At this moment, Inazuma was like a patient recovering from a serious illness, needing time to recuperate. However, the enemies lurking in the shadows did not want Inazuma to recover so easily.
Although the source of the illness was removed, Inazuma had become very weak as a result. It was clear that someone wanted to take advantage of this period to completely cripple Inazuma.
To what extent was Inazuma short-staffed now? Even tidying up old accounts required a Tanuki's help, and protecting people required deploying the covert Anbu, because most of the original Tenryou Commission personnel were in Kannazuka.
To prevent a counterattack from the resistance, Shiki needed to hold Nazuchi Beach. Everyone was busy, barely keeping the ship of Inazuma sailing, but at this moment, a cannonball suddenly arrived.
These consecutive suicide incidents were that cannonball. Whether they could withstand it depended on their operations.
Yamada Tomomi's death this morning had already made the atmosphere in Inazuma City quite unsettling. A few more times… and the entire Inazuma City would likely be in a state of panic.
Ayaka quickly informed the Anbu ninjas of the filtering criteria via carrier pigeon. Of course, it would take some time for the message to travel from Inazuma City to Kamisato Estate.
Then compiling the list would take more time, and finally, delivering it to her and assigning personnel would require yet more time.
Now, they could only hope that the perpetrator's speed remained consistent with the current one, which was once a day. If so, they might still be able to save the person who was destined to die tomorrow.
Otherwise, it would just be up to luck. If they happened to be nearby, there might still be a chance to save them; if not, then there was truly no hope.
...
"Oh my, is this Konda Village? Aside from the architectural style, the scenery is pretty similar to Petrichor." Xavier gazed towards White Fox Plain.
To get some Primogems, he followed Shiki's instructions, took a Kamisato Clan boat to Narukami Island, and then arrived at Konda Village.
As it turned out, the scenery here was somewhat similar to his hometown. Perhaps this was the similarity between small villages?
Xavier found a small boy, then took out a pre-prepared Onikabuto and said, "Little friend, Uncle wants to trade something with you."
"It's an Onikabuto!" The little boy's eyes lit up when he saw the Onikabuto in Xavier's hand. Perhaps it was due to the earlier curse gods' excessive presence, but the Onikabuto from Tatarasuna were larger than normal ones.
Of course, the giant pit at the base of Mt. Yougou and Musoujin Gorge also had similar situations, but who would an ordinary person go to such places?
"Hehe, do you want it? You can trade those shiny little stones with me!"
"Shiny little stones?"
The little boy immediately ran off. He might not have Mora, but he certainly had plenty of those shiny little stones!
After a while, the little boy returned with a small box: "Uncle, look, are these the shiny little stones you were talking about?"
Xavier opened the box and found that it was full of shiny little stones, shimmering with blue-violet light in the sun, exactly matching the characteristics Shiki had described.
"Ah, yes, that's it! This Onikabuto is yours now, little friend."
Xavier handed the cage containing the Onikabuto to the boy, then, holding the box of Primogems, happily headed to Inazuma City.
Since he was making a movie, actors were definitely essential. Although it was based on a true story, it couldn't just have a female lead, right?
All those supporting roles and extras needed to be arranged! Also, he had to withdraw a portion of the one million Mora Shiki had funded him. Working without pay was absolutely unacceptable.
The Primogems were deposited at the Adventurers' Guild, and he would also post a quest there to find a writer. This box of Primogems should be enough as a Reward for the commission.
He hadn't counted them precisely, but it looked like there were roughly forty. At worst, if the Traveler felt it wasn't enough, he would add a bit of Mora. Anyway, he had a backer, and spending a few tens of thousands was certainly affordable.
...
Time flowed by, and the sky quickly turned red. Ayaka had not yet received the list compiled by the Anbu when she heard the news she least wanted to hear.
Someone else had committed suicide.
It was the same method, falling from a high place. The deceased's identity and background were, as expected, engaged but unmarried, and their age, like the previous two, was around eighteen.
"Sure enough… it's accelerating?" Ayaka sighed.
"Look at it from another perspective, Young Miss. This proves that our direction of conjecture is correct, doesn't it? That person is getting anxious," Thoma said, forcing a smile.
"Hmm… but I somehow feel like that person is completing some kind of mission. Logically, after being discovered, shouldn't they hide for a while? Why is the frequency even faster? Isn't this just speeding up their own exposure?"
Ayaka thought carefully. She felt that the person should be in Inazuma City, otherwise, they wouldn't have noticed that they were conducting an investigation.
But the question is, who? There's absolutely no clue! Ioroi will still take a while to get here from Ritou!
Besides, Ioroi might not even be able to discern anything.
"Now that you mention it, it does seem so. It keeps targeting young, soon-to-be-married women. I wonder if it's because it's too ugly to get married itself and is seeking revenge!"
However, it was Thoma's casual remark that suddenly enlightened Ayaka, causing her to stand up directly from the tatami mat.
"Eh, eh, eh? Young Miss, what are you suddenly doing?"
"Thoma, why haven't we thought of this? What if that person is doing this precisely to make others experience their pain?"
"Perhaps that person isn't unable to marry, but rather lost their partner in a situation similar to the deceased, and because they couldn't accept it, they want the world to feel the pain in their heart?"
The more Ayaka spoke, the brighter her eyes became. In this world, there was never hatred or love without reason. That person targeted young women who were about to get married, so she must have had a similar experience herself.
And dying from a fall from a high place, does this not, to some extent, symbolize her experience?
The higher one stands, the harder one falls. If it was truly as she thought, then the murderer must have once held a very high position.
"Thoma, think about whether there's anyone in Inazuma recently who held a high position and whose partner died? Oh, and their age shouldn't be too old, similar to these suicide victims." Ayaka asked with a slightly hurried tone.
"This… that's unlikely, isn't it?" Thoma widened his eyes, an answer already forming in his mind.
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