Vintenheim was the northernmost village near the border between Rosenheim and Essenbach. Being close to the Main River, agriculture and fishing coexisted there, and it was famous for its abundant catches of eel.
Eel was considered a high-class ingredient in noble society. I’d tried it once with Hilda. The eel stew, made with all kinds of broad beans ground into it, didn’t really suit my palate.
If it had been grilled over an open fla, I would have enjoyed it, but that was the commoner’s way, and nobles wouldn’t touch grilled food. Just you wait—I’d make it a trend yet. That was one of the reasons I’d co to Vintenheim.
"I’m the temporary manager dispatched from the Administrative Departnt. We sincerely welco your visit, my lord."
"Thank you for the welco. I’m here not as the Lord of Feuzen, but as the commander of the Gale Knights."
"Ah! My apologies, Commander."
I had so many titles that I’d sorted it out: when I was on lord’s business, it was "my lord," and on order business, it was "Commander." My retainers had standardized on "master." So today, it was "Commander."
The fact that there was a temporary manager rather than a permanent estate manager ant that tax embezzlent had occurred here too. The temporary manager was apparently quite nervous, sweating profusely as he greeted .
"Has your predecessor been called to Breisburg?"
"Investigators from the Judicial Departnt discovered evidence of tax embezzlent and escorted him to the capital."
This was a ti when the Judicial Departnt’s power was at its strongest. The Administrative Departnt was being held responsible for the estate managers, and the Finance Departnt was under Adelbert’s control. The political landscape at the center had beco quite interesting.
"What brings you to Vintenheim without prior notice, sir?"
"In accordance with my judicial authority, I’ve co to capture a vicious criminal whose whereabouts are unknown."
The reason I’d co to Vintenheim was, as the Chief Justice had urged, to apprehend a vicious criminal. There were so many wanted notices that I’d been pondering which to start with, and Hilda, who was looking through them with , had pointed out Vintenheim.
She’d shown considerable anger toward the Vintenheim killer—more than toward the others.
The cris were so terrible they’d made even Hilda that furious.
"Ah, you’ve co about that case!"
The matter should have been handled by the previous manager, but since he’d been hauled off to Breisburg, it now fell under the jurisdiction of the temporary manager before . A month ago, a murder case had rocked Vintenheim.
"That spawn of Satan, who brutally tortured and killed his own family, must absolutely be caught. The previous manager didn’t investigate properly, so I conducted a reinvestigation, but the killer’s whereabouts are still unknown."
This manager, with the disposition of ambitious (good), expressed his rage toward the killer. The fact that he’d even conducted a reinvestigation made him a far more proper man than his predecessor, who had been involved in tax embezzlent.
But this kind of diligence should be the basic standard.
"I’ve co to catch him, so first show the scene. Where did it happen?"
"It happened at a forest keeper’s ho in the western woods. I’ll assign soone to guide you."
The temporary manager assigned a villager who had been close to the forest keeper’s family as our guide. Since the manager knew I’d captured the Schwarz Wolf, he showed considerable trust.
He even urged to issue orders at any ti if I needed support.
People really do need to deliver results. Thanks to my reputation, the manager cooperated proactively.
The order’s mbers were the most startled, since this was the first ti a manager had been this cooperative.
It seed they’d only encountered uncooperative scoundrels up to now.
"Commander, do you think the manager from Eisten was also escorted to the capital?"
"Not just him. All those estate manager scum were probably implicated and dragged off."
Viktor, whose family had nearly been killed by the Schwarz Wolf because of the Eisten manager’s idle bystanding, deeply despised the man. There was no doubt he’d been implicated in the tax embezzlent scandal and escorted to the capital.
The order’s arrival had stirred up the village a bit.
The way the n hid the won was particularly noticeable. And one of the won showed a particularly extre reaction. When I checked with the Scouter, her mindset registered as extre anxiety. We weren’t going to eat anyone.
No matter where you go, no one welcos ard forces entering their village.
I wouldn’t want outside ard forces coming into my village either.
Strictly speaking, the Gale Knights were also an outside force, but the people of Feuzen weren’t the least bit afraid. They trusted them not only because they were the lord’s own troops but also because they hadn’t caused a single incident.
"That’s the place."
The guide pointed to three timber houses located in the middle of the forest. A stream ran nearby, and the area got fairly good sunlight. As we approached, the guide hung back at a distance.
"What are you doing?"
"It’s—it’s a cursed place."
The Church often referred to family murderers as spawn of Satan, and this had a considerable influence on commoners. The area had apparently beco known as a cursed place. That damned cursing nonsense—tch!
"You don’t want to be cursed, but it’s fine if I get cursed?"
"P-p-please forgive !"
"Co over here and open the door. Now."
I could open it myself, but n like this needed to face the so-called curse firsthand. The guide, who had been screaming his refusal, perford a miracle of overcoming the curse’s power once the ard cavalryn glared at him fiercely.
Creak.
"I’m going to be killed by my own children now! Aaargh!"
"Stop spouting nonsense and recount the details of the case."
The bodies had been removed, but black bloodstains clung to every surface, and with the warmth of life gone, the place gave off a chilling atmosphere. From the outside, it had looked peaceful, but the interior was no joke.
"The Vintenwalds were a family that had served this village as forest keepers for generations. They ca to the village every other day to buy daily necessities, and I was close with Ralph."
While the terrified guide was hesitantly explaining, I activated the Searcher Scouter and began searching for hidden spaces. The surna Vintenwald was a combination of the village na and the occupation.
Since commoners didn’t typically have proper surnas, they most often combined the na of their ho village with their occupation. The forest keeper family in Feuzen was also nad Feuzenwald.
A famous surna in popular dia is Schmidt.
It ans blacksmith. Is it famous because the pronunciation sounds cool?
"We were friends who’d have a drink at the tavern and play card gas together, but one day, Ralph just stopped showing up. Then a beeswax craftsman who had business with the forest keepers was the first to discover the bodies."
The estate manager at the ti had gathered the villagers and sealed off the forest keeper family’s ho. The guide had seen the bodies for the first ti then, and he shuddered as he recalled how they’d all been horribly tortured to death.
The criminal was identified as the sole survivor whose whereabouts were unknown: Ralph. The Church was inford, and they attempted to arrest the horrific family murderer through a wanted notice, but no trace had been found until now.
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