The black sun hangs high

Chapter 319 You're in Big Trouble

The descriptions given by the dwarves may sound frivolous and abstract, but in reality, they contain a certain degree of rationality.

In fact, in Vanne today, not all countries, groups, or ethnic groups use formal and etiquette-based communication methods.

In many cases, seemingly important conclusions or decisions are often reached in an incredible atmosphere and conversation. This is very common among races such as dwarves and goblins, not to mention special races like ogres. Negotiating with these guys might end up in a pot.

Compared to them, the dwarves' way of communicating is already considered very "gentle".

Hugh looked at the dwarf Yena and asked, "So, you accepted both bottles of wine?"

"Of course we accepted it, sir. We originally intended to drink it all, but everyone has been suffering from severe seasickness these past few days, so... we only opened one bottle and drank a little bit."

Upon hearing this, Hugh immediately turned his gaze to the other dwarves, including Badosa, and Yena and the others, who all had that parasitic growth on their bodies: "I guess you guys are the ones who drank the wine?"

As expected, Badosa and the others slowly nodded.

Accompanied by Richard and a mage from the Legal Committee, the two dwarves quickly retrieved the two bottles of Burt Duchy spirits that the scholars from Leger had given them. Just as Yena and the other dwarves had said, they only opened one of the bottles and indeed only drank a small amount of it.

After obtaining this crucial evidence and clues, Hugh and the others moved to the chambers of the Law Committee mages. Just in case, these chambers were equipped with small magical experimental tables, making them much safer than the other chambers.

The unrelated people were naturally driven away, but as the representative of the dwarven delegation, Badosa insisted on staying.

The dwarf was terrified by the monster that had been taken off his back. He was now extremely insecure and could only feel a little safer when he was with a "professional" like Hugh.

The orders from the head of the Legal Committee have been relayed. The sailors and mages on the Windless have now successfully subdued Scholar Leger. The scholar's only entourage consisted of two assistants and a mage apprentice. Faced with fully armed sailors, they were not even given a chance to defend themselves before being taken directly to a special compartment used to temporarily detain suspects.

In the past, such a decision would have seemed somewhat like alerting the enemy, but after the commotion on the deck that morning, such a move became insignificant.

After taking precautions, Hugh carefully uncorked the bottle of Burt Duchy spirits that had already been opened, and the distinctive aroma of the liquor immediately filled the room.

Within the aroma of the alcohol, Hughes keenly detected a faint sense of familiarity.

As someone who had personally "drunk" the pure "Color of Life" in the Dream Sanctuary, Hugh was certain that there was indeed a special substance highly similar to the "Color of Life" inside these so-called Burt spirits.

However, as a fundamental force used to constitute living beings in ancient creations, the "color of life" should tend to be neutral in its expression without deliberate guidance. In other words, its essence is actually a highly concentrated pure life force.

Will contact with or ingestion of this kind of power cause abnormal changes in the skin?

Hughes doesn't think so.

He preferred to believe that Badosa and others might be "stuffed to death" from contact with this intense life force rather than that the pure "color of life" could catalyze such a peculiar mutation.

After thinking it over carefully, Hugh said to the Dharma Committee monk beside him, "Has Merlinler been informed about what happened here?"

"not yet."

The Valley-level mage shook his head cautiously: "Ever since we realized that the Black Sun Society may have infiltrated our ranks, the transmission of magical messages has been subject to much stricter control. Apart from a few esoteric rituals that can directly communicate with important and reliable people, all others require additional censorship."

Hearing this, Vera interjected, "Is Professor Wekka from the Public Magic Affairs Department on this privileged list?"

The valley-level mage nodded: "Of course."

Then Vera turned to Hugh: "I think we can report the situation here to Professor Wekka. In the matter of Seren, he gave us and the Dawn Society enough support, and his attitude was very clear and straightforward. He is reliable."

Hugh nodded slightly, trusting Vera's judgment, and then said, "The current situation is very special. The seriousness of what is happening is still uncertain. We can only be as vigilant as possible... Inform Professor Wekka and hope that the Legal Committee can provide us with some additional assistance or solutions."

After saying that, he glanced at the "skin worms" that were still writhing inside the alchemy tank, seemingly possessing extremely vigorous energy, and said, "The samples in this laboratory and those two bottles of wine need to be properly preserved... If possible, I would like to take two samples and half a bottle of wine; perhaps we can make some additional discoveries from them."

Faced with Xiuge's request, the Dharma Committee's monks had no reason to refuse.

As the one who exposed and dealt with the crisis, and as the person on the entire Windless who knew the Black Sun Society and those lost creations best, Hugh did not take all the samples under these circumstances, which was already a very respectful act of the Legal Committee.

The Valley-class leader was equally clever; he directly helped the members of the Dawn Society adjust the cabins and moved Hugh's cabin directly to this special cabin that originally belonged to the Legal Committee. In this way, the safety and use of these samples were handed over to Hugh and the Dawn Society.

Also handed over was a tremendous responsibility that ordinary mages could hardly bear.

The two sides completed these adjustments with remarkable tacit understanding. Afterward, Hugh went straight to the house arrest room. He was now eager to have a good talk with that "quite nice" scholar, Leger.

……

Over the past two days, Hugh and his team have been conducting a thorough investigation and surveillance of this Legerian scholar, but the results have been unexpected.

This scholar, who had a notorious past and was once the laughingstock of Mellinger and the academic community, behaved very well after boarding the Windless.

Leger spent most of his time in his room, either reading books, organizing his research findings, or simply resting or fiddling with the magical creature specimens he carried with him.

Taking advantage of the rats' convenience and stealth, Hugh conducted a thorough search of the items and documents carried by Leger, and the results surprised him greatly.

Leger actually received an invitation from Merlinle.

The main reason is that the Legal Committee hopes to expand the scope of detection for ancient creations and unknown dangerous magical creatures in the future, and the near-shore waters are one of the most important monitoring areas in these plans. Furthermore, since there are very few scholars in the current Vain academic community who specialize in marine magical creatures, Leger, who has made some achievements in this field, naturally became Merlinle's first choice.

What puzzled Hughes even more was Leger's attitude toward academic research.

Despite the numerous doubts surrounding Leger, under the constant surveillance of the Ernst family's will, Hughes discovered that this Leger scholar was actually quite serious about his academic field.

Those thick observation logs and research records are not fake. Leger would even arrange for his assistants and apprentices to go to the deck every morning, noon and evening to collect seawater samples from the current sea area. These seemingly ordinary samples were eventually labeled with all sorts of tags.

In these respects, Leger truly demonstrated exceptional scholarly qualities.

This series of discoveries stands in stark contrast to Hugh's previous speculations and judgments.

Hugh initially thought that Leger was most likely a hidden pawn that the Black Sun Society had painstakingly planted in the Windless. The reason why the Black Sun Scepter could not detect anything obvious was probably because the Black Sun Society had made some countermeasures against the scepter that had fallen into Hugh's hands.

“I think it’s very likely that the Black Sun Society never had any formal contact with Leger. In other words, this guy may not even know who he’s dealing with…or, in Leger’s own mind, he’s just having some ordinary social interactions or investments.”

Veraine was somewhat skeptical: "Seeking investment from the Giant Ear Goblin Merchant Guild? There aren't many cases like that."

"There aren't many scholars who can be blacklisted so many times in a few years. It's normal for a strange person to do some strange things."

Hugh said softly, “As for customizing ‘submarines’ from the dwarves… well, you know, ships that can dive, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that idea. Although it may sound a bit bold, I think it’s actually feasible.”

Hearing an unfamiliar term suddenly from Hugh's mouth, Vera couldn't help but glance at him, but she didn't pursue the question about the word "submarine." Instead, she said, "So, you think what happened to the Leger scholars actually fits the usual tactics used by the Black Sun Society?"

"It's not certain yet."

Hugh shook his head: "If they just want to use this method to deceive the Black Sun Scepter's perception, then it's a bit of a joke. Knowing that I can accurately find those ancient creation traces, such a plan probably won't work at all, and will only waste their own arrangements and trump cards."

As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the door of the house arrest room with the legal committee's monks.

These cabins were set up in extremely secluded locations. Similar cabins are found on many large ships. When not used to detain suspects, these special cabins may be used for smuggling special goods or to protect individuals smuggling themselves.

The cabin was guarded by sailors from the Windless, and when the hatch opened, Hugh and the others saw a figure huddled in a dark corner.

This middle-aged man with messy hair, a puffy face, and dark circles under his eyes is Leger.

At Hugh's request, his assistants and apprentices were placed separately. They were also on Hugh's list of prime suspects, and these people would not be allowed to meet each other until they were cleared of suspicion.

Because of the special function of the cabin, the walls, floors and even the ceiling are covered with extremely soft, thick felt. There are no sharp protrusions in the room, which can ensure the personal safety of the detainees to the greatest extent.

Two luminous orbs slowly rose, and bright light descended into the cramped and dark cabin.

Bathed in magical light, Leger looked particularly disheveled. He had probably been resting when he was brought here, so he hadn't washed up and was still wearing his pajamas. Hugh could even see the filth in the corners of his eyes.

What made Leger's image even more unsightly was the silver collar fastened directly around his neck, which made him look even more like a prisoner.

Moreover, it was the kind of execution that would be carried out by the sword-wielding hermit in the next second.

"Finally, someone's here! What exactly happened? I need a detailed explanation!"

"Calm down, Legerian scholar."

Hugh stepped forward, and a mage's hand flew out, pressing down the excited Legel. Then he snapped his fingers a few times, and magic instantly created usable tables and chairs.

At this moment, Leger recognized Hugh and Verin's faces. He stared in surprise. Perhaps because there were young women present, he instinctively wiped the corners of his eyes with his fingers to remove the filth. Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve to remove the foam he had just sprayed.

Hugh carefully observed Leger's every move; his powerful and delicate magical perception was even able to accurately monitor changes in his breathing and heartbeat.

After Leger sat down, Hugh waved to the outside, and a waiter came in and brought Leger a glass of water and a clean towel dampened with hot water.

"Mr. Ernst, and...Ms. Ernst? Why the two of you?"

"You recognize us?"

"Don't joke around, even the sea fish on our route recognize your names!"

After wiping his face with a hot towel, Leger finally regained some of the composure expected of a scholar. Clutching the towel, he said with a puzzled look, "You two suddenly came here, it seems... because of me?"

"Of course."

Hughes nodded. He looked at the somewhat ugly scholar in front of him, and his smiling face suddenly turned cold. Even his gentle voice seemed to be tinged with the temperature of wind and snow.

“Leger scholar, you’re in big trouble.”

Leger was startled by Hugh's terrifying tone: "Whh...what?"

Hugh continued, “If nothing unexpected happens, you will have to spend the rest of your journey here… The reason is that you are suspected of murdering a diplomat, which means that when you arrive in Merlinle, you will not be attending a meeting of the Legal Committee, but a trial against you.”

(End of this chapter)