The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 411

Chapter 411
Inferior Detective

Shepherd’s Bay Country, Eagle Cape Village. Seven o’clock in the evening.

The sunset outside the window had already set, and the icy storm that accompanied the arrival of the King of the Wild Hunt had also swept in.

Inside Haina’s house, the whole family gathered in the blacksmith shop with its blazing fire. The furnace, ignited by the Fire Sprite, dispelled the cold, and the people gathered around the small Sherlock.

“—Give it a try, Arthur. You put some effort into this too.”

The Magnetic Hammer Master handed Sherlock his cane encouragingly.

Sherlock was stunned for a moment before he remembered that the pseudonym he used in Eagle Cape Village was Arthur Conan Doyle.

He looked down—it was an inconspicuous, pitch-black cane. It looked like burnt-out wood, dark with a few embers.

Little Sherlock slowly took the cane with both hands and planted it on the ground.

The cane was even taller than him. He had to strain his hands upward to barely grip the handle.

But as Sherlock pulled down, the cane spiraled inward section by section, falling down.

—Even in his current child-like physique, it could be used normally.

Sherlock pointed it at the air and swung it hard—

The cane unfurled like a beast’s spine, turning into a blade whip. Countless sharp, chilling fine blades, reminiscent of coiled serpents.

He rotated the handle slightly, and it instantly turned back into a cane with a snap.

Sherlock pointed it at the air and swung it with vigor.

The cane let out a sharp whistling sound, drawing dark, serpentine shadows in the air.

Then, little Sherlock gripped the handle again and pushed it slightly forward. A fireball rumbled and gathered in front of him.

Before the fireball could shoot out, he pulled the forward-leaning cane back. The flame slowly contracted and extinguished.

The bottom of the cane hissed, spewing white smoke like steam from a machine.

“Bullets really can’t be added; it would damage the structure too much, and might not do much damage.”

The Magnetic Hammer Master encouraged him, “But the alternative you proposed was incorporated—give it a try?”

“I’ll try…”

Little Sherlock solemnly raised the cane and pushed the hidden button.

The coiled cane suddenly unfurled completely, and its tip abruptly transformed into a sharp spike.

Its length was about two meters and three.

At close range, it could possibly pierce through the opponent’s chest or abdomen.

It could be used as a hidden weapon for self-defense when one had no mana.

At this distance, the power of this weapon would not be much less than that of a shotgun.

“Very perfect.”

Sherlock politely retracted the cane to its original state and nodded, “I’ll deliver the agreed-upon payment in a few days.”

“Hey, I don’t care about that,”

The tipsy Magnetic Hammer Master took a sip of beer and laughed heartily, “Why don’t you stay for a drink with me?”

“No, Master. We have to leave immediately—”

Sherlock put on his newsboy cap and said solemnly, “Haina will probably be back tomorrow morning, but I estimate it will be a while longer.”

Looking at Haina, who had already put on her clothes, the Magnetic Hammer Master asked, “What, you have a mission?

What kind of mission requires two children on vacation to participate?”

He still didn’t know Sherlock’s true identity.

“It’s not a mission,” Sherlock sighed and explained, “Isabel… the Queen, has already ascended the throne.”

“Queen, ascended…”

The Magnetic Hammer Master murmured.

He raised his head in shock, realizing what little Sherlock meant.

“Queen Sophia… has passed away?”

“Yes, died of old age.”

Sherlock sighed, his expression somewhat complicated, “The funeral is in two days.”

“…That was almost a week ago?”

The Magnetic Hammer scratched his head in annoyance, “Ah… this is the news from Eagle Cape Village. Never mind, the King of the Wild Hunt outside has already left… you two should go quickly!”

He gestured and hurried the two of them out.

The news received in Eagle Cape Village was usually in a jumbled order—sometimes there would be no news for days, and sometimes several days’ worth would arrive at once. It was also possible for news from a day later to be delivered in advance.

Sherlock had even sent back a letter saying “I’m not coming back for New Year’s this year” before receiving the important news of Isabel’s ascension and Eivass assisting her as monarch.

He felt a mix of emotions—

If he hadn’t shrunk, if he hadn’t stayed in Eagle Cape Village, perhaps that position would have been his.

But… it was fine.

They left the warm house and felt the cold wind of late December outside.

Haina rode Gryphon Liz, placing little Sherlock behind her, and asked with concern, “Should we hurry?”

“It’s okay, it’s actually alright. At least when I received this letter, there were still nearly two days before the Queen’s funeral… there’s still some room for preparation.”

Sherlock breathed a sigh of relief, his expression somewhat complex, “Her Majesty Queen Sophia has shown kindness to my whole family. I must attend her funeral no matter what.”

“What about your current physique?”

Haina was worried, “Are you just going like this?”

Sherlock shook his head, “Let’s go like this.”

“Sherlock Hermes absent? That doesn’t seem right.”

Haina came up with a bad idea, “Why don’t you try to ascend tomorrow night? I remember you said you would return to normal after one more ascension, right?”

“There’s no way it’s that fast!”

Sherlock shouted in annoyance, “I just ascended less than a month ago!”

Another ascension on his Path of Wisdom would mean reaching the Fourth Tier.

The transition from the Third to the Fourth Tier was not easy.

Perhaps only Eivass could do it—for some reason, Sherlock had this thought.

…Not to mention, he had done almost nothing for the past half month. Eagle Cape Village was too remote. He had dedicated all his energy to studying the special geography of Eagle Cape Village. During this time, he hadn’t read any books or solved any cases, and simply relying on this research, he didn’t seem to be able to find anything. His cultivation on the Path of Wisdom had made no progress.

Let alone ascending tomorrow—he estimated he wouldn’t be able to ascend for the next few months.

Then he would have to remain in this shameful, foolish, clumsy child form for several months!

Although there were occasional conveniences…

But most of the time, it only made him feel the inconvenience of a child’s body, and Sherlock increasingly missed his original form.

—How could Sherlock Hermes be absent from the Queen’s funeral!

…But there was indeed no other way.

“But even if ‘Sherlock’ cannot make it, I myself must go. This is not for show, but my heartfelt wish,”

Little Sherlock said.

“Hey, there’s someone down below!”

Suddenly, Haina cried out, “Do you see him?”

Sherlock narrowed his eyes and tried a little harder, but still couldn’t see that far.

He reached out and cast a spell on himself—a flowing, circular frame of glasses, which sharpened his vision.

He quickly saw that there was indeed a person there.

He was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. He looked like he was on the verge of death.

He had clearly been affected by the King of the Wild Hunt passing by, his body’s temperature drained. A layer of ice had already formed on him.

…A foreigner?

If he ignored him, he would likely die immediately.

And by the time everything refreshed tomorrow morning, his corpse would probably disappear without a trace.

Sherlock hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and patted Haina’s shoulder hard.

“Go down and take a look!”

“I was waiting for you to say that!”

Haina replied cheerfully, “Go save him, Liz!”

Although technically Sherlock’s junior… Ever since Haina advanced to the Fourth Tier, her confidence and assurance had significantly increased.

“…Huh?”

Even before the gryphon landed, Sherlock let out a surprised sound.

Because he recognized the person’s identity.

“Mr. Watson?”

“An acquaintance of yours, Sherlock?”

“Sort of. An inferior detective, a passable surgeon,”

Sherlock said quickly, “And a writer who likes to write detective novels—he runs a detective agency, but usually only takes on jobs like finding lost items or collecting evidence of infidelity. However, he has sent some cases to me before, so I have some dealings with him.

“Hurry down, Haina—and remember to call me Arthur Conan Doyle!”

Updated! Seven thousand words today!
Hmm, the epidemic in Singapore seems quite serious. I’m starting to hesitate whether to go to the annual meeting of Qidian next month…
…But then again, with my physique, I might get infected even if I don’t go. I got infected last time without leaving the house at all. If I get infected without going, it would seem like a waste…