Chapter 1393: Series of Murders
Bucharest.
If Haru wasn't in the Holy Grail War nor was he in the quest for the group chat, he would use this time to tour around the city since it was his first time to be here.
Bucharest was the Capital of Romania and of course, it would be pretty different from both Trifas and Sighisoara.
Haru had high expectations for this city, but sometimes, the reality was different.
It might be related because this place was another world and there was a Holy Grail in this city which caused the atmosphere in this city to be quite depressing and the wound from the dictatorship hadn't been recovered.
The wounds that are carved into the country by the Ceaușescu regime are the "children of Ceaușescu", the destructive legacy of the regime born from its policies. Romania once outlawed contraceptives and abortions and has attempted to force all families to have at least five children. Many youths were unable to be raised and ended up as street children who delved into lives of crime and human trafficking. While the dictatorship ended in revolution, those lives who were born could not be returned, and they were devoured and scattered by criminal organizations and people of power, surviving by turning from the prey to the predators.
It was also the reason why both Fiore and Haru walked into the city, there were a lot of thieves who wanted to steal something or did something inexplicable to both of them since the appearance of both of them was very good and they didn't seem to be poor.
However, with a glare from Haru, they quickly scattered.
Chiron and Raikou didn't appear beside them and stayed in astral form since their appearance might cause a lot of attention unless they changed into normal clothes, but at this moment, they had to admit that Haru's aura was very special and even comparable to best kings on the Age of Gods.
Fiore looked at Haru curiously, wondering how he was able to scare those thieves with a glare, but she didn't say much and felt secure beside him.
"Kasugano-kun, is this your first time in Bucharest?"
"Yes, but I guess, I didn't come to this place at the right time." Haru looked around to see a cafe or restaurant around the city. "I want to eat the traditional food of Romania since it is my first time here, but there's something more important to do after all."
"When the Holy Grail War ends, I will take you to visit," Fiore said unconsciously.
"Really? I can't wait for that time," Haru said with a smile.
Raikou didn't care much about the conversation between Haru and Fiore, since she knew that Haru was her man, but Chiron was different since the promise between Haru and Fiore meant that both of them believed that they would be the winner of the Holy Grail War.
Chiron was glad that he was in his astral form or else everyone would see his smile.
"But still, is Assassin really in this town?" Haru asked.
"Yes."
Fiore nodded, but her expression became low for some reason. "Our people have sent a notice that Assassin is currently within this town, however, there's no notice that Assassin has left the city."
"There's no notice?" Haru raised his eyebrow.
"In truth, we have lost contact with our people," Fiore said while letting out a long sigh.
"Hopefully, Assassin is in this town..."
Fiore would be lying if she wasn't feeling nervous. It was her first time joining the Holy Grail war after all, especially when Assassin from her faction suddenly had disappeared. She was wondering what the master of Assassin was doing and why that master hadn't contacted them.
Fiore shook her head then looked at Haru who was still in the mood to see the scenery of the town.
It was as if Haru could notice Fiore's feeling then he directly asked, "Fiore, do you feel nervous?"
"No."
Fiore subconsciously denied it since she didn't want to be underestimated, but then when he kept staring at her, she smiled bitterly and nodded. "It's my first time in this Holy Grail and I might meet another master and servant in this town."
"It's normal to be nervous," Haru said.
Fiore looked at Haru and asked, "But you don't seem that nervous, Kasugano-kun?"
"Really? Then I might be really good at pretending to be alright since, at this moment, I am so nervous that my feet feel weak," Haru said with a smile.
Fiore pouted and said, "Who is going to believe in such a lie?" She could tell that Haru was pretty much relaxed.
Haru rubbed his nose and said, "The truth is...."
"The truth is..." Fiore looked at Haru curiously.
Haru was about to say something, but suddenly a group of people ran past them.
"Hey, did you hear there is another murder?"
"Really? Was it from the same people?"
"Considering how the killer killed the victim, that probability is high."
"The police are fucking useless!"
"Anyway is it better to see the scene first and tonight, let's stay at home."
Haru and Fiore, of course, heard their conversation, both of them then looked at each other and nodded, following the group who were going to visit the location of the murder.
When Haru and Fiore arrived at the crime scene, there were a lot of groups of pedestrians, creating a circle around the crime scene. They could tell that they were coming to see what had happened since they also did the same thing.
Two police officers stopped the people who wanted to get close to the crime scene with a stern expression, however, the faces of the two police officers were pale and scared for some reason.
Inside the alley, there was an intense smell coming from the alley, and around the periphery of the alley, there was a pool of red liquid.
Haru and Fiore could see that there were several corpses in the alley that had been mutilated.
"The smell of blood is too strong."
Haru was familiar with the smell of blood since he had been in the war several times in the past and he also had killed people after all, but still, he was quite uncomfortable by the method of Assassin to kill someone.
Even though Haru knew the story, it was different after all since he saw the real thing.
"What a cruel killer, most of the hearts of those corpses have disappeared."
Haru frowned after hearing the words from the pedestrians. He looked at Fiore who didn't seem good and asked, "Fiore, are you alright?"
"They're..."
Fiore frowned and said in low voice, "Some of them are the people from our family." She then became worried and wondered what had happened to the people that had been sent by the family to meet Assassin.
"...I see."
Haru let out a long sigh and said, "There is a high probability that the one who has done all of this is an Assassin, right?"