Gotham Singularity (Part Two): The Violin of Fifty-Five Shillings...

Jason shuddered, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine, and took a step back warily. His arm muscles tensed, and he raised his gun, aiming it at Xu Fu.

He saw genuine killing intent in this guy's eyes.

Damn it! Why didn't that guy mention that revealing his identity as the Chaldea Master would be fatal?!

“Xu Fu, dear!” Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately broke the tense atmosphere, grabbed Xu Fu’s hand as he prepared to cast a spell, and gently shook her head under her puzzled gaze. “I don’t think he meant any harm.”

"Huh? Is that what you think?!"

This guy looks fierce even with his face covered! Xu Fu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but she reluctantly lowered her hand as Ritsuka had suggested, and did not attack immediately.

Jason also pointed his gun at the ground again, choosing not to escalate the conflict.

“Yes, he should be able to communicate. It’s an intuition,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said. “We need to communicate with the people here, and he would be a suitable candidate.”

She was genuinely 80-90% certain before making that suggestion. Just observing the few people she'd met so far—they were all armed and masked, even the child could conceal himself like an assassin—

This singularity is definitely not peaceful.

But the masked youth initially pointed his gun at the perpetrator on the ground. He was not someone who would collude with the perpetrators; in fact, he could be considered gentle in this environment.

Moreover, judging from his equally surprised tone, it was easy to deduce that someone else knew Chaldea and her name, most likely an acquaintance. She was quite curious to see who she would encounter at this singularity.

"Senpai?!" Mash exclaimed in her earpiece.

"No, no, no, this is too hasty! This guy has a gun! But since you said so... umm...!" Goldruff stammered.

One second, two seconds.

Looking into Fujimaru Ritsuka's still firm and confident eyes, he took a deep breath and quickly made a judgment, "As the director of New Chaldea," he paused, "I support all your decisions!"

"Chief! Thank you so much!"

Jason's feet tapped rhythmically on the ground, and even his mask couldn't hide his impatient expression, but his hand, which wasn't holding the gun, was already on his equipment belt, ready to fire at any moment.

"So, have you finished discussing it?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, not answering his question directly, but instead asking, "Before that, let's reciprocate—could you tell me how to address you? It feels very impolite to keep calling you 'Hey'."

Jason: "..."

In this situation, with his identity exposed to this extent, the people around him were ready to kill him, but apart from his initial surprise, did he have no other reaction?

If that old man's true identity is revealed, hmph, he'll probably kidnap him and demand to know how his identity was leaked before he'll be satisfied.

But the girl in front of me was surprisingly calm, just like the unchanging moonlight overhead, unmoved by anything external.

Now Jason was starting to believe that the unruly girl in front of him was the last savior of humanity that the man had spoken of.

“Red Hood, just call me that,” Jason said subtly. “I thought you were going to ask how I knew about Chaldea and your existence?”

"If you don't want to say, I can't get it out of you no matter how much I ask, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said matter-of-factly. "Then all I need to know is that you have no hostility and your name to call me is fine."

Jason was speechless at the boldness and frankness of the man.

“…Ha, well then I should share some useful information,” Jason said. “The person who told all this wants to meet you. What’s your opinion?”

"Of course I'm willing."

Her decisiveness stunned Jason. Such unbelievable trust—if this person truly lived in Gotham, she'd probably be kidnapped within days.

In just a few minutes, the group had turned several corners. The closer they got to their destination, the stronger Fujimaru Ritsuka's intuition became, her heart began to pound, like the premonition of being called on by a strict teacher to answer a question in class.

Xu Fu quickly noticed her unusual behavior. He tried to say something, but she pressed down on his shoulders and said, "It's alright. Giving up halfway is not a good habit."

Although she said that, she was on high alert, constantly paying attention to her surroundings, and had even found a way to escape temporarily.

Compared to other vague and uncertain things, she believed more that this intuition would bring her a sudden or difficult battle.

Finally, the group stopped in front of a dilapidated and inconspicuous house. Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Little Da Vinci's voice rang in her ears, "Servant reaction detected."

Fujimaru Ritsuka showed an expression of expectation, even letting out a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't anything strange. Just as she was waiting for Chaldea to further clarify their Servant status, all she received was a long silence.

If it weren't for Goldruff's clearly audible rapid breathing, she would have almost thought the communications had been blocked again. Jason ignored Fujimaru Ritsuka's sudden stop and walked past her to open the door.

In an instant, the melodious sound of a violin poured out.

At this moment, the Chaldea Master's expression went completely blank.

Jason was used to the sound of the violin, and for safety reasons, as well as to satisfy his temporary advisor's hobby, he deliberately chose a relatively remote location for the safe house.

He stepped inside, but when he turned around, he noticed that Fujimaru Ritsuka was still standing frozen in the doorway, as if she had seen a ghost. He was about to say something impatiently, but a very oppressive gaze looked up at him.

Xu Fu raised her index finger to her lips, but the wide sleeves did not obscure the shape of her mouth.

Jason gripped his gun warily, but then saw her mutter: "Hey, you clueless idiot! Shut up!"

The winter moonlight was cold and ethereal, falling on the figure playing the violin, like a beautiful dream melting in foggy London.

Fujimaru Ritsuka stopped at the doorway, her shadow stretched long and thin in the moonlight. She didn't move, her eyes fixed on the man's back.

I was afraid that if I moved even slightly, I would block out the moonlight and everything in front of me would disappear.

She blinked suddenly when she stared at the scenery in front of her until it became a double image, then abruptly lowered her head and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

When she looked up again, she met a pair of familiar and wise eyes.

"Ah, Miss. Ritsuka."

The gentleman playing the violin turned around, a composed smile on his face. "I always marvel at my keen insight back then; this exceptional violin only cost 55 shillings."

It really is him.

Sherlock Holmes.

—The world's best, and only, consultant detective.

Under Jason's complicated gaze, Fujimaru Ritsuka slowly took steps, one after another, and then started running.

"Please forgive my behavior, well, after all..." Holmes hadn't finished speaking when he was embraced tightly by the orange-haired girl.

"Mr. Holmes!"

His words trailed off in the air. He paused, put down the violin he had just been so proud of, and reached out to hug the girl, who was even thinner than before. "Yes, it's me."

Fujimaru Ritsuka stood on tiptoe and gave him a tight hug, a hug that felt like a long-awaited reunion. Then, she took the detective's hands and stepped back, looking him up, down, left, and right, her voice choked with the emotion of a long-awaited reunion.

Welcome back.

Holmes raised an eyebrow and asked jokingly, "Oh dear, is it alright to invite an alien apostle like this?"

Suddenly, a light blue projection appeared in the room, startling Jason so much that he almost raised his gun to fire. But noticing that Holmes showed no sign of surprise, he lowered his gun and stared at the projection.

What is this? Is it from the magic side?

“No way! Mr. Holmes is an important companion of ours!” Mash appeared on the projection and immediately retorted.

“To be honest, Chaldea doesn’t seem to need another alien apostle.” This was Kadoc, who had already turned into a sarcastic commentator, but he then raised the corners of his mouth, “However, Holmes is indeed not a match for the waterfall.”

"What are you talking about, Business Advisor?" Goldruff retorted. "You've always been an important member of Chaldea, and this position has always been reserved for you. Hmph, the technical advisors here are probably eager to share the work with you, aren't they?"

Little Leonardo da Vinci beamed, "Goldruff is right, it's great to see you again. Although a genius is capable of handling all these tasks, I still wish someone could share the workload."

Sion smiled and said, "Mr. Holmes, I support Mr. Ritsuka's decision. Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Captain Nemo said with a brief welcome.

The remaining dozen or so Chaldea employees were also woken up by their colleagues and rushed over, just to say a word of welcome to Holmes whom they hadn't seen in a long time. Then, each of them left with a relieved smile to continue their shifts or go to sleep.

This was undoubtedly a touching reunion. Even Jason, who had just closed the door and started observing, was thinking to himself, "This guy who doesn't speak human language actually has so many companions, and he's being accepted and tolerated without any reservations..."

Wow, he's much luckier than him.

But seeing that everyone had almost forgotten he started chatting, Jason coughed lightly, predictably drawing all eyes to him. "The others are fine, but Holmes, are you really just planning to catch up?"

“Haha, you’re right, my apologies.” Holmes clapped his hands together. He walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and said, “Now it is indeed time to introduce some necessary background information to our new Master.”

"Gentlemen, please sit down with us." He lifted his shirt, crossed his legs, and sat down in a chair, holding a pipe that had appeared out of nowhere in his hand.

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around and pulled out a chair, sitting down properly. Xu Fu then moved his chair next to her and sat down beside her. Finally, Jason, the owner of the house, twitched at the group's overly familiar behavior, but still frowned and sat down a little further away from them.

After everyone was seated, Holmes turned on his pipe and began to recount his personal experiences, which everyone in Chaldea was very curious about.

He didn't die after falling into the waterfall. Perhaps because of his own legend, or perhaps due to the anomaly of the singularity, he arrived in a completely new world. There was no magic, no clock tower, and no Chaldea.

But this world has a magical side, which in some ways far surpasses them. For example, their control over life and death; he fell in front of Jason, who had crawled out of a coffin.

To be frank, he felt incredibly excited at the time. A whole new world awaited him to explore, and perhaps he could even find a way back.

Just as he had returned to Watson's side in the past... now, he also longed to return to Chaldea.

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A note from the author:

Finally, Old Fu makes his appearance!