When the plot-skips players into the game world

"So I didn\'t want to socialize with my peers. The professors at the school were the ones I interacted with most, hoping to borrow their private collections. And this habit of frequently seeking advice from various tutors further alienated me from those dimwits."

"Once, I went to ask Professor Moriarty a question about astronomy, but I was bitten by Edward\'s gryphon outside his office door."

"His gryphon wasn\'t of pure blood, its feather color was a bit darker than the regular Red Gryphon\'s, and it was slightly larger. Maybe that\'s why it was even more short-tempered... Edward wasn\'t a Light Cavalryman, so he couldn\'t communicate with his gryphon companion through the soul. He also came to see Professor Moriarty, and the gryphon was perched at the entrance."

"But as I tried to push the door, the door-guarding gryphon bit me directly. One bite was enough to tear my flesh to shreds, and two bites nearly severed my thigh... Edward quickly took me to the Cathedral of Candle Master, where the Archbishop personally used the Illumination Art on me, so I didn\'t end up with a disability or a scar."

"Although Archbishop Your Excellency healed all my injuries, I was indeed traumatized. And there was always this faint pain in my leg that lingered, only slowly fading away after two weeks. Edward visited me at home and talked to me. I soon realized that he was a very intelligent person... He also possessed transcendent wisdom. Although his personality differed from mine, we were undoubtedly of the same kind—smart people without friends."

"—And so we became friends with each other. We studied law together. I was a beginner, and he an advanced student. But we still found common topics to discuss. Afterwards, he taught me boxing—he was adept at it and could even infuse Authority Force into his punches, stronger than any boxer I knew. If he decided to enter the ring, he would still be a star in Avalon... Such is a genius, outstanding in whichever field they pursue."

At Aiwass\'s inquiry, Sherlock began to talk about his experiences with Edward.

He clearly enjoyed talking about this topic. He didn\'t change the subject until he dropped Aiwass off at his front door.

And at the gate of Moriarty Manor, Aiwass noticed a pitch-black gryphon in the yard, with crimson pupils, reminiscent of rubies that were a deeper shade.

—He recognized it at a glance; it was the gryphon raised by Edward.

Hadn\'t Edward left on an errand, leaving Sherlock to pick him up?

How did he return before him?

With that thought, Aiwass asked casually, "What was my brother going to do again?"

"It\'s still the warehouse fire incident," Sherlock replied, "It may also be related to those people at the Pelican Bar."

"All the evidence suggests that it\'s very similar to \'Little Jack Codfish Warehouse\'s\' fire incident from a few days ago—both had traces of Flame Spirit and both were in unmanned warehouses, with no casualties. However, this time it happened in an abandoned stone warehouse... We haven\'t found a common denominator yet. But Edward immediately went to take over the case, so he should be able to figure it out."

"Oh, right. Do you know what Flame Spirit is?"

"Sort of like demon\'s blood, a mildly salty red powder, similar to salt. It\'s just a trace left in the Material Realm by fire attribute Phantom Demons," Aiwass answered.

"Indeed, but that\'s the standard definition. Fire attribute Phantom Demons are quite rare, but artificial Flame Spirits aren\'t too complicated to replicate with alchemy, and the raw material is just ordinary sulfur. So when the Supervisory Bureau talks about Flame Spirits, they usually refer to \'imitation Flame Spirits.\' Imitation Flame Spirits have lower purity than natural Flame Spirits, but their effects and uses are more or less the same," Sherlock explained.

"It\'s a common casting material for magicians. It\'s also one of the ritual materials that a Demon Scholar must use to summon any demon."

"Just as \'salt\' is the essence of the sea, and when proportionally added to water can turn it into seawater, enhancing the concept of \'water,\' a little bit of Flame Spirit added to a fire can make the flames burn more fiercely, enhancing the concept of \'fire.\'

"For lower-level magicians who don\'t rely on Flame Spirit, it\'s difficult to produce high-temperature flames. It\'s considered a necessity and at the same time, a restricted and dangerous substance."

"With a sufficient amount of Flame Spirit, things that normally wouldn\'t burn can ignite due to the enhanced fire concept... Like ice, steel, or stone. This time, what caught fire was the stone in the stone warehouse."

Hearing this, Mr. Aiwass\'s expression briefly froze.

...Wait a minute?

Something seemed off.

Mr. Aiwass remembered... wasn\'t it Veronica, the evil sorcerer from the Pelican Bar, who first caused the warehouse to explode? Because she had controlled the Shadow Demon, she went to summon a demon again the following day. If her demon summoning failed, then indeed, the failed ritual could have led to the warehouse explosion.

But she had already been killed by Mr. Aiwass himself.

Could it be that The Association had sent someone else to summon a demon?

But that didn\'t make sense either... Having failed once, they wouldn\'t let a novice, who might fail the ritual again, have another go, would they?

Sherlock comforted him, "Don\'t be afraid, this case is practically solved.

"Because different schools, different methods of alchemists synthesizing Flame Spirits, there are slight differences in purity and structure, just like salt extracted from different seas vary in composition. The previous batch of Flame Spirits has been sent for analysis, and combined with this batch... once the final results are out, we\'ll know where their Flame Spirits came from." Enjoy more content from m-v l\'e|-NovelBin.net

With doubt in his heart, Mr. Aiwass bid farewell to Sherlock.

Butler Oswald, who had emerged from the manor, nodded to Lily and took over Mr. Aiwass\'s wheelchair.

"You\'ve returned at just the right time, Mr. Aiwass."

The usually silent old elf bowed slightly after entering the door and said softly, "Please come and heal Miss Julia first. The young lady is not in good condition."

...Strange, didn\'t I treat her this morning?

Mr. Aiwass was puzzled, but he did not speak up.

He gestured for Lily to leave, and then pushed Mr. Aiwass into Julia\'s room.

Mr. Aiwass\'s eyes suddenly widened.

He saw Julia bound by silver glowing restraints, while Edward stood by, stern-faced, his pupils shining with white brilliance.

Julia, drenched in cold sweat with her consciousness clearly blurred, hadn\'t noticed Mr. Aiwass entering. She was whispering nonsense in a low voice like someone in a high fever, words that were incomprehensible to others.

Her nightgown bore blatant scorch marks, and her pale skin was covered with red, glowing cracks resembling cracked porcelain or glass shattered under the heat of summer. Occasionally, faint tongues of fire would emerge from the cracks, only to be suppressed back again.

Edward controlled the silver chains binding Julia, squeezing her body, forcibly "gluing" her shattered body back together with external force.

Only when Mr. Aiwass drew closer did he notice Julia\'s sweat was not transparent... but a very light shade of blood.

—Leaving behind a red powder at the moment of drying.