"Why are you studying volcanoes?" She threw the question back to Desca.
"I said... because of the 'Tree of Life'!"
Desca spread his hands.
"We didn't come to these conclusions after doing research here—no!"
"We started out by guessing it, and then we specifically found this place - this coastal place with the largest possible submarine volcanic ruins - there is no place more suitable than this beach!"
"So your original purpose for coming here was to study the origin of life?"
“…That’s fine.”
"The sect sent someone to lead the team, and included this as an inspection mission?"
"Yes."
"You've been separated from the team."
"……Yes."
"And then you did what Bricher...what he complained about in his inscription."
"……That's it."
"So did you find anything unusual down there?"
Xia Yibing interrupted.
"Are there ruins, monsters, or anything like that?"
"No."
Still shaking his head.
"There's nothing down there."
"If I have to say, there are a lot of densely packed honeycomb-like cavities, which are a bit disgusting when the light shines through them."
"Cavity?"
"Cavities—the kind you find."
"Nothing in there?"
"No."
"There are no follicles and no people."
"No."
"..." Hitzfeld frowned and thought for a while, then asked him: "Bricher...what do you think of these cavities?"
"I don't remember it very clearly." Deka also frowned, "That memory is something I don't want to recall...so I can't tell you too much...I just roughly remember that he was very excited."
"Excited?"
"Yes...it seemed like that was what he had been looking for, and he finally found it - he was as happy as if he had discovered pirate treasure."
"Didn't you ask him why?"
"My mind might have been thinking about other things at that time..."
"You said before that he believed that submarine volcanoes were the tree of life. Could it be that he was excited because of this discovery that confirmed his idea?"
"Probably, but I don't know what the cavities are for."
Deka shook his head.
Then he paused and added: "Of course now I know..."
"What's the use?" Xia Yibing let out a long breath.
“We don’t know how this was done…”
They looked at each other speechlessly.
This is also true.
"so be it."
Hitzfeld drummed his fingernails on the table.
"It's getting late, you should go to bed early."
"You won't report me?"
Deka asked hurriedly.
He had already prepared himself mentally to be caught, but he never expected that they wanted to leave so soon.
"If you have this thought, it doesn't matter whether you report it or not."
The girl shook her head.
Anyway, the head of the Security Bureau is right next to him, and although the police force in the town is tight, it is more than enough to deal with an old paladin, so there is no need to worry about Deka escaping.
"I think maintaining the status quo will help solve the case." She moved closer to the old knight and said to him in a very low voice, "I would like to ask you... to continue hiding for the next period of time."
"And for Daelin and Bill as well?"
"Yes."
"Also, I want to borrow these two books."
She stacked the books and pushed them toward the woman, motioning for her to take them.
“They’re too thick and too deep.”
"I want to spend more time and study it."
Chapter 47: Forced Confinement of Hitzfeld
After leaving Desca's ship, the two men and the dog returned to the small boat that served as a temporary ward.
No one spoke along the way to hide, but after closing the door, Xia Yibing couldn't help it. She looked at the girl and asked, "Do you suspect that there is something wrong with the person who adopted Dai Lin?"
Judging from the questions Hitzfeld asked, her intention in this regard was already very obvious. Xia Yibing believed that not only herself, but Deka should also be able to sense it.
However, he did not make any statement on the spot. Can it be said that he felt there was no possibility?
"This is also a direction after all." Hitzfeld stirred the charcoal in the basin a few times, letting the hot air roll out and warming the room. "Besides, that was around 1943. Don't you think this time is very sensitive?"
1943...
Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes.
The biggest trouble in 1943 was probably the Death Tree.
"Do you think someone from the Sunflower Reverse has tampered with this place? Is the purpose to divert Wayne's attention?"
"It seems unlikely at the moment." The girl shook her head. "Mr. Lavos also said that neither the evil gods nor the sea monsters can do it... so it seems that there is no problem for the time being."
"Then it can only be Bricher Atlans." Xia Yibing concluded.
The biggest suspect, the biggest motive.
All the conditions are in place, except for actually catching this person.
Well, of course, he might already be a Corruptor now, an evil monster that is extremely difficult to kill.
"It's hard to say now." Hitzfeld did not comment.
Xia Yibing looked at her suspiciously as she took out a few skewers of grilled fish and sausages and stuck them on the edge of the brazier, and asked, "Do you... have any new ideas?"
After spending so much time together, she had a pretty good understanding of Hitzfeld's personality and habits. She knew that she was an extremely modest and reserved person. If she was 50% sure about something, she would say it was only 20%, and even if she was 90% sure, she would be very cautious and not say it with certainty.
"Not sure", "not clear", "can't say".
Whenever you hear these sentences from her mouth, it’s hard to say whether they are certain or not, but she definitely has some ideas.
Moreover, it is an idea that no one else can think of, and it is approached from an extremely novel and strange angle.
"Hmm." Hitzfeld groaned at first.
Lily was attracted by the scent and came over to her feet to sniff. She didn't call out, but just looked up and stared at her.
"Some of it was originally roasted for you..." Hitzfeld sat on the edge of the bed with things in both hands. He simply took off his heels and stretched out his feet to stroke the back of the big white dog.
"Look how anxious you are... Don't touch it until it's done."
It was Xixus who changed her clothes when she was unconscious. She didn't wear socks at that time, but after she woke up, she needed to wear socks because the temperature dropped at night, so Xia Yibing got her a skirt and socks.
Lu Hill was asked to go back to the chapel to get them. She took some clothes, shoes and socks for both of them. Hitzfeld didn't pay attention when she took them, and the one she got was black, so she put it on directly.
Before, it was either in formal occasions or at night and covered by long skirts, so it didn’t look very obvious.
But now, the girl's slender calves and ankles were tightly wrapped in black gauze, and they were set against the background of the pure white hair of the Sheldon dog... The contrast between the colors and shapes was too strong.
Lily was almost ecstatic from being scratched on the back by the toes, so she turned over and exposed her equally white chest and belly to the girl.
The meaning is obvious - we want it here too!
Hitzfeld didn't care.
A dog, just a pet. No matter how reserved she was, no matter how much she paid attention to etiquette and politeness, she could not use these standards to control Lily.
So she naturally continued to stretch her legs, curling her toes while grilling fish and sausages, scratching the Shelby's belly through the gauze stockings, and occasionally raising her toes to tease it.
Then she felt... two burning gazes falling on the back of her outstretched left foot.
Remembering how someone had grabbed her feet and tickled her until she begged for mercy a few hours ago, she immediately pulled her feet back and tried to put on her shoes clumsily.
But Lily was not happy. The pleasant tickling feeling suddenly disappeared, so she immediately turned over and licked the girl's calf.
Don't make trouble here...
Hitzfeld kicked it lightly.
"Ow!"
Lily grinned at her, lowered her head, grabbed both of her shoes in her mouth and slipped into the corner.
...This stupid dog!
Hitzfeld was completely stunned. She looked at the big white dog, the woman with the ponytail, and then the fish that was almost burnt. Her two feet curled up nervously in the air for a while, and then she simply lifted her legs and put them on the bed, hiding her lower legs under the quilt.
Xia Yibing came over.
The woman sat down on the bed, put a hand on her leg naturally, and asked her: "So what do you think?"
I don't want to learn from Lu Hill...
Hitzfeld breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's actually very simple." She gave half of the skewer to the woman, took a sausage, opened her mouth and bit off a piece.
The exchanges with Descartes-Lavos were exhausting.
Intrigue... First she dealt with his difficulties, then used her unique twisted "social morality theory" to win his trust, and finally really started the inquiry.
Not to mention the energy consumed, just talking is exhausting.
She was already hungry, as she hadn't eaten much in the evening.
"We all thought the murderer had an accomplice."
"Yes."
"We assume this because the murderer acted so quickly that he even destroyed the tombstone before us."
"Yes."
"Then we can conclude that no matter if there is another accomplice of the murderer waiting in the grotto, there must be one among us in the town."
"…If you say so, it's fine."
"That's unlikely to be Blicher," Hitzfeld said.
"Because the Corruptor is difficult to disguise." Xia Yibing immediately thought of the key.
The Corruptor...
Smelly.
Rotten.
