The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 162

Chapter 163
Glass Island Undercurrents

Sherlock was stunned for a moment, carefully reading the entire front-page headline.
He immediately understood: “You’re learning from me?”
“Tricks don’t need to be new, as long as they’re effective.”
Eivass said with a smile, “I think your fake death plan is quite effective.”
“But if I fake my death and you fake your death too… what about Uncle York?”
Sherlock frowned deeply, “How about I try writing an anonymous letter to have Edward arrest him directly?”
“No need for all that trouble, because York has also disappeared.”
Eivass replied immediately.
“…Ah?”
Sherlock was taken aback.
Eivass narrowed his eyes and slowly added, “He’s truly gone—lost forever.”
“Did you kill him directly?”
Sherlock frowned slightly, “If we can’t search his memories, what about the clues?”
Eivass explained, “The things that needed to be confirmed through memory searches have all been confirmed. York’s superior is Bran Boka; they are both from the Noble Red Society. The Lloyd Society and the Noble Red Society do indeed have an inseparable relationship, but they also have serious internal conflicts and disagreements.”
“Bran Boka?”
Sherlock thought for a moment and recalled his identity, “The judge at the First Intermediate Court in the White Queen District?”
“That’s him. He’s a Fourth Tier Law Master and also a Fourth Tier Demon Scholar, with an Ice Demon as his contracted demon.”
Eivass recounted the information he had just obtained through interrogation to Sherlock.
Sherlock couldn’t help but gasp, “He’s also… and at the Fourth Tier?”
At this level, it was basically impossible to arrest them.
This was because Avalon didn’t have a Fifth Tier Court Ritualist. This meant they couldn’t definitively determine if the other party was a Demon Scholar. Hundreds of years ago, they might have resorted to torture or memory extraction.
But now it was the civilized era. Extracting memories was equivalent to directly killing someone. Without evidence, they couldn’t act. After all, Boka was no ordinary person; he was also a knight who could enter the Round Table Hall to participate in discussions. This was equivalent to the “Royal Family interrogating and executing an old knight of the Round Table Hall without any clear evidence.” They couldn’t do such a thing.
Compared to the Round Table Hall, the Royal Family of Avalon had always been at a disadvantage.
In such a situation, to prosecute a criminal who was indeed impure but for whom no direct evidence could be found, one would have to deal not just with that individual but with the entire network of connections behind him.
To avoid being dragged down with him, everyone connected to him would launch a fierce counterattack.
For the Royal Family, this would merely be the purging of an ordinary judge. But for others, it would be a matter of life and death. The two sides had different levels of importance placed on this matter and different resolutions.
Based on Sherlock’s understanding of Avalon, this matter would eventually be let go.
Judge Boka might even be recruited by the Royal Family. Even if the Royal Family didn’t act, the Round Table Hall would. To prevent the Round Table Hall from further increasing its power, Bran Boka’s position would instead rise. If he accepted benefits from the Royal Family, the Round Table Hall wouldn’t feel secure enough to accept him.
Sherlock felt his head starting to ache.
He rubbed his forehead, frowning deeply, “Then this will be troublesome…”
“Not only that, but I can also give you some news. Although your uncle is only a Third Tier Law Master, he is also a Fourth Tier Fiend Master—the advanced profession of a Fiend.”
Eivass narrowed his eyes, “Did you know he was a Fiend?”
“…I suspected it, but I had no evidence.”
Sherlock admitted, “When I investigated Uncle York, I reviewed his earliest case files. Based solely on the written records, his logic was not rigorous, and his defense statements were not persuasive. Yet, he could change the opinions of judges and jury members. I suspected he used some extraordinary means, possibly related to his hidden Path abilities. But I wasn’t sure which direction his other Path belonged to.
“Now it seems it might be some kind of demon that can control the will of others.”
However, Fourth Tier…
Sherlock felt a moment of lingering fear.
—Fortunately, he hadn’t gone to arrest him directly at that time!
Sherlock was only a Third Tier Law Master, and Edward was only a newly arrived Fourth Tier Inspector. If they, along with Eivass, had gone to arrest York, they might have been killed by him!
“Therefore, even telling Edward about this wouldn’t help. He couldn’t deal with the opponent—unable to apprehend, unable to convict. It would be better to make him disappear directly.”
Eivass narrowed his eyes.
A thought suddenly struck Sherlock.
He looked at Eivass strangely and asked, “Then how did you make him… ‘disappear’?”
“That’s a secret.”
Eivass smiled and put a finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, “If you’re interested, investigate it yourself.”
He did not intend to deliberately hide his other identity, but he also did not intend to volunteer it.
When they were able to find out, he would reveal himself.
It wasn’t because he wanted to hide any sins.
Even “Alistair” only killed villains. Those were simply things that “Eivass” couldn’t do.
It was just that Eivass deeply understood one thing… to deceive others, one must first deceive their own people.
No evidence could prove “Eivass has nothing to do with Alistair” better than Sherlock’s diligent investigation of Alistair.
“Alright.”
Sherlock agreed readily.
He regarded this as a challenge Eivass had set for him, a challenge from a friend.
“In short, you don’t need to worry about York. I can be 100% sure that your father was framed because of him; I can also be basically sure that the curse on the Avalon Royal Family is also related to them. So, although I haven’t caught him, it’s equivalent to completing your commission.
“The people who attacked me last night belonged to the Noble Red Society. They wanted to kill me to silence me, and I realized my situation was no longer safe.”
Eivass said seriously, “So I specifically extricated myself and laid a misleading trail for them. To make them suspect and attack each other internally.”
Sherlock thought for a moment and immediately realized, “You want them to think you were kidnapped by the opposing faction?
“But in this way, as soon as both sides compare information, they will quickly figure it out. You can’t fool them for long.”
“So, not two sides, but three.”
Eivass narrowed his eyes, “The Noble Red Society likely looks down on President Lloyd.”
Even though the current generation of Lloyd was also a hybrid giant, the result was the same.
The reason was simple.
—Because he wasn’t transcendent enough.
As a transcendent, he chose to suppress the juniors to consolidate his position. Such behavior itself would make him looked down upon, even disgusted, by those in the Noble Red.
For the Transcendent Path, this was a move made out of fear of losing. President Lloyd must have understood this himself.
Therefore, while Vice President Boka believed “Alistair” was from President Lloyd’s side, President Lloyd, whom Eivass had never met, would only assume that “Alistair” came from a faction within the Noble Red Society that disliked him—and was deliberately causing trouble for him.
It would have been better if Eivass had died. But he had disappeared. Disappearance meant that he could reappear at any time… And most importantly, it meant that the Inspection Bureau and the Inspection Department would desperately investigate and search for Eivass.
Therefore, President Lloyd would never do such a thing.
Even if he wanted to kill Eivass, he would definitely have someone from Boka’s side do it, making it convenient for him to cut ties afterwards.
However, this matter fit President Lloyd’s style of doing things perfectly. Therefore, those in the Noble Red would also think that Lloyd was likely responsible.
But there was one thing that was common.
Whether it was the Inspection Department, the Inspection Bureau, the Royal Family, Vice President Boka, President Lloyd, or the Noble Red… everyone was looking for Eivass.
But they were not the only ones looking for Eivass.
In The Barrel Club, the sculptor Lars Graham slowly put down the newspaper with trembling, aged hands, looking at the news of Eivass’s disappearance, he sighed silently.
…Just a little bit more.
He had already found out that Chloe’s disappearance was most likely related to Eivass.
It was highly probable that she had not heeded his advice. When assassinating Eivass, she was killed by his fiendish butler, Oswald, without even sending a signal.
Although Chloe was his immature disciple, she was ultimately the granddaughter of his old friend.
After Oswald finally left Avalon… Lars Graham intended to personally take action and kill Eivass.
As a rare transcendent with three Paths, Lars Graham possessed the Fifth Tier Path of Beauty, the Fourth Tier Path Adaptation, and the Second Tier Twilight Path. Although his lifespan was completely exhausted and he could die of old age at any moment, killing Eivass would only be easily done.
…As a result, that group of foolish and reckless Star Antimony people attacked Eivass directly.
Now the person was gone. They didn’t even know where he went.
Even if Eivass returned, the school’s security measures would definitely be greatly increased. It would not be so easy for him to make a move then.
It wasn’t that he might not be able to kill Eivass, but that he might expose himself. That could bring trouble to the Speaker and the organization.
His mission was basically completed, and he would return to his country in two months. There wasn’t much time left to cause trouble in Avalon.
Then he would cause some trouble for that group of Star Antimony people.
Lars Graham thought so.
And on the other side.
Minister Dross was on the phone with Vice President Boka, discussing this matter.
“York is in trouble.”
Vice President Boka said briefly, “He was attacked by someone named Alistair… someone from Lloyd’s.”
“…Alistair?”
Hearing this name, Dross relaxed, “I know him. Eivass’s disappearance should also be his doing.”
“You know Alistair?”
Boka retorted, adding the information he knew, “York has also disappeared. His servant said that the security ritual in his office was triggered in the middle of the night, so he entered the office. But he didn’t leave until dawn. When they investigated further, they found that he had simply vanished from his office… and nothing was missing except for a receiver.”
“Actually, I think they might not have disappeared… but were directly devoured by a Shadow Fiend. Leaving no trace.”
Dross replied, “Alistair is a fiend possessed by a Shadow Fiend. I encountered him during an Ascension Ritual before.”
“Give me more information about him, Mr. Dross.”
Boka said gravely, “The situation is urgent now; we must unite.”
“Alright.”
Dross no longer bargained, but said in a deep voice, “I’ll compile the information into a paper document and have Diomedes deliver it to you this afternoon.”
Although the results of his investigation into Alistair had not yet returned, there was no more time.
The lawless “Alistair” had become a great threat covering the entire Glass Island.
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