Aozaki Aoko Case File

Norwich.

Ever since Pepe infiltrated Norwich, Spriggan would frequently invite him to his mansion for banquets.

As their relationship deepened, Pepe found that Spriggan was obsessed with art and the beautiful, trendy clothes he brought—so obsessed that Pepe began to doubt Aoko's intel that this person is human.

If you break down the name Spriggan, it refers to a kind of fairy in Celtic legend—huge, ugly, often treasure guardians, capable of shapeshifting and sometimes switching human children with their own.

Now, as a human, he'd somehow managed to masquerade as a fairy for so long, become the lord of Norwich, and avoid detection. This intrigued Pepe deeply.

So, during his visits, Pepe used his Six Supernatural Powers to deeply investigate Spriggan's secrets. The result: this guy probably isn't a modern person, nor is he simply under a hundred years old.

If you use Ritsuka's Pan-Human History timeline (i.e. 2017), Spriggan is likely a Japanese man born in 1844.

In short, this old man born in 1844 was one of the first students sent from Satsuma to study in England. On his way home, he encountered a strange painting in a special mansion, became utterly fascinated, and when he came to his senses, found himself in the unfamiliar land of Fairy Britain.

Clues from conversations and records in Spriggan's mansion suggest that his current state is not mere disguise, but that he acquired the spirit origin of a treasure-guardian fairy at some level.

However, he's probably not a true fairy, since his body still ages—something that doesn't happen to fairies.

By now, this Norwich lord is nearly 200 years old—impossible for an ordinary human who isn't a magus. Pepe surmises that Spriggan has retained his human core but wears the skin of a treasure-guardian fairy.

Given that, the mansion and painting he encountered are significant—a painting that could send him to Fairy Britain and give him a fairy's spirit origin? That's the work of a magus; fairies wouldn't do such a thing.

Pepe had heard at the Clock Tower of magi who went to the Star's Inner Sea with their beloved fairies, and his colleague Hinako ended up in Fairy Britain after a fairy-swap incident. So, the magus who sent Spriggan likely used similar means: conceptually transforming him and linking him via imaginary space to this Lostbelt world.

Once Pepe understood this, he began systematically carrying out Aoko's orders. First, he picked a few troublemakers among the Earth Clan fairies who didn't fully submit to Spriggan. After subtly revealing that Spriggan's identity might be suspicious, he fanned the flames and spread the rumor in Norwich.

At Norwich's annual trade fair, Spriggan, as lord, presided over the opening ceremony in the central plaza.

Frankly, as a lord, Spriggan's business ability was second to none (except for Muryan), making Norwich lively compared to the lethargic Fang Clan in Manchester.

When the ceremony reached its peak, Spriggan accidentally fell from the podium, injuring his exposed hand on a small stone, which began to bleed.

The Earth Clan fairies around him fell silent, staring at his injured hand, sniffing, frowning—they sensed something was off...

Fairy and human blood are both red, but fairies wouldn't get hurt from such a fall, arousing suspicion—though not enough to prove Spriggan was human.

But what happened next surprised even Spriggan: a block of food, only eaten by captive humans and made by fairies through mysterious means, slipped out of Spriggan's sleeve and fell to the ground.

All his attention was on his wound as he tried to pull out the stone, but failed. He remained silent, trying to keep up his dignity as lord.

Some fairies might carry human food out of curiosity, so this alone wasn't proof.

But fairies are illogical and fickle; once they make connections, suspicion quickly becomes fact.

"So disgusting!" said one Earth Clan fairy. "Why did he get hurt from a fall like that?"

"Yeah," said another. "And his blood smells weird, almost like a human."

"Human scent? Yeah, I killed some humans from the Queen's army centuries ago. Their blood smelled just like this..."

"Hey, isn't that human food?" another fairy pointed at the ground by Spriggan.

"Yeah! Why's he carrying that?"

"So gross. Is he a human in disguise?"

"Now that you mention it... it's possible!"

Spriggan, having recovered slightly from the pain, noticed the fairies' odd expressions but tried to stay calm.

"Ah, everyone, it's just a little accident," Spriggan said with hands behind his back. "The trade fair is about to begin, so everyone returns to your booths!"

"Why is he lord anyway? Just because he's glib?" muttered a fairy. For some reason, this voice carried across the plaza.

"Yeah, why? Maybe because he's a human in disguise?"

"So gross! Let's kill him and get a new lord!"

"Great idea."

"Yeah, good idea."