The fisherman walking toward Ronald nodded at him and began to detail the victim’s situation.
The poor bastard who had his gut slashed open was called Yak, a fisherman who lived alone in the village. He had no living relatives and was unmarried, and he hadn’t had any conflicts with anyone recently.
To summarize briefly—
The victim was a solitary bachelor who didn’t interact much with others, a fisherman living by himself, so there wasn’t a high likelihood of revenge killing.
Ronald furrowed his brow.
If the victim was chosen randomly, that would make things even more troubling.
In serial murder cases, such situations are often difficult to solve.
However, to ease the fishermen’s minds, Ronald decided to share his findings.
At the very least, he didn’t want the residents of Selaephis living in fear of some nonexistent hunter.
With a light cough, Ronald raised his voice and said,
"Gentlemen, the fatal wound on Yak’s body was caused by a sharp weapon!"
"He died from a blade injury, not the bite of some wild animal. You know what this means, right?"
Upon hearing Ronald’s words, the surrounding fishermen all fell silent.
Staying in Selaephis all year round didn’t mean they were fools.
A fellow villager murdered by a sword...
For them, this was an extremely dire reality.
After quietly waiting a few seconds and seeing the fishermen’s confused faces, Ronald heaved a sigh.
Then, rallying his spirits, he continued to speak:
"Where is Yak’s home? Who can take me there first?"
The response to Ronald was a silence that filled the air.
In such times, none of the fishermen felt like stepping forward.
—They were lacking a leader.
Ronald clicked his tongue and simply addressed the surrounding fishermen again:
"This wasn’t done by the kind of monster you talk about; it was a murder started by a person in reality, so I think it would be best if someone could show me the way."
"Finding the truth as quickly as possible is good for everyone!"
The fishermen fell silent again.
After several seconds, the man who had been closest to Ronald and had just informed him about Yak finally spoke up:
Ronald introduced himself:
"Just call me Ronald."
The man immediately replied:
"Alright, Mr. Ronald."
"I know where Yak’s house is, so let me take you there."
In a few words, the two finished communicating, and Ronald followed the man into the interior of Selaephis.
In fact, the place where the deceased lived wasn’t too far from the docks.
After all, he was a fisherman.
Just within a distance not exceeding five hundred meters from the dock, there stood a lonely little house, squeezed in the middle at a downhill turn of the village dirt road.
Just by the pitiable look of the house, one could mistake it for a warehouse.
"You stay at the door. I’ll go in and take a look by myself."
Ronald directed the fisherman behind him and walked to the entrance of the house alone.
With the owner already dead, Ronald had no qualms as he kicked the door open without hesitation.
The fragile door immediately swung open with the impact.
He walked in, and everything came into view at once.
The house, poor and shabby both inside and out, showed no signs of a comfortable, cozy environment.
If Ronald hadn’t been aware of his exact location, he would have completely believed that this was a medieval fisherman’s dwelling.
Shaking his head, Ronald didn’t dwell on his feelings and quickly began to inspect the house.
There was very little inside the house.
A tattered bed, a cabinet missing its doors, the room didn’t even have a single intact table, just a roughly mended chair and a removed cabinet door serving as a dining table.
In addition, there were some tools for fishing, a small cooking stove, a heating stove connected to the wall of the room, which also showed signs of personal modification.
Such a house didn’t take long to investigate.
—There was nothing suspicious inside.
Standing in the drafty room, Ronald began to think.
Today’s murder didn’t seem like it was committed by a Caster who had lost their reason.
The likelihood of it being a revenge-seeking enemy was small as well.
So, for what reason would a murderer decide to kill an innocent fisherman?
Or something deeper, like a ritual associated with the mysterious aspect?
Or was it to instill fear in the residents of Selaphis for some unspeakable purpose?
There were simply too many possibilities...
While he contemplated, Ronald also left the shabby house.
The fisherman had been standing guard faithfully at the door, not allowing anyone near.
Then, Ronald spoke up:
"I’m going to the church first, and I will make sure to handle this matter before I leave."
"You can let everyone know they can disperse, no need to gather at the dock anymore."
The fisherman intended to obediently depart, but after taking just two steps, he looked back at Ronald with a very complex expression in his eyes:
"Sir... are you really sure you can solve this?"
Noticing the fisherman’s demeanor, Ronald’s tone became more serious.
"This will be resolved, please trust me."
With that response, the fisherman left briskly.
After silently watching the man’s figure disappear, Ronald returned to the church on his own. The return trip didn’t take much altogether – less than an hour.
So when he returned to the church, there were basically no changes.
The boy who had delivered the message had already been sent away by the priest, and at this moment, Conni sat alone in the empty nave, quietly praying.
Looking at his back, Ronald directly addressed him:
"Mr. Conni, where are the other individuals of the mystical aspect in Selaphis?"
"Can you tell me their names and addresses?"
The priest didn’t hesitate at all and replied directly:
"Besides me, there are actually just three people."
"They are the Herbalist living at the entrance of the village, the blacksmith in the middle, and the carpenter of the village."
Herbalist, blacksmith, and carpenter, huh...
After a few seconds of contemplation, Ronald then said:
"Simplify the information for me, tell me about their situations."
Priest Conni didn’t refuse.
Setting aside the book he had been holding, he stood up from his chair:
"Among the three, both the Herbalist and the carpenter belong to local families who have resided in Selaphis for over two generations, ancestors who were ousted from the mystical aspect due to their failed studies of incantations."
"As for the blacksmith, he is a survivor of a shipwreck a few years back."
"Having lost all his wealth, he decided to settle here as a foreigner in hiding."