The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

"director!"

"Don't rush me, Vivian is still as easily teased as she was a few years ago." Silver Feather gently patted her head. "Just think of it as gaining some experience in handling cases. Don't always look like you're being bullied. This mission is triple pay."

"Manager Silverfeather Hydra, the person who filed the report..."

Hai Da narrowed her eyes slightly, already guessing the other party's identity.

"Ah, she's already here." Silver Hydra looked at Fran 4, who was gradually walking out of the corridor with silver handcuffs on her wrists.

"Good day, everyone. It's so nice to see Sister Haida and Agent Vivian here. Could you please explain to those officers that I really have nothing to do with this case..."

Chapter 42 The Fallen Sun Rider

"Dr. Fran, um... are you really not involved in this case at all?"

Haida narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at Fran, who was smiling, with a slightly suspicious look.

She always seems to appear at just the right time in these situations... and she's never absent.

But based on her years of experience working together in the border region, Haida was willing to trust Fran. Apart from her eccentric and unconventional personality and her somewhat unorthodox healing methods... she was actually not difficult to get along with.

This doctor is rational, polite, even somewhat easygoing, and adept at maintaining appropriate distance in interpersonal interactions.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the premise that the two sides are not hostile. Once on a conflicting side, she will display cruelty that transcends human ethics…

"Of course it's alright, I guarantee it with my integrity. If it were related to me, why wouldn't I just leave after it's all over, instead of waiting here for you to arrive?"

Fran smiled slightly, then showed off the silver shackles on her slender wrists. At that moment, she gave off an innocent and harmless vibe, like a law-abiding citizen who had simply stumbled upon a crime scene.

"Let's take the handcuffs off first. Were those policemen from the city hall handcuffing you?"

Before Haida could respond, Silver Feather Hydra spoke first. After all, she was the highest-ranking Hunter here and should speak first.

"Yes." soUsuo:懿潾戮＼¨私〔糤［

Fran nodded in agreement, then slowly stepped forward, deftly removed the wrist shackles from his wrists, and placed them back in Silver Feather Hydra's hand.

The head of the secret service keenly noticed a tangled black tendril crawling and disappearing from the keyhole of the shackles.

"Please don't blame them; this is the standard procedure for handling emergencies."

Silver Hydra scrutinized the young doctor in the white coat and found that it was impossible to read her thoughts from her expression.

The funeral home's supervisors knew little about Fran's existence; for example, Black Rong wouldn't recognize her even face to face.

However, Silver Hydra, who was in the Secret Court, had received many contact reports from Vivian a long time ago and was not unfamiliar with her.

"Of course not. After all, their job is to maintain stability at the scene before the Hunters arrive, and they haven't done anything wrong."

Fran didn't care about this harmless little incident; she was more concerned about what had happened inside the Sunforge Tower, and whether any of the survivors could help her repair her power sword.

Of course, this only involved handing over the reforging part to the other party; she would have to figure out the technical issues herself. While she couldn't restore the disintegration field on the blade, she could add other technologies, such as the space necromancer's [Mechanical Biology].

"...Since Dr. Fran was the first witness to this case, did he make any specific discoveries?"

Haida covered her mouth and coughed lightly before quickly getting to the point.

"Unfortunately, even the best coroners...can hardly draw any valuable conclusions from a pile of ashes."

"However, the ashes are very fresh, and they all retain some traces of their original state. They are not damp and are still clumped together. They must have been burned last night."

Vivian bit her lip lightly, sensing a hint of danger in Vivian's seemingly casual description.

In just one night, only a handful of survivors remained at the entire Sunforge branch. This was truly baffling... There were many mid-level or higher Fire Chasers here, so how could they offer no resistance and simply wait to be slaughtered?

Moreover, the manner of death was even stranger; those who sought molten metal and sunlight all day long were burned to death.

Haida's eyes narrowed slightly as she pondered deeply.

"Dr. Fran, where did you find the survivors?"

"The library. Now that I think about it... it makes perfect sense that survivors would have been there. The library, filled with books, was probably the room with the highest fire resistance rating in the Tower of the Sun.

Silver Feather Hydra found something amiss in her description and began to press for answers.

"What? You would go to a library, a room deep inside a tower?"

“I was looking for survivors. I searched most of the rooms in the building.”

Fran blinked, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, her clear amber eyes filled with sincerity.

She was indeed telling the truth, but she omitted the minor details of her casually plagiarizing academic work in the library. Well, there was no need to mention such unimportant matters that wouldn't help solve the case.

"That's it..."

Silver Feather Hydra would not believe her so easily, but what she said matched the situation at the scene, and there was no need to question it without evidence.

"despair."

She snapped her fingers, and several Secret Service agents dressed in light gray coats emerged from the shadows on one side.

"Can the second type of ritual, 'Reflecting on the Past,' operate normally?"

9. "Silverfeathered Hydra Master, the ritual array at the Sunforge Tower was severely interfered with. The images we obtained were highly torn, and the excessive sunlight caused overexposure, making it impossible to discern the specifics."

A secret service agent placed his hand on his chest and nodded in apology.

"That's the most annoying thing about this stupid ritual. It's too wasteful for small things, and it's ineffective for big things..."

Although Silver Feather Hydra was not in a good mood, this situation was not unexpected. Given the hidden rank of the Sunforge Tower, this kind of ritual was destined to have little effect. However, she hadn't expected it to be a complete waste of time this time.

"Forget it, bring those three survivors over. The cult's insiders probably know some of the inside story."

San: "Yes."

The agent obeyed the order and then led the three somewhat distraught survivors of the Sunforge Order to the main hall of the tower.

Lin Yinyu slowly walked past the three people, making no attempt to hide the scrutiny and appraising look in her eyes.

"Malts, librarian. It was your shift when the incident happened, wasn't it?"

"Swoosh! That's right, it's me."

Somalz was an elderly man in his sixties. He appeared dazed and exhausted, even his gait was unsteady, carrying a strong sense of unease. It was as if he had not yet recovered from a tremendous shock.

"Sigrid, a newly promoted craftsman. You were studying the blueprints for a new sword, so you stayed overnight in the library."

"Woo..."

Sigrid did not respond to the silver hydra's question, only covering her face and letting out a dry, hoarse sob. It seemed that she was overwhelmed with grief and could no longer control her emotions.

"Finally, there's Anderson, the 'Sun Rider' responsible for protecting the Sunforge Order. You were on patrol in the library that day..."

Anderson's eyes were sunken, and his golden hair had almost completely turned into scattered gray. His condition was visibly extremely poor.

Colleagues and comrades you spend every day with, the religious community you rely on as your home, and the faith you dedicate your life to... Who can remain unmoved when all these things collapse in an instant?

"The Hunter's Ravens, why are you investigating this matter? Are all those arrogant hunters from the Funeral Court dead?"

"Before the arrival of the special envoy from the Atilan Temple of the Sun-Supporting Empire, everything here is under the full responsibility of us unpleasant crows. This is the result of negotiations with your temple, so please cooperate with our work."

Silver Hydra ignored Anderson's irritable tone and simply took out a slender women's cigarette and lit it.

Her thin lips were slightly pursed, and her beautiful face was momentarily hidden in the rising smoke.

-

Today's chapter is only 2k words, I'll make up for the short 2k later, I'm feeling really bad today. The bounty is currently about an extra chapter, we'll publish the data after it ends. (ó﹏ò?)

Chapter 43 The Living Also Suffer

"Why should I trust you? And how can you prove you're not lying to me?"

Anderson, the "Sunfall Rider," frowned slightly, not believing that the main hall would actually allow the Hunters to intervene.

Whatever happens inside the Tower of the Sun, this is still within the territory of the Order! The Tower of the Sun holds many secrets; how can it be so easily exposed to outsiders?

"Please be patient. We have certainly taken that into account."

Silver Feather Hydra raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she had expected this. She took out a gemstone brooch that gleamed with a crimson fire and tossed it to the other person seemingly without a care.

The magnificent gold patterns and the vibrant crimson chalcedony drew a dazzling arc in the air before finally landing steadily in Anderson's hand.

"This... um. This is indeed the token of the main hall."

Anderson's gaze narrowed slightly, seemingly still somewhat unwilling. But after letting out a deep breath, he fell silent, tacitly approving the Secret Service's investigation into the organization's internal affairs.

His rank within the Sunforge Order was equivalent to that of the head of the Hunters, and even slightly higher in terms of prestige and power. Under these circumstances, he should have taken over command.

But since this lady from the Secret Service has already contacted and obtained permission from headquarters, all I can do now is cooperate.

Seeing that Anderson's attitude had changed, Silver Hydra began to inquire about the specific details.

"Now that we've reached a basic consensus, let's start by questioning Mr. Anderson. Do you remember what you said before you lost consciousness last night?"

“I was on night patrol that day. When I passed the library, I found Sigrid still studying casting classics, so I went over and exchanged a few pleasantries. After that, I was about to leave the room when…”

Anderson was clearly rubbing his temples, his brows furrowed deeply.

Clearly, his memory had reached the final point before he lost consciousness, which meant he needed to recall something before he could answer.

"At that moment, I saw a huge amount of intense light and heat surging in from both sides of the corridor, almost covering my entire field of vision. So I instinctively stepped back and closed the door."

"Perhaps it was an explosion of a highly explosive substance...or a loss of control in the casting, or an external attack?"

Vivian pondered for a moment, trying to guess the specific nature of the incident.

"That's impossible!"

Before the silver-feathered hydra could even speak, Anderson decisively denied the possibility.

"We possess the most advanced temperature control technology in Norrington, and there are no plans to forge dangerous artifacts in the near future. An explosion capable of killing all our followers is absolutely impossible. As for external attacks..."

Anderson gave a slightly disdainful sneer.

"Would anyone really use an explosion to attack the Sunforge Order? That would be truly hilarious."

What he said makes sense.

The silver-feathered hydra then explained the specific reasons and details of the surrounding environment to her.

“Vivian, look. If there really was a violent explosion, then the surrounding walls should show signs of shockwave and flames.”

"I see..." Although the question had been answered, Vivian still had doubts.

Since both men denied the possibility of an explosion, why did Anderson describe seeing "blazing light and heat"? These are typical characteristics of an explosion.

After a moment's thought, she gradually understood what the two were trying to say... In other words, what Anderson saw was not the shockwave of an explosion that was accompanied by flames and sound waves, but pure "light and heat".

"It seems you understand what he meant."

Seeing that Vivian's previously furrowed brows had relaxed, Silver Hydra patted her shoulder encouragingly.

“Now let’s go through the routine search of each room. If that strange ‘light and heat’ comes from some kind of ritual, there might be remnants of the ritual array... then we can use that to decipher the secrets and figure out the truth.”

She then gently stroked the smooth, black feathers of the raven on her shoulder and lowered the brim of her hat slightly.

"By the way, I'd also like to ask Haida and Dr. Fran what they got from the other two witnesses."

"What does this mean? Aren't they right here?"

Anderson narrowed his eyes, his expression turning somewhat strange.

He then turned to look at his sides, but there was nothing there except the silent shadows of the corridor. Even the doctor and the tall nun he had seen earlier had disappeared from his sight.

“Isolation and interrogation? In other words… you suspect there are traitors among us? Sigrid is the most hardworking and devout craftswoman of the younger generation, and Malz has been a librarian since before you were even born!”

His originally pale, almost withered face instantly flushed with a metallic red heat, as if he were angry.

“Reasonable suspicion is a courtesy among hunters, and I hope Mr. Anderson will get used to it as soon as possible. We are simply pursuing all ‘possibilities’ equally.”

Silver Hydra felt the faint heat emanating from the air, but merely tossed her slightly disheveled crimson hair, her gaze indifferent.

"Phew..." Upon hearing this, Anderson's irritable emotions and the surrounding temperature gradually cooled down.

Even though he was feeling frustrated and irritable, he had to admit that Silver Hydra was right.

-

At the librarian's counter in the library, Haida was sitting opposite the librarian Maltz on either side of a square table.

The elderly man, filled with grief, recounted yesterday's events in fits and starts. Due to his advanced age and the exhaustion he had suffered, he had to rest every now and then, but his speech was still clear and coherent.

"Sigrid was reading as usual. It was late, and she was the last reader in the library. I prepared coffee and some biscuits for her... Then Anderson came in with a lantern, exchanged a few pleasantries, and prepared to leave. And then... this is what happened."

Haida nodded slightly, her gray-chestnut eyes as still as an ancient well.

"So, you and Sigrid were in the library the whole time, while Andersen arrived later?"