"047..."
Lorenzo whispered the name. For some reason, it was so familiar to him at the moment, yet it felt indescribably strange.
"Tell me about those things related to 047. From the existing evidence, we can judge that 042 does not exist... But you insist on believing that it exists. Perhaps from the story of 047, we can find the hidden information and find the location of 042 from there."
"You also think 042 exists, right?" Hearing this, Lorenzo looked at Hercule with hope. Everyone denied the existence of 042, but he didn't expect that the guy in front of him didn't.
"I don't know," Hercule replied.
"This is a world that values logical evidence. There is nothing that can support the fact that 042 exists... except your suspected crazy conjecture.
Of course, your crazy imagination is not evidence at all, but Lorenzo, you should know, and I know, this is a crazy world, full of secrets that mortals cannot know, just like me, just like you, and those monsters known as demons. "
Hercule gently rubbed the big rat in his arms. Its fur felt very nice and was still warm in this thunderstorm, like a small ball of fire that could be touched.
"But it is precisely because of the madness of this world that everything is possible, right? Even if the probability is very small.
Maybe 042 really exists, but all traces have been erased for some reason... And you, you, Lorenzo Holmes, you are the only clue to find yourself and determine whether that fictional person is real or not. "
The thunderstorm became more and more violent, until the entire sky fell into a dead gray and black, and the whole world was no longer bright except for the thunder.
Hercule did not close the window, he let the curtains dance wildly in the wind, the cold rain and wind poured into the house, and as the thunder passed, it seemed as if the whole world was collapsing.
"Come and talk, Lorenzo, about 047."
…
Even today, those memories are still clear. Lorenzo wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, and after a brief moment of unconsciousness, he slowly recalled everything that happened at that time.
"I am… "
He thought about it carefully, but there was a sharp pain in his mind, just like when Anthony asked him why he left the team on the night of the Holy Advent, there were some memories he could not recall.
"I... I can't remember..."
"All, or part?"
Hercule asked, like a skilled doctor.
"I... I can't recall the whole thing perfectly."
“It’s like from the beginning to the end… Just like a dream, dreams are always fragmentary, you can’t remember how you got here, and when you realize it, you are already in the middle of the story.”
"You said that all my memories were dreams?" Lorenzo was puzzled.
"No, it's just a description. It's certain that there is something wrong with your memory. It's like a building that has been hit by an earthquake. The layers are misaligned. Two different stories are forcibly spliced together, or there's a piece missing."
Hercule explained calmly, but as he explained, Lorenzo became a little flustered.
"So... am I really crazy?"