SSS Demon King System: The Rise of a Dying Extra-Chapter 7: Starting the Investigation.

It was a difficult case to solve, after all, why would anyone want to assassinate a child who already had one foot in the grave?

Besides, the method of assassination was unorthodox. There were much better ways to assassinate someone; throwing him into a river seemed very far-fetched, something too convoluted.

[You have successfully spent 1,000 V.P through the {Well of Greed} - you have unlocked the Side Mission function]

"Side missions are random missions without a time limit or penalty. By completing them you can obtain V.P, though the number of side missions is limited, and they appear at certain intervals."

[Side mission: investigate magic - 0%]

{Reward: Part two of main health recovery mission - 250 V.P}

Lloyd was surprised. He had just redeemed the {Eye of Envy}, only to discover that spending points unlocked new functions of the Transcendence paths.

The reason he had redeemed the eye was obvious: it was very likely that an ocular ability could be very useful in an investigation.

[Eye of Envy]

Rank: Omega

"The Eye of Envy allows its user to appraise objects and people that fall under their gaze. The analysis may fail depending on circumstances."

Reading its description, Lloyd felt gratified; it was exactly what he was looking for.

But first, he had to test his new acquisition. Lloyd activated the eye while focusing on the ring he wore on his finger.

[Megingjörð]

{Quality: Relic}

"While its name is only inspired by a legendary artifact, this ring is undoubtedly very valuable. Its ability focuses on providing an improvement in the bearer’s Touki, and in turn, improving their health."

Lloyd was surprised by the immense value of the ring. In turn, he was satisfied with the ability’s effects.

As for the ring’s function, if Lloyd was in the same world as the novel, he knew that Touki was a property of every living being that provided defense against any phenomenon.

It made sense they’d use such an artifact on him, since his lack of magical power would mean he couldn’t create Touki, and Touki was necessary to protect oneself from the environment, diseases, among other things.

The reason he was so sick was surely due to that.

***

A small bell rang. A few seconds later, Sebastian appeared firmly in Lloyd’s room.

"Is something wrong, young master? Are you hungry? Thirsty perhaps? Do you want a book? Whatever the task, your faithful servant will take care of it right away."

The boy had to gesture with his hand, asking Sebastian to calm his enthusiasm; after all, it was hard to speak without coughing uncontrollably.

However, the first thing Lloyd did was use the Eye of Envy on Sebastian. In itself, he wanted to test it on people; however, he also wanted to confirm that Sebastian was trustworthy.

From what he knew, Sebastian was very loyal to him; however, one can never be too careful.

[Reading Failed]

The boy sighed; he’d expected such a result.

"Impossible... No, nothing is impossible for the young master, I’m sure of it. Did you awaken some trait of—? Well, it doesn’t matter, I’m sure it’s something incredible if it comes from you," the butler nodded energetically with a proud face. "Go ahead, try again."

[Sebastian Morfeus]

Age: 65

"Lloyd Kaitos’s most faithful servant."

The description was somewhat vague. Besides, Lloyd knew that someone with good use of their Touki could defend themselves from a reading phenomenon and interfere with it.

However, while it was possible to defend against the reading and hide information, it wasn’t possible to deceive the eye itself.

That’s why Lloyd was sure Sebastian was loyal to him.

"Thanks for that, Sebas *cough cough* though I didn’t call you here just for that," the boy had to pause to avoid a coughing fit. Looking at Sebastian, he seemed surprised that Lloyd was speaking, but was also waiting for Lloyd to continue. "As you know, the incident that almost ended my life is quite suspicious. I don’t remember the events well, but I can assure you I didn’t travel to the river," the boy cleared his throat a bit, while Sebastian nodded at his master’s deductions. "I don’t doubt your abilities, but I also want to help find the culprit. This incident has opened my eyes: I must stop acting like a sick person and survive. The first step is to end that threat. I hope you’ll help me with it."

The boy had to take a deep breath; luckily, the cough didn’t return to bother him.

"I couldn’t agree more, young master!" Sebastian exclaimed. He seemed moved by Lloyd’s words of determination, so much so that he had to wipe away a tear of emotion. "Even in the state you were born into, you still move forward. That determination, I’m sure Miss Barbara would be very proud of you."

Lloyd heard a few more comments from Sebastian, until he regained his composure.

"Sorry, I lost my composure and strayed from the matter at hand. I, Sebastian Morfeus, will dedicate every fiber of my being to you achieving your goal. Unfortunately, the mansion is lacking qualified personnel. We barely have five guards, apart from the staff in charge of maintaining the mansion. As you already know, there aren’t many to trust."

Lloyd nodded, memorizing the data he had.

"I’m aware. We must interrogate each member of the mansion. I think I have certain qualities to help with that."

"I completely agree, just tell me and I’ll bring every member of the staff right away," Sebastian affirmed firmly.

"No, that would only scare the culprit. No one should know we’re investigating," Lloyd responded, his voice low to avoid his cough returning.

"Then, what do you plan to do?"

"First, you must leave and go incognito to the city. Ask about what’s new, but don’t let them suspect you’re looking for information."

Sebastian nodded at his idea. He was surprised by Lloyd’s reasoning; however, he also knew that the only thing that boy had done in his life was read, so he was probably smarter than children his age.

"I will live up to your expectations."

"As for me, well, it wouldn’t be strange, now that I’m feeling better thanks to a certain ring, that I’d take advantage of the freedom of movement I’ve acquired."

Sebastian was even more impressed: the boy planned to use the ring as an excuse for his recent health improvement.

The butler himself knew it was probably something else, but he wouldn’t voice his suspicions before time.

"We’ll wait a couple of days for it to be believable. I must show progressive improvement. The most logical thing would be for me to go to the library first."

"I totally agree, after all the young master has always liked books."

Lloyd nodded, though there was another reason he wanted to go to the library; after all, he had a side mission that was very much worth completing.

Tomorrow he would investigate everything he could about magic.