In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

While the people behind him began to discuss the missing goods, Luo Wei was sitting opposite Rita, trying to comfort her.

Thanks to Lovi's comforting words, Rita's anger subsided somewhat.

She then asked Rowe a few questions about illusions.

To this, Luo Wei nonchalantly displayed his Golden System illusion technique, letting her compare the two. After all, the illusion wasn't his creation, and even if he told Rita the other party's true identity, she wouldn't believe it. It was none of his business.

After careful examination and comparison many times, even though the two completely different magical properties indeed indicated that the illusion was not set up by Rowe, Rita still felt that this matter was definitely related to the man in front of her, but she still couldn't find any evidence.

Because no matter how she examined it, Luo Wei's magic was entirely based on modern Western techniques. The illusion she had just used, however, belonged to the Age of Gods; while there were some connections, their essence was completely different.

Therefore, without any evidence, she could only express her reluctant gratitude to Luo Wei.

Luo Wei then suggested, "Instead of just waiting here, let's wait for the staff to give us an explanation."

"Um……"

Hearing this, Rita nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said.

Almost immediately after they finished speaking, the restaurant door was opened again from the outside.

The train conductor, the hostess, and several staff members with strikingly similar faces and expressionless expressions walked in.

"I am deeply sorry, dear guests who have traveled from afar. Due to the mistakes of our organizers, this train journey has resulted in a very unpleasant experience. On behalf of all the staff on the train, I would like to express my apologies to you."

As soon as they entered, the train conductor, whom they had met just two days prior, led all the staff in bowing deeply to apologize to all the guests present, their sincerity evident in both their words and actions.

However, what Rita clearly wanted was not this meaningless explanation.

"Stop wasting time, just state the results of your investigation."

She said coldly.

"Regarding this incident, we have defined it as the first and most serious theft case since the Magic Eye Collection Train began operating. The specific details of the incident are still unclear, but based on the incident, it is estimated that it occurred in the afternoon after I ordered the staff to submit the list to each guest and to take today's exhibits out of the collection room."

The train conductor said with a serious expression, "According to the investigation, we sent the list at 5:00 noon, retrieved the collection at 6:00 pm, and had staff check it at 7:00 pm before storing it in the train's depot."

"So... where is the last staff member who had contact with the Magic Eye?"

Rita went straight to the point about the case.

"He's dead..."

The train conductor answered calmly.

"died?!"

This result was indeed somewhat unexpected.

"So, he might have been killed by the murderer after 7 p.m.?"

Lehman said, frowning.

"No... He committed suicide, and by taking his own life. There was a fruit knife stuck in his body, piercing his heart."

He had barely voiced his guess when the train conductor refuted it without hesitation.

Then, at the train conductor's signal, a body was carried in by staff. This was the staff member he had mentioned who had last come into contact with the Demon Eye. Seeing the large patch of blood gushing from his right chest, staining his clothes red, everyone present couldn't help but frown.

He...committed suicide?

"Could it be... that he was threatened by the killer? Like his family members were kidnapped... Oh, sorry, I was being a bit stupid."

Hansa was about to speak when he noticed that the dead staff members on the ground bore a striking resemblance to the train conductor and the other staff members in front of him—sometimes nine-tenths. He realized that these staff members were artificial beings created through alchemy, tools that resembled humans. And threatening a tool itself was simply impossible.

Then, the train conductor gave an even more astonishing answer.

"According to our autopsy, the staff member died at 4 p.m., and the cause of death was that his body was emptied out by an unknown creature."

"...Huh? You mean he was already dead when he examined the Demon Eye?"

This answer truly astonished all the magicians present.

"That's right, he died in the afternoon."

The train conductor nodded and recited all the answers they had gathered from their investigation.

"If he died in the afternoon, then what happened afterward...?"

"Wait a minute, I have a bold idea. May I examine the body briefly?"

"Of course, even if you don't say anything, we will ask everyone present to cooperate with the investigation. After all, there are no outsiders on this train, and apart from the crew, you are the most suspicious."

The train conductor answered very frankly, expressing his doubts about the people in front of him directly. The magician present was very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Hehe, feel free to do the inspection. However, I hope you can act quickly and not delay the auction. If you don't have the results by 6 PM tonight, I'm not in the mood to keep you company."

Aozaki Touko sneered, completely disregarding the suspect's identity. Instead, she went directly to the long-dead corpse, channeled her magic to her fingertips, and gently slid it across the body.

As magic flowed through the circuit, specks of magic seeped into the corpse below, and Aozaki Touko carefully examined the inner workings of the dead body.

Then, as she used her own magic to create a line of sight and began to examine the mostly hollowed-out body all the way to the heart, her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and a strange smile appeared on her lips.

At this moment, Luo Wei also came over, quietly watching her actions, and made eye contact with her. He nodded slightly, then raised his hand and projected a short sword, throwing it directly into her hand.

"Then I'm going to start the surgery. Are you all okay with that?"

"can."

Finally, after obtaining the train conductor's permission, Aozaki Touko unceremoniously tossed the short sword into the corpse's chest, then used magic to directly extract the bright red but empty heart.

The moment the heart appeared, everyone present changed their expressions. Yvette, in particular, hid behind Rowe in fear, unable to bear the sight of the bloody scene.

Of course, unlike this little girl, the reason why the others' expressions changed upon seeing the heart was not because the scene was too bloody, but because they saw—

Inside that blood-red heart, several strange worms were wriggling incessantly.

"What is this thing...?"

The others looked surprised, while Luo Wei remained silent. Aozaki Touko, however, smiled happily and then, as if she hadn't expected it, dropped the knife and heart from her hand.

"Well, that's about it. You can investigate the rest yourselves. I won't say anything more, since it's a big no-no for me, a magician, to reveal other magicians' secrets."

"Well... I look forward to your satisfactory answer~"

Aozaki Touko picked up the water on the table and gently rinsed her fingers. Then, she got up and, amidst everyone's confusion, called to Luo Wei, and together they left.

As for what exactly happened...

She already had a pretty good idea of ​​the correct answer.

※※※※※※※

……

……

Two more chapters and I'll be done. Time to go back to the Clock Tower and write about the little one.

Then a new volume begins, ahhh...

Damn it, I have so many ideas, but I don't have the energy to put them all into practice. I wish I had three heads and six arms.

Also, this chapter has 7400 words, and 400 to 500 words are free because of that. Everything mentioned earlier is free. This is just to make it easier for me to continue the story.

I'm offering a book by a fellow reader to help me recover from my exhaustion.

"A Music Anime, But Not an Everyday Life"

Chapter 138 Preparing a Big Surprise

As a Grand Dollmaker, Aozaki Touko's expertise in ergonomics is undeniable. If we're only discussing research on human anatomy, she is undoubtedly the world's foremost expert. Meanwhile, Lovi, the next successor to the Clock Tower's Mineral Department, is also a true expert in gems and various other types of minerals.

Therefore, with the clues provided by the two of them and their personal identification, even if one is unwilling to believe the result before them, it has now become a fait accompli.

The container used to store the Mystic Eye in the warehouse had its seal broken, and the Mystic Eye itself had been replaced with four ordinary gems and disguised with an illusion spell. There were no clues at the moment.

This conclusion was reached after observation by everyone present and assessment by Rowe, a polymath who possessed both gem magic and illusion skills. At this point, they had no choice but to believe it.

So, with little hope to begin with, the train conductor handed the four ordinary, low-quality gems that had been replaced to Lovina, who was from the minerals department, and asked him to investigate them a little after returning to his room to see if he could find any clues.

The current situation then proceeded to the routine investigation phase.

According to Rita and the train conductor, the warehouse where the goods were stored was intact, with no signs of fighting or damage, and the other party entered through the gate using normal procedures.

In other words, the only person capable of doing something like this right now is the train crew member, who is the unfortunate guy who has already died.

Based on the timeline, the theft of the Magic Eye could only have occurred after he entered the warehouse.

However, the train conductor and others had carefully investigated all of his routes from yesterday, trying to find the switched magic eye, but they still had no clues.

According to eyewitnesses, he left the warehouse at 7 p.m. yesterday, and because he is an android, he did not wander around after his shift ended, but went directly back to his employee room.

This has been confirmed by other train staff; no one had contact with him during that time, so there is no possibility that he passed on the Magic Eye.

What follows is the scene of the employee committing suicide in his room.

Based on the known clues, his entire crime timeline can be described as extremely tight, leaving no extra time to pass the stolen goods, and he undoubtedly lacked the motive and ability to commit the crime.

Moreover, as an artificial human, his personality and mission are predetermined and cannot be bought or threatened. His entire purpose is to serve the train, so he has no motive to commit a crime.

Similarly, as an artificial being, he possesses only a faint magical aura. Although he can perform some low-level magic tricks, his true magical level doesn't even reach that of a fully-fledged [Open Rank] magician. Such powerful illusions are absolutely impossible for him to perform; someone else must be responsible. Coupled with his empty body and the heart that has been eaten away by insects, the entire incident becomes even more perplexing.

Even Rita, with her extensive knowledge, can only tentatively conclude that the employee was actually already dead in the warehouse. Someone followed him, sneaked in, and used him to easily open the container, swapping the Mystic Eyes before brutally murdering him. They then used insects with clearly special magical properties to manipulate his body, creating the illusion that nothing had happened, before finally committing suicide to cover it up, turning the entire incident into a completely unsolved mystery.

It can be said that this thief was indeed highly skilled, managing to complete such a well-concealed plan despite the patrols of the Magic Eye Train, and even covering it up so skillfully.

This makes the whole thing very tricky.

Currently, the only evidence they have is that the other party is a master of illusion, possessing illusion techniques at the level of the Age of Gods, and having the ability to control insect familiars and manipulate corpses.

Beyond that, no one knows anything, and the truth remains elusive.

After obtaining everyone's consent, Luo Wei, under the pretext of going back to investigate, took the four ordinary gemstones to his room to study them, hoping to find some new clues.

Aozaki Touko also stated that she had little interest in the upcoming investigation.

After all, she was a magician, not a detective posing as a magician, so she naturally had no interest in outsmarting a strange thief.

It was indeed a pity that two pairs of gem-grade magic eyes were lost, but that was the organizer's business. What did it have to do with her? She was just a guest.

Ultimately, this incident is undoubtedly a dereliction of duty on the part of the organizers, right?

After all, she had a clear alibi last night, so even if there was suspicion, it wouldn't fall on her.

Even though she had guessed the truth, Aozaki Touko still wanted to taunt her directly: "Is it because you guys couldn't produce a Gem-level Mystic Eye, so you staged this whole thing?"

However, saying such things now would undoubtedly ignite the woman named Rita, who might even attack her directly. It was not convenient to start a conflict at this time, so Aozaki Touko kept quiet for a while.