Chapter 491: The Sherlock Moriarty in the Investigation Report

Leonard?

Klein thought for a moment that he was mistaken.

However, the blurring caused by the rays of light wasn't that serious.

Being familiar with Leonard, he was able to quickly confirm his previous

judgment.

In the time it took to take a breath, Leonard disappeared, the light

dispersed, and the valley returned to its midwinter silence. The scene

which Klein saw in the dream shattered as a result.

He opened his eyes and placed the badge he had obtained from Lanevus on

the surface of the long bronze table.

Is it really Leonard, or a Faceless disguised as Leonard?

Klein considered and flipped a gold coin.

His spirituality had told him through the medium that it was Leonard

Mitchell, his teammate from the Tingen Nighthawks team!

*Is he the "investigator" sent by the Church of the Goddess for the

gathering, or is he risking his life to find an opportunity to find the

revenge target while keeping the Nighthawks in the dark?* Klein

muttered to himself in suspicion. It was hard to make an accurate

judgment.

And without any leads, his divination couldn't provide him with any

revelations.

After a few seconds of silence, Klein gave a self-deprecating smile as

he drew a crimson moon on his chest.

"I wish him the best of luck. May the Goddess watch over him."

Klein no longer bothered with the problem, and he planned on

understanding more about the gathering before deciding whether or not to

participate in the future or to warn Leonard Mitchell anonymously.

Backlund, in a secret room in the basement of the Steam Cathedral.

Ikanser took off his hat, pressed down his fluffy but not soft hair, and

sat in the first seat on the left.

Then, he took out the ancient silver mirror of Arrodes from an inner

custom-made pocket in his clothes and placed it in front of him.

To his right, across him, and diagonally across him, were the Machinery

Hivemind deacons and captains, all of whom had been summoned by the

member of the Divine Council, the Archbishop of Backlund, Horamick

Haydn, for a meeting.

The white-robed archbishop looked like an ordinary old man, sitting

calmly at the end.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, he looked around and softly said,

"Let's start with Ikanser. Tell me in sequence about the investigation

over the past few days."

Ikanser Bernard pushed his hair while flipping through the thick

document file, and he reported in a concise manner, "Your Grace, we were

in charge of Sherlock Moriarty. After a careful investigation, and with

the aid of Beyonder means, we confirmed that he was pulled into the

matter. Prior to the incident, there was no evidence that he knew of

Prince Edessak's problem.

"He and the dead Talim Dumont were friends, and he indirectly fulfilled

some of the tasks entrusted to him by the prince, but there weren't many

problems. At most, he had falsely made some fraudulent claims for his

expenses."

At this point, Ikanser suddenly felt a little worried because Sherlock

Moriarty was also an informant for the Machinery Hivemind, and his

expenses here were likely to be somewhat exaggerated.

*In any case, his job as an informant was very effective and very

outstanding, enough to offset a lot of problems, and he hasn't become

our informant for long. The money involved was mostly just from

commissions...* Ikanser exhaled slowly and continued to report,

"Our conclusion is that he's considered an innocent party and that there

is no hidden plot behind him. He once keenly noticed the danger of Red

Rose Manor, but that is a typical example of coming to the correct

conclusion from an incorrect deduction. He was afraid of the royal

family's internal strife, and for this reason, he had been slow in his

work and didn't do any substantial investigations. On this, he had

reported it to us.

"Unfortunately, he still failed to avoid the matter, but he was lucky

enough. He mentioned that the descendant of Death happened to be

monitoring the vicinity of Red Rose Manor at the time; hence, he was

rescued from the perilous situation when the meteorite fell. The signs

at the scene are ample proof of how terrifying that strike was. It's

likely due to 0-08."

Klein mentioned the existence of Ince Zangwill and 0-08 in his letter.

As for whether or not he knew the former archbishop and the Grade 0

Sealed Artifact, no one was concerned about it, because he was with Azik

Eggers for some time. It was entirely possible that he learned the

information from him. This was also a conclusion that everyone

subconsciously came up with.

As for matters regarding Grade 0 and Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts, the seven

orthodox churches constantly shared information of the rough situation

with each other---the numbers were shared, and there was no repetition.

"...However, we haven't been able to grasp the entire situation. There

are three matters that aren't confirmed. First, 2-111 indicates that

after Sherlock Moriarty fled into the forest, he didn't immediately

escape far away. Instead, he stayed on the spot and prayed to someone.

Second, it's still unknown when he and Azik Eggers got to know each

other. Third, it's still unknown how he escaped the underground ruins.

It's unlikely that he could've done so with his strength. And in this

process, he had even destroyed the descent ritual of the Aurora Order,"

Ikanser finally concluded.

2-111 referred to the magic mirror, Arrodes.

Horamick laughed after he listened to the recount and muttered,

"Fraudulent claims of expenses..."

He then cleared his throat.

"In any case, Sherlock Moriarty is a hero of Backlund.

"If he hadn't stopped the ritual in time, and if he had been frightened

at that moment and had chosen to flee, then most of us wouldn't be alive

sitting here.

"Moreover, he has also displayed his faith in God and his friendliness

towards us. As long as there isn't too much of a problem with him, then

we can pretend that we don't know anything about his tiny flaws and

secrets."

"Your Grace, this is what we were thinking as well." Ikanser heaved a

sigh of relief and said, "I guess his prayers in the woods, including

the ritual of blowing the copper whistle, were to get in touch with Azik

Eggers. But the effects and speed can be different. In such a critical

situation, the only thing he could do was to try to save himself, which

is something that we deduced from the follow-up process."

"Apart from trying to save himself, he could write his will," another

Machinery Hivemind deacon quipped before he immediately reported the

portion he was responsible for. "...We haven't found the underground

ruin which Sherlock Moriarty described, even with the help of 2-111.

We're still temporarily unable to grasp the locations of the royal

family's High-Sequence Beyonders on that very day."

"...It can be confirmed that the Church of Evernight received the

information first. This came from a special channel of Earl Hall, but

the specific situation is unknown."

"...Most of the forces of the Aurora Order in Backlund have been

eliminated by us, the Nighthawks, and the Mandated Punishers. However, I

suspect that they still have some hidden strength..."

"...At the time of the incident, Sherlock Moriarty mentioned that Trissy

was heading to Backlund, but no one has seen her ever since. According

to Sherlock Moriarty, she was a key figure and was renamed Trissy

Cheek."

"...It cannot be determined what method the Church of Evernight used to

capture the Demoness of Despair and the butler, Funkel. Results via

divination tell me that they're still alive, but they aren't free."

One by one, the deacons and captains reported on their findings while

Horamick half-closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes and slowly said, "Put

all efforts into finding Trissy Cheek---if she's still alive.

"Pass me all the problems where divination has failed to provide any

effective revelations. The Church has a Saint who is good at this,

although it's not necessarily more effective than 2-111.

"As for the surveillance and investigation of the royal family's

High-Sequence Beyonders, it can be tabled. There's no need to worry.

They've always known what we've been doing. It's also a form of warning.

"Continue the search for the underground ruins and report it to the

Evernight and Storm Churches.

"Ikanser, ask 2-111 how Sherlock Moriarty escaped the ruins, as well as

when he got to know Azik Eggers."

Ikanser looked at the archbishop, then at his colleagues before gritting

his teeth and said, "Yes, Your Grace."

He was sadly convinced that his legends were about to spread from just a

few Machinery Hiveminds teams that he was in charge of to all the

Beyonders of the Church of the God of Steam in Backlund.

After a very well-rehearsed process, he opened his mouth and said,

"Honorable Arrodes, my question is: 'when did Sherlock Moriarty get to

know Azik Eggers?'"

The silver mirror which seemed to have eyes on both sides suddenly

started to glow with an aqueous light, quickly forming a scene:

Sherlock Moriarty stood in a room, watching a rat with a rotting belly

burrow into a hole a wall. Behind him was Old Kohler and the owner of a

budget hotel.

"He got to know Azik Eggers while completing the bounty mission for him.

That mission was issued by MI9, which originated from a coincidental

conflict." Ikanser interpreted the scene.

With that, he chose to answer the corresponding question. He held his

breath as he waited for Arrodes to give the soul-piercing question.

As expected, he saw the bright red words: "Do you know the feeling of

trying your best to win the favor of someone, but only to end up being

abandoned without any progress?"

*Th-this question isn't sharp enough; it's unlike Arrodes's usual

style...* Ikanser suddenly felt that the blood on the mirror

seemed to lack its usual horror and bloody sense. It appeared somewhat

weak.

He didn't bother to think about why and immediately opened his mouth to

answer, "Yes."

"Congratulations, you got it right." A new line of text appeared on the

surface of the silver mirror, its color was somewhat pale.

5th January, 9:00 a.m.

With a gray scarf around his neck, Klein arrived at Rose Wharf with his

suitcase and cane.

The White Agate was docked there, unusually large compared to the height

of a human. It was said to be capable of ferrying hundreds of

passengers.

It had the rich characteristics of the age, with its chimneys, sails,

and its twelve cannons on both sides of the ship---necessary for

defending against pirates and other peers.

Under Captain Elland Kag's arrangement, the chosen stocky sailors and

crew lined up at the mouth of the gangway, some even deliberately

revealing their legitimate revolvers, rifles, and knives.

This gave the passengers on board the boat a greater sense of security.

They were no longer afraid of the journey that would take them nine days

to complete.

Klein stood below, looked up, and climbed up the hanging ladder in the

undulating blue water.

My travels begin... He took a step forward and sighed

silently.