I Was Reincarnated as the Most Wicked Aristocrat Who Rules Over the Kingdom’s Darkness in an R-18 Eroge, but I Don’t Like Abnormal Situations, so I Tried to Live a Normal and Peaceful Life, but I’m Somehow in the Same Situation as the Original Scenario - Chapter 17 - Murder Investigations and a Second Elise?

Chapter 17 – Murder Investigations and a Second Elise?

After a tumultuous lunch break, I reluctantly spent the latter part of the classes…

After school.

I stepped into the student council room with Lumiere, Elise, and Cecil.

This was my first time participating in student council activities.

“Now, for the next agenda item,”

Naturally, the leadership was always in the hands of Clarice, the president.

The content of the activities was not much different from that of a typical student council, dealing with budget allocations for upcoming school events.

The student council is the effective pinnacle of this academy’s society.

The teachers are like gods, watching over it from above.

That is the power structure of this academy.

“There seem to be no objections, so shall we consider this a decision?”

It was a truly peaceful meeting.

There was nothing particularly strange or unsettling about it. But…

“Then, moving on. I would like to engage in a discussion regarding the matter at hand.”

The moment Clarice spoke, the atmosphere in the room changed drastically.

The peace vanished, and a somewhat oppressive atmosphere began to hang in the air.

In the midst of this, Clarice spoke of a new topic.

“First, I will provide an explanation of the current situation for those who have newly joined us.”

The next words she spoke were very succinct. And yet, they were shocking.

“Five students have already lost their lives at our school… Not due to an accident, but in murder.”

Elise was the first to respond.

“That’s… That’s ridiculous…!”

Her eyes were wide open, and she was sweating, expressing her shock.

Cecil, sitting next to her, also muttered with a serious look on his face.

“This isn’t just a major issue for the academy…”

All the core members of the student council nodded in agreement.

“Every year at our academy, several people die in accidents. As these are the individual’s own fault, no one blames the academy. However,”

When it comes to murder, the story changes drastically.

“…Currently, the academy is covering up this fact. The deaths are being ruled accidental.”

This decision must have been difficult for Clarisse to judge morally.

And Elise, who has an upright sense of justice, also had a sour look on her face, just like Clarice.

Concealing murder. On the surface, it may seem like a bad thing to do, but…

Considering the social impact, it was probably an unavoidable decision.

If the matter were to be revealed, no one could predict what kind of major problem it would lead to.

That’s why they might want to take the dirt upon themselves and resolve the issue quietly.

“I would like to solve this case before another victim appears. …Alvart-sama, please lend me your wisdom.”

Don’t be ridiculous.

I’m just an ordinary guy, not a great detective.

I don’t have the power to solve this case.

But still…

This case is not so trivial that it can be ignored as if it were someone else’s problem.

If I ignore this case, it will have a negative impact on me in the end.

With that intuition, I blurted out my next words.

“First, I would like to hear about the victims.”

“Yes. Of course.”

“I believe that if they have something in common, we might be able to narrow down the culprit to some extent. What do you think?”

At this point, Clarisse hesitated slightly in her response.

The other members also looked sour for some reason.

After a short pause, Clarice replied,

“…They are all sons or daughters of wealthy families.”

Ah, I see. That’s why it was hard to answer.

Wealthy families are commoners who have enough wealth to have a great influence on the kingdom.

Their presence would be seen as an eyesore not only by the nobles, but even more so by the royal family.

And… In this academy, there is one person who belongs to the royal family.

That’s right, Clarice Ringveid.

In other words, at the moment, she is the prime suspect.

“There’s no way Clarice-sama would do something like that!”

Elise stood up and shouted, having seemingly come to the same conclusion as me.

Afterward, she directed a gaze toward me as if to cling to hope.

She was probably asking me to prove Clarice’s innocence.

However, at the moment, there was no evidence to support that.

All that existed was personal impression, a worthless element.

However, at this point Theodore raised his hand,

“Clarice-sama was attacked by someone last night. If Clarice-sama was the culprit, then something like that should not have happened to her.”

…He must understand that this is a weak argument.

The fact that she was attacked does not prove her innocence.

In fact, it is possible that she staged the incident to remove herself as a suspect.

…However, last night’s attacker has nothing to do with this case, so it’s pointless to even think about it.

Well, in the end…

“At the moment, all we can speculate is that the perpetrator, or the person orchestrating this, is connected to the royal family. That’s all it seems to be.”

There is not enough evidence to conclude that Clarice is the culprit.

And there is not enough evidence to conclude that she is not the culprit.

But there is one thing that can be said for sure.

If the case cannot be solved quickly and casualties continue to occur, it will become impossible for the academy to cover it up.

If that’s the case… As a prime suspect, Clarice will likely be treated as a criminal regardless of whether she did it or not.

No matter what the truth is, the case must be solved.

…This itself feels like it demonstrates her innocence.

Even so, it cannot be treated as conclusive evidence.

“Alvart-kun——Night King-sama.”

While I was thinking about the case, Theodore stood up, and then…

He bowed deeply and begged.

“Please use your power to somehow save Clarice-sama…! She is an indispensable person for this kingdom…!”

After his plea, the main members of the student council, including Clarice herself, stood up…

and all bowed their heads.

“There is nothing we can do about this now…!”

“You are the only one we can rely on…!”

At this point… There was no way I could refuse.

Of course, I understood.

Regardless of whether I can resolve this or not, it’s certain that an unwanted outcome awaits as soon as I get involved.

However… Those who can easily brush off others who cling to them are likely to end up in loneliness.

I don’t seek happiness.

I don’t seek despair either.

I just want to be at peace.

That is not a desire to be alone.

And that’s why I can’t abandon Clarice, no matter what undesirable things my actions may bring.

And that’s why I spoke, and answered,

“——Leave it to me. I’ll expose the darkness lurking in this academy.”

◇

“Wow, that was really cool, Nii-sama!”

At midnight.

After completing all the courses for the day, I went to my room with Lumiere.

“Honestly, what do you think about the culprit this time?”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know. There’s not enough evidence.”

“So you’re of the same opinion as me, huh?”

Rather than sitting on the bed, I stood, pondering.

The power that resides within me is an immense fighting ability, but it can’t be applied to gathering information.

Well, to be precise… If I used my other supernatural ability that is not Adaptation, that would be possible, but I don’t want to use that power as much as possible.

I detest that power to the extent that, even when weighed against Clarice’s life, it barely edges out.

“In that case…I see…I guess this reluctance will actually help the current situation.”

I need necessary information to solve this case.

If I cannot obtain information, I can simply recruit those who can obtain it as my allies.

And that person now… is in this room.

“Surely you don’t think you can deceive my eyes?”

I cast my gaze towards the corner of the room.

Lumiere would have no idea what I was trying to say.

After all, there’s nothing in the corner.

However… My eyes could clearly see the figure of a beautiful woman standing there.

“…!”

Now then… Why is she, the person who attacked Clarice last night, doing right here?

It’s difficult to read this development as it strays far from the original scenario, but…

At the very least, it doesn’t seem like she came here to forge a friendly relationship with us.

“If you want to attack, that’s fine. I’ll take you on.”

The other person gritted their teeth at this provocative line.

“——You are not my Master!”

She shouted, and stepped forward.

And sure enough, a beautiful woman with disheveled white hair approached.

Her true identity is——

——Elise Lucifor, in a completely changed form.

◇

T/N: How could there be 2 Elise? Dem…