The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 61: Double Disappearance Case

Chive Street·Underground One

"Great King, it’s already the fifth day." In the dim, spacious room, the Bird-Beaked Old Man reminded him in a low voice.

"I know."

They had previously plotted to have the Fox Family procure the bones of a True Dragon for their own Feast Ritual needs, but the situation hadn’t developed exactly as they had envisioned.

The Dragon bones had indeed arrived, but they were the core exhibit of the Bionics School. If they wanted them, they would inevitably offend that school, and the consequences were entirely different from what they had initially anticipated. Offending the Fox Family was troublesome, but their power was limited; as long as they fled Asra District and hid in some remote place, things would blow over in a few years. But a mage school possessed far too many means at their disposal; they weren’t something the Headmen could trifle with easily.

Although the shift in events had nearly ruined their previous plans, it wasn’t entirely hopeless.

"The Bionics School definitely brought more than just that one Dragon Bone treasure with the Dragon Eye; they probably have one or two smaller pieces for backup or contingencies. All we need is a 'Fourth Tier·Dragon Eye' treasure. For a school, the importance of something like that is greatly reduced," the Bird-Beaked Scholar analyzed.

"However, we still need to send someone to investigate and verify the information before we act."

"If we want to get intelligence from the exhibition hall, we need someone who is currently a student in Asra District. None of our current underlings are suitable."

"Yes." Fire Pig’s dull, rumbling voice echoed in the room."We need to find a controllable, obedient student to carry out this task."

"Go find them. We need multiple candidates."

"Once the intelligence is confirmed, we’ll begin the operation."

"Yes, Heavenly King."

A complete Dragon skeleton wasn’t something they could handle, but the small, scattered Dragon Eye treasures still gave them hope, spurring Fire Pig into slow, cautious action.

Time was limited. Their best window of opportunity was to acquire the needed treasure before the final three major colleges arrived with their main exhibits. If they waited until those colleges’ representatives showed up, many things would become extraordinarily dangerous. Even Fire Pig and the other Headmen, who had never attended school, held them in awe and fear.

The next day, evening.

On Agate Street, as usual, with the end of the workday, many laborers returned, and the area gradually became lively.

Anari had also come to help at the restaurant today, wanting to share some of the work with the older woman.

However, there were two other figures here today.

"Anari, you’re back." The older woman first welcomed her, then introduced the two new arrivals.

It turned out they were new helpers at the restaurant, acquaintances of Da who had been introduced.

"You won’t have to work so hard from now on. I know you’ve been coming here often, and it’s been cutting into your study time. That’s not good," Da explained, trying to comfort Anari.

Faced with this situation, Anari showed acceptance on her face and said it was fine, but deep down, she felt a twinge of disappointment—perhaps she wasn’t that important anymore.

Still, reason told her that the older woman was right. Relying on just the two of them was too hectic, and sometimes they couldn’t manage. Besides, she really did need more time for her studies, so she wouldn’t disappoint that noble person.

"I understand, but let me help you for a while today," she replied with a hint of stubbornness.

After the older woman agreed, Anari went to the back kitchen of the restaurant and started working. But today, she lacked her usual urgency; her movements were slower and more deliberate.

Time passed, and it gradually came time to close up. When the last lamp was blown out, Anari stood in front of the shop to say goodbye to the older woman.

"I’m heading back. See you next time."

The school exhibitions in Asra District were still ongoing, but Sylutia had already visited most of them, so she hadn’t paid much attention lately. That was until one evening, when she was returning from school and heading back to her dormitory, a frantic beastgirl stopped her.

"Miss Hedra, please don’t be angry that I showed up here." As an unregistered undocumented person, she couldn’t leave Agate Street easily; that was the underground rule of Asra District.

"But something happened to Anari! She didn’t come home yesterday, and this afternoon, the school sent someone to check her dormitory, but she wasn’t there either. I didn’t know what to do, so I could only think of you."

What is this? Sylutia was surprised internally. She hadn’t expected something like this to happen in Asra District at such a critical moment.

"I understand. Take me to where she lives first."

She then hailed a steam vehicle on the roadside and immediately set off.

A few minutes later, when she stepped out of the vehicle, a police car was already parked on that street.

Since she was familiar with the officers, it was easy for her to get information about the situation inside.

"We received a report of a missing student and just arrived not long ago," the Police Officer said, having no leads yet, just checking the room.

"Everything is tidy. There are even some valuable personal items and a small amount of money. It doesn’t look like a planned departure. It’s more consistent with an accidental disappearance."

This made things even worse, Sylutia thought to herself.

She then followed the Police Officer into the simple room. It was a student dormitory for beastmen. The other residents were all poor students who rarely interacted with Anari, and there had reportedly been some minor conflicts between them.

No wonder she liked going to the older woman’s place so much. It seemed dorm life wasn’t pleasant.

After the preliminary investigation, there weren’t many clues left behind. Sylutia had to return to the police station with the officers. There, she received even more unexpected news.

"You’re saying that a rare 'Dragon Eye' treasure was lost from the Bionics School’s exhibition hall!?" The Bureau Chief interrogated the member in front of him in a loud voice.

"Yes, the Bionics School mages just reported it to us. They had actually been searching for it themselves for a day. When they couldn’t find it, they notified us."

"Is it that massive Fire Dragon skeleton?" The Bureau Chief felt that if that item were the problem, his position would also be implicated.

"No, it’s another, smaller piece—a 'Dragon Eye Orb,' said to be a Cold Song Dragon Eye encased in lapis lazuli," the officer answered nervously.

Each school’s exhibition hall in Asra District not only had its own security but also required local police to assist with security. Although the police only bore secondary responsibility, if something really happened, the mages from those schools would only face internal discipline, while the police would lose their jobs.

"I understand." The Bureau Chief waved his hand, temporarily dismissing the officer to organize the intelligence and his thoughts.

It seemed a lot had happened in the past two days. Sylutia didn’t immediately disturb the Chief. Instead, she found the recent case files in the station and started flipping through them.

Were there only two Headmen left in Asra District now? According to the records, they had been involved in quite a few conflicts not long ago.

At night, several special black-clad personnel arrived. They were professionals from the Mage Alliance responsible for tracking down clues and analyzing activity traces. They had appeared before during the student disappearance cases to investigate at Sylutia’s school.

"The results are surprising. The missing Dragon Eye treasure and the missing student have overlapping traces, which makes it hard not to suspect that she took the treasure," the investigator concluded. The two cases had unexpectedly overlapped.

"Is that so? That makes sense. That beastman student must have spied on the treasure, stolen it from the exhibition hall, and fled with it," many officers thought, and murmurs spread.

"Typical beastman behavior. Stealing and robbing—there’s nothing they wouldn’t dare to do."

"Eighty percent of the security incidents in Asra District are caused by them. I’m not prejudiced against these guys, but they really don’t do anything decent."

"Well, this gives us something to go on. First, grab the acquaintances of the missing student for questioning. See if we can find any leads on her whereabouts."

"Oh, right, her identity seems suspicious too. She was using a fake identity to replace some other student, and she only recently applied to stay through some special channels," someone said quietly.

"That’s enough, cut the chatter. Start the investigation," a sharp officer interrupted the discussion, getting everyone moving.

Afterward, he walked over to comfort Sylutia.

"Miss Hedra, this matter is probably quite complicated. It’s best if you don’t get involved." He knew that the missing beastgirl was the one Sylutia had helped secure a spot at school. He thought she must be feeling hurt to have trusted someone like that.

"It’s fine." Sylutia closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, then opened them again.

"I believe this has nothing to do with Anari. She was just accidentally caught up in it." She trusted that the girl wouldn’t do something like that. Besides, looking at the subtle clues, there were many contradictions.

If Anari had really done it, she wouldn’t have left her valuable notebooks and her hard-saved money in the dormitory. Those were things she had spent a lot of time and effort to acquire.

"Can I assist in the investigation and participate?"

"This..." The officer hesitated. This wasn’t an ordinary case.

"I hope you can grant my request." Sylutia took out a special badge and showed it to the officer, then bowed.

This was the badge she had obtained from Rorik College. It represented the two professors’ approval of her, allowing her free access to the college. Although it wasn’t much to a formal mage, for a student still in the apprenticeship stage, such a badge was proof of strength, indicating she had already earned the recognition of certain important figures, with a bright future ahead.

Afterward, the officer reported the situation to the Chief. After careful consideration, the Chief agreed to the girl’s request.

"However, you cannot act alone. You must stay with us." He didn’t want anything to happen to this girl. After all, there were few people in Asra District who didn’t know her name now. Teachers from various schools often discussed her, guessing which college she would attend.

"I will." Sylutia agreed.

Over the next few days, the security forces in Asra District blockaded Agate Street and conducted stricter checks on the traces of people inside. The cadre overseeing that area, Spicy Face, was also taken into custody by the police.

"I didn’t do this! And I didn’t order it either!"

Tied to a chair, the beastman struggled and explained frantically.

"You know me, Chief. People like us understand the stakes. We wouldn’t cause trouble at such a critical moment. Besides, if I really had malicious intentions, why would I let someone in my own jurisdiction become a suspect? This is definitely a setup! Yes, a setup!" Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

"It must be Fire Pig and his people stirring things up. I know that bastard too well. He couldn’t swallow his pride from last time, thinking we framed him and put him in a tough spot. This time, he’s definitely trying to get back at us the same way."

Spicy Face spoke faster and faster, his emotions growing more agitated, as if he had uncovered the truth. He kept shouting that it was a deliberate frame-up by his rival, Fire Pig.

Although this idea was bizarre, it wasn’t impossible. Based on the officers’ understanding of the underground Headmen, it was something the other party might actually do.

"But this is just speculation. We can’t just report it like this. Those big shots will think we’re slacking off," one officer replied.

"We’ll have to bring Fire Pig’s people in for questioning too." The Bureau Chief rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He knew that these underground Headmen were all old foxes. Without solid evidence, they would never admit to anything.

In the past, even if a Headman didn’t admit it, souring relations with the police would affect their various businesses, so they wouldn’t dare offend the authorities.

But now, admitting to it meant death. These guys would go to any lengths to deny it, making the usual methods ineffective. Moreover, without concrete evidence to submit, the mages would probably think the police were just grabbing a scapegoat to cover up their incompetence.

Sure enough, things developed just as the Chief had predicted. Fire Pig consistently denied everything, insisting he had kept a low profile during this period, hadn’t dared to provoke anyone, and was completely innocent.

With the interrogation fruitless, the police, under heavy pressure from above, searched all of Fire Pig’s usual underground passages and warehouses. Although they found some stolen goods and contraband, there was no sign of the Dragon Eye treasure.

With that, the trail went cold, and the case hit another dead end. It had already been two days since Anari’s disappearance.

Sylutia couldn’t help but worry about the missing Anari. The longer time dragged on, the lower her chances of survival. If this really was a frame-up, once she lost her usefulness, Anari would likely be silenced to prevent any information from leaking.

Unfortunately, even if she regained her Fourth Tier progression path, she had no significant advantage in tracking down clues.

Just as the situation seemed to be sliding deeper into despair, Sylutia finally received a subtle, covert reminder.

The informant didn’t give her the answer directly. Instead, they cautiously used a sand tray on a street stall to leave a message, pointing out a direction. Once they confirmed she had seen it, they gently shook the tray, and the writing vanished instantly, leaving only the dark yellow wheat bran used for sale.

67 Water Bend Street, the underground waterway.