Controlled Fire

"... What if it were Grey?"

After a brief silence, Iver suddenly spoke.

He looked at Cardinal Matilda and repeated, "What if Her Saintess were here?"

Upon hearing this, Matilda hesitated for a moment.

Before she could respond, Iver continued softly, "If Saintess Highness encounters trouble or danger because of this, it wouldn't be surprising."

He looked at Matilda and asked, "Is it... Ningpo?"

This is a very good opportunity for Iver to align the intelligence and thus get involved in the incident.

Although Iver knew some of the intelligence himself, he wouldn't be able to use it effectively if he didn't obtain it through legal channels. Now was the perfect opportunity to "legitimize" this advanced intelligence.

Hearing this, Sherlock was immediately startled.

He was still pondering the killer's motive; had Iver already deduced this far?!

Despite the lack of so many clues and the existence of so many possibilities, Iver was absolutely certain that the murderer was trying to catalyze the formation of the Pure White Saintess's amber... In fact, he was the first person he considered to be prioritizing the possibility that "the Saintess would form amber."

It's almost like having the answer key to answer the question.

However, considering Iver's prophetic abilities, Sherlock chose to remain silent for the time being.

... Maybe that's really the case.

Cardinal Matilda, however, did not react in any particular way.

She breathed a sigh of relief, appearing somewhat more relaxed. "You did discover it... Well, it makes sense. After all, that fruit grew on your body; it's unlikely you wouldn't know anything about it."

After all, their reactions at the time were too strange; a little thought would reveal that something was amiss.

"This is something I can't keep from you forever, but I can't tell you directly. After all, it's Grey's secret... and it's extremely important."

Cardinal Matilda bowed deeply to the three of them and said, "Please do not disclose this matter."

"Crucial means that..."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes, catching the key phrase that caught his attention. "If this gets out, it will cause trouble for Saintess Highness, won't it?"

He suddenly realized something. "Could it be... that the Pure White Saintess is about to succeed to the throne?"

Cardinal Matilda glanced at Sherlock with some surprise, then nodded admiringly. "That's right, next month."

"That's why I said there's no need to rush about Advanced Divine Arts. Because the Theocracy is about to face a major event."

... A big deal? I get the feeling it's an incredibly big problem...

Sherlock muttered to himself.

But given his personality, he became interested in these kinds of difficult problems—he wouldn't touch anything that wasn't troublesome.

"I have another question," Sherlock asked again, "If the matter of Saintess Ningpo is exposed, will it have a negative impact on my succession to the Pope?"

"It's fair to say... there will be a lot of controversy."

Cardinal Matilda nodded. "Especially recently, there's also the ' Controlled Fire ' movement."

"Controlled Fire?"

Sherlock had never heard of this name before.

"—Light and fire are sacred symbols of the Theocracy, but compared to light, fire is undoubtedly more dangerous. And its danger comes from its freedom."

It wasn't Cardinal Matilda spoke, but Iver: "Controlled Fire refers to the sealing off of flames that can produce light but also burn humans."

As he spoke, he pointed to the flame lamp on the table.

The flame stored in the glass was the same kind of perfectly still flame that looked "like a sticker": "This is ' Controlled Fire.' It was originally replaced nationwide by the ' Controlled Fire Controlled Fire ' organization when the movement was launched. A safer, 'colder' fire. Even a child won't get hurt if they touch it."

"... You seem to know quite a bit about this."

Cardinal Matilda was somewhat surprised. "You know about this?"

Iver nodded modestly. "After all, it's been decades."

This isn't advanced information from the game—the seminaries in schools teach this stuff. It's also an example of the rule in Avalon that fires aren't allowed to be lit freely inside churches.

Igniting a real flame has sacred significance, but summoning an illusory flame is different.

"... Has it been decades already?"

Upon hearing this, Cardinal Matilda sighed, "It feels like it was just last month."

"It sounds like an organization that's just calling for a change in the light source."

Sherlock pressed on, "Do they have any other ideas?"

"--have."

Cardinal Matilda nodded solemnly. "It's about what we were just talking about, about the Inheritors and the Professionals. They have a more radical view on this."

Sherlock realized what was happening. "They want all elves to become Professionals?"

"That's right."

Why?

"It's very simple," Cardinal Matilda replied, "Because of the amber."

"...Ningpo?"

"That's right. The Controlled Fire was formed because Cardinal Loki collected data from an investigation report."

"Data shows that the number of Amber from Inheritors is far greater than that from Professionals —not by a few percent, but by more than ten times. In the past hundred years, Inheritors have accounted for 96% of all Elves' Amber."

"... This isn't right, is it?"

Before Iver could even speak, Sherlock instinctively realized there was something wrong with the report, "Didn't you just say that the number and status of Inheritors are greater than those of Professionals?"

"This is also the original source of this report. Although the Theocracy advocates for Inheritors, professions have existed for a thousand years. There are still many elves who cannot obtain a successor... In your words, Professionals elves are equivalent to 'commoners' because their parents do not know powerful extraordinary beings and therefore cannot give them a better successor."

"Originally, they could only become ordinary citizens, protected by the extraordinary; or venture into the Dream Realm on their own to find their own path. But after the professional system was established, they had the opportunity to become Professionals."

"Just over thirty years ago, the ratio of professional Professionals to Inheritors in the Theocracy was exactly 1:1. Cardinal Loki wanted to trace this phenomenon and investigate the differences between the two groups. However, he inadvertently discovered that the proportion of Professionals elves in terms of amber was much smaller."

"... It's hard to say."

Iver shook his head. "It could be a self-selection bias."

"Self-selection bias?"

Sherlock asked instinctively.

But before Iver could answer, he realized. "Oh, that's a good word."

"That's right. Elves who are willing to become Professionals, whether by choice or by choice, are generally more open-minded and have less traditionalist families. They are more active, more curious about the lives of Short-lived Races, and more willing to experience different lifestyles. Naturally, the proportion of them who become amber is also lower."

Iver frowned slightly. "Although this 96% figure... is a bit astonishing."

"Therefore, Cardinal Loki believed that the 'class system' was not meaningless to the elves—its permeating and solidifying effect on the soul could effectively prevent or even cure Amberization Disease. Thus, he took the lead in becoming Professionals and formed the Controlled Fire. The other members of the Controlled Fire were also progressives willing to accept this idea and attempt to reform elven traditions through the class system..."

At this point, Cardinal Matilda glanced instinctively at the body of the Bishop Mercedes on the ground.

"That sounds pretty good."

Sherlock commented.

"So I don't have any prejudice against them."

Matilda covered her forehead, somewhat troubled. "But the only problem is... ' Saintess ' is not a profession. They must be raised from childhood, undergo a complex educational process, and the best one is chosen from dozens. So one of the arguments of the Controlled Fire is that the Pope no longer chooses from among the Saintess —because the existence of Saintess is equivalent to the Theocracy encouraging a system of succession."

"... But I remember that Cardinal Bishop can theoretically become Eternal Pope, right?"

Iver asked.

He remembered that the Theocracy such a system, but he wasn't sure if it was true.

"It's just theoretical, isn't it?"

Before Cardinal Matilda could answer, Sherlock's lips curled into a sarcastic smile, "Just like the knights of the Round Table Hall, who, in theory, can also decide on a matter by voting."

"That's how it is. Theoretically, the Pope is elected, but each Cardinal manages a different sphere, and their ideologies differ greatly. No matter who is chosen in the Cardinal Hall, they will be rejected by the other Cardinal with a large number of votes. Only the Saintess is the best choice..."

Matilda clearly took this for granted. "After all, the Saintess have been taking over the work of the Pope for a long time. They are actually the real Pope, and becoming the Pope is equivalent to stepping back and becoming the mentors of the new Saintess —this is how the Theocracy has been for thousands of years, and no one says anything is wrong with it."

"But now, this tradition conflicts with ' Controlled Fire,' right?"

Sherlock answered.

He squinted at the corpse. "So, the suspect is Cardinal Loki?"

"Ha, that sounds reasonable. He's Cardinal Bishop, he can open this door. He's also the leader of the Controlled Fire, and a radical. He wants to get rid of the Saintess, so he wants to provoke her into amber—that way, the Saintess will develop Amberization Disease, which will prove his claims are correct. It will also help him get elected Pope... after all, there was Saintess with amber syndrome before, so Cardinal's a precedent of cardinals being elected Pope. Sounds very logical... Hmph."

At this point, Sherlock suddenly chuckled and turned to Iver: "Iver, what do you think?"

"The logic is too complete."

Iver shook his head. "That's why I don't really believe it."

"—Then go with your gut feeling."

Sherlock immediately abandoned his conjecture, so quickly that even Iver was somewhat surprised—"Do you really trust my intuition so much?" But Iver did have evidence, only he couldn't say it.

Because Iver knew that in the chaos brought about by the "Disaster of Tree and Amber"... the first Cardinal Bishop to die was Cardinal Loki.

A very classic scenario: the most suspected criminal dies on the spot.

Iver looked at Sherlock and suddenly realized.

So this whole plot twist happened because of you, my "Sherlock Holmes"! Update complete!