Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

"Saint, could this be related to Grindelwald?" Lux rubbed her head vigorously, realizing that this impromptu detective game seemed to be getting complicated.

"Grindelwald?" Holmes keenly grasped the name; years of experience told him that this man might be a crucial step in the case.

Lux stroked her chin and replied, "Grindelwald, a big ambitionr in the wizarding world, advocates breaking the Secret Law and equality for all races. His Wizarding Party has expanded rapidly in recent years. In general, he is a figure similar to the German Führer next door."

Holmes lit his pipe, took two silent puffs, and said, "Miss Lux, I have a general understanding of the situation. I'm afraid I won't investigate this case any further, especially since it has nothing to do with you."

Lux was stunned upon hearing this. Was this really Sherlock Holmes? The clues to the case had already emerged, yet he wasn't choosing to pursue them?

"My brother Mycroft has been sleeping in Highgate Cemetery for five years. I visited him once when he was bedridden." Holmes' eyes flashed with reminiscence. "He was lying in bed, too lazy to even open his eyes, like a walrus waiting to die. Before I left, he suddenly said to me: 'Sherlock, there are things in this world that logic cannot explain. There is a state within a state in our society.'"

"I thought he had finally lost his mind, but I never expected that his words would prove it right before I was about to lie down in him." Holmes slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Based on what I heard at the Leaky Cauldron and your arguments, I believe that your wizarding society is completely superior to us 'Muggles.' And this case has become clear; the murderer is almost certainly a member of a wizarding society. My knowledge will no longer be of any use. Even if I find the culprit, the British police will have no way to restrain him, and the murderer will remain at large."

"Tell me, what is the significance of this case? What is your motivation for investigating, young wizard?" Holmes looked at Lux with sharp eyes and a hint of pressure.

Holmes' question precisely struck at the part of Lux that was wavering deep within her heart.

The significance? She hadn't really thought that far ahead. A system task? Gold coin rewards? Experience points? Or simply curiosity about the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes?

Since arriving in this world, she seems to have been constantly busy, always being pushed along by tasks, as if she were playing a simulation of reality, where everyone is an NPC. So this is also part of the game of life?

That doesn't seem right either. The system didn't even issue any missions this time. She came here entirely out of her momentary curiosity and a strange sense of justice after learning about the murder case.

Lux opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat dry. She looked at Holmes's sharp yet slightly tired eyes, and at the shocking photos on the table. The horrific scenes in those photos truly touched a soft spot in her heart that was not easily noticed.

Those Muggles who died also had families and lives, and their deaths, under the wizarding world's secrecy laws, might only become an unsolved "beast attack" case in the police file, and their relatives might not even know the truth.

Lux suddenly didn't understand the Secrets Act. Was it really meant to protect Muggles, or did it simply separate the two worlds?

Perhaps, she really should take a good look at herself.

"Mr. Holmes..." Lux's voice trembled slightly, but quickly hardened. She looked up, her blue eyes no longer filled with playfulness or curiosity. "You're right, I probably didn't think that much about it before. I just felt... this was strange, and it involved magic, and you..."

Lux took a deep breath, her voice rising with an almost accusatory courage: "But what does it mean, you ask? Just because the killer is a wizard, just because the Muggle police and laws can't punish them, are we just going to pretend none of this happened? Are we just going to let those people die in vain?"

Holmes paused slightly, his fingers holding the pipe, and his grey-blue eyes stared at her like a hawk scrutinizing its prey, or perhaps assessing her.

Lux's emotions surged like a floodgate opening; she stepped forward, placed her hands on Holmes's desk, and leaned forward.

"Those who died, they weren't just cold numbers in the newspapers! They were bakers, coachmen, flower girls! They lived like millions of ordinary people in London! Why should they be torn apart like garbage because of some wizard's dark magic or... or to cover up some secret?!"

The last sentence was almost shouted out, and the room fell into a brief silence, broken only by the crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace and Lumi's restless "pop pop" in the basket.

Holmes stared at her silently for a few seconds. His scrutinizing gaze gradually changed. The taut lines on his face, sculpted by time and hardship, softened little by little. Finally, a smile of relief and a sense of reassurance slowly spread across his lips.

"Very good, Miss Lux." Holmes's voice was no longer cold, but carried the gentleness and affirmation of an elder. "Very good."

Lux looked somewhat bewildered: "Huh?"

Holmes picked up the pipe on the table, tapped the ashes lightly on the corner of the table, and said unhurriedly, "What you just experienced, Miss Lux, can be described as a little... trust test."

"A trust test?" Lux was completely dumbfounded; her indignation was instantly replaced by immense confusion.

"Yes." Holmes leaned back in his chair, his eyes regaining their usual sharpness, but with a newfound sincerity. "When I confirmed the existence of magic and realized that this case might involve a field completely beyond my conventional knowledge and abilities, I had to confirm one thing: I needed an assistant, and this young wizard before me, was her sense of justice merely a superficial slogan, or a heartfelt belief, a reckless impulse, or a thoughtful sense of responsibility?"

Holmes's gaze became deep and serious: "In my decades-long career, I have faced this question countless times: laws, rules, procedures, they are the frameworks that human society has established to maintain order, but they are not perfect, and sometimes they even lag behind the truth and justice themselves. What is the significance of a case when a heinous criminal can escape punishment?"

He paused, his voice low but weighty: "Miss Lux, justice must be above procedure! It's not only meaningful to defeat evil; daring to point out problems and seek the truth is itself a form of confrontation. When I was young, investigating 'The Hound of the Baskervilles,' I was also afraid of the legendary monster, but I knew that if even I didn't investigate, no one could clear Sir Charles's name."

He turned around, picked up the wool coat from the back of the chair, and stuffed the magnifying glass and notebook into the inside pocket. His movements were so nimble that he didn't look like an old man suffering from rheumatism. "Now, we're going to that abandoned warehouse. You'll be in charge of the part that requires magic, and I'll be in charge of the reasoning and integration. Let's see how many flaws the murderer hiding behind the magic has left."

Lux paused for a moment, then a bright smile bloomed on her face. "Okay! Let's go!"