be suspected or even exposed.

And something went wrong?

...No, calm down, "he" said to himself.

This level of error is still within the tolerance range and will not affect the overall situation.

Originally, if they had proceeded according to the original plan, although they could have reduced their own risks, it would have more or less increased their unity; now, although the chances of them being suspected had greatly increased, they had also become suspicious of each other, which was also a good thing.

Just be wrong.

Let's change the next step slightly and continue to deepen the suspicion between them——

——————————————————————————————

"The murderer is most likely among us."

York said so.

Everyone kept a subtle distance from each other, even Lillian and Nia, who were usually very clingy, separated. Everyone was wary of the people closest to them... However, most of the wary eyes were cast on Ellen and Chloe, and the two of them looked directly at each other.

After all, they were the strongest of those present. Ellen, a high-ranking mage warrior affiliated with the Knights, was undoubtedly both capable and experienced. Chloe, while inexperienced, was a high-ranking mage who, if she truly ruthlessly pursued her ruthlessness, could dismantle the entire mansion, minus the barrier.

"But calm down and don't do anything stupid! This may be a trap set by the murderer to alienate us--" York yelled at the two ladies, and Ellen yelled back a little angrily.

"—What about you, York? You still look so defensive! How can I trust you?"

"Anyway, put your sword down! You too, Chloe, stop preparing your weaving spells! Think carefully about why this could be such a coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"That's why the body was hidden in the hall closet!"

""...""