The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 178

Chapter 179
Moriarty is Loved

On the other side, in the Silver and Tin Hall.
Isabel breathed a sigh of relief after reading the newspaper: “Thankfully…”
Although she knew from the beginning that Eivass’s supposed death was a ruse, seeing how many people the Noble Red had deployed still made her worry about him.
After all, Mr. Eivass was just a frail priest who could only move in a wheelchair…
What if something had really happened to him?
This was her daily concern, and she checked the newspaper first thing every morning. Isabel, who normally didn’t read newspapers, had bought a large stack of them these past few days.
She hadn’t dared to let Yulia see them, though.
Fortunately, Yulia’s attention was easily diverted.
Isabel had Yulia go to study alchemy with the court alchemist, and she simply disappeared.
It was said that Yulia had been engrossed in alchemy practice these past few days, working so diligently that she forgot to eat and sleep.
It was truly forgetting to eat and sleep, to the point that it even scared the old man—he came to Isabel several times, complaining that Yulia wasn’t sleeping at all. She wouldn’t listen to anything, getting up to study again after only three or four hours in bed. When she felt tired, she’d just drink energy potions instead of sleeping, completely ignoring the side effects.
It was only when Isabel personally persuaded her that she could get her to sleep.
She even had to hold Yulia while she slept, to prevent her from sneaking out of bed to read again in the middle of the night.
Isabel couldn’t understand why Yulia was studying so hard… She wasn’t an idiot who would fall behind her peers if she didn’t work hard; she was a highly intelligent genius. Even the court alchemist had praised Yulia’s talent.
Before retiring as a court alchemist, the old man had been a very strict university mentor.
At the same time, he was in the business of explosives in Avalon. He used to be a Star Antimony person, but later, ostracized by his peers, he came to Avalon. Now, one could say… at least in the field of explosives, chemistry, and alchemical synthesis, he was practically at the top of the industry.
His most frequent saying was, “I can let you pass my final exams, but I won’t let you pass the various accidents that occur in the experiments.” Back then, the subject with the lowest pass rate at Milton University was his “Alchemy and Chemical Safety Regulations.”
The old man was a very rare, quite rigid kind of professor—if you failed either the written exam or the experiment, you wouldn’t get any extra points for your coursework, nor would you be scheduled for a make-up exam; you’d just have to retake the course. Only after passing both with your own abilities would he add the coursework points in one go.
To gain his approval was enough to prove Yulia’s diligence in her studies.
Even under Yulia’s influence, Isabel had started studying as well. Janis had already added many courses for her, but she still had a considerable amount of free time.
However, whenever she took a break, seeing Yulia still studying, she would inexplicably feel a sense of guilt… and could only force herself to get up and continue studying.
The result was… although Eivass Moriarty was absent these past few days, her personal time was still taken up by another Moriarty.
Thanks to Yulia’s diligent, sleep-and-eat-forgetting attitude, she hadn’t been clamoring to go home. Yulia cherished the opportunity to study alchemy with Master Nobel so much that she didn’t even need Isabel to think of any lies; she proactively provided Isabel with a way out.
This also put Isabel’s mind at ease.
Although she was a “jack of all trades,” she was indeed not good at lying.
Now that she had confirmed Eivass was safe, she happily hummed a little tune.
As for that young lady named Alistair… Isabel didn’t really care much.
Based on her understanding of Eivass, those words were clearly not something he would say—if he really wanted to praise someone, he wouldn’t use words like “very elegant and beautiful.”
“—Family, life, dreams, what is read, what is done, what is thought… two different hearts, two souls not yet aligned, like two meticulously carved jewels. When they overlap and are angled towards the sun, turning slightly, they can project myriad colors onto the wall—that is the spark born from different thoughts. I call this conversation.
“—And if, by chance, when rotating to a certain angle, it reflects a brilliant beauty that catches the eye and is unforgettable for a lifetime—that is the focus of the soul. I call this love.”
These were the words spoken by the person codenamed “Fox” when Isabel first met Eivass.
Even now, Isabel remembered every single word firmly. They were words so elegant, so gorgeous, so dazzling, yet they also felt warm…
This was the kind of thing Eivass would say.
Now, his statement… most likely, the Inspection Bureau wanted to use Eivass to cause infighting within the Noble Red Society.
After all, he wasn’t truly missing.
Perhaps this Alistair didn’t even exist and was just a fake identity of Eivass?
Yulia, sitting in her room diligently reading and doing homework, caught a glimpse of the spark in Isabel’s eyes and the sudden relaxation in her demeanor out of the corner of her eye. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
—It seems my brother is alright.
Yulia thought.
The girl calmly withdrew her peripheral vision, along with some of her scattered attention outdoors, turned to the next page of her book, and began to focus wholeheartedly on her homework.
She had always vaguely felt a strange anxiety and a sense of low pressure emanating from Isabel. Yulia understood that feeling well; it was like when Eivass was attacked on his first day of school and she had finished reading the newspaper while her brother wasn’t home yet.
Very worried, and also feeling uneasy. She couldn’t sleep well, sometimes having nightmares even when she slept. She had no appetite upon waking.
And now, it was finally others’ turn.
…It seems Isabel really likes my brother.
Yulia’s approval of Isabel increased.
But this level was not enough.
At least, it had to be deeper than her own affection…
Janis smiled as she watched the two people sitting in opposite corners of Isabel’s bedroom, reading books and newspapers. Her brush moved non-stop, and she gently urged, “It’s time to go to school, Isabel.”
“Oh, alright…”
Isabel replied.
Her voice was no longer filled with worry, but had become clear and bright again.
Tsk, still not good enough, Isabel.
This acting still needs to be learned from Miss Yulia…
Janis thought.
Meanwhile, at the Royal Law University.
Professor Bard, a short man, finally breathed a sigh of relief after reading the newspaper.
“It seems Eivass is alright, and he even has new romantic entanglements.”
I should really thank Head部長 Meg. He thought cheerfully.
Just then, Madam Meg walked into his office.
“Yo, Bard!”
The old woman’s voice was loud, full of smiles and vitality: “Did you see the newspaper?”
“Yes, thank you… Head部長 Meg.”
Professor Bard said gratefully.
“Hey, it’s nothing. If you hadn’t asked me, I might have gotten involved anyway. That child Isabel likes him quite a bit, perhaps he’ll be Prince Eivass in the future.”
Meg put one hand on her hip, holding a small bottle of rum in the other, and couldn’t help but laugh heartily: “Not to mention, it gave me an excuse to go after those people from the Lloyd Society—I’ve been fed up with them for a long time! Want some? Captain’s brand.”
“No, thank you. Head部長 Meg, you should also drink less alcohol…”
Bard tactfully advised: “At your age…”
“Whether I drink or not, I’m almost dead. While alive, live well and enjoy everything; when dead, die happily and without regrets.”
Meg said dismissively: “People, when it’s time to die, just die obediently. If you don’t die when you should, you’ll be targeted by Amber.
“I don’t want to be [Frozen]. That posture is too ugly. Do you want to, Bard? You’re not young anymore either.”
“I’m still far from it. I’m still quite healthy.”
Bard also laughed: “I’m planning to go to the Church for archaeology next year—Eivass’s legs should be better by then, and he said he’d accompany me. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”
“Oh, speaking of which.”
Meg took another swig of alcohol and casually said, “There’s an exchange student program next year. The Church is going to exchange a few students from the Seminary for six months to teach High-Tier Divine Art.”
“High-Tier Divine Art?”
Professor Bard was startled. His first reaction was not knowing where to start with his吐槽: “Can you teach it in six months? No… are the long-eared ones finally willing to teach this to humans?”
“Hey, I think it’s just an attitude.”
Meg scoffed, burping from the alcohol: “You think they can’t learn it in half a year, and I think they can’t either. They must think the same—but I think Eivass might actually be able to learn it.
“How long has he been practicing the Path of Devotion? He’s already heading straight for the Third Tier. Janis told me when we were drinking that she thinks Eivass will advance to the Third Tier next month… Nobel told me Yulia is also a genius. James is indeed good at Snap.”
“I think, Bard… why not let him give it a try? After you finish archaeology with him, it will be almost time for the Church’s semester to start, right? It means you’ll be short of a good assistant for half a year, and you’ll be tired again.”
“If it’s good for the child, let him go if he’s willing. I’m very flexible here; we can start a little earlier, don’t let it hinder his opportunity.”
Professor Bard said cheerfully: “This is a rare opportunity… even if he can’t learn it, he can gain the friendship of the Elves. After all, he’ll be among the first humans to receive High-Tier Divine Art education. Perhaps he’ll succeed Bishop Mathers’ position later. No, perhaps he’ll make history—history pays great attention to ‘the first,’ ‘the first time,’ ‘the first batch.'”
“Then let him decide for himself.”
Meg decided resolutely.
She thought for a moment, then slapped her thigh: “I still need to warn him—don’t get too close to those untrustworthy bad women from the Noble Red. They’re either after his roots or his kidneys. In any case, they’re not good girls.
“Alright, you prepare your lessons. I’m going to go bother the old men.”
“…Who are you going to bother now?”
Bard asked helplessly, “Head部長, you’re so busy.”
He and Meg had known each other for a long time.
back then, he was a confident and steady youth, but Meg had always been like this since her teenage years—time had changed many things, but it had changed nothing about Meg.
As if insulated from an hourglass, time left few marks on Meg’s heart.
“I don’t know, haven’t decided yet. Anyway, one by one, most of them are problematic. No one will be wrongly accused.”
Meg laughed heartily: “Don’t panic, I’ll roll a dice to decide… Hmm, let’s go find Charles. I hope he’s already awake.”
Charles Dross—that was the Trade Minister’s name.
Bard gave him three seconds of silence in his heart.
Update complete! A 6,500-character update~
Taking a leave of absence is indeed effective! My schedule and condition have been restored, meow!