The Great Detective with a Child's Body and an Adult's Mind

"It isn't necessarily so... little detective."

The corners of Iver's lips lifted slightly as he replied in the same low voice, "Is it really all right that you're not trying to sell us a newspaper?"

The boy with reddish-brown curly hair, a face covered in tiny freckles, and a small, slender body that looked no older than seven or eight... must be Sherlock.

Iver recognized Sherlock's identity with ease the moment he got out of the carriage.

Because Sherlock had not hidden himself at all.

He had not even properly played his assigned role.

As a newspaper boy, he had not busied himself with selling newspapers. Instead, he had calmly and silently hidden in the shade, surveying every passerby with his sharp, gloomy eyes.

His gaze was like a cold blade, making passersby visibly uncomfortable. Several people looked over at him in surprise and wariness, only relaxing somewhat after seeing that he was merely a gloomy child.

"Fox, you're clever... but you must be new, right?"

The boy gave a cold snort. "Let me teach you something. Most of the time, it's fine not to play your assigned role.

"Although 'playing your role' is a Necessary Task, the failure condition isn't failing to play it. It's being questioned and exposed.

"I'm only a newspaper boy. Even if it's strange for me to stand here without moving, who would come out and question me by saying, 'You don't look like a proper newspaper boy'? No one will pay attention to me... because I'm insignificant."

"I see..."

Iver looked thoughtful, then smiled warmly and brightly. "So does that mean that as long as I kill everyone who might question me first—as long as I make sure they can't speak—I won't have to worry about being exposed?"

"Mm, that's right. But with your abilities, you probably can't do that."

Sherlock the detective, who had descended in the form of a little boy, remained completely unmoved by the cruelty and danger in Iver's words. He merely analyzed the situation calmly. "That old man probably did exactly that.

"He was the first to arrive, which means he's also from Avalon. Since we can't exchange information with one another and the task requires us to go to Gallows Square, he should have realized through the hint to 'prepare for battle' that our common objective is to 'obtain weapons.' From there, he could think of the most effective way to acquire weapons—'black-market trading'—and connect it to the Pelican Bar, which had just appeared in the newspaper.

"Going a step further, he might have realized through putting himself in other people's shoes that everyone else would also need weapons, and thus think of the 'black market' as well—then conclude that the others might also come to the Pelican Bar. That way, we could gather here. Compared to 'weapons,' teammates were clearly more valuable. Whether he was on the First Layer or the Second Layer, he would come to the Pelican Bar as quickly as possible. And this was the only route here."

"But Bone Carver didn't come here."

"Correct. That means he doesn't intend to cooperate with us... or he believes that most of the people who would gather here have already abandoned the Twilight Path. Even if they came, they wouldn't be able to obtain any teammates."

"...In other words, Detective, you had already figured out that we would come here?"

Lu Lu could not help whispering, "Then if Old Bone Carver doesn't come... were you planning to form a team with the three of us and Knight?"

"In fact, my plan was for the three of us, including Knight, to meet here. It didn't include you."

Sherlock's expression was cold. "Your appearance alongside Fox was an unexpected circumstance.

"Although I have nothing against supernatural beings of the Path of Beauty, with all due respect, if you had manifested alone without Fox beside you, you definitely would not have thought of gathering at the entrance to the Pelican Bar."

"...Ugh."

Lu Lu let out a tiny cry.

The beautiful, full-bodied woman wore an expression of helplessness more suited to a young girl.

Because she knew that Mr. Sherlock was right.

"That's not all, is it?" Iver suddenly said. "It's not merely because he knew he wouldn't encounter any teammates if he came here."

Little Sherlock looked over in some surprise.

The boy spoke in a childish voice, but his tone was mature and cold. Looking interested, he encouraged him, "Go on, then?"

"You were very concerned about Bone Carver's staff earlier. The Apostle said that the only items that could be brought into the ritual were supernatural items that one had 'personally made.' In other words, his staff isn't an ordinary staff, but an artifact of the Twilight Path. But this is his first advancement ritual, which means he has only just embarked on the Twilight Path. I believe his staff may be a supernatural item made from human bones."

"To be precise, it was made from a completely intact, stripped spinal column."

Little Sherlock raised his eyebrows and added precisely, "Female, eighteen to twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She never engaged in heavy physical labor, and there are no obvious signs that she exercised. But she probably often worked or studied at a desk. She was also slightly hunched.

"She may have been a student, or possibly a painter or writer. Her background was neither too poor nor too wealthy. She should have been a local of Glass Island. Most likely, she was a student who had only recently graduated and was led astray. To create a supernatural item despite having only just set foot on the Twilight Path... means that she had already been practicing bone carving or sculpting before entering the Twilight Path, and was quite experienced at making supernatural items.

"That means his other identity most likely belongs to one of the Equilibrium Path, the Path of Beauty, or the Path of Transcendence—one skilled at creating supernatural items."

At this point, he glanced at Lu Lu. "I'm more inclined to think it's the Path of Beauty. He may be a sculptor, or possibly a collector.

"Do you understand now, Fox? Allies from the Path of Beauty aren't reliable. When their strength is low, they usually seem perfectly normal, but their senses are too sharp and their nerves too sensitive. This makes them prone to losing control and going mad, turning them into unstable factors in an advancement ritual.

"Moreover, an experienced practitioner of the Path of Beauty can easily become indifferent to life. They value art more than law and morality. Otherwise, it would be difficult to observe the world through pure 'beauty,' and even harder to progress further along the path."

"That isn't necessarily so..."

Lu Lu instinctively argued, "I know many kind artistic masters..."

"I know," the newspaper boy said, nodding calmly. "I know some as well. And you count as an exception. Because in my view, you aren't a standard 'believer of Beauty.' You place great importance on morality... which is a good thing."

"...You just said that was dangerous."

"That doesn't conflict."

The boy could not be bothered to explain further, and once again sank into his own thoughts, muttering, "When I get back, I'll have to go to the Bureau of Supervision and check the files on recent missing-person cases. Perhaps they'll give me some inspiration...

"He's already an old man. Why would he suddenly embark on the Twilight Path? Was it because of a serious illness? Or a terminal disease? Did he feel that he wouldn't live much longer and suddenly develop an intense attachment to life? Did he want to keep living... Did he have no students to inherit his work, or were his descendants simply too useless and trying to seize his inheritance?"

"...If he's an elderly artist from Glass Island," Lu Lu said in a small voice, gathering her courage after being ignored, "he might be Old Lars. He was diagnosed with bone cancer this summer."

"Old Lars?"

Even Sherlock froze for a moment. It took him quite a while to remember. "Mr. Lars Graham? Wasn't he the one who gave the Queen..."

He suddenly stopped speaking.

His gaze at Lu Lu grew deeper, and he said nothing more.

Iver also glanced at her.

...Well, damn.

Could this fully automatic unboxing machine open other people's boxes too?

Princess actually had this kind of function.

"...Knight hasn't arrived yet. Perhaps he didn't think of this. After all, he looks like a rather careless person."

Sherlock abruptly changed the subject, and his attitude shifted noticeably. "But it's fine if it's only us. Remember to stay close to me at all times..."

Compared to his previous priority of helping Knight and Fox, Sherlock's strategy suddenly became prioritizing Fox and Lu Lu, who were already present.

Clearly, Sherlock had probably guessed that Lu Lu was Princess Isabel... and that was not difficult for him.

Fortunately, Sherlock was loyal to the Queen's faction.

Iver knew that his father had once been a minister. He had been framed by someone over certain matters and dragged into trouble. Queen Sophia had specially pardoned his father's crimes, and he owed her a debt.

After that, Sherlock had continued secretly serving the royal family. For certain cases, the Queen would specifically invite Sherlock to participate in the investigation. One reason was his reliability, and the other was confidentiality.

Therefore, compared to ordinary people, Sherlock knew more of the royal family's secrets.

At this point in time, this matter was still considered a secret. Even Isabel herself probably did not know.

I see...

Iver finally understood.

Before he had changed history and appeared in this advancement ritual that he should not have participated in, Princess Isabel's advancement ritual had indeed been carried through by relying on Sherlock's effortless support.

—Just then.

The three of them suddenly fell silent at the same time.

Because a clear tolling of a bell suddenly rang out in their minds.

None of the people around them heard it. Only the three of them did. Several seconds later, another toll rang out.

"...That's a death knell."

The boy's expression suddenly became solemn. "There's bad news... or perhaps good news. Two people have been eliminated. Your chances of passing the ritual have increased."

"Two people?"

At this, Lu Lu instinctively looked at Iver beside her. "Were they together too?"

What she had actually wanted to ask first was whether they were husband and wife as well.

But that question was too embarrassing, so she swallowed it before it could leave her mouth.

Iver instead questioned the newspaper boy, "What does the death knell mean? Being exposed, or death?"

"Death. If their identities were exposed, the remaining people would hear the sound of 'uproarious laughter.'"

Little Sherlock began speaking at more than twice his previous speed. "It's only been an hour, and there are still three hours of survival time left. Yet the killer has already begun to act, and even two people together couldn't withstand them. In a ritual on the 'Safe' difficulty, we should only encounter one enemy, and it shouldn't be very strong. It must be someone we could easily fight if we cooperated.

"Considering that Bone Carver might act alone, aside from the little girl from the Path of Love and the medicine peddler from the Equilibrium Path, the others among the remaining people shouldn't lack combat ability.

"Unless those two happened to encounter the killer together..."

"—Then that means the monster can kill two people in quick succession."

Iver continued, "It was fast enough that the other person couldn't escape."

"It was definitely an ambush."

Sherlock made his judgment. "They didn't come to Legal Square, which means the enemy wasn't waiting here. It's possible that this place is actually a safe zone, and that we won't encounter the enemy until the very end."

"Not necessarily."

The young priest lowered his gaze slightly and added another possibility. "It's also possible that foreigners encountered the Strangulation Gang. After all, they don't understand Avalon."

"Mm, you're right."

The boy nodded, then warily surveyed his surroundings. "In any case, watch out for shadows and corners... I'll walk ahead of you later, so I won't be ambushed and dragged away without you noticing."

"Where are we going?" Lu Lu asked softly.

"The Pelican Bar—now give me a reason to take you to the Pelican Bar."

Hearing Sherlock's low instruction, a warm, sunny smile immediately appeared on the young priest's face.

"You're very polite, young sir. May the Candlebearer illuminate your path."

Iver raised his voice slightly, speaking loudly enough for those around them to hear. "Thank you for praising my wife—but the weather is so hot. Why don't I buy you a drink? What would you like?"

"...Don't give me alcohol, Fox."

Little Sherlock reminded him in a lowered voice, "I can only drink milk right now... alcohol will disrupt my intellect and weaken my spells."

"How about milk, then? You're still too young to drink alcohol."

Iver readily followed his suggestion.

"...I know a bar."

Little Sherlock's volume returned to normal. In a childish, tender voice, he said, "We call it the Pelican Bar!"

Hearing Sherlock's somewhat clumsy attempt to sound young, Iver's expression immediately became rather strange.

You don't have to act if you can't, Mr. Sherlock.

That affected voice of yours reminds me of another famous detective with a child's body and an adult's mind...

But just then, they heard another long toll of the death knell.

Iver's expression turned grave.

—A third person had died.

Only two minutes had passed since the previous two tolls.

"Wait," Little Sherlock's expression suddenly changed, and he no longer cared about maintaining his role. "Something's wrong! They're dying too quickly!"

The first two could still be explained. Perhaps they had been ambushed together, and the second person had been chased down and killed while fleeing.

—But when there was clearly only one enemy, three people had died in succession. That made no sense!

This was not a ritual of mutual competition and slaughter. The nine people had descended into different places under different identities.

The difficulty of this ritual was clearly wrong! Was it because Sherlock or Bone Carver was present, raising the enemy's strength? Soon, Iver realized something else: He had assumed the two who died earlier were both foreigners. But with three people, that was no longer certain.

Knight had never arrived. Perhaps it was not because he had failed to think of the Pelican Bar.

Perhaps he had gone somewhere else, and might already have died on the way!

Where had they gone?

"We can't go to the Pelican Bar anymore. It may not be absolutely safe, and if we're blocked in, we won't be able to escape. Knight hasn't come, or may already be dead. We can only rely on the detective's spells, but First Level spells aren't strong enough."

Iver immediately changed the plan and deftly took over command from Sherlock.

"—We need to take a detour and hide first, to see whether anyone else dies. I know a secret passage nearby. Follow me."

The early stages of the dungeon were very simple and would not last long. It would probably be over in another two or three days~