In the hallway of the Supervisory Bureau, a lazy young man with black hair and brown eyes was leaning against the wall, reading the newspaper in his hand with extreme concentration.
He also looked very young, probably in his early twenties, like a college student who had just graduated.
He is thin, with a long, hooked nose and thin lips that are always pursed, which makes him look a little mean.
He was reading the newspaper while Haena stood beside him, muttering something.
"… That's it, Mr. Sherlock! I've told you everything I remember, so can you answer that question for me?"
Haina was obviously a little excited.
Not only did she make a contribution, but she was also interviewed and made the front-page headline of the Glass Steps, and she was probably also noticed by the Queen - this made her feel like she was walking on clouds and floating.
After realizing that she might become famous, she gritted her teeth and used all her money except for her living expenses to buy all the copies of the Glass Steps Newspaper. She planned to bring them all back home during the holidays and give them to relatives and friends.
Today, she happened to run into Sherlock Consultant while at work, so she asked him a question half excited to see her former idol and half wanting to show off -
"…What doubts?"
Sherlock Hermes looked up and said casually, "You mean, 'Why did Mr. Aiwass guess that there was something wrong with the bartender?' That's simple, because he is a very smart man.
"He knew the bartender's name, which meant he had been here before. Mr. Aiwass had an upright posture and a well-mannered sitting posture, which showed that he was not an old man. The shoulder shape of an old man is different from that of a young man. Of course, considering that the bartender might not understand this kind of human anatomy, I think the more reliable and direct evidence should be his boots.
"Hand-woven elf boots use the mysterious art of alchemy and blessing. They can remove odor, absorb sweat, ventilate, waterproof, and improve grip to prevent falls. Such a pair of shoes would cost more than 120 silver crowns. Ordinary knight families cannot afford them.
"The bars in Lloyd's all do some illegal things, and they are very good at judging people. There is no way he could not see this obvious feature. And he clearly recognized Mr. Aiwass's identity, but deliberately called him 'old man'... Do you think the bartender in Lloyd's can say such polite and cultured words
"Besides, why wasn't he afraid when he saw you? One of the jobs of the Inspectorate is to collect taxes from people who don't seem to have paid taxes. It would be strange if they didn't hate you and be afraid of you when you took the little savings from these poor people. Business people like you are more afraid of you than ordinary workers - because their account books are more or less problematic.
"Then why isn't he afraid of you? That means he doesn't care that you'll ask him for money. Or maybe he's just not from here—maybe not even from Avalon, and doesn't realize what it means to have a censor appear without warning in this country.
"And the picture in the newspaper is very clear. The wheelchair highlights the style of his boots - not to mention his exquisite Elvish-style wheelchair. The Elvish etchings are very clear - Moriarty. Here, you can't see it
"I say, Miss Haena... The professor told me that you graduated with high marks. I assume you passed Elvish?"
"…Ah, yes. I recognize it."
Haina was a little embarrassed: "I just didn't see it."
She was originally quite excited and proud, but now she was scolded. The excitement in her heart faded a lot, and she also felt a sense of loss that "I was so bad".
There were some things she hadn't said - for example, on the day Aiwass was attacked, she had brought a banned book to the bar. That was Mr. Aiwass's secret, and she was determined to keep it secret for him.
—Because they are accomplices in reading the same banned book and are tied to the same rope!
As a result, even though Sherlock Consultant didn't know this important information, he still deduced the truth from other details. And Haina didn't notice these things.
It was just as magical as how Mr. Aiwass deduced from the bartender's actions that the murderer was hiding in the underground wine cellar!
Haina was very excited, but also a little disappointed.
Because she felt that she seemed to have fallen into the same state as when she first entered college - she originally thought that she was a very outstanding person, but once she was exposed to a wider world, she found that she was just so-so.
If she were told all these important details and evidence, Haina felt that she would be able to figure out the truth, although she would be slower. But she simply could not see these details - this was the biggest gap between them.
The gap seems small, but in fact it is like an insurmountable chasm.
"It seems that you have understood the greatness of Mr. Aiwass. That's very good."
Young Mr. Sherlock commented scathingly, "I'm sorry to say that you are probably one of the ones with better working ability among them. You can be called a smart person among fools. The others who have muscles in their heads are just a bunch of fools.
"They always fail to do anything and only mess things up. Even if I tell them the truth, I always have to explain it over and over again to convince them.
"And this Mr. Aiwass - if I may be frank, his observation skills are better than most of the Inspectorate put together."
"… Do you think so highly of Mr. Aiwass?"
Haina was very surprised.
She had basically only heard Mr. Sherlock think this person was not good or that person was stupid.
"Of course," Sherlock said indifferently, "In my opinion, your ability to 'join forces' to solve this case was entirely due to his observation and judgment.
"If you were without him, you would never be able to solve the case; and he could have solved this incident without you. You were just a wheelchair pusher, and you didn't even fulfill your duty as a protector. When he clearly told you to attack the other party with all your strength, why did you hold back? Since you have chosen to believe in the other party's command, you must believe it to the end. Believing half of it and having your own ideas is more terrible than not believing it at all.
"He has excellent observation, correct reasoning, decisive judgment, calm execution, a more mature and stable mentality than you - and accurate shooting. His talent, character and ability are all quite remarkable. At the age of 18, he is far better than more than 99% of the people in this country. He deserves to be called 'sir' by me.
"I'm very interested in him. I heard that he's a freshman? Then I'm going to go back to my alma mater to see him. I have a feeling that it would be quite pleasant to work or communicate with him."
After saying that, Sherlock folded the newspaper in his hand precisely and handed it back to Haina.
The four corners were perfectly aligned, without any deviation, which showed Sherlock's perfectionism.
"Ah, he actually stayed at home for two or three months and hasn't come to school yet..."
Haina took the newspaper somewhat awkwardly.
The black-haired young man was not surprised by the result, but nodded calmly: "That's normal. Universities cannot produce real talents. They are just a group of knowledge nannies, trying to break down knowledge into easily digestible paste, and trying to stuff it into the mouths of lazy people and idiots, trying to make them useful social tools. It is not a place to serve geniuses and teach smart people.
"I guess Mr. Aiwass's knowledge and wisdom come from the professor's personal teaching. Even in the entire Royal Law University, Professor Moriarty is one of the smartest people."
“…I see.”
Haina said embarrassedly.
She felt a little disappointed... because she felt that she was quite impressive for being able to enter the Royal Law University and become the female class leader since her sophomore year. But she also knew that Sherlock was indeed qualified to say such things - because he was also the top student who graduated from the Royal Law University.
When Haina was a freshman, Sherlock was her senior. Without any ulterior motives or background, she managed the work of the student union in an orderly manner, relying only on her excellent academic performance and good interpersonal relationships, and also entirely relying on the many rules set by Sherlock.
They were both the top students, both the presidents of the student union, and both graduated with full marks, but there was still a huge gap between them.
"—Wait a minute, Mr. Sherlock," Haina finally couldn't help but ask, "I have a question:
"Since you think the Supervisory Bureau is full of idiots, and even rejected internship invitations from the Supervisory Bureau and even the Inspectorate when you graduated... why do you want to come to the Supervisory Bureau to serve as a mere consultant now?"
No matter how well a "consultant" does, he can't move up. All the credit goes to Director Kent, and the most he can get from the director is one or two books as a personal gift.
If he had chosen to join the Supervisory Bureau, he might have been the deputy director now. And sooner or later he would become the director - by then, the entire bookshelf would be his.
"… Just a few?"
Hearing this, Sherlock turned around in surprise.
He looked at Haina carefully for a few seconds, then understood what she said and sighed.
The young man shook his head and said in a low voice: "Remember not to say this kind of thing to others again.
"Those who believe in the Way of Authoritarianism shouldn't be so concerned with 'promotion' and 'future'. An inspector shouldn't have such clear 'ambitions', which means you have the adaptability to the Way of Transcendence.
"In Avalon, those who want to be promoted will not be promoted - do you understand that?"