Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Moriarty took out his phone, waved it, and laughed:

"I lied to Dr. Ozaki earlier that I was reading a mathematics journal, but actually I skimmed through your novel on my phone. The themes are basically stories about 'people abandoned by God'."

"It seems like you consider yourself one of the 'abandoned'."

"."

Shizunobu Muroi fell silent again, lowering his head slightly to hide his face in the shadows, making it impossible to see his expression.

However, Moriarty ignored his reaction, holding up a finger and saying with amusement:

"At this point, I came to a very interesting conjecture."

"You, who had to return to Waichang Village to inherit the family business, still yearn for the outside world and regard the family business and Waichang Village as your own prison."

"With your gentle nature, you cannot openly defy the expectations of your family and villagers, so you can only wear a mask and dutifully play the role of an excellent host, even fooling everyone in the village."

"However, you have never reconciled with the village in your heart, but due to a lack of courage and means to resist, you can only record your bitterness and lament through novels."

"Just then, Kirishiki Sako, who had come to the village after being drawn by your novel, appeared before you."

"You had a very pleasant conversation. Afterwards, even though you learned of Kirishiki Sako's true identity, you sympathized with her plight because you saw a bit of yourself in her. So you chose to help her conceal her identity."

"Not only that, the other party's appearance also gave you a glimmer of hope, a chance to be liberated from the village."

"Therefore, you, who yearn for freedom, chose to let the other party do as they pleased, and even unconsciously sided with them, hoping that they could completely destroy the village of Sotoba and free you from your prison."

Moriarty glanced at the increasingly silent Shizunobu Muroi and smiled:

Do you think I'm right?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 224. Xuanzang's mission and reward before his departure.

224.

Because they had been busy until late the night before, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others stayed at Ozaki Toshio's house at his invitation. Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately fell into a deep sleep, and when she woke up the next day, it was already close to noon.

After a quick wash, Fujimaru Ritsuka went to the living room and saw Mashu, Ai Haibara, and Xuanzang Sanzang sitting together. Xuanzang Sanzang was actively promoting and explaining Buddhism to the two of them.

Somewhat surprisingly, not only Mashu, but also Ai Haibara listened very attentively, nodding from time to time, looking like a good student.

Moriarty sat not far from the three of them, reading a book, undisturbed, quiet and elegant.

However, apart from them, neither Nanakaku Hitsuru nor Ozaki Toshio were seen.

"Good morning, everyone."

Good morning, senior!

Good morning, Ritsuka-neechan.

"Morning."

"Good morning, Ritsuka. But I have to say, isn't it almost noon already?"

A chorus of responses arose, and after exchanging pleasantries, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked curiously:

"Speaking of which, where are the others?"

Moriarty replied with a smile:

"Dr. Ozaki has already gone to the hospital. Ms. Hitsuru is probably still sleeping."

Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded knowingly.

Needless to say, Ozaki Toshio is a good person. As for Minakata Hitsuru, after resolving the Shiki incident last night, she suddenly claimed to have a writing inspiration. Then, she took out her notebook and pen and started writing frantically, without stopping until they settled into Ozaki Toshio's house and were preparing to go to sleep.

Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't know when the other person finally went to sleep.

"Senior, are you hungry? There's some breakfast left in the kitchen. I'll heat it up for you."

As Mashu stood up to head to the kitchen, Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled happily:

"Thank you, Matthew."

At the same time, Xuanzang also stood up, walked up to her, and smiled:

"You're awake! How did you sleep last night?"

“I was supposed to return to Chaldea after resolving the issue last night, but I had some things to do before leaving. I only waited until now because you looked so tired last night.”

"Now that you're awake, I'm going to get down to business."

Hearing this, she asked with some curiosity:

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, it's just that little Leonardo da Vinci hopes you'll contact Chaldea when you have some free time. She has something she wants to tell you."

"Da Vinci's relative?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was somewhat puzzled, but still nodded in agreement:

"I see."

Seeing this, Xuanzang nodded in agreement and continued:

"The other thing is that I need to collect the data you've gathered over this period and bring it back with me."

She took out a data collection device from her pocket and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"But as you know, I'm not very good at using these kinds of things, so..."

"give it to me."

Fujimaru Ritsuka understood immediately. She took the device from Xuanzang Sanzang, skillfully collected the data, and then handed it back to her, smiling:

"that's it."

Xuanzang immediately smiled brightly and praised him generously:

"As expected of my disciple, he's truly capable!"

"Alright, in that case, I'll head back now."

"Oh, are we leaving now?"

Xuanzang nodded and smiled:

"Because there will be a Buddhist exchange meeting at Chaldea next, and I am a special guest at the meeting. It would be bad if I were late or absent."

"Besides, everyone's been pretty busy lately, and it's rare for us all to have some free time to get together, so I don't want to miss it."

"So this is ah!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly realized what he meant, and Xuanzang Sanzang smiled again:

"That's it."

"Anyway, I'm leaving now. Ritsuka, you guys keep up the good work here!"

She nodded and said:

"Well then, goodbye, Master Xuanzang!"

After saying goodbye, Xuanzang transformed into a spirit and disappeared from everyone's sight, returning to Chaldea.

Ai Haibara looked curiously at the spot where the other person had disappeared, her eyes filled with inquiry.

She didn't know much about Buddhism, so she didn't really understand what the other person was saying. But judging from his performance last night, she could tell that he was definitely a highly accomplished monk.

In addition, she had also heard of the name Xuanzang, a very famous monk in history and novels.

However, that one was undoubtedly a male monk according to the records.

Is it someone with the same name?

After seeing Xuanzang off, she did not contact Chaldea immediately, as the time and place were not suitable. She planned to wait until she returned home to discuss it.

Mashu had already heated up breakfast for her, and just as she was eating, Hizuru Minakata walked out of the room in a daze.

Good morning, Miss Hizuru.

"Hah~ Good morning."

Nanfang Rihe yawned widely, revealing thick dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she had stayed up quite late last night.

Mashu asked with a smile:

"Miss Rizuru, would you like something to eat?"

"No need. If you could, just make me a cup of coffee, thank you."

"Okay, you're welcome."

After drinking a cup of hot black coffee, Nanfang Rihe finally felt a little more energetic.

At this moment, she said to Fujimaru Ritsuka:

"In short, I'm sorry to have troubled you all again with this Shiki incident. Of course, since I took the initiative to request it, the reward will be substantial."

"So I'd like to ask, what is your fee for this incident?"

"TOLL?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was taken aback by what he heard, and for a moment she was at a loss for how to answer.

To be honest, although she ran a secret agency, she hadn't really researched how to charge for these kinds of things or how much to charge.

After all, her goal wasn't really to make money.

Indeed, since it's a commission from a mysterious agency, they should at least accept a small fee.

Thinking this through, and considering Nanakaku's status as a great writer, Fujimaru Ritsuka tentatively began to speak:

"How about one million yen?"

"."

Nanfang Rihe didn't speak, but the look in his eyes seemed to say, "Are you serious?", making her feel uneasy, wondering what she had said wrong.

Seeing her like this, Nanfang Rihe seemed to understand something. After a helpless sigh, he nodded and said:

"I see."