The Sorcerer Laughs in the Mirror v1c6

Considering I have finals next week, I really should not be doing this hahahaha….. um…

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I was in a daze for a moment.

Soon, Matilda coaxed me out of my chair and we left the investigation room.

At that moment, my hands were freed, and I no longer felt like I was being treated like a criminal.

Even so, I found myself in the lowest of spirits, and kept wondering over and over what I should do next.

I followed Matilda, walking through the hallway, until we stopped in front of the door to a certain room. A small voice spilled out from the inside.

“My daughter is 14 years old. Carrying out a questioning like that… what about a lawyer?”

It was my father’s voice!

I found myself relieved, letting out a calm breath. Matilda knocked on the door, opening it when she received a reply.

“Father!”

Father sat with his back turned. Next to him was my mother, clasping his arm while looking panicked.

“Mother!”

As I said this, the two of them turned with a confused look.

“…Ariel?”

My father looked at me with astonishment. I guess it was only natural. A boy they didn’t know was standing there calling them “father” and “mother”.

“Because, I explained that there are multiple issues that have led to these circumstances.”

Behind the two, the Chief sat exhaustedly in his chair, looking exasperated. “Right now your daughter is in the body of a heinous criminal, so we could not just let her go freely.”

“Heinous…”
“Criminal….”

My parents’ voices overlapped.

I rushed up to them, trying to choose words that would make them believe me.

“I’m sorry father, mother. I don’t really understand the situation myself. After seeing Rachel, I couldn’t remember anything.”

“This can’t be.”

My mother suddenly stood up, confusedly averting her eyes from me.

“Our daughter… daughter…”

She looked at me again. Still staring, she cleanly collapsed to the floor.

“Selen!”

Panicked, my father called out my mother’s name, helping her up. However, it seemed that as a result of the confusion she was still losing awareness.”

“So it’s this, isn’t it?”

I whispered, at a loss for what to do.

Even I wanted to faint.

 

While my mother lied on the sofa, my father listened to the Chief.

Although at first he replied with things like “I see” and “unbelievable”, but as the story progressed he went silent, his face going white.

“We believe that his first target was Rachel Harris.”

The Chief explained, frowning.

“This may be difficult for your son… er, daughter to hear, so it would be best if she left.”

Matilda heard this and started pulling my arm, but I refused to stand.

Staring intently at the Chief, I stiffened myself next to father, causing him to let out another sigh.

“She tends to be quite stubborn.”

He looked at my side. “If you regret hearing this, I will not take responsibility.”

“Fine.”

I nodded.

After looking at me with a tight expression, the Chief partly closed his eyes, indicating he had no choice.

 

“Please understand what Gray Starling does.”

The Chief spoke directly to my father. “He stays close to the women he plans to kidnap, observing their everyday lives for a few days. Then, he sends around bouquets. For those few days, the same types of bouquets are delivered to the victim.”

“Oh.”

I suddenly cut in. “Rachel talked about that. Also, there was one in front of the waiting room.”

There was also a boy I passed by.

I couldn’t see his face, but most likely…

The Chief continued.

“After gaining a grasp of her schedule, he kidnaps the victim. As you can see, the face of the suspect is the only thing attractive about him, so when he comes in contact with these girls carrying a bouquet, their sense of caution is brought down.”

I let out a small whine.

Suddenly I began to remember, feeling sick.

“I will try to keep the explanation of his killing methods brief. It’s not something pleasant to hear about. Truthfully, Starling is not in a normal mental state. All I will tell you is that he treats the girls with embalmment, and then puts them on display.”

“Display…”

Father spoke this word with revulsion. “Why would he do something like that? Is it that he was also trying to do that to my daughter?”

“It’s somewhat unclear, and a topic I will leave for next time.”

The Chief’s cheek under his monocle twitched, his face turning a troubled shade.

“Starling prefers beautiful girls with long hair. His original target was, as I said before, Miss Harris. However, at the school festival Starling must have seen her short hair and paused his crime, changing his target to your daughter, whom he saw by coincidence. Moreover, despite his time observing her, he chose to commit the crime there. It is something we wouldn’t expect from Starling.”

“Wouldn’t expect from him?”

“The trouble is that Starling is not unintelligent. At any rate, we’ve conducted many preliminary investigations, so if he feels a sense of danger he tends to give up on his crimes. This recent crime seems to be an exception. It could be that he was greatly fond of your daughter… however, we still don’t know exactly why this happened.”

I looked at both my father and the Chief’s faces.

Then suddenly, I opened my mouth to speak.

“I was wounded.”

“Huh?”

The Chief through his glance towards me.

“When I was about to be kidnapped, I was wounded. That’s why maybe…”

 

“This was a great mistake.”

Suddenly, a voice arose inside my head.

It was the voice of Gray Starling.

So soft and charming, with a hint of kindness, but ringing with coldness.

I definitely woke up in that underground.

However.

For some reason, I couldn’t fully remember.

For sure I had spoken to Gray, but it seemed like a dream, and I could only remember it briefly.

“Injuring you. It will take a few days to heal.”

He said this, looking sadly at me.

Or at least I think.

Oh, it was so vexing! Why couldn’t I remember everything!?

 

“For decoration, I guess.”

The Chief whispered. “It would be no use to use an injured body for a doll. That’s why he gave up killing you, and instead…”

“Thought of something better.”

Better.

Exchanging our bodies. And then.

 

“A personality transfer.”

The Chief put his hands on his forehead as if in pain. “Until the wounds heal, exchanging their bodies…”

 

“So when the wounds heal…”

My father stood up. With an awful complexion, I could see he was probably thinking the worst thing.

When the wounds healed, I would be killed.

Was that it?

 

But.

Did Gray Starling say anything else?

I couldn’t remember.

 

Matilda opened her mouth, having been listening the whole time. “Gray has gotten himself a new body. A splendid body with no seal, so that if he uses magic, the Administration of Justice Department won’t have a clue.”

“Oh”

The Chief nodded. “Also, it’s his type of beauty.”

“Living a new life would be appealing to him.”

“The risks he’s taking are high; finding a way to kill the Augustine family’s daughter, plus finding his own body after having performed the personality transfer. Personality transfer magic is forbidden, as it has a different configuration from other magic. If it’s used, we would be able to trace it.”

“If he’s trying to run away like this, it’s the best situation for him. Doing as he pleases in his new body.”

If he’s trying to run away…

I became overwhelmed in my seat.

If he does that, then what?

It means I won’t be able to return to my original self, doesn’t it?

 

Chapter end