Chapter 69 Corpse
The corpse rose, a cold, rotting, filthy mass of flesh devoid of dignity. A narrow light illuminated its dark, empty eye sockets, the pain and torture framed like a masterpiece. Crows slept peacefully in the tangled weeds of the bell tower. The song of death surrounded him sweetly and endlessly, while the living stared at the body, its true form no longer visible, trying to find something useful within it.
"professor."
The corpse's bloated fingers twisted grimly, the knuckles were bruised, and the ground was covered with scratches from the nails - he was hot and thirsty, as if he was walking alone in the desert, his heart beating so fast that it was about to break through the confines of his ribs and penetrate his skull.
"……professor?"
The hallucinations caused by atropine appeared, and he began to roar, roaring at an imaginary enemy, but his body could not move. He lost his perception bit by bit, like a meaningless stone, until his mouth was dry and the stench of corruption and corruption exhaled from his mouth was about to be burned by the endless fire...
Something gripped my wrist, and a clear and gentle male voice rang softly in my ears.
"What are you thinking about?"
The black-haired young man blinked slowly, then noticed a strange, astringent, and salty taste in his mouth. The short, fuzzy hairs on the fingertips of his usual deerskin gloves were wet from biting and pulling at. The bell tower was temporarily sealed by a magic circle, and the homeless crows circled their nests, wailing in protest. But as time passed, the crows eventually left White Tower University one evening and never returned, perhaps including the crow known as "Quack."
"I'm recreating the crime scene." Nova thought for a moment and answered coldly, continuing to stare at the spire of the bell tower.
"In your brain?" another person sighed with an unclear meaning.
Bill Farm's body had been taken away long ago, and there was only a silent white bell tower here.
"Of course." The black-haired young man paused and changed the subject as if nothing had happened: "What did you find out?"
The man stared at him for a moment, but ultimately didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he let go of his hand. He put on a pair of white gloves and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper. The ink had completely smudged, and a single word could be faintly seen written on it in familiar handwriting.
"Circe."
It was a woman's name, but the handwriting was that of a professor.
"From Bill Farm's mouth." On the day the body was discovered in the bell tower, the professor quickly stuffed the dirty note into his companion's hand after waiting for a quiet moment. "It seems he tried to swallow the note to dispose of the body before losing consciousness, but it accidentally triggered a fatal vomiting attack."
The savior had already frowned slightly in disgust, and after learning the specific source of the note, he almost subconsciously threw it away - but he soon realized that something was wrong and his expression turned cold.
A vicious frame-up.
——If this piece of paper was discovered by the sheriff, they would immediately be put in a passive situation where they could not defend themselves and would probably be locked up completely. They would not be able to move freely like they do now.
"The name Circe has a rather frivolous connotation, meaning a woman with enchanting charm." The professor stared at the paper thoughtfully. "It's often used by prostitutes, or as an alias for the Virgin of Etilo. It could also be a believer in the god of love or one of their children."
The God's Favored One narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean to find out if there's any Etilo virgin, prostitute, or blissful visitor with that name near the Saint Bartolomeo Warlock College?"
"No, time is precious. This way of sifting through things is too slow." A sharp and terrifying light flickered in the other man's smoky gray eyes. "Go find out what Bill Fam did wrong about two weeks ago that caused the Earl of Fam, who is always good at settling things for him, to be so furious."
Judging from the other party's behavior after he continued to provoke old Fam, Mad Dog Bill was probably really his biological son - just an incompetent son, who was ultimately not as good as the entire Fam family - as far as he knew, for the Silver Flower Mine, Earl Fam had invested most of the assets he could mobilize, as if he was determined to win it.
Back to the present, the savior was holding the evidence with two gloved fingers in disgust, but when he saw the professor was about to reach out to take it, he calmly changed his posture.
"Bill Farm may have killed someone."
As expected, the other person's attention was immediately drawn to his words, and his hand subconsciously stopped in mid-air.
"According to his classmates who haven't left yet," the God-Favoured One said quietly, "about half a month ago, Bill Fam returned to the dormitory reeking of alcohol and covered in blood. When someone asked about it, he threatened them, 'Don't meddle in other people's business, or I'll fuck you to death like I fucked that bitch.'"
Even when he was repeating the vulgar curse words, his brows did not move, and his tone was so soft and calm as if he was reciting scriptures. The qualities of a clergyman were simply top-notch.
According to the unfortunate students of St. Bartolome's School of Warlocks who were fooled by his "tricks," "Mad Dog Bill" often got into trouble while drunk, and it wasn't uncommon for him to cause death. On one occasion, he had beaten a beggar to death in public while drunk—so much so that no one investigated the matter, believing it was some unlucky prostitute or common woman.
But why did Earl Farm react so strongly?
"Then it can only be the Virgin of Etilo." The professor sneered sarcastically. "The Virgins of Etilo are not averse to having sex with pagans. They believe it's a way to win faith for Analene—but they won't receive drunken people, as drunkenness can diminish the purity of their desires offered to the gods. So this is most likely a rape and murder, and 'Circe' is most likely the name of the unfortunate priestess."
He said in a cold and weary tone, "—Bill Fam, a believer in the God of Light, raped and murdered a priestess of the God of Lust."
This is a very serious blasphemy, no matter which god it is.
No wonder Bill Fam behaved himself for a few days in order to appease his father's anger, and pretended to be a good student to attend the open class.
"Great! Looks like we've finally discovered how I performed that exquisite summoning technique." The professor deadpanned, his unfunny joke, and subconsciously reached for the crucial piece of evidence—which was dodged again. This time, he finally reacted, frowning and glaring. But someone looked at him innocently, as if nothing had happened. "What's wrong? What do you need?"
Nova stared at him for a moment, then finally tutted in compromise: "...Give me your gloves and shut up."
This person appears gentle and easygoing, and most of his decisions are respected and admired. If he chooses, he can be the most perfect, devout, and sweetest believer in the world. However, at times, the Savior can be cold, arbitrary, and a complete control freak. In such cases, the best solution is to give in appropriately.
...Besides, he didn't want to discuss in depth with the male protagonist the pathological behaviors caused by his experiences in another world - to be more precise, he didn't want to discuss those trivial things with anyone and gain some boring disgust or pity.
He had been forced to have several communications with the mother of this world about the bad habits caused by mental stress - it was terrible. The other party tried to cure his "undignified and dishonorable" scratching and biting with screaming and cursing, and even tried to prick his fingers with needles. The only result of the dispute was that he no longer took off his gloves easily.
The new gloves still carried the body temperature of the other person, but they didn't fit his hand well and were a little too big. However, this time the other party was finally willing to hand him the note. Nova faced the light and continued to study the extremely familiar handwriting.
"It's most likely traced." He narrowed his eyes, examining the unevenly deep marks. "The person behind this is able to obtain my manuscript, has a grudge against Bill Fam, knows about the previous conflict regarding 'heresy,' and has some connection to the priestess of the Goddess of Lust..."
The professor suddenly changed the subject: "Did you meet anyone familiar or strange at the Birch Restaurant that day?"
"No." The other party thought for a moment and answered affirmatively: "When I went there, everything was normal in the restaurant, and I didn't see Bill Fam. I have asked the waiter and the chef at the Birch Restaurant, and he came after I left."
"Shouldn't those people be detained by the Public Security Bureau?" Nova couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
The sheriff treated commoners with the same courtesy he showed to nobles, allowing them to roam freely in White Tower. Even his assistant professor had been secured by him, and he had stated that if he were to be detained and interrogated privately, he would not reveal a single word about the case. He would also protest to certain institutions on behalf of White Tower University—regarding the exorbitant annual protection fees and certain clearly illegal transactions.
In the end, he and the teaching assistant were only briefly questioned and the matter was over - the Public Security Bureau seemed to not want to get involved, but was waiting for the Inquisition and the Royal Court Council to intervene in this troublesome matter.
"It was at the Sheriff's Office, for sure." Someone looked back at him innocently. "So I went to the Sheriff's Office again and asked in person."
Nova: “…”
He once again vaguely sensed the lawless nature of this man, a descendant of rebels. The professor himself was already a heretic, but he still subconsciously retained some of the good morals of a modern citizen, so sometimes he was even more daring than he was.
"But I think there's a detail worth noting. Perhaps you can tell something from it." Azuka quietly looked into the other man's eyes. "The waiter recalled that Bill Fam didn't drink at the Birchwood Restaurant, and he didn't smell of alcohol when he came."
The author has something to say:
Atropine: A poisonous white crystalline bioalkaloid extracted from belladonna.
Death Song is sweet and never-ending: Disco Elysium opening line
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