The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 163

Chapter 164
Threats Are More Powerful Than Capturing Stones
Eivass Moriarty’s kidnapping and disappearance should be the biggest news on Glass Island recently.
And this news was like a TV series—first, it made headlines several times for disrupting the Noble Red Society’s conspiracies, and finally, with great merit, he was awarded the Sacred Sword Medal.
Yet, before a week had passed, he was stormed into the school and abducted by members of the Noble Red Society.
“Judging from the combat traces, Eivass put up an extremely fierce resistance. He even took down multiple Extraordinary individuals far stronger than himself… but unfortunately, he was outnumbered. Haina, I remember Eivass was quite close to you, right?”
“Mm? Ah…”
Haina listened to her roommates chat about the recent news, somewhat distracted. “Yes.”
She was pondering something.
Was Eivass alright right now?
Or rather, was his current disappearance… part of Eivass’s plan?
Eivass had mentioned to her before that he might have to fake his death like Sherlock. But now that he was truly in trouble, Haina couldn’t help but wonder… was this the “fake death” Eivass had spoken of?
She felt a pang of panic.
What if Eivass’s plan failed?
What if his “fake death” wasn’t this instance, but something that would happen later? Meaning, it was possible he was genuinely attacked without warning and captured this time, right?
“What do the Noble Red Society want with Eivass? Do they want to torture him?”
“Indeed, that doesn’t make much sense. If it were for revenge, they should have killed Eivass directly, right? It’s not easy to escape with a living person.”
“It wouldn’t be for interrogation, would it? Perhaps Eivass knows some secret, and that’s why they had to capture him alive.”
“But they didn’t have to storm the school and kidnap him, did they? Our school is Head部長 Meg’s territory… Although she’s usually not here, she’ll definitely be furious after this incident.”
“I think, maybe they want to exchange hostages?”
“That’s also possible. But those people from the Noble Red Society, wouldn’t they be hanged if they were caught?”
“There might be some alive, though.”
“Impossible. If there were anyone alive, the newspapers would have reported it immediately to put pressure on them.”
“Could it be they want to exchange Eivass for a list of traitors? That’s how it always happens in novels, isn’t it?”
Haina’s roommates huddled together, chattering about the matter.
Thanks to Eivass, too.
Originally, on Glass Island, many people had no understanding of the Noble Red Society. Perhaps people in rural areas knew more, but Demon Scholars rarely appeared in large cities—there were too many highly educated Supervisors and Priests, making it easy to discover traces of rituals and demons.
But with Eivass’s several front-page news appearances, people quickly began to take notice of these Demon Scholars. After the Glass Steps Herald published their news, other newspapers, eager to catch the trend, would interview senior Supervisors or Bishops to inquire about Demon Scholars and the Noble Red Society, followed by explanations of “what the Noble Red Society had done.”
“What do you think, Haina?”
Haina suddenly felt someone touch her and ask, “Does the Inspectorate have any inside information?”
But this question shattered Haina’s thoughts and hesitation.
She decided not to delay any further, stood up from her bed, threw on her coat, and rushed out. “I don’t know, I’m going out, you guys chat—”
Watching Haina leave, the dormitory fell silent for a moment.
Her roommate, who often frequented the “Old Captain Bar” to flirt with men, sighed. “It seems Haina really cares about Eivass.”
“Could she be in love with Eivass?”
Another person offered a possibility.
“Who isn’t fond of Eivass? He’s handsome, gentle, and has the Moriarty surname.”
The other retorted.
The friends who didn’t have classes gathered again to chat, this time shifting their conversation to Haina.
Meanwhile, Haina had intended to find Head部長 Meg. But not knowing where she was, she went around looking, and upon failing to find her, she decided to go to Sherlock instead.
With his wisdom, he would surely know Eivass’s situation!
She first went to Madam Mina’s divination shop, intending to enter through the back door. To her surprise, it was closed.
Haina’s heart immediately sank.
Anxiously, she went to the front door and knocked.
Madam Mina opened the door.
“Oh, it’s Haina.”
Mina already recognized her and smiled. “You’re here so early today?”
Because Bishop Mathers and Madam Mina both kept many secrets and disliked ordering people around.
Therefore, they usually disliked hiring servants, not even having a butler.
For such prominent figures who could enter the Round Table Hall, this was considered unconventional. But Mathers was a Bishop and a Spiritual Council member. This behavior was thus praised as the ascetic practice of “simple living.”
Mina could handle ordinary housework herself, and for troublesome or strenuous tasks, she would borrow servants from friends’ homes.
After Sherlock moved in, Haina, who used to come to deliver messages for Eivass, would also help out when she visited—after all, this was what she did at home.
Eagle Cape Village was nothing like Glass Island. There were no rules like “tasks must be delegated to servants to maintain a proper image,” or “guests cannot act directly, but must be tactfully informed afterwards.”
Haina simply saw work that needed doing and lent a hand. She had no particular thoughts about it; if anything, she was a bit bored and it wasn’t tiring—if it were tiring, she wouldn’t do it, she’d just lie in bed all day.
Fortunately, the Mathers couple shared a similar outlook. Thus, they didn’t feel offended; on the contrary, they found Haina quite endearing. She had only delivered a few messages back and forth for Eivass and Sherlock before becoming a welcome child.
“I’m here to see Mr. Sherlock… is Mr. Sherlock awake?”
Haina asked, a little nervously.
The last time she visited, it was almost ten in the morning, and Sherlock still hadn’t woken up. She waited in the living room for over an hour. When Sherlock finally woke, he was still groggy and, as if by instinct, was sarcastic for a while. Sherlock was much more venomous when he hadn’t slept enough.
“Mm, yes, they’ve all finished eating and are playing chess.”
Madam Mina replied.
…Chess?
Mr. Sherlock and Bishop Mathers?
Haina felt somewhat doubtful but still thanked her and followed.
Upon reaching the second floor and standing before Sherlock’s bedroom.
She suddenly heard a familiar voice from inside: “Checkmate. Aren’t you going to switch games? If we switch to bridge, I probably won’t be able to beat you… Perfect timing, Haina is here too. We can make it a four-player game.”
Hearing this, Haina was startled.
But then she quickly felt overjoyed—like a child craving sweets and getting honey. It felt as if the whole world had turned sweet, and the sun was Shining.
She immediately knocked on the door, and before waiting for a response, eagerly pushed it open.
“You’re alright after all, Eivass!”
In the room, Eivass, who had shed his wheelchair, leaned back in his seat, legs crossed, his left leg propped up. His face was full of a confident smile.
It was a demeanor entirely different from the obedient gentleness he displayed when seated in his wheelchair.
He was bathed in the bright golden sunlight of the morning, with red butterflies fluttering around his fingertips.
Only when he was truly free from the wheelchair and seated in a chair of similar height could Haina realize that Eivass was almost as tall as Sherlock. But at this moment, Eivass appeared even taller.
Sherlock, across from him, furrowed his brow, his arms resting on his knees, his hand supporting his chin, staring at the chessboard, deep in thought.
Lily sat beside Eivass, close to him. Her lips also curved into a smile, and she was the first to look up at Haina.
Sherlock paid her no mind.
He was solely focused on the chessboard, muttering, “This is tricky. I had the advantage at the start, but when did it suddenly turn bad…”
After a long period of thought, he finally moved another piece. “Even though I’ve lost, I still want to finish the game.”
Eivass chuckled. “Because you don’t understand a principle, Sherlock. Chess isn’t purely a game of logic; it’s related to psychological warfare. From this perspective, threats are always more powerful than capturing stones… because I didn’t choose to let you deal with the situation that had already occurred, but rather increased your cognitive load and psychological pressure with anticipated pressure.
“I weaken you gradually using defensive strategies, and when you become impatient, I apply pressure to force you into mistakes. The more arrogant someone is, the less they can tolerate making mistakes… and with repeated application, your moves will gradually distort. Your objective will shift from ‘achieving victory’ to ‘solving the puzzle I’ve presented.’
“From this perspective, some plans don’t need to be truly implemented. Simply making the other party aware of the possibility is enough for the plan itself to take effect—its generated impact is the effect.”
With that, Eivass dropped the white queen. “Checkmate. I’ve won three times in a row, Sherlock. Your offensive desire is too strong, which prevents you from seeing that you yourself are being threatened.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Sherlock replied. “That makes perfect sense.”
Eivass smiled and shook his head. “Offense doesn’t mean advantage, and consecutive offenses don’t mean you’re winning. It’s because I willingly gave up my turn to attack that you were able to continuously launch your assaults… Some people concede because they are truly weak and incapable, but some people forgo offense merely to preserve their mobility.”
“Like you choosing to stay here, motionless?” Sherlock retorted.
“Yes.”
Eivass picked up the white queen and held it between his index and middle fingers on his right hand, displaying it to Sherlock.
“Once I leap from the board, I am no longer a chess piece. Now, I can go anywhere, and they will panic. Panic leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to death. And when they die, they’ll want to drag others down with them out of spite.”
The young man with short, white-golden hair narrowed his eyes like a fox. “Watch, Sherlock… Just watch.
“They won’t be able to hold out much longer. I’ve already applied the pressure I needed to. Now it’s their turn to attack.”
Sherlock looked at Eivass Moriarty bathed in the sunlight.
For the first time, he realized that perhaps he had never truly understood his friend.
Chapter 1 ends at three thousand characters!
The second chapter will be later, I woke up late today… likely around two o’clock.