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After his promotion, Aiwass hadn’t yet had the chance to inquire whether Sherlock’s promotion had proceeded smoothly…
As it turned out, Sherlock sought him out instead, preemptively confirming whether Aiwass and Isabel had successfully been promoted.
The only issue was that he didn’t go to the Hall of Silver and Tin, but to the Royal Law University.
He stood there, right at the school’s main entrance, blocking Aiwass’s way and incidentally accepted interviews from four newspapers that rushed over within half an hour after catching the scent.
Mr. Sherlock, the renowned detective whose funeral had been publicly held, was making a grand resurrection—without a second thought, one could tell that this news would undoubtedly dominate the front page. Whatever the original headline was, it could be immediately usurped.
The Great Detective Sherlock, Resurrected!
Sherlock’s reputation in Avalon was incredibly high.
Unlike Aiwass’s heroic positioning which frequently involved rooting out villains, purifying demons, protecting the citizens, and healing the wounded.
The reason he was worshipped was because he represented a symbol.
"Sherlock" represented a possibility: even without entering the Supervisory Bureau, Supervisory Court, or University of Law, even as a commoner holding no power or wealth—if one’s personal talent was exceptional, even the chief inspector had to show him respect, and he could even be granted an audience with the Queen.
Because Avalon needed Sherlock.
Although everyone knew Sherlock came from the Hermes family, his brother was known for his low-profile dealings; not everybody was aware of his name, even in the Round Table Hall. He was practically invisible, absent from any political battles, tabloid scandals, or public speeches. Even though he attended banquets he should, he likewise lacked presence there.
So the impression of the Hermes family that lingered in people’s minds remained at the level where Sherlock’s father had caused a major disaster and resigned due to the scandal.
—Look, a retired official whose mistake at work led to the assassination of a royal family member, his offspring could still receive an audience and respect from the Queen due to his exceptional personal abilities!
As a result, Sherlock, who came from the Hermes family, became an idol for the common folk throughout Avalon.
During the interview, Sherlock explained carefully to the reporters how he was assassinated, why he concealed his identity and faked his death, and how he later worked with his dear friend Aiwass Moriarty to set up a scheme—eventually uncovering concrete evidence of espionage against Trade Minister Drost.
Actually, quite a few people were aware that the Minister of Commerce was being investigated and detained for espionage.
Yet, most were oblivious to the specifics of his crime. Many believed that it was nothing more than a political struggle amongst Avalon’s upper echelons... because Minister Drost actually had quite a favorable reputation among the people.
He was an old man with strong affinity and professional capability. As the Minister of Commerce, he frequented interviews and repeatedly explained to the commoners the benefits of various economic policies in a straightforward manner.
It was only because the Queen’s reputation was higher that she could suppress him.
Now, Sherlock bluntly exposed this affair.
His angle was simple—
"The person attempting to assassinate me is closely related to Drost."
Sherlock stated gravely, "He has a close relationship with the Noble Red Society, and has hired assassins multiple times. I have found many conclusive pieces of evidence which will soon be submitted to the Glass Staircase Daily for public disclosure."
Drost and Vice Chairman Boka were in good terms, with Boka’s subordinate being Lawyer York, the very person who attempted to assassinate Sherlock. Even the explosives used in the attempt were smuggled through channels provided by Drost; Sherlock was targeted for assassination by Lawyer York because he was investigating the smuggling case.
In this context, Sherlock’s statement that Minister Drost was the person who instructed others to assassinate him was absolutely unassailable.
"Meanwhile, under the guise of protecting Avalonian industries, he has thrice raised the tariffs on alchemical products within a year. Yet, he took advantage of this to smuggle those very alchemical products—according to evidence I’ve already confirmed, he controls at least fourteen trading companies and more than sixty warehouses in the Lohar District.
"Just last year, his personal trade volume already amounted to 170% of Avalon’s import of alchemical products from Iris and the Theocratic States. It’s fair to say that there’s practically no alchemy shop in Avalon that doesn’t deal in smuggled goods, because he has captured an overwhelming supply monopoly.
"Today, there will be a cargo ship from Star Antimony arriving at the port. It will be fully loaded with alchemical raw materials, and the consignor’s name is also—Charles Drost. Please stay tuned."
This was information from Aiwass.
Before his arrest, Minister Drost had already sent the deposit to the "King," and according to the cargo ship’s return schedule, today would be the day that batch of goods was due to arrive.
Because of Minister Drost’s absolute control over the port, his method of smuggling was incredibly simple—so straightforward it was almost simplistic.
He would dispatch a large number of merchant ships from the Lohar Society, loaded with seafood or cheap wine, and then set course for their destination.
Upon arrival, the receivers would remove the goods inside these barrels. They would then fill them with the merchandise to be transported and send them back under the pretext of ’mistaken shipment,’ docking directly at the port’s delivery area. Then Drost would have his people switch the real goods in, and the second delivery would be to the actual consignees.
If it were an ordinary person, this would definitely not work. But no one would inspect Charles Drost’s goods.
By this time, Aiwass had already arrived and had been listening around for a while.
Although Lily could now fully contain the Shadow Demon without causing any leakage... Aiwass couldn’t just suddenly stand up from his wheelchair, could he? Although there were already quite a few people who knew Aiwass’s secret, it was still necessary to be polite and not too direct.
This holiday was a very good excuse.
Just then, Aiwass had Lily push his wheelchair into the crowd, "Besides, Minister Drost has also repeatedly hired assassins to kill people, some were businessmen who did not give him face, some were his political enemies.
"There are also some without any reason, which even includes the mother of his children. Just because she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter for him, he planned to have both mother and daughter assassinated."
"Do you have any evidence?"
Suddenly, a plant in the crowd, whose identity was unknown, spoke up and asked.
Aiwass confidently responded, "Of course, because I am the living evidence of this matter—"
With that, Aiwass reached out and pulled Lily, who was behind him.
"My friend, my personal maid, the sister who cared for me since I was little... Lily Drost. She is the victim who was assassinated. It was because of this incident that Sherlock and I caught up with him.
"—And before this, her mother was a victim!"
Aiwass did not intend to explain overly complex political and economic issues to the reporters.
The many bills signed by Drost were too difficult to explain. These reporters themselves were not professionals; if allowed to translate it a second time, the content that eventually reached the readers would surely be inaccurate.
So, Aiwass and Sherlock’s thinking were different—he chose to attack Drost himself directly.
"We still do not know how much intelligence this former Minister of Commerce has sold, how deeply he has betrayed us.
"But according to my investigation, the former minister now has his own four manors in Star Antimony, as well as a piece of Viscounty. He has become a bona fide nobility of Star Antimony and established ’Drost Manor’..."
—This was indeed what their investigation had found out, not something made up by Aiwass.
Although Minister Drost was already dead, his sons and daughters were currently under investigation by the Supervisory Court. The information Aiwass had was fresh and hot, having just arrived at the Hall of Silver and Tin this morning. Even the Round Table Hall did not yet know about it.
"Alright, alright!"
Just at that moment, a young woman wearing a red bishop’s robe, with her hair in a ponytail and curls, walked over smiling and clapping, "We have a final exam today. If the interview is okay, let’s stop here! Let the kids go in for the test first—"
Miss Maya dispersed the crowd and walked up to Aiwass with an easy smile on her face.
When those around had left, her expression changed slightly, and she leaned down a little nervously, "How did you advance again so quickly?"
"Is it bad to be quick?"
Aiwass countered.
Maya was somewhat troubled, "I was only a little procrastinating... but I must give this to you immediately this time; you’re advancing too quickly. This Codex Book must be mastered before the third Energy Level, or it becomes too difficult to understand once you exceed that level by too much.
"Once my class finishes the exam today, come back home with me. I’ll lend you the ’Morning Crow Scripture’—this was the reward we agreed upon, and I haven’t forgotten it."
Aiwass slightly tilted his head, a trace of confusion in his eyes. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
...You haven’t forgotten, but I have.
When did this happen?
Meanwhile, on the other side, a middle-aged man with somewhat disheveled hair stood on a ship, looking eagerly at the increasingly close horizon.
This deal was so big that he was a little uneasy about handing over the goods directly to them.
For this major transaction, the "King" decided to personally come along to deliver the goods.
