Chapter 40: The Detective with a Child's Body and an Adult's Mind
"That's not necessarily true... Mr. Detective."
Aiwass's mouth curled up slightly, and he responded in a low voice: "Is it really okay for you not to sell newspapers to us?"
This boy with brown curly hair, tiny freckles all over his face, a slender and short body, and who looks only seven or eight years old... must be Sherlock.
As soon as Aiwas got out of the car, he easily recognized Sherlock's identity.
Because Sherlock didn't hide anything at all.
He didn't even play his role well.
As a newspaper boy, he did not rush to sell his newspapers. Instead, he calmly and silently hid in the shade, looking at everyone passing by with his sharp and gloomy eyes.
His gaze was like a cold, sharp blade, making passersby feel distinctly uncomfortable. Several people looked towards him in surprise and caution, only to feel slightly relieved when they saw that it was a gloomy child.
"Fox, you're very smart... but you're probably a newbie, right?"
The boy scoffed coldly. "I'll teach you a lesson. In most cases, it's okay to choose not to play your own identity."
“Although ‘playing an identity’ is a necessary task, the standard of failure is not your failure in playing the role, but being questioned and exposed.
"I'm just a newspaper boy. Even if it's strange to sit here motionless, who would jump out and question me, 'You don't look like a proper newspaper boy'? No one would pay attention to me... because I'm insignificant."
"I see……"
Aiwass pondered for a moment, a warm, bright smile on his face. "Does that mean that as long as I kill everyone who might question me—as long as I silence them—I won't have to worry about being exposed?"
"Well, that's right. But with your ability, you probably can't do it."
Detective Sherlock, who arrived in the guise of a little boy, was not moved at all by the cruelty and danger in Aiwass's words. He just analyzed calmly: "That's probably what the old man did.
"He was the first to arrive, which means he's also from Avalon. Since we can't exchange intelligence, and the mission requires us to go to the Gallows Square, the mission's hint of 'prepare for battle' should have hinted that our current unified goal is 'obtaining weapons.' And from the most effective way to obtain weapons, 'black market trade,' I thought of the Pelican Bar that just appeared in the newspaper."
"A further step might be to put yourself in their shoes and realize that others also need weapons, so you'll think of the 'black market'—and then you can conclude that others might also come to the Pelican Bar. So we can gather here. Teammates are obviously more valuable than 'weapons'. Regardless of whether they're on the first or second floor, they'll get to the Pelican Bar as soon as possible. And this is the only way."
"But the Bone Sculpture didn't come here."
"Yes. This means he doesn't intend to cooperate with us... or he thinks that those who would gather here have most likely abandoned the Twilight Path. Even if they come, they won't be able to find teammates."
"...So, Mr. Detective had already known that we would come here?"
Lulu couldn't help but whisper, "If Mr. Bone Sculptor doesn't come... are you planning on the three of us, plus Mr. Knight, forming a team?"
"Actually, my plan was for the three of us, including the Knight, to meet up here. You weren't included."
Sherlock said coldly: "It was unexpected that you appeared with the fox.
"Although I don't have any extraordinary people who oppose the path of beauty, but if you appeared alone without the 'fox' by your side, you definitely wouldn't think of gathering at the door of the Pelican Bar."
“…Wow.”
Lulu let out a small wail.
The beautiful woman with a plump figure showed a helpless look like a young girl.
Because she knew that what Mr. Sherlock said was right.
"It's more than that," Aiwass suddenly said, "It's not just because he knows he won't meet his teammates here."
Little Sherlock looked over in surprise.
The boy spoke in a childish voice, but his tone was mature and cold. He encouraged with an interested look, "Tell me a little bit?"
"You've been quite concerned about the 'bone-carved' cane before. The Apostle stated the rules that only transcendental items 'handcrafted' by the person can be brought into the ceremony—in other words, his cane is no ordinary cane, but a creation of the Twilight Path. However, this is his first advancement ceremony, which means he has only just embarked on the Twilight Path. I believe his cane may be a transcendental item made of human bones."
"To be precise, it's made from a completely stripped spine."
Young Sherlock raised an eyebrow and added precisely, "Female, between eighteen and twenty-six or twenty-seven. She hasn't done any heavy physical labor, and her exercise isn't obvious. But she must have often worked or studied at a desk. She has a slight hunchback."
"He could be a student, or perhaps a painter or writer. His background isn't too bad, but he's probably a native of Glass Island. He's most likely a recent graduate who's been bewitched. He's only just embarked on the Twilight Path, yet he's already creating extraordinary items... This suggests he practiced bone carving or engraving techniques regularly before entering the Twilight Path, and has considerable experience in creating extraordinary items.
"That means his other identity is most likely one of the Path of Balance, Path of Beauty, or Path of Transcendence, who specializes in crafting extraordinary items."
At this point, he glanced at Lulu and said, "I'm more inclined to the path of beauty. He might be a sculptor, or a collector."
"Do you understand now, Fox? Allies of the Path of Beauty are unreliable. When they are weak, they often appear normal, but their perceptions are overly sharp and their nerves are overly sensitive. This makes them easily lose control and go mad, becoming an unstable factor in the advancement ritual.
"Furthermore, a seasoned practitioner of the Path of Beauty can easily become indifferent to life. They value art over law and morality. Without this, it would be difficult to observe the world with pure 'beauty', and it would be difficult to go deeper."
"Not entirely..."
Lulu subconsciously argued, "I also know a very kind art master..."
"I know," the newsboy nodded calmly, "I know him too. And you're an exception. Because in my opinion, you're not a typical 'believer in beauty'. You value morality... That's good."
"...You just said this is dangerous."
“There’s no conflict.”
The boy was too lazy to explain further and fell into his own thoughts again, muttering softly, "When I get back, I have to go to the Supervisory Bureau to check the files on the recent missing persons. Maybe it can give me some inspiration..."
"You're already an old man, why did you suddenly embark on the path of twilight? Was it because you were seriously ill? Or a terminal disease? Did you sense that you didn't have much time left and suddenly felt a strong attachment to life? Did you want to live on... Did you have no students to inherit your legacy, or were your descendants too unmotivated and wanted to seize your inheritance?"
"...If it's the elderly artist from Glass Island," the ignored Lulu summoned up her courage and suddenly whispered, "it could be old Lars. He was diagnosed with a bone tumor this summer."
"Old Lars?"
Sherlock was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to think: "Mr. Lars Graham? He didn't give it to the Queen..."
Having said this, he suddenly stopped talking.
His eyes turned deep as he looked at Lulu, and he said no more.
Aiwass also looked at her.
...Good guy.
Can this fully automatic carton opening machine be used to open other people's boxes?
Her Royal Highness the Princess actually has this function.
"...Mr. Knight hasn't arrived yet. Perhaps he hasn't thought of this. After all, he seems to be a very careless person."
Sherlock changed the subject, his attitude changing significantly: "But it doesn't matter if it's just us. Remember to always follow me..."
Compared to prioritizing helping the knight and the fox, Sherlock's strategy suddenly changed to prioritizing helping the fox and Lulu who were already present.
Obviously, Sherlock must have guessed that Lulu was Princess Isabel... It wasn't difficult for him.
Fortunately, Shylock is a loyal Queen.
Aiwass knew that his father had been a minister, framed for something and embroiled in trouble. Queen Sophia had pardoned his father's crime, showing her favor to him.
Since then, Sherlock has been secretly serving the royal family. The Queen would specifically invite Sherlock to investigate certain cases, partly because of his reliability and partly to maintain confidentiality.
So compared to normal people, Sherlock knows more about the secrets of the royal family.
At this point in time, this matter is still a secret. Even Isabel herself probably doesn't know about it.
I see……
Aiwass reacted.
Before he changed history and appeared in this advancement ceremony that he shouldn't have participated in, Princess Isabel's advancement ceremony was indeed won by Sherlock.
——Just then.
The three of them suddenly fell silent at the same time.
Because right in their hearts, a clear bell suddenly rang.
No one around them heard it, only the three of them. A few seconds later, another bell rang.
“…This is Deathstroke.”
The boy's expression suddenly grew serious. "I have some bad news... or rather, good news. Two people have been eliminated. Your chances of passing the ceremony have increased."
"Two?"
At this point, Lulu subconsciously looked at Aiwass beside her: "Are they together too?"
The first thing she wanted to say was, are they also husband and wife?
But these words were too embarrassing, so she swallowed them back before she could say them.
Aiwass then asked the newsboy: "What does the death knell mean? To be exposed, or to die?"
"Death. If the identity is revealed, the remaining people will hear 'roaring laughter'."
Little Sherlock's speech speed more than doubled. "It's only been the first hour, and we still have three hours to survive. The killer has already started, and even two of us together can't stop them. And in the 'safe' difficulty ritual, we will only encounter one enemy, and it won't be too strong. We can definitely defeat it easily if we work together."
"Considering that the Bone Sculptor might act alone, the remaining few, except for the little girl from the Path of Love and the drug dealer from the Path of Balance, will all have strong combat capabilities.
"Unless they both happened to encounter the murderer together..."
"—That means that the monster was able to kill two people in a short period of time."
Aiwass continued, "It was so fast that the other person couldn't escape."
"It must have been a sneak attack."
Sherlock concluded, "They didn't come to Legal Square, which means the enemy wasn't waiting here. It's possible this is a safe zone, and they'll only encounter the enemy at the last moment."
"uncertain."
The young priest lowered his eyes slightly and added another possibility: "It's also possible that foreigners encountered the Stranglers. After all, they don't understand Avalon."
"Well, you're right."
The boy nodded and looked around warily. "Anyway, be careful of shadows and corners... I'll be following you in a moment, in case someone sneaks up on me and drags me away without you noticing."
"Where are we going?" Lulu asked in a low voice.
"The Pelican Bar—now give me a reason to take you to the Pelican Bar."
Hearing Sherlock's whispered instructions, a warm and sunny smile immediately appeared on the young priest's face.
"You are very polite, young sir. May the candle light you."
Aiwass lowered his voice slightly so that the people around him could hear clearly, "Thank you for the compliment on my wife. It's so hot out, why don't I buy you a drink? What would you like to drink?"
"…Don't give me any alcohol, fox."
Little Sherlock lowered his voice and reminded, "I can only drink milk now... Alcohol will disrupt my intelligence and weaken my spells."
"How about milk? After all, you're still too young to drink."
Aiwass readily accepted the advice.
“…I know a bar.”
Little Sherlock's voice also returned to normal, and he said in a childish voice: "We call it the Pelican Bar!"
Hearing Sherlock's somewhat clumsy and pretentious voice, Aiwass's expression suddenly became a little subtle.
You don't have to act if you can't, Mr. Sherlock.
Your artificial voice reminds me of another famous detective with a child's body but an adult's mind...
But at this moment, they heard another long death knell.
Aiwass's expression became solemn.
——The third person died.
It was only two minutes since the previous two sounds.
"Wait a minute," Little Sherlock's expression suddenly changed, and he no longer cared about his role. "Something's wrong! He died too quickly!"
Two people were easy to deal with, as they were probably ambushed together. The second person was caught and killed while trying to escape.
——But when there is clearly only one enemy, it is unreasonable that three people died one after another!
This is not a ritual of competitive killing. The nine people have descended to different places with different identities.
The difficulty of this ritual is clearly wrong!
——Is it because of Sherlock or the Bone Sculpture that the enemy’s strength is increased?
Soon, Aiwass realized something else:
He had previously thought that the two dead were foreigners, but that wasn't necessarily the case with three.
The Cavaliers never showed up, maybe not because he didn't expect the Pelicans bar.
Instead, he went somewhere else and might have died on the way!
Where did they go?
"We can't go to the Pelican Bar anymore. It's not necessarily safe there, and if we get blocked, we won't be able to escape. The knight didn't come or is already dead. We can only rely on the detective spell, but the first-level spell isn't strong enough."
Aiwass immediately changed his plan and skillfully took over Sherlock's command:
"—We have to make a detour and hide first to see if anyone else continues to die. I know a secret passage here. Follow me."
The early stage dungeons are very simple and won't take too long. They will be finished in about two or three days.
(End of this chapter)
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