Chapter 88. I Believe in Aina
"Thank you for your trouble, Ms. Fesher." Rol gave a nod to the female mage dressed in an ornate magical robe.
Ms. Fesher glanced at Rol, seed to think of sothing, let out a soft snort, and paid his pleasantry no mind.
"……"
‘What did Grego do about this? I spent so much money and got this kind of attitude in return? Please don't go and ss this up for !’ Rol thought to himself.
Taking the Abyssal Detection Sample Rol passed to her, Ms. Fesher produced a heptahedral crystal and raised a magical radiance in her right hand.
Through his Magic-Sight, Rol could perceive the Magic in the air — which had originally taken the form of drifting currents — gathering and taking shape at Ms. Fesher's hands, transforming into all manner of mysterious, rhythmic fluctuations.
"So this is……the innate talent required for a mage to cast spells — Magic Perception?"
"My Magic-Sight should be the high tier version of Magic Perception……I wonder when Mr. Tree will be able to help
complete this talent. I really want to try out the Fireball Spell!"
"Your Highness Princess Serela, the detection results are in."
Mage Fesher presented the heptahedral crystal in her hand to Serela.
"What are the findings?"
"It is indeed Abyssal Aura, and it originates from the Abyssal Great Lord 'Chaos'."
"Chaos?"
Upon hearing this unexpected answer, Serela couldn't help but glance sideways at Rol.
A mont later, seeming to understand sothing, she smiled: "Are you certain?"
"Of course — different Abyssal Great Lords manifest their power in different forms, and so the detection formulas constructed for each will differ sowhat as well." Ms. Fesher explained.
"The detection formula I am currently activating is one developed specifically to detect the Abyssal Great Lord 'Chaos'."
Rol gave a faint smile. Having received this answer — which he had designed in advance — he knew things were essentially settled.
Thinking this, he glanced sideways at maidservant Pati, attempting to read sothing from her expression.
Unfortunately, Pati remained as inscrutable as ever, expression fixed and blank.
"Ms. Fesher's professional expertise naturally has our full confidence."
Composing himself, Rol affird the mage's detection results at this juncture, then turned his head to address maidservant Aina, who stood to one side in a daze:
"Miss Aina, as the pri suspect, would you mind letting Ms. Fesher conduct a thorough check of whether the Abyssal Great Lord Chaos's aura is present within your body?"
"N — not at all……"
The little maidservant raised her lowered face, her pair of erald pupils seeming to have lost focus.
"Rol, the results are in on this side too!"
Just then, Grego pushed the door open and entered, another analysis report in hand.
"This is Mage Brik's blood test results on Miss Peini."
Grego stepped to Rol's side and handed the two reports — handwritten by Mage Brik — to Rol and Serela respectively.
"Mm, let
see……Miss Peini's blood contains an unknown substance — preliminary analysis indicates it is so form of special catalytic agent containing Abyssal components?"
Rol read the report aloud, his voice full of shock.
"Hold on — Miss Peini has also been contaminated by the Abyss?"
As his words fell, Rol at last detected that slight anomaly belonging to Pati.
"Well then……things have beco sowhat complicated. Miss Pati, I won't say more — right now you and Miss Peini……both of you carry considerable suspicion as well."
"Naturally, I understand your suspicion." Pati replied.
"But there's no need for concern. Compared to Aina, it is also possible that Miss Peini ca into inadvertent contact with an agent containing Abyssal components, so her level of suspicion is sowhat lower."
Rol paused. "And as for you, Miss Pati — your level of suspicion is even lower still."
"Understood."
"Very well," Rol turned to Mage Fesher: "Ma'am, I would ask you to construct an additional set of detection formulas — ones covering the remaining Abyssal Great Lords besides 'Chaos'."
"Certainly, but it will take so ti." Fesher nodded.
"If I may ask, approximately how long?"
Fesher paused her formula construction. "I will build them in order of each Abyssal Great Lord's level of activity in the Material Plane — the first to be constructed will be the detection formula for the Great Lord 'Nature', which will take approximately seven minutes."
"That works," Rol nodded, then turned to address both maidservants Aina and Pati: "Ladies, the 'Chaos' detection formula is ready to use right now — who would like to go first?"
"……" Pati was silent.
"……" Aina was also silent.
"I — I'll go first……"
A mont later, Aina timidly raised her hand.
"Then let's have Miss Aina go first. Ms. Fesher, any concerns?" Rol asked.
"None whatsoever — the detection formula is already set. It can activate on its own."
Aina stepped forward and, guided by Fesher, pressed her small hand against the heptahedral crystal.
Hum —
The crystal activated, yet it remained as pellucid as ever.
Fesher glanced at the detection result and smiled: "It appears this young lady has not been contaminated by the power of 'Chaos'."
"Miss Pati, it's your turn." Rol asked in a businesslike manner.
Maidservant Pati hesitated slightly, as though deliberating over sothing.
"Miss Pati?"
"Of course." Pati walked calmly to the heptahedral crystal, expression placid, and reached out to rest her hand upon it.
Hum —
To everyone's astonishnt, the mont Pati's hand touched the heptahedral crystal, an abyss-colored wisp of mist surfaced visibly upon what had been a perfectly clear crystal.
That mist drifted slowly within the crystal — cold, desolate, with an air of ruin and descent as though on the verge of spilling over.
The Abyss!
That was a manifestation of Abyssal power!
This ant that maidservant Pati was contaminated with the aura of the Abyssal Great Lord 'Chaos'!
Pati's pupils contracted sharply. She recoiled as though shocked, involuntarily stepping back three paces, staring fixedly at her own right hand.
"No — impossible. How could I be contaminated by the power of Chaos? I clearly……"
"Clearly what? Miss Pati?" Rol rose and walked unhurriedly to stand before Pati, using his height advantage to look down at the maidservant whose face had already betrayed a flicker of panic.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Countered by Rol's question, Pati's expression relaxed into a smile of resignation. "Detective, when did you first suspect ?"
At this point, Pati naturally understood she had been exposed — there was no further purpose to keeping up the pretense.
What she could not understand was: by the logic of all the evidence just gathered, Aina's suspicion had clearly been the highest — and she had already taken care to sar the aura of "Nature" onto Aina and into Luo Nan's bedchamber while sending Aina off to tidy the small dining room.
All of it had been to throw off any investigators who ca calling, muddying the waters.
But why……had the detection formula not lit up for Aina, and instead lit up for her?
"Is Ms. Fesher controlling it?" Pati turned her head and asked Mage Fesher.
"Naturally it was ." Fesher nodded.
"Why?"
Pati asked a second ti — she could not understand why even the Arcane Association's professional personnel would deliberately act against her.
She had clearly suppressed the power of "Nature" within her body entirely, leaving not a trace visible on the surface.
"On this point," Fesher looked toward Rol, "you'll have to ask this detective — I was acting on his instructions."
"So……Detective, why?" Pati asked the word "why" a third ti.
"How shall I put it……" Rol scratched his own face, as though feeling a slight itch. He reached his hand toward his jawline.
Tssh —
Before Pati's astonished eyes, Rol……no — Luo Nan tore away the Human-Skin Mask from his face.
Revealing his true appearance.
"Naturally it's because……I believe in little Aina, Pati!"
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