“Miss Jade, Miss Peridot, mind if I ask you a few questions?”

The statue-girl trembled and looked to Oliver for help, but the boy just shrugged helplessly. The three of them were outside in the open, just in case the Deputies and Sheriff went crazy. Klein and Emerald were also outside, only a dozen meters away, so they would be able to help out.

“Where were you last night at 1 AM?”

“Sleeping… With Oliver.” Those gray cheeks blushed red, “And… Peri. Peridot…”

“What? Is it illegal for three people to sleep in the same bed?” Peridot sneered, then reached out to hold hands with Oliver and Jade at the same time.

“Haaahaaahaaah~!” The old Sheriff started laughing loudly and patted his right thigh a few times, “Kids these days are getting naughtier~!”

“How old are you three? Do you have a marriage license?” Deputy Yarkona on the side started asking questions while writing down everything with a serious expression, “Did you know that it is illegal to have sexual relations out of wedlock in Greenstone Province?”

“I never said we had sex!” Peridot retorted angrily, “I’ve been waiting on this bastard to marry me for so long, but it turned out he’s useless! And look at Jade! You think she can do anything in her state?!”

“I see… I apologize.” Yarkona blushed a bit and cleared her throat, “Very well. According to other witness testimony, none of you were at the scene of the crime or related in any way other than knowing the victims and perpetrator. You may return to your home now.”

“Hold on a minute.” Saul reached out his wrinkled right hand when the three of them were about to leave, “Let me see your Cursed Words. I need to check and make sure none of you have any ‘dirty’ Words, heh-heh~!”

“I’m a statue.” Jade tilted her head in confusion, showing off her wrist tattoo without much concern, “Is being a Stone Statue illegal?”

“Of course not Darlin~! Haaahaaah~! But what about your two little friends?”

Oliver frowned and pulled down the green v-neck of his shirt with both hands, easily revealing his entire slightly hairy chest. His face was covered by a graying 5 o’clock shadow and he looked far older than his actual age. Even among the short-lived people on Greenstone Mountain. It was pretty normal among miners though.

“Rank Four?! Woooweee~! Haaahaah~! Boy~! You outta go apply for a license soon! Heh-heh~! Feds don’t take kindly to ‘wild’ Vs wanderin loose, if ya know what I mean…”

“I guess I ain’t got a choice, huh?”

“Now what about you, Missy? Where’s your little tattoo? Some naughty place you’re embarrassed to show?”

“Peri ain’t Cursed.” Oliver complained, “How many Words do you think our little village has?”

“Really now? Hmmm, but she smells mighty suspicious…”

“How can you smell anything over that nasty cigar you’re smoking?!” Peridot retorted, “Officer, I’d like to report a crime! This creepy old man is sexually harassing a thirteen year old girl! He wants me to strip naked!”

“Sir, it is illegal to conduct a strip search on minors under the age of sixteen in the Province of Greenstone! Even if you’re my superior, I still have the right to arrest you if you break the law!”

“Sheesh~! Watch out Boy, this girl’s a slippery snake… Careful she don’t bite ya, haaaahaaah~!”

With that, the Sheriff was finally driven away and the three of them had to go back to fix their home. At least, as best they could, without using any supernatural powers that might get them ‘fined’ or arrested. Finally, around 8 PM, after being checked out by Klein, the Deputies who were potentially infected were allowed to board the carriages and everyone left. 

The Plague Doctor had to go back to Kale Town for the first time in 2 years… There were actually quite a few other things he needed to deal with aside from just this murder investigation, which was essentially closed already. Although he was a wandering doctor most of the time, he did have property and some surviving relatives to check up on.

***

“Bastards! I wanna kill them!” 

Peridot screamed as she looked at her bed that was completely torn to shreds. Not just hers, but all the furniture and appliances in the house were totally ruined! The damages were definitely way higher than just a thousand gold! 

They even dug up floor tiles and tore open parts of the basement with pick axes, not to mention confiscating a bunch of random mining equipment. Nothing of sentimental value, fortunately, but they were all items that Oliver conjured in the past. Every item was an excuse to cause more damage to their home without repercussions.

“What did that man mean by ‘corruption’ and ‘dirty’?” Jade asked curiously. Although she was also angry, just like Oliver, she already calmed down after such a long time passed.

“What else?” Peridot grumbled, “It might be hard to become a real ‘Cop’, but it’s easy to turn into a Corrupt Cop!”

“As long as they don’t get caught.” Oliver smiled wryly, “But it looks like they aren’t satisfied with just going after Thieves, Bandits and other ‘criminals’ anymore. Now you can’t even conjure shit without a freakin license? It feels like they’re trying to force people to become criminals on purpose.”

“Does that mean we have to go to the city to get licenses?” Jade frowned as she reached out and used her ability to repair a few holes in the walls, “Am I breaking the law right now?”

“Who knows?” Peridot sneered, “Those bastards never gave a shit about us until now. I hope they keep it that way. But… Klein left, Rufus is dead, right now the whole village is in trouble.”

“You think we’ll get attacked?” Jade looked out the window at the houses that were still lit up across the square, “What should we do?”

“What else can we do except wait around and hope for the best?” Oliver shrugged as he started sweeping up the mattress stuffings on the floor into a bag he conjured, “Until Klein comes back, we’ll just try to fix what those bastards broke.”

*Knock-knock-knock~!*

“Ollie~!”

Before anyone could go downstairs to open the door, Verna unlocked it herself with a spare key. Then she closed the door behind her and ran upstairs.

“Ollie~! *Sniffle~!*” The little girl hugged Oliver tightly while rubbing her snot and tears all over his shirt, “Dad… He… Waaah~! Mom made me leave! Didn’t want… Me to get sick!”

“Shit…” Peridot groaned on the side, “How is your Mom doing?”

“Bad! She can barely take care of herself!”

“I’ll go.” Jade sighed, “I… I’m not afraid of the plague.”

“Damn it, Jade! Just ‘cause you’re made of stone, doesn’t mean you’re not human anymore!” Oliver pushed Verna into Peridot’s arms, “We’ll go together. I’ve helped Klein deal with this shit so many times now… You don’t even know what needs to be done.”

“Ollie!”

“Ugh…” Peridot grabbed the ‘little’ girl who almost looked more mature than herself, “Help me clean up the house. Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. Your Mom just needs to hold on for a few days until Klein gets back.”