The cold-faced earl doesn't want to trigger the plot

...

Listening to the still busy voice in the room, Riber realized that he had been in a daze for a long time without knowing it.

All in all, as he said before, Ewenna and Lysa returned to him after all.

If you think about it carefully, last night's actions, Riber and his party were a complete failure.

As far as Ribel is concerned, he intends to have a good talk with Ewenna to solve all the mysteries so far, so as to completely end the plot of the sad witch line and escape from the vortex of the original plot.

But just looking at the results, not to mention teaming up with Ewenna again, the phantom thieves who could be counted as companions have all defected.

Adding one becomes minus one.

The only thing that can be regarded as rewarding is that Iwenna, the "sorrow witch" and "dismemberer", is really just as Ribel speculated in the past.Not really villains.

And now, when Ewena and Lysa reappear, "failure" does not seem to have turned into "success".

"Why, nothing goes well..."

Whispering to himself, Riber patted Alice's head lightly.

"Let's wait at the restaurant on the first floor and don't bother them anymore. If you have a story you want to hear, I can read it to you."

After finishing speaking, Riber took Alice, who was still a little reluctant, down the stairs.

Not long after, when Riber was about to sit down in his exclusive seat, he saw a figure passing slowly through the window.

It was raining heavily outside the window, and the crackling sound was like heavy drumbeats.

And that highly recognizable figure, whether it's the clothing on his body or the color of his hair, seemed unaware of the torrential rain, and was drenched in the rain, walking like a walking dead.

Even passing the gate of the unnamed restaurant, he passed straight through as if he didn't notice it, and continued to move forward.

Riber stood up, walked quickly to the door of the restaurant, opened the door and called out the person who was "wandering" like a ghost.

"Chris! What are you...doing?"

Hearing Riber's voice, Chris stopped and turned around,

"Ah... Mr. Riber. Oh, I walked by accidentally..."

Chris said with a forced smile.

"You are... Anyway, come in first."

Riber stepped aside first, leaving a way for Chris to enter the door.Then, he found that Chris was still in a daze outside the house, so he went out in the rain and pulled him back.

"Alice, go get a towel!"

After yelling at Alice, Liber faced Chris who was soaked and his clothes were dripping.

"In the end what happened?"

The last time Riber saw Chris was at noon after lunch.

At that time, Chris was still shaking his hanging arm energetically, saying that he would go to the Knights to find out what happened last night.Could the loss of the knights' heavy prison have something to do with the monster-like woman they encountered.

But when he came back, Chris was in this distraught appearance.

"It's not so much what happened, it's better to say that everything has happened..."

Chris said in this almost soul-like tone,

"The Knights suffered heavy losses last night. Not only was the felon jail attacked, but the team tasked with hunting down the 'Crimson' hunter was also ambushed."

Chris explained, lowered his head to think for a while,

"Just talking about people Mr. Riber has met, Vice Captain Ethan is seriously injured and unconscious."

"Seriously injured and comatose?"

Riber showed a somewhat surprised look.

The arrogant and irritable appearance of the vice-captain appeared in his mind.

Perhaps out of prejudice, he always felt that such a person would not fall easily.

And then, Riber heard even more unbelievable news.

"Also, Mr. Dirk."

Chris, who raised his face again, had a dazed expression similar to Riber's.

Not far away, Alice ran over from the bathroom and stuffed the towel into Riber's hand.

"Mr. Dirk is dead... no, that's not a good way to say it. Mr. Dirk was killed, sacrificed..."

sacrifice?

For a moment, Riber failed to understand the meaning of this strange word, but subconsciously clenched his hands tightly to prevent the towel in his hand from falling to the ground.

...

...

The day passed by in a hurry.

In Riber's mansion, there are still busy scenes everywhere.

The good news is that Lysa's injury appears to be stabilizing.The bad news was that the exhausted Ewenna fell down again, and everyone didn't know whether she had simply collapsed or suffered some kind of hidden injury.

The mansion needs a new doctor, but because of the special identities of Ewena and Lysa, the doctor must really keep his mouth shut.

Therefore, for the time being, we can only place our hopes on Sebastian, the well-connected butler of the Campret family.

Although there is no "misunderstanding" or "missing", Riber obviously needs to wait for a while if he wants to have a real talk with Ewenna.

As the evening approached, Chris returned to the unnamed restaurant.

On this day, he was wearing his trademark detective costume.

"Outside, is it raining again?"

Looking at Chris, who had a darker hat, Riber said aloud.

"Just light rain."

Chris took off his detective hat and started taking off his fussy monocle.

"Remember not to catch a cold and fall ill, this mansion can no longer accommodate more patients."

"Thank you for your concern. But compared to me, Mr. Riber is the one who has been in a bad mood since yesterday."

"Have it?"

Riber picked up the teacup conveniently.

After observing for a while, Chris shook his head,

"Sorry, I can't tell the difference. Now I seem to have lost my observation and judgment as a detective."

Chris breathed a sigh of relief, and stared blankly with a blank expression.

Looking at Chris like this, Riber didn't know what to say.

In his impression, although Chris is not the kind of sunny male lead, he has a smile on his face almost all the time.

It was a kind of satisfied smile shown by being addicted to his favorite puzzle solving and gaining joy in the process of chasing the case with all his strength.Although, Chris may be more of a pleasure criminal than a detective.But the job of detective is very important to Chris.And he also enjoys this job where he is running around and racking his brains almost all the time.

So Chris, temporarily unable to function as a detective, now seems to be filled with a sense of emptiness.

After a long silence, Chris' voice slowly sounded again.

"Today, I went to the funeral of the Knights... No, it's not a funeral to be precise, but a simple award ceremony. The real funeral will be held after all the members are buried, and then the Knights will come forward to hold it again. Then, in addition to the Knights, there may be a personal funeral. Anyway, it only takes two days, and it would seem hasty and perfunctory to actually prepare for the funeral... Ah, what on earth am I trying to say. ..”

Chris looked a little distressed and tapped his head lightly,

"Yes, it's an award ceremony. The nine members of the Knights who died in the line of duty last night, as well as the vice-captain Ethan who is still in the rescue, were awarded the fourth-class medal of the kingdom."

Chris paused for a moment, then continued as if thinking about it later,

"I heard that the head of the Knights of Greenwater is applying to the headquarters to upgrade the medals of those who died in the line of duty to the third class. For the more than 20 members of the Knights who were attacked and still sleeping, and within a day. More than a dozen knights who captured the three felons also applied for the fourth-class medal. Ah, yes, this matter has not been said yet... It is not that three of the 11 were captured. It is that they escaped altogether There were 14 people, but three of them were arrested before it was published in the newspapers...In short, everyone is very pessimistic, thinking that the chances of success for the head of the group are less than [-]%.”

Chris paused for a long time.

"The kingdom's third-class medal of honor... what is it? I heard that it seems to be made of silver, so the cost should not be much different from a silver coin, right? If I were to exchange my life for such a medal, I would definitely not go there. It was exchanged. Because this is too unequal, and the person who proposed this kind of exchange is too treacherous, he is simply a devil... But why, Mr. Dirk and the others have already died in the line of duty, but they still can't get such a How about a medal?"

Chris didn't know who he was asking the question to.

In the past, he was always organized and pursued a logical and meticulous way of speaking, but it also seemed a bit messy and divergent.

Riber still didn't know how to answer, especially in his capacity, he was extremely unable to answer.

After all, Dirk's third-class medal, which Dirk couldn't exchange for even with his life, was something that the Knights didn't even dare to award to him because they were worried that it would be regarded as an insult.

Such a huge contrast and contrast is really ironic and magical.

And let Riber make an evaluation, he feels that no matter which side he is targeting, no matter what kind of evaluation he makes, it will only be a kind of arrogance after all.

"The award ceremony... yes, the award ceremony. Just listening to the name, it should be a happier scene? But, why did I regard it as a funeral? Oh... because many people cried. "

Chris's soliloquy is a bit like dream talk,

"The act of crying is probably also contagious. Because at the beginning, only a few people made a sound of sobbing, but later on, those who were not sobbing became a minority instead. By the way, I am that few."

Chris looked at Riber, showing a very bitter expression,

"Actually, I really want to cry, and I really want to shed tears for Mr. Dirk. Because...Mr. Riber, you also know that I only recently became a temporary consultant of the Knights, and everyone in the Knights, At the beginning, I never showed a good face to me. Only Mr. Dirk, and Miss Yabu... probably there is also Vice-Captain Ethan, who has always been very friendly to me. It was they who brought me to know and integrate into the Knights, Teach me how to gain recognition among the Knights...and Mr. Riber can see that I am always with them in the past, because only they are willing to walk with me..."

Chris sighed.

"So, although we haven't been together for a long time, I think Mr. Dirk and I...should be friends, right? So, when a friend passes away, I will be sad and I will shed tears. Isn't it normal? ? But... I never could do it."

"Then, I always wanted to force myself to shed tears, but when I tried, I suddenly found out."

"Actually, I'm not that sad? Or, I don't feel anything at all?"

"Then why do I want to cry?"

"Probably because I want to show it to people, to everyone who will shed tears. 'Mr. Dirk and I are actually very good friends', 'I, Chris, will shed tears for my friends Yo', 'I'm an emotional person who values ​​emotions', 'I'm sad just like you', 'I can't cheer myself up, I need help'... and so on."

Speaking in a rather joking tone, Chris lowered his head slowly,

"Mr. Riber, I really am... a very bad person, right?"

On the opposite side of Chris, Riber, who had been watching him, shook his head.

Even though Chris's expression was calm from beginning to end, Riber could feel it.

What Chris exudes, the uncontrollable, extremely sad emotion that seems to be penetrating into the bone marrow.

Volume II: Chapter 94, Sadness ([-])

"You're not a bad person."

Riber, who had been silent for a long time, said aloud,

"It is said that there are five stages of grief. 'Denial,' 'anger,' 'pleading,' 'depression,' and 'acceptance.' Your attempt to deny everything, including yourself, is proof that you are in the first phase of grief. in a stage."

"The five stages of grief? This is the first time I've heard it..."

Chris obviously took some interest in Riber's words.In a world where even a profession like "psychologist" does not exist, Riber's words are undoubtedly very novel.

In the past, he would definitely ask for some details, and where the so-called "said" came from.

But now, it really is Dirk's matter that occupies more weight in Chris's heart.

"'Deny'? Think about it carefully, there are really many related signs. Mr. Riber, you probably don't know the details of the attack on the Knights last night, right?"

Riber nodded.

"The 'Dismemberer,' the real Dismemberer."

"Dismemberer?"

Riber didn't expect that he would hear this lingering title again at this time.

"Actually, until today, I still have some doubts about Miss Evanna. It's not that I don't trust Mr. Riber, but I don't trust the strange thief and Miss Evanna. And, as a detective, I have doubts about everything, They will instinctively retain some doubts..."

Riber waved his hand at Chris, indicating that he didn't mind these things and didn't need to explain.Chris then continued the conversation,

"In short, the mutilator in Aurette Town 15 years ago probably wasn't caught, and now he's in Greenwater City, and was successfully lured out by Miss Evanna..."

Riber heard the rare coldness in Chris's voice, and then suddenly realized it.

Although the specific reason is unknown, the reason why Ewenna imitated the "Dismemberer" in Greenwater City and abandoned the corpse was to reveal the deity who had been hiding for more than ten years.