Chapter 525
Controlled Fire
“…What if it were Grey?”
After a brief silence, Eivass suddenly spoke. He looked at Cardinal Matilda and repeated, “What if it were Her Highness the Saintess here, what would happen?”
Hearing this, Matilda hesitated for a moment. Before she could respond, Eivass continued in a soft voice, “If Her Highness the Saintess were to encounter trouble or danger because of this matter, then this would not be an accident.” He looked at Matilda and asked, “Is it… Amber Compaction Syndrome?”
—This was a very opportune moment for Eivass to align his information and delve into the event. Although Eivass knew some of the information himself, he couldn’t use it if he didn’t obtain it through legitimate channels. Now was the perfect chance to “launder” this advance information.
Sherlock was shocked upon hearing this. He was still contemplating the killer’s motive, and Eivass had already deduced this much?! Given the lack of clues and the multitude of possibilities, Eivass was astonishingly certain that the killer intended to catalyze the Pure White Saintess’s Amber Compaction Syndrome. Rather, it was surprising that he prioritized the possibility of “the Saintess developing Amber Compaction Syndrome” first. It was as if he had the answer and was fitting it to the question. However, considering Eivass’s prescience-like abilities, Sherlock chose to remain silent for the time being. …Perhaps it truly was the case.
Cardinal Matilda, however, showed no particular reaction. She let out a sigh of relief, appearing somewhat more relaxed. “You’ve found out… I suppose so. After all, that fruit grew on you, so it’s unlikely you wouldn’t understand.”
Given how strange their reactions were at the time, it was only natural to suspect something was amiss with a little thought. “This matter likely cannot be kept from you, but I cannot tell you directly. It is Grey’s secret… and it is of utmost importance.” Cardinal Matilda bowed solemnly to the three of them. “Please do not leak this matter.”
“The meaning of ‘utmost importance’ is…” Sherlock narrowed his eyes, catching the intriguing keyword. “If this matter spreads, it will cause trouble for Her Highness the Saintess, right?” He suddenly thought of something. “Is it… that the Pure White Saintess is about to ascend the throne?”
Cardinal Matilda looked at Sherlock with some surprise and nodded in admiration. “That’s right, next month. That’s why I said there’s no need to rush the High-Tier Divine Art matter. Because the Church will have major events coming up.”
…Major events? I feel like it’s a tremendously significant problem… Sherlock grumbled in his heart. But given his personality, he was actually intrigued by such difficult challenges—he wouldn’t bother with anything easy.
“I have one more question,” Sherlock asked again. “If the matter of the Saintess’s Amber Compaction is exposed, will it have a disadvantageous impact on her succession to the Pope’s position?”
“You could say… there will be significant controversy.” Cardinal Matilda nodded. “Especially with the recent ‘Controlled Fire’ movement.”
“Controlled Fire?” Sherlock had never heard of this name.
“—Light and fire are sacred symbols of the Church, and compared to light, flames are undoubtedly more dangerous. Their danger stems from their freedom.” It was Eivass, not Cardinal Matilda, who interjected. “Controlled Fire refers to the containment of flames that can produce light yet also burn humans.” He pointed to the oil lamp on the table. The flame stored within the glass was the same kind of flame that didn’t flicker, like a mere picture. “This is ‘Controlled Fire.’ It was replaced throughout the country by the ‘Controlled Fire’ organization when the movement began. It is a safer, ‘colder’ fire. Even children won’t get hurt if they touch it.”
“…You know quite a lot.” Cardinal Matilda was somewhat surprised. “You even know about something like this.” Eivass nodded humbly. “It’s been over a decade.” This was not advance game information—seminaries in school would teach about it. This was also the reason for Avalon’s rule against casually lighting fires inside churches. Lighting a real flame held sacred significance, but summoning illusory fire was different.
“…It’s already been over ten years.” Hearing this, Cardinal Matilda sighed wistfully. “It feels like just last month.”
“It sounds like an organization that simply advocates for replacing light sources.” Sherlock pressed. “Do they have any other proposals?”
“—Yes.” Cardinal Matilda nodded gravely. “It’s about what we were just discussing, regarding inheritors and professionals. They have more radical proposals on this matter.”
Sherlock realized. “They want all Elves to become professionals?”
“Precisely.”
“Why?”
“It’s simple,” Cardinal Matilda replied. “Because of Amber Compaction.”
“…Amber Compaction?”
“That’s right. The ‘Controlled Fire’ movement was initiated because Cardinal Loki collected data from a survey report. The data showed that the number of inheritors with Amber Compaction was far greater than professionals—not by a few percent, but by a tenfold margin. In the past hundred years, the proportion of inheritors developing Amber Compaction accounted for 96% of all Elves.”
“…That can’t be right.” Even before Eivass could speak, Sherlock intuitively realized there was something wrong with the report. “Didn’t you just say that the number and status of inheritors are greater than professionals?”
“That was the original source of this report. Although the Church advocates for inheritors, professions have existed for a thousand years. There are still many Elves who cannot obtain inheritances… In your terms, professional Elves are equivalent to ‘commoners.’ Because their parents did not know powerful Extraordinary individuals, they could not provide them with better inheritances. Originally, they could only become true commoners, protected by Extraordinary individuals, or venture into the Dream Realm themselves to find their own path. With the advent of the professional system, they had the opportunity to become professionals. Ten years ago, the proportion of existing professional Elves and inheritors in the Church happened to be 1:1. Cardinal Loki wanted to trace this phenomenon and investigate the differences between these two groups. As a result, he inadvertently discovered that the Amber Compaction rate among professional Elves was much lower.”
“…It’s hard to say.” Eivass shook his head. “It might be self-selection bias.”
“Self-selection bias?” Sherlock asked subconsciously. But before Eivass could answer, he realized, “Ah, that’s a good term to use.”
“Precisely. Elves who are willing to become professionals, whether actively or passively, generally have more open minds and families that are less traditional. They are more active, more curious about the lives of short-lived species, and are more willing to experience different ways of life, which results in a lower rate of natural Amber Compaction.” Eivass also frowned slightly. “Although this 96% data… is astonishingly high.”
“So Cardinal Loki believes that the ‘professional system’ is not meaningless for Elves—its influence and solidification of the soul can effectively prevent or even treat Amber Compaction Syndrome. Therefore, he took the lead in transitioning to a professional, establishing Controlled Fire. Other members of Controlled Fire also accept this ideology and are attempting to reform Elven traditions through the professional system as progressive individuals…” As she spoke, Cardinal Matilda subconsciously glanced at Bishop Mercedes’s corpse on the floor.
“It sounds quite good,” Sherlock commented.
“That’s why I don’t have any prejudice against them,” Matilda said, covering her forehead with a troubled expression. “But the only problem is… ‘Saintess’ is not a profession. They must be cultivated from childhood, receive complex education and inheritance, and be chosen from dozens of candidates. So, one of Controlled Fire’s proposals is that the Pope should no longer choose from Saintesses—because the existence of Saintesses is tantamount to the Church encouraging the inheritance system.”
“…But I recall that theoretically, a Cardinal can also become the Eternal Pope, right?” Eivass asked. He remembered that the Church had such a setting, but wasn’t sure.
“It’s only theoretical, right?” Before Cardinal Matilda could answer, Sherlock’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile. “Just like the knights in the Round Table Hall can theoretically decide on proposals by vote.”
“That’s right. Theoretically, the Pope is elected, but each Cardinal manages different layers of the administration, and their ideas vary greatly. Regardless of who is chosen in the Cardinal’s Hall, they will be vetoed by other Cardinals with a high number of votes. Only the Saintess is the best choice…” Matilda clearly considered this to be a matter of course. “After all, Saintesses have been taking over the Pope’s work for a long time. They are actually the true Popes, and becoming Pope is equivalent to stepping back. They become the mentor of the new Saintess—this has been the way in the Church for thousands of years, and no one has questioned it.”
“But now, this tradition conflicts with ‘Controlled Fire,’ right?” Sherlock replied. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the corpse. “So, the suspect is Cardinal Loki? Ha, it sounds reasonable. He is a Cardinal and can open this door. He is also the leader of Controlled Fire and an extremist. He wants to eliminate the Saintess, so he wants to stimulate her Amber Compaction—this way, if the Saintess develops Amber Compaction Syndrome, it would validate his claims and be beneficial for his election as Pope… After all, there was a precedent of a Saintess developing Amber Compaction, leading to a Cardinal’s election. The logic sounds complete… Humph.”
At this point, Sherlock suddenly let out a scoff and turned to Eivass. “Eivass, what do you think?”
“The logic is too complete.” Eivass shook his head. “So I don’t quite believe it.”
“—Then go with your intuition.” Sherlock immediately abandoned his conjecture, so quickly that Eivass was somewhat surprised—Do you trust my intuition that much? But Eivass did have evidence, it was just that he couldn’t speak about it. Because Eivass knew that amidst the chaos brought by “The Disaster of Tree and Amber”… the first Cardinal to pass away was Cardinal Loki. A very classic scenario where the most suspicious suspect dies on the spot. Eivass looked at Sherlock and suddenly understood. So it was because of you, “Sherlock Holmes,” that such a plot unfolded here!
(End of this chapter)
