Chapter 374

"In the end, we ended up back in the East." Kirshtalia, who had changed back into her magic outfit to get away from the crowd, stood on the edge of the cliff with her horse, looking at the town on the plain in the distance. "Then, according to the results of the investigation, the place with the highest correlation with the recent Sherlock Holmes stories and major events that may be caused by land disputes should be here."

“Pennsylvania’s Vermesa Valley ‘Uncanny Valley’”

"Do you need me to sort out the information we have collected during this period?" After getting rid of the clairvoyance, Holmes' brain finally returned to its original state during this journey. At this moment, the detective is eager to try the new puzzle in front of him. "Even if I know it is the "uncanny valley", there is still a big gap between this world and our world."

"I'll trouble you to sort out the information, Mr. Holmes." Kirshtalia jumped on the horse and rushed along the path to the town of Vermissa. "Also, I hope you can use the treasure "Vacant House Adventure" to change my image - I hope to have a certain shooting ability... Considering Archer's rank, the level of Billy the Kid when he was alive should not be a problem, right?"

"If it's that old man, it's hard to say - but since there's Billy the Kid here..." Holmes paced back and forth in the great library that existed only in the consciousness space, "How about Robin Hood? I can take a part of my consciousness and put it into that blue bird."

"That's it, then."

After leaving New York, Kirshtalia headed west, first to the west to investigate the death of Billy the Kid, then followed the clue of the company that acquired Billy the Kid's hometown all the way back to the east, and discovered the town of Vermissa in Pennsylvania that was facing a land acquisition crisis. Now he is preparing to enter the center of the incident as an applicant for a guard to fight against the Death Party.

Kirshtalia, who had transformed into Robin Hood under the effect of Holmes's treasure, pulled the reins at a certain intersection and watched in silence as Sherlock Holmes and Billy the Kid were stopped by two strange gunmen. It had been quite a while since he left Manhattan, and judging from Sherlock Holmes's condition...

Apparently, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to teach McGinty, the overly aggressive leader of the Death Row Party, a lesson.

——However, considering the national characteristics of the United States...I am afraid that the so-called "lesson" is to just "deal with" him directly.

"The same goes for the guy in the green cape over there." The tall gunman pointed at Kirshtalia who was still sitting on the horse. "The iron plate tied to the wooden stick is about fifty yards away from here. Shoot with a pistol from here. If you hit all six shots, I'll let you go to the town of Vermissa to serve as a guard against the Death Party."

"...I'm better at using a bow, although I'm not bad with a gun either." Kirshtalia protected the blue robin on her shoulder, jumped off her horse, turned her head and looked at the piece of iron fifty yards away, "Well, since I'm a step late, I'll be the last one to come - the two who arrived here before me, please go first."

First up was Sherlock Holmes—but he failed to hit his target with a single bullet.

"His partner is Billy the Kid." Holmes sat on a chair in the library, put his fingers together and explained the answer to Kirshtalia who was leading the action outside, "No one can beat him in pistol shooting - I think you should remember the ranking of pistol shooting in the sports meeting held in the Sea of ​​Heroes when they have nothing to do."

"Sherlock doesn't need to hit the target. It's enough for him to let his partner see the trajectory and wind direction clearly."

"Then it's my turn next." When Billy the Kid and Sherlock Holmes passed by, the pink-haired young man smiled and replied to the Forerunner, "...Thanks to you, senior, it seems that I don't need to waste the first bullet."

"I can see the wind direction and trajectory clearly."

Billy the Kid held the fully loaded revolver against his waist - and before anyone could react, Billy the Kid emptied the six bullets in the gun at once at an extremely fast speed.

"… Rapid continuous shooting - the most important "technical" concept in Billy the Kid's Noble Phantasm." Kirshtalia raised her hand and rubbed the robin's feathers, retracting her gaze from the iron sheet, "The six bullets should have hit the same point - just like the three-stage thrust of the two genius swordsmen."

"From the results, they are indeed very similar. After all, they are both "techniques" that have been sublimated into Noble Phantasms. Each attack hits the same point exactly. If they happen at the same time, then of course even if you block one, you can't block more attacks that are impossible to solve." Holmes chuckled, "You are lucky. You should be able to pass this level with the help of the two of them."

"After all, when the two gunmen were preparing, they thought that no one would succeed, so there probably wouldn't be a second iron plate to continue the test."

"——Okay, I think we've hit them all?" Billy the Kid smiled and looked at the two gunmen who set up the checkpoint.

Then, just as Holmes said, even Kirshtalia, who arrived later, was taken away by the two gunmen into the town of Vermisa.

"You only used the "Vacant House Adventure" to transform into Robin Hood, but your behavior is moving in the direction of that guy." After Kirshtalia followed the gunmen who called themselves brothers to the tavern in Vermissa, Holmes turned off the position construction skill and began to share the perception of the outside world with Kirshtalia, "Is this really okay?"

"I don't need to take the initiative to cause trouble, right?" Kirshtalia found an empty corner in the tavern and sat down, keeping an eye on Sherlock Holmes who was provoking the local sheriff. "Also, although keeping a low profile is in line with Robin Hood's style, in this environment, a guy dressed like this will only be regarded as a weirdo."

"This effect is most suitable for this operation."

"You see, Sherlock Holmes is a natural protagonist - he will lead the whole town and the guards to unite, just like London did, to fight against the biggest villain together." Kirshtalia smiled and watched many guards who originally planned to take the deposit and run away hurriedly fleeing the pub. In the tense crowd, he asked the bartender for a beer, "We are not the protagonists of this story - right?"

"——Then the last ones left are..." Sherlock Holmes looked around and sighed helplessly, "Only seven people..."

"Although I haven't introduced myself, sir, did you forget me?" Kirshtalia put down the beer in his hand and rustled the hood covering his head. "In this case, there are eight guards left."

"...I see." Sherlock Holmes chuckled and looked seriously at the townspeople who had just rushed to the tavern. "Then, the eight of us have made up our minds to fight with our lives. So I also want to confirm with you townspeople. I'm afraid there will be a lot of sacrifices in the future. Now we can still choose to "escape" -"

"Even so, are you determined to fight to defend the town?"

"…Those who don't want to fight have already left the town. Most of the people who remain here have had their families taken away by McGinty." The representative of the townspeople replied to Sherlock Holmes, "This is our war. We are ready to fight until the last moment of our lives."

"Well, I have a plan, and I hope you can listen to it." Sherlock Holmes lowered his eyes and asked the townspeople, "Can you give me a map of this town?"

While Sherlock Holmes got the map and began to plan a strategy to deal with the Cool Party, William James Moriarty also received the gift prepared by Lansermero at his doorstep.

——"Because at least he called me 'teacher'."

The item itself was a cheap product, not the custom-made items that British nobles often bought, nor was it a high-end item bought in a specialty store - but the important part was not the price of the item itself, but the blessing "magic" attached to it.

——It was a magic dress.

In the Magic Association, the AZOTH sword is a very popular gift as part of the magic ceremonials. It is a souvenir given by parents or teachers during the coming-of-age ceremony. Strictly speaking, it is a formulaic thing, just like a boy in ordinary society buying roses for a girl he likes on Valentine's Day.

The Astronomy Department's Animusphia has a much wider range of choices in this regard - Kirshtalia's outfit is a magic dress specially made for the Astronomy Department's magic by Lancermello himself at Christmas 2005; Olgamari's bow tie is also a defensive dress made by Lancermello himself; the Christmas gifts that Roman and Marisbury received that year were also made by her.

Generally speaking, most of the time, Lansemello would prefer to turn various materials into finished products by herself, and a few times - such as now, she would directly choose to add magic to existing items.

"...But, since it's a temporary, disposable dress, it's the simplest healing magic?" Lansemello sat on the sofa and blinked at the translucent communication projection in front of him. "But, if it's you now - you should understand what I mean."

William James Moriarty, who had just thrown the execution plan into the fireplace to burn it as instructed by Sherlock Holmes, had no time to pay attention to the changes happening deep inside his blind eye before he found a letter of instruction from the U.S. Department of Justice that Sherlock Holmes had missed under a pile of newspapers.

Concerns about Sherlock Holmes prompted William James Moriarty to open the letter.

"Dear Sherlock Holmes,

It has been confirmed that the number of members of the Death Kooks has increased significantly since the government investigation in the previous directive.

According to reports, the number has exceeded 100.

Please be careful when doing the mission, good luck——』