Chapter 292 Large Ritual Formation
When Haina brought little Sherlock home, she was blocked by her mother at the door of the blacksmith shop before she even entered the inner room.
She fanned her nose, her brows furrowed, her expression changing. "You took guests to the swamp?"
...Huh?
Haina was stunned for a moment, then realized that she was contaminated with the stench of the swamp.
Sherlock on the side sighed appropriately.
—Hey, why are you sighing? Haven’t you noticed it yourself?
Haina felt somewhat dissatisfied.
But she is no longer the naive girl she was when she just graduated - in the few months of communicating with those troublesome people who go around in circles in logic, Haina has already mastered the professional skill of making up lies based on what others say.
Of course, it could also be due to the subtle influence of Aiwass.
Now that they have had more contact, Haina finally realized that Aiwass really likes to lie!
When I first met Aiwass, I didn't know how much of what he said was true...
But it doesn’t matter.
Anyway, he is now Minister Aiwas. Even if it is fake, it can still be true.
Haina's mind raced, and then she said calmly, "Just reminiscing about my childhood. I really loved going there when I was little."
"Don't you know it's dangerous there? It's a restricted area in the village!"
Haina's mother frowned. "What if you fall in? It's a poisonous swamp!"
"Oh, you can't fall in. I know that swamp very well..."
Haina laughed it off, pretending to be unconcerned. "When I was a kid, I went there every few days and never saw any danger. If I didn't encounter any danger as a kid, Xia...Arthur will definitely be fine too. Children are light, and I'm watching over them."
She had almost forgotten that Sherlock was now called Arthur Conan Doyle.
But as expected, her deliberately casual attitude attracted her mother's attention.
Haina's mother immediately ignored what they were doing in the swamp and thought she was just looking for excitement.
Her eyes suddenly widened, and her voice rose to a higher level: "Even if you might not fall, what if you get attacked by the undead in the swamp and miss a step? It's okay for you to go to a dangerous place alone, but you bring such a young guest with you? You should know better now, Haina!"
I don't know how long her endless scolding lasted.
Anyway, Haina just smiled foolishly the whole time, with an attitude of not caring about anything and not being afraid of boiling water.
The lecture finally ended when Sherlock yawned for the second time.
"Hey, really..."
She ended with these words, then touched Sherlock's hair with some heartache: "It must be tiring to be led around by her. I'm not scolding you... You should find a place to sit down first.
"Let me get you some fruit—grapes, please?"
Then she opened the door that she had blocked.
After Haina's mother completely left, Sherlock said leisurely: "It seems that someone's grace period for returning home has ended."
"You should praise me for my quick reaction."
Haina half complained, half complacently: "You yourself haven't realized that the swamp has a smell."
"Yes, yes, I didn't react."
Sherlock said casually, "Think what you will, but I've got the information I need."
"……intelligence?"
"Well, that's your mother's reaction when she saw us going to the swamp. This can help us determine whether she knows the situation in the swamp, and then we can infer the local people's attitude towards the swamp - whether they know what this forbidden place means."
Sherlock narrowed his eyes. "Now it seems that one thing can be confirmed. That is, the locals and 'outsiders' have different understandings of this matter.
"If they really regarded the swamp as a forbidden area, then your mother would not have been able to save Mr. Magnethammer. She would have had no chance to visit the swamp. When she learned that we were going to the swamp, her attitude became very nervous and her tone became cold.
"But when you said we were just going for a stroll, she relaxed. She even mentioned the existence of the undead in the swamp before we even mentioned them... If we hadn't encountered any undead, we might have been curious enough to go back and check on the situation after hearing what she said.
"This is a simple psychological phenomenon: when a prisoner is being interrogated, they will choose to reveal minor mistakes in order to hide larger ones. Their attitude during this process is quite aggressive, with the goal of attracting attention. This attitude often means the other party has more to hide.
"You are like this, and so is your mother."
Sherlock glanced up at Haina coldly. "I know that the Overseers of Avalon are accustomed to using violent means such as confinement, torture, intimidation, and using legal spells to force others to tell the truth, or even directly searching their memories to obtain the truth. But if you want to go further, you must try to master some additional skills - such as psychology.
"Avalon's Overseers are different from the police of Star Antimony and Iris. You receive extensive training in combat subjects like swordsmanship, horsemanship, and individual tactics, as well as multiple languages to further your extraordinary abilities. However, you lack training in various criminal investigation techniques. I will propose this to Minister Aiwass later. The Royal Law University will need to add more courses."
"Add it."
Haina said without hesitation: "I've graduated anyway, so let's give them a few more courses."
"What are you thinking about?" Little Sherlock sneered, "You have to learn even after you graduate."
“Eh—”
Haina wailed, then suddenly thought of something and tried to change the subject to avoid reality: "By the way, what did you find out?"
"This evasive mentality often means the offender is guilty. Unable to withstand the increasing psychological pressure, they will actively try to speak up, resulting in a tendency to talk too much and actively lead the conversation."
Sherlock retorted coldly, then explained, "This proves two things. First, your mother knows many secrets, secrets deeper than the undead in the swamp, and there's a high probability that they are related to the appearance of your father.
"Secondly, she hasn't received any systematic training and lacks sufficient vigilance and discernment. This shows she's not a professional, but a genuine villager... These two things are sufficient.
"This shows that the anomaly in Eagle Point Village isn't natural. This 'tradition' is man-made, and this person's actions benefit them, or this person has done them a favor. Based on previous clues, I highly suspect this person is Aiwass's grandfather, Jacob."
Sherlock analyzed.
Soon, Haina's mother came back.
They took the fruit and went to chat with Magnet.
Magnetic Hammer obviously had a good impression of Aiwass. When he heard that Aiwass was going for a walk, he felt a little regretful that he was not called.
"You should let me take him out to play!"
Magnet slapped his thigh and cursed Haena's brother Jack: "Why didn't you wake me up, you little bastard!"
"ah?"
Jack on the side looked confused.
Sherlock said in his childish voice just right, "Brother Aiwass isn't going out to play... He's going to investigate his grandfather's affairs."
"I know about Jacob too!"
Magnet Hammer shook his head. "Why didn't he ask me yesterday? I can only say he was having too much fun drinking... Well, when he comes back tonight, we can talk over a drink. You guys should stay here for a few more days, right?"
Sherlock and Haina looked at each other. Haina was silent for a few seconds before finally reacting.
She quickly replied, "Ah, yes... They'll have to stay for a few days. But it's hard to say how long... Dad, why don't you just talk to us directly? I don't know the story of Grandpa Jacob yet."
"Don't you know? Oh, you don't know. You're too young..."
The Magnetic Hammer said disapprovingly: "Your Grandpa Jacob is amazing. I came here late, but I know one thing...your Grandpa Jacob came here when he was in his twenties.
"At that time, he helped rebuild all the houses in the village. They were very sturdy. He also built the roads—even our house was built with his help."
"...He is also an architect?" Sherlock was stunned.
"No, he's a ritualist."
The dwarf Magnet Hammer said seriously, "But the ritual he mastered is very powerful - to be honest, this is the first time I have seen a ritual that can build a house. I wanted to learn from him so that I could build a house for the village when I return to my hometown. But he refused several times, so I gave up. After all, even if he taught me, I probably wouldn't be able to learn it.
"It's nice to be here, carefree... I don't want to go back. Besides, what will happen to you two siblings if I go back?"
Magnet took a grape and put it in his mouth, saying casually, "He's a very serious person. I don't know if you've seen it from above—the houses in Eagle Head Village are very well arranged and very neat. It's a very standard circle, filled with a lot of geometric patterns.
“—It’s like a ritual formation.”
(End of this chapter)
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