The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

The three of them sat down at Ernestine's Tavern.

Jon seemed a little curious about the relationship between Siles and Qindo, but he didn't ask too much.After sitting down, he said: "It's really cold. What happened in Ramifa City is even more chilling."

Siles nodded approvingly.

Jon turned to say: "Since you are very interested in that calendula cup, why not come to my house as a guest in the afternoon? Of course, it would be great if you don't dislike my messy home."

Siles smiled slightly and said, "Of course not, Jon, I appreciate your generosity."

"No detective will miss the clues that come to your door." Jon spread his hands, "I should be more grateful for your presence to make this case clear."

Without waiting for Siles to answer, Jon turned to say: "We don't have to be polite here. I'll go around and ask about the situation first. You two just sit here for a while."

After speaking, he got up and chatted with the drinkers around him, very detective temperament and style.

After he left, Qin Duo said: "He looks like a..." He considered the statement for a while, then squinted his eyes and whispered, "Dangerous person."

... This emerald-eyed explorer from the Everlands is indeed a dangerous man in his own unhappy appearance.

Of course, Siles did not deny his speculation about Jon.

Jon Mansfield.a detective.He enjoyed a good reputation in the city of Ramifa, so he joined the search for the apostate.He will most likely discover a conspiracy.

This is the introduction in the original running group script.

However, after Siles came to this world, the plot of running the group has been completely messed up by him.These characters in the running group should have been strung together with the actions of the apostate Hamlin, but now they have completely fallen apart.

The knight commander Bunyan is still serving as the knight commander; the businessman Ranmir is still doing business with a smile;

Chester Fitzroy is still doing well as a doctor and didn't become the first victim; Bourne, the tramp, still seems to be in the dark; detective Jon Mansfield has no apostate case, but is also working on Investigate other cases.

Also, that character that Siles has not been able to meet so far - the foreign female bishop.She should have come to the Duchy of Constance because of the appearance of the apostate, but she has not yet appeared.Siles didn't even know which country she'd be in.

The eight of them have broken away from the script of the running group; the eight of them seem to have embarked on the path of their own destiny, heading towards the unknown fog.I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

For Siles, who had been the Keeper of the Eight characters, he thought that might be a good thing.

Old stories should end; new journeys should start.This is a very good ending in his vision.

Facing Qin Duo's statement, Siles just paused and said, "That's true. However, he also brought us new clues."

Qin Duo did not deny this.He just said emphatically, "But you can't use that magnifying glass either." He muttered, "I'm all you need."

Siles couldn't laugh or cry, but he still said, "Of course, Qindo."

Ginto seemed content with that.Leaning on Siles, he turned the topic back to business: "So, shall we go to this detective's house this afternoon?"

"Yes, I'm really curious about that calendula cup." Siles thought for a while, "Actually, I think it's a bit strange that the calendula cup appeared in the trash can."

"why?"

Siles said: "It's understandable to throw away the wig, but a marigold cup...don't you think that if you don't throw it away, it won't be noticed in the house? It's just a cup for drinking water.

“It’s because it’s in the trash that we’re paying attention to the cup. It’s logical. But if you think about the premise — ‘someone threw the calendula cup in the trash’.

"Is what this person did really necessary?"

Qin Duo understood almost immediately: "You mean, someone is using this calendula cup to imply something to us?"

"Yes. It should be said that there are double hints. The calendula cup may hide a secret, and the act of throwing away the calendula cup itself also hints at something to us."

"...That is, someone is helping us?" Qin Duo said, "The gang behind the scenes, is there a division among them?"

Siles nodded, and he added, "It's just a speculation."

This speculation had already arisen when they discovered Brewer Darrow's body.Because someone cleanly killed Brewer with a single stab, so that Brewer died painlessly; but there were also people who abused Brewer's body after his death.

"Your conjectures always come true." Qin Duo muttered in a low voice, "...Of course, I'm not saying that you are a prophet."

Siles: "..."

He looked at Gyndo suspiciously.

Qin Duo laughed.He was always a bit restless, and now he secretly held Sirius' hand again, playing with the beautiful and long fingers."I'm just overwhelmed by your intelligence," he said.

While they were talking, Jon also came back after chatting with the other drinkers.As soon as he saw Qindo lazily leaning on Sires, he couldn't help being slightly startled.

Of course, this seemingly young detective seemed to have seen big storms before, and was not surprised by the interaction of these two men at all.

He just stopped for a while, then sat across from them as if nothing had happened, and said with a smile: "Both of you, I have gained quite a lot."

Siles squeezed Qindo's fingers in turn, telling the guy to sit down.Cendo could only sigh helplessly, and sat up straight, although he was still holding Sirius' hand.

Siles still asked calmly: "Is there any new news?"

Jon said: "There was a drinker who came here to drink away his worries. His child was hospitalized in the Darwin Hospital in the west city, but just a few days later, the child who could still talk to people died suddenly.

"He said that this incident gave him a huge blow. After he and his wife arranged for the child's funeral, they fell into a complete depression. As far as he knows, this kind of thing happened in the past period of time. Quite a few times."

Siles frowned involuntarily and asked, "When did that happen?"

"Probably what happened in the past dozen or 20 days." Jon said, "The man said that his child couldn't survive the New Year."

"Did you ask him what's wrong with his child?"

"That's not so clear," Jon said. "The man's already passed out."

As he spoke, he pointed to the not far away.The man was lying on the counter, weeping while drinking, and people around him would occasionally cast a sympathetic glance at him.

Siles was silent for a moment.

After a while, he whispered: "So, the actions of Darwin Hospital in West City are gradually becoming crazy. What stimulated them?"

When he said this, a possible guess actually emerged in his mind—Nona once told him in a dream that those doctors said that other places already had a "Holy Son", but they didn't have one here.

Are they making a "Holy Son"?

"It's hard to say what Darwin Hospital is thinking." Jon shrugged. "Maybe it's just because of the long and cold winter and the large number of patients, so they need to clear out some less important patients."

"...by death?"

Jon said in a very casual tone: "The establishment of Darwin Hospital is essentially just a group of nobles who want to enjoy the reputation of charity while making money.

"The price of seeing a doctor in this hospital is much more expensive than other hospitals, but because there are big figures behind the platform, it is trusted by ordinary people in turn. And do you think this is really the case?"

Siles thought to himself, maybe the actual situation is much crueler than Jon thought?

Just to make money?

He couldn't help but sigh.

Jon thought that his statement was agreed by Siles, so he nodded: "It seems that you agree with my idea. Have you actually been to Darwin Hospital?"

"I've been to the one on the East Side," Siles said.

"Did you notice anything wrong?"

Siles shook his head.

Qin Duo said on the side: "If all this can be solved by going to the hospital, then things will be much simpler."

"Mr. Praia is right." Jon agreed. "The real crime must happen outside the hospital. Maybe I should ask my colleagues about the investors behind Darwin Hospital, or maybe... "

Jon was lost in thought.

After a while, he suddenly came back to his senses, smiled apologetically, and said, "It's getting late, maybe we can talk in another place? How about going to my house to have a look at the calendula cup and talk about that case?"

Jon's home is on the East Side, roughly southwest of the East Side, on the first floor of a row of apartments along the Canla River.Jon said that he bought the two apartments opposite the door, opened them up, and redecorated them to form a large apartment.

"I have a lot of information to store." Jon explained, "so I need a larger storage space."

This statement seems impeccable, and it is also very consistent with Jon's detective career.The large room opened on both sides was indeed, as Jon said, full of wooden cabinets, drawers, and paper materials that were about to overflow.

There are not too many Jon's own daily necessities stored here.It seems that Jon seems to regard this house more as a studio than a place for daily rest and life.

Jon took out the enamel cup engraved with marigolds from one of the cabinets, and handed it to Siles.

Before going out this morning, since he was going to the Const National Bank to check the information of the Darrow family, Siles thought that there might be some dangerous things hidden in it, so he took the potion cautiously and wore the [Silent Heart 】The brooch.

Now, he also took the opportunity to put on [Akamala's spectacle frame], and then walked to the window, quietly looking at the cup.

White cup body, bright golden color flowers, slightly worn handle.The flowers are actually a whole bunch of flowers, some blooming and some not blooming, crowded together, it looks extraordinarily prosperous and brilliant, indeed it can be called the "Bride of the Sun".

This looks like a mug that has been used a lot, judging by the traces of its use.But again, it was abandoned in the trash, languishing alongside the long wig, until it was picked up by nearby servants, where it was found by a detective.

"Do you have that wig, too?" asked Siles.

Jon nodded, then rummaged through a lot of mess.He said apologetically, "I'll have to look for it. Always mixed in with other things...here!"

He picked up the wig.It was a waist-length wig, brown overall, and messy, as if it hadn't been taken care of by the owner at all.

Jon said: "When I picked up this wig, it looked like this. I don't know who would want to use such a messy wig."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

From his point of view, these two things don't have any special appearance, they are just ordinary cups and wigs.However, this seems even more bizarre.

"So, how did you discover these two things?" Sirius asked.

Jon thought for a while and said, "You also know the existence of that detective club. We heard about it at the time, and we went together. When we arrived, the police and the people from the Historical Society had already left. .

"We searched nearby. Then I noticed the trash can, thinking that the murderer might have left some traces in the trash can, so I went to have a look and found something."

He said so, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Very lucky, isn't it?"

Siles narrowed his eyes.

Lucky?

However, neither the police nor the Second Corridor investigation report mentioned the trash can.How on earth did Jon notice the trash can?

Siles considered his tone, and then said, "Did you investigate after the police and the investigators from the Historical Society left? I checked their investigation report, and they didn't notice the problem with the trash can."

"That's it?" Jon said in surprise, and then he shook his head. "Sure enough, like I said before, they didn't really look into it seriously. And you know very well—"

He seemed to be pointing, looking deeply at Sirius.

"You know what the atmosphere of the Historical Society is like," he said.

Siles remained silent.

Jon seems to be accusing the Historical Society of not being careful enough.And this is also very consistent with his position.But Siles felt a very subtle sense of disobedience.

This sense of incongruity comes from...

He thought for a moment, and finally said, "But, Jon, you are indeed a revelator." He made it clearer, "The Historical Society also sent a revelator to investigate. Why didn't they find the trash can?" problem, and you discovered it?"

Jon has always avoided talking about this issue.He blamed everything on the internal atmosphere of the Historical Society, and believed that this omission was caused by the lack of seriousness of the revealer in the second corridor.

But in fact, it is very simple to really answer this question - "Because I have a good ritual."

Siles wouldn't actually ask what the ritual was.To the Revelator, that is very disrespectful and offensive.What rituals and how many rituals a revelator has mastered are his very private trump cards that must be kept secret.

But Jon was not willing to use any... simpler answer that belonged to his personal strength to explain Siles' question.

Jon is avoiding talking about his personal strength, or rather, he is avoiding talking about "how" he found the trash can.

In fact, Siles really didn't know the strength of this detective.On the character card, Detective Jon's spirituality is a figure that is neither high nor low; and in the past few exchanges, including in the kitchen after the dinner, Jon has not displayed any of his strength.

Siles looked at the detective who was always elusive, his eyes darkened slightly.Qin Duo stood beside him, with his hands already in his pockets, probably groping for a certain word on the paper.

Jon stood there, casually tossing the wig aside.He smiled playfully, and then said, "You're doubting me—Professor Noel, can I understand that?"

Sillies said frankly and nonchalantly, "Yes."

Because of Jon's unclear position, and his vague hints.

Jon was silent for a moment, then couldn't help sighing, he shrugged and said, "Well, well... I knew it was impossible to cover up my real actions so easily. You are really a sharp person, professor."

The tense atmosphere seemed to suddenly relax again.

"Since I am the revealer, you may have already figured out that what I am investigating is actually not that simple. And the reason why I haven't confessed everything is..."

Jon paused.

He looked out the window.The house is located on the banks of the Kanla River, and you can see the scattered houses in Lamifaxi City across the river.There was almost a hint of confusion in his eyes, but the emotion disappeared in a flash, and no one noticed.

"I think there's a huge conspiracy going on."

Siles was slightly taken aback.

"And that's not just a mess made by some followers of the old gods in secret." Jon whispered, as if he was afraid of being surprised by something, "That's... the existence in the 'shadow'. "

"shadow".Siles was taken aback.

He seemed to suddenly understand why Jon didn't want to mention it.

He said without hesitation: "You think I don't know about the existence of 'Shadow', that's why you don't want to share what you're investigating, and want to use other excuses to divert my attention, don't you?"

Jon looked at Sirius in astonishment.

Siles narrowed his eyes slightly: "The calendula...the bride of the sun...I always thought that the massacre of the Darrow family was related to Luthmi. The god of stars and light...that star.

"However, you mentioned the shadow. So, someone used the name of Luthmi? In fact, everything has something to do with the shadow behind it?"

"...Wait, wait!" Jon said in amazement, "How do you know so much!"

Siles didn't answer the question, but just looked at Jon calmly.Under those gazes, Jon felt as if his whole being was defeated.Professor Sirius Noel in front of him seemed to know everything he was hiding.

Finally, Jon seemed suddenly deflated.He said, "Well, I'd love to tell you these things. I just want you to keep it a secret."

As he said that, Sirius' aura gradually became calmer.He held Qin Duo's hand beside him, smiled slightly, and said, "Of course."

They then sat down for a longer and more candid conversation.

According to Jon, the reason why he participated in the investigation of the Darrow family extermination case was not as he said before, but because he accidentally heard about the case in the detective club, so he went with other detectives by the way. investigation.

In fact, he had noticed the existence of the Darrow family earlier.

He said that the reason why he noticed this family was because he heard about the past of this declining family when he was helping some other noble families investigate some... not very decent things.

This family came from a foreign country, and for many people, that seemed to mean hiding some secrets—outsiders, strangers.People with such identities seem to carry certain secrets as they should.

Jon has a detective's curiosity, so he also has some interests in the Darrow family.This interest peaked when he realized that the last heir to the Darrow family was getting engaged to a woman of unknown origin.

"A woman of unknown origin?" Qin Duo asked a little strangely, "However, it is impossible for a noble family to accept a woman with such an identity?"

"Yes." Jon nodded, "I think so too, but they do intend to let the only heir be engaged to this woman. I have seen that woman...she has a kind of..."

Jon hesitated for a while, as if he didn't know how to describe it.

Finally, he said: "The woman herself is like a 'runaway time track.' I don't know if you can understand the concept. She has a very terrifying attraction."

Siles's heart moved, and he couldn't help but think of the feeling of "believers meeting gods" in Brewer's description.Brewer said he was like a believer meeting a god when he met his fiancée.

Jon met Marina at Brewer's engagement to that woman, Marina Keilan.He said the woman had long brown hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin.

"Long brown hair?" Sirius couldn't help but glanced at the wig.

Jon nodded, then shook his head again: "I'm not sure if she's wearing a wig. If that's the case, then her appearance may have been disguised."

Sirius nodded slowly.They had long ago assumed that Marina Kellan must be a false name, a false identity, and a false appearance at the same time.

"You have seen that Marina before." Cendo couldn't help but said, "Didn't you try to find this person?"

"Of course I tried," said Jon, and then added, "But nothing came of it. It's as if the woman just disappeared."

"So how do you know that this case is related to 'Shadow'?" Siles asked.

Jon hesitated.This point seems to be very important to him, so before that, he didn't disclose it to anyone - at least judging from his performance, that's right.

However, Jon did not hesitate for too long."Because, in that trash can, I actually found more than just wigs," he said.

Both Siles and Qindo couldn't help being startled.

"Anything else?" Sirius said calmly.

"...a painting." Jon said slowly, "like a sketch, it depicts Atherton Square and the city of Ramifa, very delicate and detailed, but there are thick, dark shadows above the sky, It seemed to cover the entire Lamifa City.

"There seems to be something in the shadow, and it is about to move."

Following Jon's words, Sirius gradually set off a turmoil in his heart.He thought, that painting?that painting? !

That painter!he couldn't help thinking.

After mentioning the existence of this painting, Jon also breathed a sigh of relief.He smiled wryly and said: "I don't want to hide from you... When I saw this painting, I was very seriously polluted mentally.

"I think it may be because of this that the revelators of the Historical Society did not investigate the trash can. Maybe they ignored the trash can intentionally or unintentionally, or maybe..."

Jon paused at this moment, and did not give another guess.

However, Siles had some thoughts on this conjecture.He thought, maybe it was because Jon was more spiritual?A little taller than the revelators who arrived on the scene, so happened to be able to notice the problem with the trash can.

Just like the space behind the door of the Historical Society, if the spirituality does not meet the standard, then ordinary people can only see an ordinary room; only when the spirituality reaches a certain standard, can they see the grand and wonderful huge room.

...However, this also means that Jon's strength may be much stronger than he imagined.Siles thought so.

Jon shook his head, not thinking carefully about this question.He continued: "Anyway, I instinctively hid the painting on my body, but inadvertently gave away the fact that I found the wig in the trash.

"At that time, I was actually a little crazy, otherwise I would not have done impulsive investigations. After all, the painting is too strange... However, thanks to this, I was able to find the calendula cup."

He showed a complicated expression.

He turned to say: "So, Professor Noel, I'm afraid you should be able to understand why I am so grateful to you. Your 'self-returning' ceremony really helped me, allowing me to get rid of that pollution as much as possible."

Siles nodded slowly.

At this moment, one of the questions in his mind was, obviously he also saw the painting, but why wasn't he polluted as badly as Jon?

...because the painting wasn't finished then?Because he inadvertently frightened the painter, causing the painting to be destroyed?

Then, Jon explained the reason why he knew that this matter was related to "Shadow".

After being polluted, he wants to get rid of this pollution, and thus associates with some similarly polluted people.He learned from them that the "shadow" in the sky that day was not Ruthmi as he thought, but something else.

This pollution, they swear, is different.

They even said that they knew a person who had conducted in-depth research on the existence of "shadows", but that person was nowhere to be found.They suspect that the person has been swallowed by "Shadow".

Therefore, this group of people advised Jon not to tell anyone about the existence of "Shadow", so as not to get into trouble or implicate others.

But—the group said mysteriously—there is a group of people who use Ruthmi to hide their true beliefs and try to do something in La Mifa City.

Jon was dubious about what they said, but he did keep silent all the time and did not disclose the "shadow" matter.In addition, as he used the "self-recovery" ritual, his mental state gradually improved, so he decided to treat it more cautiously.

…Until today, Sirius suddenly exposed his cover-up.

Following what Jon said, Siles had to think that this so-called person who has a very in-depth study of "shadows" is not Professor Kabell, right?

He has asked the journal editor to help find Professor Kabell's paper, but has not heard back.After all, it was several years ago, and it seemed normal that it would take a little time.

After Jon finished speaking, all three of them fell into a brief silence.

In the end, Siles made a summary of the matter: "Therefore, a group of people, under the guise of followers of Ruthmi, are secretly carrying out a conspiracy. This conspiracy is related to the 'shadow'.

"For this conspiracy, they brutally wiped out the Darrow family with unknown purpose. Afterwards, they disappeared without a trace, but they did hide in secret.

"It is very likely that there are companions who are not in the same position among them, so they have left us some clues. Although, we have not yet been able to decipher what these clues mean very well."

Having said that, he pondered for a while, and then said: "Is there anything else that needs to be added?"

Both Jon and Jindo shook their heads.

Siles thought about it for a while, and then thought, on the whole, apart from confirming that the painter was indeed related to this incident, and that Jon would also be a helper in the investigation, they didn't seem to have made any progress in the investigation.

This made him sigh inwardly.But he didn't show it in front of Jon.

He glanced at the incident and found that it was past two o'clock.They had eaten something at Ernestine's Tavern before, so they were not hungry now, but mental exhaustion was inevitable.

So Siles said: "Well, Jon, we can investigate this case together later and exchange information. What's your address here?"

Jon reported the address here.

Siles wrote it down, then nodded, and said, "I see. I'm going to investigate some of the Darrow family's past. If there is any news, I will let you know."

Jon smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to it."

After leaving Jon's house, Qin Duo asked, "What do you think...?"

"I think?"

Siles held Qindo's hand, took a deep breath, and let the cold winter wind wake up his brain.

"I think Jon is still hiding something," he said.

They walked along the banks of the Kanla River.Coincidentally, after about 10 minutes' journey, they will arrive at their destination in the afternoon - Const National Bank.So they simply decided to walk there.

Siles added: "Maybe what Jon is hiding has to do with his privacy, but in any case, he's not really being open and honest."

Because of this, Siles did not disclose all the information on his side.

There are three main doubts about Jon's words.

First, Jon still avoided talking about why he could notice the trash can, and was unwilling to give a clear answer.And it just so happened that this question aroused Sirius' suspicion of Jon.

Is it really because Jon's spirituality is so high that he can discover things that others can't?But, is it really necessary for Jon to hide his strength so hard?

Second, Jon did not explain in detail what kind of concept "shadow" is among the group of people he met.god?pollute?Some unknown force?He maintained a neutral silence.

When they were going to investigate the "shadow" together, Jon didn't be honest about the information.This is fatal to cooperation.

And the third point was only realized by Siles belatedly.

Jon is on the opposite side of the Historical Society.However, he was happy to cooperate with Siles.

... Siles is now a popular figure within the Historical Society.Although Jon seems to have been wooing Siles, Siles has never shown a clear attitude of standing on Jon's side.

Jon disclosed the information he had learned so easily, as if he was really so friendly and sincere... Is it true?

Siles thought for a moment, then shook his head involuntarily.He shared his thoughts with Qin Duo, and then sighed, "What a fog."

"Then you don't need to cooperate with him at all. He is not sincere at all." Qin Duo said, with a little natural arrogance, but he really didn't like Jon very much. "Maybe he will deliberately mislead us."

"You really have to pay attention to this. Jon's position has never been clear." Siles said in a low voice, "It's right to be vigilant."

Qin Duo suddenly smiled in a low voice.

Siles glanced at him.

"...I just thought of what happened when we were in the Land of No Embers. You have to know this." Qin Duo said, "A safe city is not the same as the Land of No Embers."

Siles admits this.

But he still changed the subject: "The bank is here."

Constance National Bank is also located on the banks of the Canla River.Separated by a river, to the west is a dusty and dirty wasteland, and to the east is a magnificent and elegantly decorated bank.This kind of contrast can always appear in the city of Ramifa, especially on both sides of the Kanla River.

They go into the bank.Siles handed the power of attorney to the manager of the bank.Soon, the manager led them to a separate small room.

He said elegantly and gently: "According to the letter of authorization, you can stay in the room for two hours to find the materials you need. You can take the materials away, but you need to sign a statement of responsibility, and Return within one week.

"In addition, this power of attorney will be void once it is used, please make this clear."

Siles nodded, indicating that he understood.

The manager then unlocked the door of the room with a complicated key and invited them in.

Inside is a dimly lit small room with no windows, covering an area of ​​about [-] square meters. There are a total of five shelves in front and back, and the top is full of materials.Siles and Cendo walked in.

The manager closed the door, so only Siles and Cendo stayed in the confined space.

Cendo's emerald green eyes looked at Sirius.

Siles said unmoved: "Here are the materials of the Conster script and the Kansas script. We will look for them separately. You are mainly looking for the transcript of the conversation."

"...Okay." Qin Duo could only say, "Listen to you."

They acted separately.Because there was only two hours in total, their actions were involuntarily quick.

But soon, Siles realized that they could actually find the information they wanted very quickly, especially the Kansas batch.

Within 10 minutes, Gindo said he had found it.

Siles then walked to his side and looked at the...a very old file that looked like parchment.The writing on it was some kind of foreign script that Siles didn't know.

Cindo said: "This part of Kansas data is archived in chronological order, which is very easy to find. I think it's because the Darrow family itself organized it very well, and then it was put here intact by the Historical Society .”

Siles couldn't help but nodded, thinking that this was very possible.