Chapter 534 (1) - The Academys Weapon Replicator |
─Help me.
That was the short message Frondier sent to Dier.
Along with it, Frondier sent a map with a location marked.
Dier immediately headed to the location Frondier had given him.
His running speed was comparable to a horse's, and he sprinted without rest until he reached his destination.
He already knew the location.
And he had already predicted that Frondier would call him to this place.
‘...The scene of Senior Azier’s death. Senior Frondier is there.’
He probably sent a similar message to almost everyone.
‘Senior contacted me.’
Frondier asked him for help.
He thought it would never happen in his lifetime.
For Frondier de Roach to need someone's help.
And the fact that it was none other than Dier himself, he moved forward with determination.
“...I see it.”
A large number of people were already gathered at the location Dier was contacted.
Dier, scanning the faces as he ran,
Swoosh!
He spotted one of the faces and slid to a stop.
“Y-Your Majesty, the Empress.”
He knelt on one knee in perfect posture in front of Philly. Although a long trail of dirt followed his footsteps from afar.
“Yes, come here quickly. Dier Aigar.”
Dier flinched at Philly's words.
The Empress knows his name. It was an honor and terrifying at the same time.
“Frondier is waiting for you.”
The Empress gestured with a slight nod of her chin.
The center of the gathering. He could see Frondier's back.
‘Senior waited for me?’
Out of all these people, Dier?
Just those words made Dier's heart race.
Dier swallowed, then nodded.
“Then I'll go.”
Dier stood up and walked slowly. As he took each step, the people around him gradually made way.
The people gathered here were not just anyone. From the Imperial Palace were Empress Philly, the three princesses, Elysia, Sale, and Aten.
And somehow, Constel instructors Jane and Binkis were there first, along with Chancellor Osprey.
‘...This lineup, don't tell me.’
Dier thought as he passed each of their faces.
This lineup consisted of some of the best strategists in the Empire. Dier could roughly guess Frondier's intentions in gathering them.
After passing everyone, he reached Frondier's back.
Sensing Dier's arrival, Frondier turned his head.
“Thanks for coming. It's been a while.”
“...It's been a while, Senior.”
Dier bowed his head.
Outwardly, Frondier looked the same as always. His face was so unchanged that it seemed as if they had just met yesterday.
Dier knew that Frondier didn't show his emotions, but this was chilling.
“I'm sorry to ask this as soon as you arrive, but I need your help.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
That's what Dier wanted.
Frondier gathered all these people and waited for him. He had to live up to the expectation.
Frondier turned his gaze forward.
“Over there, you see Azier lying down, right?”
“...Yes.”
A little distance away lay Azier. No one was within a certain radius of him.
“You may already know, but we can't touch Azier right now. So it's difficult to even know how it happened.”
“...I see.”
“But we can look. We've tried to preserve the scene as much as possible.”
At those words, Dier looked around.
Indeed, a fairly wide space was empty around Azier's body. It was probably off-limits.
It was only natural. This was a crime scene. Moreover, since they couldn't take the body, they must have put more effort into preserving the scene.
“I want you to look at this scene and analyze the situation in your own way. I want to hear your opinion.”
Dier looked at Frondier at his words.
Frondier was asking for Dier's deduction.
Not just Frondier, but the eyes of many were on Dier.
‘...This is.’
Surely, these people must have already grasped the general situation before Dier arrived.
However, Frondier did not tell Dier about it and wanted Dier's own deduction.
In other words, there was something they couldn't figure out.
‘By not giving me information outside of the scene, does he want me to avoid falling into the same trap?’
Dier nodded.
“...Alright. Let me take a look.”
Dier turned his back on everyone's gaze and approached the fallen Azier.
‘This is my first time at a scene like this.’
Dier, already in his third year, was familiar with examining crime scenes through pro experience. Moreover, Dier himself was good at this and had achieved excellent results.
However, most of the scenes he visited were after the bodies had already been removed. As a student who wasn't even an adult yet, his involvement always came long after the incident.
Conversely, Dier was also good enough to discover something new even in a “scene long after the incident.” That was probably what Frondier was expecting.
‘The expectations are heavy.’
Dier swallowed and lowered himself.
He had always seen scenes after the bodies were removed, but this time, Azier was right in front of him. Dier reached out his hand.
‘As I heard, I can’t touch him.’
He felt like he was reaching out, but his hand wasn’t actually reaching. It was a strange feeling.
But even if he couldn’t touch the body, the fact that he could see it gave him a lot of information.
And Dier immediately discovered the most difficult point.
‘...I don't know the cause of death.’
A few minor wounds were visible on Azier's body. Probably battle scars. His clothes and the ground where he lay were stained with blood, suggesting a fierce battle.
The problem was that Azier was currently lying face down. So he couldn't see what kind of wound he had on the front of his body. And since he couldn't touch it, he couldn't turn the body over either. At least the wounds visible on his back and limbs weren't significant.
Considering Azier was an exceptionally skilled warrior, the wounds visible now couldn't have killed him.
‘Did he suffer a fatal wound to the front of his body?’
Dier raised his head.
His distant gaze fell on the side of the road.
A seemingly abandoned vehicle was there.
Dier went over to examine it, and the car's front bumper was dented.
‘If Senior Azier crashed into something while driving...’
Dier examined the ground.
Something that was always present in traffic accidents was missing.
‘...There are no skid marks.’
If the scene was properly preserved, there should be traces of the car's brakes. There should be skid marks, the long streaks left by the tires as the vehicle slid, but there were none around here.
In other words, Azier didn't brake. He hit something without braking.
Dier looked at the car's front bumper again.
‘...The way it's crumpled is strange. The top of the hood is caved in. Don't tell me...’
When a front bumper crumples upon impact, it either breaks off or crumples inward. This causes the hood to lift slightly or get damaged as well.
But this car's hood was caved in. Inward from the top of the hood.’’