The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

After the inspector led the group to the archives, he left one officer to supervise them and then left himself.

His steps were hurried.

They probably felt the intelligence they'd just gathered was very important and wanted to quickly set up their team to capture the Black Stone Gang members. Those would be significant achievements.

Now that he had infiltrated the archives, X dropped the pretense. He said he would look through the missing persons files, but he was actually going to look through the theft files directly.

However, she wasn't entirely unpretentious. At least Irene maintained her aristocratic demeanor, pretending to chat with the young police officer.

The conversation quickly turned to questions like, "How old are you this year?", "Would you like me to introduce you to a girl?", and "It's time to settle down and start a family..."

This made the inexperienced police officer quite embarrassed. He then completely failed to notice X's actions.

With Angel's help, X quickly found and retrieved the file on the theft case.

……

Case Files

File Number: SCOT2-Y1851-0303-001

Archived date: March 7, 1851

Date of the incident: March 3, 1851

I. Information of the person who reported the case

Name: Elena.

Identity: Fairy of the Holy Way, coordinator of the "Divine Blessing Ritual Preparatory Group" project, a collaboration between the Church and the Royal Family.

Affiliation: London Church of the Holy See.

Contact information: West Side Cathedral Office of the Church of the Holy See (advance appointment required).

II. Case Description

Background of the commission: The Royal Family commissioned the Holy Order to escort a batch of specially made magical silverware in March 1851 for use in the closing ceremony of the World's Fair at the Crystal Palace that year—the "Blessing Ceremony".

The transportation arrangements are as follows.

Items: A batch of magical silverware (see list for details); a large quantity of other ritual supplies (see list).

Route: From Port 1 along the Thames in East London, take the land route to West End Cathedral;

Personnel: 5 members of the Knights Templar and 3 fairies of the Holy Order;

时间：1851年3月3日14:00出发，计划16:00抵达。

The circumstances of the disappearance are as follows.

At approximately 15:00 PM that day, the convoy encountered an unusually thick white fog while traveling along the middle of the Thames River, obstructing visibility. The wagons lost control and plunged into the Thames, with the reinforced wooden crates carrying silverware falling into the water.

The accompanying fairy immediately went into the water to retrieve the important wooden box, and within 5 minutes, she retrieved it (the lock was intact and there were no signs of damage). Upon opening the box, she discovered that all the silverware inside was missing, with no residue or signs of damage.

An on-site investigation revealed no trace of outsiders in the surrounding area, no divers or suspicious vessels in that section of the Thames River, and no abnormalities were found among the accompanying personnel.

Key statements:

Elena stated that she was sensitive to magical fluctuations, and no magical residue was detected at the scene or inside the wooden box;

Silverware is used for ceremonial purposes and cannot disappear on its own; it is presumed to have been stolen.

Note: All ceremonial silver items are custom-made for the Royal Family, bear exclusive markings, and cannot be circulated on the market.

III. Investigation Progress

On-site investigation:

Testimonies from businesses along the transportation route have been obtained, all of whom stated that the fog was unusually dense that day (there was no record of natural fog).

Inspection of the carriage wreckage revealed no signs of external damage; the cause of the horse's loss of control was suspected to be directional deviation due to dense fog.

Technical analysis of the wooden crate: The lock is intact, the material is reinforced with oak, and there are no signs of magical hacking.

Personnel screening:

All accompanying Templar Knights and goblins were questioned, and there were no loopholes in their testimonies or any suspicion of involvement in the case.

The list of people who had contact with the silverware inventory is being verified within the royal family and the church.

Preliminary speculation:

Method of the crime: Unknown. Possibly a non-magical physical theft, utilizing the dense fog for cover (such as rapid diving to retrieve items);

Suspicion: The source of the dense fog is unknown. Was it deliberately created by the perpetrator?

Suspicious point: There were no signs of the lock being opened. How did the culprit manage to steal the box and then relock it?

Next steps:

Expand the search area in the surrounding waters to locate the silver artifacts;

Contact the meteorological department to verify the cause of the dense fog that day; coordinate with the Fairy Magic Association to assist in analyzing whether the dense fog was an unnatural phenomenon.

Investigate suspicious individuals within London who possess the ability to steal without leaving a trace of magic.

Recorder: Sheriff Tom Doyle.

Reviewer: Thomas Gray, Head of the Criminal Division.

Archived date: March 7, 1851.

Note: This case involves important royal and church ceremonies, and is of the "highest" priority. Progress must be reported to the Ministry of the Interior regularly. Subsequent updates should be sent directly to headquarters for processing.

……

Tsk.

Ex covered his face.

Anyone who reads the last sentence will be speechless.

So the updated data wasn't stored at the branch office. Then all my work was for nothing.

However, X will certainly not give up easily.

This is still the initial version of the information... which means it is the most detailed first-hand information the police have.

As a modern person who has undergone nine years of compulsory education, Axe is confident that he can still find the flaws in them.

Looking at the entire document, the most suspicious element is actually the dense fog, which is the most obvious anomaly. Both the subsequent loss of horse control and the box falling into the water were caused by this fog.

The unusually dense fog was the beginning of everything.

This also raises a fundamental question—where exactly was the silverware stolen?

Is it in the river?

Or is it still... in the fog on the shore?

Two answers indicate two different methods of committing the crime. But... is that really the key point?

After silently repeating the key points of the document twice, X thoroughly memorized them and put the file back in its original place.

Then he pulled out another missing persons file and pretended to look at it seriously.

But I didn't actually read a single word... I was thinking about how the criminal stole the silverware.

Since the dense fog is the most suspicious element, let's first consider how the culprit would create such an unusual fog. Based on my knowledge of chemistry...

Axe unconsciously rubbed his chin with his fingertips, his mind filled with keywords like "dense fog" and "dry ice." The young police officer next to him was engrossed in Elena's conversation about the "aristocratic social season," nodding and smiling from time to time, unaware that Axe's gaze was not on the file at all.

Irene covered half her face with a feather fan, glancing at his expression out of the corner of her eye, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Seeing this, X shook his head. Irene then stopped looking over.

Angel squatted down beside X's feet, tugged at his trouser leg, and asked with curiosity in her blue eyes, "Butler Black, what did you find?"

X tilted his head, a gentle smile on his face, and reached out to pat her hair. "It's nothing. Would you like to sit over there for a while? I'll get you a piece of cake?"

"No!" Angel shook her head and lay on his lap. "I want to help Brother Charles. The glass marbles he brought me last time are still in my room."

Are you completely immersed in the role? There are so many lines!

Ex chuckled. His own Angel was much more interesting.

But I've already seen everything I needed to see.

Axe immediately pretended to flip through the missing persons files and said to Elena, "Madam, the information in these missing persons cases is not very useful; it's all just routine investigation."

Irene smiled and nodded, "Then we should probably go. My daughter is tired too."

Upon hearing her name called, Angel immediately stood up and ran to Elena's side: "Mommy, are we leaving now?"

"Yes, honey." Elena patted her head and turned to the officer. "Thank you, officer, we've finished looking at it."

The police officer smiled and shook his head: "It's alright, madam, please take care."

The three walked out of the archives. AX glanced back at the "SCOT2-Y1851-0301-001" label on the file shelf and a slight smile appeared on his lips—although he hadn't obtained any follow-up information, the firsthand data was enough for him to make assumptions.

However, assumptions are just assumptions; they still need to be verified.

"In short, this is a worthwhile trade," he thought to himself.

After leaving the police station, Elena held Angel's hand and turned back to ask him, "What's next?"

"Next, let's start by considering the first key question—how to create a large area of ​​dense fog?"