299.Chapter 293 – The Missing Clue

Chapter 293 – The Missing Clue

–Ritual Formation.

Sherlock’s heart tightened.

He had expected it before – he had begun to suspect it when he saw that neat circle when he looked at the Eagle Point Village from high above. But it was only now that the matter was finally confirmed.

The entirety of Eagle Point Village was one large ceremony of unknown significance.

But here was the problem.

–What is this ceremony for?

If it were to be put elsewhere, it would obviously be related to the anomaly here.

But the problem was that there were too many “anomalies” in this haunted village.

The King of the Wild Hunt, abnormal chronology, abnormal lifespan, outlanders appearing from the swamp, the Goblin’s Cave ……

Sherlock rubbed his temples. Countless possibilities were being put together in his mind, burning his brain.

He turned to speak and asked, ”Uncle Magnetic Hammer, what did you mean yesterday when you said that the reason for Sister Hajna’s real father’s sudden departure was because he was ‘struck by some kind of evil’? And he never came back after leaving Eagle Point Village for so long, did he die outside already?”

Such a direct and almost unreasonable inquiry, if the original Sherlock had asked, the other party would probably have thrown his face away.

But now it is just right – I am a child, it is normal to be ignorant. Straight to the point that is reasonable, you can not be with me, right?

Dwarf Magnet Hammer expression is also a little subtle.

But he was silent for a short while, glanced at Hajna’s mother’s back, and finally glanced at Hajna, and lowered his voice and replied softly, “Actually …… I think that he may have escaped.”

“Escaped?”

Sherlock also lowered his voice with a childlike look of shock, “Why? Was it because of those undead?”

Next to her, Hajna also came to her senses.

It wasn’t that she was disgusted by Sherlock’s pinched voice …… but she was also really interested in the answer. She had asked her mom many times when she was a child, but the other woman had muddled through. And at that time she was actually a bit afraid of this father who was a bit rude and looked nothing like herself, so her relationship with Magneto Hammer wasn’t too good back then.

And nowadays she only gradually reacted ……

It seemed that the one with the problem was her own mother instead.

This dwarf father, who had only begun to take care of her since she was a few years old and was not related by blood, was a bit more normal.

“It’s not the undead – although I was scared when I first came here, these undead usually don’t hurt anyone. So gradually I got used to it.”

Magnet Hammer lowered his voice, wrapped in a drunken stench and brought his head to Sherlock’s face, forehead against Sherlock’s, “There’s a rumor …… that he saw something he shouldn’t have, and that’s why he went crazy.”

“Something you shouldn’t see ……”

Hajna muttered, “Could it be that Grandpa Jacob did some evil research?”

“Ah, that’s not true ……”

Magnetic Hammer waved his hand repeatedly, “Your Grandpa Jacob is holed up at home writing books every day, what kind of research could he be doing ……

“Actually, it’s because, he seems to have seen another self. A few days before he left, it was obvious that he was a bit distracted. His master asked about it and said that it was as if he had seen another person exactly like himself. After that, he disappeared after a few days……. At that time when I first came here, it just so happened that this rumor was popular in the village, so I was quite impressed.”

“So, what happened after that?”

Sherlock did his best to make a scared expression, “Was that ‘other self’ still around after he left ……?”

“No more. That’s why it’s a rumor.”

Magnetic Hammer resumed his normal volume and laughed loudly, “You think, if there really is an ‘other self’, then he shouldn’t have disappeared at all-when he disappeared, shouldn’t he have been ‘other self’? That way no one would even realize he was missing.

“At the time, old William investigated the matter as well, and even asked his colleagues to help with the investigation. But there was never any trace of his whereabouts, even on the bagpipe town side there was no record of him leaving by train.

“But after …… that about two years passed. At that time, Hajna hadn’t gone to school in Bagpipe Town yet, and her mom got a letter. It was from her asshole of a father, saying he’d been living on Glass Island for a long time and hadn’t been able to contact his family. Recently, he finally finished a big job and was able to take a vacation. He took the time to come back for a visit.

“But he didn’t come back until the end. He didn’t leave his address either, so we couldn’t send a reply.

“Hajna’s mother, who also recognizes handwriting, confirmed that it was the other person’s handwriting. The village priest also confirmed that the handwriting was correct. So he’s probably not dead. At least he didn’t die more than ten years ago. …… But he hasn’t sent a letter back for so long, so he’s either forgotten or died.”

“Also oh ……”

Sherlock smiled sarcastically.

But his heart sank as he and Hajna exchanged silent glances.

–No.

The problem here was that Hajna’s father had disappeared suddenly.

The villagers and dwarves may not know it, but Sherlock does understand – if a person wants to disappear, it’s not really that easy.

Unless he was able to change his appearance, it was very easy to leave all sorts of traces. The monitors were very good at tracing all kinds of traces …… This point Hajna also knew.

If a person went to live abroad, he at least wanted money. And if one wanted to make money, he had to be involved in work that he was familiar with.

And no one had mentioned that he had absconded with the money when he left, which meant that he hadn’t left much money on him. And at the time he was just an apprentice blacksmith, unlike Magnet Hammer who was a true master blacksmith. He also didn’t make much money at all.

Under such circumstances, it was basically impossible for him to leave by his own will and not leave any traces behind.

Then there were really only two possibilities. Either he was kidnapped or killed. There was another person helping him with his whereabouts, meaning he had an accomplice.

Either that, or he disappeared out of nowhere – like being teleported away, or falling into a swamp.

But he was able to send a letter after several years, and the handwriting confirms that he sent it himself. As for whether the letter was written years ago, this Sherlock believed that Magnet Hammer shouldn’t be that stupid.

Assuming, then, that her father was still alive a few years after his disappearance. And does not want the villagers to know where he is, then another possibility can be introduced ……

–The “father” who suddenly disappeared was actually the clone. Because he was made up of rituals or spells, he disappeared silently without leaving any traces.

The real body had already traveled to the Glass Island with the help of others.

If “copying a person” is a ritual effect, then the person who helped him should be a powerful ritualist.

Is there such a ritualist in Eagle Point Village?
Yes, there is.

It was Ivars’ grandfather, Jacob Alexander.

Although Sherlock didn’t know exactly what energy level he was, since two fifth energy level Noble Reds had failed to kill him outright, Jacob was at least a fourth energy level, and possibly even a fifth energy level.

Could he have traveled to Glass Island specifically to help Jacob set up some ritual remotely?
After all, Jacob was being hunted by Noble Red at the time, and it wasn’t convenient for him to go to places where there were a lot of people.

And after a few years, he completed that ritual.

…… and so on.

Wait?

Sherlock’s heart suddenly stuttered.

-A few years later?
He thought of something, and ran through the timeline from the beginning…

When Sherlock had investigated Ivars, he had found out that his grandfather had died when Ivars was about four years old due to an “occasional cold”.

Hajna was four years older than Ivars, so that would be when Hajna was about eight. This is about the same time that Hajna learned to read from Jacob’s side of the family.

–And little Jack, then, was eight years younger than Hajna.

That is to say, a year before Little Jack was born, his own father disappeared; after that, six months later, Magnetic Hammer came to the village of Eagle Point; and not a year after that, Jacob died. After he died, the relics were somehow stolen by the Noble Reds without finding a certain thing they wanted most.

Immediately afterward, threatening letters of unknown significance were sent. They killed Julio’s niece, Lisa, and threatened to kill Ivars by mentioning in the letter that Ivars’ father, Julio Alexander, “didn’t do what they said he would do”.

Ivars’ biological parents were killed and he was orphaned. However, he later ended up in an orphanage, but was not pursued further.

Then Hajna’s father sends a letter back to …… saying he has been living on Glass Island for a long time. After that he really disappeared and didn’t come looking for Hajna until she graduated from college and was in the newspaper.

During the time that Hajna’s father traveled to Glass Island and sent the letter back, did anything special happen on Glass Island that only a ritualist could do?
– – was present.

That was the day Sherlock told Ivars that Eagle Point Village was Hajna’s old home. That day Sherlock overheard Bishop Mathers explaining to Ivars why he wasn’t there that day …… The answer was that the curse of the Red Handled Sword had been accidentally leaked the night before.

At the time, Sherlock was still awake, so he didn t have time to raise his voice. He woke up afterward, but the topic had left and he couldn’t be bothered to go back and talk about it – but he always remembered that incident.

Because he had sensed something was wrong then.

The seal on the red-handled sword was imposed by Merlin.

Although he hated that guy, Sherlock knew that Merlin’s technique was very good, so how could that thing be easily leaked?

Not to mention leaking it, even if one was induced to unseal it, one would have to be a top ritualist to do it.

It had only been leaked once in so many years, and it happened to be that very day.

Sherlock did not believe in coincidence.

It was highly likely, then, that it was Hajna’s father who had remotely assisted Jacob in the ritual on the Glass Island! The seal of the red-handled sword was induced to leak!
–So far, the timing, the abilities, the perpetrators, basically all match up.

But instead, it got weirder after that.

The question that puzzled Sherlock was ……

Why did Ivars’ grandfather, on his deathbed, set out to kill Ivars’ parents?

Sherlock remembers that the person who killed Ivars’ parents was a curser who operated the Iron Hook Demon and came from the desert. It shouldn’t have been one of Jacob’s people.

But the person who made it so that they couldn’t find Bishop Mathers after arriving at Glass Island in the first place was Hajna’s father. Because he made it so that the bishop happened to be away that day.

Or was it that Jacob wasn’t trying to kill Ivars’ parents, just that something had gone wrong with his plan?
Could it be that the curser was also one of Jacob’s people? That’s why Ivars didn’t continue to be hunted afterward.

But what was the plan ……

“Strange ……”

Sherlock pulled his hair hard.

There was no explanation here, no matter what.

His instincts clearly realized that he was missing a piece of a very crucial clue in this last part of his reasoning. It was just one last step away from tying the truth together, but that one crucial sentence was missing.

“Damn it!”

Sherlock subconsciously slammed his fist on Hajna beside him, intending to go to Ivars first and share the information.

Update completed!

(End of chapter)