182: Sudden Incident

"Hmm, hmm..."

The day after I purchased the greenhouse and sent it to the Ether Space.

It seems that the incident of hiding the greenhouse in ink before sending it to the Ether Space has caused a minor stir on parts of the internet in the Shibramis Stellar System, treated as a supernatural phenomenon.

But after a while, once it's linked to stories about a man connected to the Imperial Army, it'll likely be dismissed as just another secret weapon or secret technology of the Imperial Army, and gradually fade away.

Now, regarding other news...

"Um..."

"..." (a collective, silent pause)

Vilijanira reacted to something.

By the time I realized what was happening, I paused viewing the news site, and Joharis began checking the spacecraft so he'd be ready to depart at any moment. Meanwhile, Mekoxi glanced briefly at Vilijanira before returning to work... so probably, they'd just begun contacting the mechanical intelligences in the Shibramis system.

Yeah, familiarity is scary.

It's frightening, but necessary. Let's prepare for Vilijanira's next move.

"Sat, memo, Johalis. An incident has occurred."

"Vee-sama. The equipment is ready. Please explain."

"Understood. Then let's display it."

It seems Vilijanira has reacted, deciding that an incident has occurred that warrants discussion.

Data is transmitted from Vilijanira's information terminal, and the news website Vilijanira was viewing appears on the monitor in the room.

"A murder case in the Fifth Prime Colony?"

"The suspect is unknown. They're still on the run, I think."

"Yes, that's correct."

The incident appears to have occurred late last night in a back alley of the Fifth Prime Colony, where no surveillance cameras were present.

The victim was a man in his forties, apparently attacked from behind.

Hmm, the Fifth Prime Colony... that's the colony where the alien monster, or rather, the temporary appearance of a different OS, occurred just a few days ago.

But aside from that, this seems like a typical murder case...

"Memo"

"Understood."

The footage displayed by Memokshi's operation shifts.

It appears to have transitioned from a news site to higher-precision information gathered from the investigating police, the Imperial Army Intelligence Unit, and the artificial intelligences.

While the victim and the scene's location remain unchanged...

"Struck from behind, split straight down from the crown of the head to between the legs... seriously, now..."

"This is abnormal, seriously. It's abnormal to a level even a layperson can tell."

"Yes, that's why my eyes reacted, it seems."

The victim's detailed circumstances were now clear.

It appeared the victim had been attacked from behind by the perpetrator.

But it wasn't an ordinary method of killing.

The fact that the victim's shield mod failed could be simply explained by the perpetrator using a shield-piercing mod—but being cleaved in half by a sword like that defied multiple possibilities.

"First, where did the perpetrator even acquire such a weapon..."

"In the current empire, blades capable of splitting a person in two are mostly oversized tools that can't be carried around, and those that aren't would be antique items requiring special permission."

"The cut surface is too clean."

"Yes, indeed. From here, we can see the weapon is a physical blade. If it were a blaster or laser, the wound would show some charring."

"There are no other wounds, and the blade marks are unnaturally neat."

"I agree with Satā. So, regarding individuals with the skill and qualifications to handle bladed weapons—particularly swords—investigations have already been conducted, but naturally, they don’t seem to apply."

Frankly, this is something I could think of and say out loud immediately.

To be clear, the typical Imperial citizen today only handles blades such as knives, and some people live their entire lives without ever touching a blade from birth to death.

In a society like this, it's utterly abnormal that someone would even consider a killing method requiring a blade over one meter long...

Truly bizarre.

"Then I'll do it."

"Yes, please. This... is..."

"Reaction detected... interesting..."

Meanwhile, as my conversation with Villigianila continues, Johalis and Memokshi dock.

It seems they're searching for responses from different OSs using the 'Hetero Mirror'... Something's happened.

"Vee-sama, we detected residual traces of a different OS within the Fifth Primeval Colony. Judging by the pattern of the reaction, it appears to be the same entity observed briefly just yesterday. Furthermore, based on the intensity of the residual traces, the reaction likely occurred last night."

"Is that so..."

"It's too coincidental for it to be mere chance."

"Seems like there's some connection, doesn't it?"

I see... different reactions from various OSs... and unusual incidents are also occurring... There's no solid evidence, but the circumstances certainly warrant suspicion.

"Vee. Should I head to the Fifth Primeval Colony and assist with the investigation? I could examine the cross-sections of the victims' bodies with my tongue and uncover various clues."

I glance at the police file.

Given that the incident occurred just last night, there's no information available about any mods used besides the shield-piercing one.

However, if my tongue were to detect, for example, a flexible mod on the weapon used, I could sense it.

With that information, narrowing down the suspect would certainly become much easier.

That's why I suggested going alone... but...

"No, let's all go together."

"What's the reasoning behind that?"

From the Third Prime Colony, the distance is too great for the 'Hetero-Fluid Mirror' to achieve sufficient precision. Therefore, we'll use it only after entering the Fifth Prime Colony, allowing us to track our target in greater detail.

Understood.

Got it!

Understood.

I see, it's true that going together as a group is a viable option.

Even at this distance, it's clear there are still traces left, so if they're within the same colony, it wouldn't be surprising if they could track exactly where someone is right now.

"Then let's head out."

With that, we left the hotel and headed toward the building managed by the mechanical intelligences we'd visited two days prior.