Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Upon hearing this, Samael paused, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Does this count as shooting yourself in the foot?

Seemingly having received sufficient spiritual comfort from Samael, Aozaki Aoko shook off her dejection, became high-spirited, and made a declaration through gritted teeth.

"I must kill her to avenge my grandfather!"

"Stop! You saw it with your own eyes?"

Seeing that Aozaki Aoko, who was now on a rampage, was about to seek revenge on Touko, the ancient snake quickly stopped her, his face serious.

"what?"

Did you witness your sister kill your grandfather?

Samael reiterated, placing his hands on Aozaki Aoko's shoulders, his solemn gaze fixed on the girl who was blinded by anger.

"No, no..."

Aozaki Aoko pondered for a moment, then honestly shook her head.

Samael patted Aozaki Aoko's shoulders with satisfaction and asked a question in return.

"Then how can you be so sure that it was definitely oranges that did it?"

"She was carrying the knife that killed her grandfather, her body covered in blood, and her grandfather died right beside her! Moreover, she confessed to doing it herself!"

Aozaki Aoko answered instinctively, her face full of anger.

What you see may not be the truth!

Samael retorted seriously, glancing at the somewhat stunned Aozaki Aoko, and then asked Makoto.

"First of all, has Orange studied Kendo?"

"No……"

"How does her power compare to yours?"

"Why not me..."

"Are you confident you can use a knife to cut a person in half at the waist in an instant?"

"do not know……"

Under the scrutiny of the "teacher," Aozaki Aoko subconsciously reverted to her student identity and instinctively gave her answer.

Samael nodded, his tone meaningful.

"As far as I know, the old man died from being slashed in two from behind. This requires extremely high swordsmanship and strong wrist strength. Even you were able to do it in one strike. Do you think Orange can do it?"

In an instant, the unraveling of the mystery brought Aozaki Aoko, who had never thought of these things, to her senses, leaving her stunned.

Yes, that's really unreasonable!

"Wait! What if she added enhancement magic to that knife?"

However, Aozaki Aoko, who was having trouble figuring things out, soon raised a new question.

"It is indeed possible..."

Samael nodded, then changed the subject.

"But do you think a magician who progresses slowly can evade a mage's perception through the etheric resonance and circuit operation when using magic?"

"..."

Aozaki Aoko pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

Although she has only been involved in magic for a short time, she has a basic understanding of the levels and skill classifications of magicians.

The mage is top-tier in the Mage's Association in terms of both experience and ability, while her older sister, Aozaki Touko, has been progressing slowly. Theoretically, if she wanted to harm her grandfather, it would be impossible for her to escape his perception.

"Therefore, we can initially conclude that this murder should not be related to magic."

Samael pondered for a moment, then his eyes flickered, his expression meaningful.

"Moreover, the person behind him must be someone the old man trusts very much; otherwise, a mage with rich experience in fighting enemies would not leave his back to him."

"also?"

Aozaki Aoko understood the implied meaning and looked surprised.

“That’s right. The incident occurred in the tea room, so it’s not necessarily just your sister who was there.”

Samael nodded and continued to analyze the logic.

"It's not so simple to kill a mage on the spot. The most likely scenario is that someone or something in front of him attracts his attention, making him overlook the danger from behind. During this time, the murderer takes advantage of the situation and kills him unexpectedly..."

Aozaki Aoko was immersed in the scene, and after a moment's thought, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

Indeed, this situation was impossible to prevent, especially since her grandfather had just transplanted the magic mark on her and was still in a semi-weak state.

"Now, let's summarize some of the killer's characteristics: skilled with a knife, possessing strong wrist strength, deeply trusted by your grandfather, able to make him turn his back without suspicion, without arousing your sister's suspicion at the scene, and able to walk out of the Aozaki family smoothly after committing the crime..."

Samael cleared his throat and whispered with amusement.

"So, who do you think he could be?"

Skilled in swordsmanship...deeply trusted by his grandfather...and very familiar with his family...

A series of vivid characteristics converged and churned in Aozaki Aoko's mind, and the girl's face grew increasingly horrified, because the answer was already obvious.

“Brother Yongli…”

Aozaki Aoko's voice was hoarse, her face filled with disbelief, and she subconsciously shook her head repeatedly, refusing to believe it.

"This is impossible!"

"Remember Sherlock Holmes' famous quote? 'After eliminating all the impossible'..."

Samael's calm gaze drifted to the pale-faced Aozaki Aoko, and he murmured meaningfully.

Aozaki Aoko remained silent for a moment before continuing with difficulty.

"...No matter how unbelievable the rest may seem, that is the truth..."

However, the girl's mind remained unsettled, and the confusion in her heart lingered, prompting her to murmur a question.

"But why would he do that?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's just a matter of interest."

Samael glanced at Aozaki Aoko with a nonchalant tone.

"How could that be! Yongli isn't that kind of person..."

Aozaki Aoko wanted to retort, but when the girl's gaze fell on the shadow of the church not far away, she couldn't help but recall the stray cats and dogs that had mostly died in the courtyard, and her face immediately froze.

"Do you understand?"

"Um……"

A low murmur reached her ears, and Aozaki Aoko nodded heavily, her head buried in Samael's arms, overwhelmed by her dejected mood.

The ancient serpent gently patted the girl who seemed to be very attached to him in her vulnerable state, and pondered with a smile.

"Don't be sad, I have good news for you. Your grandfather should be alright."

"Really?"

"Of course, magicians are extremely special beings. They can manipulate the rules and also merge with them. So even if outsiders can destroy their bodies, they can hardly destroy their souls."

"Teacher, are you saying that Grandpa's soul is still alive!"

Aozaki Aoko suddenly understood, her gloom and distress vanished, replaced by a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

However, the girl then felt somewhat confused.

"But where is Grandpa's soul? Why didn't I see it after all this happened?"

"You'll have to ask your sister about that..."

Samael sighed and spoke helplessly.

"My sister?"

"A sword can destroy the body, but only magic can target the soul."

The ancient snake paused, unable to bear deceiving the tormented Aozaki Aoko, and could only confess quietly, based on his memories from his previous life, combined with the bits and pieces of information revealed by Shuse Ritsuka and the information brought by Eltrauki on the way.

"If I'm not mistaken, your grandfather's soul was suppressed by your sister. Perhaps that's why she didn't deny that she attacked the old man."

"why?"

One question was answered, but more questions arose in the young girl's mind, leaving Aozaki Aoko completely baffled.

"But why did my sister do this!"

"Aoko, to be honest, do you like magic and hope to become a magician?"

Samael did not answer, but instead asked about other things.

Aozaki Aoko pondered for a moment, then shook her head in distress.

"Whether I'm a magician or not doesn't matter. I'm not interested in these things. If my grandfather hadn't insisted that I learn, I would rather spend more time practicing guitar or participating in club activities."

"It's really hard for you."

Samael patted Aozaki Aoko's head and asked with a smile.

"So how do you usually deal with these kinds of troublesome things that you can't handle?"

"Magic? Of course, it's about blaming all your worries on your older sister!"

Aozaki Aoko answered instinctively, and a warm smile appeared on her pretty face as she learned that her grandfather was alive and that her sister was not the murderer.

To be fair, she was a calm and collected older sister who always listened quietly to her harmless failures, offered earnest advice and comforted her, and kept everything related to troublesome things like magic out of her life.

Troublesome... Magic...

In an instant, Aozaki Aoko seemed to realize something, looked up in surprise at Samael's half-smile, and gave a dry reply.

"Teacher, are you saying that my sister sealed away Grandfather for...me?"

"Maybe, who knows? I'm just giving my guess. We're not even sure if she's the murderer yet."

Samael smiled and gave an ambiguous answer, displaying an air of complete detachment and impartiality.

"No! My sister is definitely not the murderer! She wouldn't do such a thing!"

However, Aozaki Aoko excitedly waved her fist and answered decisively. Then her pretty face tightened, her eyes glistened with tears, and she muttered to herself angrily.

"Honestly! Why didn't you just say it! Besides, there was no need to go this far! Orange is such an idiot! A complete idiot!"

Well, actually, your older sister isn't that noble. Besides helping you, she probably also had personal grudges to settle...

Samael realized that he had accidentally washed Aozaki Touko too vigorously, turning her into a pure white lotus flower, which moved Aoko to tears. She couldn't help but secretly touch the bridge of her nose and mutter to herself.

However, the ancient snake then looked at its pitch-black self and was deeply hurt.

In this world, whether it's the Mother of Dragons who has lost her divinity, the Argonauts whose reputation is mixed, the unruly fairy knights, or the tyrannical and violent Norse giants, he can clear everyone else's name, but he can't clear his own...

Damn, that's fucking awful!

Chapter 106 I'll date you, but I'll marry her (6.8k)

After a long chat, Aozaki Aoko gradually felt relieved and her mood improved, and she couldn't help but show a bright smile.

"Thank you, teacher. I feel much better now."

"That's good. It wasn't a waste of my trip."

Samael breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to pat the girl's head.

However, although Aozaki Aoko had resolved the trouble that had been bothering her, some questions still lingered in her mind. She then turned and looked at Samael with a wistful expression.

"But teacher, how did you guess all that?"

"With so many clues, it's not difficult to arrive at the answer that is closest to the truth by carefully analyzing, boldly hypothesizing, and cautiously verifying."

Samael smiled and replied, winking playfully.

"After all, I didn't read so many detective novels for nothing."

"Tch, you're lying! You've never guessed the real culprit correctly even when you read novels!"