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The Traveler Who Arrives in Spring Brings Death to the Academy – Part 06

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Translator: Kell

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Huh?

Kazuya noticed the change in the inspector’s expression.

Does he know Victorique?

He glanced at Victorique. Ignoring the inspector, she looked away and buried her face in her books.

Hmm?

A moment later, the inspector, regaining his composure, turned his attention to Kazuya. He was holding a bundle of bloody wires. Raising one leg, he held it toward Kazuya, and laughed.

“I’ve got the proof right here!”

Inspector Blois’s voice echoed through the quiet conservatory.

“We found it near the scene of the crime! It was wrapped tightly around a roadside tree. Hmm… I’m not sure what it’s for, but it must’ve been your doing! You’re under arrest, international murderer!”

Kazuya smiled broadly, and looked at Victorique.

“Explain it to him, Victorique. Tell this inspector your reasoning.”

No answer.

Victorique turned around and looked at him with her mouth full of rice crackers. She shrugged, as if to say she didn’t want to, then turned her gaze back to the books.

“Uh… Victorique?”

Inspector Blois approached slowly.

“You’ve got the wrong guy!” Kazuya protested, trembling. “Listen to me, Inspector!”

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While Kazuya was explaining the wire on his own, pleading his innocence, Victorique was studying the bloody wire with great interest, flipping it around.

It took quite a while before Kazuya managed to convince the inspector and free himself from the list of suspects. He sat back down, completely exhausted.

Victorique raised her head. “Grevil.”

The inspector’s cheeks twitched. “Wh-What is it?”

Noticing the change in his expression, Kazuya observed Inspector Blois.

For some reason, the inspector’s face was contorted in fear. He was extremely scared of the frilly Victorique, as if she were a powerful being.

It was an odd scene; it seemed like the position of adult and child had switched.

The inspector opened his quivering lips. “I-I’m never asking for your help ever again!”

Victorique snickered. “Suit yourself.”

“So you two know each other,” Kazuya said.

Neither of them answered. He sighed.

Inspector Blois raised his shoulders and entered the steel cage. The bars closed.

A wind blew through the skylight, rustling the palm leaves.

“The real culprit is a blonde girl,” Victorique said softly. “Her fingers are injured.”

The inspector whirled around with a curious look on his face. “What?”

“Check the hospital, Grevil.”

The inspector’s confused face disappeared as the steel cage descended.

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As the inspector vanished into the distance, Victorique returned to languidly puffing on her pipe, seemingly losing interest in everything around her. She began turning the pages of her books as though nothing had happened.

Kazuya, who had been staring blankly into space, finally came back to his senses.

“Victorique,” he called.

“…”

“Hello? What was that just now?”

“…Hmm?” Victorique lifted her gaze. “The result of contemplation,” she said wearily. “The Wellspring of Wisdom told me so.”

Silence descended.

Victorique looked up, succumbing to Kazuya’s persistent gaze. “Think about it,” she said tediously. “Why did the culprit use such an elaborate method of killing? There are so many quick and easy ways to kill someone, like stabbing, beating, or shooting.”

“I-I don’t know…”

“Because they were scared of the victim.” Victorique snacked on a rice cracker. “The culprit is either a woman or a child. The victim was an adult male, right? The killer was afraid to confront the victim directly, so they killed him remotely. So we can assume that they were significantly of smaller physique than the victim.”

“What about their hands being injured?”

“I examined the wire and found that in addition to the blood from the victim, there were small bloodstains near the ends. It was the killer’s blood. Perhaps they inadvertently cut their fingers when they were setting up the wire or trying to remove it.”

Kazuya reached for a rice cracker. Savoring the nostalgic taste, he asked, “What about them being blonde?”

“I inferred that one from your embarrassing fantasies.”

Kazuya jumped. He had swallowed a rice cracker whole.

“Humans are creatures that respond to visual stimuli,” Victorique said coolly, paying no heed to Kazuya’s discomposure. “Your daydreams begin by association with something that comes into your view. Do you understand?”

“I-I guess…?”

“Now, then. Why were you feeling horny when you were in a hurry, running an errand for the dorm mother?”

Kazuya blushed. “C-Can you not say ‘horny’?”

Victorique removed the pipe from her mouth. A wisp of white smoke wafted toward the skylight.

She then verbalized the last fragment. “While you were walking along the empty village road, you spotted a girl out of the corner of your eye. A pretty one, probably blonde. This led to your daydreaming. You unconsciously saw the culprit.”

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“Motorcycle Decapitation Case Solved!

Inspect Blois Receives a Special Award for his Brilliant Work!”

The next morning.

As usual, Kazuya woke up earlier than the other boys, went down to the dining hall, greeted the dorm mother, and started on his breakfast.

As a token of apology, the dorm mother served Kazuya the finest ham. She then sat down on a round chair, crossed her legs, and began reading the morning paper with a cigarette in her mouth, as she always did.

Kazuya shot her a glance, and when he saw the headline, he jumped to his feet. He borrowed the paper from the dorm mother and read it thoroughly.

“The suspect, arrested in a hospital by Inspector Blois was, surprisingly, a pretty blonde girl! Her motive is currently unknown. On a related note, the Inspector is finally conferred a special award by the Sauville police department for his speedy resolution of the case…”

The article was accompanied by a photograph of the arrested culprit, hanging her head.

Kazuya studied the girl’s hand. Her fingers were wrapped in a bandage.

So Victorique was right…

What kind of relationship did she have with that credit-stealing inspector?

Kazuya had so many questions. But the girl, who had solved the mystery with her brilliant mind, was the biggest and strangest mystery of them all.

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Today’s weather was completely different from yesterday’s, with the sun shining brightly above. Kazuya put on his school cap, straightened his back, and started walking toward the school building.

He entered the classroom and went straight to his seat without talking to anyone, as he had been doing for the past six months. But he did something new, unconsciously.

He turned his gaze to the empty seat by the window.

He thought about the mysterious girl who was supposed to be in that seat but was not around.

A small smile appeared on his lips.

I now know about the student in that seat. She… That mysterious creature is no doubt in the library’s conservatory right now, enjoying a chaotic tryst with her Wellspring of Wisdom and the books around her. Victorique… you’re such a weirdo!

Kazuya chuckled.

I should bring her some unusual snacks again. She seemed to like the rice crackers. She was stuffing her mouth like a squirrel gobbling on nuts.

The bell rang.

Ms. Cecile entered the classroom. It was the usual scene.

Then, a tall girl stepped inside after her.

She had a perfect slim figure. Her rich, blonde hair was cut in short curls that emphasized her elegant face. She had distinctly beautiful features, noticeable even from afar.

Ms. Cecile smiled. “I would like to introduce a student from England. Ms. Avril Bradley. Be nice to her, okay?”

The girl smiled, inclining her head a little.

Ms. Cecile looked around. “As for your seat… There’s a vacant one next to Kujou.”

Kazuya, who had been staring vacantly at the girl, nodded. Their gazes met. Avril flashed him a cordial smile, which made Kazuya turn red, a little embarrassed.

Avril walked to her seat with graceful steps, as if she were dancing on a cloud. She placed her bag on the desk, and was about to sit down, when she dropped her bag on the floor.

Being an earnest person by nature, Kazuya picked up the bag. Avril gave him a curious look.

“Ca va?” Kazuya asked.

“Ca va. Merci.”

Avril smiled as she took the bag. It was a charming smile, like a flower blooming.

Kazuya froze. He had fantasized about this encounter. Smiling, Avril took her eyes off Kazuya and turned to the blackboard.

But there was something…

Kazuya’s eyes went from her face to her hands on the table, and he spotted something shocking. The thumb and index finger of her right hand were wrapped in bandages. She was injured.

N-No way…!

Kazuya swallowed.

Victorique’s husky voice replayed in his mind.

“The real culprit is a blonde girl. Her fingers are injured.”

Kazuya jumped to his feet. Startled at the sound, Ms. Cecile and his classmates all stared at him. He quickly sat back down, dropping his head into his hands.

A blonde girl.

With injuries on her fingers.

Avril Bradley, an exchange student from England, fit both descriptions.

No way. It’s gotta be a coincidence. They already arrested the culprit. She must’ve been injured by something else. Yes, just a coincidence…

A warm spring breeze blew in from the window. The girls’ long hairs and the hem of their skirts swayed softly.

Right. It’s spring now…

A traveler arrives in spring, bringing death to the academy!

Noticing Kazuya’s gaze, the blonde girl with the bandaged fingers turned to him. When she saw the look of suspicion in his eyes, she shot him a brief, terrifying glare. It almost seemed like she was a different person from moments ago.

Is she really just an exchange student? No, there’s something about her…

Kazuya held her gaze. Avril looked away first.

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Kazuya Kujou, the third son of an imperial soldier who had come to Sauville from a country in the Far East, and Victorique, a mysterious girl buried in difficult books under tropical trees on the top floor of the library tower. As the two meet and become friends, the academy’s secrets are unraveled one after another.

First, they would embark on a journey of mystery and adventure that involved a mysterious foreign exchange student, Avril Bradley, and a purple book containing dubious magic.

But that is a story for another day…

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