Chapter 90 The Invisible Culprit
Me, Tai-chan, and the S-rank adventurer Aerial-san were in the village for an investigation at the request of the Guild Master.
We were riding on Tai-chan's beastly form through the forest.
Just a little more until we reached the village...
"Tai-chan, head northeast."
We were in the forest, and the village lay deeper within.
'My lord, what's wrong?'
"It's the smell of blood."
Aerial-san's eyes widened in surprise.
"Such a scent... Oh, I see. Leaf-kun, you have a sharp sense of smell."
Through training as a pharmacist, I gained a slightly keener sense of smell than the average person.
My nose detected the scent of human blood coming from the northeast.
'What a sharp sense of smell. Truly remarkable, my lord.'
"Really? But in my village, there's someone who can guess the dishes from households on the opposite continent just by their smell."
'That's impossible! Such monsters don't exist!'
But they do exist, you know...
"Hurry. If there are injured people, Leaf-kun's medicine will be needed even more."
As Aerial-san said, Tai-chan runs towards where I'm pointing.
Eventually, we arrived at the scene.
"This is... gruesome..."
In the open area, there was a pool of blood.
However, it was strange.
"I don't smell any human scent."
"What do you mean? No one is here...?"
Yes, in front of us, there was a large amount of blood on the ground.
It seems like quite a few people were injured.
However, there was not a single injured person.
In fact, there were no humans present.
Tai-chan returned to human form and listened to the ground.
"I don't hear any human or animal footsteps."
"It smells like fresh blood. I think it's been less than a minute since the crime."
I crouched down, wiped the blood with my finger, and stared at it.
"Do you understand that, Leaf-kun?"
"Yes. I am a Pharmacist. I have been taught human physiology as a healing subject by my master."
From the coagulation of the blood, I could tell that it had not been outside the body for long.
If that's the case...
"It's even stranger. It's only been 1 minute since the crime, yet there is no sign of anyone around, not even the culprit."
Even if the culprit was a creature capable of flying like a dragon, swallowing humans whole, and flying away...
Tai-chan wouldn't miss the sound of wings flapping.
And above all...
"Aerial-san. I don't smell any beastly scent here."
"...So, the culprit is... human?"
"Yes. A human attacked another human. And it seems that both the body and the culprit vanished suddenly."
After a moment of silence, Aerial-san spoke.
"Could it be a user of teleportation magic?"
I see, after killing, they escaped by teleporting. It could be possible. However...
"I can assert that it's not the case."
"W-why is that?"
"Because there's no scent of magic."
"Magic scent, you say...?"
I explain,
"More precisely, it's the smell of magic power. Magic always requires magic power. Teleportation would need a lot of magic power. But in this place, there's no lingering scent of magic power being used."
"..."
Aerial-san, looking tired, chuckles softly,
"...Impressive, Leaf-kun. You know even about that. Really, unlike me... you're amazing."
I'm happy to receive praise, but I'm not happy at all!
"Aerial-san, have this drink!"
I take out an Elixir and hand it to him.
I say to Aerial-san, who widens his eyes,
"Let's cheer up! Keep smiling!"
I don't like seeing sad faces. I don't like seeing people in pain.
I want everyone in this world to smile and be happy. I want them to be energetic. That's also part of my motivation as a pharmacist.
"Thank you..."
Aerial-san muttered softly and drank the Elixir. His complexion improved slightly.
But he still looked gloomy. How can I cheer him up...?
And then, at that moment.
"My lord! Look at this! It might be a clue!"
What!? I head towards Tai-chan.
She crouched down and pointed to something...
"It's a bloodstain!"
"And it seems to continue further in."
The blood spots lead deeper into the forest path.
Aerial-san quickly took out a map and compass to investigate what lies ahead.
His adventurer skills are higher than mine. Amazing.
"There's a village ahead. Moreover... it's the village we were planning to investigate."
"Then, let's go!"
Is the culprit ahead, or perhaps there are injured people.
But... I have a feeling that there are clues.
We nodded and headed towards the village.
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