Passing by civilians giving their statements, Malin stopped in his tracks, "The body you discovered?"
This question made the officer who was taking their statements turn around with displeasure and say, "The gentleman is asking... Ah, it’s a little Priest." Seeing the Holy Emblems on Malin and Matilda’s chests, he smiled awkwardly with some embarrassment.
An old man dressed like a Bishop beside him smiled and tipped his hat, "Greetings to the children from the Church of Justice and the Church of the Goddess of Harvest, good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, your Excellency of the Church of the God of Wealth," Matilda said with a smile, lightly lifting the edge of her leather skirt.
With Matilda’s introduction, Malin also smiled and nodded, "Good afternoon, your Excellency."
"What brings you here?" The Bishop’s question was the same as what the outside officer was thinking, so Matilda repeated what she had said earlier, and seeing the companions behind the two, the Bishop nodded in understanding, "I apologize, two little ones, it looks like I’ve ruined your happy adventure."
"You’re too kind, your Excellency," Malin said with a chuckle, shaking his head, "May we enter to confirm the body?"
"You may, though the body has been moved out, it’s right down the corridor. The main building needs to be purified, we just sent a fast horse to the city half an hour ago to inform them."
"Was it an evil ritual?" Matilda frowned.
"No, no ritual, just a desperate man who committed familicide because he couldn’t repay his debts... Ah, even if he could not pay off the debt, our Church of the God of Wealth wouldn’t commit the sin of taking away his children. Such a man is truly worthless, lacking even the courage to go mining in the wells to repay debts."
"...Probably because he didn’t want to lose face," Malin sighed, and it also reinforced the idea deep in Malin’s heart to earn money to support his family, for he had girls to take care of.
Matilda shook her head, "Let’s go take a look, Malin."
Malin had Matilda direct their companions to disperse into a formation that could support each other, and then took Matilda to view the remains—winter had preserved the bodies fairly intact, but the two children had died from knife wounds, and the wounds on their chests told the whole story.
"Knife wounds... The cuts look like they were made with a kitchen knife, and the person wielding it was strong. Baron Mobyk was at the seventh rank of the Merchant Sequence, his physical enhancements were considerable, so these injuries are not surprising." Matilda examined the wounds of the two children, then checked Mrs. Mobyk’s wounds: "She was stabbed in the back... a fatal blow."
"This madman, your Excellency, why did he borrow so much money, and where did it go?" Malin asked the Bishop as he approached.
"I’m not sure, since he was a Noble, we disbursed the funds without asking how he would repay. According to our investigations, the Mobyk family had plenty of assets, so there was no chance they couldn’t pay back the money." The Bishop seemed puzzled by the situation as well.
"And now you find his assets were no longer his own long ago?" Malin had already thought of a reason.
"Yes, he covertly disposed of most of his assets six months ago, each to different individuals, with no chance of collusion among them. We’ve investigated, but there’s no lead, in the end, we could only come to the Mobyk family’s old manor on a hunch, only to discover..." The Bishop sighed.
Just as Malin was about to say something, he saw Green leading people across the police line, so he delegated the follow-up work to Colin and continued the investigation on the bodies with Matilda. The last body they checked was the master of the Mobyk family, a middle-aged man with no wounds on his body and a bullet hole on the left side of his skull, confirming that he committed suicide with his left hand holding the gun.
"Can we confirm it was suicide?" Matilda asked, looking up at Malin.
Malin shook his head, "I’m no Deity, this Mobyk has been dead for over a month... Perhaps we could have a Transcendent from the Prophecy Sequence check it out?" Malin suggested.
"I can contact someone. It doesn’t seem like there is anything for us to do here today. When we go back, won’t you invite me for a big meal you’ve prepared?" Matilda asked with a smile.
Curious, Malin asked, "How did you know? Who told you?"
"Ms. Faye mentioned it to me," Matilda replied with a smile.
"You know each other?" Malin was very curious.
"Yes, she and I are cousins," the sly fox answered with a smile.
Malin laughed as well, "Alright, come to my place in the afternoon."
The Mobyk family’s case was publicly known as a familicide due to debt, but internally within the Church, it had already been linked with the downfall and assassination of several families.
Malin figured that Colin must be busy, so he left the Church, taking Maya and Matilda back home.
Matilda asked her fellow churchgoer to pass a message to the Bishop, saying she would be staying at Malin’s house.
This made Malin somewhat wary, "You’re not going to make a scapegoat out of me, are you?"
"How could that be? I am Matilda, the Justice Maiden. Getting pregnant before marriage is not OK," replied the little fox with a laugh.
This made Malin firm in his resolve that he was already shouldering the blame, so he too chuckled.
If it came to it, I’ll just take some unfortunate soul on. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, Malin thought.
With that in mind, Malin cooked several dishes. Even though he wasn’t sure about Matilda’s preferences, he thought as long as there was roast meat, she should be satisfied.
As it turned out, the roast was a big hit, which made Malin very happy. He was also amazed at Matilda’s appetite as she gobbled down five pieces of rib in one go, prompting Malin to exclaim in surprise, "Is it really that good?"
"Yes, Mr. Malin, what you made was fantastic, I feel as though I’ve been redeemed. It’s been so long since I’ve had such delicious meat," Matilda said and then sighed, "You wouldn’t know this, but a Justice Maiden only eats vegetarian. If I were at the Church, I wouldn’t even get a whiff of oil."
"That’s so sad, Sister Matilda. Come over to our place when you are free. I’ll get my brother to make you some delicious roast rib," said Maya.
Maya was moved to tears by listening to her, and she became good friends with Matilda over the course of a meal.
This surprised Malin, but he quickly nodded, backing his sister’s statement.
"That would be great," Matilda said and then, taking out her purse, she exclaimed, "Right, Mr. Malin."
"What is it?" Malin asked.
"I heard from Faye that you wrote that book," she said.
"Ah, you mean the detective series? Yes, that’s my work," Malin confirmed with a nod.
Then Matilda took out the first edition of the first volume: "Mr. Malin, could you give me an autograph?"
Malin smiled as he penned his pseudonym, and Matilda happily put the book away, then turned to Malin, "Malin, I have a small suggestion."
"How about we go out and have fun tomorrow?"
Looking at the anticipation on Matilda’s face, Malin thought for a moment, "Do you really need me to accompany you?"
"...Yes, Mr. Malin," Matilda fell silent for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"Alright then, I’ll accompany you," Malin agreed, "After all, I feel it’s my duty to help such a lovely girl as you."
At these words, Matilda joyfully raised her hands, screaming with delight, "That’s wonderful, Malin!"
"However, you have to tell me, is that guy really that much of a nuisance?" Malin asked with a smile.
"...Yes, Malin, he’s like a blister on the sole of your foot, utterly annoying," Matilda replied.
Upon hearing this, Malin sighed, "I get it. Follow me tomorrow, and if that guy dares to come over, I’ll help you get rid of him."
Such a cute girl as Matilda, being a Justice Maiden, obviously couldn’t refuse others, could she?