I’m a Hero, but I Gave Up Saving the World

15 – catching a thief

“I did not steal your thesis. I swear to Goddess Irene.”

“Neither do I! Why are you stealing scraps of paper that aren’t jewels?!”

“I also don’t know about stealing thesis. I didn’t even know it was necessary because there was no need to write a thesis at the Knight’s Academy.”

“Me, I’ve said it before, but I’m not the real culprit! Trust me please!”

After all, everyone is denying it. I thought so.

What do you expect from these pups?

Conscience? There can be no such thing.

“Oh is that so? Then who is the culprit? Tiffania not here?”

“… Maybe.”

“yes. I’m sure it will.”

“Tiffania guy… I never thought you would commit such an unscrupulous thing.”

“Yeah~ Elves have a bit of a nasty habit.”

Wow, look at the personality that sells out colleagues right away. I knew from the start that he was such a great man.

“Yes, of course, the possibility that it is Tiffania is not zero. I admit that too. But I see less than 1 percent chance that Tiffania is the culprit.”

“Why?”

Saint Beatrice asked, so I have to answer.

“Elves basically hate humans, don’t they? Tiffania was extremely reluctant to come in contact with humans. Because he built a cabin in the forest and lived alone for decades, he has severe social phobia. I can’t come to a place where there are a lot of people like the academy. Besides, I think that if a conspicuous elf had sneaked into the academy alone, rumors would have spread. ‘Hey, didn’t an elf enter the academy today?’ At least since the only elf roaming around the academy was Misha at the time.”

“… Was it disguised as magic? Elves use a variety of magic.”

“Good point, Dina. According to that assumption, the sorceress Serena is the most suspicious.”

“What… !!”

Serena’s eyes widened as she suddenly turned her attention to herself.

To be honest, the four years are the most award-winning.

He was ready to sell his soul to impress the hero.

“no… for a moment! I’m suspicious because my job is a wizard? If that’s the case, wouldn’t the thief be the most suspicious? Dina you, you!!”

“Well… ? Honestly, don’t we all know how desperately the fallen daughter of a traitor family struggled to get rid of the stigma of being a traitor? ‘To please Lucy von Letlea, I secretly sneaked into Faust’s room and stole the thesis.’ Isn’t it a story that would have been enough for Serena… ?”

“Hey! You are the one who was sentenced to life imprisonment for stealing royal treasures and then released on the condition that you join the hero’s party! Isn’t it the same as you being desperate not to be abandoned by the hero? no in the first place! If there is a thief among the party members, shouldn’t the criminal who had a job as a thief be the first to be suspected?!”

An ugly quarrel broke out between colleagues.

It’s like telling each other that you’re the real culprit…

Maybe one of the two is the real culprit, or maybe they’re just making a fuss because they’re really unfair.

Serena was suspicious, but her words weren’t without reason.

Dina was an unstoppable thief who was stamped as a Class A wanted criminal in the royal palace and wanted letters were distributed all over the country. While robbing the royal palace just for fun, she was caught by none other than my trap and ended her life as a thief, but people say that human nature cannot be changed.

Maybe my hands were itching after a long time because I missed the taste of kleptomaniac, which is hard to quit.

Or maybe he wanted to get revenge on me who caught him. There is a possibility.

“I am not guilty. I have proof.”

The great thief who had stirred up Aurelia in the past spoke brazenly.

“If I had stolen the thesis, I wouldn’t have stolen it alone. He must have touched all the valuables in Faust’s room. And I must have left traces of my coming and going. That’s the Dyna style of stealing. Didn’t I try to show off my existence in the past, such as drawing my own symbol at the scene of a crime with graffiti or writing that I was a criminal in the newspaper? Did I just quietly steal the thesis? The great sword’s pride won’t allow it.”

This story was convincing in its own way. This guy was a provocative thief to the extent that even before he invaded the palace, he proudly went around telling the neighborhood about the date and place of his visit.

At that time, I could feel the slightest trace of the intruder in my room, but it was just a human presence left behind, and I didn’t get the impression that he was deliberately trying to show off his presence. Besides the thesis, other items were also unharmed.

The method of crime is distinctly different from that of Dyna.

“Yeah, if you think about it that way, me too! If I had stolen Faust’s thesis, I would have ridiculed, cursed and screamed in front of Faust! If it was me at the time, it would have been! Isn’t that Faust?! Am I not a bitch who will do that?”

Whoa… Guy Serena, the bullshit bitch is speaking convincingly for the first time in a while.

yes. That’s true too.

If Serena were the culprit, she would have come out first and made fun of me and laughed at me for stealing, but it’s a little strange that she kept quiet.

So you’re saying it’s not the two?

… Knight Alice?

“Why are you looking at me, Faust? I am an honorable knight I don’t think he stole other people’s things like a petty thief.”

“A saintess is also an honorable job. That’s no excuse, Alice. Do you have any proof that you are not guilty?”

“… When exactly was the thesis stolen?”

“It is October 27, 1083.”

“On that day, I would probably have been training at the Knights’ Academy. The knight and the academy are 200km apart. Wouldn’t an alibi be established?”

“Can you prove that?”

“Of course. Submit a record of receiving training later. Let me ask you one more question. Accused of plagiarizing the thesis means that you also submitted the thesis later, but it is not the thesis itself that was stolen, but the contents of the thesis, right?”

“yes… If you write a thesis, it is possible enough.”

“Then I am not the culprit. I can’t read text.”

“… … … … ”

“To put it mildly, his nickname during his days as a knight was ‘Pak-head’. The cadets commented, “They say that blonde beauty is bad-tempered, and seeing you, you can see that the myth is true” or “It would be faster to teach a snail to sprint and a fish to climb a tree than to teach Alice how to write.” received. In particular, I can’t understand any of the difficult terms you use. Even a simple transcription would take all day. Couldn’t I be the culprit?”

Well, I know how stupid Alice is. It’s not once or twice that I’ve admired this guy’s stupidity… The guy who always protested, “I’m not stupid, the world is unnecessarily smart,” has nothing more to say after honestly admitting his low IQ.

In particular, since he said he would prove his alibi, the charges are further lowered.

Then, inevitably, there is only one person left.

“… Beatrice. Now it’s your turn. Where were you and what did you do that day?”

“Perhaps he was praying at home.”

“Can anyone prove that?”

“there is.”

“Who is that? Bring me.”

“That is impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because she is the goddess who presides over this world. Goddess was watching over my prayers. He is the witness.”

“… After all, there is no one among humans who can prove your innocence, right?”

“… … .”

The atmosphere in the hall became cold.

I approached the saintess who brazenly closed her eyes and put her hands together.

A distance close enough that the bridges of each other’s noses touch each other.

The saintess lazily narrowed her eyes.

“Hey Beatrice. Do you know how suspicious you are right now? Why don’t you try a little more desperately to claim your innocence?’

“I want to ask you the other way around, Faust. How can I prove my alibi for the day I was really praying? Do I have to pray for one person to be a witness to be freed from possible suspicion every day? You know how often I pray Yesterday too, I prayed at home. If someone was murdered yesterday, am I the culprit? Because you can’t prove an alibi.”

“… At least right now, you are the most suspicious.”

“Even Tiffania who is not here is not 100% innocent. You’ll admit that too. Above all, there is a slight possibility that Serena, Dina, and Alice are all culprits. I hope you don’t commit the foolish act of giving impunity to an unscrupulous criminal by hasty decisions, Faust. Because you are a smart person.”

“Hoo… Are you father? It’s not like you.”

“Not necessarily. I remember giving you quite a few compliments. When we’re dating.”

“… … … .”

“ah. Come to think of it, there was one more clue to prove my innocence. Since we broke up, I’ve made up my mind never to visit your room again. Could this be the reason? A new hero?”

“… … … .”

Holy shit.

who the heck is the culprit?