Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

There was an empty seat in the corner. It was the seat that had belonged to the fortune teller who had been murdered.

Isaac's brow furrowed slightly at this moment.

The invitation was originally for only the fortune teller, but Isaac and Victorique arrived on the ship together, meaning there was one more person on board.

There was only one chair at the dining table, and it was impossible to add another chair without a servant.

Isaac looked down at Victorique, who was standing calmly beside him.

'Did this kid anticipate this situation, which is why he wanted to put a chair in his suitcase?'

Victorica sat down quite naturally, picked up her knife and fork, and began to eat the food on her plate.

Aren't you afraid someone might poison your food?

“There’s nothing to worry about. If you just wanted to kill someone, why go through all this trouble?” Victorica ate her food, picked up a fork, held up a piece of roast meat, and offered it to Isaac’s mouth. “Are you hungry?”

"No."

Isaac removed Victorique's small hand and looked at the people sitting there.

The dim light couldn't illuminate the faces of the guests, but Isaac's mechanical eyes had night vision capabilities.

Scanning everyone's faces in the darkness, Isaac roughly memorized the identities of the guests.

According to typical detective novel plots, one of the guests present should be the person who arranged this dinner party, that is, the murderer who planned a crime.

"They're surprisingly cautious."

"Victoria said as she ate the food on her plate."

"Come to think of it, you've never told me what you used to do."

“My family is affiliated with a chamber of commerce in Guangdong, China. After coming to the UK, I was just an international student and I did some part-time work,” Isaac said casually.

"Really? I thought you were a soldier."

"...Why do you say that?"

"You're being far too cautious. It's not like someone who grew up in a wealthy family. The first thing you do when you get here is check if the food is poisoned, and you keep an eye on the guests even in the dark."

Victorique pointed to Isaac's hand resting on his waist as she spoke.

"Even without a weapon, you still habitually maintain the posture of drawing your gun at any time. This must be a habit that takes a long time to develop. I always felt that you were not only a soldier, but also the kind of soldier who had participated in war."

"...That's a good point. Is this what you call the 'fountain of wisdom' told you?"

That's right.

Only Victorique and Isaac were talking; the other guests ate their dinners in silence.

Then, in less than ten minutes—

Clang.

The clattering of cutlery stopped.

In the dark dining hall, only the flickering candlelight cast a dim glow on the seats of ten people, each observing proper etiquette. Those guests, seated in their respective places...

One guest was slumped over the table, motionless. The guest next to him was slumped in his chair, mouth open, occasionally letting out a soft, snoring-like breath before stopping.

Almost simultaneously, everyone in the room fell fast asleep, including Victoria.

Only Isaac, with a faint smile on his lips, slowly closed his eyes.

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.

"Well……"

Victorica's eyelids twitched, and she woke up from her deep sleep.

"You're awake. You're the most well-mannered person among all of you."

The first thing she saw when she woke up was Isaac smiling in front of her.

"what?"

"It seems someone put sleeping pills in our food, causing everyone to fall asleep."

This is a lounge room just as spacious as the large dining hall we were in before. But the luxurious chandelier on the ceiling shines blindingly. It's completely different from the previous room.

There was a small stage against the wall, with sheet music spread out, suggesting a band had been playing just moments before. In the center of the room were several small tables for playing cards and drinking. In one corner was a bar, displaying many rather high-end-looking bottles of liquor.

Looking around, all the guests in the bright lounge were sprawled out, some fast asleep in chairs, others snoring on the sofas.

"Did they tamper with the food? No wonder we fell asleep."

Even when faced with unexpected events, Victorique, a little girl, is calmer than most people.

"Yes, we were ambushed. I warned you before that there was a risk of the food being poisoned."

"Did you faint too? Didn't you not eat a single bite?"

"Oh, I saw you were asleep, so I took a piece of bread to eat. I didn't expect to get infected," Isaac laughed.

He was actually talking nonsense.

He hasn't eaten anything at all, and even if he did, he has ways to neutralize the effects of the medicine.

After everyone fainted, someone came in and dragged them all into this room. Isaac saw the man's face and knew he was in this lounge.

"It seems this match will end in my victory. I'm sorry, little Victoria, although you are very smart, you still lack experience."

“That’s hard to say,” Victorique said with a smile.

Chapter 1073: Suspicion

Within minutes, almost everyone in the lounge had woken up.

Most of the people here are middle-aged gentlemen in black suits, but there are also some young white men in white suits.

Of course, there was also a woman among the group of men, in her early twenties, about the same age as Isaac, wearing red lipstick that matched her dress. Her bright blue eyes and long eyelashes were captivating.

Because of her baby face, she initially gives the impression of a child wearing adult clothes, and her pouting lips give her an arrogant air.

Occasionally, a few groans and timid mutterings could be heard from the lounge, but silence quickly returned. No one moved; everyone just clutched their heads in anguish.

Victorique turned her gaze away from the girl in the red dress and whispered, "Isaac, something's strange."

"What's wrong?"

"It seems like there's one more person."

"Oh, I've already figured it out."

Originally, there were only eleven people in the restaurant, including Isaac and Victorique, but now there are as many as twelve.

Because the dim lighting in the restaurant only illuminated hands, no one knew who the extra person was.

Of course, Isaac is an exception.

"You don't seem surprised at all."

“What’s so surprising? The extra person is the murderer,” Isaac laughed. “The rest of the story will probably involve everyone in this room suspecting the extra person, and then it turns into a battle royale.”

The men were all looking around, seemingly afraid of something in addition to the headaches caused by the sleeping pills. They appeared to know each other, and upon seeing each other's faces, they would murmur "Ah!"

Only the young white man looked puzzled and muttered something under his breath.

"What's going on? I...I don't understand..."

The girl in the red dress suddenly stood up and shouted angrily.

She gripped the doorknob with both hands and shook it roughly, making a clattering sound. Everyone in the lounge turned their attention to her. Suddenly, she released the doorknob and glanced timidly into the lounge.

"Why is this happening? Where am I...? Why is the door locked!?"

No one answered; no one understood what was happening.

Only Isaac looked at the woman with a half-smile.

"Did you find anything?"

Seeing Isaac's expression, Victorique concluded that he must be hiding something.

"We have indeed discovered something, but... we are in a decisive battle, so we cannot share the clues we have."

"It seems you really want to win."

"Of course."

Isaac looked at Victoria with a sly smile.

"Looks like you were kept in the dark too. I'm really looking forward to seeing your resentful expression when you lose, you little rascal."

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, she puffed out her fair cheeks like a child and glared fiercely at Isaac.

"It's just that there aren't enough fragments for reassembly, not that I don't know."

Yes, yes, yes~

"...You're too arrogant!"

"I understand, I understand~"

"I'm furious!"

Victorique puffed out her cheeks and kicked Isaac in the right leg.

clang!

"Ah! Pain!"

"I forgot to tell you, my right leg is a prosthesis, and it's quite stiff," Isaac laughed.

I feel like this scene has happened somewhere before.

"Eh? Is that Lord Isaac?"

"what?"

Seeing that someone recognized him, Isaac turned around and found the young man in the white suit looking at him in surprise.

"who are you?"

"As expected, it is Lord Isaac."