Chapter 73: Investigation

Unable to calm himself, Auren wakes after only a couple of hours of sleep.He picks up his phone and scrolls to Rakshala’s contact. His thumb hovers over the call button, but he stops, just before pressing it.

I can’t drag everyone else into every single one of my problems. I need to deal with this myself and stop relying on someone else for my problems, especially not my friends and ‘family’. I need more information.

Instead of asking for help, he sends a few casual messages to Buno, Bunu, Rakshala, Grunah, and especially Neffi—who has been bombarding him with messages for weeks, most of which he’s ignored.

When morning comes, he finds most of the Phantom Troupe members either outside or still asleep.

Ignoring the silent base he heads straight to Shalnark’s office and knocks politely.

“Come in,” a youthful voice calls from inside.

Auren steps inside. “Good morning. Sorry to bother you so early.”

“It’s fine,” Shalnark replies with a pleasant smile. “The boss mentioned you might come to me if you needed help. If there’s anything I can do, just say so.”

“I don’t need anything specific right now, but I’ve heard you’re one of the Troupe’s intelligence-gathering members. This might be a bit blunt, but let me ask… is there any easy way to create a clone or puppet of yourself using Nen? Something that can be controlled from far away?”

“I see…” Shalnark says, still smiling. “Chrollo told me about your suspicions. I’m actually looking into it myself.”

“Highly unlikely,” he adds, his tone flattening. “I don’t think Nibana’s a skilled enough Nen user to pull something like that off. It would require extremely strict conditions and a prodigious Nen user. I believe Machi told you she’s apparently a Manipulator, at least according to a former Elder. Even so, she earned the Elders’ trust. Normally, people are extremely cautious about associating with Manipulators. That leads me to believe her Hatsu is nothing inherently dangerous or threatening. The other possibility would be that she manipulated the Elders—but the boss wouldn’t allow that. And she’s not a newcomer here either. She’s lived in Meteor City her entire life and never left for more than a short time. Her reputation was spotless, which is why she became one of the youngest Elders ever chosen.”

“You mean she’s just very good at hiding her crimes,” Auren states.

“Maybe…” Shalnark concedes. “From what I’ve found, her trafficking operation hasn’t been active for very long. That’s actually suspicious, since she hasn’t left Meteor City much.”

“So how did she make all those contacts? I’ve heard her business deals with all kinds of rich buyers,” Auren says, deep in thought.

“That’s the question I’m trying to answer,” Shalnark replies. “The boss doesn’t usually interfere in Meteor City politics, but he wouldn’t tolerate someone like her. For most of her life, her ‘charade’ wasn’t even a charade, according to my research. Something must have changed her perspective—and her behaviour—in the last few years.”

“Maybe she just wanted to secure her position before taking such risks,” Auren suggests. “Hard to suspect a ‘saint’ like that.”

Shalnark pauses, then smiles again. “Maybe. That’s the most realistic and likely explanation.”

But not the only one… I get it.

“Thanks,” Auren says. “I’ll check out her little money-making operation again, now that the children have had some time to calm down.”

It would’ve been nice to know all this before last night. I might’ve jumped the gun a bit.

Auren leaves the base and makes his way back to Nibana’s mansion. To his surprise, a crowd has gathered in front of it.

He spots three elderly men among them, talking to concerned citizens, recognising them as the same people he saw when leaving Lidor’s mansion.

As he approaches them, they instinctively step back.

Auren gives a reassuring smile. “No need to be nervous. I have an arrangement with Chrollo—you’re safe. I do expect you to treat these children well, though.”

“Of… of course,” one Elder says. “We’re turning Nibana’s mansion into a real orphanage. You can trust us on that. We’ve announced it already, so we’ll be held accountable for it.”

A few spectators nod in approval.

“If that’s the case, I might even be willing to donate to support a good cause,” Auren says. “But first, I have some questions.”

“Of course. How about we talk inside?” another Elder suggests.

A few minutes later, Auren sits in Nibana’s living room, across from the three men who stare at him, looking uncomfortable.

“I want to know more about Nibana,” he says firmly. “I’ve heard her reputation was genuine. So how did she suddenly turn into a child trafficker? I can’t even see why she’d bother—there are easier ways to make money.”

The oldest Elder frowns, frustration in his voice. “We were surprised too. Think of us how you want, but aside from Lidor’s experiments, we wouldn’t allow such things. Even then, Lidor claimed the sacrifices weren’t lethal—just a small part of the victims’ life span. In exchange for education, shelter, and good food, we considered that a decent life for most kids here. Reality is harsh, especially in our Town, so we accepted Lidor’s proposal. We won’t lie, we were interested in his research, but it wasn’t done purely for selfish reasons. Lidor was generous, and we used that money for good causes. There are many more people requiring help, and that money saved thousands of people. You were one of Lidor’s students, and look how far that education took you. Of course, we still failed you and the others, but Lidor deceived us all.”

Garbage excuses… They are also lying. They wanted to learn the secret of rejuvenating themselves as well. Whatever, I have no time for these idiots. I'd better change the topic to the only thing that matters right now.

“What could have changed Nibana? I’ve been told she rarely left,” Auren presses.

“She left exactly three times, always for just a few weeks. We have no idea where she went or what she did,” one Elder answers.

“When did she leave the last time?” Auren asks.

“Around three years ago,” the Elder replies.

“Let me guess,” Auren says, “that’s when her behaviour changed, and she started selling children, right?”

The elders nod, the oldest looking particularly ashamed. “Yes. Of course it took a very long time to even notice the signs…. She also hadn’t even been an Elder for long at that point.”

“Could she have been targeted by a Nen ability? Maybe someone controlled her? Does she have family? Maybe she was blackmailed? When I… confronted her, she seemed resigned. She expected me, and she didn’t care about what would happen to her,” Auren says, his tone thoughtful.

I remember her lifeless and resigned expression too well.

“We really don’t know. In any case, we’ll make up for our failures. We’re glad you made a deal with Chrollo. We don’t want a large-scale conflict with you and Hollow Blade,” the Elder says.

“Whatever… I’ll stay a bit longer. I want to visit Nibana’s room. I assume that won’t be a problem?” Auren asks.

“No… go ahead. No one’s entered it. To tell you the truth, we had people stationed outside the mansion last night. As soon as the strange fog cleared, our men ensured no one went in,” the Elder explains.

“Good… you can leave now,” Auren says, walking toward the very same room where he killed Nibana—her office.

Inside, he’s slightly taken aback. Aside from Nibana’s body, which is now gone, nothing else has changed. Even the dark red stain from her blood still mars the carpet.

As he begins to search, he goes through her shelves and desk, finding books and bookkeeping ledgers—mostly records of donations and expenses for orphanages, shelters, food kitchens, and other projects supporting Meteor City. But the most recent records are missing; the newest ones he can find are several years old. He also notices gaps on the bookshelves where certain volumes have been removed, leaving suspicious empty spaces.

He turns his attention to her desk, spotting a monitor—but no computer tower.

She has a monitor… so where the fuck is the computer?

No one’s entered… did the Elders lie to me? No—Chrollo wouldn’t allow that.

Did someone break in? But the Elders’ men aren’t weak—they’re probably the most elite Meteor City has to offer. So… after I left, someone must have stolen the computer, and probably other things too—things I might not even notice missing. If no one entered from outside, then someone inside must have taken them.

But… I killed her aides. That leaves only… the children? No. If no one could enter, it’s even less likely a child could leave undetected, much less carrying books and a computer.

Maybe the items are still here somewhere.

En!

With the mansion and its walled garden entirely within range of his steadily expanding En, Auren carefully inspects everything it touches.

He focuses on each room one by one, searching for books, ledgers, and the missing computer.

Frustratingly, nothing turns up. Finally, he shifts his attention to the garden.

Trees, a vegetable garden, the large terrace, a storage shed, flower beds, incinerator, playground equipment, sandbox. Auren scans each in detail, but still finds nothing.

Wait… the shed is too full of random items for me to sense everything inside. There are piles of objects. And… the incinerator could be important as well.

Auren leaves the house and heads into the garden. Nearly every orphan—now spared from being sold into slavery—is playing outside.

Ignoring them, he heads for the shed, which is locked.

Unwilling to waste time asking for a key, Auren rips the lock away along with the rusted metal fixture it was attached to, using brute force.

Inside, he finds typical garden equipment: tools, a lawnmower, cleaning supplies, and containers of kerosene.

Kerosene… used for the incinerator?

Five minutes later, he’s walking through the garden again.

He checks the playground with En, even scanning the ground beneath the sandbox.

Finally, he approaches the incinerator.

Inside is nothing but dry ash and a few molten pieces of metal.

Dry…? Hmmm. I see. With my Heavy Rain last night, the inside should still be wet—the top is open for the smoke to escape. If the ashes are completely dry, that means the incinerator was used after the rain stopped. The fire becomes hot enough to evaporate everything into ash, apart from the metal parts of the computer, if my suspicion is correct.

Auren’s lips curl into a smile.

That answers the “how.” But I still don’t know “why” the documents and computer were destroyed… or “who” did it. If I can’t solve something this simple, I won’t last long in this world. This isn’t my forte. Even more reason for me to finally use my mind for once and go into territory I’m not specializing in.

His gaze shifts to the children playing in the yard.

I will find a clue. Nibana, don’t think you’re getting away. Before long, I’ll have your head… and I’ll destroy whatever you’ve planned.