Chapter 60 Flame Essence
After crossing the Griffin Bridge, Sherlock, who was walking beside them, glanced at Lily, the maid pushing the wheelchair behind Aiwass, and then whispered:
"Honestly, I didn't expect Master Janice to give you that painting."
“I actually didn’t expect that.”
Aiwass answered honestly.
"Although Master Agnese appears friendly, she's actually quite arrogant. If you don't get her approval, she'll just stare at you with a half-smile, like you're a fool, and remain silent."
Sherlock whispered, "Master, you are very important to me... Do you hope that I will pursue the path of beauty?"
"Yes."
Aiwass nodded and joked, "She wants me to be Her Royal Highness the Princess's apprentice."
"I guess you refused." Sherlock said without hesitation.
"Indeed. How did you guess that?" asked Aiwass.
"Because I don't see any passion for art in you."
Sherlock smiled. "Actually, I quite like playing the violin. I think I'm pretty good at it...it's just that I haven't had the opportunity to pursue a path of beauty."
Aiwass blinked. "It's not too late now, Mr. Sherlock."
"No, it's too late. Or rather, I shouldn't have embarked on the path of authoritarianism in the first place. Balance, wisdom, and beauty... each one suits me better."
Sherlock looked at Aiwass and said sincerely, "I don't want you to embark on a certain path for a long time before realizing that you have no passion for it. The adaptability of a path is based on talent, not hobbies... But I believe that hobbies are more important than talent. Talent determines the heights you can reach, while interest determines your adaptability on this path.
"If you have no interest in a certain path, but the pull from the higher reaches of the path drives you madly to pursue it further... Believe me, the torment of self-pulling will drive you insane."
"...Thank you very much for sharing your experience, Mr. Sherlock."
Aiwass knew that everything Sherlock said was valuable and insightful. It was his advice, spoken from the bottom of his heart, and it was full of sincerity.
He had not met Sherlock very often, and he was not the emotionally driven type like Isabel - the source of this kindness undoubtedly came from his elder brother Edward.
Then Aiwass became slightly interested.
Because he didn't really know Edward that well. The age gap between him and Yulia was too great; he was more like an uncle than an older brother. They didn't interact much... In Aiwas's memory, there weren't many scenes involving Edward; he couldn't even remember his name.
However, Edward was the direct cause of Aiwas's death in the plot - he attacked the player with a deadly spell on the orders of his adoptive father, and Aiwass blocked the fatal blow for the player.
Even though his primary target was not Edwards, Edwards still shuddered when he thought of him.
"I have a question, Mr. Sherlock..."
Aiwass couldn't help but ask, "How do you know my brother?"
"We are classmates."
Sherlock replied succinctly, "He's the only good friend I've made in my college career."
"...But if I remember correctly," Aiwass asked, "Mr. Sherlock is only in his twenties this year, right?"
"I'm twenty-six years old," Sherlock replied.
"But my eldest brother is already 35 years old this year... How did you become classmates?" Aiwass asked.
Hearing this, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh.
He explained: "You young people who have graduated from high school are not the only ones who can go to university.
"When Edward was your age, he didn't graduate from the Royal Law University. He graduated from Milton University in Greyshire."
Although the Royal Law University is the largest and oldest university for extraordinary people in Avalon, it is not the only university.
Over three hundred years ago, several professors at the Royal University of Law were accused by their students of "teaching heretical doctrines disapproved of by His Majesty the King" and were brutally sentenced to boiling. Specifically, they were accused of teaching the mystical knowledge of the Path of Wisdom and the Path of Balance.
After strong protests, the king of that generation reluctantly changed the result to stripping and parading the students through the streets. The professors were unwilling to accept such humiliation and fled the Royal Law University.
Bishop Milton from the Eternal Kingdom happened to open a seminary in Grey County, far away from Glass Island.
After hearing about the professors' plight, the young elf felt sympathy and took them in. Later, many sought to escape the Glass Island, plagued by inspectors and the "Eye of Avalon," and Milton University gradually gained a considerable faculty. While its enrollment and campus size were far smaller than those of the Royal Law University, its teaching quality was not low.
Before Queen Sophia opened the fifth and sixth faculties of the Royal Law Academy, Milton University was the only college in all of Avalon dedicated to teaching "heresies" and "forbidden arts." Because of Bishop Milton's close relationship with the Eternal Church, the Temple of Silver and Tin chose to turn a blind eye.
Today, Dean Milton is still alive - even after Avalon was destroyed by the Star Antimony people, Milton University still exists as a refuge in times of war.
"After graduating from Milton University, Edward studied at two other universities. He ultimately skipped the Inspectorate and joined the Inspectorate, obtaining his own personal griffin.
"And seven years ago, he studied law and legal arts at the Faculty of Law at the Royal Law University... He was already twenty-seven years old at that time, and I was only eighteen."
Sherlock said with a touch of nostalgia, "When I first entered university, I was quite withdrawn. I thought everyone else was a bunch of noisy idiots, childish, foolish, and impulsive. Even though I was already a university student, at a place like the Royal Law University, I looked no different from an elementary school student. Only a handful of smart people from the countryside could communicate with me normally... but their knowledge was far from enough, and we had nothing in common to talk about.
"So I didn't want to socialize with people my own age. The people I interacted with most were the various professors at school, hoping to borrow their personal collections. And my lifestyle of constantly talking to various mentors only further kept those idiots away from me.
"Once, I went to Professor Moriarty to ask him about an astronomy question, but was bitten by Edward's griffin at the door of his office.
"His griffin's bloodline is impure. Its feathers are darker than those of ordinary red griffins, and it's slightly larger. Perhaps because of this, its temper is also more explosive... Edward wasn't a light cavalryman, so he couldn't communicate with his griffin companions. He had also come to see Professor Moriarty, and the griffin had stopped at the door.
"But when the gatekeeper griffin saw me trying to push the door, it bit me. Just one bite left me bloody, and two bites nearly severed my thigh... Edward quickly sent me to the Candlelight Cathedral and asked the bishop to personally perform the Illumination Spell on me, so I didn't suffer any disability or scars.
"Although the Bishop healed all my injuries, I was indeed frightened. A lingering pain in my leg persisted for two weeks before it gradually subsided. Edward came to visit me at home and spoke with me. I soon discovered that he was a very intelligent man... and possessed extraordinary wisdom. Although our personalities were different, we were undoubtedly the same kind of people—intelligent people without friends.
"—So we became friends. We studied law together. I was a beginner, and he was an advanced practitioner. But we still had common topics. Afterwards, he taught me boxing—he was so good at it that he could even integrate the power of authority into his fists. He was stronger than the best boxers I knew. If he had decided to enter the ring, he would still be a star in Avalon... A genius is like this, he will be equally good no matter what field he chooses."
In response to Edwards' question, Sherlock talked about his experience with Edward.
He was obviously happy to talk about this topic. Sherlock didn't change the subject until he dropped Aiwass off at his doorstep.
When he arrived at the gate of Moriarty Manor, Aiwass noticed a pitch-black griffin appear in the yard. It had scarlet pupils, like a darker ruby.
——He recognized it at a glance; this was the griffin Edward raised.
Didn't Edward leave for something and ask Sherlock to pick him up?
Why did he come back first?
Thinking of this, Aiwass casually asked, "What was my brother going to do before?"
"It's still the warehouse explosion," Sherlock replied, "and it might be related to those people in the Pelican Bar.
"All the signs are very similar to the explosion at the Little Jack Cod Warehouse a few days ago—also traces of fire essence, also an unmanned warehouse, and no casualties. However, this time the incident occurred in an abandoned stone warehouse... We haven't found the common ground yet. But Edward rushed over to take the case immediately, so we should be able to find out.
"Oh, right. Do you know what a fire spirit is?"
"It's similar to demon blood, a red powder that's slightly salty like salt. It's just the trace left by the fire-attributed phantom demon in the material world." Aiwass replied.
"Indeed, but that's the standard definition. Fire-attributed phantoms are quite rare, but creating Fire Essence using alchemy is not complicated, and the raw material is just ordinary sulfur. So when the Supervisory Bureau mentions Fire Essence, they generally mean [Imitated Fire Essence]. Imitation Fire Essence is lower in purity than natural Fire Essence, but its effects and uses are actually similar."
Sherlock explained: "It is a commonly used spellcasting material by wizards. It is also one of the ritual materials that demonologists must use when summoning any demon.
"Just like 'salt' is the essence of the sea, adding a certain amount to water can transform it into seawater, giving it a stronger sense of 'water'. Just adding a little bit of fire essence to fire can make it burn more vigorously, strengthening the sense of 'fire'.
"For low-level mages, it's difficult to use high-temperature flames without relying on Fire Essence. It's a necessity, but also a dangerous item with limited purchases.
"If enough fire essence is added, things that were previously incombustible will become combustible due to the enhanced concept of fire... For example, ice, steel, or stone. This time, the stones in the stone warehouse were ignited."
Hearing this, Aiwass's expression froze slightly.
……etc?
Something seems wrong.
Aiwass remembered...wasn't it Veronica, the evil sorcerer from the Pelican Bar, who first set the warehouse ablaze? Because he controlled the shadow demon, she went to summon the demon again the next day. If she failed to summon the demon, then the failed ritual could indeed cause the warehouse to explode.
But she had been killed by Aiwass himself.
Could it be that the society has sent people to summon the devil again?
That's not right... We've already failed once, so we can't let in a rookie who might cause the ceremony to fail again, right?
Sherlock comforted him: "Don't be afraid, this case is actually solved.
"Because alchemists from different schools and with different techniques synthesize Fire Essence, the purity and structure are slightly different, just like the composition of salt extracted from different seawater. The previous batch of Fire Essence has been sent for testing. Combined with this batch of Fire Essence... once the final results come in, we will know where their Fire Essence comes from."
With doubts in his heart, Aiwas said goodbye to Sherlock.
Butler Oswald came out of the manor, nodded to Lily, and took over Aiwass's wheelchair.
"You've returned just in time, Master Aiwass."
The old elf, who had remained silent the entire time, crouched slightly after entering the room and spoke softly, "Please come over and treat Miss Yulia. She's not in good condition."
...Strange, didn’t I receive treatment this morning?
Aiwass was a little confused, but didn't say anything.
He motioned for Lily to leave, then pushed Aiwass into Yulia's room.
Aiwass's eyes suddenly widened.
He saw Yulia bound by silver glowing shackles, while Edward stood beside her with a serious expression, his pupils shining with white light.
Yulia's head was covered in cold sweat and her consciousness was obviously a little fuzzy.
She didn't even notice Aiwass coming in. She just muttered to herself in a low voice as if she had a high fever, saying nonsense that no one else could understand.
There were noticeable scorch marks on her pajamas, and her fair skin was covered in glowing red cracks, like cracked porcelain or shattered glass in the summer heat. From time to time, faint tongues of fire would emerge from the cracks for a moment, then be suppressed.
Edward controlled the silver chains to bind Yulia, squeezing her body and forcibly "sticking" her broken body back together.
Only after Aiwas got closer did he notice that Yulia's sweat was not transparent... but looked like very light blood.
——When it dried up, it left behind red powder.
Here comes an update of over 7,000 words!
I'm already drawing the character designs for Haina, Janis, and Dad. I'll open the character sheets once the designs are ready. Don't rush me.
(End of this chapter)
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