1.Chapter 1 Are you here to arrest me?

Chapter 1 Are you here to arrest me?

“Yes, hello …… I’m Inspector Hajna …… who made an appointment yesterday to investigate the attack on Mr. Ivars Moriarty.”

A young girl in a blue and white uniform who looked to be probably in her early to mid-twenties was standing nervously and unsteadily in front of the gates of a manor, clutching her large brimmed hat.

Her curly brown hair was tied back in a ponytail behind her, and her nose was high. Her lake blue eyes were filled with the panic of having screwed something up.

“…… Hug, sorry, the Zoning Inspectorate has a temporary inspection meeting …… There was another warehouse explosion over in White Queen yesterday, traces of Inferno were detected at the scene, and it’s suspected that a Demon Scholar was involved –I think it might be the same wanted criminal who attacked Mr. Ivars the day before yesterday!”

Hajna said, her voice becoming smaller and smaller, “So, so ……”

“–So you took it upon yourself to participate in this monitoring meeting that you weren’t actually asked to attend, and arrived two hours and twenty-three minutes late ……?”

The old man’s serious and aged voice rang out from across the iron gate. It was trailing a long, peculiar tone, the elven accent unique to the people of the royal capital.

He clicked the jewel-encrusted pocket watch in his hand closed and withdrew it to his chest, staring solemnly at Hajna.

Standing across from Hajna was an elderly elf in a butler’s uniform, thin and tall.

The wrinkled skin on his face would remind one of tree bark, and his ghostly green pupils were closer to a wolf than a lake.

The old elf looked to be close to two meters tall, and his posture with his hands behind his back looked like the ghostly shadow of dead wood reflected in the moonlight at night. The back that was as straight as a pine and motionless was filled with a powerful oppressive force at the moment.

Although Hajna was actually a trainee inspector who had not yet graduated, she was still a quasi-formal inspector who had passed the graduation test with a perfect score and could receive the Queen’s honor at any time. Now she was wearing a trainee badge only because the griffin assigned to her was still on its way to be deployed.

By all rights, she shouldn’t be so afraid of a housekeeper.

But the old man in front of her was different.

Because this aged elf butler was none other than her own instructor.

Although he followed the ancient agreement and served the Moriarty family as a steward …… for a long time from the beginning of the founding of the country, at the same time, he was the Grand Inspector General who stepped down eighty years ago.

“–I thought you would be later, Ms. Hajna.”

The old butler put his hands behind his back and said in the elfin accent that always brought Hajna a bit of arrogance, “Young Master Aiwas was attacked by the Demon Scholar the day before yesterday, and he was unconscious until last night. But when he heard that the Inspectorate was coming to ask some questions, he cooperated and voluntarily gave up going to the Glass Order Sanatorium. Just after taking some medicine, he dragged his weak body to wait for you by the fireplace for two hours, and I also waited for you at the door for two hours.

“It’s almost dark now, so you might as well be late for tomorrow if you’re any later; and since you’re already late for tomorrow, I don’t think there’s any hurry for this week’s recuperation. According to the rules of the Inspector’s Office, a case that has been signed with a warrant is to be brought to a conclusion within a week of its opening – and with Ms. Hajna’s good training, which she graduated with a perfect score, she’ll be able to locate the Demon Scholar without any difficulty.

“Now that the culprit has been apprehended, why are you making things difficult for my poor young master Aiwas? Why don’t you just please go back, I’ll explain on Mr. Kent’s side.”

Kent was the head of the White Queen Subdivision Inspectorate. Even if Hajna was turned, Kent was still three levels higher than her.

If the old butler’s tone hadn’t been so gloomy, she would have immediately pulled her legs out and run away right now, leaving this troublesome matter to her superiors. But the problem was, she was actually still a senior now.

Even though she could be said to be calling the shots in school, she hadn’t graduated yet after all.

She didn’t have enough social experience to tell whether the old man was seriously making such an offer or just being sarcastic. However, her intuition told her that if the old man did not intend to do so, and she just ran away foolishly, she was afraid that she would really be in trouble.

“…… I’m really sorry.”

So Hajna could only bow her head and apologize first, “I’ll apologize to Mr. Ivars as well.”

In any case, having already booked the meeting time in advance, but being so late without saying anything beforehand …… one was indeed in the wrong in the first place.

She looked at the iron door that blocked her from the old man, and her thoughts began to subconsciously drift away again.

The large black hollowed out iron gate was only decorated with a low key thorn pattern …… It did not look like a famous gate.

In fact, that adoptive father of Professor Moriarty – that is, the person related to this incident, Ivars Moriarty – did also qualify as a good man with a low-profile, calm, intelligent and erudite personality. Prof. Moriarty was also Hajna’s teacher in college, responsible for the subjects of Astrology, Astronomy and Advanced Mathematics.

Inheriting the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce, he owned three museums under his name, and even the only planetarium in White Queen was built with his funding. Obviously so rich, but just quiet to do his studies in the university. He even funded many orphanages and adopted many orphans, calling himself an amazing, big man full of kindness.

The captain had made a point of reminding her when she arrived that the Moriarty family was not only rich, but also a founding family with elves to serve them. Despite the gentle nature of the head of the family, Mr. James, he should be careful.

As a rule, any direct participant in the demonic incident must be escorted to the local inspectorate wearing a commandment lock at the first opportunity after being removed from life-threatening situations, to undergo a psychic examination by the head of the law. Only after their innocence is confirmed will they be returned to a hospital or sanitarium.

This is because the identities of the officiant, the participants, the instructors and the sacrifices in a demonic ritual cannot be distinguished simply by the identity of the victim as “injured or not”.

If the sacrifice survives, it means that the ritual has generally failed – the sacrifice may not die, but it is usually killed in order to silence the victim. Therefore, when there is a wounded person instead of a dead person, the wounded person may not be the sacrifice, but may be a person involved in the ritual.

But this kind of rule, nowadays, is actually invalid.

Like a blind man, Chief Kent had completely ignored the clues that were within reach. It was only when the old butler took the initiative to contact Director Kent and make an appointment for today that he seemed to “suddenly remember” about it. And when she came here, the Inspectorate didn’t even give her a Lawgiver to accompany her, only letting herself, a trainee Inspector with no griffin, no armor and no sword, come alone.

Such an obvious harboring ……

Hajna felt that even if this matter was really related to Ivars, I’m afraid she wouldn’t be able to take the other party with her.

But also because of such a big battle, she instead felt …… that perhaps this matter was really related to the other party.

…… It’s so nice. Obviously just adopted civilian orphans. Just because of good luck, was valued by the professor and adopted. Now it has become a big person that the Supervisory Bureau can not move ……

Standing in the doorway, Hajna was stunned out of her mind, thinking somewhat sourly.

But just at this moment, the iron door suddenly opened slowly.

She raised her head in shock and saw the old man’s still expressionless, but inexplicably feeling as if he wasn’t so angry anymore face.

The old elf gave her a silent look, then walked slowly back with his hands behind his back.

Hajna froze for a moment before realizing that this was a way for her to follow.

So she scrambled to put on the hat she was holding in her arms and hurriedly followed. But only after taking a few steps did she remember to turn back and close the door. But just as she turned back, she saw the manor’s door close on its own.

Not only that, but there were even bright runes lighting up from the inside of the plain, uninteresting iron gate.

The sunlight was askew and the evening breeze had stopped a little. Hajna vaguely felt as if something invisible had enveloped the area and changed the atmosphere of the manor.

“I’m not trying to pick on you either, Ms. Hajna.”

It was clear that the old elf was walking in front of him, but the old man’s much gentler voice rang precisely in his own ears, “But what is agreed upon with a person is to be obeyed. What is agreed upon is the moment to meet, no need to advance or delay. Yes, the consequences of breaking the rules in the school may not be as severe, but the school likewise does not have griffon knights patrolling the streets, lawyers with armed knights regularly reviewing the tax accounts of companies – there is no watchdog like you who can arrest the suspicious elements outright.

“Everyone in this country values ‘rules’. It is not only Her Majesty’s will that is guarded by the Inspectorate, the Law Courts, and the Arbitration Hall, but also the many rules established by the Parliament.

“I will forgive you this time, and I will not speak to Mr. Kent about your lapse – I will say that you arrived on time, and simply stayed for two cups of tea and a gluttonous snack after finding out what happened.

“But that was because Master Ewers was kind-hearted. I had already decided to call the Inspectorate when you were an hour late. It was Young Master Ivars who stopped me. He said that there is always a chance to give someone a chance …… to meet you first, no matter what excuse you have to find.”

The old elf spoke slowly and walked for a long time before reaching the entrance of the manor.

In the next moment, his voice lowered a bit, yet still clearly resounded in Hajna’s ears, “Even though Avalon doesn’t have the so-called ‘nobles’ of other countries, the descendants of the founding fathers are just as noble. Without the sacrifices of those twenty founding fathers, everyone would be dead – even the Queen must honor the founding fathers’ descendants.

“I sense your sincere apology, so I will forgive you for overstepping your bounds. But you might want to think carefully about whether you have offended or gotten in the way of someone …… As I said, this is a monitoring meeting that does not require your participation.”

Hearing this, Hajna was then suddenly struck dumb.

At this time, the old man who had walked to the door turned around gracefully and bowed slightly to Hajna, “Please follow me, Miss Hajna. The young master has been waiting for a long time.”

It was then that he put on his butler’s mask to greet his guest.

The previous attitude was more like an instructor facing an indisputable trainee.

And Hajna, whose brain was a mess, followed the old elf towards the living room.

The touch of the soft carpet under her feet startled her, and she raised her head to ask if she needed to take off her shoes – but the old elf’s calm and easygoing attitude made her unsure. So she could only follow with trepidation, feeling the sudden warmth of the hearth in the winter time.

It was then that she realized that she had left an old man standing in the doorway waiting for two hours on a winter’s evening.

With guilt and shame, she didn’t know how to open her mouth.

Even the suspicion of Ivars was washed away in this confession.

And so she met the somewhat prodigal Aiwas Moriarty, who was a bit of a windbag.

He was currently sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his lap.

That pale frail face was bloodless, and his appearance that looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old had a handsome beauty that was completely different from Professor Moriarty’s.

He was draped in pure white fluffy pajamas, looking as if he had just come out of a bath. His soft platinum blonde hair reflected the warm light of the fire. He was reading quietly and intently into the fire, and that delicate face had a gentle intent …… that reminded her of a poet, with the fire rising in the fireplace at home.

That beautiful image looked like a painting. Hajna subconsciously opened her eyes wide.

But just then, the teenager heard something and pushed the wheelchair together and deftly turned around.

And it was at that moment that Hajna noticed the wheelchair sitting underneath him.

…… Could this be the price of being attacked by a demon scholar?
At some point, she instinctively discarded the possibility that “the demonologist is Ivars”.

The young man looked over, his deep blue pupils like the sea.

“Ms. Hajna.”

It was a clear voice that gave a sense of reserve, a gorgeous voice that matched the looks.

His voice was a bit more energetic and polite than that frail face, “Hello for the first time.

“–Please, are you here to arrest me?”

(End of chapter)