Chapter 401 - Episode 384: An Ominous Incident
Late February. While Baronet Yuri Granat was performing paperwork in the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Arqvist Grand Duchy Army Headquarters, a soldier in charge of patrolling the capital city of Noeina came to report.
"Theft?"
"Yes. It is reported that there was an intruder in a room of an apartment complex in the northwest district while the resident was away. I have seen the scene, and it was severely ransacked."
"...I see. And?"
Yuri asked, knitting his brows slightly.
Public order in the Arqvist Grand Duchy was far better compared to neighboring countries. Even so, theft cases and injury cases that escalated from fights occurred from time to time. Heinous crimes such as manslaughter or rape had occurred only a handful of times so far, but they were not non-existent.
A theft occurring in an apartment complex for the working class, who were relatively low-income in the Grand Duchy, fell into the lighter category of incidents. It was not an event that warranted an urgent report to Yuri, who was in a position to lead over five hundred people, including regular soldiers, the Reserve Corps, and Claymores.
"The scene of the incident was somewhat strange. The victim is a young cat-beastman man, but it seems the theft itself was likely not the objective; it is an incident that occurred out of a hatred for beastmen. I felt that this should be brought to Your Excellency's ears as soon as possible, which is why I have requested your time."
At the words of the middle-aged soldier, a platoon leader of the infantry unit and the person responsible for today's capital patrol, Yuri knitted his brows even further.
"Let me hear the details."
"Yes. Actually... the way the interior was ransacked was odd. There were signs that the insides of shelves and under the bed had been searched for valuables, and it seems about a thousand Rebro were actually stolen, but besides that, there were traces of actions that seemed aimed at destruction rather than theft, such as desks and chairs being broken, and blankets and clothing being slashed."
"...I see. That is indeed strange."
"In addition... well, words insulting beastmen were written in large letters on the wall. They were scribbled in considerably vulgar language, and the victim and neighboring beastmen seem to have received a great shock and are frightened."
"..."
Yuri thought that this might be a more serious incident than he had imagined upon first hearing it. If it were merely harassment by a single individual, it would be one thing, but this might become a more troublesome situation.
As someone who had accumulated battles both as a warrior and as a commander leading many, he had an intuitive bad feeling.
"Very well, I will see the scene as well."
"!? Your Excellency, personally?"
Perhaps not expecting the Chief of Military Affairs to go to the scene on his own two feet, the platoon leader showed a surprised expression.
"If handled poorly, this is an incident that will leave a lingering effect for some time. I must see for myself what the scene looked like so that I can report it to His Excellency the Grand Duke of Arqvist. Lead the way."
When told in a tone that brooked no argument by Yuri, who was at the top of the military hierarchy, a mere officer could not voice any further opinion. The platoon leader saluted and immediately guided Yuri to the scene of the incident.
.....
In the capital city of Noeina, the residences of the wealthy, such as landowners, lined the southeast side, the artisans' district was on the southwest side, and the commercial district and middle-class homes lined the north side. Among them, in the northwest district, which was developed last of all, apartment complexes for singles and low-income earners also stood.
Entering a narrow room of a three-story wooden apartment complex, the scene of this incident, Yuri's face became grim as he looked at the wall of the room.
"...I see. This is terrible."
On that wall, insults such as "Human-pretenders who crawl around the city with dirty feet despite being half-beasts" and "Living a life unbecoming of your status as a half-beast" were scribbled in large letters. Even Yuri instinctively grimaced. He wondered how much of a shock the beastman victim had received upon returning to his room and seeing this.
"What are the results of the interrogation of the victim?"
"The agitation was still intense, so the interview was a bit difficult, but he says he has no idea why such hatred would be directed at him. He has no particular memory of earning someone's strong grudge, nor of clashing with common humans or demi-humans."
A young soldier who had been handling the response at the scene answered Yuri's question.
"Which means, there is a high possibility that the culprit did this out of hatred for beastmen themselves..."
Yuri thought while stroking his beard.
If this were an incident that occurred from a personal grudge against the victim, the matter would be simple. However, if it were a crime stemming from hatred or discriminatory feelings toward beastmen themselves, the quality was poor.
The treatment of beastmen in the Arqvist Grand Duchy was considerably special when considering the common sense of the southern part of this Adleon continent.
Due to the long-term policies of the sovereign, Noein, and the influence of the existence of beastmen in high positions such as Matilda, Zadrek, Kenooze, and Dmitri, there was almost no overt discrimination or persecution of beastmen.
Most of the common human and demi-human subjects had accepted this current state, and while the sense of distance differed depending on the person, they generally coexisted peacefully with the beastman citizens. Although there were occasionally those who let derogatory words slip out in situations like fights, it could be said that there were virtually no people who openly discriminated against beastmen on a daily basis.
That was precisely why this situation was troublesome.
Yuri did not believe that every common human and demi-human living in this country viewed beastmen as equals from the bottom of their hearts. There were likely those living while suppressing discriminatory feelings toward beastmen that they had cultivated before moving from the Kingdom of Lordberg to this country.
Assuming such people existed, because they hid it normally, identification was extremely difficult. There was no guarantee that the culprit would be satisfied and feel relieved after this single occurrence. There was no guarantee that copycat criminals would not appear.
"For now, conduct a normal criminal investigation. If the culprit can be identified through eyewitness testimony or physical evidence, that would be for the best."
"Understood."
Yuri gave the immediate instructions, and the platoon leader waiting by his side answered with a salute.
.....
"...So, for now, there are no clues?"
A few days later. In his own office, Noein was receiving a report about the incident from Yuri.
"Yes. I am ashamed."
"It can't be helped. The time and place were bad."
To soften the guilt of Yuri, who spoke with a serious expression, Noein smiled gently and shook his head.
As a result of the investigation carried out by the Grand Duchy Army, there were no notable results.
On the day the incident occurred, fortunately or unfortunately, the victim had gone to stay at a relative's house, and the room was completely vacant. The culprit likely entered the crime scene on the first floor of the apartment complex through a window, and since the estimated time of the crime was midnight, there was no reliable eyewitness information.
Furthermore, no evidence believed to belong to the culprit was left at the crime scene. Identifying the culprit from this situation was nearly impossible.
"The only thing more that can be done... is perhaps increasing patrols, centering on the northern part of the capital where there is a lot of foot traffic. Especially at night."
"The Grand Duchy Army has reorganized the patrol plan on that premise. I believe there are no problems with the content, but I would like Noein-sama to confirm it just in case."
Noein took the documents Yuri handed over and skimmed through them.
"Yes, I think there are no problems. Poor things, the subjects must be anxious too. While speaking to them, I want you to make an impression that the soldiers are patrolling diligently."
"Understood. Also... this is strictly a personal opinion, or rather, a mere hunch."
At those words, Noein looked up from the documents and let out a small smile.
"Let me hear it. Yuri's hunches have always been accurate."
"...I have a slightly bad feeling about this incident. I feel it won't end with a single beastman-hater venting their frustration. It would be for the best if I am overthinking it... but I feel an ominous presence, as if it will trigger a more deep-rooted problem."
Seeing Yuri's serious face, Noein also took on a serious expression.
"I see... but, what can be done in the current situation?"
"Yes, almost nothing. Unlike a war, this is a domestic problem, and the opponent is a subject of this country. I cannot move the soldiers based solely on my hunch and conduct an indiscriminate investigation."
"True. At this stage, I cannot issue some kind of proclamation to the entire country in my name either."
It was an incident with a bad aftertaste, but all they could do now was strive to maintain public order so that no more similar incidents would occur.
Noein once again gave instructions in the name of the sovereign to strive for the strengthening of patrols, and Yuri, as the highest authority of the Grand Duchy Army, nodded to it.