"I understand, Malin, don’t worry, we will take good care of ourselves," Jessica said with a smile.
Malin smiled—a bitter smile. Now he was conflicted because Malin was afraid. If it was confirmed that the recent spate of murders bore a resemblance to those of the Mischael family in the past, it would likely indicate that a copycat was at work, or even possibly a sacrificial rite to please an Evil God. Such a conclusion would be deadly for Malin and his companions. If things reached that stage, extricating themselves from the event would be imperative.
"Mr. Malin, if we confirm a similarity between the two rounds of murders, what should we do?" Clovis walked over to Malin and asked.
"Immediately inform Colin," Malin and Faye said in unison.
"I concur," Lillim nodded, "Someone capable of these acts is certainly not just a common imitator; they must have an ulterior motive. We must prevent whatever is about to unfold, or else the perpetrator could bring disaster to this world."
"It’s horrible, they have healthy bodies, why would they think about destroying the world?" Clovis said somewhat unhappily, her soliloquy rendering Malin silent—indeed, even though Fate had made Clovis what she was now, her heart had not twisted into such a state, only questioning herself in pain.
That’s why Malin thought of saving her from her misery.
Thinking this, Malin stroked Clovis’s head, drawing her ears back behind her head: "Clovis, you have a great body too. In my eyes, your heart shines with a health that dazzles."
The Bunny Girl was startled, then her face flushed red. Seeing her completely immobilized, Malin laughed and took her hand: "Let’s go to the city hall. Hearing is deceptive, seeing is believing, right?"
"Yes, may the Goddess of Fate have mercy," Faye said with a smile.
Though Faye said this, with Malin’s memory, he quickly found five similar cases in the archives. The other girls made discoveries as well: Lillim found three, Jessica found one, Clovis and Faye each found seven, and Maya found four.
Twenty cases in total, similar to each other, made Malin’s scalp tingle.
They also identified a pattern. If they arranged the Mischael family incidents and accidents in numerical order from the first to the twenty-fourth victim, then the recent twenty murders and incidents fit perfectly in reverse order from twenty-four to five.
The murderer was recreating the events from the last incident backward, perfectly copying one after another.
The Mischael family’s twenty-fourth incident was an accident where Mr. Mischael’s father fell to his death. Before Malin arrived in this world, an elderly noble from another family fell from the rooftop in the same manner, and his death was also ruled an accident.
The two children from the Domingo family corresponded to the seventeenth and sixteenth slots, respectively. The Mischael family’s twins were killed in the same way, murdered in an alley amidst a crowd, with the murderer remaining unidentified.
The two Princes from the Mowish family survived an assassination attempt, and yet Malin still found substitute victims—three days after the incident, two children from a noble family were killed in an assassination. The killer approached them from behind for a swift and clean execution, facing little resistance, just like the Mischael family’s brothers. Their numbers were fourteenth and thirteenth.
Logan’s three cousins corresponded to the ninth, eighth, and seventh slots, respectively. They were the children of the Mischael family patriarch’s sibling. The ninth died when his Revolver misfired, ruled an accident; the eighth died from a precise kick to the head by a spooked horse, also deemed an accident. The seventh died rolling down the stairs, twisting his neck as he tumbled from the second floor to the first under the gaze of nearly his entire class—yet another accident.
"This is terrifying," Faye covered her mouth, "The situation has gone beyond our imaginings, Malin."
"Indeed, if we prepare for the worst scenario, there are four more victims to go before the ritual is complete. We must inform Mr. Colin," Clovis said, pausing, "Wait, where did Mr. Colin say he was going again?"
"Mischael’s house... My God, could there be danger?" Jessica’s fur stood on end.
"No, Mr. Colin won’t be in trouble. Whether or not Mr. Mischael is the murderer, Mr. Colin will be safe. If I were the murderer, I certainly wouldn’t complicate matters when the sacrifice is nearing completion. There are four victims left, and they must be Nobles. Colin is a Priest and an orphan. His chances of being chosen by the murderer are practically zero," Malin reassured the girls.
This was a conclusion Malin came to after reviewing the comparison between the twenty cases.
His view was affirmed by Faye and Clovis, both Mages with keen minds, far sharper in these matters than the other three girls who relied on their physical prowess.
"What about the gentleman who is accompanying Mr. Colin?" Clovis didn’t know Camilla, but Faye did, "That’s Mr. Camilla. No worries, he’s a Paladin of the Church of Justice, a good man dedicated heart and soul to the God of Justice. There are no Paladins in the Mischael family, so if the murderer really is following a sequence, he too will be safe."