Chapter 825

Jara sucked in her lips for a few moments before sighing. “Hearing that... honestly, I don’t have much hope that this can be solved. Without proper investigators this would be tough enough but with the time that’s passed I’m not sure that even they could figure anything out. I also know that Lord 8th isn’t so stupid as to keep incriminating documents around... I’m not really seeing a lot of options for us...”

“Is there no magic that could help us?” asked Lily.

Jara shook her head, “Magic isn’t something that can solve every problem with sufficient application of mana. It can do fantastic things... but only in the right circumstances. I think the only magic that could even theoretically help us solve this would be time magic, which I’m not even certain exists. That’s not to mention the rarity of the artifact the mage would need to channel their power through. I just don’t see it as possible, let alone likely...”

*Hmm. That’s an interesting thing to note. We KNOW that time magic exists. Thyme can use it pretty liberally. I wonder if that’s a quirk of this dimension or if Thyme is even more bullshit than they already seem.*

[Probably a bit of both. I can’t imagine how rare time magic is but you’d also need a tonne of mana to use it. I suspect Thyme is actually quite lucky to be a dryad. Considering the size and age of the tree Thyme must have at their base, they probably have a ridiculous amount of mana. It’s almost certainly what lets them mess around with space and time the way they do]

“So chances are we can’t actually help?” asked Lily.

Jara nodded, “Indeed. If it really was an assassin like Belle thinks then they’ve had plenty of time to cover their tracks. That and the crime scene was an actively used warehouse. The idea that some small piece of evidence was left behind to help crack the case at this point is ridiculous. Like say... say you found a scrap of black cloth. Sure it could be the assassin’s... but it could also be one of the tens or hundreds of workers that use the place regularly. If Belle deals in black cloth it would be even worse because it could just be scraps from that.

.....

“And I mean, the chance of finding something even more obscure or relevant is basically non-existent. Say you find a cut in the wall that must be a weapon of some kind? What about the corner of a box? Or the edge of a wagon? Heck it’s possible that a particularly sharp belt buckle could have scoured a mark into the walls. What do you think Zuhra? Have you been helping Belle with this much?”

Zuhra let out an exhausted sigh, “No. No I haven’t. I... well I didn’t realise it was such a big deal for Belle... but I mostly just humoured her when I occasionally visited and tried not to think about it the rest of the time. I... I mean... how else am I supposed to take it? At the beginning I just thought it was an accident. I tragedy yes, but... but growing up at the orphanage I was quite aware of death. So many parents and even siblings lost to one accident or another. Very rarely was there an intentional act of malice...

“So... so when Gaston died it broke my heart, and I can’t say I’ve recovered from it. This conversation... I don’t know if it’s helped or not in the long run but it has made me confront a few things. We’ll see how it turns out in the future... but... but as sad as it was I UNDERSTOOD it. It didn’t help me get over it at all, but I didn’t need someone to blame either. The world can be cruel sometimes and to me... for a while... that’s all it was.

“Then Belle brought me into her conspiracy. It’s... it’s very easy to believe her when she gets passionate and there’s nothing she’s more passionate about then finding answers about the death of her son... especially after she lost one of her parents in such a similar way... but... but I don’t actually know how likely it is to be true. I... I don’t doubt it’s possible. Yet... yet sometimes I feel like Belle is just looking for someone to blame.

“And maybe I’m partially at fault for helping her along that road. She was already in deep when I was brought in... or well... maybe she tried to tell me earlier and I wasn’t in any shape to actually listen so nothing got remembered. I just don’t... I don’t really know what the chances of her being correct are.

“It’s hard to say though. It’s hard to say she’s wrong... especially when it’s one of the few things keeping her afloat. And I mean.. she might be right. Who am I to tell her how to grieve? It’s not like I’m really doing any better than she is. At least she has a goal for the future. Even if she’s wrong, and she finds proof of that, she’d have found proof. I... all I’m really willing to do on my own initiative is cry about it or keep my mind so busy that I don’t think of it,”

*I’m not exactly fond of where this conversation is going.*

[Why not?]

*Well... I mean... I guess I had all these plans of sticking around and solving the mystery you know? We called it during the meeting with Theresa that there was more to Gaston’s death and then all of a sudden there WAS. But... what seems to be going around now is that even if that’s true there’s no way to find it. I... I wish I did have a power for this sort of thing. Maybe if my eyes were better I could see the truth of things or something but... I really don’t see what we can do.*

[Don’t beat yourself up over it Kat. If the Contract was to find out about Gaston we wouldn’t have been the ones who were summoned. I’m sure there is a demon ability for it... and I mean... if I was better at paper magic maybe I could have found out something. Like... maybe there’s a spell to draw out something that happened in the past. Maybe combined with shadow magic? Have the paper be the medium and the shadow magic draw out the ‘shadow’ of the event? I’m still nowhere near that powerful... but... maybe in the future?]

*Yeah maybe. I’m just... not sure if I should use a beacon this time. I think I only have one, or maybe two... and... and as sad as it is I don’t think anything horrible will happen if we can’t be contacted normally. Leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth though.*

[I agree with the bad taste thing... but I’m not sure we could do anything in a timely manner. We’d be better off just suggesting to Belle she summon a demon with the skills for it. I’m not sure how expensive it’d be... and I’m guessing the answer is EXCEPTIONALLY but if she’s determined... maybe it’d get her out of her slump? She’d be forced to make a lot of money rather than holing up in her room and remaining depressed.]

*Well, it’s a nice thought at least.*

“Well Zuhra perhaps you can focus a little less on cleaning one of these days. Properly make some time for yourself?” suggested Jara.

Zuhra shrugged, “I doubt I’ll ever get rid of the habit now. At this point... even if I was to cheer myself up I’m not sure I could ever avoid the incessant cleaning.”

“Well, what are you going to do once you marry Apep? You’ll have your own maid for that?” asked Jara jokingly.

Zuhra winced, “You’re really not convincing me that taking Apep’s crush seriously is a good idea. That sounds hellish. The idea that I wouldn’t be allowed to clean anything is not one that appeals to me in the slightest...”

Jara shrugged, “You’d be the Lady of the house you can order them as you like within reason. You could make it so they never clean your wing of the house, or whatever rooms you like to go into. You could probably even have someone whose job it is to find the places in the compound that need the most cleaning and direct you to them,” said Jara with a giggle.

“That sounds like a terribly strange job. I can’t even think of how I’d find someone for that position...” mumbled Zuhra.

“Ah, you just assign one of the current maids or butlers to it. They should already know what needs the most cleaning and considering you, for some bizarre reason, don’t even have preferences for the nicer places around the house... I’m sure you’d always be able to find work. Apep probably wouldn’t let you work through the night though,” said Jara.