Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 103

The investigators placed the handcuffed suspect into a transportation carriage. The carriage was cramped and fitted with iron bars, and it was designed to transport criminals from one place to another.

Kang Yoon-Soo sat in one corner of the carriage with his head lowered, thinking, ‘Things will be off schedule now.’

He had originally planned to immediately head to Sanguinium and fight the vampires, but he had ended up being arrested due to the sudden appearance of the investigators. The only one who would be capable of mobilizing so many investigators at once was a 1st Grade investigator.

‘I was sloppy.’

He was certain that the one who had orchestrated his capture was Sheryl, since she was well known for her excellent instincts.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked down at the handcuffs on his wrists and thought, ‘Escaping will be easy.’

He could easily pick the handcuffs using the piece of metal he had hidden underneath his sleeves. It was something he had done almost every day back in the life he had lived as a thief. In fact, there was a time when he had cut the rope right before he was about to be hanged, running away with his band of thieves.

.

‘But that doesn’t seem to be the answer this time.’

He had been arrested, and that meant he was a criminal. He would become a fugitive if he undid his handcuffs and ran away.

‘The others might get involved if I become a fugitive.’

Wanted posters would be spread all over the continent, and his plans would face a huge setback if they were on the investigators’ radar from then on. That was why Kang Yoon-Soo decided to give up on escaping for the time being.

‘I’d rather use this situation to my advantage,’?he thought.

All of his belongings had been confiscated after he was searched, and he did not have a single weapon in his possession at the moment. He had to maneuver himself out of his predicament with only his glib tongue.

‘I have to turn a predicament into an opportunity.’

Creak…

Sheryl entered the carriage, then she looked down on Kang Yoon-Soo with her arms crossed over her chest. They were not far from each other, but a set of iron bars separated them.

“Name?” Sheryl asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo answered, “Kang Yoon-Soo.”

The carriage containing him started to move, and Sheryl began writing something on a piece of parchment with a quill.

“What was your motive?” Sheryl asked.

“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Your motive for impersonating a Zero Grade investigator,” Sheryl explained.

“No reason,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly.

Sheryl raised a brow and glared at Kang Yoon-Soo. Her gaze contained killing intent, but Kang Yoon-Soo did not seem to be fazed at all as he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“You are a strange one,” Sheryl remarked.

It was an iron rule that an investigator investigating a suspect should not be swayed by the suspect’s words.

The carriage started to move again.

“You are not a criminal yet,” Sheryl said as she continued writing something on the parchment. She continued, “However, you will officially be sent to prison once I submit this paper and get it approved.”

What she meant was that Kang Yoon-Soo was still technically a civilian at the moment, but that did not change the fact that he had committed a crime.

“I have the power to write things in a way that would be beneficial to you—although that depends on the situation. That is why I suggest you start cooperating and answer my questions,” Sheryl said.

“You always say that during an investigation, but I don’t recall you ever writing things in a helpful way,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, sounding as if he knew everything about her.

Sheryl’s gaze turned cold as she said, “You are speaking as if you know me very well.”

“You were the most annoying investigator when I lived as a thief,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied with a shrug.

“What are you talking about?” Sheryl asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo leaned back comfortably against the wall of the carriage, and his eyes, void of any emotion, met the investigator’s gaze. He began, “Sheryl D’Rafikri.”

Sheryl had been writing busily on the parchment, but her hand stopped for a moment. The man had just said her real name, which nobody else knew of aside from her.

Kang Yoon-Soo continued, “You’re the heir of a fallen count, and you decided to hide your identity and live as a commoner, working as an investigator.”

“Did you look into me?” Sheryl asked.

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He then confidently continued, “I’ve known about it for a long time.”

“Are you planning to bargain for your crimes with that secret? I would suggest you give up if that is what you are planning,” Sheryl said.

The reason why she hid the fact that she was the daughter of a fallen count was all because of her pride. She had started her life as a commoner, and she had become a 1st Grade investigator as a commoner. She was not scared of her past coming to light, as she had nothing to hide.

“There are a lot of things I wonder about you,” Sheryl said.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo seemed to pretend not to have heard anything at all. He looked out the window and stared at the clouds that were gathering in the bright blue sky, saying, “I think it’s going to rain soon.”

‘The weather is so bright outside. What rain is he talking about?’?Sheryl thought. She then took out a knife from her pocket and threw it with skill befitting a 1st Grade investigator.

Kwack!

The knife flew accurately between the iron bars and grazed Kang Yoon-Soo’s hair. It was only then that he turned and looked at Sheryl, asking, “What?”

He was a strange man. Was he not afraid of her? It was only natural for any criminal to kneel before Sheryl’s sheer presence once the investigation started.

‘That guy is not showing any signs of submitting anytime soon,’?Sheryl thought. It was a strange feeling, but there was no way she was going to be swayed by her emotions. She steeled her resolve as an investigator once again and continued asking questions.

“You seem to have prepared quite a lot just to pretend to be a Zero Grade investigator. The Dragon Claw Amulet, and knowledge about Sir Rapentahil, are not things that you can plan on your own,” Sheryl said. She then raised her voice as she asked, “Who is your accomplice?”

“I did it alone,” Kang Yoon-Soo responded.

All of the responses the man gave Sheryl were curt. Sheryl started to write something down quickly on the parchment, then asked the question she had wanted to ask the most. “How old are you?”

“I don’t remember,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Your eyes bothered me,” Sheryl said.

Those words would normally be used when a man and a woman were professing their love for each other; but that was not the case in this situation, as all they exchanged were cold gazes toward each other.

Sheryl stared into Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes that were void of any emotion and said, “You seem to be someone who is exhausted with life. Not because you have lived a rough life, but it feels more as if you are sick and tired of life because you have lived for too long.”

“Do I look like a vampire to you?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“That was what I thought at first, but you do not have sharp fangs, and your eyes are not red either,” Sheryl replied.

“I’m a human,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. However, he felt that the words he had just said sounded awkward for some reason. Could a man like him, who had lived for over 20,000 years, be considered human?

It was at that moment…

“Neiiiiigh!”

“Euuk!”

Sheryl quickly stuck her neck out of the window and exclaimed, “What’s going on?!”

The carriage stopped, and the coachman nervously replied in terror, “A-An investigator suddenly collapsed!”

Sheryl opened the carriage door and climbed down from the carriage. She shook the collapsed investigator’s shoulder and called out, “Gaffer! Wake up!”

However, the investigator did not wake up. She placed her finger on his wrist, then bit her lips.

“What’s wrong, ma’am?”

The other investigators dismounted their horses, rushing toward Sheryl and the collapsed investigator.

Sheryl closed Gaffer’s eyes and said, “Gaffer is dead. Everyone, stop your horses and gather around.”

Pat… Pat… Pat…

The sky suddenly turned dark, and rain began to fall.

***

An investigator had died, and surrounded by other investigators at that. Such a thing should not have happened, and in fact should have been nearly impossible.

“A subordinate died in front of my eyes,” Sheryl said.

There was a deep wound in Gaffer’s side, as if he had been stabbed with something sharp. The coachman testified that Gaffer had been riding his horse when he suddenly collapsed and fell. Despite the signs that he had been stabbed, he had seemingly not been stabbed by anything.

“We have to consider all possibilities. Gaffer could have committed suicide without anyone knowing, or the coachman could be an accomplice of the murderer,” Sheryl said coldly.

“Aigoo! What are you saying, madam investigator? I have never seen that investigator in my life!” the coachman replied, waving his hands in panic.

The 3rd Grade investigator, Gaffer, was someone Sheryl had just exchanged greetings with a few times, and she was not particularly well-acquainted with him. However, she felt that it was humiliating for such a thing to have happened under her watch.

‘What a shame.’

A 1st Grade investigator could not prevent the death of a subordinate under her supervision. The incident was more than enough of a reason for others to ask for her to be demoted.

The rain fell onto the mantle covering the corpse.

‘I cannot get demoted to 2nd Grade over something like this.’

Sheryl was from a fallen noble household. She had chosen to be a commoner instead of a noble, and she had gone through all sorts of struggles as she started from the bottom in order to reach her position.

‘It will all go away as long as I catch the culprit.’

Sheryl gathered the investigators who had been around Gaffer at the time of the incident, but all of them testified the same thing—that Gaffer had suddenly collapsed, and that nothing suspicious had happened beforehand. Even though they were thoroughly searched, there were no suspicious objects in their possession.

“Sunbae-nim, the rain is starting to get stronger,” one of Sheryl’s juniors said.

“I am aware. You do not have to tell me,” Sheryl said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, as the ground turned muddy and they were drenched with rain.

An investigator’s worst enemy was rain.

‘The?evidence?is?disappearing.’

Corpses would decay faster when it rained, and any traces at a crime scene would be washed away by the rain. In fact, most unsolved cases had been committed on rainy days.

‘I have to catch the culprit before it?is too late,’ Sheryl thought. But how?

She did not have the right people to investigate a crime scene, and there was not enough information either. A detective in a mystery novel would likely immediately find some clues and solve the case, but this was not a mystery novel.

The rain started to grow stronger.

“The carriage wheels will get stuck in the mud if we wait any longer, ma’am!” the coachman cried out.

The other investigators looked quite nervous. One said, “Sunbae, I know how you feel right now, but it would be better to load Gaffer’s corpse into the carriage and bring it to the headquarters.”

Sheryl bit her lips and thought, ‘It will be much more difficult to solve this once we leave the crime scene.’

All of the traces of the crime that were imperative to solving the case were going to disappear because of the rain, and the case would end up becoming the reason for Sheryl’s demotion, as it had happened under her supervision.

Rumble… Bzaaat!

Thunder roared, and Sheryl could not help but sigh inside. There was nothing she could do at this point.

Knock… Knock…

Sheryl did not miss the small, faint sound of knocking amid the rain. She looked in the direction where the sound had come from—it was the transportation carriage.

Knock… Knock…

“Sunbae-nim?” an investigator called out when he saw that Sheryl was acting strange.

Sheryl said nothing and walked toward the carriage, but even she did not know why she was walking toward it.

Creak…

Sheryl opened the carriage door and saw the suspect, who was sitting quietly like a ghost. He looked like a sculpture, carved to resemble a criminal who had given up on life.

Kang Yoon-Soo was knocking on the carriage wall with the back of his hand.

Knock… Knock…

“I am here; what do you want?” Sheryl asked.

“You’re in a pinch right now,” Kang Yoon-Soo responded. Sheryl flinched inwardly, but she maintained her composure on the outside. However, Kang Yoon-Soo continued as if he could read what was going on in her mind, “All the achievements you’ve built up will come crumbling down just because of this one single case.”

“What are you talking about?” Sheryl asked.

“The rain is getting stronger,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Kang Yoon-Soo was intentionally acting the way he was; Sheryl could not help but feel that the suspect was teasing her despite his dry, emotionless voice.

Sheryl’s brows rose, and she was visibly angry as she asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“I have business with you,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Sheryl was annoyed for some reason. It had just been a faint sound, but it had led her here in front of this man. It was as if she had been dragged over against her will by something invisible.

Kang Yoon-Soo continued to stare at Sheryl as he said, “You’re quite sharp. You can tell if someone is lying, and you can use that to catch suspects. But, your speaking and investigative skills are lacking compared to your other skills.”

“Did you call me just to give me an evaluation?” Sheryl retorted. However, she was bothered deep inside. The words the suspect had just said precisely described the inferiority complex she had as an investigator.

Then, the suspect suddenly said, “Release me for a moment.”

“Why should I?” Sheryl asked.

“I’ll solve this case for you,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Sheryl furrowed her brows and said, “Quit trying to pull your petty little tricks.”

“You can keep the cuffs on. You won’t have much time anyway,” Kang Yoon-Soo said leisurely as he looked out of the carriage window. The rain was indeed starting to get stronger.

He was not wrong. The chances of solving the case would go down the drain if things continued.

‘Maybe…’?Sheryl thought as something seemed to move inside of her—it was her instinct. Her instinct was the one thing she relied on whenever she solved cases as an investigator.

“I will cut off one of your legs if you try to pull anything funny,” Sheryl finally said.

“I will keep that in mind,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Sheryl took out the key and opened the cage for him.

***

“Sunbae! What are you doing? Why are you bringing that criminal here?” an investigator asked.

“Just wait a minute. I have something in mind,” Sheryl said while holding onto the chain connected to Kang Yoon-Soo’s handcuffs.

It was not only the investigators who were surprised at what was going on. Sheryl herself was quite surprised at what she was doing. She thought, ‘This is driving me?insane…’

An investigator transporting a criminal had brought that same criminal to a crime scene. That was something that would not end with a simple demotion. It was a huge risk that Sheryl, who was always confident in her instinct, was taking; in her position, she was hanging by a thin thread.

‘I can only hope that this man will be someone?like the detectives from those crime novels…’

Sheryl had rolled the dice, and the only thing left was for her to accept the result whether things worked out or not.

“Go look around the crime scene. The body is over there,” Sheryl said as she pointed at the corpse that was covered with a mantle.

However, everything went against Sheryl’s expectations and instincts. Kang Yoon-Soo, who was living for the thousandth time, was not a detective.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Sheryl shouted loudly.

While still in handcuffs, Kang Yoon-Soo ignored her and walked toward an investigator. It was the investigator who had previously urged Sheryl to move the body to the investigation headquarters.

“You’re the culprit,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Kang Yoon-Soo had accused someone without even bothering to investigate the crime scene.