Kisa blinked in surprise.

“…Missing?”

It was unexpected news.

“Yes, his whereabouts have been unknown for a while now.”

After saying that, Investigator Visius saw Kisa’s serious expression and waved his hands, saying “Ah!”

“You don’t need to worry too much! It’s not like he got involved in something dangerous or anything like that. He just ran away because he was afraid of being punished!”

“Punished for what?”

“Ah, well. That is…”

Muttering “I guess there’s no choice,” the investigator let out a deep sigh before revealing the truth.

“It turns out Kobi stole some medicines from the pharmacy here and sold them for personal profit. He stole quite a lot over time.”

“So he ran away after that was discovered?”

“Yes, given the extent of it, rather than reporting it right away, the monastery decided to give Kobi a chance to turn himself in. But he disappeared immediately after that.”

“I see. I had no idea.”

“Well, it’s not really a good story, so Brother Hilan probably didn’t mention it.”

“Oh, does Seyaed know about this too?”

Kisa’s eyes widened as she suddenly started using a casual form of address for Seyaed, following Investigator Visius’s lead.

“Yes. It happened when Brother Hilan was still here. So it’s been a little over half a year. At the time, Brother Emil asked Brother Hilan if he knew where Kobi might have gone, but he didn’t know either.”

He said “Ah” and then explained who Brother Emil was.

“He’s the one who manages the monastery’s pharmacy. He’s very knowledgeable about pharmacology. Almost all the medicines from the pharmacy are made by him.”

“I see. Seyaed must have been quite disappointed then. I heard he was close enough with this Kobi person to go out to Bonsmoth together several times.”

“Of course. I think the mood started to sink around that time. He didn’t show it much, but he must have been very hurt inside. Oh my, Brother Emil didn’t know that and thought Brother Hilan might be hiding Kobi’s whereabouts, so he unnecessarily…”

Realizing he might have said too much, Investigator Visius hurriedly stopped speaking.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

But how could one not be curious after hearing such a thing? Kisa immediately pressed for more details.

“Was there some conflict between Brother Emil and Seyaed because of that incident?”

Investigator Visius looked troubled, but since he had brought it up himself, he seemed to find it difficult to completely deny it and eventually spoke.

“There wasn’t anything special enough to call it a conflict. It’s just that he was someone who didn’t really like Brother Hilan to begin with, and he probably said that out of frustration from having the medicines stolen.”

“So Brother Emil didn’t like Seyaed.”

“Ugh, well, there wasn’t any particular conflict, so you really don’t need to worry about it. The truth is, since Brother Hilan wasn’t very monk-like in many ways, quite a few people here in this conservative place didn’t view him favorably. But that was all, and Brother Hilan spent his time at the monastery without any major issues.”

Come to think of it, Seyaed seemed to have just stayed at the monastery without really considering himself a monk.

Plus, given that he had frequented gambling dens, it would have been hard for the other monks to like him.

This young monk in front of her must be somewhat unusual.

“But you seem to like Seyaed, Investigator Visius.”

“Well, he didn’t come here of his own will in the first place. How could we force him to have the attitude of a monk?”

Scratching his head at Kisa’s words, he said he would guide them to the next location and started walking again.

The two of them, or rather three including Lily who was quietly following as befitted a servant, next headed to the pharmacy that had been mentioned in their previous conversation.

“It’s a shame. Brother Emil, who’s in charge of the pharmacy, is currently away, so we can’t go inside. There are dangerous medicines in the pharmacy, so he keeps it securely locked. But we can see a little bit of the interior through the window.”

As he said, peering through the glass revealed a glimpse of the dark interior of the pharmacy.

While examining the shelves full of medicine bottles, herbs drying by the window, and various instruments that seemed to be used for making medicine, Kisa asked:

“By the way, where did Brother Emil go?”

“Around this time every year, he makes rounds to the small villages in the surrounding area. He goes to places without proper doctors and distributes the medicines he’s made, or directly treats minor illnesses and injuries.”

“Wow, he sounds like an admirable person.”

“Yes, he has some weak points, but he’s someone to look up to. Ah, though he’s extremely inflexible, so he always had complaints about Brother Hilan.”

Since they couldn’t enter anyway, and the pharmacy was just a midpoint on the way to the dormitory, the three of them left there relatively quickly.

However, perhaps because herbs were a local specialty and they took pride in the pharmacy, Investigator Visius couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“If you had come during the open week, you could have seen inside.”

“If I have a chance to come again, I’ll try to time it right.”

Kisa continued such conversation with the young monk as they made their way towards the dormitory where the monks ate, slept, and lived.

When the three of them arrived, the dormitory was completely empty.

According to Investigator Visius’s explanation, unless it was mealtime or bedtime, the monks were usually faithfully carrying out their assigned roles elsewhere.

But it seems there are exceptions everywhere, because when they entered the dormitory, someone called out to stop Investigator Visius.

“Hey, are you giving a good tour?”

He was a middle-aged monk with a good build and skin that seemed tanned by the sun.

“Ah, Brother Vesano.”

Thanks to Investigator Visius, Kisa realized that this new figure was that unique monk who could tell whether someone was lying or not by grabbing their wrist.

If nothing else, the fact that he approached and spoke to Investigator Visius first was already unusual.

Until now, they had encountered several monks, but those monks had at most glanced at them without bothering to acknowledge them.

The cause was undoubtedly Kisa, who was not only an outsider but a woman who had set foot in this area forbidden to females.

Strictly speaking, the unusual one was Investigator Visius, who had been sociable with Kisa from the start, not them.

Ah, add one more. Brother Vesano, who was smiling gently at Kisa, also seemed to be an unusual person.

“I heard about it, but it seems Brother Hilan has truly captured the heart of a great beauty. I’m Vesano.”

Investigator Visius, standing next to him, added:

“This is the monk I mentioned before, who hid all the shoes.”

“What? You even talked about that?”

“It wasn’t me. She already knew from Brother Hilan.”

“Really? It’s surprising that Hilan Monk would talk about such things.”

“Why is it surprising?”

Kisa, who had unconsciously joined the conversation, suddenly realized she hadn’t even introduced herself yet.

“Nice to meet you, Brother Vesano. I’m Kisa Vanspelt, Brother Hilan’s fiancée. I’m sorry for suddenly asking a question.”

Brother Vesano waved his hand at Kisa’s apology.

“No, it’s fine. But you asked why I found it surprising, right?”

“Yes, I was a bit curious.”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect Hilan Monk, who dislikes me, to talk about me to his beloved fiancée.”

Before Kisa could respond, Investigator Visius objected as if it was nonsense.

“When did Brother Hilan ever dislike you, Brother Vesano?”

“He didn’t show it outwardly, but whenever I got close, he would quietly slip away.”

“That wasn’t just Brother Hilan. You’re always grabbing people’s wrists and interrogating them like an inquisitor, who would want to be around you? You’re also quite meddlesome.”

“Oh my, Investigator Visius. Have you gained enough years to say whatever you want now?”

Watching the two monks bicker back and forth, Kisa’s lips unconsciously relaxed into a smile.

“This is just my opinion, but I don’t think the Duke disliked you, Brother Vesano. When he introduced your anecdote to me, he spoke as if recalling a pleasant memory.”

Brother Vesano smiled awkwardly, seeming embarrassed by Kisa’s words.

“I’m glad to hear that. It seems Hilan Monk has become much calmer without my knowing. In the past, how should I put it, he seemed like he was going through puberty.”

“Puberty?”

“Yes, although he appeared composed on the outside, I felt like he was somehow unstable on the inside.”

Come to think of it, Seyaed had also described his past self as a rebel. He said he caused a lot of trouble too.

Just as Kisa was thinking about asking them what kind of trouble he specifically caused, Brother Vesano’s words caught her attention.

“If you’re curious about what Hilan Monk was like here, it would be better to ask Brother Makio. He was Hilan Monk’s mentor for a time.”

“Is that so? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Hmm, it makes sense that Hilan Monk wouldn’t mention it. Unlike with me, where it just remained awkward, he really didn’t get along with Brother Makio. Later on, they wouldn’t even acknowledge each other.”

This too was information Kisa was hearing for the first time.