Chapter 131: Leonard’s Investigation

Chapter 131: Leonard’s Investigation

Loen Kingdom, East Chester County’s capital, Stoen City.

After leaving the manor and entering the villa, Audrey finished socializing with the local noble youths and sent a servant to withdraw a sum of cash from Bavart Bank.

With that, she no longer needed to worry about anything. She could easily repay the 2,000 pounds owed to Mr. Fool’s Blessed and pay Mr. World the 1,800 pounds for the Psychiatrist characteristic.

A quarter of an hour later, Audrey opened the door to her bedroom, glanced at her personal maid Annie, who was supervising the servants not far away, then lowered her head toward the golden retriever crouching by the wall. With a smile at her lips, she lowered her voice. Her eyes glittered as she said, “Susie, you will receive a gift later. Are you looking forward to it?”

If it had been the Audrey of the past, she would certainly have said directly, “Susie, your gift has arrived.” That would let the golden retriever discover that Audrey could obtain real objects even inside her room, and that would very easily make Susie—who had recently been studying the basics of mysticism quite diligently—guess in the direction of ritual magic.

By changing the wording, the matter became Audrey receiving a mysterious letter or message inside her bedroom, confirming that the gift was about to arrive. That allowed for far too many possibilities.

Susie read Audrey’s joy and sincere attitude from the bottom of her heart. Instinctively, she was about to open her mouth, vibrate the air, and ask what the gift was. But she keenly noticed that Audrey’s personal maid Annie was coming closer, so she warily abandoned her original idea.

She returned to the state of an ordinary dog, slowly wagging her tail to express her delight and anticipation.

After deliberately finding an excuse to take a walk outside, Audrey entered the “chemistry laboratory” specially assigned to her and placed the Psychiatrist characteristic and supplementary ingredients one by one upon the long table.

“Susie, do you still remember the procedure for concocting a potion from last time?” She cleared her throat, straightened her back, and played the role of teacher with great interest.

“Woof! I remember!” Susie had already understood what her gift was and was so happy that she let out a bark.

Audrey smoothly followed up with, “Try concocting it yourself.”

Susie lowered her head and looked at her paws. She suddenly fell silent.

Audrey first froze, then also fell briefly silent.

A few seconds later, before the golden retriever could open her mouth, Audrey pressed her lips together and gave a flawless smile.

“Alright, Susie, there is no need to speak. I know what you want to say. You want to express that you are only a dog and cannot concoct potions, correct?”

So awkward, so awkward… At the same time, the outwardly elegant and dignified Audrey covered her face inwardly.

“Woof!” Susie nodded forcefully.

Audrey seized the chance to turn around and very quickly concocted the Psychiatrist potion.

She had previously asked Susie and knew that Susie had fully digested the potion on Wednesday of that week.

That is not even two months in total… Mm, mm. A large part of the reason is that Susie receives relatively little attention and can run around the manor and villa as she likes, eavesdropping on others’ private conversations and “reading” the maids’ true thoughts… That is quite good too. She shares them all with me. Without her, I would never know that many people’s thoughts have such dark sides, even though they are usually so normal and kind… Audrey poured the potion into a bowl and placed it on the ground.

She watched Susie walk over and begin licking it. Inwardly, she could not help feeling a small spark of anticipation.

“Perhaps Susie will also be affected by the potion and show some emotional instability.

“But it is fine. Miss Audrey the Psychiatrist is already prepared and can use ‘Placate’ at any time! Mm, I prefer the name ‘Psychoanalysis.’ It sounds more professional.”

Audrey’s beautiful emerald-like eyes seriously watched the golden retriever Susie. She discovered that Susie’s pupils gradually paled and turned somewhat vertical. Beneath her thick fur, dark-gold scales seemed to grow, while Susie’s spirituality constantly spread outward, as though intertwining with the space of the entire villa.

After calming her slightly tense emotions, Audrey focused on observing Susie’s condition. As soon as the other party showed the slightest abnormality, she would immediately use the Beyonder power of Psychoanalysis.

Suddenly, Susie’s voice sounded beside her ear.

“Audrey, I succeeded!”

“…” For a brief moment, Audrey did not know what to say.

…

In a dream, Daisy returned once more to the East Borough, to the old apartment where she had lived for many years.

She pushed open the door and saw her mother Liv and elder sister Freja hard at work washing clothes.

Daisy instantly became happy and was about to join them, taking responsibility for ironing.

Just then, she heard knock after knock on the door.

She turned her head and saw that the visitor was a young man wearing a black-and-white checkered police uniform.

This officer had black hair and green eyes. His appearance was somewhat blurry. Holding a notebook and fountain pen, he asked, “Regarding the Capim case, aside from what you already described, is there anything else you did not mention?”

“Those are all unimportant things,” Daisy answered in a rather muddled state.

The handsome officer lowered his head and looked at his notebook.

“It is fine. I am willing to listen.”

Daisy looked back at the garments hanging everywhere and felt as though she had forgotten some instruction.

She honestly described all kinds of trivial details. At the end, she said, “…After I was kidnapped, my mother and sister commissioned a private detective to search for me. He was Mr. Sherlock Moriarty. He is a good man. Although he did not find me directly, he later contacted reporters and helped me obtain compensation from the foundation…”

The black-haired, green-eyed officer lifted his head again and glanced at Daisy, revealing a gentle smile.

“Very good. I am satisfied with your answer.

“Do you still remember that private detective’s appearance?”

Daisy nodded and watched without the slightest surprise as Mr. Sherlock Moriarty appeared beside her.

This great detective had a thick beard and wore gold-rimmed spectacles. He was no different from the version in her memory.

After the black-haired, green-eyed officer studied him deeply for several seconds, Daisy did not know when he had left. She also did not know why her mother and sister inside the room had suddenly vanished.

She ran through the East Borough, searching for familiar figures, until at last she woke amid intense frustration and sadness. Looking at the dim ceiling of her school dormitory, she remained blankly still for several seconds.

Daisy made no sound. She turned sideways and buried most of her face into her pillow.

At the edge of the pillow, wet marks slowly spread.

The one who had entered Daisy’s dream was Leonard Mitchell. Although his investigation into the common points between the two cases was only an excuse to give himself time to do other things, he had not forgotten to put up a perfunctory show on the surface. In the end, he had actually discovered a problem.

“Both the Lanvus case and the Capim case involved that private detective named Sherlock Moriarty, as well as his friend, reporter Mike Joseph… Although they were only hovering around the edges of the matters, it is still a direction for investigation. Heh, that Sherlock Moriarty looks somewhat familiar. Could he be some wanted criminal?” Leonard recalled what he had seen in the dream, put on his red gloves, and entered the lower levels of Saint Samuel Cathedral.

He had just exchanged greetings with the team captain, Soest, when he saw a colleague approach and hand him two thin sheets of paper.

“The information on the red-eyed man from Harvest Church you wanted investigated is all here.”

“Thanks. Lunch together?” Leonard asked with a smile.

The Nighthawk shrugged.

“No. Just do not make me have nightmares again.”

“Deal.” Leonard accepted the materials with a smile.

He stood where he was, not hurrying to sit. Casually, he flipped through the pages.

“Emlyn White, a vampire, currently affiliated with the Church of the Earth Mother… He once disappeared for a period. His parents commissioned a private detective to search for him. According to a Mr. Stuart, this matter was ultimately solved by the great detective Sherlock Moriarty.”

The smile on Leonard’s face gradually settled, becoming rather grave.

“Sherlock Moriarty?” He repeated the name inwardly.

…

Klein did not hurry to search for opportunities for authentic acting. Instead, with the posture of a traveler, he wandered through the port city of Oravi Island, seeking a brief relaxation within his tense, gapless life.

The city was mainly populated by new immigrants from Loen. Its food style did not differ much from the kingdom’s eastern coast. The difference was that there were fresh and uncommon fruits here, along with all varieties of seafood, which counted as a local specialty.

Rich in natural resources and situated at a crucial point along the safe sea route, the people here lived fairly well. Even the farmers in the suburbs could save a certain amount through their orchards.

This was not to say that Oravi had no poor and no lower class. It was only that this class was mainly made up of former slaves—the Loen Parliament had long since passed a bill abolishing slavery.

Swallowing a piece of juicy and sweet fruit, Klein glanced at the darkening sky, turned around a street corner, and entered a bar called Sweet Lemon.

It was one of Oravi’s most famous adventurer gathering places. Klein planned to gather the remaining two supplementary materials for Marionettist here: the relatively common dragon-patterned tree bark and water from Sonia’s Golden Spring.

At that moment, the bar was already quite lively. Around the boxing ring, many people held cups and cheered loudly. Around the nearby tables, adventurer-like figures quietly exchanged all kinds of rumors.

Klein was about to squeeze toward the bar counter when he suddenly heard his own name.

“…I am Gehrman Sparrow. You should know who I am. I obtained a treasure map and need to hire some helpers. It is not that I am afraid, but that I cannot carry that much treasure alone…” A green-eyed man in his thirties, holding half a glass of liquor, said this to two men and two women in the corner. It was unclear whether they were merchants or adventurers.

You are also called Gehrman Sparrow? Treasure map… Why does that sound like a scam… Has the news of my hunting of the Silver-Tongued spread from Bayam to here? Mm, it should have spread through telegrams and travelers. So many people know my name and deeds, but they do not know my appearance… Then swindlers seize that opportunity and impersonate me to deceive people… Klein came to an understanding and moved closer.

The green-eyed man drank a mouthful of strong liquor and slammed the glass heavily onto the table.

“Refuse or agree, I do not care. But I hate being made to wait!

“Do you want to end up like the Silver-Tongued?”

One young man opposite him spoke with some fear. “I know you are a powerful adventurer…”

“So?” the green-eyed man interrupted.

Just then, he felt his collar tighten. Someone had lifted him bodily and thrown him toward the entrance.

Klein did not explain anything. Expressionlessly, he directly tossed the fellow outside.

Then he drew his revolver, aimed at the spot where the green-eyed man had fallen, and pulled the trigger without the slightest misgiving.

Bang!

The green-eyed man had only just landed with a thud when he saw sparks burst from the ground between his legs. The harsh words that had already reached his mouth instantly flowed back down. Rolling and crawling, he fled the bar.

No further words were needed. His weakness itself proved that he was not Gehrman Sparrow.

Klein ignored the stunned victims who had almost been deceived. Politely, he blew across the muzzle, then slipped the revolver back under his arm.

After that, in an atmosphere silenced by the gunshot, he slowly walked toward the bar counter.