Fairy Tail: I don't want to be the president

Chapter 441 Murder Case
The two recent light rains dispelled the summer heat that had lasted for several months.

The weather has become cooler, and you have to wear a coat when going out in the morning and evening. Even Worm is reluctant to come out and play.

After Rhodes tricked Lucy, he left the guild with Mira, rented a carriage, and headed for Ravendel Village.

It's not impossible to go there directly by river crab, but it's more comfortable to take a horse carriage, and there's also some privacy, so it's more convenient for two people to talk.

We stopped to rest for a while at noon and arrived at Lavender Village in the afternoon.

Rhodes saw from the perspective of the river crab that was responsible for exploring the way that most of the crops had been harvested, with only a few scattered plots of land still having yellow crops that had not been processed yet.

After half a year, a wall had been built outside the village. It was rebuilt based on the vine wall that Rhodes had asked the tree monster to build before he left last time.

Most of the incinerators that were originally used to deal with rat carcasses and feces have been demolished, and the strange smell that lingered in the village for a long time has long disappeared.

Rhodes got off the carriage and carried Mira down, and found that the land here was not wet. It might be that the rain in the past few days did not fall here.

Someone passing by with a cart of rice recognized the two people who had just gotten off the cart and said in surprise, "Master Wizard? Oh, Mr. Rhodes and Miss Mira."

"Lightning?" Rhodes still remembered this man. He was responsible for guarding the campfire at the entrance of the village. He also ran around to help everywhere. He was a very diligent person.

"I didn't expect you still remembered me." Lightning was delighted and suddenly realized, "You are here to participate in the harvest festival, right? The village chief seemed to have mentioned this."

"It is indeed Mr. Jasper who invited us over. Is he home now?"

"They should be preparing for tomorrow's activities in the village center, right? You can just go there directly. If you are not there, just rest at home. I'm here... I'm sorry." Lightning gestured to the cart he was pushing.

Rhodes waved his hand: "Oh, go ahead and do your thing. It's okay. We all know the way."

Lightning said goodbye to them and pushed the cart away.

Mira paid the fare, and the coachman looked at Rhodes with envy.

Rod was in a good mood.

The two men walked into the village side by side, and the two river crabs were sent by Rhodes to patrol and guard the nearby area.

In the village, some people were carrying things, some were threshing grain. It was a busy scene. The villagers' spirits were much better than when there was a rat infestation.

Many people on the road recognized them and greeted them enthusiastically.

A little girl followed the two for a short distance, and Mira stopped and asked, "What's going on?"

The little girl shook her head: "Sister is so beautiful, can I become as beautiful as her when I grow up?"

Rhodes took a closer look and saw that the little girl had two buns tied on her head, freckles on her face, and a front tooth was missing, so she had a lisp when she spoke.

She's actually quite cute, but her smile is horrible.

Mira touched her head and said, "Of course, she might be prettier than me."

"Taifei! Stop making trouble and come home!" A shout came from not far away.

The little girl responded and turned around and ran back.

But she hadn't run a few steps when she fell down. She didn't cry or make a fuss. She got up without even shaking off the dirt and ran back home.

The way she fell and how skillfully she got up reminded Rhodes of Wendy. He wondered how she was doing recently.

I guess she was worried for a long time because I came back in a hurry last time. I'll write her a letter in a few days, or try to contact her directly using the communication magic crystal.

"Bring the wood over there and put it here. Yes, over there..."

When they arrived at the center of the village, they saw the village chief directing others to set up the venue.

A platform more than two meters high has been built in front, with an offering table on it, which seems to be used for sacrificial ceremonies.

Colorful flags and various decorations were also placed around, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

As he approached, Rod called out, "Mr. Jasper."

Jasper asked without turning his head, "What is it?"

But after he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong. People in the village either called him Jasper or the village chief, and it was rare to add the word "sir".

Jasper turned around and asked in surprise: "Mr. Rhodes, Miss Mira? Why are you here?"

Is there a problem? Rhode asked in confusion, "Didn't you assign us to be the guards in this mission?"

"Ah, no, ah, yes..." Jasper was a little incoherent, "I mean, the harvest festival doesn't start until tomorrow evening, why are you here so early?"

"Because I suddenly received the escort mission, I was worried that something might happen here, so I came here a day in advance to take a look and make preparations early if necessary." Rhodes explained his plan.

Mira asked, "Excuse me, has something happened near the village? Why do you suddenly have to spend a lot of money to hire guards?"

Jasper hesitated and said, "It's nothing, actually. No, there is something that makes me feel a little uneasy..."

"Village chief, where should we put this?" Two young men brought a stone mortar used for making glutinous rice cakes.

"Put it over there!" Jasper turned around and said apologetically, "It's not convenient to talk here, why don't we go to my house first?"

Mira asked, "What about things here?"

"It will be the same if I ask my wife to come over and watch. She just needs to tell the young people how to decorate the place."

Jasper said as he led the two towards home.

Since it was hard to talk about business, they just chatted on the way. Rhodes asked about the situation in the village: "It looks like the harvest this year is very good."

"Thanks to your help, we started planting right after the rodent problem was solved. The rain was good this year, so the harvest was great."

Speaking of this, Jasper's face was full of joy. "No one would dare to believe it if we told them. It was a year of rat plague, but the harvest was better than in previous years. That's why we want to make the harvest festival more grand this year."

"That's great." Mira was very happy, which meant that Rhodes' last effort was not in vain.

"But... I only found out later that you two were such famous wizards. The reward you gave me last time was really..."

Rhode said, "Please don't mention this matter again. Magicians don't charge based on fame. Since we've already agreed on it, it has nothing to do with other aspects."

He was somewhat impressed by the villagers' work efficiency and the speed at which their crops could be converted into cash.

Jasper said many more words of thanks before returning home.

Mrs. Tara saw her husband and asked, "You're home so early... do you have guests?"

Jasper said, "It's Mr. Rhodes and Miss Mira from last time." "Ah, I'll go make tea right away."

"I can do it. You go to the venue and keep an eye on it. Don't let the guys mess it up. We have something to discuss here."

Mrs. Tara bowed slightly and said, "Well, excuse me then."

Rhodes and Mira didn't care about this kind of thing. After all, the things over there were also very important.

Jasper poured tea and the three of them quickly got down to business.

"Regarding Miss Mira's question about whether something happened recently..." Jasper hesitated for a moment before saying, "Someone was killed at the beginning of the month."

"Murder? Did someone in the village get killed?" Rhodes was shocked. Even in this world where magic was prevalent, murders were rare.

He had encountered dark guilds or black magic cults killing people in the past because he always ran to dangerous places. This is a survivor bias and ordinary people may not encounter it once in their lifetime.

A sad expression appeared on Mira's face. Even if she was called a demon, she couldn't ignore life.

Jasper shook his head and said, "They were not from the village, but a businessman who often came to the nearby area to do business. There were five people in total, including the driver and the helper, and they were all killed on their way back.

A night had passed when the body was discovered, so no one saw what kind of person the murderer was.

All the money on those people was gone, but the goods, though turned over, were still there, even the horses and carriages were still there. "

"Robbery, then murder to silence the witnesses?" Rhodes guessed with a frown, but he felt something was wrong.

If they really wanted to rob, they should have driven away the carriage as well. The goods were valuable, and it would be convenient to escape by driving the carriage or riding a horse.

Jasper said, "The town's security team investigated and said that the traces looked like those of a wizard. They couldn't handle it and could only report it to the Council."

"The Council..."

The Council is now overwhelmed with its own affairs and it is unknown when it will be able to resume normal operations. It is likely that they will not be able to deal with a case like this that is suspected to be committed by a wizard.

"Anyway, it's been almost half a month, and there's been no news at all. No one dared to go too far, and it's only been better in the past few days."

Mira asked, "And the case was left unsolved?"

Jasper nodded, "Yes, the bodies were taken away by the security team. They should have been taken away by their families for burial now."

Mira said, "I see. Is that why you are worried that the man might cause trouble or even kill people during the Harvest Festival, and you asked me to come here as a guard?"

“It’s not entirely because of that unknown murderer. In fact, ever since we learned about the destruction of the Council House, we’ve noticed that the security in nearby towns and villages has been getting worse and worse.

Normally, it would be fine. If you are patient and careful, you can get through it. But holding a lively event like the Harvest Festival is like telling others that we are very lively and wealthy here...

We can't cancel such an important festival just because of the bad public security, so we have to go ahead with it. It just so happens that we know two reliable wizards like you, and with you here, everyone will feel more at ease."

In fact, the most cost-effective and hassle-free solution is to cancel it directly. However, for the people here, the Harvest Festival is the most important festival of the year.

Just like you can’t not go home for the New Year just because you’re worried about pickpockets, you still have to hold the festivals that need to be held.

Rhode and Mira looked at each other and nodded: "So, our mission is to guard against possible external enemies, right?"

"Um...ah, yes." Jasper seemed to be hesitant again.

"Do you have anything else to add?" Rhodes asked. "Before we confirm the start of the mission, it's best to make everything clear to avoid disputes later."

"Ah, no more." Jasper said, "We will pay you. You can pay it first. There will be no disputes. Please rest assured."

His behavior made Rhodes feel uneasy, as if someone had set a trap for him.

Although they had some doubts, they had no reason to refuse the mission, so they had to accept it and decided to be more careful.

Rhodes put the task list on the table: "Then the task is established. We hope to get more detailed information about the murder case."

Jasper asked in confusion, "Does the escort mission require knowledge of that?"

Rhodes said: "Of course, if we can find out who the murderer is and get rid of him within a day, it will be a permanent solution.

Even if I can't, at least I can learn about the other party's magic, fighting style, and other information through clues, so that if we are matched, I will have a better idea in mind."

Jasper said with some embarrassment: "I only know that the businessman is called Spike. For other information, you need to ask the town's security team."

That's true. The villagers are not Conan. No one would go to the murder scene for no reason, so naturally they wouldn't know much about the case.

Rhodes said, "At least tell us where the crime scene is?"

"It's about 2 kilometers east of the village. There's a road to the town. Follow that road southwest for about or kilometers. But it's been so long, there shouldn't be anything left, right?"

"We'll have to go and see for sure." Rhodes stood up. "Then let's get to work now."

"Ah, yes, you two will still be staying at my house, in the same room as before. Would you like to take a rest and have something to eat first?"

"No need, let's go check out the scene before it gets dark, and just keep the room for us."

The two of them left the village chief's house together and walked out of the village.

Seeing that there was no one around, Mira asked, "Do you feel that there is something wrong with the village chief?"

Rhodes said: "Something is wrong. I feel like he is hiding something from us and is hesitant in his words."

"I feel the same way."

"Be careful. From now on, we won't eat any of his tea, snacks, or meals. We'll just make everything ourselves with the ingredients we brought."

Rhodes felt that it was necessary to take precautions against such suspicious behavior. Even if he had to eat, he would first check whether others were okay after eating.

The designated mission sounds powerful, but it can also be easily exploited by others to harm the designated wizard.

High returns are also accompanied by high risks, so we must be on guard.

Mira said: "Have you forgotten? Poison is ineffective against demons."

Rhodes asked, "Are sleeping pills, anesthetics, and the like ineffective?"

"..." Mira was silent for a moment, "It works."

"So, girls, don't drink other people's food when you go out."

Rhodes took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on Mira, then stepped back to admire them: "It looks great."

(End of this chapter)