I Favor the Villainess

"What can I do for you... what is it? I'm still busy with this."

Primary suspect Ahim-Balzer said so most openly to us that he had visited.

This is the reception room of the Balzer Chamber of Commerce run by Ahim.

The chairs and desks were well built and paintings decorating the walls and pots placed in the corners of the room were also considered to be of high antique value.

The management of the Chamber of Commerce seems to be going well.

Ahim was an elderly man who had accumulated a rich beard.

According to Frieda's story, he's sixty.

But I had the impression that I was much younger than my age.

"I'm sorry to keep you busy. I want to ask you about Arnault."

"Arnault? What's wrong with him?

"Dead."

"Hey, what...? Princess, is that true...?

Ahim looked incredible at Philine's words.

"Oh no... when...?

"It was three days ago. Didn't you know? He must be one of your men, right?

"Arnault is supposed to be leaving Teito to buy goods. It was supposed to be next week."

Ahim groaned that he was dead.

"Do you have any idea why he was killed?

"Was he killed?... Honestly, I don't believe it. I know him well. Regrettably, he's better than any of my men. I didn't hang it on my nose, but I was a person with a mild personality. I can't imagine him buying grudges from people."

"I thought I was rubbing a little around your successor's seat?

In response to my mean question, Ahim looked a little mucky.

"Sure, that happened. But he didn't care at all. My trail is my son Bruno. I'm ready for an alternate."

He looked unpleasant, but Ahim answered calmly nonetheless.

"Oh, Mr. Ahim is still young to be retired, isn't he?

"That's an understandable phrase. But so am I. Recently, memories have often become obscure. In the merchant world, it's deadly."

Ahim also answered Master Lily's question without upset.

It seems to be his idea that he wants to give way to backwards while he's still okay.

"Which way did you go when he was killed, by the way?

"You guys suspect me!?

In response to my next query, Ahim is clear and furious.

This would be a reasonably natural reaction.

If anyone is treated like a murderer, it can also be unpleasant.

"To clear my suspicions. Mr. Ahim, please help us."

"... Hmm. So? When was Arnault killed?

"Oh? I said three days ago?

To my words, which I said deliberately, Ahim said,

"I told you earlier. I'm busy. I see many humans in a day, and I go to all sorts of places. Just three days ago. Then you can't prove your innocence."

It's this world that doesn't have a clock yet, so it won't be minute carving, but I guess that's how busy it is.

"Mr. Arnault was murdered three days ago in the early morning between 5: 00 and 6: 00."

"By then, I'd have just met people outside the capital. I was just going to say hello to a familiar merchant to take over."

Ahim replied as he did his gaze in the upper right corner to follow his memory.

"May I ask the merchant's name?

"You're suspicious. He's a cat. That's enough, go home."

We left the Chamber behind.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

"I did have a little trouble with him,"

The second suspect, Ilsa-Grellman, admitted lightly that he had trouble with Arnault.

What we are talking about is a talking room in one of the Imperial offices.

The conversation room is a simple construction, and there is no special noticeable conditioning.

Still, whether it was a concern for the citizens, there were flowers growing in the vase.

We are sitting on the couch facing Ilsa.

Irza was a slightly taller slender person for a woman.

I've been putting my long hair together, and I have the vibe of a career woman.

"What kind of trouble was that?

"It's trivial. There was some uncertainty about the amount of tax paid that Mr. Arnault declared, so I just asked you that. Turns out it was a misunderstanding, so I apologized to him again, but he didn't seem convinced until the end"

Irza sighed at the trouble of paying taxes.

"Was that really a misunderstanding?

"?... What do you mean?

"The truth is that he was deluding the tax amount, and you were sealed in the mouth or something"

"That's not possible. It is from His Majesty the Dorothea that the officials of our bureau have deposited their duties. It's not just illegal loading."

Again this time I am a whip who asks mean questions.

Apparently, actual police officers also interrogate suspects while one plays a sympathetic role and the other a hostile role.

I don't know if it's true, because it's the knowledge I read in the reasoning novel.

"Did you know Mr. Arnault was murdered?

"... Yep. My colleague at the bureau told me. I'm sorry."

Words are on the back, and Irza's face is floating with a howling color.

"Do you have any idea why Mr. Arnault was killed?

Filine asks, Ilsa thinks a little,

"A large chamber of commerce as large as the Balzer Chamber of Commerce would have had more or less rubbing. Didn't one of them explode? I don't know, though."

It was an unexpected reply that I don't know, but it would be a big deal like that.

"How were you between 5: 00 and 6: 00 a.m. three days before he was killed?

"I'm still dreaming at home at that hour. There's nothing I can prove."

But I'm not the killer, and Ilsa ran out of expressions.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

"Oh, Arnault is... dead...?

When Anna heard from us, she held her mouth shut.

This is Anna's home.

The interior was a lovely room that felt like a girl of all ages, decorated with little things and such.

We are put through to the living room, sitting in a chair and having a conversation.

When we told Arnault of his death, Anna lost her words and cried out.

Lady Claire, sitting next to her, gently stroked her back.

"Anna was dating Mr. Arnault, wasn't she?

"... yeah"

After waiting long enough for Anna to calm down, Lady Claire cut out the story.

"Arnault is my childhood friend. And I'm away, but I grew up like a brother and sister all the time... I've always liked Arnault, and confessed from me and started dating. But he's been acting a little strange lately..."

"In what way?

Filine urged ahead.

"It seemed like you couldn't afford to care less about me at all. He said it was because he had some trouble with his job... but I thought he might have made someone else he liked."

So they cut out the breakup.

"Arnault said it was a misunderstanding... he said he would never break up. But I was anxious, anxious, and I couldn't help it... and I said I wanted to keep my distance for a while... If this were to happen, there were so many more things I wanted to say, do and raise...!

Anna cried out again.

Master Claire held his shoulder to calm him down again.

"Anna, do you ever think of why he was murdered?

"I don't... there's no way. He was a very good man. He was liked by all kinds of people, and he wasn't the kind of person who could be killed..."

Anna complained that way in tears.

"For once, this is what I'm asking everyone, what happened to Anna three days before Arnault was killed, five to six a.m.?

"... you need proof of innocence. I wonder if that time is always running around the neighborhood. In the morning routine. Some of you might have seen me for a second, but I don't know."

Anna said powerlessly, sorry she couldn't say for sure.

"Whoever killed Arnault, definitely get him."

Dropped off by grief-stained eyes, we left Anna's house behind.

This concludes the whole interview with the suspect.

I'm talking about the killer in this, but who is it that you fulfill?