With a soft thump, the young Deep One's legs gave out, and she collapsed by the opening of the first mate's cabin. Holding the wooden box in her hands, her eyes went blank. Her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't make a single sound, looking just like a dying fish. The fish-like faces of the other Deep Ones were equally pale as they stared blankly at the empty wooden box.
Only the white-haired old Deep One maintained his composure. He looked back at Lynch, then jumped straight into the seawater beneath the large hole.
“It seems we really were used,” Miss Valente's lowered voice came from the conch. “The other party was either unwilling or afraid to clash with them directly, so they used us to draw the Deep Ones' attention and stole the gem in the dark.”
“I've heard a proverb: the mantis stares at the bug, not knowing a bird is watching from behind,” Lynch said in a low, grim voice. “With just the simplest manipulation of information, without even making direct contact with us, they had us willingly jump into their trap. This style and method remind me of an old friend of ours.”
“The Black Spider of the Shadow Alliance?”
“Yes. Using the truth to leave us with no other choice, naturally leading us down the path he wants us to take, and ultimately achieving his goal. This is far too similar to his performance in the last incident. I highly suspect that even if he isn't the main culprit, he is involved behind the scenes.”
Lynch clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth. “Last time, we were lucky enough to crush Mordiggian and ruin his plans. He clearly hasn't given up and is back for more.”
“Is he targeting us? What exactly does he want?”
“I don't know, but to be precise, he is probably targeting me.”
Lynch narrowed his eyes, a wave of unease washing over him. Ever since he transmigrated, the shadow of the Shadow Alliance had been behind every major event he encountered. It was as if they had locked onto him.
Though he had successfully won every confrontation, suffering no losses and even establishing a foothold in this world, everything had gone too smoothly. But wasn't today's incident the same? He had smoothly tracked down his target, only for the gem to be snatched away amidst his triumph.
Could his previous “choices”—made when he seemingly had no other option—actually have been guided and manipulated by them just like this time? And were those narrow successes only smooth because the time wasn't ripe? Once the conditions were met, would a reversal occur, and he would smoothly end up calling “GG”?
Lynch couldn't be sure, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He felt as if he had fallen into a massive, invisible web. The harder he struggled, the deeper he sank without even realizing it.
Their methods were incredibly difficult to guard against. No wonder even people of Duke Vane's and Archbishop Trinlais's status were so wary of the Shadow Alliance.
“No, even if they are targeting us, they are targeting Lynch and Diana,” Miss Valente's gentle voice came through the conch, cutting through his chaotic thoughts. “No matter who he is or what he wants to do, I am willing to fight by my friend's side.”
“Heh...”
The unease in his heart quickly faded. That's right. In this world, he also had friends willing to fight by his side. No matter what the enemy's true purpose was, they could bring it on. He would counter every move, shatter their conspiracies one by one, and leave them with nothing in the end.
And he would start with this very matter.
With a splash, the white-haired old Deep One emerged from the large hole. Empty-handed, he shook his head gloomily at the little girl.
“Wah!” The light of hope in the young Deep One's eyes instantly died. Clutching the box, she wailed heartbreakingly. “Mommy, Daddy, waah! I lost the gem, waah...”
The old Deep One sighed and knelt beside her. The girl threw herself into his arms, her crying growing louder. The surrounding Deep Ones gathered around in low spirits, completely ignoring Lynch's presence for the moment.
“Should you come back first?” Miss Valente whispered. “I'm worried they'll cause trouble for you once they calm down. It's too dangerous. Why don't you retreat to safety first, and we can figure something out?”
“No, tell Mr. West to head back as well. Wait for me on the shore. I'll handle things here.”
Lynch's refusal was firm. If he made a mistake, he would admit it; if he was in the wrong, he would take the blow. He never ran from his responsibilities.
If what they said was true, then the essence of this matter was that he had been used as a weapon, and the one who stole the gem was the truly dangerous one. Lynch felt it was his duty to make amends. Besides, he couldn't just let the mastermind's plan succeed. He had to retrieve what was stolen.
He took a step forward. The soft sound of his footsteps alerted the Deep Ones. Over a hundred dead-fish eyes instantly locked onto Lynch's face. Their furious glares made his heart race, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
But he merely tipped his top hat, bowed slightly, and walked toward them. As he approached, the crowd of Deep Ones subconsciously parted, allowing him to walk right up to the old Deep One and the little girl. He sat down cross-legged on the floor quite casually.
“The Yellow Apostle has already been sent back. What I'm about to say next only represents myself and my ally. First, regarding today's matter, I don't believe I was entirely in the wrong. I started with good intentions, but Princess Chloe's hostility pushed things to this point. Perhaps she had very good reasons for her hostility, but I had no obligation to accommodate her or endure her malice. So, she is at least half to blame for how things turned out.”
Lynch spoke with a serious expression and a solemn tone, showing no fear of the Deep Ones' anger.
“But that doesn't mean I have no responsibility. In fact, being used in the first place was due to my own lack of caution and failure to see through the enemy's scheme. I bear a heavy responsibility. Therefore, I am willing to make up for my mistake. Since they've only just taken the item, I want to track down the gem immediately. As you must have felt earlier, I actually bear no ill will toward you.”
The little girl glared fiercely at Lynch, rubbing her forehead where the gun barrel had been pressed earlier. The tension in her jaw slowly eased.
“It seems you agree,” Lynch smiled. “So, I need your cooperation. Answer a few questions so I can find the gem as quickly as possible.”
The little girl swayed and stood up from the old Deep One's embrace. Puffing out her chest, she said with feigned arrogance, “Since you indeed haven't shown any malice, I'll give you this chance to make amends. If you can really help us retrieve the lost gem, we won't hold your past actions against you, and we'll even treat you as a friend. But... you understand. So, what do you want to know?”
“First, explain the situation clearly, then provide some suspects. Who do you think would do such a thing?”
“We are the Willwood tribe from the New Continent. I am Alice, the daughter of the tribal chief, and this is Merlin, our priest,” the little girl said, pointing to herself and the old Deep One. “That gem is our tribe's sacred relic, handed down for three thousand years.”
Lynch did the math. The Fourth Age lasted for over 2,800 years. Three thousand years ago would be roughly around the mid-Fourth Age.
“We always treated it as just an exceptionally beautiful gem, using it only as a ritual prop during sacrifices. It was like that for three thousand years. But one day, two years ago, a fleet of five ships suddenly docked at our town's harbor.”
“My parents warmly welcomed them, helped cure their sailors of an infectious disease, repaired their damaged ships, replenished their supplies, and gifted them many pearls and tortoiseshells. Yet, taking advantage of the town's young men being out at sea, they raided our town, slaughtered over three hundred of our people, blew up my parents, and stole our sacred relic.”
“So, we kept searching for them. We discovered they were a hastily assembled pirate crew, and their goal was our sacred relic. Supposedly, someone had hired them with fifty kilograms of gold to steal it.”
“After stealing it, they had an internal conflict and scattered. It took us two years to find four of the ships. We forced the truth out of our enemies' mouths—the sacred relic was lost during their internal strife, and none of them managed to deliver it to the client.”
“We could never find the fifth ship, and the sacred relic's whereabouts remained unknown. However, a few months ago, Chloe finally helped us locate it. She then intentionally publicized and exhibited it everywhere, finally drawing out this group of thieves who had been masquerading as merchant ships. We succeeded in feeding all our enemies to Dagon, hoping he would offer their flesh and souls to the Lord of R'lyeh to comfort my parents' wandering souls.”
So that was it.
Lynch finally grasped the outline of the events and understood why the princess had inexplicably targeted him. She must have misunderstood his stance, thinking he had the same goal as those pirates. Merely playing tricks at the banquet was actually considered gentle of her.
“So, what exactly is Princess Chloe's identity?”
“I can't tell you that. It's her secret,” Alice shook her head vigorously. “I can only say she is our friend, a friend who would never betray us. She didn't want us to clash with Lande's local forces, which is why we agreed with her never to go ashore.”
“But why did she use such a secretive method to hand the gem over to you?”
“That was Chloe's idea,” Alice said dejectedly, shaking her head. “Apparently, one of her business partners, the mayor of Rhine City, approached her to borrow the gem. The mayor was actually borrowing it on behalf of a powerful figure in Lande. She really couldn't refuse, but she suspected they were in league with those pirates, so she used this method.”
“Then everything makes sense.”
Lynch let out a bitter laugh and sighed. The so-called powerful figure was undoubtedly Prince William, the First Prince of the Rose family. This aligned perfectly with West's intelligence.
Miss Valente's voice came through the conch. “Do you already have a lead, Mr. Detective?”
“Yes, there is one issue with this whole affair,” Lynch said thoughtfully. “The princess loudly publicized that the gem was in her hands for months, yet the mastermind never acted. They let her keep it in the bank vault for three months, only to use us to steal it within days of the princess staging her own theft? The timing is too perfect. Is it a coincidence?”
“In the world of mystery, one must never believe in coincidences, Mr. Levive.”
“Exactly, so it can't be a coincidence. There must be a deeper reason,” Lynch's lips curled up, his eyes narrowing. “The only explanation I can think of is that if the item hadn't been stolen by the princess herself, it would have smoothly fallen into the mastermind's hands as planned. Thus, they had no need to steal it. Only when the situation changed were they forced to act. And under the original trajectory, only one person would have received the gem.”
“Prince William, Mayor Howard... I've found you.”
Rate on N.U.
