Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1433 The murderer is...

Sherlock Moriarty?
The moment Tina heard the name, she almost thought she had misheard. She followed the sheriff's gaze to the door and noticed that one of the visitors was a man of about 35 years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a mustache. He was dressed in a black vest, white shirt, and a trench coat, and looked very refined.

Behind him followed another woman, wearing a plaid skirt, with long black hair piled up on her back, and a round face. She was about the same age as the man, and she smiled, appearing flamboyant and confident.

Without a doubt, the name Sherlock belongs to the former, but isn't that the name of the protagonist in "Sherlock Holmes"? Moriarty, on the other hand, is the surname of the protagonist's nemesis. The combination of these two is undoubtedly a pseudonym!
Tina watched the two walk through the police cordon and into the church, her mind racing with thoughts.

However, judging from the behavior of Sheriff Edsack, Triss, the other officers, and the believers, they did not seem to be so sensitive to this pseudonym. The sheriff's slightly disgusted tone only stemmed from his feelings towards Sherlock himself, not from his belief that it was a false name.

Then there is another possibility: the name Sherlock Moriarty truly belongs to this gentleman. After all, he looks over thirty years old, well before the publication of the first Sherlock Holmes book. Unless his parents had seen the manuscript of the novel before it was published in this world, this gentleman is the prototype of the "great detective," not the other way around.

As she pondered, Sherlock and the lady who had appeared with him approached Sheriff Edsack.

“Good afternoon, Sheriff,” the man greeted with a slight upturn to his mustache. “I heard there was a murder here, so I brought Eileen over immediately, hoping we could offer some assistance.”

Edsack, who had worn an impatient expression from the moment he saw the other party, shook his head and said:

"We don't need help. You and your assistant can leave."

"We're only helping you because you're short-staffed, right? If we can solve the case quickly, it will be good for you and for the people trapped here who can't leave, won't it?"

Sherlock answered in a calm and unhurried tone, casually removing his hat to reveal neatly combed short black hair.

"Since you're so capable, why don't you go to Loen or Backlund to solve difficult cases for nobles and royalty, and directly receive a reward sufficient for your retirement?"

"I probably wouldn't live more than three months there and would die suddenly in some dark corner, my body thrown into the sewer to feed the crocodiles... The water there is too deep, not suitable for a detective like me who speaks without thinking."

"Hmph... You can look if you want, but you're not allowed to disturb the scene. My officers won't offer any assistance; they all have their own things to do."

"Thanks, Sheriff. You'll be glad you made that decision later."

In a brief but barbed conversation, Tina learned the identity of the visitor: Sherlock Moriarty was indeed a private detective, just like his alter ego in the books, and the woman named Irene was his assistant. Moreover, in Yharnam, the police seemed to dislike detectives who walked the line between the law and the law and liked to compete with them for credit, and in turn, the detectives did not respect the police.

But Eileen… isn’t that the name of the lady even Sherlock Holmes admired in “The Great Detective”? Was this book really based on a detective and his female assistant in Yharnam? And who is Watson…? One question after another popped into Tina’s mind.

But she immediately noticed that the detective who was allowed to conduct his own investigation at the crime scene was walking towards her.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, pressing his top hat to his chest and bowing slightly to Tina and Dorothy. “Did you just arrive in Yharnam today? Did you come alone, or with parents or other elders?”

"You know we've only just entered this city?"

Dorothy frowned and asked a question in return, which was an indirect acknowledgment of the issue.

“I don’t know, but I know every local, as well as the outsiders who stay here overnight, such as the doll-like Miss Lilith and her butler who just arrived in Yharnam yesterday.”

Sherlock answered with a smile.

Are you referring to the girl I saw at the restaurant earlier? So her name is Lilith… Tina paused, but Dorothy continued:
“I’m Dorothy, and this is Christina. We’re tourists here on our own… You don’t think we’re the ones who killed the archbishop, do you? I heard he was wounded on the back of his neck, which we can’t reach.”

“Who knows? Maybe you’ll support your sister, letting her deliver the fatal blow, and since you both appear harmless, you won’t attract attention and can do it all secretly.” Sherlock stroked his beard as he spoke, but then shook his head when he noticed Tina’s face had turned pale with fear. He continued with a smile, “Of course, you’re unlikely to do that, right?”

Tina and Dorothy both nodded eagerly.

At this moment, Eileen, who had been standing behind Sherlock, sighed, stepped forward, and poked the soft flesh of the detective's waist hidden under his trench coat and vest, saying:

"Alright, Sherlock, stop teasing the child. Quickly find out what happened at the scene and identify any possible suspects... Otherwise, that 'witch' will beat us to it and find the murderer first."

Hearing his assistant's words, Sherlock's expression turned serious. He looked around and quickly spotted several believers he was on good terms with, preparing to go over and have a proper chat with them. Tina, however, asked him in confusion:

"Witch?"

She couldn't immediately tell whether the other person was referring to a witch in the conventional, folk understanding, or a certain potion sequence.

Eileen immediately covered her mouth, as if regretting her slip of the tongue, while Sherlock glanced at the sheriff who was talking to the elderly Bishop Townsend in the center of the prayer room, and whispered:

“It’s that lady, Triss, whom Commander Edsack recently met… Don’t ask any more questions, you little girls from out of town.”

As he spoke, he reached out his hands, seemingly preparing to pat Tina and Dorothy on the head, but then seemed to notice that the relationship between them was not so intimate, so he regretfully lowered his arms and walked with his assistant toward the Dantès couple who were not far away.

Could this detective, like those believers who were just chatting, also consider Mr. Dantès and his overly young and beautiful wife to be suspects? Is this city too xenophobic? Even after living here for over ten years, I can't truly integrate and easily arouse suspicion... If Dorothy and I weren't underage, we would probably be suspected of being the murderers immediately... Sherlock said that Ms. Triss was a "witch," and considering that she mentioned divination before, could she really be a Sequence 7 of the "witch" pathway?

Tina and Dorothy exchanged a glance, both having considered this possibility.

Perhaps she really should use "Arods" to divine everything... Just as she made her decision, the white-haired man who had been leaning against the wall writing something in his notebook secretly came up to her.

"Hey, young ladies, what did the great detective Sherlock say to you just now? Can you tell me?" The thin man with white hair resembling animal feathers asked familiarly. "By the way, my name is Allesu, and I'm a bestselling author in this small city."

"Your small city is truly teeming with talent..." Tina thought to herself, then recounted the conversation to the writer before tentatively asking, "Who do you think the murderer is?"

“How would I know!” Alsu shook his head so fast it almost fell off, his voice trembling. “Even if my protagonist came here, we would have to check the surveillance footage… I mean, we would have to ask witnesses and suspects for their testimonies to determine who the murderer is.”

"But if we put aside the facts and just speculate on who had the opportunity and method to kill... I think the magician Merlin is the most likely candidate."

As he spoke, Alsu pointed subtly to the man dressed in a black robe, with feathers on his hat and various interesting objects hanging from his body.

A magician? No wonder he carried so many magic tools, like tarot cards, and was dressed like a circus performer… Tina followed the other person's gaze and recognized the strangely dressed man she had noticed earlier. She whispered, "..."
"why?"

"Because he has performed magic tricks such as cutting candles with playing cards from 20 meters away, smashing watermelons, and throwing knives blindfolded with perfect accuracy, I think if he can do that, killing the archbishop in a closed corridor while standing in the prayer hall wouldn't be difficult..."

For this reason... Tina immediately lost faith in this "bestselling author," only marveling at his extraordinary imagination.

She glanced at the spot where Sherlock and the Dantès were talking and continued:
"But Detective Sherlock seems to have doubts about that gentleman."

Alesu also looked over, and after a moment shook his head and said:
"Them? They're probably just catching up and asking about the details of the case. Sherlock and Dawn have a good relationship. To be precise, they got married together in this church sixteen years ago."

"Oh, they have a good relationship? A wedding? Sherlock Moriarty and Mr. Dawn Dantès?" Tina's expression immediately became quite interesting, and her mind instantly conjured up a whole series of ambiguous novel plots.

“I apologize, my words were somewhat ambiguous,” Alezu quickly added, “There was a mass wedding that was quite popular in Fenneport at the time, and four couples were married in the presence of the gods, including Sherlock Moriarty and Erin Watson, and Dawn Dantes and Christine Theresa.”

So that's how it is, I thought... Tina blushed slightly, then realized that Alezu had only revealed half of the wedding's protagonist. Dorothy, standing beside her, pressed on:

"What about the other two couples?"

This conversation, exchanging information with strangers, seemed to be quite enjoyable for Alesu. He simply sat down on the bench next to him, closed his notebook, and continued:
"You may or may not have heard of two of them, but they are absolutely powerful beings revered by everyone across the five seas... They are the 'Angel of Redemption' of the Fool's Church, once known as the 'Mad Adventurer', Gehrman Sparrow, and the most powerful pirate on the sea, the 'Golden Queen' Angelica Sachs. I attended the wedding that day and saw their faces with my own eyes."

As he spoke, he straightened his back and puffed out his chest with pride, as if attending the couple's wedding was a very memorable event.

This was indeed something to boast about. After all, it was Gehrman and Angelica. Putting aside their status in the Church and their extraordinary abilities, the fact that their "Great Pirate" and "Great Adventurer" series were bestsellers worldwide, with tens of millions of copies printed, was enough to prove their worth... Tina looked up at the "Fool" emblem hanging high in the deepest part of the prayer hall and the altar below. It was hard to imagine that this place had once been covered with red carpets and sprinkled with flowers, witnessing the wedding of two legendary figures, becoming the place where they—no, they kissed each other and pledged their lives to one another.

If the identities of the newlyweds are so shocking, then the last two… With this expectation in mind, Tina lowered her voice and asked:
"and then?"

“You’re just like my readers who urge me to update; they like to write these short greetings on their postcards…” Alesu said with a smile. “The last couple are actually just ordinary people here; they’re security guards…”

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion arose in the center of the prayer hall, drawing the attention of the three of them.

Sheriff Edsack, who wore three V-shaped badges on his shoulders, was compiling statements from his officers. Triss, the "witch" who had been missing for a few minutes and seemed to be performing divination in an empty confessional, returned to his side. Sherlock had finished his conversation with Dantès and was talking with several believers who had just been questioned by the police. At that moment, countless noises from different sources seemed to converge, forming a wave of sound that interrupted Alesou's words.

Because of their close proximity, Tina heard a series of incomplete sentences from the conversation:

"...At the time of the incident, everyone was in the prayer hall. Only the victim, Archbishop Utravsky, was in the back corridor. No one entered or exited through the back door, side door, or the main entrance of the prayer hall at the time, a fact that has been confirmed by surrounding shops..."

"...The divination is complete. The murderer approached from behind, ambushed and killed the archbishop, then left with the murder weapon from the bell tower at the top of the church... He seems to have the ability to fly or jump, but the divination was reversed, so his face and figure cannot be seen. He is most likely an extraordinary being of a high rank..."

"...Are you sure no one came in through the front door? Even after the incident...except for me and Eileen, of course!"

It seems that it really was an extraordinary person who committed the crime, and they have already escaped from the church. The lockdown here should be lifted soon... Tina pondered, and just as she turned around to ask Alusu to reveal the identities of the last couple, she found that the writer had already found a new person to talk to and was walking towards the Dantès couple.

I'll have to ask again next time. No, after Dorothy and I leave, will we really have another chance to come back here...? She thought with some regret.

After a moment, Sheriff Edsack, having gained some insight, gathered everyone present and stood beside the altar, proclaiming in a loud voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the police have confirmed the approximate identity of the murderer and his whereabouts after the crime. Everyone in the church has been cleared of suspicion."

"Next, we will issue an arrest warrant and notify the other two cities on the island, Partis and New Silver City, to use their power to set up checkpoints at various ports and search for this criminal, so as to avenge His Excellency the Archbishop."

"I hereby declare the church's lockdown lifted!"

This is the purpose of divination... Otherwise, the final result would be that everyone would be searched to find the murder weapon, or some suspects would be arrested and taken to the police station for interrogation... Of course, the sheriff's words were mostly just reassurance, and extraordinary criminals might not necessarily need to leave the island through the port... Tina, who had been arrested and taken to the police station, glanced at Triss next to the sheriff and noticed a smug smile on her lips.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out:

"The murderer hasn't left; he's still in this church, among us!"

Still basking in the joy of the progress in the case, everyone turned to look in that direction and found Sherlock Moriarty standing at the entrance of the prayer hall, closing the door tightly again.

“Mr. Moriarty, please don’t cause trouble for the police,” Edsack said, his brow furrowed and his expression growing increasingly serious. “Otherwise, you might be arrested before the fleeing murderer.”

Hearing this, Sherlock shook his head with a cold smile, his gaze lingering for a moment on the face of the "witch" Triss, whose smile was gradually fading, before returning to the sheriff, and said:

"Love has blinded you, Edsack."

"The killer's identity is all too obvious—it's Triss Chick, who's right next to you!"

(End of this chapter)