Blinking lazily, I saw a dimly lit room and the crimson moonlight outside the window.
Under the moonlight, a figure sat slumped against the headboard, motionless.
Where am I?
Miss Valente blinked, shaking her head blankly, until she finally recalled everything that had just happened.
Oh, the detective's posture has changed; he must have woken up.
The detective is fine! Even a mystery relic with a danger level approaching destruction grade couldn't hurt him. He is truly amazing; I really didn't misjudge him.
The heart that had been suspended all night finally relaxed, and joy instantly filled her chest. Miss Valente even felt her eyes heat up. Overcome with joy, she reached out to pull the lever on the wall.
Whoosh, orange flames erupted from the nozzle, and warm light illuminated the dim bedroom.
With a subtle joy on her face, Miss Valente turned her gaze to the figure on the bed:
"Mr. Lynch, you have finally woken up. I... who are you?"
The smile froze on her face. The young noblewoman's expression changed drastically. She took two steps back, her folding fan already in hand, pointing it at the figure on the bed.
It was a woman wearing a strange long dress. She was dressed gorgeously, with long golden hair pinned atop her head, looking quite capable. Her beautiful features were quite young, and she had a sense of familiarity and intimacy. A strange round fan covered her face, and a pair of clear eyes peered out from above the fan, blinking at her.
"Speak, who are you? What did you do to Mr. Lynch?"
Miss Valente's heart tightened into a knot. She endured the impatience in her heart, the muzzle of her gun almost pressed against the other person's forehead, and even her lips were trembling slightly.
"Regrettably." The other person's voice was slightly deep, with a somewhat neutral quality. "He trespassed into a world he should not have entered and is now in a very troublesome situation. As for me... I am another soul sleeping within his body. When he cannot appear, I act on his behalf."
"Another soul?" Miss Valente was at a loss, seriously considering whether she should pull the trigger first. "Are you questioning the knowledge of a mystery scholar? Stop joking. Even if there really were another soul, it's impossible for the body to even turn into a woman's. My mystery relics couldn't even do that."
"Arrogant human, haughtily denying everything you cannot understand. How much do you really know about the mysterious world?"
The woman did not panic at being exposed; instead, she smiled calmly and said mockingly:
"In the distant Mythological Era, there was a saying that circulated for a long time: when your inner spirit reaches a certain level, it will inevitably manifest in your outer appearance. Humans in this world often only foolishly see the surface, believing that the form determines the image of the soul. However, you cannot understand that in the mysterious world, it is actually the opposite. The soul is what matters most, and its influence on the physical appearance often exceeds your imagination. So you see, when my soul switches, the form you see naturally changes."
It seems to make sense, but I feel like something is wrong. Is my knowledge of the mysterious not enough? The woman's serious attitude made Miss Valente a little unsure.
"Of course it makes sense, because this is the truth, it is just outside your understanding." The woman looked helpless and shook her head gently. "Actually, I don't want to be awake for long; it's not good for his soul. But the situation is very troublesome now. To wake him up, we need to start with the soul."
"What should we do?"
"Prepare some materials as soon as possible: two hundred grams of soul-returning grass, fifty satiety capsules, fifty Torches of Light, ten bottles of hemostatic potion, ten bottles of... wait, what are you doing? Don't pull the bolt suddenly; that's dangerous. Calm down first."
"Mr. Lynch! This is not funny at all! Not funny!"
"I am telling the truth. I am not Lynch; I am his sister, Zelda. As long as you prepare these materials, Lynch's soul will wake up immediately."
"It can wake up without preparation too! One shot from me, and you'll wake up right away!" Miss Valente gritted her teeth, her little fist clenched and waving in the air. "You are lying again. Even if the image changes with the soul, what about the clothes? Do the clothes change with the soul too? That's not mystery; that's a miracle!"
"Uh... forgot. I'll pay attention to perfecting it next time. Hiss, I told you pulling the bolt is dangerous. Wait, you can't hit people even if you don't pull the bolt! Oh my, what are you doing? Fine, fine, I'm wrong, I'm wrong."
Lynch suddenly felt that he was quite impressive, making a gentle young noblewoman so angry that she hit him on the spot. He took several solid punches to his shoulder. Miss Valente was like a little puffed-up quail, pouting and glaring at him fiercely:
"You are too much, playing pranks as soon as you wake up. You knew I was so wor..."
It's precisely because I was afraid you would be like this that I played the prank. Look, aren't you very happy now? That means I did the right thing.
【Hehe.】
Tsk, fine, fine, I know.
Lynch sighed, threw away the round fan in his hand, and the moment it left his hand, his image returned to that of a man. He jumped off the bed, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply to the noblewoman: "Sorry, Diana, for making you worry. Regardless, I am back, my lady."
"Mm!" Miss Valente wiped the corner of her eyes. Her angry expression had long since vanished, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she said softly, "Welcome back, my hero. I am proud of you."
As she spoke, her gaze turned to the round fan and the parchment book on the bed, and she said thoughtfully: "It seems you had quite a brilliant experience."
Nodding with a smile, Lynch described his experience tonight in detail. When he heard about the times he almost stepped into traps, the noble girl held her breath. Only after hearing the final account did Miss Valente bite her lip and say softly: "Thank the Holy Spirit for bringing you back here. It seems your danger was not in vain. You finally grasped the other party's psychological weakness and persuaded that evil god. How much does she know about that mirror?"
"She spoke in great detail, but based on my previous contact with her, I cannot believe her completely, but I must remain vigilant at all times. She will not necessarily set traps where you expect; such things will not miss any opportunity to toy with human hearts."
Lynch frowned and shared everything he had just learned from the Swelling Daughter with Miss Valente.
"The mirror is actually in her hands. She used it to create that space and then merged with it. It can be taken out, and it will not affect the operation of her world. But when taking it out, you must use the replica created by the mirror to pull it out. This is the use of the replica gem."
Miss Valente asked uneasily: "Can it only be pulled out within the evil god's world?"
"No, it requires synchronized pulling from the inside and outside, and it is a very troublesome ritual."
"Mm."
"The mirror has been in their hands since the end of the Third Age, but no one should have known about it except for the twelve major gods. But a few years ago, as we speculated, they relied on projects involving national destiny like the railway project, using route planning to create mystery relics that could connect to that world, and then asked the evil god for help. To please that evil god, they told her all their goals. The evil god thought it was a very interesting amusement, so she agreed to cooperate, at least on the surface. The information about the gem replica was found by the evil god relying on the power of the mirror."
"We guessed most of it right; it was indeed led by Prince William, but what we didn't know was that his greatest supporter is the court arcanist of the royal capital."
"Hiss, Master Moliere, a rank eight soul manifestation soul severer." Miss Valente's expression stiffened. "It is said he specializes in combat and secret arts; his combat power is quite strong."
Lynch also clicked his tongue but continued to explain: "Although the evil god did not explain exactly what they intend to do in detail, it is certain that they intend to use it at the investiture ceremony on July 28. I still think he wants to use the mirror to strike at Emperor Rudolph II and Princess Sophia. It seems only such a lively fratricide can make that evil god feel great interest, enough to not hesitate to contribute that mirror."
"We must stop them." Miss Valente said seriously. "The danger of a manifestation grade mystery relic is too great. An ordinary person like William cannot control it. If the mirror falls into his hands, a bloody case caused by loss of control is an inevitable result. Moreover, even if it really doesn't go out of control, letting him succeed will lead to long-term turmoil in the entire Lande, and the harm to the public will be no less than the mystery relic itself. The Valente family will not tolerate anyone doing such things, even if the other party is the next heir to the throne. So... Mr. Detective, are you still willing to fight alongside the family?"
"Heh, of course. I don't like to abandon my friends at critical moments." Lynch smiled. "But it is quite difficult."
"Mm, today is June 12. There are 47 days left until the investiture ceremony on July 28. In these 47 days, they will try to seize the gem like madmen. Before, they could track the gem's location through the evil god. I suspect if they go to ask the evil god again, we will be very passive."
"Actually, the biggest problem is not that time is tight, but that we are accusing a future heir to the throne of treason, and we have no evidence." Lynch pondered. "Before they take action, on what grounds can we stop them?"
Miss Valente thought for a moment and said uncertainly: "Perhaps only by catching conclusive evidence will we have a chance to stop their conspiracy completely."
"Mm... actually, that's not necessarily true. If we catch their conspiracy on the spot, it seems we won't need evidence."
"Mm?"
"Heh, for this, we can just pit... no, I mean, give them a helping hand. Come, I have another idea."
Lynch hooked his fingers and whispered into Miss Valente's ear for a while. The two looked at each other and nodded at each other with strange smiles.
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