Gotham Singularity (Part 3): Time Loop?

After some reasoning and deduction, Holmes, in order to find himself a guide in another world, took it very seriously and helped Jason, saving him from the brink of death.

Even later, he chose to reveal his real name to Jason to gain his trust. But in the eyes of ordinary people, Sherlock Holmes was merely a fictional character, and he naturally faced even greater skepticism and "friendly" inquiries about whether he should get his head checked.

“But what’s interesting,” Holmes said, a smile playing on his lips, “is that he’s a huge fan of ‘me,’ and the way he defends ‘me’ is quite impressive.”

“…Sherlock Holmes!” Jason shouted through gritted teeth, his ears turning red. “Isn’t this important?!”

Seeing that Jason was about to fight him if he continued teasing him, Holmes finally continued. After introducing himself and having a "friendly" conversation with Jason, and incidentally demonstrating the Barton technique, the two temporarily set aside their differences and went to Gotham together.

"Oh yes, yes, yes, that's easy for you to say. The strength you used was unbelievable, you almost beat me half to death, and you call yourself Sherlock Holmes..."

Jason suddenly stopped. Had he just heard a coffin and his name? The next second, he belatedly jumped up: "Wait, you just told me everything?"

At the same time, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Little Da Vinci exclaimed in unison, "Wait a minute, what is Gotham? Isn't this New York?"

There was no explosion at Chaldea this time; Sheba's analysis is accurate! Besides, what kind of place is Gotham? Does such a city even exist in the United States?

Jason turned his head, looking at the two idiots as if they were directionally challenged. "Are you two hopeless at directions? New York is right next door!"

It was just like a stand-up comedy performance.

Holmes raised his pipe, watching the lively scene unfold before him with leisurely interest. He curled the corners of his lips into a slight chuckle, as if he had returned to Chaldea.

“Miss Ritsuka and Da Vinci, you can understand this as a minor, harmless difference between different worlds. But I can say for sure that you have not come to the wrong place, and the source of the singularity must be here.”

He flicked his cigarette butt at the agitated Jason, "Just as I'm giving you the necessary information about Chaldea, your real name is also within the scope of what I must tell them."

"My dear temporary assistant, perhaps you could reintroduce yourself?"

Jason covered his face and cursed, staring at Holmes for a few seconds before letting go in frustration and pulling the mask down.

A striking white highlight in his short black hair contrasted sharply with his deep, resolute blue eyes, which held a turbulent undercurrent of emotion.

“Jason Todd, don’t call him by that name after you leave the house.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka's gaze lingered politely on Jason's face—a handsome face with a roguish charm, and nothing about him that seemed to be hiding anything. So, was he wearing a mask because he had acquaintances or enemies in this city and didn't want to be recognized?

She looked at Holmes, whose lips curled up, and he made a gesture with amusement.

You guessed right.

Since that's the case, Fujimaru Ritsuka can't betray this trust. She and Xu Fu exchanged glances, and Xu Fu reluctantly looked up while holding the doll.

"Hoo hoo, my name is Xu Fu, her follower. I am an alchemist who obeyed the First Emperor's order to go to Penglai to seek the elixir of immortality."

Jason: That sounds familiar.

Jason: Let me take another look.

Jason: "Xu Fu? Her? A face that looks like she's not even an adult, holding a doll that's kind of ugly-cute?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Fu, who had just been looking dejected and like a salted fish, suddenly turned the tables: "Ahhh, what did you say to Lord Yu... I'll beat you to death!!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was already prepared. In an instant, she grabbed the berserk Xu Fu by the waist and pulled him back, saying, "Calm down, calm down! Ignorance is no excuse!"

With her other hand, she covered Xu Fu's mouth, trying to stop her from blurting out a string of curses. Ritsuka's mind raced, searching for a topic to divert attention. "Oh right, Mr. Holmes, how did you detect the singularity here!"

Holmes smiled, made a pause gesture, and said there was no rush to reveal that. Instead, he began to explain Jason and his current identity—the boss and advisor of a certain organization.

Fujimaru Ritsuka: "...Huh?"

Oh no, is this considered stealing the professor's job? She could even hear the professor laughing out loud. Shocked, she involuntarily let go of Xu Fu's hand.

Just a second later, Xu Fu rushed up to Jason and began to punch him hard, yelling, "I'll teach you to speak ill of Lord Yu!"

Jason's pupils contracted in shock as he realized he couldn't break free from the seemingly frail child's grasp. "What the hell, Lord Yu? How come you're so strong? Hey, you two over there! Why don't you do something about this?!"

He had to revise his assessment of the Chaldean visitors, especially their Servants. In terms of power alone, their counterparts were superhuman.

Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka was still immersed in the story she had just heard, her expression a mixture of surprise and bewilderment, and she didn't have time to deal with it for the time being.

Just as Holmes was about to recount how he discovered the singularity and the information related to it, he suddenly stood up. He tapped his pipe on the table and abruptly changed the subject, "Although I'd love to continue, it's getting late."

Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly had a bad feeling. The two people tearing at her behind her stopped, and everyone's eyes were focused on Holmes.

Holmes clearly enjoyed the attention, and he smiled. "Well then, I'll leave you in suspense for now and tell you the rest the next morning."

"Hey! Mr. Holmes!!"

"F***! I knew it, it'll happen again!"

Jason gritted his teeth, recalling his past fantasies about Sherlock Holmes and the pain he felt after actually interacting with him for a while. All he could say was...

Riddler, get out of Gotham.

Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed and stood up. This guy's old habit had kicked in again. She was used to Holmes's tendency to hide something from her every now and then.

Although she was eager to know about the singularity, she knew Holmes's personality all too well. She was certain she wouldn't get any answers today, so she might as well get some sleep.

She casually pulled a hard candy from her hand, put it in her mouth, and chewed it vigorously, "crunch, crunch," as if she were using the candy as a punching bag for Sherlock Holmes's suspense.

Holmes chuckled at her childish antics, pointing out the direction to the guest room when Ritsuka looked over again. Before leaving, Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at the calendar on the fireplace: October 23rd, Sunday.

The footsteps faded away, and the living room fell silent.

Now only Holmes and Jason remained. Jason was noticeably more relaxed than before, resting his chin on his right hand as he leaned back on the sofa by the dining table.

"Calm, composed, and her strength seems impressive, but she's not quite the savior I imagined..." Jason said. He suddenly recalled Fujimaru Ritsuka's golden eyes, and changed the subject, "But she's barely acceptable."

If it weren't for the special circumstances—the Chaldea group being experts at resolving singularities, and Holmes's strong recommendation—Jason would never have trusted a stranger he'd only known for a day, let alone cooperated with him.

In fact, he had long been prepared to endure for the sake of Gotham's future, but unexpectedly, he didn't feel bad about Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Perhaps no one could possibly feel ill will towards those bright eyes under the moonlight.

However, Jason still had reservations about entrusting her with the key to resolving Gotham's anomalies. Perhaps it was because she was too young, too much like his own impassioned days as a vigilante, even more naive than he had been then.

So he wondered, is it really a good thing to put such a responsibility on such thin shoulders?

Holmes raised an eyebrow, noticing Jason's hesitation, but instead of asking directly, he followed Jason's lead and asked him what his imagined savior should be like.

Jason hesitated for a long time before resigningly uttering a household name—Superman.

No one, not even the most discerning Gotham resident, can deny that when Superman's red cape flutters in the air, it represents hope.

This analogy must have struck a nerve with Holmes, for he stopped turning his pipe and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Hahaha, sorry, sorry. This comparison really startled me."

Jason rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Is this really that funny? Regardless of anything else, I guarantee that these two will definitely have something in common when they're together."

"Maybe. I remember telling you at the beginning that, indeed, Miss Ritsuka's achievements are an unprecedented miracle."

Jason nodded, which is why he was so surprised when he saw Fujimaru Ritsuka; someone who could shoulder the weight of the world looked so young and so ordinary.

He heard Holmes calmly say, "Perhaps the biggest difference between Miss Ritsuka and Superman is that she once had the right to choose ordinariness. In the beginning, Miss Ritsuka was just an ordinary person who wanted to live, pushed to the edge of a cliff by fate."

He could almost picture Fujimaru Ritsuka's initial awkwardness and apprehension, even though Chaldea was much larger and had a more legitimate cause back then.

Jason frowned, his voice rising considerably, "Then it's even more unacceptable...!"

"But when it comes to the Gotham Anomaly, ten Supermen couldn't defeat her." Holmes put down his pipe, brought his hands together to form a tower, and rested his fingertips on his chin. "And I assure you, Chaldea will never leave her alone."

"If she needs me, I will always be with her."

Jason raised his head, and his gaze met Holmes' eyes. Those wise eyes were full of trust and admiration for Fujimaru Ritsuka, and an almost invisible helplessness and sadness.

"You should trust her; time will tell."

“...I will try to believe her, because you are always right, Mr. Holmes.”

The next morning, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for breath, as the culprit that had caused her to suffocate was Xu Fu's head and two blankets pressing heavily on her.

This was definitely one of the closest she'd ever been to death... well, one of the closests. But it was also arguably the most humiliating way to die!

Fujimaru Ritsuka rolled her eyes, sat up, pushed Xu Fu's head onto the pillow, and tucked her in. She casually smoothed her messy hair and was about to get up when she heard Xu Fu's sleepy murmurs beside her.

"Master, could you please massage my shoulders? If possible, could you also massage my glasses and calves? Please!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka threw a pillow at her, hitting Xu Fu's face, which was buried in the blanket. She groaned but still didn't wake up. Instinctively, she picked up the pillow like a toy and turned over.

Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka was both amused and exasperated. Instead of turning on the room lights, she quietly peeked through a corner of the guest room window. Outside, the sky was dim, and the gray clouds resembled a dirty white canvas.

The gloomy sky seemed to foreshadow that today would be an unusual day.

As Fujimaru Ritsuka walked downstairs, she glanced at the calendar out of the corner of her eye and suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Wait, why is it the 16th? Shouldn't that be last Sunday?!"