The silence that followed felt heavier than the air before a storm. The crowd stood motionless, processing the revelation, their eyes flicking between me, the wife, and the husband’s friend. I could see their faces shift from disbelief to realization, and the tension became palpable.
“Borek was the one who suggested that we kill him. Kaler was too nice to everyone, not just to me. It felt like he thought he was doing me a favor by marrying me” She said in tears collapsing on the floor.”I don’t know what came over me before I knew it I murdered my own husband in cold blood.”
He took a step forward, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife. “This is nonsense,” he spat, his eyes burning with cold fury. “Dira is just trying to protect herself.” His gaze shifted to the wife, his words dripping with venom. “She wanted this. Dira wanted to kill Kaler and didn’t care unless we were together.”
A witness came back to their senses from all that happened and stepped forward, holding a glowing crystal aloft. Its light flared once, sending a signal through the air.
“I’ve activated the alert crystal. The guards are on their way.”
Not a moment later, a shimmering portal appeared, and two guards appeared wearing dark, polished armor.
A tall man with a stern expression scanned the crowd. “We received an alert. What’s going on here?”
I stepped forward, gesturing towards Dira and Borek. “These two are responsible for the murder of Kaler.”
Without hesitation, the guards moved in. Dira collapsed to the ground, sobbing, offering no resistance as a guard restrained her. Borek, on the other hand, took a step back, his face twisting in anger.
“This is all a lie!” Borek snarled, his voice trembling with fury. “That so-called detective is setting me up—arrest that bastard instead!” he yelled, but his protests were cut short as glowing binds appeared around his wrists, locking him in place.
“Enough,” one guard said sharply. “You’ll explain yourself in prison.”
The guards led Dira and Borek through the portal, leaving the crowd stunned and murmuring in their wake.
I don’t think I could keep being here with this atmosphere so I should quickly leave this place before things get more messy and weird rumors start.
“Now that it''s settled lets go Toonka” I said casually turning to Toonka who snapped out of his trance.
“Huh you''re leaving, what a shame” Kael sighed exaggeratedly.
Toonka glanced between Kael and me. “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” he said, seemingly fine with the tension in the square. He fell in step beside me .
A sly grin playing on Kaels lips. “Ji-won it seems as though you’ve got a knack for pulling skeletons out of closets.”
I ignored him and walked back to the cabin with Toonka.
The walk back to the cabin was quiet, the evening air filled with the faint hum of crickets and the rustling of leaves.
When we finally reached the cabin, I pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside, the familiar scent of wood and herbs greeting us.
“Detective, you know we’re broke right,” Toonka said, dropping onto a chair with a heavy thud. “That last case? We didn’t do any payment, just five silvers. How do you plan to fix that?”
I stiffened at his comment. Shoot I was so caught up in solving the case It completely slipped my mind!
“Well…think of it as a free trial I bet after people see how we did they’ll come swarming here” I said trying to act nonchalant about it. I swear I will never forget about payment again.
Toonka looks at me suspiciously so I try to divert his attention “It’s getting late I’ll make food so help out will you”
I rummaged through the bag of food Toonka brought: beef, cheese, potatoes, salt, oil, and a dozen eggs. As I looked over the ingredients, I realized we had more than enough to make something filling. I glanced at Toonka, who was still lounging in the chair, looking more amused than helpful.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
I moved to open the cabinet, finding a couple of battered but functional pans. "I’ll make do with these," I muttered, feeling relieved that I wouldn''t have to improvise too much.
“Help out will you” I sigh, moving to peel and dice the potatoes.
Toonka groaned but didn''t protest. I handed him the knife, "You can chop the beef. It''ll cook faster in smaller pieces."
With a half-grin, Toonka took the knife, expertly slicing through the beef. Meanwhile, I turned on the stove, heated some oil in a large skillet and tossed the diced potatoes in, letting them sizzle as they began to brown. The smell of cooking potatoes filled the air.
"Looking good," Toonka said, glancing up from his work as he watched me cook.
"You''re pretty good with a knife." I said casually.
He simply shrugged and went back to chopping up the beef and gave it to me and I put it in the pan.
Once the beef was browned and the potatoes were crispy, I mixed them together in the larger pan. Toonka, finishing with the eggs, cracked two into the pan, letting them cook on top of the beef and potatoes.
When everything was done, I plated the meal and set it down in front of Toonka. He dug in without hesitation, and I followed suit.
"This is... actually really good," he said between bites.
“It''s still hot you’ll burn your tongue” I said blowing on my spoon before eating it.
He ignores what I said and keeps eating hurriedly as if it''s his last meal.
I grin. "You’ll get used to this," I mutter loud enough for him to hear, making his expression look a bit longing.
As we finished eating, I looked at the leftovers in the pan. "Where do we even put this?" I asked, glancing around the cabin. There wasn’t exactly a kitchen setup here.
Toonka pointed toward a small wooden chest in the corner. "That’s a cooling box. It’s lined with ice crystals—keeps food from spoiling too fast. It''s added to every house or cabin."
I walked over and opened the chest. The interior was faintly cold, with tiny shimmering fragments embedded in the wood. "Huh. Convenient," I muttered, transferring the leftovers into a small dish before placing it inside.
I yawn. “Lets go to sleep”
Toonka and I plop down on the bed and sleep…
***
"So how was the visit with that detective guy?" A masked man with sunglasses on his head asked casually.
“It was fun, he''s more entertaining than I thought” Kael hummed clearly in a good mood.
“Lucky you I wish I got to meet him” A boy with black horns pouted, leaning back his chair.
“No way? You’ll definitely cause a panic since you''re a demon” A girl with long untrimmed brown hair in pigtails scoffed.
The boy glared at her “Don’t you-”
“Stop this trivial conversation” the leader interrupts making everyone go quiet.
“We’ve been careful,” the leader continues, his voice low and steady. “But we can’t afford to make any more mistakes. Not now.”
A boy with black horns, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, shifted uncomfortably. “What’s the plan, then?” he asks, clearly eager for action.
The leader turned to face him, his gaze piercing. “We’re moving to the next phase. The groundwork is in place. It’s time to execute.”
The masked man, who had been silent until now, adjusted his sunglasses, his lips curling slightly. “I take it that means we’ll be going after the others now?”
The leader didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he turned his attention to the girl with the long brown hair in pigtails, who was staring at the table with a bored expression. “Yes. We can’t afford to wait any longer. We’ve done enough lurking in the shadows. The time to act is now.”
The girl scoffed, tapping her fingers against the glass table. “About time. I’m getting tired of waiting.”
Kael chuckled, leaning back in his chair, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “It’s always the waiting that gets to people. But when it’s finally time… well, that’s when things get interesting.”
The leader’s eyes flicked toward him for a brief moment, sharp and calculating. “This isn’t a game. We’ve reached the point where we need precision. Mistakes can’t happen.”
Kael raised his hands in mock surrender. “Of course, I know that. I’m just saying, once we set things in motion, there’s no turning back.”
“You have a point” A woman with shoulder length light grey hair commented casually.
“Of course I am” Kael grinning proudly and then his expression changes as if he remembered something.
“What''s wrong?” The masked man asked.
“Hey guys” He starts seriously making tension in the room, “So do what do you think of my smile”
“Can I smack you” the girl in pigtails asks clenching her fist.
“No, your punches hurt,” Kael said almost instantly.
“Hmm, your smile feels comforting like an older brother to me” said the boy with the black horns.
“You didn’t have to answer,” the woman with shoulder length light grey hair told him.
The leader simply shakes his head and sighs.
***
A sharp knock on the door startled me awake. I groggily sat up, rubbing my eyes as sunlight streamed into the room.
“Toonka, get the door,” I mumbled, but he was snoring loudly in the corner, oblivious. With a sigh, I got up and shuffled to the door, pulling it open.
Standing there was a woman in her late thirties, her face pale and drawn with worry. Her hands clutched the edges of a shawl tightly.
“Are you the detective?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes, that’s me,” I replied, instantly alert.
“Please,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I need your help. My daughter is missing.”