MTLNOVEL Chapter 389
“First of all, if he managed to deceive the senses of both the Elves and the Spirits, he’s not your average Joe.”
After receiving some rough intel from Eloy, the hero party started piecing together the puzzle.
Well, calling it ‘piecing together’ might be a stretch. It was more like combining the bits of information we had with the knowledge we already possessed to make some deductions about the incident.
“I mean, it’s one thing to fool the Elves, but deceiving the Spirits’ senses? That’s not something an ordinary being could pull off.”
“To be honest, I’m starting to think there was a slip-up, perhaps during the change of guard or something, that created an opening for the heist.”
Lily grumbled, her voice dripping with disbelief. Seriously, who could even dare to trick a Spirit?
With a divine body made of magical power and being part of nature, deceiving a Spirit would be… well, even other Spirits wouldn’t have a shot at that.
“Unfortunately, there were no gaps in the patrols of the guards protecting the Trophy of Glory. They even changed shifts right in front of it!”
The Trophy of Glory was the symbol of Betelgeuse’s dominance. No way they’d just slouch off on that… they were bound to manage it meticulously.
But really, conducting shift changes right in front of it? That’s a bit overboard.
“So… could the culprit be an insider?”
“An insider?”
Eric tilted his head at Finna’s statement.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone could just slip through that kind of surveillance to snatch away the Trophy of Glory. Unless they bribed a guard to create an opening and then stole it…?”
“Bribing, you say… I don’t think those uptight Elves would fall for such a scheme. But let’s not forget, there’s one major flaw in your theory.”
Quartz said calmly in response to Finna’s point.
“Huh? A flaw?”
“Spirits. How do you plan on bribing a Spirit?”
“Ah…”
Bribing. Manipulating someone into acting according to your wishes with money or goods.
But Spirits have no interest in such things.
As part of nature, they long only for their divine bodies of which they can barely remember, but nothing can become that for them anymore.
That longing would never be fulfilled, eternally dry.
Bribing such Spirits? What are we talking about here, offering up a Dragon’s body? No matter how much the Trophy of Glory is filled with my blessings, it wouldn’t be worth throwing in a Dragon’s body just to secure it.
Unless, of course, the only Dragon body we could give them is one rotting away in a grave. Spirits would surely turn up their noses at that.
“Definitely… Spirits are not susceptible to bribery. As long as the contract is in effect, they wouldn’t tell lies.”
To be precise, they feel no need to lie to other life forms. It’s like they still have a shred of pride left.
“Then… who on earth could have stolen it? Yurica, what do you think? You used to be in a similar line of work, right?”
“……”
She was a former bandit… or wait, maybe she’s still a thief. Anyway, the fox Beastwoman Yurica pondered carefully before speaking up.
“Sure, I’ve stolen before, but just because I’m in a similar line of work doesn’t mean I could easily identify that thief.”
“That’s just how it is. You’ve got the most experience of all of us in thievery, after all.”
In a nearly blatant manner, Lily nudged the point, and Yurica frowned as she sighed, speaking low.
“I really want to argue that point, but for now, let’s set aside personal feelings. First off… why on earth would a thief steal the Trophy of Glory?”
Swallowing her annoyance, Yurica continued.
“First off, the Trophy of Glory. As far as I know, it’s proof of winning the Race War and taken dominion over Betelgeuse. Am I wrong?”
At those words, Lily and Finna shook their heads in unison.
“It’s proof of glorious victory.”
“It’s a certification to show which race is superior.”
The Elves and Dwarves would be at each other’s throats, but at a time like this, they seem to work together seamlessly.
“So why would a thief take that?”
“Um… indeed. Why would they steal that?”
As Finna pondered with a vacant expression, Lily shook her head softly.
“Thinking simply, if you get the Trophy of Glory, wouldn’t that give you control over Betelgeuse? Maybe they thought that?”
“No way. If some random thief got their hands on the Trophy of Glory and declared themselves the ruler of Betelgeuse, who would take them seriously?”
“Exactly. Even if it’s evidence or proof, it’s still just an object that can’t do anything on its own.”
It’s merely evidence. It’s just a symbol.
Even if the trophy held the blessings of the Goddess of Life, it wouldn’t establish control over Betelgeuse.
It merely exists as a symbolic item.
“Thus, I believe the thief must have stolen it for another reason.”
“Another reason?”
The idea Yurica mentioned pulled everyone’s thoughts in the same direction.
“If it’s not about dominating Betelgeuse…”
“Not proof, nor certification…”
“Then what’s left?”
As everyone’s thoughts converged slowly.
“The blessing from the Goddess of Life.”
With Alice’s single word, everything clicked.
“Blessing? Sure, there was a blessing that extends the lifespan and preserves the health of the victors.”
“But isn’t that just a side effect? How important could that be?”
Lily and Finna tilted their heads in confusion.
“This is what the long-lived races are like…”
Yurica shook her head subtly at their cluelessness.
“No, but Elves can live around 1000 years if they eat well and exercise, can’t they?”
“Dwarves can live about 300 years without special care. I’ve even heard tales of some exceptionally long-lived Dwarves reaching over 500 years.”
They had no idea how blessed their lifespan was.
“Ahem. Still, the blessings contained in the Trophy of Glory can greatly extend one’s predetermined lifespan. Even the gods of death in the underworld would have to accept the notion of lifespan prolongation.”
It could be summed up as “it just extends lifespan,” but the significance behind it was of immense scale.
“In other words, that blessing embodies the authority of the Goddess of Life, who could be called the Supreme God.”
The authority of the Supreme God. The implications of that statement were gravely heavy.
“Well, isn’t that a bit far-fetched? I mean, the Trophy of Glory is indeed an important item, but I’ve never thought it’s that significant…”
“Of course, it could be a far-fetched assumption. Maybe a naive thief found it precious and just thought to steal it and sell it.”
While putting down hypothetical possibilities, everyone’s thoughts shifted to the absolute certainty that this thief wouldn’t steal it just to make a quick buck.
There’s no way a thief able to deceive the senses of both Elves and Spirits would do it purely for monetary gain.
“But if this thief had a different purpose in stealing it…”
Though trailing off, everyone understood the implications behind those words.
“This isn’t your ordinary affair.”
Quartz’s low remark represented everyone’s sentiments perfectly.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
And so, everyone began to piece together who the culprit could be and what their motives were in stealing the Trophy of Glory, all while searching the scene for even the slightest clue.
“Among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King, there might be one who could deceive the senses of both the Elves and the Spirits.”
“The Shadow Sage. A strategist of the Demon King’s forces. He was a guy who could manipulate shadows effortlessly and used all sorts of schemes to obstruct our path. If it’s something he’s done… we need to hurry up and stop it.”
They tossed around the name of a likely suspect.
“There were absolutely no clues left at the scene. If there’d been even a single trace, we could have figured something out…”
“Magically, there were no traces left either. Even the Spirits failed to find any clues. It’s as if someone rose from beneath the earth to snatch the trophy and then disappeared back into the ground. Honestly, I’d say the legend of spatial movement magic makes more sense as an explanation.”
“If that were the case, it would imply that an incredibly powerful magical force had acted to distort space, meaning there should be some magical traces left behind.”
They tried searching high and low.
“I checked around the back streets, but didn’t find any useful info.”
Hoping for some rumors, they gathered snippets of gossip, but there was nothing helpful.
Truly, it was as if the culprit vanished into thin air.
As everyone was on the verge of giving up.
“Then… there’s only one option left.”
It was Alice alone who spoke calmly.
“Is there a method?”
“Yep. The most definitive method.”
Don’t tell me she’s actually going to suggest asking me or something ridiculous? Of course, if I wanted to find it, I could do so in a heartbeat. But that’s not the point. It’s got to be entertaining.
“The way to track the blessing of the Goddess of Life contained in the Trophy of Glory.”
Oh, wait. That doesn’t sound right.
Hold on. Can she even do that right now? Given Alice’s current magical constraints?
I suppressed my rising questions and silently started observing the situation.