Large Ritual Array

When Hai Na brought little Sherlock home, before they even entered the inner room, her mother blocked them at the door of the blacksmith's shop.

She fanned herself in front of her nose, her brows furrowing and her expression changing. "You took your guests to the swamp?"

... Huh?

Hai Na was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had been tainted by the stench of the swamp.

Sherlock, standing to the side, sighed appropriately.

—Hey, why are you sighing! Haven't you noticed it yourself?

Hai Na was somewhat resentful.

But she is no longer the naive girl she was when she first graduated—in the months she has spent communicating with those troublesome people who make things complicated by logic, Hai Na has mastered the professional skill of making up lies by following what others say.

Of course, it could also be due to the subtle influence of Iver.

Having spent more time with him, Hai Na has finally come to realize that Iver really does love to lie! When she first met Iver, she had no idea how much of what he said was true...

But it doesn't matter anyway.

Anyway, he's already Minister Iver. Even if it's fake, it can still be real.

Hai Na's mind raced, but she said without changing her expression, "Just reminiscing about my childhood. I really enjoyed going there when I was little."

"Don't you know that place is dangerous? It's a restricted area in the village!"

Hai Na's mother frowned. "What if you fall in? That's all poisonous swamp!"

"Hey, you won't fall in. I know the swamp area very well..."

Hai Na chuckled, pretending to be unconcerned. "I used to go there every few days when I was a kid, and I never saw any danger. If I didn't encounter any danger when I was a kid, Xia... Arthur will definitely be fine too. Kids are lightweight, and I'll be watching over them."

She almost forgot that Sherlock was now called Arthur Conan Doyle.

As expected, her deliberately casual attitude attracted her mother's attention.

Hai Na's mother immediately forgot what they were actually doing in the swamp and assumed that she was just looking for a thrill.

Her eyes widened instantly, and her voice rose a notch. "Even if you might not fall in, what if you get ambushed by the undead on the other side of the swamp or accidentally slip and fall? It's one thing for you to go play in dangerous places, but to bring such a young guest along? You're old enough to be sensible, Hai Na!"

Her incessant scolding went on for who knows how long.

Anyway, Hai Na just smiled sheepishly the whole time, with an attitude of "it goes in one ear and out the other" and "I'm not afraid of anything."

The scolding finally ended when Sherlock yawned for the second time.

"Hey, really..."

She ended with this sentence, then touched Sherlock's hair with some tenderness. "It must be tiring being taken around by her, right? I'm not scolding you... You should find a place to come in and sit down first."

"Let me get you some fruit—would grapes be alright?"

Then she moved aside the door she had been blocking.

After Hai Na's mother had completely left, Sherlock said leisurely, "It seems that someone's period of forgiveness upon returning home has ended."

"You should praise me for my quick thinking."

Hai Na, half complaining and half smugly, "You didn't even realize that the swamp had a smell."

"Yes, yes, I didn't realize it."

Sherlock casually replied, "Think what you will, but I've already got the information I needed."

"...intelligence?"

"Yes, that's your mother's reaction when she saw us go to the swamp. This can help determine whether she was aware of the situation in the swamp, and thus infer the locals' attitude toward it—whether they knew what this Forbidden Area meant."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. "Now it seems that one thing can be confirmed. That is, the locals and the 'outsiders' have different perceptions of this matter."

"If they truly considered the swamp Forbidden Area, then your mother wouldn't have been able to save Mr. Magnetic Hammer. Because she wouldn't have had the chance to come into contact with the swamp—she was very tense and her tone turned cold when she learned we were going there."

"But when you said you were just going for a stroll, she relaxed and even brought up the fact that there were undead in the swamp before we even mentioned them... If we hadn't encountered any undead, we might have gone back to check out the situation out of curiosity after hearing her say that."

"It's a simple psychological phenomenon—when prisoners are interrogated, they will deliberately expose some minor mistakes in order to hide bigger ones. During this process, their attitude is quite proactive, and their purpose is to attract the attention of others. And the appearance of this attitude often means that the other party is hiding more."

"You are like that, and so is your mother."

Sherlock glanced coldly at Hai Na: "I know the Overseers of Avalon are used to using confinement, torture, intimidation, and even violent means like using Law Spell to force others to tell the truth or directly searching memories to obtain the truth. But if you want to go further, you need to try to master some additional skills—like psychology."

"The inspectors of Avalon are different from the police of Star Antimony and Iris. You train extensively in swordsmanship, horsemanship, Individual Tactics and other combat subjects at school, and you also train in multiple languages to improve your Extraordinary Skills in the future, but you are very lacking in training in various Criminal Investigation Techniques. I will propose this to Minister Iver later. The Royal Law University will have to add a few more courses."

"Add it."

Without hesitation, Hai Na said, "Anyway, I've already graduated, so let's add a few more courses for them."

"What are you thinking?" Little Sherlock sneered. "You'll have to learn it after you graduate."

"Eh—"

Hai Na a mournful cry, then, as if remembering something, tried to change the subject to escape reality. "By the way, what did you find out?"

"This escapist mentality often means that the prisoner is guilty. Because they cannot withstand the increasing psychological pressure, they will try to say something, so they tend to be talkative and take the initiative to lead the conversation."

Sherlock coldly retorted before explaining, "This proves two things. First, your mother knows many secrets, secrets deeper than the undead in the swamp, and most likely related to your father's appearance."

"Secondly, she has not received systematic training and lacks sufficient vigilance and discernment. This shows that she is not a professional, but a true villager... These two things are enough."

"This shows that the anomalies in Eagle Cape Village are not natural. This 'tradition' is man-made, and this person's behavior is beneficial to them, or this person has done them a favor. Based on the previous clues, I highly suspect that this person is Jacob Iver's grandfather."

Sherlock analyzed.

Soon, Hai Na's mother returned.

They took the fruit and went to chat with the Magnetic Hammer.

Magnetic Hammer clearly had a good impression of Iver. Hearing that Iver had gone for a walk, he was a little disappointed that he hadn't invited him along.

"I should be the one taking him out to play!"

Magnetic Hammer slapped his thigh and casually cursed at Hai Na's brother, Jack: "Why didn't you wake me up, you brat!"

"Ah?"

Jack, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered.

Sherlock, in his perfectly timed childish voice, said, "Iver wasn't going to play... he went to investigate his grandfather's affairs."

"I know about Jacob's affair too!"

Magnetic Hammer shook his head. "Why didn't he ask me anything yesterday! I guess he was having too much fun drinking... Oh well, we'll talk over drinks when he gets back tonight—you guys will probably be staying here for a few more days, right?"

Sherlock and Hai Na exchanged a glance, Hai Na paused for a few seconds before finally realizing what was happening.

She quickly replied, "Oh, yes... they'll be staying for a few more days. But it's hard to say exactly how long... Dad, why don't you just tell us? I don't know Grandpa Jacob's story yet."

"You don't know? Oh, you don't know. You're too young..."

Magnetic Hammer said dismissively, "Your grandfather Jacob was quite remarkable. I arrived late, but I know one thing... Your grandfather Jacob came here when he was in his twenties."

"Back then, he helped rebuild all the houses in the village, and they were all very sturdy. He also built the roads—and even our house was built with his help."

"... He's an architect?" Sherlock paused, taken aback.

"No, he is a ritual master."

The dwarf with the Magnetic Hammer said seriously, "But the ritual he mastered is incredibly powerful—to be honest, it's the first time I've ever seen a ritual that can build a house. I even wanted to learn from him so I could build a house for the village when I go back to my hometown. But he declined several times, so I gave up. After all, even if he taught me, I probably wouldn't be able to learn it."

"I'm quite happy here, carefree... so I don't want to go back. Besides, what will happen to you two siblings if I go back?"

Magnetic Hammer popped a grape into his mouth and casually remarked, "He's a very meticulous person. I don't know if you've seen it from above—the houses in Eagle Cape Village are arranged exceptionally well and are very neat. They're perfectly round, filled with numerous geometric patterns."

"—It's like a Ritual Array."