Chapter 2 Misleading
"Not ma'am..."
Haina whispered, "I haven't graduated yet."
And, this is just a question...
But before she could finish her words, Aiwass interrupted her softly:
"You're already joining the Supervisory Bureau before you've even officially graduated... I see. Is Miss Haena studying at the Royal Law University?"
Aiwas's accent was clear and standard, lacking the "elven accent" that symbolizes nobility that the people of the capital were so proud of. However, this actually made Haina, who came from a small town to study abroad, more fond of him.
So she nodded and responded, "Ah, yes."
She puffed out her chest with pride as she spoke. "I was last year's student council president and also the top female student in my fourth year. As an outstanding graduate of the Royal Law University, I obtained employment permission from the Supervisory Bureau a year in advance. Although I haven't received my sword yet, the Supervisory Bureau has already approved my name."
"So, you can still be considered my senior."
Aiwass interlaced his hands and placed them on his knees.
He leaned back, his upper body relaxed, and spoke slowly, "I'm actually a student at the Royal Law University, too. A freshman this year."
"……Really?"
Haina was a little surprised, but she also felt a liking for this common point: "But I haven't seen you..."
"Because I wasn't in good health. Before I even started school, I fell seriously ill. I stayed in bed for three months."
Aiwass's pale complexion made his words convincing.
It's not an easy child...
"I understand. You are indeed innocent... I will report to the director when I return."
Haina nodded repeatedly, feeling sympathetic. Her previous slight jealousy towards Aiwass also dissipated.
She felt ashamed of herself. As an inspector of the Inspectorate, she was half a knight. She had forgotten the principles of humility and compassion taught by her mentor... Jealousy was truly ugly.
"Well, Senior," Aiwass suddenly said, "did you see what's in the fireplace?"
"Burning things..."
Haina turned around and said uncertainly, "I can't really tell. It doesn't look like firewood."
"That's a diary."
Aiwass said gently, "Maybe it's evidence of my connection with the demonologist.
“Just like this book in my hand.”
As he spoke, he closed the book in his hand and threw it into the fire.
Haina was suddenly shocked when she heard this.
She subconsciously took a step forward and instinctively reached out to grab it. Completely caught off guard, she actually managed to intercept the book mid-air.
She frowned and looked down, only to find that the book was called "Eighty Selections of Shidaier's Poems".
Of course, Haina knew this book, because it was the textbook used in her freshman Elvish course.
She flipped through it anxiously, confirming that it wasn't any evidence of a connection to the demonologist. It even had various colored pens marking out key points and difficult points.
"Just kidding."
Aiwass's lips curled up slightly. "I am the victim of the incident, Senior. This is clearly what you just said... Why are you suspicious again because I just mentioned it casually? Do you have so little confidence in me?"
Haina suddenly realized that this young man who looked so gentle and elegant seemed to have some hidden evil intentions.
"This is a serious matter, no joking."
Her face hardened, and she lectured him earnestly, as if she were in school. "Demonologists often sacrifice living people, and to silence them, they even kill the victims afterward. That's absolutely evil. Even if they have no grudge against someone, they'll still kill them for material. It's appalling! How can you joke about such a thing?"
As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something, and her eyes became sharp. "Speaking of which... if you were a sacrifice, how did you survive?"
"They sacrificed me to summon a powerful demon, but they only found the demon closer to me. So I turned the tables and ordered the demon to kill them all."
The young man smiled as he spoke increasingly outrageous words: "In fact, the Moriarty family is full of evil. My father, Professor James Moriarty, is a demonologist who dreams of destroying the world. And I am not his adopted son, but a demon he summoned from another world. I can completely destroy the Kingdom of Avalon within a year."
Haina was stunned and listened for more than half of the sentence before she realized that Aiwass was just talking nonsense.
“…What are you talking about?!”
She yelled in anger, at least half of which was because she was ashamed that she had taken Aiwass's strange words seriously for a moment.
This young man who looks as gentle and beautiful as a poet is actually as cunning as a fox and is full of lies from all over the world!
She was furious, but she didn't dare speak loudly in front of the old housekeeper, which only made her face flush red. "Tell me the truth—why did you appear in the devil's ritual? Someone anonymously reported that you went to Stone Arch Park on your own and were not coerced."
"I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, just take me to the Supervisory Bureau."
Aiwass shrugged, as if feeling regret from the bottom of his heart.
But Haina knew this was impossible—with the Supervisory Bureau clearly showing signs of covering up, she couldn't possibly arrest Aiwass without evidence. If she really took Aiwass, who was still in a wheelchair, away, she would be the one in trouble.
Then, Aiwass slowly put away his fox-like smile.
He showed a serious expression and said seriously, "That's what I said. But since you know that what I said is nonsense, why do you believe the anonymous report? What's the difference between what I said and the report?"
"...So, what is the truth?"
"I can tell you another version of the story—I was attacked while taking a walk and taken to Stone Arch Park. When I regained consciousness, I was in a wheelchair. I have no idea what happened in between, let alone that I was sacrificed to the devil. I don't know how they were driven away, or how I survived...
"But this version of the story is too smooth and flawless. It's like a lawyer's defense in court. If I tell you directly, you might even become more suspicious."
Aiwass sighed, looking helpless and innocent.
He said, "So, which one do you believe?"
...If we exclude the emotional part and judge rationally, the latter seems to be more reasonable.
Perhaps I had misunderstood Aiwass again. Was it because the jealousy in my heart hadn't completely dissipated?
—And it was impossible for him to summon a demon of that level, because Aiwass was too weak. Haina could sense that he was indeed a transcendent, but his reaction was very weak. At most, he only illuminated one level of the path.
The extraordinary knowledge that Haina had learned told him that even if a prospective extraordinary person of this level really summoned a demon, at best it would be the strength of a familiar and would never be able to cause destruction on that scale - besides, the person confirmed dead at the ceremony site was indeed a wanted criminal who had fled to the royal capital.
That man once sacrificed a small village, and is now a third-level demonologist who can even summon higher-level demons.
...Could it be that after he summoned the devil, the contract failed and he was attacked by the devil?
It's not impossible.
In that case, with the summoner's death, the demon would be sent back. Aiwass was simply severely damaged by the ritual and then rescued by the old butler. Logically speaking, this possibility is much more likely.
...But why did Aiwass tell such an outrageous lie to himself?
Soon, Haina reacted -
She offered a perfectly reasonable explanation: her change of heart was too easy. She declared Aiwass innocent without even questioning him. Aiwass, a true innocent, was angered by this hasty attitude and resorted to deliberate, bizarre remarks, mocking his own preconceived notions and gullibility.
I see.
That's why the director wasn't particularly concerned about this matter... He knew Aiwass couldn't be the culprit, and likely didn't know any important intelligence, so investigating would be a waste of effort. So he'd just sent me on this random mission, and I actually thought this was some important mission, insisting on finding some flaw in it...
I was too impulsive, too young, and too eager to achieve something, so I lost my composure.
She also remembered that another case had occurred yesterday. In order to perform large-scale rituals such as summoning demons, demonologists usually needed to work in pairs. And in most cases, the pairs of demonologists were in a master-disciple relationship.
If the demonologist, acting as mentor, was attacked by the summoned demon, then it makes sense that the apprentice would escape and act alone. If Aiwass was his assistant, his apprentice, then who committed the crime yesterday? If Aiwass controlled the demon to kill one person, would he let another go?
"…Hey, what nonsense am I talking about? How could a high-level demon be so easily controlled by a beginner like this?" she scoffed at herself.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away."
Thinking of this, Haina apologized bluntly: "I am also very sorry for the previous overdue appointment. If you still plan to come back to school, I can ask my juniors to make things easier for you.
"This isn't compensation, just an apology. If there's anything else I can do, please let me know."
"Anything is fine?" Aiwass seemed a little moved.
"...I have to state in advance that I have no money."
Haina showed a somewhat sad expression on her face, and added helplessly: "In addition to monetary compensation - if necessary, I can do some voluntary labor."
"It's okay, as long as the misunderstanding is resolved."
Aiwass smiled gently. "I'm actually a little worried too. After all, if someone mentions this to you after you go back, and you become suspicious again, and then come back to investigate, it would be very troublesome for both of us. Not to mention, if you're late again..."
"Now, Senior Sister, why don't you guess why I know about demons? Even though I didn't come into contact with anything and was unconscious the whole time, why could I guess that this matter was related to the demonologist the moment we met?"
"...I think this is the legendary deduction method! Just like the famous Mr. Sherlock!"
Haina's eyes lit up. "I remember Mr. Sherlock, he was also the professor's favorite student. He seemed to be good at using this kind of divination-like method to see through the details of others! I collected clippings of the cases he solved. I cut out the parts of the newspapers that mentioned Mr. Sherlock and pasted them into a book. Now the book is already one-third full..."
She felt like she had met someone with the same interests as her and immediately became excited.
Haena had already felt a bit guilty, and now she couldn't wait to show her friendliness to prove that she really wasn't targeting him. She almost forced herself to be friendly, and now she finally had a breakthrough - they both liked Mr. Sherlock!
Seeing Haena excited and talking non-stop, Aiwass, sitting in a wheelchair, narrowed his eyes slightly and showed a harmless smile.
If Haena hadn't been so careless and looked more closely, she would have noticed the old elf standing quietly beside her, his shadow motionless. But the shadow cast by Aiwass's wheelchair was trembling slightly, like a beast breathing steadily in sleep.
This was all "deduced" by you, I didn't tell many lies.
When it comes to reasoning, if you first determine the conclusion and then look for evidence, you're bound to be misled. It seems you're not up to the task.
——Yes, Aiwass was indeed a sacrifice.
But at the same time, "Aivaz" is indeed a participant in the devil's ritual.
What he said before was not a lie.
If he had not suddenly recalled his past life memories, he might really have been the "alien demon" summoned during the ritual using Aiwas' soul as a sacrifice.
Because along with those memories of his past life appeared the extremely familiar light curtain before his eyes:
Aiwass, human male, overall level 4
Basic occupations——
Priest LV1: [Basic Prayer - Level 1 (93%)]
Demonologist LV3: [Demonology - Level 1 (13%)], [Basic Ritual - Level 1 (5%)], [Demon Contract - Level 1 (99%)]
The path has been lit: Devotion - Level 0; Transcendence - Level 1
Mana Pool: 1/1 (Light), 3/3 (Dark)
Free experience: 24
Road characteristics——
Transcendence - Shadow Affinity LV1: You sign a life contract with the Shadow Fiend, and can use the first level of shadow power at will.
(End of this chapter)
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