84.Chapter 84 – Sherlock’s Speculations

Chapter 84: Sherlock’s Speculations
Tuesday, morning.

Sherlock, who had just recently woken up, was hunkered down in his rocking chair that doubled as a bed, covered in a woolen coat slowly eating the sandwich Edward had brought.

Sherlock had some low blood sugar. If he woke up and didn’t immediately eat something or drink some sugar or honey water, his brain couldn’t start working.

It could be a natural problem, or it could be that he simply didn’t like to eat.

If Edward hadn’t brought him breakfast, I’m afraid he would have just had some honey water to deal with today.

“You’re going to get a stomach bug sooner or later like that, Hermes.”

Edward spoke in a hushed voice as he sat in the chair next to Sherlock’s desk.

He held the same sandwich in his hand. The soft white bread was filled with beef, onions, cheese, lettuce with a generous amount of cheese sauce.

That was the portable breakfast that Edward had instructed the family’s cook to prepare in advance last night.

Because he knew that Sherlock would definitely not eat breakfast if he could help it.

Although eating sandwiches for breakfast seemed to seem a bit shabby for the Moriarty family. But if the food was prepared a bit more hearty and complicated, Sherlock would more than likely not really want to eat it.

Sherlock squinted his eyes and said lazily, “I usually try to keep myself in a hungry state. That way my brain can function more actively.”

“Are you practicing hard labor?”

“Cramming? No, no, no. ……”

Sherlock laughed softly and looked up rather interested, “What makes you think I’m like a monk, torturing myself for wisdom?”

“Don’t I?” Edward asked rhetorically.

“Of course not,” Sherlock replied, “It’s easy to care too much about something and instead fall into forms and precepts. Then instead, the original intent of seeking wisdom is lost.

“I recognize that what is good is good. If good and bad things are before me, and I have a choice, I will logically try to choose the good.

“But is the bad so bad that it’s unacceptable? Not necessarily so. It just has to fulfill what is needed, and then it’s actually okay for me to choose whichever one I want – in other words, I don’t have to choose the better one.”

Sherlock said, dropping the last bite of his beef sandwich into his mouth.

As he chewed, he said vaguely, “The honey water and the sandwich are equally capable of waking up my brain. Then of course I will eat whichever one is delivered to me. You can’t make me go downstairs to buy sandwiches with that kind of stupor, can you? You don’t know what it’s like to have your brain spinning like a dry machine, that’s terrible.”

“Then you might as well hire a maid to take care of you.”

“No, no, no, that’s forgettable. My dear friend.”

Sherlock shook his head vigorously in strong refusal, “You know, any of the papers, any of the volumes in my room have their own place. All of my bottles and jars also have their own, somewhat arcane, way of placing them. No one but I could have put them in such agreeable and just right positions.”

“You’re quite like Ivars in that respect,” Edward commented as he looked around the dimly lit room that was narrow and cluttered with all sorts of books and volumes of materials, “Seriously, you need someone to take care of your living quarters. Why don’t you go home and live there, at least your cook at home can cook you three good meals a day.”

“Meh, forget it.”

Sherlock snorted, his body leaning back and the rocking chair swinging slightly back and forth, “If I go back, the old man is going to ask me about dating and marriage again ……

“A person’s brain becomes sluggish after overeating and numb after drinking. If one is in love with another person, or if one is obsessed with fame, or if one desperately craves money and wealth, one’s brain will also become unconscious.

“You know that too, Edward. The path of wisdom is the path of selfishness. Truth is destined to be sought only alone. Marriage is too much trouble for me.”

“When you say that, I thought you were pretty far along the path of wisdom.”

Edward’s calm expression was unchanged, “Isn’t the furthest you’ve traveled on the path of authority? Besides, you’re twenty-six years old, it’s time for you to get married. It’s normal for His Excellency Arthur to be anxious about you.”

“…… That’s only temporary. Soon, I will be able to reverse my wisdom path.”

Sherlock dealt with it somewhat vaguely, and then countered without hesitation, “And ah, what about yourself? Aren’t you thirty-five years old and still unmarried?”

Edward just shook his head slightly, his voice not wavering, “I call that widowhood.

“I got married in my early twenties, it’s just that my wife died unexpectedly later.”

“…… That’s not something I’ve heard you mention.”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, his amber pupils widening slightly in some interest.

But he didn’t press the issue here.

Inspector General Edward’s once deceased wife – this kind of big event that happened to a big person can be casually found out. Not mentioning it at this moment was a sign of respect for Edward, as well as a sign of confidence in his own investigative abilities.

And Edward did not take the initiative to explain, just walked over and handed over this morning’s Glass Steps newspaper.

Sherlock, who was lying on the rocking chair, got up and took the newspaper, then lay down again.

He lay rocking in the rocking chair, his head a little bit. It looked like he was a little sleepy again after a good meal. It took a long time to read the first edition alone.

Edward, who was standing next to him, waited for a long time and finally couldn’t help but ask, “See? Ivars is in the newspaper again, still on the front page.” “I knew about it yesterday.”

Sherlock lazily said, “I guessed it as soon as I entered the club and saw that His Highness for the first time. Speaking of which, didn’t we used to have the ‘Crystal Dancing Shoes’ badge when we were at school?”

“Only you had it, I think. I’ve never been interested in music.”

Edward replied casually.

He stepped aside to eat his sandwich and waited for Sherlock to finish reading the paper before asking, “What do you think?”

“Not really good. But not bad either.”

Sherlock casually tossed the Glass Steps Newspaper aside, “The implications of Secretary Ruff being assassinated in public are extremely bad. But it was nothing more than a deliberate display of tension.

“What really matters is that it happened right next to Her Royal Highness. And Commissioner Gordon failed to arrest the professional killer in the end.”

“Although based on our investigation of the scene yesterday, all of Chief Gordon’s actions can be said to be completely correct. But a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter what you actually did …… what matters is what you let people believe you did.

“Either way, Gordon let a very dangerous assassin go free. It’s the end of November now, and the New Year will be over in a month or so. Something will happen to public opinion if things are delayed properly. A released, high-ranked transcendent who could kill people, this was basically pointing its nose at the Inspectorate for not doing its job properly. At that point not even just Gordon, but the entire Inspectorate could come under pressure – your Inspectorate should have wanted to compress the Inspectorate’s remit for a long time, right?”

“The fact is that he is the one who is not doing his job properly. But disposing of Director Gordon at this point will only make people realize that the problem has gotten out of hand, become more panicked, and let the situation get more and more out of control.”

Edward whispered, “That’s why the IG is planning to give Ivars a massive round of recognition this week, to portray his achievements, to distract the public.”

“Wasn’t there a recognition for what happened at the Pelican Bar last time?” Sherlock asked suspiciously.

“Two recognitions in two. It’s still Thursday afternoon. Instead of the ‘Crystal Cross’ this time, the plan is to go straight to the Order of the Sacred Sword.”

Edward said in a deep voice.

“Ooh.”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, “In what name? The Order of the Sacred Sword is usually awarded to warriors who have been meritorious in the protection of the country, or who have made meritorious achievements on the battlefield, right?”

“‘Discovering and stopping the assassination of Princess Isabel by Transcendent assassins by his own strength’.”

“Huh? This turned into an assassination attempt? Secretary Ruff became an innocent person who was affected?”

The young brunette with messy curls collapsed lazily into a rocking chair and snorted, “It’s not impossible, is it? Let’s just let them report it that way for now then.”

“…… first?”

Edward caught Sherlock’s word, “What did you find out?”

“Not an investigation, but a deduction. It’s really an interesting case, dear friend. I thought about it all night yesterday and didn’t get to bed until three or four in the middle of the night.”

Sherlock said, pulling out his small notebook, “Let’s prioritize things first, starting with the most critical.

“Those files I’ve finished decoding, there are tons of addresses and names written on them in a kind of coded text.

“The intervening reasoning process must not concern you. I’ll come straight to the conclusion-this document found at the scene is related to the smuggling case at the harbor.”

“…… You mean the ‘Sweater Brotherhood’ line?”

“Right. That is to say, I’m afraid that Drost, the Minister of Trade, is connected with the smuggling case.

“And the identity of the assassin, I’ve also found out. It’s an association of assassins from Iris called ‘Hawkeye’. They are the only ones who use this special weapon. They are the remnants of the Blackhawk Duchy after its demise …… are considered mercenaries. They may accept commissions from anyone, including attacking the nobles and even the royal family of various countries.”

Saying this, Sherlock snapped the small book shut.

He looked at Edward meaningfully, “What do you think, under what circumstances would an assassin who traveled thousands of miles from Iris kill the minister’s private secretary who was directly related to the Star Antimony Kingdom’s smuggling case, under a bright and honorable venue?”

“To plant evidence, I think.”

Edward replied without hesitation, “That’s why the deceased was in the position of holding a document, with his back to the murderer and fell to the ground from the second floor. This means that the probability is that he wasn’t there to get the papers, but to deliver them.”

“Oh, this speculation you said is also somewhat reasonable.”

Sherlock sniffed and the corner of his mouth rose slightly, “But unfortunately, this possibility does not exist. Because I confirmed the notes on this file yesterday, and it’s clearly from the same person as the cipher on the shipping manifest we seized at the Sweater Brotherhood. Once I cracked the cipher rules, I managed to decode the file, and found that it was written on there about warehouse after warehouse, and a certain administrator of the corresponding warehouse.

“Thank goodness, I have in my dossier here a document that Secretary Ruff signed once upon a time. Although he deliberately controlled the strokes, he was sure it was written by the same person.

“So one possibility occurred to me. Someone has a hold on Secretary Drost in their hands and therefore wishes to expose him.”

“There’s such a thing ……”

Edward murmured, gazing at Sherlock and speaking calmly and clearly, “And who do you think it could be?”

“If you analyze it on the level of people, motives, abilities, and alibis,” Sherlock paused, “I think it could be your father, Professor Moriarty.”

(End of chapter)