Deduction and Speculation

Abner could hardly tell Fors the truth behind it, so he picked up the documents and began "deducing" from their contents:

"The clues are too obvious... Look here: 'The target has an obsessive love of the wind and is an experienced sailor.' That practically tells me the person you're looking for is a Beyonder of the Sailor Pathway. His Sequence can't be too low, either, or you and Xio wouldn't be taking this so seriously!

"Then there's this: 'The target is a serial killer with a psychological disorder. Every other day, he must murder a living person'... That suggests this Sailor Pathway Beyonder has a mystical item that requires living sacrifices to suppress its negative effects.

"Finally, I'd guess the page you deliberately took contains specific information about the person you're looking for, perhaps even his portrait... I don't know why you won't show it to me, but you clearly think I'd recognize him at once if I saw it.

"So, he's a mid- to High-Sequence powerhouse of the Sailor Pathway with a powerful Sealed Artifact that must be fed living people. He probably arrived in Backlund recently, and he's famous...

"Quite a few people fit those conditions, but I know only one who'd need to hide his identity: Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingus."

Admiration spread across Fors's face as she listened. She applauded and exclaimed, "Abner, your deductions are incredible! I'm already thinking of adapting that speech for my novel!"

Xio undercut her from the side, her face expressionless. "That's not what you said before we left... You said Abner's reputation as the 'Hero Detective' was mostly down to coincidence, and you didn't know how good his deductions really were, so we ought to test him first."

Fors spread her hands innocently. "You went along with it, didn't you?"

*So