Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Invitation to the Gathering

Thinking of this, Morlay felt a bit disappointed, but out of politeness, he couldn't bring himself to say something like, "Forget it, let's not watch, you can go." Instead, he unfolded a complex, multi-layered nested spell in front of him.

This was a flashy trick taught to him by the head of the Amnisphia family back in the day—useful for putting on a show, requiring little mana, and looking imposing, but ultimately serving no practical purpose.

"Mr. Ishikawa, this spell only has visual effects and no practical function. Would you mind using it to demonstrate that slash from yesterday that cut through the spell? But preferably not as fast as yesterday; I couldn't see it clearly."

Ishikawa Goemon nodded.

Morlay enhanced his vision with reinforcement magecraft.

A single slash was unleashed.

Morlay saw clearly that the moment Ishikawa Goemon gripped the hilt, his sword suddenly possessed a soul. Or rather, the blade became an extension of Ishikawa Goemon’s own soul.

So that was it! Morlay felt a surge of excitement. Of course, a soul could touch a spell! It was just that this man’s soul intensity was unusually high, allowing him to sever the flow of mana in the spell unscathed!

I am someone who has achieved materialization of the soul! I could also... well, no, I couldn't. Morlay wasn't reckless enough to slam his soul directly into a spell.

But on second thought, this didn't seem like such a profound technique... if he couldn't do it, he couldn't do it.

One wonders if, in the future, when Morlay sees Ishikawa standing on Earth and slicing a satellite in half, he will recall his thoughts from today.

But that is a story for another time. The blade’s light flashed, the spell shattered upon impact, and the biting wind from the sword sent the bamboo leaves behind Morlay dancing wildly.

"...An astonishing slash." Morlay exhaled a long breath. "I am satisfied..."

Ishikawa Goemon cast an inquiring look. Morlay nodded.

Subsequently, Ishikawa Goemon soared into the sky, leapt onto the roof, and vanished without a trace.

Suwa Kenzo poked his head out from the room. "Mr. Morlay, has that person left? Actually, I was wondering if you happen to know any friends who are fond of Japanese bushido culture..."

"Mr. Morlay?"

He looked left and right, but Morlay was already gone.

In the following days, with the amplification of the Saber-class Silver Piece, Morlay’s swordsmanship improved significantly.

When practicing basic techniques, he found his movements fluid and swift, reproducing them with almost no flaws. After a few repetitions, he could master them at will; he learned almost instantly.

He then tried the basic techniques of various major schools from around the world and found that he could perform them quite competently as well. His train of thought suddenly opened up—why must he insist on learning Japanese swordsmanship?

To be honest, as a pure Westerner and a complete science student, Morlay had never been able to grasp the so-called "intent," "spirit," and "momentum" of these Eastern schools.

In the materials he could find, the descriptions were all mystical and nonsensical; without explanations for the various terms, he couldn't understand them at all. Morlay knew these seemingly metaphysical concepts actually referred to the core philosophy and tactical approach of the school, but the problem remained—without a master’s guidance, a manual for direction, or summaries from actual combat, how long would it take to realize it on his own?

However, while Morlay’s talent for swordsmanship was average, his talent for mathematics was incredibly high! He almost immediately thought of a sword style based on geometry—a branch of Spanish rapier fencing, the *Destreza*.

When he obtained the manual and saw the diagrams, he was truly moved to tears. It was as intimate as finally tasting a delicious British sausage after being forced to eat greasy, garlic-heavy Italian or German sausages for over half a month.

(The above remarks regarding sausages are solely the opinion of Mr. Morlay and do not represent the position of the author.)

Finally, no more need to study those "intents" and "momentums"!

However, simply mastering the techniques was not very useful; the lack of actual combat experience was a major issue. Moreover, Morlay had a concept for this swordsmanship. He wanted to combine magecraft with swordsmanship to develop a "Magic Sword Technique" (name tentative)!

In his preliminary design, this style would use a custom rapier forged from aurora steel, inscribed with runes on the blade, and embedded with gems of different attributes on the hilt to regulate the flow of mana.

Regrettably, he didn't even have a lead on these materials yet; he could only wait for news from the organization.

He couldn't rush it, so Morlay decided to go out for a change of pace for the first time in a while. As he stepped out and headed downstairs, he saw Ran Mouri returning home from school, along with her best friend, Sonoko Suzuki.

"Ah, Mr. Morlay!" Ran Mouri waved.

"Isn't this Miss Mouri?" Morlay replied with a smile. "By the way, this is...?"

"Let me introduce you. This is my classmate and dear friend, Sonoko Suzuki. Sonoko?" Seeing Sonoko seemingly lost in thought, Ran gave her a light nudge.

"Ah? Ah!" Sonoko snapped out of her daydream and stepped forward, grabbing Morlay's hand. "Nice to meet you, I’m Sonoko Suzuki~ Are you also a friend of Ran’s?"

The moment Ran greeted Morlay, she felt her heart begin to race.

A handsome guy!!
Silver hair!!
A handsome guy!!!
A foreigner!!

"Miss Suzuki? A pleasure to meet you. My name is Sherlock Morlay, I’m French. You can just call me Morlay." Morlay shook her hand and nodded with a smile.

*Just now, when she lunged forward, I could have stepped back, parried with my sword, and then stepped in to thrust here...* Morlay mused.

*He’s looking at me!!* Sonoko’s cheeks flushed slightly.

It could only be said that these two were on completely different wavelengths.

After the greetings, they were considered acquainted. Ran and Sonoko were on their way home after school, while Morlay, the idler, was just planning to go out for a stroll, so they waved goodbye.

On the way home, Sonoko wore a teasing expression and gave Ran a light nudge with her elbow: "I didn't realize, Ran? When did you meet such a handsome foreign guy behind Shinichi's back?"

Ran pushed her away slightly: "What are you talking about? I met Mr. Morlay at the Suwa family banquet a while ago; Shinichi was there too."

"That guy only knew how to talk to Mr. Morlay about Sherlock Holmes or something..." Thinking of this, Ran sighed. "I wonder what Shinichi is doing right now?"

"That arrogant mystery nerd probably ran into another case." Sonoko wasn't very interested in Kudo Shinichi's current affairs. She snuck up to Ran’s ear: "Since you’re not interested in Mr. Morlay, I’m going to make a move, okay?"

"You just met him for the first time, right?" Ran was speechless.

"This is called a 'crush', a 'crush'!" Sonoko tossed her hair. "According to my research, people like you who have grown up with Kudo since childhood have already skipped the crush phase and entered the 'old married couple' stage..."

"Sonoko!" Ran shyly pushed her, causing Sonoko to stumble.

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm... I'm fine..." Sonoko waved her hand, muttering under her breath, "A super-strong girl and a mystery nerd, they actually match quite well..."

"What?" Ran asked with an innocent face.

"Cough, cough, nothing! By the way, don't take the wrong road to the party tomorrow... Wait! That's it!" Sonoko clapped her hands, then grabbed Ran's hand: "Ran, what do you think about inviting Mr. Morlay to come along?"

"But that’s your sister’s reunion, right? Inviting me is one thing, but to invite Mr. Morlay as well..." Ran felt it might be inappropriate.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, the more the merrier! My sister will agree too. It's settled!" Sonoko punched the air confidently.

And so, Morlay received an invitation that evening to attend a party at Sonoko’s sister’s house the following day. His swordsmanship training had hit a bottleneck, and the organization hadn't assigned any tasks, so Morlay, having nothing better to do, agreed.

Furthermore, based on his observations and deductions, Ran would most likely bring that kid Conan along. If he couldn't join the conversation, teasing the brat might be interesting.

*Humph, Holmes...* (gritting his teeth)

Sonoko took Morlay's prompt acceptance as evidence that he liked her too, and she was excited for quite a while. To get closer to Morlay, she naturally couldn't go to her sister's villa alone, and she was worried that if Ran and Morlay rode together, sparks might fly, so she chose to take the Shinkansen with both of them.

The three agreed to meet at the station the next day.

...

The next day.

Just as Morlay had expected, Ran didn't feel comfortable leaving Conan with Kogoro Mouri at home, so she decided to bring him along. Thus, the four of them boarded the Shinkansen together.

This was Morlay’s first time on a Japanese Shinkansen. When he was in England, he had only ridden old steam locomotives, so he was quite curious about a modern train like the Shinkansen.

"Japan's Shinkansen..." Morlay looked at the furnishings around him. "It feels quite nice."

"Japan's Shinkansen is world-renowned, you know," Sonoko said, setting aside her usual boisterous persona and sipping her juice delicately. "Though, Europe was the first to start using trains, right?"

"I remember it was a steam locomotive, invented by someone named... Stephenson or something?"

"It’s the Stephenson steam locomotive." Conan curled his lip, seizing the conversation: "He developed the world's first effective steam locomotive—the 'Rocket'—and designed and built the first successful public steam railway in 1825."

"You know quite a lot for a brat, don't you?" Sonoko smirked, pressing down on Conan’s head and rubbing it vigorously.

"Ahaha, I just saw it on TV..." Conan feigned ignorance.

*I wanted the handsome Mr. Morlay to answer my questions! Who cares where you saw it, you brat who can't read the room...* Sonoko clicked her tongue.

*Tch, a gossiping busybody pretending to be smart like always...* Conan’s eye twitched.

"Speaking of which, since European railways developed so early, they must be very advanced, right?" Having "punished" Conan, Sonoko continued chatting with Morlay as if nothing had happened.

"Not necessarily. The London Underground was the world's first subway, but due to its age and design deficiencies from its initial construction, it now faces difficulties in renovation and construction." He sipped his coffee. "They can only tile over things, change the decor, and do some superficial work."

"But isn't the UK planning to build the High Speed 2 line?" Ran asked, puzzled.

"Indeed... but I am pessimistic about the construction of this railway." Morlay shook his head.

"Why?" Sonoko asked, confused.

"Because the UK has a group of diligent and selfless 'humble public servants.' And this project, overall, is to be planned by them."

"Isn't that a good thing?" More question marks appeared over Sonoko's head.

"Pfft—" Conan, who was drinking, couldn't hold it back and choked. "Cough, cough, cough..."

Seeing this, Ran sighed heavily and wiped the spilled juice off him; Conan didn't forget to give Morlay a thumbs up: "Very droll."

"What is it?!" Sonoko was even more annoyed. This atmosphere where only she didn't understand!

*Ran didn't ask, so it doesn't count!*

After Conan stopped coughing, he felt a bit suspicious: Isn't Morlay French? Why does he keep talking about things related to the UK?

Then he reconsidered—is it strange for a Frenchman to take a few jabs at the British? Not at all.

At this moment, the Shinkansen was about to arrive.

The four of them grabbed their luggage, chatting and laughing as they left the station and headed toward the villa belonging to Sonoko’s sister.

This detached villa was located, true to the stereotype, deep in the mountains and forests, connected to the hillside only by a single suspension bridge. By the time the four of them emerged from the dense forest, it was already afternoon.

"See, I told you it would be fine!" Sonoko instantly regained her energy from her wilted state. "I’m very familiar with this area!"

"Who was it that insisted they knew the way and took the lead, only to lead us around in circles for ages?" Conan curled his lip. "So hard to guess~"

His response was a punch from Sonoko descending from the sky: "Brat, who are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Brother Morlay thinks so too, right!" Conan looked for cover, hiding behind Morlay.

"Miss Sonoko... is quite energetic." Morlay chose a more tactful approach.

"Actually, I'm a very quiet girl usually... Oh, we're here!" Sonoko hurriedly changed the subject. "On the other side of that suspension bridge is my sister's villa!"

Azure sky, white clouds, an elegant villa, steep cliffs, and a suspension bridge with an antique feel.

And a person in a black robe on it.

Did something strange get mixed in?

"Who is that standing on the bridge...?" Ran, with her sharp eyes, pointed to the figure on the bridge in the distance.

"Maybe... maybe a local resident?" Conan guessed casually.

"But... I remember there aren't any houses around here, are there?" Sonoko was a bit worried.

The person seemed to hear the four of them talking about him and turned to look.

The thin, tall figure was shrouded in a pitch-black cloak, revealing only a face wrapped in pale-white bandages, with only the eyes exposed.

Everyone was shocked, then saw the bandage-clad person turn, hunch over, and run quickly across the suspension bridge, ducking into the dense forest beside the villa on the other side.

"I... it wouldn't be some kind of, re... resurrected..." Ran’s complexion turned pale, and her hands were trembling. "Mummy? Or something..."

"This isn't Egypt, where would a mummy come from..." Conan, though also a bit scared, subconsciously retorted first. Then, his usual materialistic thinking took over: "Maybe he’s trying to hide his appearance?"

"The bandages are very clean, no bloodstains or cadaver oil. And looking at the way he runs, his muscles and joints are very flexible; it shouldn't be a resurrected corpse." Morlay wasn't scared at all. "He probably suffered burns or something, his face is damaged, so he’s using bandages to cover it."

"There's no point in worrying about it here... let's get to the villa sooner." Morlay shook his head and took the lead onto the suspension bridge. Seeing this, the other three followed.

Conan nodded. Morlay’s deduction was quite logical... wait!

What is this guy deducing so seriously! Resurrected corpses and such shouldn't exist in the first place!

Conan glanced at Ran and Sonoko, who were still a bit frightened.

*He’s probably just trying to scare the two girls. Heh, childish.*

Thinking of this, the small fright brought by the bandage-clad person slowly faded. However, the two girls no longer wanted to stay outside, so the four of them walked quickly across the suspension bridge and entered the Suzuki family villa.