Chapter 5 The Locked Room Murder at the Dinosaur Manor

Splashing fountains, narrow, winding paths, flowers and statues everywhere, ancient stone buildings—what a golden DINK estate!

A beautiful fairy lady was already waiting for the guests in the hall.

Her small, pretty face seemed to have a strong, dazzling light on it, her pointed, long ears were as delicate as a bouquet of flowers in the center of a table, and she wore a hat that was both frivolous and eye-catching, with a ribbon hanging down from it, on which something was sparkling and fluttering.

She is very likely to be the new owner of the DINK (Double Income No Kids) estate.

"My name is Mia, and I am the housekeeper here. It is an honor for you all to be here."

“It seems she’s not the owner of the manor,” Billie said quietly.

Lisa looked around and found that most of the guests present were semi-reincarnated. There were only three fully reincarnated people like her: a minotaur with his collar pulled up to his neck, a snake demon without legs, and a little blue-skinned fairy.

All three of them have one thing in common: they appear extremely ugly and indecent in front of a group of half-reincarnated individuals wearing white stockings and spiked, bottomless boots.

The ball begins.

Some delicate chickens, pigeons, and legs of lamb were pushed over on a grill cart, while another cart was filled with vegetables, fruits, and cider.

Instantly, the aroma of gravy dripping from the golden-brown roasted pork skin filled the entire hall.

Ignoring his pride, Billis released his wife's hand, took the pieces of meat covering the fruit, and then took the whole bottle of wine, eating and drinking it all up.

Shortly after her husband left, the minotaur approached Lisa. He was tall and stout, with large bones, blond hair, and a round shield medal on his chest. He spoke in a gruff voice.

"Beautiful lady, may I invite you to dance?"

Lisa extended the back of her hand for the minotaur to kiss, and then followed him.

They were performing a courtly dance, where the lady lifted her long skirt and curtsied to the man, who in turn bowed slightly in return.

Lisa danced with abandon, completely absorbed in the dance and immersed in the beautiful spins.

The minotaur glided forward on his right hoof, half-squatted on his left leg, leaned his body and head forward, and lowered Lisa's body to the sides at a 45-degree angle with both arms.

“You are the most beautiful woman in this other world, madam. I suspect that even on Earth, your beauty would be enough to make every man try to find out your name.”

"You flatter me, Mr. Minotaur."

"Your husband doesn't seem to be very good at socializing at parties. I'm curious, how did you two meet?"

"It's fate, sir."

"Ah, fate brought you together on Earth. In Fa'an, you could have met someone much better."

"What's the meaning?"

"Half-reincarnated beings are all human beings from Fa'an, no different from humans on Earth. They cannot satisfy the dream demon. As a high-ranking demon, you understand what I'm saying, right?"

The minotaur's voice suddenly deepened, his breathing became more labored, and his grip tightened.

Lisa immediately used the red heart tail to pry the minotaur's arm away.

“My relationship with him is stronger than lustful love, Mr. Minotaur.”

Lisa wagged her tail and went to find Billis.

Billy was sitting on the steps after drinking, but he's gone now.

Lisa walked around the hall and finally found her husband dancing with the Light Elf lady near the passageway.

The elf lady wore a floor-length gown and danced very freely, with one leg forward and the other backward. Sometimes she would squeeze her belly button, lie on the other person's palm, and kick her legs into the air.

Billis doesn't seem like someone who can't dance.

They started dancing slowly, but then they got faster and faster, and everything around them—the tables, the cups, the guests—started spinning like axles.

Billy puffed out his chest and looked down, while the elf lady looked up. The two walked to the end of the table and then back again. Finally, the elf tilted her head back, and Billy put his arm around her slender waist. The dance ended with enthusiastic applause.

It seems the fairy lady taught him even more dance moves than Lisa!

A wave of jealousy washed over her, and Lisa boldly walked over and used her tail to separate the two of them.

"Excuse me, don't block my way to the toilet!"

Lisa glared at everyone and went into the back passageway.

At the end of the passageway is a partial maze garden, paved with marble and turf, with intricately patterned passageways formed by constructed green hedges on both sides of the road, and flower-trellis-style pavilions added in the middle.

Lisa sat in the pavilion, the applause from earlier lingering in her mind like malicious faces.

It was already dark, and the moon seemed to have risen in the wrong place, shining on the gloomy annex behind.

Lisa then discovered that at the end of the maze, there was a three-story building with windows of varying heights arranged like butterflies. The bottom three windows were closed, while the top window was open, with the blinds blown out by the wind.

Although it is a secondary residence, it is taller than the main residence and occupies a larger area. Vines have intertwined up to the third floor, mainly concentrated on the second floor, and some original soil on the walls is still gleaming.

The soil looks fresh!

Lisa's eyes shone brightly in the darkness, and she could see the top row of footprints clearly.

Just then, a scream rang out, the secondary lights came on, and footsteps became increasingly numerous, making the entire maze seem to shake.

Something flew out of the third-floor window and landed on the tree across the street. It was so fast that even Lisa couldn't see it clearly.

However, she knew that something bad was bound to happen.

To get a better view, she climbed onto the hedge. A strong gust of wind lifted her skirt, and she thought that the people under the hedge would be able to see her clearly from head to toe. However, everyone's attention was drawn to the two guards lying on the ground.

Someone was knocked down, just now, but why is there no sound?

Both guards were fully reincarnated, one an orc and the other a lizardman.

The one who was shouting just now seemed to be that energetic Argonian maid. She was half-lying on the floor with her hand on the hinge of the first floor. The room was bright, and several people had already gone inside.

"Hey, honey, why are you standing up there?"

Billie's eyes darted around, staring intently at the bottom of her skirt.

Lisa ignored him and walked forward from above.

"Darling, let me explain..."

"Fool!"

Lisa suddenly jumped onto Billy's neck and pulled his face to both sides as if he had grabbed a toy.

Hey! Don't hit my face!

Lisa bit her ear, a small warning to him, and that was it; the matter was even.

More people entered the secondary residence, but none of them came out.

The Billies probably knew what was going on inside.

Someone was killed.

From the outside, the annex appears to have three floors, but once inside, it turns out to be only one floor.

This is a living room with a height of nearly fifteen meters. The furniture is all made of polished oak, and there are throne-shaped chairs and sofas on the carpet. The backs of the sofas are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory.

It is easy to imagine that this living room must be the bedroom of the manor owner.

On the wall hung a gold-framed mirror depicting an elderly man, nearly sixty years old, who was a semi-reincarnated soul. He wore a snuff-colored coat that did not match his status, and a blue scarf around his neck.

The clothes and attire were exactly the same as those of the corpse lying on the bed.

The elf lady named Mia stood by, her face full of doubt.

She announced to everyone, "Just now, the owner of the manor was murdered, and the murderer is among us. Therefore, we cannot let you go for the time being, and we hope you can understand."

No one spoke; everyone's eyes were fixed on the strange corpse.

The manor owner was a half-reincarnated being; only his body was intact, while his face was completely disfigured, as if burned by something, but it didn't affect the mattress or blankets.

Everything in the room was intact; there were no signs of a struggle.

How did the murderer manage to incapacitate the two guards, disfigure the manor owner, and leave the room without damaging anything?

Lisa asked curiously, "Since the manor owner knew guests were coming, why didn't he come out to see us? Instead, he hid in his room waiting to be killed?"

The elf lady replied quite politely, "It's not that I didn't see him. My master went out temporarily on business through a puppet doll, but I didn't expect someone to enter the secret room while he was away and destroy his real body. As everyone knows, if the real body is killed, the half-reincarnated person will die."

Lisa now understands why the killer can disfigure the victim without destroying anything: once the consciousness of a semi-reincarnated person leaves the body, the body can be abused at will.

Generally speaking, semi-reincarnated individuals do not easily use substitutes unless someone promises to protect their original body.

This is why the manor owner is locked in a secret room and not allowed to meet anyone.

Lisa turned around, snatched the pipe from Billy's mouth, and put it in her own.

“I can find the murderer,” she told the elf lady.