Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

The First Emperor said, "I don't know. After all, during my lifetime, the burning of books caused sorcerers to avoid me. All my subsequent research was done by me blindly exploring on my own, so it's not surprising that I made mistakes."

"I see. So this is Lord El-Melloi."

Byron bowed with a bitter expression; the old man had finally given in.

[Second Generation: "If it's convenient, please add 'Second Generation.' I don't think I'm worthy of that name."]

Having been given leverage over the Second Prince, Byron naturally couldn't stop him from investigating the case anymore, but he set a deadline: by tomorrow night at the latest.

The Second Prince, seeing that he was getting away with it, agreed to the condition.

Of course, Trimmau, as a suspect, was still taken away by Inole.

Ilya: "Haha, look at that arrogant old man, he's like a defeated quail."

Rin Tohsaka: "It's so satisfying to see this."

Cowles: "Although he is still a suspect, at least he has gained two days."

Rin Tohsaka: "Two days should be enough, since the suspect is quite obvious now."

Shizi Jieli: "Hmph, I'm afraid that old guy will sabotage me in the dark, after all, this is his territory."

Weber: "Indeed, the head of the Izeruma family clearly doesn't want me to conduct an investigation."

After Inole and the other two had left, a certain woman finally arrived, albeit late.

[Aozaki Touko: "Oh dear, I rushed over to see what was going on, but what an interesting person has arrived."]

Clearly, Aozaki Touko's appearance startled the young master.

"...Are you settled on a relationship?"

"Hey, that's the first thing you say. It makes me want to kill you."

[Aozaki Touko put on her glasses and said calmly, "Nice to meet you, Lord El-Melloi II."]

[Second Generation: "Hello, Miss Aozaki."]

Rin Tohsaka: "Is it fixed? What do you mean?"

Kiritsugu Emiya: "It probably refers to her personality. After all, this woman has shown different personality traits many times before, making it seem like she has a dual personality."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "So, this Grand Magician's personality shift is uncontrollable."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "That seems to be the case at the moment."

Webber: "The championship isn't a magic bullet either; it has its own problems."

[Aozaki Touko: "When I passed by Lord Byron and the others just now, I heard about the situation. Are you going to take charge of this case?"]

[Second Generation: "Indeed, although I am of limited talent and knowledge, I will do my best to solve the case."]

[Aozaki Touko: "I see. Unexpectedly challenging, is that a tradition of El-Melloi?"]

[Grey: "Um, isn't this your first time meeting?"]

[Aozaki Touko: "Hahaha, although this is my first time meeting the Second, I have crossed paths with the previous El-Melloi. He once asked me to make a pair of prosthetic arms for him."]

"That was the Fourth Holy Grail War..."

Grey exclaimed in surprise, "So, you also participated in that war!"

[Aozaki Touko: "Don't misunderstand, I didn't participate in that war. This is my first official meeting with Lord El-Melloi II. However, it was Lord El-Melloi II who helped me pay the outstanding debt he owed me."]

"A prosthetic arm? Could it be!"

Kenneth finally understood how he, in the original history, had crossed paths with Aozaki Touko.

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "It was when he was hit by Kiritsugu Emiya's Origin Bullet, right? It seems that Lord El-Melloi's injuries were even more serious than what was shown in the video."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "..."

Danic: "It seems that the Grand Magician's works are really not cheap. The payment was not made in full at once, and El-Melloi II still has to make up the balance."

Rin Tohsaka: "But what's this woman doing here? Just joining in the fun?"

Weber: "Maybe."

[Aozaki Touko really did just come to join the fun; she left in no time.]

After the woman left, the Second King was finally able to begin examining Karina's body.

Chapter 182 Investigation: The Timing is Wrong

The Second King first moved the body from the spring to the shore and began to examine the wounds.

"Was the cause of death a single stab wound to the heart?"

He then discovered an ornament under Karina's clothes; it appeared to be a necklace made of broken stones strung together with rope, the stones engraved with swirling patterns, suggesting some kind of magical significance.

"It looks like a Celtic talisman, but unfortunately it's useless."

After collecting Karina's body, the Second King then went to the Golden Princess's room and conducted a similar investigation.

After completing the entire survey, the Second King led Reines and the others to rest on the grassland outside the tower.

Reines: "Honestly, I thought I was going to die."

"Could you please refrain from making such discouraging remarks right after conducting an investigation?"

The Second Prince, looking exhausted, said, "I stayed up almost all night last night. After receiving Grey's call, I had to find a substitute teacher first, and then I rushed here."

"I couldn't sleep well on the tram because I had no other means of transportation. I had to run all the way from Wintermere station. After meeting you, I didn't even have time to rest before I had to start the investigation immediately. So I hope you acknowledge my efforts."

Rin Tohsaka: "You've really worked hard."

Ilya: "Just listening to it makes me feel tired."

Lion Jie Li: "No wonder my legs were shaking earlier. I thought it was because I was scared of the other monarchs."

Weber: "How could that be? I'm not that cowardly."

"Anyway, let's try to summarize the situation so far."

[As he spoke, the Second Prince lit a cigar and began to smoke, seemingly to relieve his fatigue.]

Reines: "Didn't I tell you everything about the case?"

[Second Generation: "No, what I want to clarify is how the Golden Princess and the Silver Princess acquired such stunning beauty?"]

【"ah?"】

Koles: "Is this what you're concerned about as soon as you arrive?"

Fiore: "She's not a woman."

Danic: "No, it's still related to the case. Maybe we can find out why the Golden Princess was killed from it."

Reines paused for a moment, then smiled slyly, saying, "Wait a minute, Onii-chan, didn't you come here to help me find the murderer?"

[Grey: "Teacher..."]

[Second Generation: "Don't misunderstand, this is essential for the investigation."]

【"Really?"】

Reines looked suspicious.

"Fine, I'll believe you for now."

[Then the Second King recounted the origins of makeup and plastic surgery, as well as the information he had gathered on his journey: the news that Izeruma had auctioned off a Bodhi leaf at an underground auction house.]

However, they still don't know Bodhi Leaf's true identity.

What aroused the Second Prince's suspicion was that the final auction price was far beyond what the Izeluma family could afford.

Weber: "This is what I mentioned before, Hartres' support for Izeruma."

Kenneth: "That guy would never do something that doesn't benefit him; he must have gotten what he wanted from Izeruma."

Weber: "But what does the Izeruma family have that Hartress would even want?"

Kenneth: "I don't understand that either. Could it be the doll manufacturing technology?"

[The mention of the Bodhi leaf reminded Reines of Mick, the dark-skinned spy.]

The Second Prince suspected that the Izeruma family's strong desire for the Bodhi Leaf was related to the magic used to create the Golden Princess, but the timing didn't match his calculations.

[The Second Prince deliberately analyzed the Golden Princess's magic trick just now, actually to test her and see if his analysis was wrong. The result was obvious.]

[Dusk fell quickly, and Reines and the others discovered a new situation.]

The twin towers, resembling screaming demons, cast shadows that look like sundials and moondials.

The fact that the Second King chose this place to rest probably confirms this point.

This discovery further confirms the Second Emperor's conjecture that the timing of the spell's application doesn't match.

Thus, a bold conjecture was born.

Danic: "So the entire Twin Towers are made of spellcasting techniques? That's a good idea."

Kenneth: "Using sundials and moondials to attract the power of the sun and moon is a good idea."

Rin Tohsaka: "But why does the second master keep saying the timing is wrong?"

Feng Xi: "Because the moondial can only be effective on a full moon night, this technique built based on the moondial must follow the same principle."