The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 18: Aftermath Investigation

"Why is all the credit given to those guys? Hedra did all the work."

In the dorm room, Lovier looked at the new newspaper in her hand, a dissatisfied expression on her face.

"Because Hedra has little use for that credit, while the police can get promotions, salary increases, and extra funding subsidies from it." Aurora put down her book, answering with a hint of helplessness.

"Hedra explained this yesterday, didn't she?"

"But seeing it still makes me a bit unhappy." Lovier closed the newspaper, scooped up the golden shaded cat rubbing against her calf, placed it in her lap to pet, then hugged it and rubbed her cheek against it.

The golden cat was a bit silly. Held up by its two front legs by Lovier, it opened its eyes wide, looking around innocently before letting out a soft meow.

"Hedra said tonight she's attending the police's celebration banquet, so she'll be back late and won't be eating out with us."

"Alright, then we'll just have to go together tomorrow." Lovier lay on the table, pressing the kitten onto her knees. It then jumped down, shook its fur, and crawled under Lovier's chair to lie down.

...

On the other side, Sylutia was having a meal with a group of police officers at a restaurant. After finishing her food, she sat in a corner, listening to the officer beside her recount the results of the interrogation."He confessed why he specifically targeted beastmen." The officer took small sips from his wine glass.

"Why was that?"

"Because the one who swindled him on the black market years ago was a leopard-eared beastman. If not for that incident, he would have advanced to the Third Tier long ago. You could say his entire life was ruined by that swindle."

"Extreme hatred and resentment distorted his mind, making him specifically target beastmen. Also, in the Asra district, beastmen have a low status, so the pressure from pursuit would be much smaller."

"Hah..." Sylutia sighed.

"Have the families of the deceased beastmen been taken care of?"

"A portion of Abyss Jellywin's assets will be used as compensation, but he doesn't have much left either."

"We can't help too much. The police station receives many cases every day. At most, we can help punish the perpetrator. Helping the victims is beyond our capabilities."

"I know." Sylutia wasn't a naive child. She knew the police faced many problems. That they were telling her this was already quite humane.

"Give me the list of the victims. I'll go visit them." Sylutia thought for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to go? This is completely beyond your duties. Besides, you're a student. Where would you get the time, energy, and money?" The other party shook their head.

"Focusing all your efforts on studying, preparing for advancement and getting into a higher academy, that's the most important thing."

"Having a kind heart is good, but meddling too much might harm both others and yourself." The other party thought for a moment, offering another reminder.

"I've seen too many cases of kindness being repaid with enmity, tsk."

"I understand, and I'll be mindful of the boundaries." Sylutia replied.

"Alright, as long as you're mentally prepared. Tomorrow, I'll have a colleague compile the list and addresses for you."

"If they ask, it's best you say you were sent by the authorities. Otherwise, they might cling to you."

"Thank you, I understand."

Three days later, Sylutia and her two roommates arrived at Agate Street.

"Is this the place?" Lovier looked at the dilapidated house in front of her, comparing it to the address in her hand.

"It should be." Aurora glanced around and nodded.

"Let's go in and take a look. According to the records, the victim's family still has two children and an elderly person." Sylutia knocked on the door.

After a good while, a coughing sound came from behind the door, and then it opened, revealing a thin, short old man. His face was full of wrinkles, and he leaned on a wooden cane.

"Hello." The three briefly bowed. Then Sylutia introduced their group and their purpose.

"The perpetrator from before has been caught. We are here to compensate the family." Sylutia showed the police station's proof.

Squinting for a while, the old man stepped aside, letting them in.

"Have a seat. Unfortunately, I don't have much to offer you." He slowly walked into the room, brought a pot of water, and placed it on the table.

"The cups in the house aren't very clean. If you're thirsty, you can drink some water directly."

"Thank you." Naturally, the three had no intention of drinking.

Sylutia surveyed the room. There was almost nothing of value here, which surprised her slightly.

She was mentally prepared for the poor situation of beastmen in the Asra district. After all, this was the Mage Alliance, not a region ruled by beastmen, and beastmen were naturally unsuited to being Mages, so they weren't valued.

However, the Asra district was, after all, a central area of the Mage Alliance and quite wealthy. Even the waiters and porters on the street earned over ten silver coins a month. Slightly better shops paid 20 silver coins a month. With such income, their home shouldn't be this shabby.

After hearing Sylutia's question, the old man sat on a stool against the wall, looked at the young girl, and calmly shook his head, his gaze indifferent. He showed neither anger nor mockery, as if he no longer had the energy to argue about such things, merely explaining the reason calmly.

"Yes, the salaries in the Asra district are much better than elsewhere, but the expenses are also very high. You must ensure you don't get sick, stay forever young and strong, and have no family burdens to live relatively well."

"The cost of seeing a doctor and medicine when sick is extremely expensive. Once you're old or disabled, it's hard to find suitable work because there are too many competitors. Also, for every additional person you support, expenses increase significantly. This cost is several times that of other regions."

"So, the result is what you see."

"I'm sorry."

After a moment of silence, Sylutia asked again.

"What about the two children?"

"At the instructor's place studying, but the tuition can only be paid until this semester." He answered slowly.

"It's a beastman instructor on Agate Street. The fees are very low. He can teach them to read and do basic arithmetic, so they won't be cheated in future work." As for getting into a Mage Alliance school, don't even think about it. The instructors here don't have that kind of knowledge or ability.

"When will they be back?"

"Soon." The old man answered briefly, his gaze passing over the three and looking out the door.

Half an hour later, two beastman children came running back. Upon arriving home and seeing the three young ladies in the room, they seemed a bit shy, but also somewhat admiring, as all three wore clothes of good fabric and were exceptionally beautiful.

"Come in. These three sisters are here to help us." The old man beckoned.

"Mhm." The two beastman children stepped over the threshold and came in.

One had small, delicate curved horns on their head; the other had no horns, but their eyes were special, with bluish whites and larger pupils.

After briefly introducing their identities and purpose again, Sylutia asked what the two were currently learning.

"Studying Chapter Twelve of the first volume of 'A Brief History of the Alliance'." The child with bluish eyes answered proudly.

"What is that chapter about?" Sylutia asked in a gentle voice.

"It's about the beginning of the 'Iron-Fire War'. It says iron cannons are even stronger than knights, that knowledge for the first time triumphed over flesh and armor." He recited the content from the textbook.

It seems they are learning very well, Sylutia thought. She then chatted with the two children for a while longer.

"Here are 200 silver coins. Use them sparingly in the future. They should support you for a while." Before leaving, Sylutia placed a bag of silver coins on the table.

The two children couldn't resist, immediately opening the bag and excitedly counting the silver coins inside. The old man behind them looked at the bag for a long time, then raised his gaze.

"Thank you." He bent down with effort to express his gratitude.

"I know, this probably isn't compensation from the police. Thank you very much." Having lived in the Asra district for so many years, he knew perfectly well the police's style. How could they possibly have the heart or energy to do such an extra thing?

"It's nothing." Sylutia bid farewell to their family, then went to several other homes.

Overall, the process went smoothly, except for one family that was particularly greedy, hoping Sylutia would give more. But Sylutia refused.

"I'm sorry, we only have this much money."

After leaving their home, even from far away, she could still hear the family whispering behind her back, calling her a foolish young lady from a noble family, saying they could act even more pitiful next time to swindle more money.

To this, Sylutia just shook her head and didn't turn around to pay attention.

After walking through the beastmen's residential district, Sylutia's understanding and knowledge of the Asra district became much more comprehensive, especially regarding the large number of neglected bottom-tier laborers.

Overall, the Mage Alliance's salary and benefits are stronger than other regions, but the lifespan of laborers here is actually lower than that of ordinary agricultural countries. Many people at the bottom live even more laborious lives.

This is caused by a series of complex reasons: the low strength and lack of importance placed on beastmen and marginalized individuals, the fragility of individual relationships caused by urbanization with few solid mutual aid mechanisms, and the lack of safety net institutions, among others.

The identity of beastmen places them at the bottom of the Mage Alliance society, never truly accepted. And due to the lack of high-tier Transcendents among them, their voice is very weak, and it's hard for them to stir up major waves.

However, it is precisely these beastmen who undertake a large amount of the city's heavy, bottom-tier work, supporting the city's operation in corners unseen by ordinary students.

Rude, durable, cheap, impulsive—these are the most prominent labels on beastmen. If Sylutia were an enemy of the Mage Alliance, she would probably incite these beastmen to fight for their interests, disrupt the city's operation, increase the Mage Alliance's security costs, consume their energy, and sabotage their major plans.

However, the Hidden Grove and the Mage Alliance ultimately haven't reached a life-or-death struggle. If the Hidden Grove undergoes reforms like the Mage Alliance in the future, riding the wave of urbanization, it will probably face the same problems. Finding solutions and improvement methods is her current task.

Well, although it's just a small step, as she spent time walking through the beastmen's residential districts, she slowly accumulated a small amount of prestige, allowing her to obtain quite a bit of insider information from the beastman community.