Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1133 - 1127: Ship’s Bottom
"..."
"First, could you not look at me like that."
Ronald felt a flurry inside, but outwardly he maintained an indignant demeanor:
"Nicole, you surely don't think that the death of this child has anything to do with me, do you?"
Nicole was more straightforward:
"Ronald, actually, knowing your Perception Magic is indeed very useful, I specially spent some time creating a spell that's slightly less functional but combines a 'lie detector' with that kind of perception ability you have..."
So... are you sensing that I'm feeling guilty!
Seeing that there was no hiding it, Ronald had no choice but to pull Nicole below the horse-shaped dummy:
"Nicole, come over here, I'll explain it to you in detail."
"Oh."
"..."
Next, Ronald explained the interaction he had with the painter girl on the deck, proving his innocence.
After understanding Ronald's situation, Nicole returned to the crowd with a rather subtle expression.
At this moment, the investigator next to them came over, lowered his voice, and asked:
"Miss Nicole, how is it?"
Nicole rolled her eyes bluntly, then answered in a loud voice that everyone could hear:
"The fact is — if Ronald really wanted to kill someone, he wouldn't need to hide it. Or to put it another way, even all the Casters on our three ships combined would find it hard to do anything to him on the open sea."
"..."
Nicole's statement was more effective than any explanation.
The majority of the people present, over eighty percent, were Casters themselves, familiar with the rules of the Casters.
So, after Nicole's words, no one continued to doubt Ronald's previous reaction.
Or rather, no one dared to doubt Ronald anymore.
"Since no one has any objections, I'll continue my work."
Seeing that the people around had no further reaction, Nicole naturally resumed her interrupted work. Hence, the investigator girl turned her head to look at an anxious young woman nearby:
"To find the murderer who harmed you, can I cast a spell on you? I promise there's no danger, nor any special effect."
The painter girl, of course, did not refuse Nicole: "Please go ahead, I have no objections."
Nicole nodded slightly, then raised her right hand, reaching for the girl's forehead.
In that brief raising of her hand, she quickly drew a few runes with her thumb and middle finger in her palm, and the moment her palm touched the other party, the spell was also completed.
The spell was smoothly cast, and Nicole quickly nodded in satisfaction:
"Hmm, we're pretty lucky."
"Though the murderer erased their traces, it still met the conditions for my tracking spell."
As Nicole cast the spell, Ronald observed from the side. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Unlike the crowd, who were completely in the dark about the entire spell, he had already figured out the rough logic of Nicole's spell with his clear perception ability.
After Nicole completed the spell, faint Magic Fluctuations appeared on both her palm and eyes, as the spell detected the details left by the murderer, while corresponding results floated directly in her vision.
A rather handy spell indeed.
Ronald admired Nicole's talent in casting spells.
Meanwhile, Nicole continued giving orders to the nearby investigators:
"Alright, continue maintaining the scene order, we can't let people panic because of this. Ronald and I will handle the tracking and capture of the murderer."
Ordinary investigators naturally had no objections to a top investigator:
"Understood, Miss Nicole."
Then, as the pursuit of the murderer began, Nicole grabbed Ronald and headed out of the ship's cabin. She knew not to waste any more time, so her pace was quite hurried.
The two of them proceeded straight, one behind the other.
After leaving the particularly large cabin, they passed through two corridors before finally reaching the elevator shaft used exclusively for the ship's crew.
"This guy knows how to take this elevator, seems rather familiar with the ship's layout..."
Nicole mumbled quietly, then obediently pulled Ronald as they entered the elevator.
Normally, she would have used destructive means to descend directly.
But on the vast Setting Sun Ocean, the three steamships were their only footing, so Nicole dared not resort to any rash actions at this point.
The elevator's descent was neither too fast nor too slow, and during this time, Ronald took the opportunity to ask:
"Nicole, did you research this Tracking Spell yourself too?"
Nicole nodded straightforwardly:
"That's right, it also originates from the rune system."
"Honestly, I find our school's original works quite impressive, as long as one can focus deeply on research, almost any desired effect can be achieved."
Ronald concurred greatly with this:
"That's certainly true."
Conversing about spell-related topics, Ronald and Nicole stayed in the elevator until it reached the bottom.
Unlike the upper levels of the cabin, outside the elevator door on the lower level, there was a safety door specifically marked with "Ship in operation, non-staff please do not enter".
Then Nicole's expression turned peculiar:
"Is this guy really running away?"
Immediately after, the investigator girl pushed open the safety door, then explained to Ronald behind her:
"This guy even reset the door lock after passing through, so leisurely, is he really running away?"
Ronald shrugged, indicating he didn't understand either.
"Who knows?"
"To dare commit murder on these three ships, I think anyone with a somewhat normal mind wouldn't take such an abnormal action."
Subsequently, the two left the elevator, the rear was a very short passage.
After opening the watertight door at the end, they continued forward...
Ring-ring-ring——Ring-ring-ring——
At this moment, a bell rang above Ronald and Nicole's heads.
They looked up and realized it was actually the alarm bell of the watertight door. As long as this waterproof door wasn't properly closed, this bell would keep ringing, reminding people to shut it properly.
"Steamships are great,"
Nicole said, closing the watertight door, inevitably expressing her amazement:
"The ships I sailed on before also had such waterproof doors, but definitely without this kind of alarm system."
Ronald nodded slightly in agreement:
"The advances brought about by technology, aside from dangers and benefits, also include progress in safety; similar alarm facilities will surely become more common in the future."
Afterward, the two continued advancing under the guidance of the spell.
The straight work passage was deep and dark.
At this time, electric lights were not yet popular in the working zones of steamships, so the staff here had to rely on miner lamps or headlamps to function normally.
Walking here.
The sound of waves crashing against the hull and the noise made by the steel structure gradually distorted in the narrow passage. It sounded as if there was something terrifying lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce and devour one's life at any moment...
