Before dawn the next day, a hurried knock on the door interrupted Fang Zheng and Xianhua's sweet dreams.
"Really? What the hell are you doing so early in the morning?"
While looking at the dark sky outside, Fang Zheng yawned, then stood up and walked to the door, pulling it open. Soon, she saw an old man in butler's clothes standing outside the door, looking at her seriously.
"I'm very sorry to bother you at this time, but... please come to the lobby immediately!"
After saying this, the old housekeeper left in a hurry, while Fang Zheng looked at the fresh flowers that had just climbed up from another bed with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong? Xiao Hong?"
After quickly putting on her coat, Xianhua came to Fang Zheng and asked curiously, while Fang Zheng curled his lips.
"You'll find out when you go and see."
Just as Fang Zheng said, when the two arrived at the lobby, they immediately understood what had happened.
At the end of the lobby, a woman was hanging on an angel statue in the middle of the stairs.
Strictly speaking, she looked like she was pierced by the sword in the angel statue's hand and then lifted up high, appearing in front of everyone in this posture.
Although the woman's eyes were cruelly dug out, leaving only two huge holes, it can still be seen from her kimono and long black hair that this woman is the representative of the Law and Politics Department who appeared in front of everyone yesterday and claimed to be in charge of this matter - Kanano Hishiri.
“Hmm…!”
Seeing this scene, Flower trembled and involuntarily moved closer to the red ponytail beside her. Although she had learned magic, this was the first time she had actually seen a corpse with her own eyes, not to mention that the corpse died in such a miserable state, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.
“——”
Unlike the flowers, Fang Zheng whistled.
"Look, something really happened. I knew it would be a shame not to use this place for a murder mystery."
I just don’t know who will play the role of Conan.
At this moment, the other invited magicians also came here. Looking at the scene in front of them, they were also very surprised. Except for Rosalind who was a little scared, everyone else seemed very calm.
"Heine, can you help me put her down?"
At this moment, El-Melloi II came forward and whispered. Hearing El-Melloi II's words, Heine nodded, then stretched out his hand, and soon saw a strand of metal wire emerging from his fingertips, cutting off the long sword. Then Heine caught the body that fell from above and placed her steadily on the ground.
"Excuse me."
As he spoke, El-Melloi II walked over to the body of Kanono Hishiri and began to examine it quickly. Soon, he gave his answer.
"It looks like the eyes were savagely dug out by a sharp weapon similar to claws. There are also large peeling marks on the back. It is probably a magic mark. If it were not for this, a magician of considerable skill would not die."
At this point, El-Melloi II seemed to have discovered something. He reached out and picked up the envelope that fell out of Hanano Hishiri's sleeve. On the surface, it seemed no different from other people's invitations. He carefully opened the envelope, took a look at the contents, and then showed a surprised expression.
"Huh? She also has an angel name, wait... this is..."
At this point, El-Melloi II seemed to realize something, and his expression suddenly became much gloomier.
"Xiao Hong? What happened?"
At this moment, Xianhua also came close to Fang Zheng and asked in a low voice, but Fang Zheng shook his head.
"I don't know... Well, let this famous detective start his show and we just have to watch."
"But... everyone else seems very calm..."
As she spoke, Xianhua looked around. Except for Heine's sister, the seven-year-old girl Rosalind, who stayed away from the crime scene out of fear, everyone else seemed to be used to it. This surprised Xianhua a little. After all, she had read detective novels before. Generally speaking, when a body is found in such an occasion, shouldn't everyone start shouting "Why did this happen?" "Who did it?" and become panicked? Why did these people seem to have no other reaction except being a little serious?
"Of course, they are magicians. It's absurd to expect them to have the same reaction as ordinary people. These people live in a world where they are either killed or killed every day. Why would they get so angry just because a few people died?"
“…”
This time, Flowers did not speak. She just frowned slightly and watched the scene in front of her. Perhaps it was not until now that she had a more realistic understanding of what kind of people the magicians in this world were.
And at this moment, the famous detective El-Melloi II spoke again.
“Maybe we are all wrong.”
"A mistake?"
At this, the other magicians turned to look at him, while El-Melloi II continued.
"The name of the angel is not a clue to the legacy, nor is it a puzzle..."
"What is that?"
At this moment, the old man in the wheelchair also asked. El-Melloi II sighed as if he was having a stomachache, and then continued.
"I mentioned before that the 72 angels of Shemmphora can be transformed into the twelve zodiac signs, but they can also be compared to the human body. The macrocosm and microcosm usually take care of each other. I think you all understand by now."
As he spoke, El-Melloi II picked up the envelope in his hand. The magicians present all looked as if they had suddenly realized something. Only Fang Zheng and Xianhua were still playing the role of spectators who did not know the truth. For Fang Zheng, whether using "Annunciation" or future vision, he could easily find the murderer of the deceased. There was no need for such boring reasoning.
Yes, that's right, just like the cameras and DNA identification on the streets have taken away the jobs of famous detectives, if Sherlock Holmes lived in modern times, he would definitely have been living on the streets.
"Kakino Hishiri's angel name is HACHASIAH, and this is an angel whose ruling house is Aries. Aries generally protects the human head. To be more specific..."
Having said that, El-Melloi II paused for a moment and looked at the corpse in front of him again.
"If it is limited to HACHASIAH, it symbolizes the eyeball."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
"I see."
Even Flowers, who didn't know much about magic, understood what El-Melloi II meant. Kanono Hishiri's angel name symbolized her eyeballs, and now her eyeballs were dug out. In the will announced yesterday, it was also stated that "those who cannot answer the questions will be deprived of their eyes by the angels", so that means...
"Xiaohong, could it be that the woman named Hanano Hisiri also wanted to inherit the estate, so she answered the angel's question, but because she gave the wrong answer, she was killed?"
"Maybe."
Fang Zheng yawned out of boredom, then looked ahead with interest.
"But now there are things more interesting than reasoning, right?"
"well?"
Hearing this, Hua Xian looked forward again and found that the group of magicians had already started fighting.
"Hinori Kanono is the only one among the people gathered in Peeling Castle who knows the secret method and has no need to obtain it."
"Hahaha, so the beast carefully peeled off the magic seal and dug out the eyes, and then strangled the person here? Is it so funny?"
"So, you mean, the criminal is among us?"
To Xianhua's surprise, even though someone brought up this argument that would almost certainly cause a stir in a mystery novel, the magician present did not seem to be shaken at all.
“This…this…”
Seeing this scene, Flowers couldn't understand anything.
"Why would they react like this? Aren't they worried they might be killed?"
"Isn't that what magicians do? Even if they can kill each other, they can definitely survive. That's what those guys think. Do you really think they are a group of unarmed NPCs in mystery novels?"
Having said this, Fang Zheng also grinned.
"In fact, there is no need for such an exaggerated treasure hunt. There is a way that can 100% guarantee that you will find the secret method - just kill all the heirs except yourself, isn't it? The world of magicians does not abide by laws, let alone morals, and no one will call the police. Of course, with the current stupidity of these guys, they will not give up and leave... It's ridiculous. Ordinary mystery novels will go to great lengths to use isolated islands or heavy rain and snow to form a secret room, but here, there is no need for external natural conditions, because these people will not choose to run away on their own initiative."
"So what should we do?"
"No big deal, just keep watching the show. It's a first-person, full-perspective, locked-room murder mystery. Where else can you find such a good opportunity?"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng turned around.
"Okay, let's go back to the room and have breakfast, then we'll go for a walk in the courtyard. Looking at the way these people are now, it wouldn't be surprising if they start fighting at any time. It's good to be an ignorant spectator, but I'm not interested in getting dragged into it."
After that, the two returned to the room to have breakfast, and then came to the garden behind the castle. Facing the lake and woods not far away, Fang Zheng hummed a song, took out his notebook, and continued to work on his project plan, while Xianhua silently took out a copy of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and began to read.
Although I am not very interested in this kind of book on weekdays, there is always a special feeling in reading this book in the hometown of Sherlock Holmes.
“Hehehe…”
A humming sound came from her ears, and Xianhua unconsciously raised her head and looked at the girl with a red ponytail who was sitting next to her and typing on the computer.
What a strange girl.
In fact, Flowers knew almost nothing about the girl in front of her. She also heard from her teacher Fiore that "when you arrive at the airport, a girl named Red Ponytail will come to see you." As for who this Red Ponytail is, Fiore did not say directly. But from what Flowers has observed so far, she is obviously closely related to the Thousand Worlds Tree.
Judging from the people she met along the way, Red Ponytail was surprisingly easy to get along with, except that her language and behavior were a bit rude, like a boy. And although she didn't say it clearly, Xianhua knew that the other party had always taken good care of her.
More importantly, for some reason, every time she saw her profile, Xianhua would feel an indescribable throbbing deep in her heart.
It was as if an electric current was running through my body, or as if my heart was being tightly gripped by something. Even if I was only occasionally brushed by those bright red twin ponytails, I would become nervous.
What is going on?
"I'm sorry to bother you."
At this moment, suddenly, a voice sounded, interrupting the flowers' thoughts. She looked up and saw a girl with golden curly hair and a blue dress standing not far away, watching them. I remember the girl's name seemed to be Luvia...
"Hey, isn't this the golden drill? What do you want from us?"
Fang Zheng raised his head from his notebook, glanced at the blonde girl, and then greeted her with a smile.
"Golden diamond..."
Hearing Fang Zheng's greeting, Luvia raised her brows instantly, but perhaps because of her good family education for a long time, she barely suppressed her inner emotions.
"My name is Luviazelita Edelfeldt, and please remember this name, Miss Red Ponytail."
"I know, Golden Drill."
"Luvia!"
"Okay, Golden Drill, what do you want from me?"
“…”
After staring at the red ponytail girl in front of her for a while, Luvia seemed to have finally given up and reluctantly chose to change the subject.
"I'm here to ask you two, where were you after dinner yesterday?"
"An alibi? What's the point? Even if I say I killed him, what can you do to me? Will you just come and fight? Or call the police?"
"...Please answer my question."
Although she remained calm on the surface, even the flowers could tell that Luvia's patience was running out.
"Well, after dinner last night I was working on a project plan in my room, while Xianhua was reading a book. This place is really old and outdated. There's not even cable TV. I can't even watch the evening news..."
"I'm sorry to bother you."
Before Red Ponytail could finish her words, Golden Drill... No, Luvia interrupted her complaints and turned away. Red Ponytail glanced at Luvia's back, then picked up the teacup and drank a sip of tea leisurely.
"Xiao Hong, you are so disrespectful to Miss Luvia."
Although she also found it ridiculous, Xianhua still coughed and gave a reminder.
"What can I do? Who told her to comb her hair into that weird shape? If she didn't comb her hair into a drill, I wouldn't call her a drill. Besides, what's wrong with a drill? It's a man's romance."
Sure enough, the girl with red ponytail had no intention of obeying. She just waved her hand with a smile, and then looked to the other side again.
"So, what do these two people here want to see us about? I guess they are also here to investigate their alibis."
Hearing this, Xianhua quickly turned her head and looked in the direction of Red Ponytail's eyes. Soon, she saw a brother and sister walking out from the corridor on the other side.
They were Heine and Rosalind Eastali.