Chapter 426

"The first case happened last summer - it's been nearly a year since then..." Conan Edogawa looked at the case data and fell into deep thought, "Is there really no clue at all? It's obviously MI5 that's in charge - no, considering the fact that the cooperating department is MI6, it's incredible that no clues have been found until now."

"Indeed, it's rare that any of the three can't find any clues." Watson stood behind Conan Edogawa, calmly looking at the shocking case data that filled an entire wall, "Do you need me to do a preliminary review of the case information for you?"

"Special service?" Conan Edogawa, who had just slipped away from Kogoro Mori and was able to move freely in the name of Sherlock, asked Watson.

"Well, it's a special service from Dr. Watson." Watson replied to Conan Edogawa with a smile, "However, before you start sorting it out, I think you need to know the corresponding characters of the deceased in these cases first."

"I already know that." Conan Edogawa took Watson's hand, got out of the crowd, and went up to the second floor. "There are a total of twelve dead people so far, and each one corresponds to a protagonist in a different work. The first dead person corresponds to 'King Arthur'."

"Why do you say that?" Watson let Conan Edogawa lead him up to the second floor, and smiled as he confirmed the answer with the young detective.

"Because in this series of cases, although twelve people died, the outside world has not revealed any news related to the case until today." Conan Edogawa climbed onto the cushioned chair and made the same movements as Sherlock Holmes, "So there is definitely no process in which the bodies were discovered by Scotland Yard and then handed over to MI5. It is very likely that MI5 directly discovered the deceased..."

"No, it should be that from the very beginning, this case was discovered by the Knights of the Round Table - so only when the first deceased corresponds to King Arthur, they would block the news immediately..."

"Ah, there really is 'King Arthur' in this department."

"Of course." Watson laughed and sat down opposite Conan Edogawa. "Where do you want me to start?"

"I hope to know a more complete situation than what is written in the text over there." Edogawa Conan replied.

"Well, I'll tell you from the moment they found the dead." Watson opened his notebook and confirmed with Conan Edogawa, "You should know the legend of the Knights of the Round Table, right? Those guys are just like us, and their real names are basically the same as the legendary Knights of the Round Table."

"What are their positions?" asked Conan Edogawa.

"The man named 'Arthur' is 'King Arthur' who commands all the 'Knights of the Round Table.'" Watson answered Conan Edogawa.

Late at night on June 13, 2015, while Galahad was wandering on the street like an ordinary and normal young man, he noticed an unusual apartment - although it cannot be said to be prejudice, in this residential area of ​​London, there are almost no houses without lights at this point.

——So after reporting to his companions at the round table, Galahad went straight into the dark apartment.

Then, the young Knight of the Round Table found the first victim in this series of cases in a dark room. The murderer also chose the victim as "King Arthur" - although the murderer was not arrogant enough to use the victim's blood to leave a message like "This is "King Arthur"" at the scene, or leave something like "The Death of King Arthur"...

——But the Knights of the Round Table still discovered this.

"...What do you mean?" After hearing this, Conan Edogawa frowned and looked at Watson.

"Just like you complained that we didn't put enough thought into our pseudonyms - even though they are real names." Watson put the open notebook on the table with his backhand and looked at Conan Edogawa. "To those who don't know, Holmes and Moriarty are just pseudonyms that are too high-profile - but to those who know, these two surnames are closely connected with MI6."

"Galahad noticed something that only they, the Knights of the Round Table, would associate with."

"I didn't see such words on that wall." Conan Edogawa turned his head subconsciously and looked at the wall downstairs where the case information was projected.

"Well, deleting that part of the data was Holmes's suggestion." Watson cleared his throat and interrupted Conan Edogawa's actions. "Because we couldn't find any clues, we also considered whether it was because we were led astray by their thinking... In order to prevent the detectives invited this time from following their thinking, we directly deleted this part of the data."

"The victim of the first case was found in his bedroom, with only one wound on his chest. Judging from the amount of bleeding, the bedroom was the first scene." Watson paused for a moment and continued, "The murder weapon was left at the scene. It was a dagger inlaid with gems. This was the knife they used to catch the monster thief Kidd."

"But the murder weapon was not left in the body. It was pulled out - and next to it was a small statue of the Black Madonna."

"Black Madonna?" Edogawa Conan raised his eyebrows.

"The common white Madonna refers to Mary who gave birth to Jesus." Watson closed his notebook. "I thought you would know about the black Madonna."

"Just like Sherlock Holmes is not interested in astronomy, I have no interest in theology either." Conan Edogawa complained.

"It's not like our Sherlock Holmes is completely clueless in astronomy - but now is not the time to discuss that guy." Watson smiled and supplemented Conan Edogawa's extracurricular knowledge. "The object of worship corresponding to the Black Madonna statue is generally the original earth goddess of the local area - so the existence corresponding to the Black Madonna is not fixed, but if it is in the UK..."

"If it's the British region..." Conan Edogawa frowned as he listened to Watson's words.

"Although the British today are descendants of the Anglo-Saxons, in terms of culture - from the legend of the Eternal King, we can see that the British today also trust the Celtic 'King Arthur'." Watson leaned back in his chair and explained to Conan Edogawa calmly, "Also, although the British today are descendants of the Anglo-Saxons, in fact only the English are - the Welsh, Scots, and Irish are all indigenous people."

"So?" Conan Edogawa was confused by what Watson said.

"In ancient British legends, Morgan was regarded as the guardian of this island, a fairy who ruled the entire British land - in a sense, she was the Earth Goddess, right?" Watson smiled and raised his eyebrows at Conan Edogawa. "It was not until the legend of King Arthur was written and established that she was regarded by the public as a witch who was hostile to King Arthur."

"So, to the Round Table guys, the Black Madonna is referring to Morgan by name."

"...From this perspective, it's not surprising that they would think in that direction." Lansemello shook the red wine glass in his hand and looked at El-Melloi II, "But you should have mentioned it to them, right? The problem of the Black Madonna statue - although there should be no problem with the Black Madonna statue corresponding to Morgan, the deceased should not correspond to "King Arthur"."

"I mentioned it before." El-Melloi II looked downstairs and answered Lansemello, "But the second case overturned my answer - although from the perspective of the Black Madonna, the deceased could also be the same as Grey, similar to King Arthur but different, and a character who would be used to replace King Arthur."

"For example, Mordred."

"But even if we only consider the protagonist of the story, 'King Arthur' is not the protagonist of the legend that is more well-known to the public." Lansemello took a sip of red wine and calmly pointed out the problem, "The current 'King Arthur' is almost a background board in the public's cognition, not the legendary protagonist that was consistent with Charlemagne at the beginning."

"It's more reasonable to say that Gawain, Lancelot, Trystan, or Galahad are the protagonists than King Arthur - although the rebellious knight Mordred is not the protagonist of the legend no matter which version of the legend you look at."

"That being said, let's take a look at the cases that happened afterwards." El-Melloi II sighed and lit a cigar that would help him clear his mind. "The second case happened in July. The character who died was the Count of Monte Cristo."

"So, after the second case happened, Merlin contacted me for help." Edmund crossed his fingers and looked up at Fujimaru Ritsuka who walked up to him. "Similar to the first case, the deceased was also found in his own home; the murderer also did not leave any clear information, so the fact that the deceased corresponded to the Count of Monte Cristo was just speculation by the Round Table."

"But you've also read it, right?" Shiro Amakusa, who was wearing the uniform of the Cathedral Church, sat opposite Edmond and asked before Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke. "Otherwise, the Round Table would not have written in the file that the deceased in the second case corresponds to the text of 'Count of Monte Cristo'."

“…”

There was a long silence.

When Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to show a worried expression because of his silence, Edmund started to explain: "Just like the Black Madonna statue in the first case, there is a similar item in the second case. I think if it was a Master, he would have understood what the item represented right away."

"Beside the dead body, there was a low candle burning with a purple-black flame."