Pastor's Tantra

"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 at a loss 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. The lake blue eyes were full of panic that 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 of you, and you were late for...two hours and twenty-three minutes?"

The old man's serious and aged voice sounded from the other side of the iron gate. It was a special long-drawn tone, the 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. That back that was as straight as a pine and motionless was filled with powerful pressure at this moment.

Although Haina is actually a trainee supervisor who has not yet graduated, she has passed the graduation examination with full marks and can accept the formal supervision awarded by the Queen at any time. Now she wears a trainee badge just because the griffons assigned to her are still on the way to deployment.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't be so afraid of a housekeeper.

But the old man in front of him 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 full marks, she must be able to successfully find the demonologist.

"Since the criminal has 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 Inspectorate. Even if Haina becomes a full-time player, Kent will still be three levels above 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 was just mocking herself. But her intuition told her that if the old man had not planned to do this, she would have just run away stupidly, and I am afraid that she would be 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 was only decorated with low-key thorn patterns...it didn't look like a famous family.

In fact, Professor Moriarty, the adoptive father of Aiwass Moriarty, the person involved in this incident, can indeed be called a low-key, calm, intelligent and knowledgeable good man. Professor Moriarty was also Haina's teacher at university, and was responsible for the subjects of astrology, astronomy and advanced mathematics.

He inherited the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce and owned three museums to his name. He even funded the construction of the only planetarium in White Queen. Although he is so rich, he just quietly studies in the university. He even funded many orphanages and adopted many orphans. He can be called an amazing and kind-hearted man.

When she arrived, the captain had specifically told her that the Moriarty family was not only rich but also a founding family with elves serving them. Although the owner of the house, Mr. James, has a gentle personality, he still needs to be careful.

According to the rules, any direct participant related to the demonic incident must be sent to the local Supervisory Bureau with a command chain as soon as possible after being out of danger, and undergo a mental examination by the chief lawyer. Only after the innocence is confirmed will the patient be sent back to the 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 sacrifices can survive, it means that the ritual has generally failed - although the sacrifices may not necessarily die, they are usually killed to silence them. Therefore, when an injured person appears instead of the deceased, the injured person may not be a sacrifice, but may also be a person related to the ritual.

But this kind of 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 when she came, the Supervisory Bureau didn't even match her with an accompanying lawyer. They 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 review of the lawyer?

……so good.

He was obviously just an adopted civilian orphan. Just because of good luck, he was valued and adopted by the professor. Now he has become a big shot that cannot be touched by the Supervision 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 in her arms and followed him quickly. But after taking a few steps, I remembered to turn back and close the door. But when she turned around, 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 sun is skewed and the evening wind stops. Haina vaguely felt 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, and don’t delay it. 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, or 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.’ What the Inspectorate, the Law Courts, and the Arbitration Chamber guard are not only Her Majesty’s will, but also the many rules established by Parliament.

"I will forgive you this time, and I will not tell Mr. Kent of your mistake - I will say that you arrived on time, but stayed for two cups of tea and some snacks after you learned what happened.

"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 those 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 an instructor facing an unsatisfactory student.

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 I could only follow behind with trepidation, feeling the sudden warmth of the fire in the winter season.

Only then did she realize that she had made an old man wait at the door for two hours on a winter evening.

With 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, who had a somewhat unruly reputation.

He was currently sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket covering his legs.

The pale, frail face was bloodless, and he looked like he was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a beauty that was completely different from Professor Moriarty.

He was wearing pure white fluffy pajamas and looked like he had just come out of the shower. The soft platinum hair reflected the warm light of the fire. He was reading a book quietly and intently in front of the fire, and his delicate face had a gentle intention... which reminded her of poets and the fire rising in the fireplace at home.

That beautiful picture looks like a painting. Haina subconsciously opened her eyes.

But at this moment, the boy 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?

At some point, she instinctively rejected 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.

"——Excuse me, are you here to arrest me?"