"The poison found in it can only be found in the Dark Elf village"
"Wait." Gill frowned. "Then doesn't that make the Dark Elves the obvious culprits?"
"It would…" Veyn said, "…if there weren't a few problems"
"The biggest one is how"
"How?"
"How did the poison get into the palace in the first place?"
"Maybe they sneaked into the palace at night?" Rikka suggested
Veyn shook his head
"I don't think that's possible. One of the Cardinals possesses sensor magic and keeps it active almost all the time"
"So, every single person that stepped inside the palace should have been detected"
"Then, why the cardinals asked you to report about our activity if they have this sensor magic?" Gramm asked
"It can't hear conversations or know what people are doing. That's why they asked me to report everything you do and say"
Gill crossed his arms
"I've fought an enemy who could turn invisible before. Maybe invisibility can bypass the spell" Rikka said
"I don't know about that," Veyn admitted. "But even if it could…"
He sighed
"We're talking about the Elf King. A former member of the Hero's party"
"They can easily poison the librarian, but kidnap the King? I don't think so"
Auel kept silence from the start of the conversation, until he finally talked
"What about god magic?"
Everyone looked at him
"God Magic?" Gramm rubbed his chin
"Yes, there are rumors that god magic is really powerful" Auel answered
"I know someone who interested in this kind of thing"
"He said that this magic is really powerful and can do anything beyond human understanding"
"But he also mentioned that this is still a myth and no one ever seen it"
Gill frowned
"Then why are you bringing it up if it's only a rumor?"
"Because I also thought the Sovereigns were just legends"
He looked at Veyn
"But now we know they're real"
"So maybe God Magic is real too"
Gramm realized it and started to think hard
Veyn slowly crossed his arms
"I've heard a little bit about god magic"
"But I've never heard Dark Elf could use that"
He looked at Auel
"Just to clarify our understanding, do the god magic that you heard kill the user after being used?" Veyn asked
Auel nodded
"Yeah, they said the person slowly filled with a strange mark and finally death"
"Hm…"
Veyn lowered his head
"I never considered that possibility before"
"This could explain some things"
"By the way why don't we check the library and tried to find any clue there" Gramm said
"Maybe seeing the place ourselves will help us figure something out"
"You're right, let's go"
Veyn, Gramm, and Gill went outside the meeting room
Before Rikka went outside, Auel stopped him
"Hey, Rikka"
"…?"
"I have a bad feeling about this"
"It feels like we're walking into something dangerous…"
"…something like the Nightmare"
Rikka's expression darkened
"Yeah"
He clenched his fist
"I've been prepared ever since that day"
"And this time…"
His voice became firm
"I'll never let Erin use that magic again"
"Ever"
Auel simply nodded
Then they followed the other to the library
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Royal Library
They searched every corner of the room
Shelves, tables, windows, nothing
"By the way, why did the King come to the library at night?" Gramm asked
"I honestly don't know," Veyn answered
"He always came here when he got nothing to do"
"And the only person he usually talked to here was Fruscia"
"But she's already dead"
"What kind of books did he usually read?" Gramm continued
Veyn scratched his head
"Umm… I don't remember"
"What?" Gill frowned
"Don't you have some kind of record?"
"A visitor log? Borrowed books? Anything?"
Veyn blinked
"That's the problem, we don't have any book log here"
Gramm asked
"Wait, how come a library doesn't have any book log?"
"I mean, why we should have one?"
The others stared at him
"Royal Library can only be entered by the King, Cardinals, and palace workers"
"Also, the Cardinals and palace workers barely touch the library, so we don't need to write down any visitor"
Gramm rubbed his chin and looked toward Auel
"Hey, you found anything interesting?"
Auel silent for a moment
Then he finally asked
"Are there any important thing in this library?"
"Important thing? Like what?" Veyn asked
"I don't know. Ancient records, magical scrolls… books with sensitive information"
Veyn thought for a moment
"I don't think so"
"I've read almost every book in this library"
"There's nothing particularly special here"
Nothing important…
But he said that the only person who frequently came to the library was the King
But why? There is nothing important here except books
The only answer is the dead librarian
"Hey, why don't we check the Royal kitchen, maybe we can find something that the culprit left behind" Rikka suggested
"Fine, follow me"
They immediately went to the Royal kitchen
Several palace workers were still busy preparing food
Veyn guide them to the table where the librarian was found dead
"Here, this is the place, and wait a second"
Veyn went to searched something inside the kitchen cabinet and brought a cake in his hand
"And this is the cake"
He carefully placed it on the table
Gill stared at it
"The incident happened two months ago, right?"
Veyn nodded
"Then why does it still look fresh?"
"And why wasn't it thrown away?"
"The reason it still looks fresh is because the palace worker"
"As I said before, we elf have some kind of aura"
"And the worker's aura also make food last longer"
"And for the reason that it doesn't get thrown away is because the Cardinals want it to be their evidence"
"So, did the Cardinals already asked the Dark elf if one of them is the culprit" Gramm asked
"Well… yes, they have asked them if they are the culprit"
"But of course they denied it"
"And until now they still suspecting the Dark Elf"
"Are there any cures to this poison?" Auel asked
"Umm… yeah, we have the cure of it"
"We already have an antidote"
"But at that time, it's already too late to use it"
Auel narrowed his eyes
So, the poison is not really dangerous at all
The elves already had the cure for it
That means that the culprit just wanted to put the blame into the Dark Elf
And also, the Cardinals have a sensor magic, but somehow, they couldn't feel where the King's body go
Did he got teleported?
The biggest culprit in here are the Cardinals
But how?
How could they possibly bring down one of the strongest beings alive right now?
Veyn also said that the God magic that he knows is also killed the user after being use
But he never said that the Cardinals dead, or something
Are they also have some kind of scroll that Sihr gave us?
Auel suddenly looked at Veyn
"I want to asked something?" Auel asked
"What is it?"
"Does the king ever take off his crown? Like when came to the library or somewhere like outside the palace?"
"I don't think so?" Veyn answered
"He always wore his crown wherever he goes"
Auel's eyes narrowed
"So where is the crown right now?"
Veyn scratched his head
"That's also the problem; the crown is nowhere to be found"
"So not only we don't have a King, we also couldn't create a new King"
"Does the cardinals have some kind of magic to find the crown?"
"Hmm… I think no"
Now the king is gone the Cardinals can move freely
But no one of them use the crown
That means no one of them is worthy
But, still how come they put down the king?
And where is the crown?
Are the Cardinals not the culprit?
Gramm looked at Auel thinking for a while
"So, any idea?"
Auel let out a long sigh
"Nope"
Veyn smiled bitterly
"Hey, it's fine"
"We've been investigating this for almost two months and still haven't found anything"
"And you guys just check the Palace for less than a day, right?"
"Hmm… you're right" Gill answered
"Then let's go home and rest our brain for today"
"Wait" Auel stopped them
"There is somewhere that I want to check"
Gill frowned
"Haven't we already visited the library and the kitchen?"
"Those are the only places related to the incident, right?" Rikka added
Auel nodded
"Yes, but I there is a place that I think might help"
"Where is it?" Veyn asked
"Dark Elf Village"