59. Chapter 59 – Young and Promising

Chapter 59: A Young and Talented Man

When Sherlock entered the room, he subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

The first thing he could tell was that there was too little, and too much, food on the table that had been eaten.

Unlike Star Antimony, Avalon did not promote the virtue of frugality here in the Knight Founding. It was an honor to hold a feast here – and if the food and wine were almost eaten and drunk, but the feast was far from over, then this would be considered rude.

It was because the host had prepared so little food that the guests needed to leave early to finish their journey. Therefore, when the guest realizes that he or she is almost finished with the food, he or she will intentionally eat less to save face for the host.

So this couldn’t have been the first round of meals. Instead, it should be the second round.

By the same token, if it is rude to say that the meal is finished, then removing and serving the second round of food is a form of attention and retention. The implication is, “I’ve replaced you with yet another fresh, hot meal, isn’t it a bit rude for you to leave now?”

“…… Good evening, Mr. Sherlock.”

Isabel was the first to speak, “It’s good to see you.”

–What are you suddenly happy about?
Sherlock was a little confused in his mind, but there was still no mistake in his etiquette.

“The silver-crowned dragon is above.”

He didn’t dare to raise his head to meet the princess’s eyes, and respectfully kneeled on one knee, rubbed his chest with one hand, and bowed his head to perform a knight’s salute: “Your Highness, I wish you all the best.”

“Please rise, Mr. Sherlock.”

Isabel made a crisp sound.

It was then that Sherlock dared to get up and greet Janice, who was still sitting at the table, and Ivars, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

Yanis smiled and nodded as a response. As for Ivars, who was unable to move, Lily behind him gently bowed and returned the greeting on his behalf.

Soon, after getting up, Sherlock’s sharp eagle-like gaze glanced and noticed Princess Isabel’s slightly drunken face.

–Drinking so much wine?

He was a little surprised.

Then it seems that Master Yanis is quite attached to Mr. Ivars.

Otherwise, she would have prevented Her Highness from drinking too much wine – in terms of etiquette, generally speaking, big people would not drink too much wine at banquets, and would only take a sip or two politely. If you finish a glass and then add another one, you would appear to be overly intimate and take this banquet too seriously.

And that in itself is a political signal.

If Master Janice thought that Ivars was an insignificant guest, she would signal Isabel to keep her distance.

But I’m afraid it wasn’t a matter of one or two drinks now.

Look at the two empty wine bottles on that table …… The three of them actually drank two bottles of wine?

Those servants in the Temple of Silver and Tin will definitely sell this information. Sherlock knew …… that some of them had connections with a certain minister or knight family. There were times when he himself would buy some information from them.

That is to say.

At the latest tomorrow morning, the information that Princess Isabel was favoring Ivars Moriarty would be delivered to the desks of several ministers.

Young and talented ah ……

As Sherlock thought of this, a thought popped into his mind:
…… Speaking of which.

Before, Her Highness had played the role of little Ivars mother in the ceremony …… She wouldn’t be out of the theater yet, would she?

“Speaking of which, Mr. Sherlock. I heard that you went to handle some cases with Inspector General Edward? Have you eaten at night? Why don’t you sit down and eat some.”

“…… wouldn’t dare.”

Sherlock hastened to politely decline.

But he still symbolically took a slice of bread in his hand, signaling that he accepted the food given by the princess.

He knew that this point had already reached Her Highness’s resting time, and she must have already eaten well as well. He wouldn’t dare to make Princess Isabel eat with him because of himself.

If his father knew about this, he was afraid that he would have to hammer him.

Thinking of this, Sherlock suddenly saw the corners of the little princess’s mouth slightly upturned, and realized that she was afraid that she had indeed drunk a little too much.

…… Now this is afraid of deliberately flirting with himself.

Previously in the dream, as the only experienced senior in the team, he reprimanded the naive “Lulu” several times.

Basically, only he said the part, there is no room for her to retort. But now in reality,……, in the Hall of Silver and Tin, the two of them had completely reversed their positions.

It can’t be helped.

After all, the one who took the initiative to expose her identity was herself …… and it wasn’t her fault.

But Sherlock was soon in trouble.

If it was just the princess and Master Janice, he could have said what he wanted to say. In the meantime, he reminded Master Janice of the dangerous and mysterious Mr. Fox.

…… But, Ivars is still here.

Although Sherlock thinks highly of Ivars, he can’t take the initiative to disclose Princess Isabel’s private information in front of outsiders.

This was, after all, something that only he and Isabel knew.

If he were to say it here, would that mean that he would also leak, or even sell, the little princess’s personal information outside? Sherlock was loyal to Queen Sofia, so naturally, it was impossible for him to do such a thing that would jeopardize the royal family.

…… But the problem came.

Always have something to say Sherlock, now how to explain their own to track down the sweater fraternity this matter of motivation?
So Sherlock thought for a while and came up with a way of answering that only Isabel could understand:
“From the side of a not-so-trustworthy gentleman, I inadvertently learned about the gathering point of a group of stranded parties in the Lloyd District.” Sherlock hinted in a hushed voice, “They may be connected to the people behind the Pelican Bar. Considering that it would be a bit risky to go alone, I invited my friend Edward Moriarty to accompany me.”

“So, what are the results of the investigation?”

Ivars suddenly interjected, looking like he was interested in the topic.

“It went well. That was indeed the meeting place of a group of strangling parties called the ‘Brotherhood of Sweaters’. We also recovered a shipment of alchemical bombs.”

“So it seems,” Ivas said with a grin, “that ‘Mr. Not-So-Reliable’ looks pretty reliable, too.”

Sherlock was noncommittal about this, and after a moment of silence added, “However, after a brief interrogation, they themselves didn’t know that it was a bomb. They just received money to look after the goods for someone.

“I suspect that the masterminds behind them are in contact with the customs people. Because this shipment of bombs came from the Customs through regular channels – Edward and I specifically checked this afternoon, and the shipment had a regular signature, as well as labels that had passed inspection.”

Mr. Detective, who had black curly hair and always had a lazy expression, looked confident at this moment, “This is very important information, a key breakthrough.

“Following this clue, we immediately grasped the logistics batch and arrival time of the rest of those bombs. If we continue to investigate, we will be able to go from this time to all of the customs department’s acceptance officers on that day.

“Your Highness Isabel, I can even say this – this case is now solved. The rest of the work is nothing more than a repetitive, unskilled investigation.”

He didn’t hide it from Ivars, because it was completely unnecessary.

The other person involved in this case was Aiwas’s older brother. He wasn’t the type to talk about rules in everything, and if Aiwas asked, he was sure to tell.

“…… Also, Your Highness Isabel. The identity of the ‘Bone Eagle’ has basically been locked down, while the ‘Fox’ has yet to start investigating.”

Sherlock respectfully inquired, “Should we go after the Bone Eagle or the Fox first next?”

Right now he hadn’t written a report.

But when he wrote the report and gave it to the Queen, the Queen would more than likely also let him refer to Her Highness’s opinion …… After all, this also involves Isabel’s own advancement ceremony. Only she and Sherlock knew what was going on inside. With the Queen’s wisdom, she definitely wouldn’t point fingers.

At that time, one would still have to ask Isabel’s opinion when investigating – then it would be better to take the initiative to ask questions now, and still be able to keep some initiative for oneself.

“Go find the Bone Sculptor. There are unstable elements that could potentially jeopardize Avalon, and we need to weed them out as soon as possible. I’ll support you in your investigations, and you can come to me if any part of the process needs to be signed off on.”

Isabel thought for a moment, glanced at Aiwas and replied somewhat vaguely, “As for the matter of Mr. ‘Fox’ …… can be put on hold for now.”

Ivars blinked.

Isabel was vaguely starting to get a little suspicious at the moment.

But the answer she gave, but let Sherlock a little surprised – he really does not want to find “fox”, so deliberately said “bone carving” identity has almost locked. Hopefully, through this means to induce Isabel’s decision-making.

After all, in his opinion, Isabel’s obsession with her “Mr. Fox” is quite heavy.

–Is it because of Ivars?

If so, that would be great.

In contrast to the sly “foxes” of uncertainty and rhetoric, he had the impression that Ivars was intelligent and decisive, modest and polite. In addition to that, he also respected his professor Moriarty – he was relatively unsuccessful in math at the time, and it was thanks to Moriarty’s tutelage that he was able to maintain his status as a chief until he graduated.

Thanks to Professor Moriarty’s guidance, Sherlock was able to realize that his true talent lay in the path of wisdom. He didn’t really recognize the guidelines of the path of authority, but his very act of controlling his will and leading others was unintentionally in line with the path of authority.

The way he met Prof. Moriarty was through his friend Edward.

He is the only close friend Sherlock has made at the university.

So he had more or less personal feelings mixed in with his comments about Ivars.

“Be careful on the road while you guys are gone.”

Janice spoke up and asked, “Do you have a short sword on you, Sherlock?”

“Yes,” Sherlock replied, “Edward brought me one.”

Many of the spells of the Way of the Mighty Way required the short sword to be held in order to be used. It was the status symbol of Avalon’s law enforcers, and it stood for “law”. In a sense, its essence was actually a limited edition staff that could be used as a melee weapon.

Edward takes two swords with him when he leaves the house, not because he’s going to have two swords, but because one of them is for Sherlock’s defense.

Sherlock is not an inspector, merely an advisor. He is not wearing a sword.

He refused to enter into the legal system of Avalon, and then a large portion of the legal arts he had learned would be unusable. Those who are unwilling to obey their superiors and follow order will be stripped of their power – a trait that belongs to the Way of Authority.

“That’s okay.”

Janice nodded and said to Ivars, “I’ll send someone to your house afterward with that painting, so you shouldn’t take it. It’ll be dangerous-at least Sherlock certainly won’t be able to keep it.”

“What painting?”

Sherlock was stunned at his words, and subconsciously asked back, “I think it’s still okay.”

He was more or less a Lawgiver who had barely dabbled in the fourth energy level, not something that any petty thief could mess with.

“It’s The Golden Dawn.”

Aiwas, who was sitting in the wheelchair, spoke softly and replied in a gentle voice, “I had a good talk with Master Yanis, and she decided to give me this painting as a result.”

Sherlock froze for a moment, suddenly startled.

A clear look of dismay appeared on his face, the unfathomable reality causing his mind to go blank for a moment.

–The Golden Dawn?

This kind of national treasure artwork can be given away just by “talking to each other”?
…… young and talented, young and talented ah!
Sherlock didn’t know how he should evaluate it, but could only repeat it in his mind.

(End of chapter)