Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 40 Mission: 04-1 Beatrice

After hearing Nero's opinions and inferences, as well as the strange premonitions he had during previous encounters, Ritsuka requested off-site assistance.

Then Leonardo da Vinci and Sherlock, who lived centuries later, also joined the discussion.

"Combining everyone's opinions on the lord, I think Miss Nero's judgment is correct." The great detective said, shaking his pipe, "In this case, contacting his daughter is no longer the top priority.

"If the Demon Pillar wants to use Beatrice, it must first harm the lord. We can catch it by the tail then."

Ritsuka nodded. "So, when we act next time, someone must stay behind at the lord's mansion. What about that 'bad feeling'?"

Sherlock stood up and stepped away from the scene, saying, "I'm not very good at this kind of irrational inference. Leonardo, as a 'magician', do you have any inspiration?"

"I'm not a prophet."

Leonardo da Vinci smiled and said, "Even a genius like me can't determine the key to a matter from a vague premonition. The only advice I can give you is to trust it first. The flashes of inspiration that occur during a lucid state are often very trustworthy."

"Like a 'divine revelation'?"

It was Giorgos who spoke, and Leonardo da Vinci responded affirmatively: "For you saints and followers, this kind of flash of inspiration is basically equivalent to divine revelation."

Nero interrupted and asked, "Did you find anything about the previous rat influx?"

Mashu, who was in charge of analysis and integration, stepped forward and replied, "We can't come up with a conclusion just by analyzing magic power. I'm sorry I can't help you."

"That's fine," Ritsuka consoled him. "Since he's carrying such unusual magical energy, it must be the enemy's doing. As long as we can resolve it, it'll be a good thing."

Nero agreed: "When the enemy comes, we will stop him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth."

The strategy was set. Given the current intelligence shortage, everyone's primary task was intelligence gathering. The Sphinx, known to possess the most intelligence, became the most important target.

On the third day after arriving at the singularity, Nero, Ritsuka, and Mephistopheles, the three people who had met the Sphinx, left town. Meanwhile, Georgos, who was well-known and respected in the town, remained in the lord's mansion.

In the resurrected wheat fields, unsure if the demon rats would return, almost all the farmers risked their lives, harvesting at top speed. In this era, many convenient tools had not yet been invented, and the farmers in the fields could only hold their sickles, hunched over, and afraid to rise for a moment.

Not far from the wheat field, Nero saw the girl with short rose-red hair again.

It was Beatrice. Nero and Ritsuka exchanged a glance, and then one of them walked over first.

"Ms. Beatrice, nice to meet you again."

"...It's Miss Nero." Beatrice returned Nero's greeting with a melancholy tone and a heavy gloom on her face.

Then she turned her head and looked at the wheat field again.

Nero walked up to her and asked softly, "You seem to be in a bad mood?"

Knowing her expression was clear on her face, Beatrice didn't hesitate. She nodded and said, "You should have heard me propose farmland restructuring before."

"I heard. Your father disagrees?"

"Yeah. He also threw my schematics into the fireplace."

"That's such a shame." Beatrice looked at the busy people with a complicated expression: "No regrets, I knew this would be the result. I just feel sorry..."

"What a pity?" Nero asked.

"Miss Nero, do you know what the current situation is with the farmland in the territory?"

Beatrice asked in return, and without waiting for Nero's reply, she continued, "The farmland in the territory has always been divided into three parts: one for growing wheat, one for growing beans, and one for rest. This rotation of the three plots of land ensures that the fertility of the land is not exhausted and can be cultivated every year.

"However, even so, the land cannot fully recover after planting wheat. Ever since I can remember, the territory's grain production has been decreasing."

“So you came up with that method.”

Nero glanced behind him as he spoke, and saw Ritsuka and Mephisto approaching.

Beatrice, a thirteen-year-old girl who might be quite gifted, smiled bitterly. "But no, there's nothing I can do to change the situation. The wheat harvest will be finished in a few days, and the next step is to plow the land and prepare it for sowing winter wheat. It's too late."

"The territory will definitely continue to reduce production next year. There's nothing I can do."

"So, wise young lady, do you have any wish that you would like to fulfill?"

Mephistopheles, dressed in a tuxedo, appeared from behind Beatrice and asked like the devil in the story.

"Eh?!"

Seeing Beatrice startled, Ritsuka pulled Mephisto behind him by his cane, "It's okay, Miss Beatrice. She was just joking."

Beatrice blinked and tilted her head. "What strange clothes. Who are you?"

Nero walked up to the two of them and said with a smile, "They are my work partners. Actually, we have a question for you..."

"I see!" Beatrice exclaimed softly, and hurriedly asked, "So it was you who drove away those evil rats yesterday, right? Father didn't believe me the day before yesterday, and then the demons really showed up yesterday, and he even accused me of being a jinx..."

Nero was silent for a moment. The lord's prejudice against his own daughter was deeper than she had imagined. Perhaps that was why she had instinctively felt yesterday that mentioning Beatrice would be disastrous.

"Yeah, yeah. That's us."

Li Xiang nodded, and then continued, "Actually, we want to ask, have you ever encountered someone asking similar questions to her before?"

This "she" naturally refers to Mephistopheles. Ritsuka grabbed the demon with one hand and pointed at it with the other, looking at Beatrice who was a little confused.

"No, no...right?"

"Besides us, have you met any other strange strangers?" Nero asked.

"No." Beatrice answered much more quickly this time. She observed Nero and Ritsuka's expressions and asked as if to confirm, "Are you still looking for the demon?"

Indeed. More precisely, they're searching for the Demon Pillar. If the Demon Pillar that created this singularity wants to contact Beatrice, it's most likely to appear in this stereotypical form.

So, Nero gave her a warning: "Yes, those rats are just the other party's minions. The real devil has not yet appeared. Don't think that this place is safe."

(End of this chapter)