Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Isaac put the ring back into his pocket, activated the anti-gravity device, and returned to the top once again.

Upon returning to the town, Isaac decided to first go to the clock tower to find out what was going on.

After thinking it over carefully, he realized that the mayor only wanted him to find the guy who provided the illusion book to the townspeople, not to solve a case.

Furthermore, once the person who provided the illusionary book is found, and they are asked who that person gave it to, the truth will immediately come to light.

With that thought in mind, he quickly walked towards the clock tower.

Because of its height, the clock tower stood out in the town, which was mostly made up of single-story houses and multi-story buildings. Isaac quickly walked to the foot of the clock tower.

And just as the old detective said, the clock tower had been sealed off by the mayor's order, and there were police officers patrolling outside.

"Hello."

"Hello... are you the one the mayor invited to investigate a case in town?"

“Yes,” Isaac said, looking at the young officer. “Are you usually on duty here?”

"Yes, I've only been in this position for two months."

"Two months in office..."

Isaac muttered to himself.

If he's only been in office for two months, he probably wouldn't know anything about the child who went missing half a month ago.

"Where is the previous patrolman?"

"You didn't know?" the officer asked, somewhat surprised. "The previous officer, an older one, has disappeared. He was the fourth person to disappear along with those three children."

"what?"

I did hear from the old detective that the missing people were three children and an old man, but I never expected that the old man was the previous guard of the clock tower.

Looking back now, the disappearances were indeed related to the clock tower.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh? You want to go inside the clock tower?"

"Yes, there are some things I want to investigate from the clock tower."

"This... the mayor has ordered that no one is allowed to enter..."

"I was invited by the town mayor to investigate the case. I think this clock tower is related to the case. Could you please move it aside?"

"But the mayor didn't say that..."

Isaac smiled, grabbed the officer's hand, and slapped his palm.

The officers' eyes widened in surprise.

Several gold coins were lying in his hand, and their weight and texture made them seem genuine.

"What...what do you mean by this?"

"I can tell you definitively that as long as I speak to your mayor, he will definitely allow me to go in. However, this process will take a very long time. Since it is rather sudden, could you please let me through now and pretend you didn't see anything?"

Even if you say that, I still... okay, just be careful not to let anyone see.

The police officers eventually gave in.

He would never have agreed to this, but Isaac's words made sense. How could the mayor restrict the investigation if he was asked to do so?

And he gave so much money.

Isaac patted the officer on the shoulder in agreement, then walked directly into the clock tower.

……

There was nothing particularly special about the clock tower; apart from the spiral staircase, there was nothing of note.

The surrounding structures are also quite old, and the enclosed space makes the interior look very dark.

"The child came to explore the clock tower, and the old man was the clock tower's caretaker. Their disappearances are both related to the clock tower, which means this place..."

Isaac stopped abruptly halfway through his speech.

He sensed a surge of energy.

This aura did not originate from humans, but from non-human beings.

Moreover, her aura was exactly the same as that of the green-haired girl in a red dress that Isaac had once met, and that of Dallian.

"...Du Hime? I didn't realize they found the culprit so quickly."

Isaac laughed and went straight up the stairs.

He climbed up the spiral staircase, step by step, and quickly found his target by sensing the qi.

It is a secret room in the clock tower.

Without saying a word, they pushed open the door to the secret room, and what came into view were more than a dozen bookshelves of various sizes, filled with books.

"here it is……"

"I never thought anyone would still find this place now."

A pleasant voice rang out.

Isaac turned around and saw a silver-haired, golden-eyed girl smiling at him from a high platform in the room.

And she is the master of that energy.

Chapter 1003: The Silver-Haired Reader

The girl appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, with long, flowing silver-white hair and golden pupils that seemed to glow even in the dimly lit room. Her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face added to her mysterious aura.

"Are you... Yomihime?"

She exuded an aura similar to that of Dalian, which made Isaac begin to doubt her identity.

"Oh? You know about 'Du Hime', bro?"

The silver-haired girl looked surprised and jumped down from the platform to stand in front of Isaac, observing his appearance on tiptoe.

"What a handsome young man! What's up? Are you here to borrow a book too?"

"Borrowing books? You really are the Reading Princess."

Isaac looked at the girl in front of him, whose expression was slightly provocative, and continued speaking.

"Unfortunately, I'm not here to borrow books; I'm here to investigate a case."

"Investigating a case? Could it be that you've traced it back to me?" the girl said with a grin. "I've been staying in the clock tower for decades and haven't gone out at all."

"But it's obvious that you lent the Phantom Book to someone else."

"Yes."

“A year and a half ago, someone used a magical book to start a fire that burned an entire family to death, and shortly afterward, attacked a police officer and accused him of death,” Isaac said. “I need to know if you have ever lent out a magical book that could cause spontaneous combustion.”

"Um……"

Have you thought of it?

"It's rare to see a beautiful girl standing in front of you, yet you're still thinking about solving a case. What an old-fashioned man."

"I want you to manage."

"Have you never struck up a conversation before? Do I need to teach you?"

"No need, answer my question."

"There was indeed such a book."

The silver-haired girl laughed.

"A magical book called 'The Last Judgment of the Witch,' which was left over from the Hundred Years' War between England and France, was written by the Papacy at that time when the witches were suitable for burning at the stake and were in a state of mental collapse."

"Who did you lend it to?"

"It was lent out quite a while ago, it must have been an old man."

"Has the trail gone cold again?" Isaac muttered to himself.

"Any other questions?"

"Also, about six months ago, did three children come to this clock tower?" Isaac asked.

"About six months ago, oh, I remember, there were indeed three little boys here. I even went out to scare them back then. They yelled, 'A ghost has appeared!!' and then ran away as fast as they could, hahahahaha..."

The girl seemed to enjoy scaring children.

She was probably getting bored after staying here for so long, and the few people who came over helped to relieve her boredom.

"So you've seen them before."

"Yes, besides those little devils, I remember one more, probably the old man who was in charge of the bell tower. He came in while chasing after those little devils who had run in without permission, and he was just as frightened."

"Besides these four people, have you not seen anyone else?"

"No."

"..."

The clues can be modified.

I initially thought the disappearance of the three children and the old man was related to the clock tower, but now it seems to be related to the girl from the clock tower.

Disappearing because he saw this girl... that doesn't seem to make sense.

Are you all alone here?

"Yeah, so if you have any wicked ideas and want to do something to me, no one will find out."

"Can't you live without saying something sarcastic?" Isaac said irritably. "Are you just going to stay inside the clock tower and never come out?"

"Going out isn't necessarily a good thing. How do you know if the people outside are hostile towards me?"

The silver-haired girl sighed.

"Since you know about us 'Reading Princesses,' you should also know that there are many people in the world who want to possess a 'Reading Princess.' Once you master a 'Reading Princess,' it means you possess countless magical books, and the knowledge from these magical books can help you achieve your ambitions."

"Yes, I understand. But now that I've found you, I've fulfilled the mayor's request."

"The town mayor?"