Inspector Evian of Edelphite. He was one of the few prides of Edelphite, which could be said to be the edge of the military.
After getting good grades at the elementary school, he went on to a secondary military school far away. After passing the rigorous exams at the secondary school, which was all dormitory, he was able to graduate with relatively good grades after hard work.
It wasn’t enough to go to the high school, but I could become a soldier if I wanted to.
However, Evian decided to become a police officer.
It’s the police, in fact, it’s a subdivision of the Military Police. Becoming a police officer in the military was nothing more than blocking one’s career path, but he had the only advantage that was incomparable to that of the military.
If you get a high enough rank, you can choose your own place of work.
Only to return to their hometown, and to take care of their single mother. Inspector Evian endured a difficult police life and bore fruit.
A small police box in Edelphite. Inspector Evian, who had satisfactorily finished his work today, was in the middle of sorting out the documents.
『Lieutenant Evian of Edelphite.』
Someone’s voice was heard. Inspector Evian shook his head.
“who are you? Working hours are over.”
“If you know who I am, you will feel an irresistible fear. Every moment you breathe turns into hell, and you want to hide in a hole like a frightened rat. Wouldn’t it be happier not to know?”
It was too much for a joke. Inspector Evian frowned and jumped up. Suddenly, in his hand was a steel bar that had been in his hand for several years.
“what? What kind of joke are you?”
“joke? It’s a joke. If it had been a joke, you would have been happy. 𝑀𝑒𝑒 Inspector Evian. From tomorrow you will taste hell. to look forward to it.”
“How dare you threaten the officer!”
Inspector Evian, enraged, kicked the door open and looked around, but only the dark and gloomy streets greeted him.
I couldn’t even sleep properly due to the gloomy atmosphere.
Evian continued patrolling last night, wandering all over the gloomy place. The village was sadly peaceful. The only strange thing that day was Inspector Evian, who claimed to be working overtime.
All he did during the night was to send Ellie, the tomboy who was wandering around without going home, back home.
In other words, it’s not unusual for Ellie to wander around. It was more rare for Ellie to return home after being caught in Evian’s hands.
If so, what the hell was that yesterday?
It was when Evian was walking down the street with her hair messed up. When he heard a commotion from the other side, Evian ran right there.
“Who stole the wagon!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This is because the alchemy fabric I kept in the warehouse yesterday disappeared!”
The inhabitants of Edelphite were fighting in two gangs.
Edelphite has two main facilities.
One is a large inn, and the other is a wagon repair shop.
Edelphite’s position was good. If it wasn’t for the abyssal wasteland that was just above the topography, it would have been a point of transportation many times larger than this.
In any case, the military has built an inn and a repair shop here, which is an important transportation hub.
The inn and repair shop were the property of the military, and the villagers were regularly called to work at the inn and repair shop.
The first residents were terrified of this facility, which forced laborers in their busy daily life.
However, the inn and the repair shop looked too sloppy to hate. The large facility built by the military in such a frontier was just like a symbol of a new era. The residents continued to work for several years, and little by little they began to develop feelings for the facility.
It’s good to work with a sense of ownership, but thanks to you, there’s a problem.
A ryokan located in the center of the city and a repair shop built alone on a distant road. The two had different positions and required skills. Therefore, the residents gradually went only to the places where they went to work. It was natural for the two kinds of inhabitants to separate like water and oil.
As a result, the inhabitants of Edelphite were divided into two groups.
“what happened?”
“Oh, Lieutenant Evian! You’re welcome! Please scold these guys!”
Residents of the inn greeted him. The only officer in Edelphite was neutral, but Evian was born in the inn.
Evian roughly nodded and looked around them.
“Please explain at a glance what is going on.”
“The mechanics stole the alchemy from the inn warehouse!”
As Evian approached, the repair shop, who was a little hesitant, refuted it again.
“What conspiracy! How do we know where your alchemy organization is and steal it!”
“It is you! Why are those people who said they didn’t know how to drive a car, looking for the missing car from us!”
Although he had no idea, Evian, who was born in this village, knew roughly what was going on.
As the inn and the repair shop are different in nature, the appearance of the residents has changed as well.
Having built their careers in repair shops that require skill and dexterity, they secretly began to look down on people at the inn. At first, the inn, where most of the residents belong, scoffed, but in reality, their children often excelled in civic schools, so the inn gradually suffered from a sense of inferiority. Even though they looked down on the outside, they actively encouraged children to play in the garage rather than stopping them from playing.
If it wasn’t for the police officer who was born in the inn, the pride of Edelphite, Inspector Evian. Their momentum must have soared without knowing it is high in the sky.
In any case, there is a problem with these two facilities, claiming that all the faults in the world are on each other.
The inn’s alchemy team has disappeared.
The car that was being repaired disappeared.
And they are suspicious of each other.
It was only natural that a mysterious voice from yesterday came to mind in Inspector Evian’s mind as he listened to the story.
“Isn’t that the work of an outsider?”
“But only one person came to this inn yesterday! She’s still staying at the inn!”
“If there is an outsider, you have to start suspecting it. He may have infiltrated here first!”
A resident of the inn responded by scratching his chin.
“He was a great man… was the captain He said he was on his way to the capital after finishing his mission.”
“Forget what I just said. Buds, everything!”
The horse is our inn, and our maintenance is actually the military’s asset. If you’re a captain, you can take care of the wagon and alchemy fabric as if it were your own. If you embezzle, even the captain will be punished, but even if you put all the villagers together, you have no authority to do so.
In addition, it is also possible to kick Evian’s ass when he doubts him. Evian didn’t want to be kicked by the captain.
“Then you are saying that the alchemist and the wagon disappeared by themselves? No one came in and no one left?”
“that… that.”
While the residents were confused and avoiding their gaze, someone motioned towards Evian.
“Evian, come here for a second.”
Bern, the representative of the inn, called Evian. Evian, who was beckoned, responded with a slightly unpleasant look.
“Mr. Bern. Please be respectful at least. I am the inspector in charge of policing here.”
“Do I need respect for calling my nephew?”
Bern replied with a little help.
After Evian’s father ran away from the village, his younger father, Verne, became a guardian and took care of Evian. He, who was nothing more than the village chief, was rising day by day after his nephew, Evian, returned as a lieutenant.
In fact, Evian was reluctant to do so, but he didn’t do anything wrong, and he couldn’t punish him. Evian was a policeman.
“That’s right… Ha, no. What happened?”
As Evian approached, Berne spoke quietly.
“Ellie and Dev are gone.”
“yes?”
Ellie was the tomboy at the inn, and Dev was the geek at the garage. The two teenagers who grew up in conflict in this village were anxious to eat each other when they saw each other.
But do they both disappear at the same time?
“We care about each other. Did Ellie accidentally strangle Dev and steal the alchemy fabric and run away, or did Dev run away in fear after beating Ellie with a spanner? One of the two.”
“How does Ellie drive, and how Dev uses alchemy… Oh wait.”
“okay. The two used to hide in each other’s facilities and play hide and seek. Unlike us, we know each other intimately. Like a scout searching for enemies. It is not impossible.”
That’s why Evian touched his forehead. There are enough possibilities.
There is a motive, there is a certain amount of malice, and there is a history of making the residents difficult. The two of them might have really eaten each other.
“They were in this town until last night! I sent it home myself!”
“Then you must have gone home. I haven’t seen him since that evening at home.”
“shit. Then neither of them would have gone far! Wait a minute!”
“Are you going to catch me?”
“It should be! I just hope they are both alive!”
Evian strode past the people. Residents trembled in uneasiness that their child might have committed the crime, along with strange expectations for the scenery.
Evian met the facility manager who was just waiting for him.
“Lieutenant Evian. This is Sergeant Bero, the administrative assistant. Alchemy fabric is not expensive, but it is still a major supply item. I can’t keep my mouth shut even if I lose it.”
“This is Engineer Sgt. Chale. Automobiles are expensive. Hope you get it resolved soon. If this is reported to the authorities, punitive labor sentences will fall across the city.”
“There is an officer who just came to the inn. If he gets injured and is in the process of taking care of himself, if this happens to his ears.”
The officials at each facility politely urged Evian. If Evian’s rank had not been higher, that bitterness would not have ended only with sound.
Evian exclaimed nervously.
“Can’t we just come back in the afternoon during inventory management! Wait! Oh, and Charlie! Is there a wagon I can use?”
“There is only one left.”
“I will borrow one for the execution of official duties! okay?”
“I agree.”
Evian started the car and took a wide look around the village. Most recently I had two wheel marks. The captain’s ride and departure.
Glad it was easy to understand. Evian followed the trail of the carriage like that.
The abyss wilderness is wide. If the two of them cross the hill without knowing anything and enter the abyss wilderness, Evian has no choice but to give up and return to Edelphite to await the verdict of the authorities.
Fortunately, however, Evian found the carriage stopped not far away. Evian parked a wagon nearby, got off straight away, and strode closer. His eyes were full of anger at the immature who did this stupid thing.
“Sobbing… .”
However, when he heard Eli’s cry gradually, Evian became terrified. Maybe Ellie accidentally killed Dev and ran away. Then what should I do?
Had Evian come from another town, he would have added a proud line to his career by mercilessly capturing Ellie. But he was from this village, and he wanted the village to be as peaceful as possible. A tomboy is most energetic when he’s in town, not in prison.
It was when Evian swallowed his saliva and opened the driver’s seat as if attacking him. He made eye contact with someone in the driver’s seat.
“Hey, hey! Evian hyung!”
“Dev?”
In the driver’s seat, Dev was holding the steering wheel. Ellie was whimpering in the passenger seat. After confirming that the two were okay, Evian felt a sense of shame and grabbed Dev’s ear and pulled it down.
“This is cheap. Who wants to steal the wagon?”
“Oh no! This is not a steal, it’s a trial run! Charlie said we need to make sure everything is fixed! Just to check it out, I’m going to try driving!”
“Did you talk to Charlie?”
“no? to surprise iced coffee!”
Evian shouted, shaking Dev’s ears back and forth.
“If you are going, go alone! Then you wouldn’t have had any doubts! Why did you bring Amon Ellie?”
“I brought it! He’s been hiding! Besides, I was frustrated because I was crying and screaming that I didn’t want to go back to the village!”
It didn’t seem like a lie to cry unjustly. Evian, who was about to slap Dev on the cheek, sighed and spoke to Ellie.
“Ellie, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but what do you do if you run away without a word? aunt is waiting go back… .”
“Hey, I can’t… go back… ! I will die!”
“What is dying? I’m a cop, who’s going to kill you?”
“no! Really, I might die… ! I mean, I found it… !”
Ellie, who was crying, closed her eyes tightly and shouted.
“… corpse!”
Evian’s eyes widened when she received an unexpected tip here.
“What?!”
There were two cars and two people could drive. Evian lifted the bell while carrying Eli.
Ellie, who was about to do something tomboy as usual, found something strange. And as I continued walking along it, I discovered the terrible traces hidden by this peaceful outskirts town… . Bone fragments buried right away… .
Evian asked.
“Wait a minute. There can be no bones. All those who have recently died have been cremated.”
“Black… !”
Evian clicked his tongue. If you push the panicked child, you get nothing.
He was a policeman, not a military policeman without blood or tears.
“If there is a body, you should let me know. Why were you keeping your mouth shut?”
“But, Uncle Evian… .”
And Ellie shuts her mouth again. Evian groaned as if frustrated.
“Am I not hot? Ellie, the inspector didn’t win by gambling! You have to trap criminals like ghosts from below in the military police, which has neither blood nor tears, to be promoted. It’s not meant to be taken lightly!”
In the military, the military governs everything.
All medical activities are carried out by the military hospital, civil engineering works are also carried out by the engineering corps, and investigations are carried out by the military police.
Administrative soldiers execute the administration of ordinary citizens, and even factories belong to the Technology Development Bureau.
It is a country of soldiers, not to mention the military and police, and even businesses are not separated from the military regime.
All of them belong to the military, with the exception of a few very special ones.
“Edelphite people say they don’t know much about it, but just having the upper character is great! It’s because they deliberately separated their affiliations from the military!”
In order to prevent the corruption of the one in charge of security in a village, the military department separated the affiliations and threw them away. Therefore, Evian did not have much authority compared to his career or rank.
In other words, it means that the status is higher than the authority it has.
“… Black.”
But is it because Evian is too familiar? Ellie didn’t open her mouth. Evian rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Whoa. If you’re still not sure, there’s a captain at the inn, so why not tell him? He is far higher than me, so even you can be satisfied.”
Ellie was pissed off.
“Wow, the inn is not allowed. Then I will die… !”
“why not. Did you even find a body in the inn?”
“Hey!”
“… Wherever you go, don’t commit a crime. really.”
Then a sudden thought.
Why did Ellie keep her mouth shut? Was he complaining that he couldn’t tell Evian?
Perhaps.
“Where did you find it? Bern?”
“Hey!”
He is the representative of the inn, which has a lot of people, and is practically no different from the mayor of this village.
Even his uncle, Berne, who has risen in authority since the appearance of Evian.
A corpse coming out of his house.
There was also a wish that Bern made a mistake. It would have been nice if we could punish him and break his authority.
But I didn’t expect the body to come out. The murder case is another story.
“… do not worry.”
But Evian was a police officer, and he was in charge of policing the town. I got the clues to the murder case, but I couldn’t get past it.
In the first place, if he ignores such a major event, he might be punished by the military. In addition, serious penalties could be imposed on the entire town.
it had to be stopped
“You must not find the culprit.”
Evian made a firm decision.
It was sharp turn of narative…