Chapter 450
Yunuss’s Letter of Commission
Sherlock had sworn an oath to remain unmarried himself. But this did not mean he didn’t understand feelings.
He looked at Eivass, then glanced at a blushing Isabel, and he understood.
—His initial hunch was correct. Isabel couldn’t resist Eivass’s temptations…
Fortunately, Eivass was a good person. He was a suitable match.
Better yet, looking back now—in hindsight—there wasn’t a more excellent young man of suitable age in Avalon than Eivass.
Sherlock was silent for a moment, then said softly, “Should I say congratulations?”
The implied meaning was, when are you two getting engaged?
“Let’s talk about it after I get back,” Eivass said with a smile.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes, half sarcastic and half reminding, “Then be careful on your journey—based on the conventions of novels and dramas, when someone says that, they’re likely to encounter danger.”
“You’re speaking too soon, Sherlock,” Eivass said. He stretched out his hand, ruffled Sherlock’s hair, and replied briskly, “You have to come with me too.”
“Huh—?” Sherlock asked incredulously, “Why? I still have so many cases to solve!”
“Let Haina handle those cases. She needs some training too,” Eivass said unapologetically. “Are you going to let Lily and me go alone? Who else could I possibly bring besides you?”
“…Can’t Edward come?”
“He is coming with me, but he’s going by ship to an embassy to the Iris Flower.”
“So troublesome…” Sherlock muttered quietly, but quickly perked up. “Fine. I haven’t been to the Church yet, it’ll be a good opportunity to broaden my horizons. And there happens to be a case…”
As he spoke, he pulled a letter from his satchel. “Take a look at this first, Eivass.”
“What is this?” Eivass asked casually, taking the document.
At the same time, he handed the document he was holding to little Sherlock. “Coincidentally, don’t waste time, you take a look at this too—I was planning to give it to you when I visited your house yesterday.”
“A letter of commission from the Church… What is this you have?” Sherlock frowned deeply.
Looking at the “Top Secret” marking on the document, he hesitated to open it. “Is this something I’m allowed to see?”
“I’ll give you authorization, you can read it. It’s about my sister. I’ve already read it once. You might remember her, so please take a look and analyze it for me,” Eivass replied casually, opening the letter. “But you might have heard about it… after all, your brother helped me investigate.”
“No, I haven’t. Mycroft is very tight-lipped. He’s not the type to discuss work with family,” Sherlock defended his brother, then opened the document and began to read it seriously.
Isabel watched the two of them start reading while standing there and sighed helplessly. She led them to sit in the pavilion, then called a maid to bring black tea and pastries.
Eivass looked at the letter, and the more he read, the more familiar the tone and story in the letter felt. He read halfway through, then flipped directly to the end and looked at the sender’s name.
—As expected.
It was a letter from a bard named “Yunus,” sent from the Church.
Yunus had considerable popularity and reputation within Avalon.
He was an excellent instrument maker and a fairly skilled bard. He traveled all over the country with his custom-made guitar, earning money through performances. His daily meals were very ordinary, commoner food, even approaching beggar’s fare. His clothes were also tattered. At best, they could be called clean. Sometimes he would get lost. He looked like a wanderer, dust-covered and weary. All his earnings would be given to the local poor before he left a city. He never kept any money for himself, only carrying food, a sleeping bag, a short sword, a short bow, and his guitar as he wandered the land. As a Third Tier bard, he possessed considerable combat power in the current version. Therefore, he would use his own strength to act as a vigilante—sometimes he would win, and then he would compose songs about his adventures to boast of his achievements. But sometimes he would fail, yet fortunately, he was quick and always managed to escape. This was also why he always ventured alone; it was easier to escape. If he encountered an enemy he couldn’t defeat, he would compose a cheerful and easily spreadable song about them. He would embed information about their misdeeds, abilities, location, and numbers into the lyrics and spread it everywhere. Then, as he sang, the enemies would die. —Either a powerful individual would hear his song, find the stated location out of boredom, or the impact would be too severe, public outrage would surge, alerting the Inspection Department, and Avalon’s authorities would investigate and resolve the issue. However, even the Inspection Department would not know Yunus’s true identity. He was Prince Albert, Isabel’s biological father. After his wife and siblings all died from a curse, he abandoned Isabel and fled the Silver and Tin Hall. He was skilled in illusion and altered his appearance. The identity of “Yunus” he now used belonged to a real person—he was a poet friend of Prince Albert. When Albert first fled Glass Island, they partnered up and went around helping people and upholding justice. Later, they encountered a powerful enemy in the wilderness. Yunus died while saving Albert. At that time, the disheartened Albert directly used illusion to change his appearance to match the other man. He mimicked his voice, tone, and habits… as if the one who had died was Prince Albert, and the one who lived was Yunus. Although that enemy had long since been killed by “Yunus,” he still did not revert to his true identity. “Yunus” did not even return to Glass Island to attend his mother Queen Sophia’s funeral—he was dedicated to impersonating Yunus, as if Prince Albert were truly dead. After the Queen’s death and Isabel’s accession to the throne, he suddenly ceased his activities in Avalon and went to the Church. A certain elf maiden, whom he had rescued in Avalon. Grateful for his saving her life, she left him a token, inviting him to her home as a guest. However, when he actually went to the Church, he learned that the girl had already died—she had even died long before she went to Avalon. This was the most famous side quest in version 0. Eivass had also completed it. “Yunus” appeared in the main storyline, and due to his pleasing demeanor and unwavering support for the protagonist, he was quite popular. His reputation store was the only way for the bard profession to obtain the “Guitar” timbred musical instrument. He even gave Isabel an elven harp as her early-game exclusive weapon. This side quest revealed his past and the origin of the harp, ultimately revealing him as Isabel’s father. Most importantly, after completing this side quest, players could obtain a replica of Isabel’s harp to transmog, as well as a companion pet called “Little Yunus.” This pet played the guitar while idle and could even change songs through commands. It was truly full of sincerity. It could also be used to take screenshots of meme-worthy expressions when taking photos with Isabel. “Aha, your father is in my hands.” Now, the Cruel Autumn event was impossible, and Avalon had not been destroyed. Yunus, who originally went to the Church when Avalon was on the verge of destruction, had gone to the Church a year earlier. But even so, he received the same answer. —The girl named “Anastasia” had died long ago. And she had never been to Avalon when she was alive. However, both the girl’s personal information and the token she gave Yunus were genuine. This seemed to prove that she had indeed been to Avalon and had indeed contacted Yunus. Yunus felt his thoughts becoming muddled, even doubting the authenticity of his experiences. But unlike the game’s storyline, he didn’t rashly try to resolve this matter himself this time. Instead, he remained calm and didn’t act impulsively… After collecting all the information he could, he wrote a letter to “Avalon’s smartest detective, Sherlock,” entrusting him with the commission, and enclosed the token with the letter. It was a moon-white ribbon with light blue elven inscriptions. Translating the elven language on it would reveal its content: “Anastasia, may you be well.” “Fox, what do you think?” Sherlock raised his head and looked at Eivass sternly as he saw Eivass finish reading the letter. “…Hmm?” Eivass looked at Sherlock’s exceptionally serious expression and was a little confused. “It’s quite interesting… But why are you interested in this?” “Don’t you think this situation is similar to… the ‘Swamp Dweller’?” Sherlock asked seriously. Hearing this, Eivass looked at him with some surprise. He originally wanted to deny it, because he didn’t remember this part in the plot—or rather, there was no such word as “Swamp Dweller” in the game. This was a term Eivass had coined himself based on the “Swamp Dweller Paradox” when describing the strange ritual in Eagle Cape Village. Besides Eivass, only Sherlock and a few others knew it. At least Jacob certainly didn’t call his ritual this. But as Eivass thought about it carefully… —It didn’t seem entirely impossible? Because in the game’s plot, the player never fully figured out what was going on. Sherlock wasn’t involved at the time; it was only Eivass and Isabel. They certainly didn’t know about the Swamp Dweller, and as refugees, they had no place to look up information. So, in the end, it was hastily concluded by treating it as “a maiden ghost’s longing.” Later, it turned into the story of Yunus and Isabel recognizing each other. This “maiden ghost” seemed to have become a “coincidence” that allowed him and Isabel to interact. But perhaps, there was a secret behind this matter? Eivass suddenly became somewhat interested. Moreover, after this event ended, he could obtain that top-quality elven harp. It was both a fairly good Extraordinary Weapon and a top-quality musical instrument itself. It could be given to Isabel as a birthday gift— —This commission has come at the perfect time, Eivass thought. Furthermore, from any angle, Eivass felt he had to meet “Yunus.” He was Isabel’s father, after all… his future father-in-law. “No matter what, you both must be careful,” Isabel, who was painting Eivass, looked up worriedly as she saw the two of them showing interest and fighting spirit. “If it’s too dangerous, give up.” Eivass’s foster father had gone missing in the Church. Although it was the territory of the Eternal Pope, it didn’t seem that safe… Eivass suddenly spoke, “By the way, Lulu…” Hearing Eivass address Isabel so affectionately, Sherlock’s brow twitched involuntarily, showing an expression like an “old man looking at his phone.” But when he heard Eivass’s next sentence, Sherlock wondered “Hmm?” in his heart: “If I see Prince Albert in the Church, should I bring him a message for you?” “…Is Prince Albert also in the Church?” Sherlock asked in surprise, instinctively analyzing, “That makes sense. I haven’t heard from him in a long time. If he’s in the Church, then it’s logical…” —But why would Eivass ask this now? Another possibility immediately appeared in Sherlock’s mind. Could it be that Yunus is actually…? Isabel, however, fell silent. Her expression became somewhat complex. “…May 22nd,” she said suddenly. “That’s my birthday, and also the day I set for my coronation. And perhaps…” She glanced at Eivass and said softly, “it will be our engagement day. He didn’t come back on the day grandmother died, nor did he come back on the day of her state funeral. I hope he can come back on that day—in the name of my father. Otherwise…” She swallowed the rest of her words, not finishing them. Isabel had a gentle personality and disliked saying hurtful things, but she was also firm and stubborn. Once she made up her mind, it was difficult to change. “…Whether or not you see him in the Church is the same. I’ve already made up my mind about this in my heart,” she said softly. Although they were harsh words, they sounded sad. “If you don’t want to come back… then don’t come back.” Update complete, meow~ Thanks to GuteJager for the Alliance Leader gift! Sorry for misspelling the name yesterday, meow.
