Chapter 175

"Do I have the right to interrogate the suspect alone?" Before the second search shooting began, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked the directors sitting behind the camera.

"Now that you know the result, do you want to chat with someone alone?" Watson, who was squatting on the monitor watching the previous participants discuss the case, looked up and asked Fujimaru Ritsuka, "Do you already know the result?"

"I have a feeling I already have the answer." Fujimaru Ritsuka answered Watson quite straightforwardly, "All we need is evidence to determine the course of action."

"Then at least search for a while before you start talking, and give the scriptwriter some face."

"All right."

"Come on, let's search you first." Standing at the entrance of the set, Fujimaru Ritsuka clapped his hands at the other six performers, "Line up and wait for me to search you one by one - let's start with Teacher Izumi."

"This is like kicking the master out and taking his place." The others laughed together.

"Do you still remember that I am your master?" Tsukioka Tsumugi stretched out her hands speechlessly, allowing Fujimaru Ritsuka to search her body.

"...Why did you hide such a thick stack of papers in your clothes?" Fujimaru Ritsuka took out a stack of papers from Tsukioka Tsumugi's corset. The moment he saw the title, his vision changed dramatically. "Wait... This is - "Alchemy: Give Life to Hominids"!!! Isn't this the legendary forbidden alchemy? And it's a manuscript version -"

"This is a photocopy." William looked from behind. "It's not the original manuscript, but doesn't it make it even more suspicious to have a photocopy? There must be an area we haven't searched yet that has strong clues related to him."

"In fact, we all know the people involved in the alchemist case. So, if we rule it out, the only one whose ending is unknown is Colt, the apprentice of alchemist Luke." Fujimaru Ritsuka started to talk nonsense according to the assumption, "Then Izumi is the missing Colt, and his motive is to avenge Luke and S."

"Okay, that makes sense!"

The two Holmes started to boo loudly.

"No, no, we still need evidence to solve the case - there is no evidence to prove this hypothesis now." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and continued to search the body, "Come on, let's speed up the process. After the search, let's go and see the two locked evidences on Sherlock's side - and I think we need to search the dormitory again."

After the body search, Fujimaru Ritsuka led everyone straight to the magician's office and began to search through the drawers.

"I found the key." William took the box from Maki Nishikino and unlocked it. "Have you figured out the password for the notebook lock?"

"I was wondering." Fujimaru Ritsuka was staring at the combination lock on the edge of the notebook, "It seems like there's something stuck in the notebook - is there a password hint here? It's a four-digit number, and it looks like it should be a date."

"How about William's birthday?" suggested Holmes.

"...No way, they used my birthday directly!" The moment he opened the notebook, Fujimaru Ritsuka protested loudly, "Although I guessed that the password should be related to the astrologer, but - how could it be my birthday? I thought the clue would be in the box that William opened."

"It can be considered a hint, but... not very important." William dumped everything in the box onto the desk, shrugged his shoulders and looked at Sherlock with a smile, "Look, this man wrote a box of love letters - and locked it. They are all written to the astrologer William. This should prove that he knows that the current astrologer is not William, which is related to the disguise potion."

"Then I have a little more information to add." William cleared his throat. "Although I am not William, Sherlock and I knew each other before I taught at this academy - but neither of us knew why the other came here. Based on the clues that Holmes found, you can know that I came here because of my two younger brothers."

"Then this notebook explains why Sherlock came to teach at SDA." Fujimaru Ritsuka sat down on the chair and placed the notebook on the table for everyone to see the information inside. "Sherlock is investigating the death of the alchemist. There is a threatening letter here. The content threatens him to kill the astrologer if he does not stop the investigation."

"Turn to the back and you will see the second case investigation record. Sherlock is investigating the death of astrologer William, and traces the cause all the way to Principal Olf. Finally, the most recent investigation record - Sherlock is investigating Marquez, and the preliminary conclusion of the investigation is that Marquez is not human."

"Go search the dormitory. If you want to hammer this, there must be other evidence to support it." Holmes glanced at Mikaze Lan standing in the corner and touched his chin. "If this is hammered, then there will be a big problem with his discussion with Izumi about the android."

"...The mirror in his dormitory was knocked off." Fujimaru Ritsuka mentioned the clues Sherlock had taken. "If it wasn't a human, or some other humanoid being, then knocking off the mirror might make sense."

"Let's go to the dormitory."

"Didn't you find this notebook before? It's so obvious that a page has been torn." Holmes took Marquez's notebook from the table and opened it. He sat on the bed and asked Sherlock, who came in last. "The front part recorded the rumors circulating among students half a year ago, and then a page was torn off at the back... Take a look at what was written on it."

Over there, the two Sherlock Holmes were studying their notebooks —— over here, Fujimaru Ritsuka was knocking around in the dormitory, looking for possible unopened spaces.

"Did you hear that noise just now?"

When Fujimaru Ritsuka hit a certain floor, a strange sound was heard by everyone.

"A new space has opened up." William, who was leaning against the door and watching everyone searching for evidence, replied.

"Sherlock, have you guys found anything with your notebook?" Fujimaru Ritsuka squatted beside the bed and turned his head to look at Holmes and Sherlock sitting on the bed. "Are there any clues worth noting?"

"It's related to the information we've already received. Marquez is indeed researching the content related to alchemical life." Sherlock frowned as he read the handwriting Holmes copied from the notebook. "But compared to the previous letter, the direction in the notebook is more specific - it's research data on android technology and whether androids can be considered human beings."

"Then let's go to the newly opened area... According to the settings, it should be the basement of this dormitory." Fujimaru Ritsuka led everyone out of the dormitory, "Let's see what clues the new area can provide us."

The newly opened area looked like a laboratory, but it seemed to have been abandoned a long time ago. There were traces of flames on the instruments and walls - and on the deformed laboratory table, there were still some unburned paper fragments, which seemed to record the alchemy of artificial humans.

"…It seems to be the original copy of the manuscript that Izumi brought with him." Fujimaru Ritsuka paused and began to call the roll. "I'll take Izumi there one-on-one, and you guys continue searching. I suspect this is the remains of Luke's laboratory, and there might be some clues in the diary. Whether we can catch the real culprit depends on you!"

Ritsuka Fujimaru and Tsukioka Tsukioka went to the other side to start a one-on-one conversation, while those who were searching for evidence here also split up - William stayed where he was to help Ritsuka Fujimaru find clues about alchemist Luke; Sherlock went to check the principal's office; Holmes moved his base to the garden; Mikaze Ai and Nishikino Maki continued to search the library.

After each one-on-one session, Fujimaru Ritsuka could always get a lot of new information from the next member - and the last member she called for a one-on-one session was Sherlock Holmes.

"Any new information?" Fujimaru Ritsuka propped up his head and looked at Holmes. "Sherlock found a mission record to kill Colt in the principal's office. Olf did not complete it, but he did not destroy the record. William found Luke's diary, proving that when Luke and S died, the alchemy apprentice Colt, the first principal Ward, and the current principal Olf were all alive."

"Ward's death time is written under the portrait of the principal." Holmes sat down on a chair and began to sort out the information. "I also found some new clues in the garden. Marquez, who was hammered to death, was not human, and it also increased the suspicion of Quan. There is a kind of flower in the witch's garden that can leave images and information, but the order of playback has nothing to do with the time of recording."

"In the video recorded by the flower, Marquez asked Alyssa what it takes for an android to become a human; while Izumi asked what it takes for a human to become an android."

"Can you help me with the logic, Mr. Holmes?" Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath. "The current evidence cannot determine the number of murderers, but my intuition is that it is Izumi and Marquez. In fact, it is probably confirmed that Izumi is Colt. The initials of the name written on Sherlock's half-written letter are the same as Colt's initials. Moreover, not many people know that the principal would invite an alchemist to the school. Since Sherlock is writing a letter to persuade the alchemist not to come, he should be sure that the person the principal invited is Colt."

"It's just that he didn't realize that Colt's current name is Quan."

"...I suggest you take another look at the letter that Quan wrote to Marquez." Holmes smiled and gave a hint, "Although it may be a little difficult for others to understand, you should be able to figure it out."

With such confusion, Fujimaru Ritsuka entered the second intensive discussion session.

When everyone was about to pin the suspicion on Marquez because of the clues in the garden, Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned and said, "I think there should be two murderers - and Marquez's request cannot be achieved by killing the deceased, at least according to Luke's diary. Although there is a possibility that Marquez believed the witch Alyssa, since Marquez and Izumi have a connection, he probably won't believe the witch Alyssa directly."

"Considering the death of the deceased, Izumi, who asked 'How can a human be turned into an artificial human', is more likely to be the suspect. And we have already confirmed that Izumi is Colt." Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed helplessly, "We may have missed some more direct key clues, but considering the overall information, it should be Izumi and Marquez who killed the deceased together."

"A combination of an alchemist and an android. This should be the correct answer. It also echoes the bloody words on the portrait. Because the first people to die were an alchemist and an android, which is consistent with the fact that the deceased's body contains the characteristics of both a human and an android."

"That's my judgment."