"What the hell?" Karma asked with a furrow. "What kind of perverted…"
"Enough!" Felix pushed Ravella away from Kiernan and looked into her glazed eyes. "Ravella, snap out of it!"
"Ah…" Ravella shook her head, and reason returned to her eyes. "W-what was I…"
"What the hell was that, Ravella?!" Felix asked angrily.
"I-I don't know… it was…" Ravella's cheeks were flushed in pink as she looked at Kiernan. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."
Kiernan looked at his finger that was covered in a drool, and there were even bite marks. She tried to bite into his skin to draw more blood.
'Is she a vampire or what? How could anyone like blood that much?' Kiernan wiped the drool and blood off his finger.
"Was that enough?" Karma asked angrily. "I don't know what kind of perverted actions you guys perform in the World Detective Association, but I've had enough, and I want you two to leave."
"I-I am really…" Felix wiped the sweat off his forehead. "This hadn't happened before. Please, listen to Ravella's explanation first."
Karma crossed his arms and said, "Hurry up then."
"A-alright then…" Ravella cleared her throat and said, "He is sixteen years old, just like the culprit, but the martial arts rank is way above. A whole rank above the culprit's."
"So that should be enough, no?" Karma asked.
"No." Felix shook his head. "We've heard about Kiernan Hunter. He's been the talk of the town for the past few days, so we've learned a few things, such as your crazy speed of advancement."
"What about the taste of the blood then? Is it different?" Karma asked.
"Y-yes…" Ravella nodded. "The culprit's blood tasted sweet like sugar, but this one… was like a drug, intoxicating and addicting."
She blushed heavily, and her breath turned ragged as she recalled the sensation.
"That should be enough evidence to drop him as a suspect then!" Karma shouted.
"The taste of one's blood can change." Felix said. "It depends on the purity of one's martial soul. If one's martial soul has an ugly color, then the taste of blood will be equally unpleasant."
"Since Kiernan's blood tastes so… good…" Ravella smiled. "His martial soul must be dazzlingly beautiful."
"I am martial arts myself, and I know that the martial soul can't change so drastically in just a few weeks!" Karma shouted. "If the blood tastes so vastly different, his martial soul must've undergone immense transformation!"
"That's true. Very true." Felix stood up and offered a handshake to Kiernan. "That's why you're not part of the main suspects anymore. However, if we find any new evidence, we'll be sure to contact you."
Kiernan shook his hand and nodded.
Karma went to the door and opened it, motioning for them to leave.
"I-It was nice to meet you." Ravella bowed to Kiernan and ran off the house.
Felix nodded to Karma and then left.
Karma slammed the door shut and angrily returned to the living room.
"How dare they?" He shook his head and plopped down on the couch. "They think they can do whatever they want just because they're part of the World Detective Association?"
"What exactly is the World Detective Association?" Kiernan asked. "Never heard of it."
"The world's best detectives are part of that association." Karma said. "They're usually responsible for catching dangerous criminals. This murder is way below their paygrade."
'How am I this unlucky?' Kiernan sighed. 'I can tell that Felix is a dangerous one.'
While driving through the streets of Irio, Felix was deep in thought.
"Why aren't you driving?" Ravella asked while carefully steering the wheel. "I am not a good driver!"
"I must think." Felix said. "How often do you taste blood that is sweet?"
"Mm, quite rarely." Ravella said. "Only because I don't have the hobby of tasting blood in my free time. I wouldn't mind tasting Kiernan's, though…"
"Enough of him already; you truly embarrassed me there!" Felix said with flushed cheeks. "If my colleagues hear about this incident, I will lose all my face!"
"I am sorry…" Ravella blushed in embarrassment.
"Anyway, I know that Kiernan was in Tiamut during the time of the murder. At least, he should've been."
"Shouldn't that be enough of freeing him from suspicions?" Ravella asked.
"No, because it's rare for there to be multiple people with sweet-tasting blood in this weak backwater country."
"Especially in this city! This city is among the weakest in the entire country!"
"I heard they reached nationals quarterfinals last weekend." Ravella said. "Everyone was celebrating it. So, how weak can this city be?"
"My detective instincts are tingling." Felix said. "Take me to Karuza High; I must talk to his coach about whether Kiernan ever left the training village."
Ravella turned on the wheel, and they headed straight to the school.
When they reached the school, they saw that banners were up, celebrating their success in the nationals.
The students were all smiles at the amazing accomplishment, and the teachers were also smiling alongside their students.
After parking the car, Felix and Ravella headed to the school gym. It was empty, but then one of the storage rooms opened, and Jin walked out with two duffel bags.
"Excuse me, are you the coach of Karuza High?" Felix approached him.
"Yes, that's me. What do you want?" Jin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I am here to talk about Kiernan Hunter," Felix said.
"If you want to interview him, get in line." Jin said. "All local news stations have already requested interviews with him."
"I am not a reporter." Felix pulled out his detective badge. "I am detective Felix, and this is my assistant, Ravella. I want to talk about Kiernan."
"…" Jin looked at those badges with a serious look and nodded. "Come with me."
They went to the gym's break room and took seats around a square-shaped table that had a stack of newspapers and a few empty coffee mugs on it.
"So, what do you want to know?" Jin asked.
"About his whereabouts during a time of murder." Felix said. "A local referee was murdered in his home a few weeks ago."
"We must've been at Tiamut's training village then." Jin said. "Sounds like a quite strong alibi to me."
"What we need to know is whether Kiernan ever left the village." Felix said with narrowed eyes. "Try to think really hard."
"…" Jin frowned and dug deep into his memory, then he sighed and nodded with hesitation.