Were you able to grasp the identity of the silver masked hero?"
The public call him hero, but no one know his identity. Since the earl cannot overlook an existence that could equal senior demon hiding in this city, he did not only make his formal investigators but also the consul's spy to investigate.
"We have succeeded in narrowing down the candidates, but we're lacking conclusive evidence."
"Who and who?"
"The first candidate is Sir Kigori from the knight. He has body reinforcement magic and herculean-strength skill. He was off duty so he stayed at home during that day. There are many other things that match like his long blond hair, but he should has been boasting more if he was really the silver mask."
"Right, he's a narcissistic man isn't he?"
"The second candidate is Yasaku-shi the explorer. He's a level 45 warrior. He's not only high-leveled but also equipped with various strong magic tools, so he could possibly endure the demon's attacks. He's accustomed with fighting monsters and demons. However, his hair is black."
"What is such man doing in this kind of frontier place?"
"Your excellency, please stop belittling your own territory."
The earl is laughing while expressing his gratitude.
"His aim is probably dragon scales from the Dragon's Valley."
"Is he suicidal?"
"No, what I said isn''t exactly right, he's probably aiming for dragons which are nesting away from the dragon's valley. As one would expect, he couldn't possibly come back alive if he goes to the Dragon's Valley."
"Yeah, it'd be over just by the scales tribe before he could even meet the dragon."
The consul clears his throat and goes back to the discussion.
"The conversation had wandered off. The third candidate is Yasaku-shi's companion, the magic swordsman, Tan-shi. His level is high at 42, and he's probably used with dealing with demon like Yasaku-shi. He's a blond, but he can't possibly fought the senior demon while being only able to use body reinforcing magic."
"Right, it's not like the opponent is unaffected by magic."
"Moreover, explorers usually fight in party."
After being lost in thought for a while,
"I see, certainly we're lacking the decisive evidence to ascertain who the silver mask is."
"Yes."
"Is there no other candidate?"
"It's not like there isn't, but beside the three above, it's impossible judging by their ability..."
"They might be hiding their true ability you know?"
The earl is grinning.
"There are four people who were omitted from candidacy. The first one is the Earl predecessor's bastard child, Ratts-dono. He was present in both uproars. His hair and height match the condition. He also has the need to hide his true ability and identity. That said, someone like him probably remained as a spectator until the end."
"That's right, brother-in-law is that kind of guy."
The villainous face of his brother-in-law floats in the earl's mind. It looks like a villain compared to the real person, probably because of the long discord between them.
He's not related with the silver mask, but since he was present during both the incident with the demon, the earl orders the consul to keep an eye on him.
"The second one is the alchemist, Akabana-dono. He wore the same robe as the silver mask, he even had the silver mask in his house. He was present at the day of the uproar, showing his face on the relief station."
"Hou? That's suspicious."
The consul shakes his head at the earl's words.
"However, silver mask isn't an uncommon thing. Because it's used during harvest festival to ward off demon, there are probably more than 10 shops which sell it."
"Fumu, was it a man who was fighting?"
"No, the figure was slim and the skin was abnormally pale that it didn't match the strength the silver mask was showing. A friend of mine testified that."
"Maybe he drank medicine that could change his body?"
"The elder confirm the existence of such medicine but the feedback reaction is too strong that it's suicidal for healthy person to drink it."
"Is that so."
Even if it's possible, if the medicine makes your body handicapped then there would be no meaning in fighting. The earl thinks so and moves his interest to the next candidate.
"The third one is a man called Usu who's affiliated with a criminal guild called Brown Rat."
"It's a guy who's a polar opposite of a hero."
"This man had similar physique and hair and he was confirmed to be present during both uproars. Moreover, the one who was carrying the demon's arm during the rebellion uproar was this guy."
"Hou? Did he cut the demon's arm and got possessed by it?"
"The possibility exists."
The consul picks on thin document from the stack he's holding and gives it to the earl.
"A hypothesis has arrived from the elder. 'Wasn't the demon who possessed the man called Uusu different from the demon who attacked the castle?' He said."
"For two senior demons appeared at the same time, isn't that impossible?"
"Maybe they were demons who were in hiding in hope of creating a labyrinth, he said."
"And then they fought each other because one intruded another's territory is it?"
"It's written as such in the hypothesis."
"How much is the truth from what old man thunder said?"
The earl puts one hand on his chin while thinking.
If it was said by someone else then we would laugh at it together, but the elder that the consul refer-- the earl call him the old man thunder, is the leading magician in this territory and even in the kingdom he's among the five most powerful one. Even if what he said seemed absurd, it couldn't be ignored.
"Right then, since there's no evidence I can't say for sure, but if it's the truth then a lot of things would start to make sense."
"Like the abnormal endurance?"
"Yes. While fist fighting the demon, he received a concentrated attack from 30 magicians and came out unscathed. He couldn't be human."
It's possible with certain magic tool, but the earl and the consul have no idea about it.
The first three candidates who were mentioned cannot clear this condition too, so they are exempted.
"If he's a demon, then that question is solved huh."
"The knight leader who was commanding also reported that, 『He was strong without no doubt, but his movement was like an amateur.』."
"A senior demon who isn't used to fighting huh..."
"Or maybe, it was confused with the difference of the possessed body compared with its real body...."
If the other demons are able to hide themselves, then the threat can't be ignored.
The earl thinks so and translates it into action.
"Alright, arrest all members of Brown Rat guild. Thoroughly investigate everything about this man called Uusu."
"I understand.