"What? One of us?"
Upon hearing this, Ronald hadn't reacted yet when Nicole stepped forward and grabbed the guy's collar.
"Kid, you're really brave!"
"It's one thing to commit murder on the ship, but now you're trying to drag down the original possessor?"
Nicole had no reason not to trust Ronald unconditionally.
But as she prepared to further interrogate the murderer in front of her, Nicole's just-initiated Emotion Perception thod revealed an undeniable detail—the guy wasn't lying.
Could there be a problem with my spell?
Nicole's expression froze, and Ronald's earlier actions in the cabin flooded her mind.
Could that painter girl really...?
"What on earth are you talking about? When did I ever beco one of your people!"
Amidst the confusion in Nicole's mind, Ronald finally spoke. Feeling equally perplexed, he threw the man in front to the ground and then stepped on the man's chest.
"Spill it, what's your real motive?"
"Cough, cough—"
The man being stepped on coughed violently.
Yet, despite Ronald's rough treatnt, he harbored no resentnt, still wearing a sycophantic smile, he explained:
"Mr. Ronald, you haven't seen before, so it's normal not to know."
"But Miss Sesta, you surely haven't forgotten, right?"
"And the lady already ntioned, you're always a friend to us benign casters, unquestionably a firm ally!"
"..."
"Haha."
Ronald couldn't help but laugh.
Because of the misunderstanding in the cabin earlier, this guy's comnts had made him very nervous. But after this ss, it turns out he's a nutcase, a cult magician!
Ronald now understood everything.
He then moved his foot off the man and gestured to Nicole beside him:
"This guy is a cult magician."
"Nicole, I need no further explanation, right?"
Nicole also had a look of sudden realization.
The investigator girl wasn't dealing with a cult magician for the first ti. She promptly used two fingers to quickly write symbols, and just as the cult magician hadn't stood up, she bent down and slapped him.
Smack—
With the slap, a bright red mark appeared on the cult magician's face.
And his just risen upper body froze in place under Nicole's spell and couldn't move anymore.
At the sa ti, the chief engineer, witnessing the developnt, now understood that the real issue was within their engine room.
Diving deeper, as the leader, he undoubtedly bore responsibility.
Hence, the chief engineer spoke:
"Investigator girl, he is..."
"Don't worry, you won't have any trouble." Nicole, as an investigator, had seen many similar situations. She spoke with practiced ease without speculation, "The skills of a cult magician can't be dealt with even by so seasoned casters, mingling in such normal organizations isn't your fault."
Nicole's explanation eased the chief engineer's expression considerably.
But to be cautious, the chief engineer still asked:
"Since that's the case, is there anything I could assist with here?"
Nicole promptly replied:
"The ti he boarded the ship, the person who introduced him here, the folks he's usually close to... prepare this information thoroughly, we'll definitely need it."
Hearing there's a way to help, the chief engineer finally sighed in relief:
"Understood, I'll get this information sorted as quickly as possible."
"..."
With the successful capture of the murderer, Ronald and Nicole naturally took the cult magician back the way they ca, while the chief engineer busied himself with collating information.
On the way back to the upper cabins, Nicole didn't forget to ask questions.
Then she slapped the cult magician on the back of the head, the interrogation spell taking effect:
"Hey, what's your purpose for murdering on the ship?"
The cult magician replied without hesitation:
"It's necessary for my spell to kill soone as a sacrifice within a specific ti fra."
Then, even more bizarre things happened.
The spell Nicole used required recasting after each inquiry; the long-term effective type hadn't been fully developed.
Nonetheless, after the cult magician responded, he was confident enough to continue:
"However, it is quite peculiar."
"After killing that lone girl, the spell's excitation state had cald down, indicating my ritual was smooth. But just now, it suddenly failed, making it seem like the person I killed no longer counts!"
"..."
Listening to the cult magician's dissatisfied mutterings.
Nicole glanced at Ronald, who silently smiled back.
The two colluded by not explaining the matter to the cult magician, letting Nicole press on:
"How that happened doesn't matter."
"Now, candidly, what's your purpose for getting on this ship!"
"..."
The cult magician even looked at Ronald nearby.
His gaze obviously asking Ronald whether he should answer this.
Ronald stiffly said:
"Just say it, there's nobody else here."
Despite being restrained and escorted out by Nicole.
Seeing Ronald's gesture, the cult magician had no doubt, joyously spoke:
"I'm relieved then!"
"Actually, I just wanted to hitch a ride... a 'ship' ride, to Anluo Island in the south!"
"The road south is open on land, but full of twists with many checkpoints, quite unsafe. Comparatively—the sea route has no inspections, plus it's run by the fierce types from 'Greed.' I could even earn a decent wage under safe conditions!"
From facts, what the cult magician said wasn't incorrect.
Had he refrained from killing, simply stayed compliant, he could've certainly hitched a ride successfully!
Yet, regarding the guy's actual conduct, Ronald couldn't help but quip:
"So, just for that wage, you diligently stoked coal in the furnaces on the ship?"
The cult magician bead:
"Mr. Bapulor once said: 'Labor leads to reward!'"
"..."
Compared to Ronald's scoff, Nicole focused more on the information divulged, thus directly questioned:
"Continue, what's the reason for going to Anluo Island?"
The cult magician naturally answered:
"Because Anluo Island is the gateway to the Runi Kingdom, it's our paradise there!"
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