latelenovela Chapter 178 The City Where People Live: Emma Deslinger 3
Chapter 178 The City Where People Live: Emma Deslinger 3
Monica's appearance isn't very distinctive; she has a fairly average face, neither particularly striking nor unattractive. She has purple hair, and her most recognizable feature is her aloof and unapproachable demeanor; she rarely smiles.
The last time we met... it was our final farewell. She lay in the boundless sea of spider lilies, smiling as she looked at me, reaching out her hand to me, and then falling straight down.
Although I don't know why time travel happened, I must find her.
Monica wasn't hard to find. After all, as Amadeus's personal mage, she was in charge of this serial murder case. My mission this time was essentially to help her solve the case.
But before her last mission here, Saya had even forgotten that this was the hometown of her old friend Monica, and only remembered it when they met.
"As expected, she's here." Saya quietly looked at the girl squatting by the roadside.
Her cool gaze was fixed on the blooming spider lilies in the flowerbed—this was her residence in Amadeuslin, and only in front of her house were these poisonous flowers planted.
Just like when I first met her, she usually likes to squat quietly and admire her favorite flowers when she has nothing to do. She can maintain this posture for several hours.
Therefore, she was regarded as an oddball who didn't fit in at the magic training class.
“Monica…” During one of their meetings, Saya didn’t know what to say.
I must be dreaming... but why do the pain and touch feel so real... whatever it is...
Monica heard someone calling her and slowly stood up. Then she saw Saya staring straight at her as if she had seen a ghost, which gave her a chill.
What happened? It's scary.
After all, as her only friend, she knew Saya was a bit silly and impulsive in everything she did. But why was she making this face now...? Was there something on her face?
"You must be the witch from the association I need to cooperate with in investigating this murder case, right?" ("Stop immediately and let's leave here together!")
Saya and Monica said at the same time.
But it seems like they're not on the same wavelength.
"Huh?" Monica tilted her head, puzzled.
This isn't what I expected. Wait, shouldn't you be asking me to cooperate with you in investigating this murder case? Even though we're friends, we're working for the government right now.
Moreover, what did you mean by shouting that?
"You're Monica, right?" Saya excitedly touched Monica all over.
This action left Monica completely bewildered.
Is it because I haven't left Amadeuslin for too long that the outside world has gone mad? Or is something wrong with me? Is Saya possessed? That's how it's described in those fantasy novels.
Monica pushed Saya away: "I am Monica, but you are not Saya."
Saya would never make a move on me; she only has eyes for her beloved Elena—she's heard it so many times she's tired of it. Can you imagine having a classmate next to you during a listening test who keeps ringing "Elena Elena Elena"?
"It's Saya. Monica, don't you recognize her?"
Isn't this the question I should be asking you?
Monica thought with a headache, "First you come in with that dead-looking expression, then you rush over and say we should run away together, and then you start groping me all over. I'm only being polite by not beating you up."
Has her brain gone sluggish all these years while she's been a witch?
“Monica, people know what you’ve done. Let’s escape together—” Saya whispered. “It’s okay, as long as we get out of here.”
Monica looked at Saya intently... She knew... what I had done?
How did she know...?
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about…” Monica said. “Stop slacking off, there’s still a murder case to investigate.”
"Didn't you do it?" Saya asked softly.
"..."
A single sentence can silence a normal person for a whole day.
Monica is clearly not very similar either.
"Haha... what... what are you talking about?" Monica laughed. "Even I would get angry if you joked with me to this extent."
"It's okay... even if that's who you are, it's okay. Run away, get out of here."
"How did you know that..." Monica finally came out, there was no point in pretending anymore.
This guy is definitely going to be a famous steamed egg in the future.
It's truly baffling how someone as clueless as her could have known all this. She didn't realize how obvious her actions were; in fact, they were quite subtle—otherwise, this series of murders wouldn't have taken so long to investigate.
Although the process was a classic case of the thief crying "stop thief!" and investigating his own murder, the higher-ups at Almadeslin weren't all fools; their ability to conduct such excellent intelligence work meant that many of them were intelligent.
They didn't even notice his tricks, but Saya figured it out so quickly after arriving? He had originally planned to slowly reveal clues to Saya.
“I’m from the future, Monica, hurry up. Otherwise, you’ll die,” Saya said solemnly.
That's not surprising. That's not surprising at all.
So they're from the future.
Yeah, right.
“That’s even stranger, isn’t it? Didn’t Teacher Sheila teach you that time cannot be reversed?” Monica said with a wry smile. “I’d rather believe that I left some trace somewhere that you could see.”
……
In Almadeslin, there has always been a terminal illness known as "Lycorice syndrome".
People afflicted with this terminal illness gradually lose their bodily functions and eventually die in despair, lying in their hospital beds. This process is extremely slow; therefore, death is accompanied by a considerable period of suffering.
Moreover, there are no good treatments available for this terminal illness.
A huge amount of money is needed to purchase medical resources to prolong life—and that's all; no patient has ever been cured. In Amadeuslin, because unnatural death is not allowed, the appearance of someone with this terminal illness in a family means being labeled with a chronic death within the family.
The heavy medical burden on patients can overwhelm the entire family.
And that patient had to live a life worse than death.
Monica's father, in an effort to end the suffering of those patients who were living in agony, used pain-relieving drugs to help them die at their desperate pleas.
And she, Monica, returned to this kingdom.
She was merely carrying on her father's legacy, even if her father's true legacy was to tell her to get out of Amadeuslin.
Those she killed... were all people who were already suffering so much they couldn't go on living, and at their desperate pleas, Monica used her magic to help them die painlessly.
This is the essence of serial murder cases.
But regardless, she was killing someone. Even in a normal kingdom, her actions would be punishable by death. She understood this perfectly well—just like her exiled father.
“Monica, I don’t think you’re a murderer, you…” Saya hadn’t finished speaking.
“Your opinion is useless,” Monica chuckled. “Saya… not everyone is as innocent and kind as you. I’m not like that. Murder is murder… I won’t make excuses for myself. When I returned to Amadeuslin, I already knew my fate.”
No—it's not—
“Saya, do you know? This is [a city where people live],” Monica said, her expression remarkably relieved.
If things had gone according to plan, Monica would probably have done a lot of things to make Saya hate her so that she would be completely disappointed in herself, gradually make her guess the true nature of her killing, and then ideally attack Saya so that she would believe from the bottom of her heart that she is a psychopathic killer.
Just like what my father did to me back then.
But Saya's unconventional actions clearly disrupted her plans.