"Not ma'am…"
Haina whispered, "I haven't actually graduated yet."
Besides, this was just an interrogation…
But before she could finish, Aiwass gently interrupted, "To be able to join the Surveillance Bureau before officially graduating… I see, Miss Haina, are you studying at Royal Law University?"
Aiwass's accent was standard and clean, without the 'Elf language' that people in the capital were proud of, which symbolized nobility. But this made Haina, who came from a small town to study, like him even more.
So she nodded and replied, "Ah, yes."
She said, puffing out her chest proudly, "I am the former student council president, and also the head female student of the fourth year. As an outstanding graduate, I obtained employment permission from the Surveillance Bureau a year in advance. Although my sword hasn't been issued yet, my name is already with the Surveillance Bureau."
"In that case, you could even be considered my senior," Aiwass said, lacing his fingers together and resting them on his knees.
He leaned back, relaxed, and said unhurriedly, "I am actually also a student at Royal Law University. A new student this year."
"…Really?" Haina was a little surprised, "But I haven't seen you…"
"Because I'm not well. I fell seriously ill before even enrolling. I was bedridden at home for three months because of it."
Aiwass's somewhat pale complexion made his words very convincing.
What a difficult child…
"I understand. You are indeed innocent… I will report to the director when I return."
Haina nodded repeatedly, feeling pity. Her faint jealousy towards Aiwass dissipated because of this.
She felt ashamed for it. As an Inspector of the Surveillance Bureau, she was half a knight. She had forgotten the tenets of humility and compassion taught by her mentor… The sin of jealousy was truly ugly.
"Then, senior," Aiwass suddenly spoke, "did you see what was in the fireplace?"
"Something burning…" Haina turned her head, saying uncertainly, "I can't quite make it out. It doesn't seem to be firewood."
"That's a diary," Aiwass said gently, "Perhaps it's evidence of my collusion with a Demon Scholar."
"Just like this book in my hand."
As he spoke, he closed the book in his hand and threw it into the fire.
Haina was startled by his words.
She instinctively took a step forward and reached out to grab it. Without any guard, she managed to intercept the book in mid-air, reacting faster than him.
She frowned deeply and looked down. She found that the book was titled "Eighty Selections from the Poems of Stydell."
Haina, of course, recognized this book. Because it was the textbook used for the first-year Elf language course.
She flipped through it uneasily, confirming that it was not evidence of collusion with a Demon Scholar at all. In fact, it even had many key points and difficulties marked with different colored pens.
"Just kidding," Aiwass's lips curved slightly upward, "I am the victim of the incident, senior. That's what you just said… Why did you become suspicious again when I just casually mentioned it? Do you have so little faith in me?"
Haina suddenly realized that this seemingly gentle and elegant young man seemed to have some hidden mischievousness.
"This is a very serious matter, no jokes allowed."
She straightened her face, lecturing him seriously as if she were in school, "Demon Scholar sacrifices often use living people as material, and to silence them, they will kill the offerings after the sacrifice. That is absolute evil, they will kill people as material even if they have no grudges, it's outrageous! How can you joke about such a thing?"
As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something, and her gaze sharpened, "Speaking of which… if you were an offering, how did you survive?"
"They sacrificed me to summon a powerful Demon, but they didn't expect the Demon to be more Close me. So I, in turn, ordered the Demon to kill them all."
The young man said increasingly outrageous things with a smile, "In fact, the Moriarty Family is actually full of evil. My father, Professor James Moriarty, is a Demon Scholar with a dream of destroying the world. And I am not his adopted son, but a Demon summoned by him from another world. I can completely destroy the Avalon Kingdom within a year."
Haina listened, dumbfounded, for more than half of it before realizing that Aiwass was just spouting nonsense.
"…What are you talking about?!"
She cried out in exasperation, at least half of the reason being her shame for having believed Aiwass's bizarre words for a moment.
This young man, who looked as gentle and beautiful as a poet, was as cunning as a fox, full of lies that went from heaven to earth!
She was furious, but she didn't dare speak loudly in front of Mr. Oswald, which only made her face flush red: "Confess honestly why exactly were you present at the Demon ritual? Someone anonymously reported that you went to Stone Arch Park on your own, and were not coerced."
"Everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, just take me to the Surveillance Bureau," Aiwass shrugged, as if genuinely regretful.
But Haina knew that was impossible with the Surveillance Bureau clearly showing favoritism, she couldn't arrest Aiwass without evidence. If she really took Aiwass, who was still in a wheelchair, away, she would probably be the one to suffer.
Then, Aiwass slowly put away his foxy smile.
He revealed a serious expression and said earnestly, "That's how it is. But since you, senior, know that what I said was all nonsense, then why would you believe an anonymous report? What's the difference between what I said and that report?"
"…So, what's the truth?"
"I can give you another version of the story I was attacked and taken to Stone Arch Park while out for a walk, and when I woke up, I was in a wheelchair. I have no idea what happened in between, nor do I know that I was sacrificed as an offering to a Demon, nor how they were driven away, or how I survived…
"But this version of the story is too smooth, without any flaws. It's like a Law Master's defense in court. If I just say it out loud, you might become even more suspicious."
Aiwass sighed, appearing helpless and innocent again.
He said, "So, which one do you believe?"
…If you exclude the emotional part and judge rationally, the latter seems more reasonable.
Haina immediately realized that she had misunderstood Aiwass again.
Because Aiwass was too weak. Haina could feel that he was probably an Otherworlders, but his reaction was very faint. At most, he had only enlightened one Layer of the Path.
Even if he really summoned a Demon, at best it would only be the strength of a familiar, and it would be impossible to cause that scale of destruction besides, the confirmed deceased at the ritual site was indeed a wanted criminal who had fled to the capital.
That person had sacrificed a small village and was now a Third Level Demon Scholar, capable of even summoning Upper Demon.
…Could it be that after he summoned the Demon, the Demon Contract failed and he was backlashed by the Demon?
It was not impossible.
In that case, with the death of the summoner, the Demon would be banished. Aiwass was merely greatly weakened by the ritual, and then picked up by Mr. Oswald. Logically speaking, this possibility was much greater.
…But why would Aiwass tell her such an absurd lie?
Soon, Haina realized
She came up with a very reasonable explanation: because her attitude changed too easily. She announced Aiwass's innocence without careful questioning at all. And Aiwass, as a truly innocent person, was instead angered by this hasty attitude, and therefore deliberately said some strange things to mock her for being easily prejudiced and trusting others too easily.
So that's it.
Because of this, the director wasn't very concerned about this matter… because he knew that Aiwass couldn't be the culprit, and probably didn't know any important information anyway, so investigating would just be a waste of effort.
Then everything made sense.
Another case happened yesterday to perform large rituals such as summoning Demon, Demon Scholar usually needed to work in pairs. And in most cases, paired Demon Scholar were in a master-apprentice relationship.
If the Demon Scholar, acting as the mentor, was backlashed by the summoned Demon, then it made sense for the apprentice to escape and act alone. If Aiwass was his assistant or apprentice, then who committed yesterday's crime? If Aiwass controlled the Demon to kill one person, would he let the other go?
…Hey, what nonsense am I talking about. Upper Demon are not that easy to control by such a novice.
"I'm sorry, I was prejudiced," Haina thought of this and apologized straightforwardly, "I'm also very sorry about the previous overstepping. If you still plan to return to school, I can ask my juniors to make things easier for you.
"This is not compensation, just an expression of apology. If there's anything else you need me to do, please feel free to ask."
"Anything?" Aiwass seemed a little tempted.
"…First of all, I don't have any money," Haina's face showed a somewhat bitter expression, and she added helplessly, "Aside from monetary compensation if needed, I can do some volunteer work."
"It's okay, it's good that the misunderstanding is cleared up," Aiwass smiled gently, "I was actually uneasy too. After all, if you, senior, went back and someone said a word or two, and you became suspicious again and came back to investigate, that would be troublesome for both of us. Not to mention, if you were late again…
"Now, senior, why don't you guess why I know about Demon? Although I didn't touch anything and was unconscious the whole time. But why could I guess that this matter was related to a Demon Scholar the moment we met?"
"…I think, that's the legendary deductive method! Just like that famous Mr. Sherlock!"
Haina's eyes lit up, "I remember that Mr. Sherlock was also the professor's favorite student. He seems to be good at discerning details of others through this divination-like method! I've collected newspaper clippings of all the cases he solved I cut out the parts of those newspapers that mentioned Mr. Sherlock and pasted them into a separate book. Now this book is already one-third full…"
The more she spoke, the clearer her logic felt.
Feeling that she had met a kindred spirit, she suddenly felt enlightened, and many doubts were immediately resolved. Her brain seemed to clear up in an instant.
Watching Haina fall into excitement and talk non-stop, Aiwass, sitting in his wheelchair, narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a harmless smile.
If Haina hadn't been so careless and had observed carefully, she would have noticed that the shadow beneath the Old Elves, who was quietly guarding nearby, was motionless. But the shadow cast by the wheelchair beneath Aiwass was trembling slightly, like a beast breathing steadily in its sleep.
You 'deduced' all of this yourself; I didn't tell many lies.
In deduction, if you first determine the conclusion and then look for evidence, you'll definitely be led astray. It seems you're not qualified enough yet.
Yes, Aiwass was indeed an offering.
But at the same time, "Aiwass" was indeed a participant in the Demon ritual.
What he said before was not a lie.
If he hadn't suddenly recalled his past life's memories, he really might have been the "otherworld Demon" summoned in the ritual, using Aiwass's soul as an offering.
Because along with those past life memories, there appeared the incredibly familiar light screen before his eyes:
Aiwass, Male Human, Overall Level 4
Basic Class
Priest LV1: [Basic Prayer - Level 1 (93%)]
Demon Scholar LV3: [Demon Scholar - Level 1 (13%)], [Basic Ritual - Level 1 (5%)], [Demon Contract - Level 1 (99%)]
Paths Illuminated: Dedication - Zero Layer; Transcendence - First Level
Mana Pool: 1/1 (Light), 3/3 (Dark)
Free Experience: 24
Path Traits
Transcendence - Shadow Affinity LV1: You have signed a life-bound contract with a shadow Demon and can freely use First Level shadow abilities.