Chapter 2237: Sparrow Hamilton’s Notebook

Chapter 2237: Chapter 2237: Sparrow Hamilton’s Notebook

This time, the Countess’s divination went smoothly. Even though she didn’t have much foundational information, she understood from her knowledge of Shard that matters involving this man were certainly no trivial affair. Thus, for the first time in front of Shard, she immediately guessed the truth:

"Is this the Grey Glove Ace, the house of that Grey Falcon?"

"Yes, but not entirely correct. We generally refer to such houses as safe houses."

Shard corrected:

"During the time of the [Dice Story Collection], you knew I was connected to both nations’ intelligence agencies, so my knowledge about this place shouldn’t surprise you, right?"

The Witch blinked:

"Not surprised... that the Grey Falcon’s safe house is in such a place. You know, to me, he was also a legendary figure. When the nobles of Moon Bay sought independence, and the Grey Falcon assassinated several important figures continuously, I was still a little girl who didn’t understand anything. In my eyes, he was like the big bad wolf in fairy tales who takes away naughty children."

She said with a smile, then felt incredulous:

"To think that the Grey Falcon is dead? When did that happen? Such a big event, and not a word from within Carsonrick? Wait a minute, I remember hearing about the Grey Falcon recently. Even though it was just a rumor, all evidence indicates that the Grey Falcon is still active."

"Yes, you’re absolutely right."

Shard nodded as he continued examining each closed door on the second floor:

"The Grey Falcon is indeed dead; he died last summer."

"Then why..."

"The Grey Falcon is indeed still active; someone has inherited the codename and is actively operating. And that person—"

He turned to face the Countess, who hesitantly pointed at Shard:

"Is it you?"

"Yes."

Shard nodded, continuing to observe the doors, while Miss Belindel took a deep breath:

"Yes, I find I’m not very surprised. After all, compared to other things, an ordinary person’s identity is indeed not much. So are you here in Moon Bay this time related to this identity?"

"It’s unrelated to the Grey Falcon; the Grey Falcon shouldn’t actually be in Moon Bay, he has other tasks. Oh, found it, here."

He headed to the broom closet, removed everything inside, and started feeling along a narrow wall corner inside the closet.

"Did you murder the Grey Falcon?"

Miss Belindel asked curiously again. Shard immediately shook his head:

"Of course not, although he did indeed die in front of me. At the time, no one knew of his death; before he died, he had arranged everything for himself. On occasions like the Year-End Festival, I still visit his grave."

Mentioning this, Shard was suddenly taken aback, realizing he had forgotten to visit the cemetery on Detective Sparrow’s death anniversary. Shard felt deep regret and wondered what he was doing at the time to forget such an important matter.

[You were probably "busy" attending your own birthday party at the time; those ladies aren’t easy to handle.]

"She" reminded with a laugh, and thus Shard understood why he had forgotten such an important day. Of course, Miss Belindel didn’t see his expression as she stood behind him at the time.

Soon, Shard found a pressable section on the broom closet wall. With a slight push, a very narrow passage appeared in the inner wall of the broom closet.

Even people with the standard physique like Shard and Miss Belindel had to sidestep to enter, and beyond it was a small hidden chamber about the size of a cloakroom. The chamber was built so small as a necessary measure; a larger secret room would easily reveal a missing section to the curious eye.

Just as Shard once speculated, Detective Sparrow had indeed sent someone here to take care of matters before his death. The cramped room had a small bed, chair, little table, and several bookshelves made from metal pipes and plates. These pieces of furniture still remained, but some documents and files on the shelves had evidently been destroyed.

The once orderly files showed sparse gaps, and the remaining files, when Shard and Miss Belindel looked through them, were investigation reports on the Seven Great Families of Moon Bay and copied versions of some City Hall confidential documents from Moon Bay.

"There are even records about my family, let me see... oh, this is a photo from my eighth birthday; how could he find such a photo?"

The Witch was astonished and pushed Shard’s head back when he tried to look over:

"I looked different when I was young compared to now, in short, you’re not allowed to see."

She put the photo back into the file and decided to take all these documents with her after consulting Shard.

These remaining records are absolutely valuable, and for the Grey Falcon to gather such detailed information back then was largely due to his efforts, with significant support from the entire Grey Glove organization.

And the fact that these documents were retained indicates that the ones destroyed were even more valuable.

Shard tried using "Echo of the Past" to listen for a while. After confirming he heard nothing, he signaled the witch to perform a divination.

The latter immediately smiled:

"See, divination is indeed useful."

Because it doesn’t involve a Circle Sorcerer, the divination was very successful:

"Flames, those documents were directly burned. The destruction took place here in this house, but not in this room. This room is too secluded; no one would be foolish enough to light papers in a secret chamber."

After her confirmation, the documents had been burned in the kitchen on the first floor of the house, last spring and summer, right before Detective Sparrow’s death. Since the house still had gas, the person dealing with the documents naturally used the stove.

But when the two reached the kitchen, they found it had been cleaned thoroughly, ruling out the possibility of "papers not burned completely, leaving behind small slips with important information."

"Help me check for any fly ash."

Thinking carefully, Shard added. Miss Belindel, although unsure of his intention, nodded and agreed.

Shard’s "Breath of Ages" can reverse time, but he couldn’t make a book reappear just because it had been on a table and was now removed, by reversing the table’s time.

To restore items through "Breath of Ages," there must be remnants of the item. Even the smallest remains would work, it’s only a matter of how much Spirit it consumes.

Luckily, the people dealing with the documents didn’t carelessly leave unburned papers, but the person who cleaned wasn’t meticulous. In the end, they found two small pieces of burned paper ash below the drain and beneath the trash cans.

Shard placed the two pieces of ash on the stove, then put on the "Ring of Immortality" on his right hand and twisted it, taking a deep breath:

"Breath of Ages."

The current maximum limit of time reversal for Breath of Ages is three years, so it’s quite effective on items destroyed over a year ago. From the witch’s perspective, as Shard inhaled, two nearly imperceptible gray streams flowed into his nostrils, and the two small pieces of ash were thus turned back in time, restored to their original form.

The two pieces of ash seemed to come from a single object, as lying on the stove now was a brown leather-covered notebook. With a magnetic metal clasp on the side, Shard opened it and saw, unsurprisingly, that it was full of unreadable words:

"Encrypted cipher, huh."

"There seems to be something wedged inside."

Miss Belindel reminded, prompting Shard to flip further back, finding a total of three photos within the notebook. All the photos were landscapes, similar to those Shard found in the attic of his own home, seemingly places Detective Sparrow had once visited.

The witch leaned in to identify:

"This one is Belindel Big Ben, look at the banner hanging here, I was just a little girl then. This one is... seems like Steel City Gondor in eastern Draleon."

Shard recognized this city. Mr. Johnson from the garbage disposal station who liaised with him in Tobesk had mentioned the grey-headed eagle in Gondor City, stealing records of Special Alloy smelting for casting Steam Cannons many years ago.

"What’s the last one?"

He asked again. The first two were cityscapes, while the last photo was taken in the wooded mountains. Even with the yellowed black-and-white photo, it was clear the picture was taken at night, with the only noticeable landmark being the side of the tower in the upper left corner, hidden among the mountains.

Miss Belindel thought for a moment, just as Shard thought she couldn’t recognize it, she suddenly waved her hand:

"I remember now, although I’ve never been there, I’ve seen such a landscape in my teacher’s travel notes. This should be Karas Mountain within Draleon’s borders. Look at that tower, it’s the Ancient Ruins that collapsed last spring. You can’t see it now."

"What?"

Shard suddenly turned his head to her:

"Karas Mountain? That Karas Mountain with Moon Tower Ruins? Are you sure this photo is from that mountain?"

Miss Belindel hesitatingly nodded:

"I’m sure. Since I’ve known you, I haven’t seen you so surprised. Why, is that mountain significant?"

Of course, the mountain isn’t important, the Ancient Moon Tower Ruins are. Even though the Outlander "awoke" on Silvermoon Glare Day in midsummer 1853, he suspected he’d arrived in this world by the spring of 1853, or that this body had done something significant that spring.

"I never imagined he had also been to Karas Mountain..."

Shard felt a deep sense of incredulity, then turned to the witch again:

"Is there a way to divine the specific time this photo was taken?"