Meet the principal

Macon must have killed people to hide his tracks, and he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

This is very consistent with what happened today, Macon was willing to burn down the entire botanical garden in order to hide his tracks.

This is an extremely cruel person.

Reiner thought.

Early the next morning, he told Mrs. Freya a few things, asked her to take care of Claire, and prepared to leave the hotel.

Uncle Mason did not continue to decorate for his birthday. He just sat behind the counter and wrote something in the ledger. Reiner did not bother him and didn't know what to say. He walked out of the hotel door silently.

Reiner took a rental carriage to the site of the plantation, which was still blocked by the Magic Association. Due to the information provided by Reiner, the investigation here has been transferred from the Sheriff's Department to the Magic Association, and more detailed magic exploration will be carried out on site. .

The Magic Association of Midland has been committed to promoting the identification of magic traces. This is somewhat similar to forensic science. It is a method of restoring the situation at the time of the case based on the flow of magic at the scene and the remaining traces of magic. It is mainly aimed at magic that often occurs in the Midland Federation. crime.

Recently, due to the proliferation of blood rocks, many vicious crimes have occurred in the Midland Federation. At first, these crimes were all because of money. Since buying blood rocks requires a lot of money, some desperadoes started to think of robbery. Kill people and buy goods, and use the stolen money to buy blood rocks.

And because blood rock is not only circulated among the lower class people, but also among mages and nobles, it has also spawned some crimes involving magic, causing the federal security department to complain endlessly.

When Reiner arrived here, several mages were already on the scene investigating.

"Mr. Iain Gray."

The leading mage has a fourth-level level. There is no magic association in Olmsted. He was urgently transferred from a nearby city.

"I am Crow sent by the association to take charge of the investigation. We have some results of today's investigation here. Do you want to take a look?"

Reiner's reputation in the magic world made the fourth-ring mage respect him.

"Thanks for your hard work."

With a slight nod, Reiner took the record from the other party's hand and started to read it.

Many traces of magic were detected in the ruins of the warehouse. It must have been used as an alchemy laboratory in recent times.

In addition, traces of pyrotechnics were found outside the warehouse, which may have been Macon's work setting fire to the plantation.

Traces of Reiner's spellcasting can also be found on the road leading out of the warehouse.

"There are still traces of the surge technique here, but the strange thing is that there is no water source nearby. Ordinary surge techniques cannot affect the artificial river in the distance."

Crowe pointed to the artificial river in the distance. This river was almost dry, and the water in it could not be used to extinguish the fire.

"Tide Surge?"

Reiner seemed to have thought of something and then confirmed.

"If there is a water source, can the surge spell play any role in the fire?"

"The surge spell is essentially a spell that controls the movement of fluids. If there is water, the surge spell can form a water barrier around people, which can isolate flames. There have been cases of such escapes in the past."

Crowe explained.

Reiner nodded, which was consistent with his idea. When he rescued the farmers before, the water mist around them should be the result of the surge technique.

But here comes the question, where does the water needed for the surge technique come from?

"If we come to this location, we can use enough water from the artificial river next to it to create a water curtain barrier."

Crow pointed at a location and said, and Reiner looked around. This should be the location where he met the farmers trying to escape.

So, the water mist Reiner saw was caused by the surge technique?

Reiner was a little confused, so he followed Crowe to investigate the scene again, and they arrived at the warehouse.

"This should be where Mr. West fell."

Crow pointed to a spot on the ground and said.

"According to the restored scene,

After being stabbed with a sharp object, Mr. West fell to the ground and stopped moving without moving much. "

Traces of crawling could be seen vaguely on the ground. Reiner squatted down and took some soil from the ground.

"The soil here has been tested, but strangely, there are not many traces of bleeding. After all, Mr. West's death was due to excessive blood loss and inhalation of toxic gases in the fire, but in the soil under him, But only very little blood remains.”

Crowe explained after seeing Reiner's actions.

"We thought it was due to high temperature evaporation, but that doesn't make sense either."

"Little blood"

Reiner thought, and soon, a flash of inspiration flashed in his eyes. Reiner kept wandering in place, and everything in the ruins flashed in his eyes.

Finally, he stopped, an idea already forming in his mind.

Reiner hurriedly left the ruins of the plantation and came to Olmsted Hospital, where he found the medical examiner and confirmed his suspicions.

After reaching a positive conclusion, Reiner returned to the hotel.

The half-decorated hotel was a little deserted. Aunt Gwen was sitting behind the counter, feeling lost. Reiner walked up to her.

"Aunt Gwen, where is Uncle Mason? I have something to tell you about West."

"ah"

It took Aunt Gwen a long time to come back to her senses. She hesitated for a long time before slowly getting up and walking to the restaurant. Her back looked very short.

Ten minutes later, Uncle Mason and Aunt Gwen sat across from Reiner.

"Uncle Mason, Aunt Gwen, regarding your son West, through the investigation today, I have been able to basically confirm the cause of his death and the process of his death."

Reiner said as calmly as possible, he knew that saying this now might be an irritation to the two old people, but Reiner also didn't want everything West had done to be submerged in darkness.

"What can he say? He left alone, came back alone, and died alone. He didn't consider other people's feelings at all!"

Uncle Mason clenched his fists and trembled slightly.

"No, Uncle Mason, West is not like that."

Reiner denied aloud.

"For some reason, West came to the plantation. He found the farmers imprisoned by criminals. He tried to rescue them, but he happened to bump into the criminal. After a fight between the two, West was stabbed with a sharp knife. Pierced in the chest, the criminals tried to destroy the body and set fire to the plantation warehouse."

Listening to Reiner's statement, neither the Windermere couple spoke.

"The criminal left, but West did not die immediately from his chest injury. He used magic to untie the ropes for the other farmers and let them leave the fire, but the fire was already very strong and people could not break through the flames outside."

Reiner paused, seeming to adjust his mood, and then continued.

"At this time, West used his last strength to cast a magic. He used his own blood as a carrier and used the surge technique to dispel the high-temperature flames and open up a path for other farmers."

""

Uncle Mason's expression hardened.

Shock, regret, sadness, and forbearance were all crumpled into a ball. His hands were shaking slightly and his fists were clenched, trying to suppress his emotions.

"I taught West the surge technique. It was the first spell he learned. I told him that if he was trapped by a fire, he could use this spell to escape."

It took a long time before Uncle Mason spoke, his voice choked with sobs.

"So you remember it all along, stupid son."