"Yes, hello... I am Inspector Haina who made an appointment yesterday... to investigate the attack on Mr. Awas Moriarty."
A young girl in a blue and white uniform, who looked about twenty years old, was standing nervously and helplessly in front of the gate of a manor, holding her big-brimmed hat.
Her brown curly hair was tied into a ponytail behind her back, and her nose was high. Her lake-blue eyes were full of panic as if something had happened.
"... Hug, I'm sorry, the Divisional Supervision Bureau has an impromptu supervision meeting... There was another warehouse explosion incident in the White Queen District yesterday. Traces of flame essence were detected on the scene, and demonologists were suspected to be involved - I think it might have been the day before yesterday.
The wanted man who attacked Mr. Aiwass!"
Haina said, her voice getting smaller and smaller: "So, so..."
"——So you took it upon yourself to participate in this supervisory meeting that was not actually required for you to attend, and you were late for...two hours and twenty-three minutes?"
The old man's serious and old voice sounded from across the iron gate. It was a special long-drawn tone, with an elf accent unique to the people of the royal capital.
He closed the pocket watch set with gems in his hand with a click, put it back to his chest, and stared at Haina seriously.
Standing opposite Haina was a thin and tall elderly elf wearing a butler's uniform.
The skin wrinkles on his face are reminiscent of tree bark, and the dark green pupils are closer to a wolf than a lake.
The old elf seemed to be nearly two meters tall, and his posture with his hands behind his back was like the ghostly shadow of a dead tree reflected in the moonlight at night. His back, as tall and straight as a pine, motionless, was filled with powerful pressure at this moment.
Although Haina is actually a trainee inspector who has not yet graduated, she has passed the graduation examination with full marks after all, and can accept the official inspection awarded by the Queen at any time. Now she wears the trainee badge just because the gryphon assigned to her is still being deployed.
On the road.
Logically speaking, she shouldn't be so afraid of a housekeeper.
But the old man in front of me was different.
Because this old elf butler is his instructor.
Although he followed the ancient agreement and served the Moriarty family as a steward for a long time since the founding of the country... but at the same time, he was the Grand Inspector General who resigned eighty years ago.
"——I thought you would be later, Miss Haina."
The old housekeeper put his hands behind his back and said in the elf accent that always gave Haina a sense of arrogance: "Master Aiwass was attacked by a demonologist the day before yesterday and was in a coma until he woke up last night. But I heard that the Supervision Bureau was coming.
After asking some questions, he cooperated and voluntarily gave up going to the glass-step sanatorium. He just took some medicine, dragged his weak body and waited for you by the stove for two hours, and I also waited for you at the door for two hours.
.
"It's almost dark now. If you're still late, you might as well be late for tomorrow. Since it's already late for tomorrow, I don't want to rush this week's rest time. According to the rules of the Supervisory Bureau, I signed the letter of appointment.
The result of the case will be given within a week of being filed - with Ms. Haina's good training and graduation with perfect scores, she must be able to successfully find the demonologist.
"Since the criminals have been arrested and brought to justice, why do you want to embarrass my poor young master Aiwass? Why don't you please go back and I will explain it to Mr. Kent."
Kent is the director of the White Queen Divisional Inspection Bureau. Even if Haina becomes a regular employee, Kent will still be three levels higher than her.
If the old housekeeper's tone hadn't been so sinister, she would have run away immediately and left this troublesome matter to her superiors. But the problem is, she is actually still a senior student.
Although she can be said to be the most powerful person in school, she has not graduated yet.
She did not have enough social experience to judge whether the old man was seriously making such a suggestion, or whether he was just sarcastic. But her intuition told her that if the old man did not intend to do this, she would just be stupid.
If he runs away, I'm afraid he is really in trouble.
"……I'm really sorry."
So Haina could only bow her head and apologize: "I will also apologize to Mr. Aiwass."
In any case, I had already made an appointment for the meeting in advance, but I was so late without telling me in advance... I was indeed at fault.
She looked at the iron gate that separated her from the old man, and her thoughts began to wander subconsciously again.
The large black hollow iron door is only decorated with low-key thorn patterns...it doesn't look like a famous family.
In fact, Professor Moriarty, the adoptive father of Iwass Moriarty, the person involved in this incident, can indeed be called a low-key, calm, intelligent and knowledgeable good man. Moriarty
The professor is also Haina's teacher at university, and is responsible for the subjects of astrology, astronomy and advanced mathematics.
He inherited the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce and owned three museums under his name. He even funded the construction of the only planetarium in White Queens. Although he was so rich, he just quietly studied in universities. He even funded many orphanages.
He has adopted many orphans and can be called a great, kind-hearted man.
When she arrived, the captain had specifically warned her that the Moriarty family was not only rich, but also a founding family with elves serving them. Although the head of the family, Mr. James, had a gentle personality, she still had to be careful.
According to the rules, any direct participant related to the demonic incident must be sent to the local Supervisory Bureau with commandments as soon as possible after his or her life is out of danger, and undergo a mental examination by the chief lawyer. They will only be sent back after being confirmed to be innocent.
Hospital or nursing home.
This is because the identities of the ritual host, ritual participants, ritual instructors and sacrifices in demonic rituals cannot be simply distinguished by the identity of the victim "injured or not".
Since the sacrifice can survive, it means that the ritual has generally failed - although the sacrifice may not necessarily die, it is usually killed in order to silence. Therefore, when there is an injured person instead of the dead person, the injured person
It may not necessarily be a sacrifice, but it may also be a person related to the ritual.
But this rule is now invalid.
Director Kent was like a blind man, completely ignoring this clue that was at his fingertips. It was the old butler who took the initiative to contact Director Kent and made an appointment for today's meeting, and he seemed to "suddenly remember" this matter. And he came on his own.
At that time, the Supervisory Bureau did not even match her with an accompanying lawyer, and only asked her to come alone as a trainee inspector without a gryphon, armor, or sword.
Such an obvious cover-up...
Haina felt that even if this matter was really related to Aiwass, she might not be able to take him away.
But because of such a big battle, she felt that maybe this matter was really related to the other party - if she was innocent enough, why wouldn't she be willing to accept the examination of the lawyer?
……so good.
He was obviously just an adopted civilian orphan. Just because of his good luck, he was valued and adopted by the professor. Now he has become a big shot that cannot be touched by the Supervisory Bureau...
Haina, who was standing at the door, was in a daze, thinking a little sourly.
But at this moment, the iron door suddenly opened slowly.
She raised her head in astonishment and saw the old man's face, which was still expressionless, but somehow felt less angry.
The old elf glanced at her silently, and then walked back slowly with his hands behind his back.
Haina was stunned for a while before she realized that she was asking herself to keep up.
So she hurriedly put on the hat she was holding in her arms and hurriedly followed. But after taking a few steps, she remembered to turn back and close the door. But when she turned back, she saw the door of the manor closing on its own.
Not only that, there were even bright runes lighting up from the inside of the ordinary iron door.
The sunlight was skewed and the evening breeze stopped for a moment. Haina felt vaguely as if something invisible shrouded the area, changing the atmosphere of the manor.
"I don't want to cause trouble for you, Miss Haina."
It was obvious that the old elf was walking in front of him, but the old man's much gentler voice sounded accurately in his ears: "But you must abide by what you have agreed with others. We will meet at any time at the agreed time, no need to
Do it in advance, don’t delay. Yes, the consequences for breaking the rules in school may not be that serious, but there are also no gryphon knights patrolling the streets in the school, and there are no laws with armed knights regularly reviewing the tax accounts of each company.
Mage - There is no supervisor like you who can arrest suspicious persons directly.
“Everyone in this country values ‘rules’. The Inspectorate, the Court of Justice, and the Arbitration Chamber protect not only Her Majesty the Queen’s will, but also the many rules established by Parliament.
"I will forgive you this time, and I will not tell Mr. Kent about your mistake - I will say that you arrived on time, but after understanding what happened, you stayed for two more cups of tea and some snacks.
"But this is because Master Aiwass is kind-hearted. When you were an hour late, I had already decided to call the Supervision Bureau. It was Master Aiwass who stopped me. He said, always give people a chance...
No matter what reason you are looking for, you have to meet in person first."
The old elf spoke slowly and walked for a long time before reaching the door of the manor.
The next moment, his voice was a little lower, but it still sounded clearly in Haina's ears: "Although Avalon does not have the so-called 'nobles' of other countries, the descendants of the founders are equally noble. Without the twenty founders
For the sacrifice of the founder, everyone will die - even the queen must respect the descendants of the founder of the country.
"I feel your sincere apology, so I tentatively forgive you for missing the appointment. But you might as well think carefully about whether you have offended anyone or blocked anyone's way... As I said, this is a
There is an oversight meeting that does not require your participation.”
Hearing this, Haina was suddenly stunned.
At this time, the old man who walked to the door turned around gracefully and bowed slightly to Haina: "Please follow me, Miss Haina. The young master has been waiting for a long time."
At this time, he put on the mask of a butler to greet the guests.
His previous attitude was more like that of an instructor facing unsatisfactory students.
Haina, whose brain was in confusion, followed the old elf to 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 attitude made her unsure. So she could only follow behind with an uneasy mood.
Feel the sudden warmth of the fire in winter.
Only then did she realize that she had made an old man wait at the door for two hours on a winter evening.
Full of guilt and shame, she didn't know how to open her mouth.
Even the suspicion of Aiwass was diluted in this confession.
So, she met Aiwas Moriarty, whose reputation was somewhat unruly.
He was sitting in a wheelchair at the moment, with a blanket covering his legs.
His pale, frail face was bloodless, and he looked like he was only seventeen or eighteen years old. His appearance was completely different from Professor Moriarty's handsomeness.
He was wearing pure white fluffy pajamas and looked like he had just come out of the shower. His soft platinum hair reflected the warm light of the fire. He was reading a book quietly and attentively in front of the fire, his exquisite
There was a gentleness about her face that reminded her of poets and the fire rising in the fireplace at home.
That beautiful picture looked like a painting. Haina subconsciously opened her eyes.
But at this moment, the young man heard something and turned around nimbly while pushing the wheelchair.
Only then did Haina notice the wheelchair sitting under him.
...Is this the price of being attacked by a demonologist?
I don’t know when she started, but she instinctively gave up on the possibility that the demonologist was Aiwass.
The young man looked over, his dark blue pupils like the sea.
"Ms. Haina."
It was a clear voice that gave people a sense of dignity, and a gorgeous voice that matched her appearance.
Compared to his frail face, his voice was more energetic and polite: "Hello, first time meeting you.
