Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

The silver-haired girl's eyes narrowed instantly.

“Yeah, he asked me to find out which bastard provided the townspeople with the illusion books, and I think that bastard is you,” Isaac laughed. “Would you mind coming with me?”

"Never."

The girl lightly touched the tiptoe and quickly jumped back to the high platform where she had just been.

"I don't want to see that damn mayor."

"Why? Do you have a grudge against him?"

"The guy who wants to take advantage of 'Reading Princess' is the mayor you mentioned. Do you know how tiring it is for me to avoid him?"

"..."

"This guy has come to the clock tower several times, but he has never found me. He probably sent you here this time so that you can arrest me."

"...Oh, I see."

"Now that you know, leave quickly. Don't tell the mayor you've seen me."

Do I look like a good person to you?

"You look like a great villain to me."

"That's a fair assessment," Isaac chuckled. "Now that you know that, how can you be so sure I won't tell the mayor everything about you?"

“I’ve already told you you’re a big villain, not some petty thief.” The girl laughed as well, seemingly unconcerned.

"A truly evil person would never allow themselves to be used by others."

"..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Stepping out of the clock tower, Isaac breathed in the fresh air.

The air inside the clock tower wasn't fresh, and it was unclear what the girl was trying to do huddled inside. Living in such a dark place for so long required patience.

He had barely taken two steps out the door when Isaac suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Mayor, since we’re already here, why don’t we come out and have a chat?”

"!"

The middle-aged town mayor walked out from behind the door, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Hahaha, as expected of the great alchemist, you've already discovered me?"

“You arrived five minutes after I entered the clock tower, right?” Isaac turned to the mayor. “I heard you ordered the clock tower to be sealed off, so my investigation here isn’t against the rules, is it?”

"Of course not, you can investigate anywhere you want, Alchemist."

The town mayor rubbed his hands together and smiled.

"Of course...it would be best if you could let me know."

"Oh, then may I come here to investigate again tonight?"

"Of course, no problem."

"That's fine."

"that……"

Just as Isaac was about to go back, the mayor suddenly called him back.

"what's up?"

"When you went into the clock tower just now...did you see anyone?"

"Didn't you seal off this place? How come we ran into people?"

"That's true, hahaha."

The mayor laughed sheepishly, but the moment Isaac turned his head, his eyes turned fierce.

Chapter 1004: The murderer might be...

"Sir, I need to speak with you about something."

After leaving the clock tower, Isaac returned to the police station.

Very lucky, the old detective seems to still be here, and appears to have just finished packing up and is about to go home.

"Oh? Lord Isaac, is there any new progress in the investigation?"

"There has been some progress. The investigation into the location where Detective Morin was found has led to the conclusion that the detective was likely murdered."

"murder?"

“Yes, the trees used to prevent the mudslide were deliberately burned, and some charred marks were also found in the wreckage of the carriage,” Isaac said. “It’s very likely that the arsonist did it; I guess Detective Morin found his trail.”

"...Just as I expected."

"you know?"

"I know a little bit." The old detective nodded. "Back then, he seemed to have found something, but he wouldn't tell me. He said we could only seek help from the city, and then the accident happened."

"It seems my guess was right, but now a new question has arisen: why would Officer Morin choose to go to another city in the pouring rain to seek help after finding the evidence? As a detective, he should have been able to gather manpower to detain the criminal first."

"Perhaps... this prisoner was not someone he could detain in the first place."

"..."

There's only one person in this town who's been imprisoned by the detectives.

That's the town mayor.

If the mayor himself was the arsonist, then it's no wonder that Detective Morin was assassinated.

"What was the identity of the family that was burned to death?"

"They were a couple, burned to a crisp, making it difficult to identify them, but..."

"But what?"

"That's right, they died in a house that had been abandoned for a long time, so it wasn't their own home, making it difficult to identify the victims from their address," the veteran detective said.

"I have a general understanding."

Isaac nodded.

"By the way, your mayor told me that strange things have happened in the town over the past fifty years. Can you give me an example?"

“Let me think… It was about two years ago when a criminal who was originally incarcerated suddenly escaped from prison, and he has not been found to this day,” the old detective said. “The prison is always guarded by prison guards, but that person still managed to escape, and we don’t know why.”

"I see... Do you have any case files about him?"

"Yes, it's on the fifth shelf, the third folder from the left." The old detective pointed to the bookshelf next to him, which was specifically used to store cases.

Thank you.

Isaac quickly found the document and opened it to read it.

"...Is this case also handled by Detective Morin?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... I understand now. I'm very grateful for your help this time."

"You're welcome. In that case, I'll head back now. I wish you the best of luck in finding the real culprit."

The old detective finished speaking with a smile, picked up the box on his desk, and prepared to leave.

"Let me help you."

"Oh dear, I can't accept that."

Isaac took the box from the old detective, and as soon as he held it in his hands, he found that it was heavier than he had imagined.

"The old gentleman is really strong. Even an adult would find this box heavy."

"What can I do? There are no young people in my family to help me now."

Do you live alone?

"No, I also have a ten-year-old grandson. My wife has passed away. As for my son and daughter-in-law... I'm sure you know about the war that happened a few years ago."

My condolences.

"So many years have passed, I'm used to it now, but I want to live a few more years, at least until my grandson comes of age..."

At night, a bright moon hangs in the night sky.

Under the moonlight, an eagle glided across the sky and landed on the windowsill of the clock tower.

The moment it flew into the clock tower, the eagle's form began to change, transforming into the appearance of a human.

"Oh ho ho, so you have this kind of special skill. Is it a magic book?"

"No, this is just my personal ability."

Isaac twisted his neck and looked at the smiling silver-haired girl in front of him.

"I haven't told the mayor about your affairs, and in return, you can't be vague about the things I ask you."

"Sure."

"I didn't have time to ask you the question this morning. As far as I know, most Princesses have a key guardian. Where is your key guardian?"

The key guardian of Dalian is Hugh, while the key guardian of the girl in the red dress is probably the professor who was with her.

As for the silver-haired reading girl in front of him, Isaac had never seen anyone with her since he met her.

"I don't have any key guardians."

"How did you open the bookshelf without a key guardian? Could it be that some of the reading girls can open it by themselves?"

“No one wants the phantom books on my bookshelf, because they’re all unusable,” the silver-haired reading princess said nonchalantly. “I’m a broken reading princess, quite different from the ones you’ve seen.”

"Then how did you lend the illusion book to that group of people?"

"Who told you that just because I borrow someone else's book doesn't mean it has to be from my own bookshelf? I've lived all these years and I only occasionally find a few books like that," the silver-haired reading girl laughed.

"Besides the book 'The Last Judgment of the Witch,' which other book did you lend out?"

"There's also a book I lent out twelve years ago called 'Shaping Transformation,' which is specifically for makeup and can completely transform your face and body into that of another person."