Upon hearing that Hazel had come to visit, Ebner felt slightly surprised. He finished the remaining coffee in his cup in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and only then stood up and walked toward the living room.
—In his daily life, unless necessary, Ebner did not proactively use abilities such as "Cognizer" and related powers for everything. Otherwise, a great deal of fun would inevitably be lost, and he would gradually become less and less like a "human."
After arriving at the living room, Ebner unexpectedly discovered that the visitor was not just Hazel alone, but also Klein's younger sister, Melissa, as well as Miss Elizabeth, who had only recently joined the Nighthawks and whose face still carried a bit of baby fat.
Among them, there were still tear tracks on Melissa's face. The color of her emotions appeared to be a mix of surprise and sorrow, along with a hint of uncertain apprehension.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Ebner looked at Hazel and said with a smile, "It seems your 'Cryptologist' has finished digesting."
"That's all thanks to your guidance," Hazel said gratefully as she stared at Ebner's cheek.
It was precisely because Ebner had told her to investigate matters related to Detective Sherlock that she had been able to digest the potion so quickly.
Melissa and Elizabeth, who did not understand the tacit exchange between them, grew somewhat anxious and secretly tugged at the hem of Hazel's skirt.
They had booked a train departing for Tingen at nine in the morning, and time was rather tight, which was why they made such a slightly discourteous move.
Only then did Hazel come back to her senses. She withdrew her captivated gaze, lightly coughed, and explained their purpose:
"I, Melissa, and Elizabeth have some matters to attend to in Tingen and won't be able to return until tomorrow at noon… But aside from Elizabeth, who is relatively free due to her work, neither Melissa nor I want our families to worry… So we were hoping you could think of a way to help cover things up."
Wouldn't it be easier to just ask me to 'Teleport' you to Tingen in the middle of the night? Ebner muttered inwardly. Still, he understood their desire to go and verify things on their own. After all, digging up a "hero's" grave was hardly an honorable affair, and it was normal that they did not want others to know.
Even if Hazel had digested her potion by "deciphering" Sherlock's secret, that still did not truly guarantee that Sherlock was Klein.
"No problem. This isn't difficult for me…" Ebner said with a smile as he nodded, then carefully sized up Hazel and Melissa.
Just as the two of them were starting to feel a bit embarrassed under his gaze, Ebner waved his hand. Immediately after, two beautiful women appeared out of thin air in the living room.
One of them was Natalia, the "Saintess of Yellow," and the other was Tracy's mother, the former husband of "Saintess of White" Katarina, the "Demoness of Affliction," Raina.
The latter had been a marionette of the "Scholar of Yore" Daphne. Later, after attacking Owen and being planted with a "Brain Seed," she had been offered to Ebner.
Now, both of these Demonesses had become Alvin's marionettes.
Melissa and Elizabeth were both captivated by the beauty of the Demonesses, especially the "Saintess of Yellow." That innate allure made even girls like them feel their hearts race, leaving them momentarily speechless.
Only Hazel, supported by her "Metal Arm," pursed her lips and revealed a slightly unhappy expression.
With a thought from Ebner, the marionettes used their "master's" Faceless ability and transformed into the appearances of Melissa and Hazel respectively.
"All set! After you come back tomorrow, come find me again. I'll have them hand over identities with you then," Ebner said as he clapped his hands.
This miraculous method once again shocked the three girls. Melissa even stepped forward to carefully examine that "herself," yet she could not find a single flaw—even the clothes had been perfectly replicated.
"Thank you for your help, Viscount," Melissa said as she lifted her skirt and performed a curtsey.
"No need to be so polite… Also, just call me Ebner," Ebner said with a smile as he waved his hand. Then, "out of habit," he observed their Rivers of Destiny to confirm whether this trip to "dig a grave" would go smoothly.
However, he immediately frowned almost imperceptibly, then quickly concealed it.
Next, he narrowed his eyes, took out paper and pen, wrote a note, and personally held Hazel's hand to place the note into her palm, instructing her to read it only after boarding the train.
Hazel's cheeks instantly flushed red, yet she did not notice that several Spirit Worms were entering her body along the hand Ebner was holding, quietly hiding themselves.
After the three girls arrived at the station and boarded the first-class carriage, the still somewhat dazed Hazel was urged on by her classmate and her classmate's close friend to open the note.
What she found written on it was not what she had imagined, but the potion formula for the "Prometheus."
Although it was likewise extremely precious, Hazel's mood became rather complicated… a mixture of joy and disappointment.
...
On the other side, after the three girls had left, Ebner sat alone in the living room, took a sip of Duke Red Tea, then looked in the direction of Tingen and muttered to himself:
"Hazel really couldn't escape the fate of encountering Amon after all…
"Mm, blocking is worse than guiding… Since it's hard to avoid, it's better to let her encounter it once after making sufficient preparations!
"If I forcibly keep her in Backlund, perhaps 'Fate' would flow into an even more unpredictable 'tributary'…"
Thinking of this, Ebner, who had originally planned to find time to study the highest authority of "Alvin's Quiz Labyrinth," could only temporarily shelve that plan.
After going upstairs to wake Fors and giving her some instructions, his figure disappeared.
...
North Borough, beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral. Following the old man's guidance, Leonard, who was researching Sherlock's files, stared intently at the portrait of the great detective Moriarty on the table. In his mind, he reconstructed what the other party looked like without glasses and without a beard.
Although there might be a certain gap between this and reality, being a product of speculation mixed with imagination, Leonard increasingly felt that Sherlock Moriarty looked very familiar, very much like someone he had once known.
"How is that possible? He died long ago! I even buried him with my own hands!" Leonard shook his head and muttered with a self-mocking smile.
Before his words had fully faded, his expression suddenly stiffened, because the person in his memories was far from simple and hid enormous secrets:
This person could strangely shake off the influence of "2-049" without needing anyone else's help!
This person had used the special nature of "2-049" to kill a Sequence 7 Beyonder, even though he himself had only been a "Seer" who was not good at combat!
This person could use techniques of ancient Sanguine spells and ritual magic!
This person had summarized the "Acting Method" in a very short time and advanced to Sequence 8 at an astonishing speed!
This person possessed high-sequence Sun-domain charms and, working together with Captain Dunn Smith who wielded holy ashes, had actually killed Megose, who carried the offspring of an evil god!
This person's Sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic had been taken away by Ince Zangwill, while Captain Dunn Smith's Sequence 7 Beyonder characteristic had been left at the scene!
Perhaps it wasn't that Ince Zangwill casually took a Beyonder characteristic that just happened to be formed, causing something to be missing at the scene, but rather that there had never been a corresponding item formed at all! Leonard Mitchell abruptly came back to his senses and once again scrutinized Sherlock Moriarty's portrait.
The more he looked, the more he felt that the mysterious detective Sherlock Moriarty resembled his former teammate, the hero who had saved Tingen—Klein Moretti!
After quickly flipping through the files again, he sat in the chair without moving for a long time, as if he had already fallen asleep within the shadows cast by the lamplight.
Several minutes passed before Leonard finally changed posture. He leaned back against the chair and said in a low voice:
"Old man, do you think this detective Sherlock Moriarty looks like my teammate back in Tingen City, Klein Moretti?"
Silly kid, you finally noticed… But that's only one. Don't you also think that Dwayne Dantès and Dunn Smith look very similar? In his mind, Pallez muttered a few words to himself before deliberately hesitating and replying in an aged voice:
"The one who joined the Nighthawks because of the Antigonus family notebook?"
"Yes…" Leonard responded in a deep voice.
The parasite within his body waited two seconds before saying:
"Somewhat similar."
After receiving the answer, Leonard fell silent once more. After a long while, he took out his gold-cased pocket watch, snapped it open, and glanced at it, confirming that it was still morning.
Leonard immediately closed the watch, stood up abruptly, left a note for his teammates, then went out to hail a carriage and headed straight for the train station.
...
Tingen City, Seer Club.
A man in his thirties with darker skin, dark green pupils, light yellow and soft hair, wearing a white shirt and a black vest, suddenly curved his lips into a smile. Then he put on the monocle that he had long worn on his chest as an ornament, placing it over his right eye.
"Mr. Grassis?" The lady sitting opposite him, who was waiting for her divination, saw his strange smile and could not help but call out.
Who would have thought that "Grassis" would only glance back at the lady, causing her to stop speaking. Instead, she took out a monocle from somewhere unknown and put it on as well…
"Pallez is in this city?" the man and the woman said in unison.
(End of Chapter)