Chapter 548: She died. It was suicide.
Eivass knocked on the door at least five times, but no one ever opened it.
It was already 1:30 PM, right around the time ordinary people take their afternoon naps.
However, according to the passerby elf, Eivass’s sister, Freya, should have woken up around noon, adhering to an inverted schedule.
Could she have gone back for a nap immediately after breakfast?
A sense of worry began to stir in Eivass—
It was primarily because he immediately recalled his recent experience of opening a wardrobe at home and finding a corpse inside.
Sherlock, as a famous detective, didn’t he actually have some kind of event-prone constitution… and had he remotely cursed his biological sister, whom he had never met, to death?
They waited by the door for a long time, but no one came to open it. Eivass then shared his worries with Sherlock.
Just as they were about to break down the door, they heard Janis’s voice from behind them:
“Eivass?”
Turning around, they saw Janis walking over with her tote bag.
She reached out and touched the door, and a doorknob immediately materialized on the door. She opened the large door and walked in.
“Freya hasn’t opened the door…”
Eivass immediately told Janis everything he had seen and heard, expressing his concern: “Couldn’t something have happened to her?”
“Oh, it’s fine.”
Janis replied, “She must be busy… Never mind that for now.”
As they walked inside, Janis came up beside Eivass.
She placed her hand on the back of Eivass’s head and said through gritted teeth, “You kid, why didn’t you speak up for me earlier?”
“To be fair, Master Janis. I also think being missing for two hundred years is a bit excessive,” Eivass said solemnly. “If you don’t explain properly, you might lose a good friend—which would be a real shame. It’s precisely because we have such a good relationship that I hope the misunderstanding can be completely cleared up. So, what exactly happened?”
“…Actually, it wasn’t two hundred years at first.”
Hearing this, Janis’s expression turned a little unnatural. “We originally agreed to go out for twenty years and then come back. But the world turned out to be bigger than I thought. I originally planned to travel the world in twenty years, but I ended up being away for over eighty years. At that time, I went back to the Church to collect some of Teacher’s belongings. I thought she had forgotten me long ago, as eighty years is a significant amount of time for an elf. But she really waited for me for eighty years…”
Hearing this, Eivass understood.
The situation was much simpler than Eivass had imagined. Janis must have realized she was sixty years late and was afraid to return. Elves’ perception of time is about five to seven times that of humans. Even in the most generous estimation, this would mean being out of contact for over a decade. For humans, it’s possible to forget a childhood friend after more than a decade of no contact; at least, their feelings would have faded significantly. Promises and oaths made back then would naturally no longer be valid.
But Janis never expected that after eighty years, Grey would still be waiting for her—this wasn’t even like being separated from a friend for over a decade. It was more like running away from home for over a decade, and her parents were still looking for her. This overwhelming emotion directly scared Janis away. Then came the vicious cycle… the longer she delayed, the more afraid she became to return.
“…What can I say?” Eivass hissed. He thought for a moment, “I think you should still formally apologize to Miss Grey.”
“But I’m not really suited to staying in the Church anymore,” Janis said with a wry smile. “It’s fine to come back occasionally, but if I stay too long, I worry I’ll Petrify. After these two hundred years, I’ve become accustomed to living with short-lived races… Oh, I’m not insulting you. I’m just describing those species with shorter lifespans than elves. Can you imagine, Eivass? In the Church, it’s normal for things to be delayed for three or four months. I know a writer who, for personal reasons, doesn’t have any work to do. That is to say, she’s analogous to a full-time writer in the human world. After she finished a book, she said she needed to rest for a while before starting a new one… This one ‘rest’ lasted eighteen years. I thought something might have happened to her. Coincidentally, when I returned to the Church recently, I went to check on her. In fact, many of her readers also thought she had died or Petrified without them realizing it… because her novels and poetry are filled with the scent of death.”
Hearing this, Eivass suddenly thought of Gloria Blue Rose. Could the friend Janis was talking about be her?
But then, Janis’s words dispelled Eivass’s doubts: “As it turns out, I went back to check on her recently and asked her. I found out she just couldn’t be bothered. Although her health was as poor as ever, she didn’t have any thoughts of dying. And she hasn’t been idle all these years; she’s written a cabinet full of essays. But none of them have an ending. She told me that although her health is poor, she doesn’t expect to die anytime soon… You know about elf diseases, right?”
“Petrify and Amber Compaction Syndrome… right?” Eivass replied softly.
“Exactly. She’s a patient with Amber Compaction Syndrome, but she’s actively receiving treatment and doesn’t want to die like this. She feels bored every day and wants to do something. So she specifically taught herself gemology. She even joked with me, saying that if one of her arms or legs completely Petrified, she’d cut it off and have it made into jewelry for us, all handmade. I told her that if such an opportunity arose, I would personally help her design it. Recently, she’s had a bit of inspiration to start a new book, so she’s been reading newspapers from various countries for material, and she saw your news, Eivass. She talked about you, saying you’re very handsome and that the protagonist of her new book might be based on you. She also asked me for many details about your deeds.”
At this point, Janis smiled and patted Eivass on the shoulder. “However, I still think you’d be better suited as a villain. I suggested to her that you play the villain, and Sherlock, as a detective, would be the protagonist… I don’t know if she accepted it.”
“Whether I play a villain or not is irrelevant,” Eivass said with a smile. “Rather, I think villains are cooler.”
In his mind, he pictured a little girl who was always smiling. Despite suffering from a terminal illness, she was positive and full of life. Just listening to Janis’s words, Eivass felt as if he saw her shining eyes. Although they both suffered from Amber Compaction Syndrome and were writers, she was clearly different from Gloria.
After all, in the Church, the incidence of Amber Compaction Syndrome is quite high. It’s said that a thousand years ago, the probability of Petrify was even greater. In recent years, the dilution and degradation of elven bloodlines have led to a significant decrease in the probability of Petrify; however, the proportion of Amber Compaction Syndrome has actually increased. When everyone lived at a slow pace, there wasn’t as much Amber Compaction Syndrome. But as short-lived races gradually accelerated their pace of life, with the proliferation of entertainment and production, elves, who were seemingly unrelated to these changes, also seemed to have become infected and impatient. Therefore, there were a minority of extremists among the elves who believed in complete isolation from short-lived races.
Eivass smiled and turned back to look at Sherlock. “Hey, she said you’re going to be the protagonist.”
“—Whatever.” Sherlock, walking at the back, let out a snort and quipped, “I just hope she doesn’t sacrifice the detective’s rigor for the sake of dramatic effect. It’s hard for me to expect her to understand what logic is. Newspaper reports aren’t always objective and fair. She just imagines and writes based on newspapers, so she’s too likely to lack life experience.”
“Don’t underestimate her too much,” Janis defended her friend. “Gloria is a world-renowned literary giant. She wouldn’t make such a simple mistake. This time, you’re really going to be famous, Sherlock—if she accepts my suggestion.”
“—Wait a moment.” Sherlock became serious. “What did you say her name was? Her full name?”
“Gloria. Gloria Blue Rose… The full names of elves are sometimes inherited from their parents and sometimes from their teachers. She’s one of those who inherited it from her teacher,” Janis said casually. She quickly realized something. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s dead,” Sherlock replied concisely. “It was suicide.”
Janis’s pupils suddenly contracted.
(End of chapter)
