Chapter 996 Is this your excuse for trespassing here?

Aiwass maintained the appearance of the white-robed Son of the Moon, took Aleister's hand, and followed Yasen.

He admired the surrounding scenery that was different from Avalon.

"Les Eygents...my favorite city."

Yasen lowered his wide-brimmed hat and asked in his deep, magnetic voice, "How do you like this place?"

"First impression?"

Aiwass asked.

Yasen nodded: "Just tell me."

Aiwass looked up at the street.

Les Eygents - this is a city in the west of Iris that is not very rich but has many wealthy people living there.

The city's color scheme, primarily gray with white as a secondary color, shone like a temple in the early summer sun. The streets were filled with expensive crystal lamps—these lamps were alchemical products imported from Star Antimony, high-end goods that Avalon had previously prohibited from importing.

The boulevards were lined with iris and lime trees, and the clatter of horses' hooves echoed along the roadside, accompanied by the jingling of bells. On the streets, one could see carriages, horses, bicycles, and cars that were about five years older than the ones on Xingti's side...

“A very exquisite city.”

Aiwass commented, "It looks like a place rich people would like."

"Yes, at least the two Dukes of Iris have estates at Les Eygents."

Yasen sighed and said, "It doesn't have a port, but it's adjacent to a port city. Those big shots like to live in places like this—developed transportation, but not too developed; densely populated, but not too densely populated."

"Isn't it good to have developed transportation?" Aiwass asked with interest.

"If transportation is too convenient, it will also mean more crimes... For example, someone could commit a crime and immediately flee the country by boat, making it impossible to track them down. And dense crowds mean that public health conditions will become very poor..."

"Public health?" Aleister asked.

"Yeah. Iris isn't like Avalon, where there's no authoritarian path to guide us. The living environment here emphasizes freedom."

Yasen said meaningfully.

He mentioned Avalon because he had roughly guessed the identities of Aiwass and the others. Or at least, he had clarified their position.

"How free is it exactly?" Aleister said in a friendly manner.

But Yasen's words still made her a little nervous: "You can even see people pooping on the side of the road without any hesitation and then walking away quickly."

"……ah?"

"It's not because they can't find a toilet, or there are no public toilets here. It's because some people are protesting to the councillor in charge of this area by causing inconvenience to everyone..."

Yasin explains this "protest" in Iris's signature style.

If he handles this incident well, more police force and public health investment will be needed, which will force them to put less money in their pockets; and if they don't handle this matter well, it will soon be reported in the newspapers by nosy reporters.

In that case, they would either have to pay the newspaper agency to buy out the news and prevent it from publishing it - which also means that he would have to pay money from his own coffers; or they would allow those reporters who are keen on exaggerating and want to create chaos to make a small matter very serious, thereby attracting the party whip to report the matter.

“…I understand.”

Aiwass nodded in understanding.

Cao Cao had already provided guidance on this matter—as the saying goes, "I'll lend you my head for a moment." Regardless of whether the legislator was at fault or responsible, he could take the blame, and at the same time, settle the accumulated issues. Ultimately, once the person is dealt with, the voters will be satisfied... If his actions have serious consequences, then during the election, "making up for previous issues" can be added to the agenda for next year, thus securing votes again.

Although the actual problem has not been solved at all, it can be stable for a long time.

"Iris people have always been like this."

"They will do good deeds for selfish or evil purposes, or they will do evil deeds for a good, selfless purpose," Yasin said.

"Like... you?"

Aiwass's words were sharp and merciless.

"really."

And Arsen was much thicker-skinned than Aiwass thought.

He adjusted the brim of his hat, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly under the shadow: "I was born for this.

"—Look at those former nobles, great merchants, and great artists—now all of them are showing mercy and acting like saints. Of course, I also know... while there's some showmanship involved, there are also quite a few who are truly doing good things.

"But those poor people in the streets and alleys rarely have clean hands. It's already difficult for them to survive. If they insist on being clean, not only will their lives be difficult, but they will also be ostracized by others. In the most chaotic cities, there will even be streets and houses stained with blood...

"Why is that? Is it because wealth and fame have legs and will run to people of noble character?"

At this point, Yasen sneered: “Stop joking.

"...It's just that the civilians in other places don't have the same strong desire to survive as we Iris people. When they face a tragic fate, they either accept it or take their own lives. Their pressure is inward - while ours is always outward.

"If you've been wronged, then let others be wronged too. If someone hands you counterfeit money, you immediately spend it on someone else. Everyone hurts each other, each relying on their own abilities, and no one gives in to anyone else—this is also a new order that everyone recognizes. Avalon-style saints wouldn't last many years here."

"...sounds a bit radical."

Aiwass commented: "I don't really like this kind of atmosphere."

Yasen smiled helplessly. "Who would like that? But there's nothing I can do. I don't know when it started, but it's impossible to end. It's like a train that's already started moving, and you can't possibly stand in front of it. All you can do is either avoid it and watch it leave you in a daze, or take the risk of jumping on board. Failure means being shattered to pieces, and success will also bring greater crises and opportunities - at least you have a chance to escape your current predicament.

"—This is us, Iris. A land of neither evil nor good, a place of chaos and order."

This chivalrous thief, who is admired by the people, now speaks sad and dejected words.

He looked at the streetlights and said, "You know, these streetlights are only found in big cities. In rural areas, they use cheap ghee lamps. They're simple alchemical candles made from tallow, and they're very cheap—but the most important thing is, because it's so cheap, you can't be sure it's actually tallow."

"That pungent smell, the greasy smoke, always surrounds the city. The surrounding walls are stained with oil, and the ground is flowing with feces and urine - ironically, many Avalonians still believe that irises flow with milk and honey.

"But even these cheap tallow candles are necessary. Because the Iris people are keen on harming others, the church's influence here is not as great. People even write gossip about the Pope, daring to write him into a dramatic character without authorization... and naturally, many cities don't actually have a bishop.

"—And the number of 'missing persons' in Iris is the highest among all the nations of Hellas. It's even higher than Star Antimony by a wide margin... I'm sure you understand what this means, right?"

"It means," Aiwass said after a pause, "the poorer the place, the more likely it is to be haunted."

"That's right."

Yasen snapped his fingers. "People believe that light can drive away the dead. So even in the poorest places, they light streetlights at night to ward off ghosts."

"It's no use."

Aiwass shook his head. "The useful part is actually the 'bishop'—they light the lamps to actually use the light to prop up an invisible barrier, or use the purifying light to dispel the undead. But the light itself has no effect on dispelling the undead."

“It’s not necessarily that they don’t know about this.”

The Phantom Thief quipped, "But rather than letting the Church get more deeply involved in their lives, people would rather choose to deceive themselves. The number of people killed by the Undead isn't that high anyway, so it's okay to just leave it alone—at least the Undead kill far fewer people than the Iris People themselves kill each year."

"Why are there so many people on the streets and in the bars at noon? It's simple: people don't dare to spend the night outside. Even in big cities, priests can't exorcise all the undead... Purifying the undead requires mana, but the already limited number of clergymen mostly use their mana to heal others.

"By nightfall, fog will come here. By then, people won't go out much unless necessary.

"—Here, the night belongs to the extraordinary. This is a natural division. Only those who are strong enough to ignore the weak undead are qualified to enjoy the moonlight—and to have secret affairs."

At this point, the thief's expression became a little subtle.

It seemed to carry a certain sad and uneasy tone, but also seemed to be mocking something.

"So," Aiwass asked, "that's why you steal at night?"

"Because it is relatively less likely to affect innocent people."

Yasin's words were compassionate yet ruthless. "We consider this a 'contract.' A rule of thumb, something that goes without saying. Just like when there's a gang fight, no one rushes into the police station to pull out the cops... During the 'Accomplish Yourself' segment at night, if someone dies, it's only natural."

"—Because when you choose to hang out in such a dangerous place, you are mentally prepared to be killed."

"I see."

Aiwass nodded slightly.

Simply put, the nights of Iris were a "non-protected area." Only here could transcendents "open the red and kill." This was different from the situation in Avalon.

In the past, in Avalon, let alone someone being killed at night... even if it was just a warehouse explosion with no casualties or loss of goods, or even if there was just a suspicion that extraordinary forces might be involved in such a case, five or six supervisors would be dispatched to hold repeated meetings to discuss it.

Cases like the one where Aiwass' parents were cursed to death were considered multiple crimes in Avalon, including "illegal path crime", "use of illegal supernatural skills", "murder", "cursing others", and "raising dangerous creatures" - basically major cases that start with the death penalty.

But in Iris, if this happened at night, it might not even make the newspapers. People would just ignore the bodies. Only if they were truly blocking the road, taking up space, would they call the health department and have someone come and dispose of the unwanted bodies.

Even if it is reported in the newspaper, it will only appear in news such as "Eleven bodies appeared in a certain urban area last night", becoming one of the components of a cold number.

...It's just like Little Brother Tham.

Aiwass sighed.

They arrived at their destination while chatting.

This wasn't a residential area, but it wasn't Yasen's own residence either.

"We can't go home," Yasin explained. "We can't even go to the LeBlanc Cafe. It's full of spies."

"Sherlock is at your house?"

Aiwass asked directly.

Hearing such an intimate name, Yasen's heart moved.

——The subtle possibility in his mind rose again.

"To be exact, his body is lying in my house."

Yasen sighed: "I killed him."

"what is going on?"

"I originally wanted to ask him to investigate another matter... To facilitate communication, I brought him to my home. When my father-in-law, now the Duke of Vendôme, heard about this, he solemnly invited our brilliant Detective Hermes to come and have a chat.

"—He never came out again after that. If I hadn't gone in to confirm that he was still breathing, but had fallen into a deep sleep... I would have thought he had been killed by my father. And then I understood what had happened—he had been taken to the dream world."

Yassen frowned. "And then, his agent—you know who—received a letter from the Queen of Avalon. This letter carries great weight with Iris now, and even the Duke of Vendôme must treat it with caution. So, Sherlock returned to his body, wrote the letter himself, and then fell into a deep sleep again."

"In other words," the white-robed Son of the Moon raised his eyebrows, "we can actually go directly into the Duke of Vendôme's palace and kidnap the people?

"Although I don't know what secret method he used to imprison Sherlock's soul. But as long as I can force him to hand over this secret method, or release Sherlock...it's actually possible, right?"

Aiwass said slowly: "As long as he doesn't dare to stop me."

...After all, you are His Holiness the Pope, who dares to stop you?

Yasen said helplessly in his heart.

——Now he has basically guessed the identity of this "White Robe Son of the Moon".

Aiwass was just speaking casually, not hiding his identity at all: "I also believe in your determination to save Sherlock. But after you roughly guessed my identity, you didn't take me home - so I guess you also have something you want to investigate, right?"

“…I actually suspect that these two things may be the same thing.”

Yasin finally spoke: "It involves my mother."

"your mother?"

"I'm an orphan. My mother died when I was very young, so I was born in an orphanage... You must have guessed it. I was once a member of the Hawkeye Organization."

Yassen said frankly, "But thanks to the Duke of Vendôme, I was able to leave the organization, not have to complete the missions given by the organization, and not be hunted down by the organization for 'defection'. Therefore, I am grateful to this father-in-law.

"But from another perspective, the Duke of Vendôme knew my parents. I think there may be some secrets behind their deaths... My being accepted as a son-in-law by the Duke of Vendôme may also be related to this matter. I found some important information not long ago... and it is this matter that I want Sherlock to investigate.

"—So, I'm sorry... sir."

He finally swallowed the word "Pope" and added after a moment of silence, "I haven't had any contact with Shylock since then. But I suspect that the matter investigated by the Duke of Vendôme may also be related to that secret...

"I could just rescue Sherlock and end the investigation, but that would mean I might never find the truth I'm after... That's my selfish motive. I admit it's unethical... I'll apologize to Sherlock later."

"...I can understand your thoughts."

Aiwass nodded slowly. "I believe Sherlock wants to know the truth, too. He's immersed in the mystery like a cat in its food bowl. If you take him out at this time, he'll gasp.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. For your honesty—and I also have something to do in the Dream World.

"There's just one thing I don't quite understand..."

Aiwass looked at his surroundings and tried his best to keep his tone calm.

"...Why did you drag us to the university girls' dormitory to sleep with us?"

"I have acquaintances here."

Yassen whispered.

"I think you have it somewhere else too!"

Aiwass screamed.

Two in one, update completed meow!

(End of this chapter)