Great Detective Antarctic Star

(Miluno)

Antarctic Star was very motivated, although it wasn't apparent from her expression.

On the stairs leading to the principal's office, she stated that she was a devoted fan of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and pointed to the Golden, saying:

"Watson also has a dog."

I was called Watson by the Antarctic Star.

Golden was happy to be treated like my dog. (Although she really is my dog now.)

He even said smugly:

"Oh! That dog must be just as loyal and reliable as I am!"

Antarctic Star stated expressionlessly:

"No, it was used by Sherlock Holmes as a test subject in his investigations and died."

"It's dead!"

Doggy, even the Antarctic Star is quite ruthless.

Life at the Joint Research Station was undoubtedly monotonous. Her only companions were the various books given to her by her "parents" and Antarctic Star. This led to her admiration for the positive characters in the books, which is understandable, since she certainly didn't want to be Professor Moriarty.

The principal's office door was open.

Principal Xiao Yi was discussing something with two magical girls who were teachers, but she didn't seem surprised by my arrival and Antarctic Star's.

He even started to complain:

"Sister Miluno, why didn't you come to see me right after you got back to school?"

"I went to find some people who could help."

She glanced behind me.

"They're clearly not human."

"They are more reliable than people, and the possibility of them being the mole is very low."

Xiao Yi shrugged lightly, then quickly frowned.

"Everyone here is someone I can trust, so I'll just ask directly, Sister Miluno, do you have any clue who the mole is?"

"Have no idea."

I answered very decisively as well.

"Ceruno went to the Control Tower to check the recordings. I don't intend to trust anyone until I get a clue, but even you, Xiao Yi, are suspicious."

"Huh? I'm the principal!"

Xiao Yi, whom I questioned, spoke very loudly.

Of course, she is unlikely to be a suspect, after all, even Old Man Ceruno couldn't possibly develop someone who had fallen into a time loop for six years into an inside man.

Antarctic Star stated, "One cannot make inferences without any evidence; that would only lead one astray."

"Then let's hear about the clues I've found."

As luck would have it, Ceruno pushed open the door and walked into the office.

Eager to prove her innocence, Xiao Yi pressed further:

"So, Sister Ceruno, did the surveillance footage reveal anything?"

"Alas, my discovery is... nothing at all."

"Ah?"

Ceruno sighed and explained:

"As soon as I got back, I went to the Control Tower to check the surveillance footage, but no one entered or exited the City School entrance at the time of the incident, and there was no footage of Betelgeuse leading people out of the wormhole."

Nobody here?

I tried to confirm what she meant.

"Didn't Betelgeuse and the others use the City School as a stepping stone?"

Ceruno nodded.

Antarctic Star's brows furrowed. The clues Ceruno had given were indeed difficult to pinpoint to any one person. She chewed on her unlit pipe and began to speculate:

"It's possible that the surveillance footage was tampered with, with a fake video overwriting the real recording."

Did they replace the images of Betelgeuse entering and leaving with images of people not present?

Antarctic Star paused, then asked, "Was this a premeditated ambush, coordinated from within and without?"

Xiao Yi sighed, "Then the entire school's teachers and students are suspects. To make it easier for students to go home, each magical girl has the right to operate the Wormhole Device, and such an event should leave a record in the device... but there was no record of its use at the time."

"No, this couldn't have been a premeditated ambush."

I also rejected the theory of the Antarctic Star.

"Betelgeuse's actions this time were reactive, mainly because we tricked Old Man Ceruno into going to the Sky Branch. Could it be that the Other Side was able to predict our actions in advance?"

However, the "The Other Side" might actually be able to foresee the Future; otherwise, why would they be so fixated on Ceruno?

Principal Xiao Yi said, "Actually, I have an idea, but saying it might be a bit too much for Sister Ceruno... Is it possible that...?"

Seeing her hesitant and awkward manner, I roughly understood what she wanted to say.

But that's impossible.

"No, even if Aunt Yuehan can turn invisible, she still needs to go through a wormhole to get here. When I went to see her at noon, SpiCa had already emptied the Wormhole Laboratory. That was the only Wormhole Device in the Sky Branch. How could she have come to the City School to do something without going through that?"

As I said this, Ceruno nodded hastily, for no one wants to see their mother wrongly accused.

Are those things truly unsolvable?

"No, I contacted my mom on my way here; her magic might give us some new clues."

She's still on a business trip in Europe and can't get away right now; she can only come over after she finishes her work this afternoon.

But with the Association's very survival in question, her continued investigation into Ceruno's father's past seems like putting the cart before the horse.

The penguin, Detective Penguin Holmes, wasn't there to play a prank.

She was silent for a moment, pressing down her deerstalker hat, and said haltingly as she thought:

"The wormhole is open but no one is operating it, which is unnatural... This unnaturalness could also be a breakthrough... For example, the usage records on the Wormhole Device might be deleted, and the surveillance footage might be tampered with... Although it is a magic academy, it still cannot do without computer technology, so there are always loopholes that can be exploited."

This was her idea.

Sometimes, using hypothetical scenarios to work backwards to prove a point is a viable approach.

But none of the people present knew anything about computers, and Principal Xiao Yi even typed with one finger, so verifying this was too difficult.

"Therefore, we need a highly skilled hacker."

This is my conclusion, and Principal Xiao Yi then raised her hand to propose:

"The Association's Intelligence Division is full of top-notch hackers."

"But they might not be trustworthy. If we just randomly find an informant Sun Ji left in the Association, then this matter will end here."

Ceruno tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Miluno, isn't this what Uncle Yun Zhi does?"

That's right!

Although my dad is a prosecutor, he also knows hacking techniques. In fact, most people in his line of work know a little bit about it. Otherwise, how would they collect evidence in the internet age? Not everyone is like my mom, with such convenient magic at their disposal.

My dad's skills must be pretty good. When we were secretly investigating Ceruno's dad's office before, he even hacked into the Association's surveillance system to secretly keep an eye on Secretary-General Anjie.

"Then I'll call them again."

Xiao Yi said:

"Wait, ordinary people aren't allowed to enter this 'Zodiacal'!"

Why are you being so pretentious in such a strange place?

"Xiao Yi, why are you still talking about this at a time like this? Magical girls alone can't handle this anymore. Professionals should handle professional matters. This is about catching the mole, not beating up a punching bag Monster. The Prosecutorate is more useful than us."

Besides, she's just an ordinary person herself, how can she engage in this kind of discrimination?

Xiao Yi explained with a pained expression:

"It's not that I'm being fussy! Only magical girls are allowed to enter and leave this City School. This is a fundamental principle of the 'Zodiacal' Magic Academy and also the highest order of the Central Control System."

Is it necessary to be this strict?

"In short, anyone without Crystal who enters the City School, other than me, will be flagged as an unauthorized intruder by the Central Control System, which will trigger an alarm!"