Chapter 1025
“Why don’t we take the blanket too?”
Haibasha’s studio was surprisingly normal.
It was like an ordinary office – with two desks, a few scattered stools, and a cabinet for files and books. There was even a single bed.
In terms of furniture alone… apart from the bed, it looked like a common teacher’s office. Everything appeared simple, without any patterns. If anything could be said, it was that everything here was made of wood, with not a speck of metal or stone. Because of this, the cabinet didn’t even have glass.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were also entirely wooden. Even the cotton blanket, or the paper on the desk, could be considered plant-based products.
Besides these furnishings, the studio contained a large number of plants.
These were special flowers or vines that could only survive in the Dream Realm – each with a completely different appearance and full of vitality. Eivass even saw a well-cared-for Sin Thorns. It resonated with Eivass from a distance, and Eivass felt that he could absorb it into his body if he transformed into a Sin Eater Beast.
“…If there are some similarities between the laws of the Dream Realm and the Material Realm…”
Sherlock murmured softly, “Has someone been here often?”
He had clearly noticed the state of the plants in the room.
“Not necessarily.”
Eivass said meaningfully, “You could think about it from another perspective – don’t use the mindset of the Material Realm. The Extraordinary Power of the Material Realm is restricted by the Wall of Balance; the Dream Realm has no such constraints. You might as well think wildly.”
“You mean…”
Seeing Eivass so calm and unhurried, Sherlock roughly guessed, “It’s not that someone has been maintaining these plants… but that these plants don’t need maintenance yet?”
“What do you mean?”
Amazed by the power of the Moonlit Key, Arsen had just put the key away when he heard Sherlock say something he didn’t understand, “I don’t understand that kind of thing, great detective. If you have something to say, just say it directly.”
“It means,” Eivass explained, “that time here has been frozen.”
“—Before you opened this door, it had always remained as it was when Madam Haibasha left.”
Sherlock continued.
There were five Elf dolls on the chairs. Madam Haibasha’s child’s soul was inside one of the dolls.
These dolls were quite exquisite, like small figurines about thirty centimeters to half a meter tall. They looked like scaled-down little girls… their ages were roughly equivalent to human eleven or twelve to thirteen or fourteen years old. To describe it more accurately, they were at “magical girl age.” However, they were Elves, so this age range might need an additional sixty to seventy years.
And their attire also resembled that of magical girls – in terms of color, they formed a five-color team.
Each doll wore a dress of a different color. The shape of these dresses was not in the style typically used by Elves, but rather more like a floral theme.
“…White narcissus, yellow laurel, blood-red anemone, blue hyacinth, pink-purple crocus.”
Eivass recognized the flowers represented by these five colors and decorations and fell into deep thought.
What did these flowers signify?
Meanwhile, Sherlock walked towards the desk to investigate.
He saw the unfinished calculation draft – it was an equation for deriving one of the “final formulas.” Haibasha’s pen was still on the desk.
“This is…”
Realizing something, Sherlock raised an eyebrow.
He looked at the bed and found that the blanket was not folded. There were some books by the bed, and one of them had a bookmark inserted.
This was the Dream Realm, the source of Extraordinary Power. Living in the Dream Realm, Apostles no longer needed sleep to recover their Power… so theoretically, they could work all their time without sleeping. Maintaining the habit of sleeping was just a form of entertainment chosen by some Apostles to preserve their humanity.
Reading in bed was considered study for some, but for Apostles of the Path of Wisdom, it was merely entertainment.
From this perspective, there was no fundamental difference between a bed and a card table for Apostles.
“…Judging by the traces, Madam Haibasha should have just finished resting not long ago. She suddenly went out while starting work.”
Sherlock said, examining the draft paper.
There were a total of twelve pages that had been written. For Haibasha, this would have taken at most a few hours. It was even possible that these written pages were from the previous time, and she had only just started this time.
“What does this mean?”
Arsen asked out of ignorance.
Sherlock’s tone was calm, “It means that Madam Haibasha, at least before leaving the room, did not expect that she would not return here.”
“In other words, her reincarnation was an unforeseen event. She didn’t even have time to return to her room to tidy up her belongings…”
Eivass said, picking up one of the dolls placed on the chair.
As if playing with a doll, he moved her limbs, making her strike a pose like an Ultraman transformation or Superman’s flight, and stood her on the table.
“…Nor did she have time to hide her daughter.”
“Which one is her daughter, Eivass?”
Sherlock looked up and asked, “Can you find the one with the soul?”
“Haibasha’s sealing technique is very good. I can’t find the only correct one without damaging the doll.”
Eivass’s tone was calm, “However… if I’m not mistaken, all five dolls should have souls inside.”
“…You mean there are four more sacrifices? Or that one soul split into five?”
Sherlock frowned deeply.
“Sacrifices… perhaps. They could also be test subjects. And in the worst-case scenario… artificial souls.”
Eivass’s voice was low.
Sherlock realized what Eivass was about to say.
When artificial soul technology is mentioned, Eivass’s grandfather – Jacob – cannot be avoided.
Why did he originally research this forbidden subject?
This was research that the Hourglass explicitly prohibited.
“Since we can’t distinguish which one it is,” Arsen proposed a perfectly sound idea, “why not take them all? If it’s difficult for you to carry them, I can take two.”
“That’s fine, but it’s not necessary.”
Eivass said, gently patting the girl he had placed on the table, “It should be her.”
It was the little girl with the pink-purple long skirt, symbolizing the crocus.
Although Eivass didn’t know why it was her, he remembered the plot in the game – the broken doll in the game wore a long skirt of this color.
He had originally intended to take only that one.
However, Arsen’s words reminded Eivass – he wasn’t alone.
—Since there were more of them, why not take them all!
And since they decided to take everything…
“Coincidentally… Arsen broke down the door, so the door is also damaged.”
Eivass calmly looked at the many rare Dream Realm treasures and collectibles hanging on the wall, “Let’s take all of them together. They are easily lost if left here anyway.”
“Take it all?”
Arsen did not feel ashamed of breaking down the door; rather, he was a little eager.
“Take it all,” Eivass affirmed, “Sherlock, see if there is any important data or information in the bookshelf, and take it too. I’ll guard the door.”
“…Won’t we become robbers breaking and entering?”
Sherlock was somewhat reluctant.
But Eivass believed that, compared to a sense of morality… Sherlock was mainly too lazy to do such non-technical work.
“It’s not quite the same.”
Eivass meticulously corrected, “This should be considered an armed robbery. We blew up the door to get in. Even bank robbers are nothing more than this.”
“—What are you talking about!”
The only professional person here seemed incredibly righteous, “Don’t you have a commission from the homeowner? This is called moving! It’s legal! She violated the forbidden, right? She’s not planning to come back, is she? Then let’s take all her belongings together—why not carry the blanket away too? Ask her if she still wants it. If she doesn’t want it… I think a blanket used by an Apostle can be sold for quite a lot of money. There might be something in the gaps of the bed too. Let’s smash the bed and see?”
“Reasonable.” “Reasonable.”
Eivass and Sherlock nodded one after another, unable to help but sigh:
—Professionals are truly professional!
