The crime scene was a hall on the second floor. It had white walls, and a lustrous chandelier. The floor was black gleaming marble. It looked more than wide enough to receive a hundred guests.Gilgamesh was lying face-down in the corner, on the left end of the hall, looking from the entrance door. He was wearing his Uruk king outfit, not his golden armor, and his hair was down. That meant his Class was Caster, not Archer.
An arrow was piercing his back, slightly left from the center. Suicide was out of the question. Definitely a murder, just as Paracelsus said. Still…
“Aren’t Servant bodies supposed to disappear when they die?”
“Yes. To be precise, Gilgamesh is in a state of
temporary death. If we indict the culprit, the energy generated by writers’ obsession will disappear, bringing him back to life. That’s why he didn’t vanish.”
“So, who’s our culprit here?”
Paracelsus shook his head in response to Ishtar’s question.
“I’m an alchemist, not a detective. All I can do is scientifically analyze the events before me. I’ll leave the mystery solving to Master.”
“W-way to put some pressure on me.”
“I trust you can do it, Master.”
Paracelsus smiled in an attempt to bring some courage to my stiff face, and pointed to the arrow lodged in Gilgamesh’s back.
“My analysis determined that the arrow didn’t reach his heart. This indicates his death wasn’t instant. It’s impossible to shoot at a Servant of Gilgamesh’s level, even if from behind him, through normal means. The culprit must have approached him in spirit form.”
“So you’re saying the culprit is a Servant?”
“Of course, silly. You think a normal human could kill a Servant?”
Before Paracelsus could answer, Ishtar let out her snobbish comment.
Ishtar was a Pseudo-Servant using a human girl as a vessel. Her particular species of Servant couldn’t go into spirit form. Knowing that, she must have thought her innocence was already proven.
Paracelsus nodded.
“Servants in spirit form can’t attack others. Keeping too much distance would lessen the force of the arrow to an impractical level, and getting too close would make Gilgamesh know of their presence. I can only assume they went into their physical form 5-6 meters away from him, and shot that same instant.”
“HP and ATK change according to Level, so you can’t gauge their distance from that.”
“I imagined that would be your first observation, Master, but remember my previous explanation. This manor is
a Singularity which exists solely to come up with ideas for mysteries. Level differences are seemingly unnecessary to compose a mystery, so all Servants have been evened to Level 1.”
Paracelsus spread his arms to show off the robe he was wearing. The marks on his white robe were red, which was part of his first Ascension outfit. Not that the gesture meant much, considering he used the exact same outfit on his second Ascension. The same could be said for Ishtar, now that I think about it.
“I was also wearing my first Ascension clothes before I changed into this. I’m also level 1, and Gilgamesh should be too.”
“This proves we Servants are level 1. And here is the murder weapon.”
Paracelsus picked up a bow laid next to Gilgamesh.
“I retrieved this from the warehouse. It was hidden inside a wooden box, making it safe to assume the arrow was shot from this bow.”
“You work fast, alchemist. I like that.”
Paracelsus spoke without even looking at the huge smile on Ishtar’s face.
“I already checked the fingerprints left on this bow. They belong to Ishtar.”
“…What?”
Ishtar feigned ignorance, with that big smile still stamped on her face. I was the only one left speechless when Paracelsus showed he had worked much faster than she expected.
“I collected Ishtar’s fingerprints from our handshake a few moments ago.”
Paracelsus raised his right hand, showing a white scrap of paper stuck to it. An index fingerprint was visible in the middle of it. Was that Ishtar’s fingerprint…? He sure knew what he was doing there!
“A good alchemist always carries tools like these.”
I couldn’t tell what that had to do with anything, but Paracelsus seemed completely serious as he said that.
“Fingerprints are unique to each person. If a pair of prints share more than 12 identifying traits, we can conclude they belong to the same person. Those computer systems you often see mapping fingerprints in detective television still don’t exist in modern society. They’re appraised solely by human eyes. This normally takes a long time, but with my Heroic Spirit eyes, I only need one glance to compare the fingerprints here, with this paper.”
While saying “here”, Paracelsus pointed somewhere around the middle of the bow. A silver powder was spread atop it, forming the image of a fingerprint.
“The two prints share 77 identifying traits. They’re Ishtar’s, without a doubt.”
Ishtar’s face tensed immediately.
“Ho... how can you just eyeball that?”
“Well, I already suspected the culprit was an Archer from the moment I knew the murder weapon was a bow. By the way, this bow has the unique ability to enable even Pseudo-Servants to go into spirit form. The crime was possible for Ishtar.”
“Don’t ignore my questions, I’m not the culprit!”
“I’m just laying out the facts. Master is our detective here. Tell us, Master, what conclusion does this all lead you to?”
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be able to tell…”
Ishtar was losing her mind. I looked at her and said:
“The culprit is Ishtar. Her Class is Archer, so she used her weapon of choice, a bow, to kill Gilgamesh. That’s what the circumstances make it look like. But… I really can’t imagine Ishtar being the culprit…”
“Th… that’s right, Ritsuka.”
Ishtar puffed her chest suddenly, no longer nervous.
“For starters, Paracelsus, this analysis of yours missed a huge key point: the
whydunit.”
Paracelsus raised eyebrows, but Ishtar continued, proudly.
“You know one Pseudo-Servant who always talks about how important the
whydunit is.
Why did the culprit do it? Following that logic, tell me, what motive could I have to kill Gilga-”
I guess she noticed what she was saying. Ishtar stopped midsentence and stood still, with her mouth half open.
“You sure do have a motive to kill Gilgamesh.”
“Motives, plural, even. Rejecting your proposal due to your personality. Slaying Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven you sent as retaliation. Condescendingly making fun of you in the middle of a major crisis in Uruk. It’s hard to believe you took this long to finally kill him. It’s no surprise you thought this to be your chance and rushed to the deed.”
“Th… that’s just armchair detectiving. I wouldn’t be dumb enough to leave fingerprints.”
Not a claim I’d expect from the person who brought up her own
whydunit. I could feel the pity in Paracelsus eyes as he continued.
“You’re a
careless person, Ishtar. I can’t tell if from your own nature or your vessel’s influence. It’s quite possible that you mistakenly thought you wiped all prints, but left some behind.”
“I wouldn’t have hidden the murder weapon in the warehouse. I would’ve dumped it in the darkness outside.”
“Considering you didn’t know the nature of the darkness, it’s reasonable for you to have assumed the warehouse was safer.”
“Modern human technology already invented little caps you put on your fingertips to reproduce someone else’s fingerprints. Someone could have used that.”
“I detected traces of skin where the fingerprints were. It wasn’t a cap.”
“Then it was… oh, I know, a homunculus! I’m always beating homunculi in battle, so it wouldn’t be weird if a homunculus maker had a grudge against me.”
“A skilled enough maker could indeed create a homunculus capable of copying not only someone’s fingerprints, but even their memories and experiences. However, it wouldn’t be possible to copy a Servant’s abilities. A homunculus of you would only be capable of copying the girl who serves as your vessel. Repeating your own words from before, ‘
you think a normal human could kill a Servant?’”
“If the homunculus was min-maxed for combat…”
“In theory, it is possible to make a homunculus specialized in one specific field. As an example, I’m currently building the
Paracel, a homunculus-optimized exclusive to make chocolate. I’ll officially announce him on next year’s Valentine’s Day, if given the opportunity.”
Paracel… I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see that. Without noticing me and Ishtar’s stiff faces, Paracelsus continued.
“Paracel’s powers are comparable to mine, only when it comes to making chocolate. By the same logic, an Ishtar homunculus optimized for combat would be able to kill Gilgamesh.”
“Then my homunculus is the culpri-”
“However!”
Paracelsus spoke in a sharp voice, breaking Ishtar’s composure.
“If she’s optimized for combat, she wouldn’t be able to take complex actions, such as going into spirit form. Thus, the homunculus theory isn’t plausible, unfortunately.”
“Quite the smile for someone saying ‘unfortunately’! You’re just so sure I’m the culprit, aren’t you?”
“Don’t victimize yourself.”
Paracelsus dodged Ishtar’s accusations with a smile, and turned to me.
“If you, our Master, declare
Ishtar is the culprit, the mystery will be considered solved, and this Singularity will disappear.”
“See, just like I said, you’re convinced I’m the culprit!”
“What would happen to Ishtar if I indicted her?”
I asked the question, knowing it would only add to Ishtar’s anger.
“She’d be incorporated into the Singularity, disappearing along with it.”
“Even if she’s not the culprit?”
“Yes. As I said multiple times already, we’re in
a Singularity which exists solely to come up with ideas for mysteries. As long as our deduction is reasonable enough to convince the writers, it doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong.”
“Wow, that system is just begging for false charges to happen.”
“Worry not. Judging by our circumstances, the truth couldn’t be clearer. No need to hesitate, Master. You can always summon another Ishtar. Her memories would be reset, yes, but these consequences wouldn’t be undeserved.”
“You’re completely stuck on the idea that I did it. But you guys will just have to wait.”
Ishtar fixed her posture and crossed her arms.
“Ritsuka is my Master, I can’t let him put me to shame. I’ll investigate the case.”
Ishtar took the bow from Paracelsus’ hands. He shot her a sharp look, without losing his composure. He must’ve been ready to arrest Ishtar the moment she made any weird moves.
Ishtar calmly strung the bow. I couldn’t tell if she noticed Paracelsus’ glare or not. The loud sound of the string reverberated through the entire hall. Ishtar squinted the moment she heard the noise. She turned to Paracelsus and me, and explained the interesting clue she just discovered.
“Seems like its ability to allow Pseudo-Servants to go into spirit form isn’t the only thing special about this bow.”
“Indeed. It also provides a large strength bonus when used by an Archer Servant. Conversely, it lowers the user’s strength when used by other Classes. For the lack of an official name, let’s call it
Yoichi’s Bow.”
“
Yoichi’s Bow, huh.”
Ishtar smiled for an instant, sure of her victory. Before I had the chance to ask her what happened, she propped
Yoichi’s Bow against the wall, and approached Gilgamesh’s corpse. He was knocked face-down, and trickles of blood flowed from his back, outlining his body as they formed a puddle on the floor.
“You said the arrow didn’t make it all the way to the heart, didn’t you?”
“Yes, he must have taken half-damage.”
Servants were normally divided into seven Classes. Each Class had its own set of advantages and disadvantages. For example, Sabers were strong against Lancers but weak against Archers. Casters were strong against Assassins, but weak against Riders. Against Classes without special interactions, they all dealt neutral damage.
“Would the arrow pierce his heart with neutral damage, I wonder?”
“Most likely. And with double damage, it would have pierced all the way through to the other side of his chest.”
While I listened to their discussion, I reminded myself of the Class advantage chart and its interactions with the arrow.
“Then the culprit isn’t me. My Class is Archer, so my attack would have dealt neutral damage to Caster Gilgamesh. And with
Yoichi’s Bow giving Archers an attack buff, my arrow should have pierced through his body. I could have hopped backwards to lower the damage, but there was no reason for me to have done that, and Gilgamesh isn’t someone you can take chances against. And yet, the arrow failed to reach the heart, indicating
half-damage. That would mean I didn’t do it.”
“According to my analysis, an Archer using this bow gains a certain degree of remote control of its arrows. With enough distance, it would be possible to manipulate the arrow to minimize the damage. Before you ask, no, a homunculus specialized for combat wouldn’t be capable of an action as complex as remotely controlling an arrow.”
“You’re really pulling all stops to pin this crime on me, aren’t you?”
“I’m just trying to go somewhere warmer as fast as I can. No need to wait, Master. Indict the culprit.”
I couldn’t find any holes in Paracelsus’ analysis (or rather, accusation). But was it really okay to give a final verdict now? Before I could make my decision, the corners of Ishtar’s mouth twisted upward.
That was the same smile as before, completely sure of her victory.
“Paracelsus, you really jumped the gun in assuming I’m an Archer.”
“I’m not assuming anything. I know for a fact your Class is Archer.”
“Too bad.”
Ishtar’s tone was mocking as she stuck her tongue out.
“Ever since I came to this Singularity, my Saint Graph got unstable and
changed my Class to Rider.”
What?
“You know my Rider form is a Summer form. A swimsuit would be an awful look for this frigid location, completely out of place. That’s why I changed into the first Mystic Code I found. Besides, before I knew what kind of enemy would be jumping on me, I didn’t want anyone finding out my Class changed.”
So that was the reason for her clothes! That sure made a lot more sense than Ishtar being sensible and thoughtful. Hiding her changed Class, huh… Ishtar really was a great Heroic Spirit, despite being… like that. I was surprised, but convinced. Ishtar looked at me, displeased.
“A decent Master would have noticed my Class changed.”
All I could reply with was, “How was I supposed to?”
Paracelsus shook his head.
“Your word alone does not prove your Class changed. It’s still quite possible you’re trying to hide the fact you’re an Arc- GHAH!”
Paracelsus screamed as Ishtar punched him in the face.
“This pain… that’s double damage against Casters… This confirms your Class is Rider.”
Paracelsus smiled, maintaining a composed expression despite the blood dripping from his mouth. Damn, Heroic Spirits were awesome! That being said…
“Couldn’t you have proved that without punching Paracelsus?”
“Eh, that saved us a lot of time. Besides, his so-called ‘analysis’ was just a bunch of excuses to pin the crime on me.”
“You admit the latter reason was the main one?”
“I do.”
“Can’t you at least pretend you feel bad?!”
“Don’t yell at me.”
Ishtar dramatically covered her ears before continuing, as if my arguing wasn’t her fault.
“As a Rider, I have Class advantage against Caster Gilgamesh, meaning I should deal double damage. Even with
Yoichi’s Bow lowering the power of non-Archer Servants, I should still deal at least neutral damage and pierce his heart. But the arrow failing to go all the way to heart equals half damage. Therefore, I am not the culprit.”
“That’s correct, but the fingerprints are still yours. And we already established fingerprint caps and homunculi are out of the question…”
“You’re forgetting a major suspect. Right, Ereshkigal?”
Ishtar suddenly called an unexpected name.
“It seems like you’re sneaking around, hiding yourself, but I think it’s about time you showed your face.
Since we’re using the same vessel, we should have the same fingerprints, right?”
A light shone before my eyes a few seconds after Ishtar was done talking, and a girl appeared from it.
Her facial structure was identical to Ishtar’s. The only difference was that she was blond. Without a doubt, that girl, or rather, that goddess was:
Ereshkigal.