In reality, Freya, wearing high heels and an evening gown, sat on her bed with her legs crossed, a thoughtful expression on her face. Her delicate brows furrowed as she murmured, “A mind-reading interrogation right off the bat?”
She could only count herself lucky that she had spent some time in the simulation to see what would happen next. If this had suddenly occurred in the real world, she would definitely have been caught completely off guard.
But now that she knew, this hurdle was actually quite easy to overcome. With a thought from Freya, Mind Freya, who had been sleeping idly back in Auxerre, was summoned over. This way, all of Freya's clones were now gathered in the kingdom's capital.
Since a Rank Four Mind Reader would be performing a Mind Reading check later, wouldn't it be simple enough to have Mind Freya tamper with her memories beforehand so the investigator wouldn't find anything?
There were many ways to do this. Freya didn't even need to actually modify her own memories.
Instead, she could construct a layer of false memories on the outer surface of her conscious mind. When the Mind Reader checked her shallow memories, they would only see the elaborate deception that Mind Freya had carefully prepared.
With both of them being Rank Four Mind Readers, if the other party only did a simple scan, it would be absolutely impossible for him to see through the fake memories prepared by Mind Freya. Furthermore, because of the Holmes family's prominent status, the inspector was destined not to check too thoroughly.
No sooner said than done. Mind Freya activated her ability and began constructing the false memories in the main body's mind. This was a delicate task, and by the time Mind Freya finished, the cooldown for the Future Simulation had just finished resetting.
Without hesitation, Freya entered the simulation once again. What she did next was exactly the same as in the previous simulation. She did not stay home just because she knew in advance that the potion would not appear at the aristocratic gathering; instead, she attended as usual.
The only difference was that this time, she did not tell Euphy that she was the one who stole the potion. This way, Euphy herself knew absolutely nothing, so no incriminating information could be extracted from her through Mind Reading.
When evening came, the Rank Four Mind Reader arrived at Euphy's home right on time. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Duke Holmes, the Duke gathered everyone in the household to let the Mind Reader inspect them one by one.
Soon, it was Freya's turn. The Mind Reader walked over slowly, stopping about two meters in front of her. With a warm and gentle expression, he said, “My, what a beautiful young lady. It's a pity I couldn't attend tonight's gathering, otherwise, I would have certainly invited you to dance with me.”
Hearing this, Freya didn't even know where to begin with her internal commentary. She only wanted to say, It's a good thing you didn't attend the gathering and invite me to dance, otherwise you'd be in for a rough time.
In the span of just a single sentence, the Mind Reader had finished using his ability. After scanning Freya's memories of tonight and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he moved on to the next person.
Seeing that she had successfully passed, Freya couldn't help but sigh with relief in her heart. She had to admit, the advantage of having clones from multiple pathways was on full display at this moment. The combined abilities of her various clones were just so incredibly versatile.
Such versatile capabilities meant that Freya was exceptionally good at fighting prepared battles, while her Future Simulation ability allowed her to obtain information about the future in advance, enabling her to prepare beforehand.
Once the Mind Reader finished his round of inspections and found nothing, Duke Holmes couldn't help but say, “See? I told you this matter has absolutely nothing to do with our Holmes family.”
The Mind Reader bowed slightly and said in an apologetic tone, “It indeed seems so. My apologies for the intrusion just now.”
But in the next second, the man added, “However, we may need to impose upon you one more time. I ask for your understanding, Your Grace.”
As he spoke, the Mind Reader waved his hand. Another official beside him stepped forward holding an object. It was a cylindrical instrument about a meter long, with a crystal ball mounted at the top that was currently emitting a faint blue light.
The Mind Reader explained, “The Holmes family is a family of Scholars. What we can think of, you surely can as well. This potion theft was either orchestrated in advance by a powerful noble, or carried out by a powerful extraordinary of the Trick Pathway.”
“The Mind Reading just now has proven everyone's innocence, but we cannot rule out another possibility. Could that extraordinary of the Trick Pathway be hiding here without Your Grace's knowledge?”
“Therefore, we have prepared this extraordinary item, the 【Divination Instrument】.”
Freya was taken aback at the sight, and her mind began to complain wildly. Wait, seriously? How is there a second stage to this test?
But on second thought, considering that a Rank Seven potion had been stolen, such a meticulous search actually seemed quite reasonable.
Several officials scrambled to set up the 【Divination Instrument】 on the floor. Freya could see blue patterns radiating from the crystal ball at the top, tracing down the cylindrical body and spreading across the floor.
The Mind Reader explained, “Next, we can ask this 【Divination Instrument】 any question. As long as it concerns events within a hundred-meter radius of its setup location, it can answer.”
With that, the Mind Reader asked the 【Divination Instrument】, “Is the thief who stole the potion currently inside the Holmes residence?”
Hearing this question, Freya's heart leaped into her throat. She was ready to exit the simulation and run at any moment. To her surprise, the crystal ball on the 【Divination Instrument】 flashed, and two words appeared on it: 'Not present.'
Seeing this, a question mark practically floated above Freya's head. Huh? This thing... how can it lie with its eyes wide open like that?
The Mind Reader asked again, “Will the thief come to the Holmes residence in the future?”
The crystal ball on the 【Divination Instrument】 flashed once more, and the result was no different from before. It still displayed two words: 'Will not.'
At this point, Freya whispered to Euphy beside her, “Uh, Euphy, do you know which pathway this extraordinary item belongs to?”
Euphy replied, “It should be related to the Destiny Pathway. This questioning is essentially a high-precision divination within a restricted area.”
Oh, so it's of the Destiny Pathway. If that was the case, Freya didn't find it strange at all that this thing would lie through its teeth and fail to detect her.
It was simply her constant luck showing its power once again.
Just like that, the second stage was successfully cleared. Just as Freya was wondering if there would be a third, the officials packed up their equipment and prepared to leave.
Finally, the Mind Reader said, “If possible, we would like to ask Duke Holmes to keep an eye out as well. If you discover any clues, please report them at any time. If you can help us catch the thief, His Majesty will certainly not be stingy with his rewards.”
......
Rate on N.U.
