Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Accidents cannot become inevitabilities, and inevitabilities cannot become accidents. Accidents are accidental, and inevitabilities are inevitable.

If asked why, the only answer is that it is because it is that way, so he continued—

"My meeting with you, James Moriarty, was purely by chance, and we may never see each other again. Therefore, to ensure this chance encounter only happens once, I hope you will remember Charles Babbage, if possible."

And four years later, in 1818, something will happen in Geneva, Switzerland, and I hope you can go and see it then.”

Moriarty remained silent, seemingly pondering the true meaning of Favia's words.

Are they accomplices? Or relatives?

Ignoring the silver-haired youth's thoughts, Favia continued.

“Look, James Moriarty, this is a dungeon I can't escape. Beneath the darkness and loneliness of the Château d'If, my body is slowly aging and losing its vitality. I don't think this is a good place, nor do I think it holds any possibilities…”

To Moriarty, the dungeon environment where Favia lived was like hell.

The place was always filled with silence and darkness. The interior was dark and without light. The walls were made of rough stones that were cold to the touch and had a damp, musty smell.

"Every day I've been here, almost everything I've seen is darkness, but it has also made me realize that every minute, every second, every moment of the world is a beautiful gold."

Moriarty remained silent.

"Every moment I can recall is shining brightly."

"……Yeah?"

"Maybe it's hard to understand?"

"I can't understand it, I absolutely cannot understand it. Even so, is this world really that good in your eyes?"

"That's how wonderful it is. Whether it's a thousand years ago or a few hundred years ago, all time is so bright, James Moriarty. Even if you don't understand it now, when you look back at some point in the 'future,' the 'now' will definitely shine in your memories—perhaps right now, perhaps before, perhaps after—"

Favia gently stroked the vanished traces on the wall and answered without hesitation.

When people give to each other out of goodwill, they feel joy and everyone will feel the same way, becoming happy together. Good days will come, and life will only get better.

"The so-called Garden of Eden is impossible. It is impossible for humans to be like that. There is absolutely no such possibility. No calculation can calculate it. There is neither such coincidence nor necessity."

"Is that so? Ahead lies an endless sky without a single cloud, and one that will never again appear. The sun, without a shroud, shines eternally in all directions."

The world is always golden.

This is exactly what an ideal is, isn't it?

Although I have thought about it countless times and searched countless times, and I know that things will never be like that, there is still an unknown other side, where there may be something that we have not yet discovered?

I've been searching and discovering, but the more I know, the more I realize it's impossible. Yet, the hope that someone will overturn this idea I've formed never ceases.

Let me believe that countless absurdities will come to an end, and a brighter tomorrow awaits discovery.

The old man extended his hand to Moriarty.

For some reason, at that moment, he felt that no one would refuse that hand, no matter the situation.

However, he refused and turned away without hesitation, appearing very resolute.

As he turned and staggered away a few steps, the priest's last words came from behind him—

"I really want to see such a beautiful view once."

......

In the final moments, at the gates of the Château d'If, the young man with a fierce look in his eyes walked step by step towards the outside.

Incomprehensible! Incomprehensible! Nonsense!

That's how he internally evaluated the conversation that had just taken place.

but--

The body is so light.

My mind is very clear.

My brain is burning.

Take a step forward through the gaps in the numbers that flash incessantly in your field of vision.

Use your subconscious actions to resist the trembling that washes over your body, and take a step forward.

Driven by a desire to fiercely refute the question that had just been asked, which had elicited a look of surprise from the person, I involuntarily took a step forward.

The inexplicable words spoken by that man named Faria are exactly what I want to do now.

This is the first time I've thought this way.

It is not an obscene delusion.

It's not the annoying vanity.

It's not the kind of wish that can only be realized in fantasy and is unattainable for ordinary people.

I want to achieve that.

To succeed, you must do it.

Even though it sounds impossible to you, I still want to do it to show you. This is the first time I've ever felt this way about someone from the bottom of my heart.

Moreover, if one cannot even take a single step on the perplexing path of doubt... if taking one step forward in doubt would lead to an abyss, then one will remain stagnant.

Although James Moriarty might not care about this decades from now, the feelings he has now might suddenly become completely indifferent someday in the future...

However, Moriarty, living in the present moment, did not want to think that way; he wanted to live in the present.

Therefore, Moriarty, who staggered out of the Château d'If, appeared to the guards as a silver-haired prison inspector who hadn't looked back once, lingered on the ship for a dozen minutes longer than usual, and when he finally left, his silhouette resembled an enraged white spider.

And that sound, like gritted teeth—

"That's right! Alright, just you wait!! You just wait and see!!! Faria!!!"

Thus, James Moriarty had made a crucial choice in his life, and all he had to do now was ruthlessly and coldly advance down the path of evil.

......

"I'm sorry... but if you don't come with me, it will be hard to find time later."

Meanwhile, inside the dungeon, Favia said this to Abigail.

In fact, at the last moment, he reached out to Moriarty hoping that Abby and Moriarty would leave the Château d'If together. Although Moriarty himself could not see it, once he realized that there were unseen things on the ship, he would probably understand the meaning of this gesture.

After all, Moriarty was also someone who knew magic.

However, since Abigail refused, the attempt failed, leading Moriarty to believe he had been delusional and perhaps even a little angry.

"Um... do you think Abby is being nosy?"

The blonde girl frowned slightly, revealing a weak expression.

"...No, it's just—"

Favia denied it, but before she could finish speaking, the girl, whose gaze had softened, covered her mouth with her faded long sleeve and forcibly held her head.

"Look, you'll go hungry without me, won't you?" Abigail smiled brightly, like a flower in bloom. "You'll be very lonely without me... Actually, I don't need a big world. Although things are tough right now, I'm still very happy because I've always been waiting for you."

She just stared at him blankly, her eyes narrowed as if she were sizing up her prey.

Actually, the girl didn't dislike his unique theory, because that's pretty much what she thought too.

However, the moment Favia reached out his hand, she couldn't help but turn her back to him and lean against the wall.

".......Ugh!"

The girl covered her mouth as much as she could, trying her best to suppress her voice, feeling that she could not let her brother down. Although she was in great pain and even slumped down on the damp floor, she still did not let go of the hand covering her mouth.

At that moment, both of them felt their heartbeats were incredibly loud, as if trying to drown out all other sounds.

“Just like you said, this world shouldn’t be one where you have to fight tooth and nail for someone to care about you… right, my brother?”

216: A family of three from an evil organization, and another one in the dungeon (6k5)

—Ah, old man, now the pupa has transformed into an evil butterfly, the innocent young man has vanished, leaving only an evil leader.

Before long, the butterfly will become the emperor, sitting on the jade throne, mercilessly surveying the world, not from above, but from below.

Because where I am, it is darkness, and only the virtuous are entitled to walk in the sunlight.

I have embarked on a dark journey. Remember to kowtow to me properly in your dungeon from now on, for I will soon be the emperor of the criminal world!

The emperor who rules over all evil! James—

"What are you writing, Moriarty?"

"Oh no, it's nothing, it's nothing."

"is it?"

The black-haired youth looked at Moriarty with suspicion.

Because Moriarty was writing with a proud smile, he was curious and casually asked a question. Unexpectedly, the usually calm young man became a little flustered and even covered his eyes from the letter.

Speaking of which, in my youthful memory, my friend Moriarty seemed to write a letter with similar packaging every year.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, you can continue."

The black-haired youth didn't delve too deeply into it; he simply ran his fingertip across his tie and smiled it off.

In his view, it might be a private matter concerning James Moriarty, who published a paper on binomial theory at the age of twenty-one, which became popular in Europe, and then published the groundbreaking pure mathematical work "Asteroid Mechanics" in a short period of time.

However, the man was still very surprised that he would also show such an expression, the kind of expression that looks like 'wanting to show off after achieving something by running away in a fit of anger'—Moriarty's pupils reflected the room light as he wrote furiously, making them look gleaming.

Is it a relative? Or a friend? Or someone you like? Or someone you admire? Or... that old priest he mentioned?

The black-haired youth leaned slightly forward on the sofa, looking at the silver-haired youth through the water glass in his hand, and thought to himself.

His name was Charles Babbage, a 19th-century mathematician and scientist, and the steam king who dreamed of bringing change to the world.

He proposed the design concepts of the 'Differential Engine' and the 'Analytical Engine', which were the prototypes of the world's first computer based on steam engines. He is now known as the 'Father of the Computer'.

That same year, after Moriarty left If Castle, he made friends in England.

Although Moriarty did approach Faria with the question of who Charles Babbage was, the two, who shared similar interests, quickly became good friends after getting to know each other.

After all, Babbage had helped establish the Society for Analysis as early as 1812, whose purpose was to introduce the achievements of continental Europe in mathematics to Britain and promote the revival of mathematics in Britain. Therefore, he and Moriarty, who was very good at mathematics, hit it off immediately.

It was at this time that Babbage, while calculating the motion of celestial bodies—faced with a massive amount of data—fell into deep thought.

This isn't just limited to astronomy. Whether in government research institutions or private companies, almost all experiments and operations involving massive amounts of calculations require dozens of people to operate. If these countless calculations could be automated...

Babbage continued to think—

This works. A machine that uses a steam engine to perform complex calculations is called a difference engine.

That's right, mathematics is used in all kinds of studies.

When this machine is completed, humanity will be able to achieve leaps in time savings across various fields.

Civilization could surely advance for centuries, a dream that no one has been able to achieve.

"Precisely because it is a dream that no one has been able to achieve, according to my calculations, it is not very likely to happen."

Babbage was not angry when he heard Moriarty, whom he had only known for a short time, deny his ideas.

Because some entanglements are born only in competition, and some aspects of interpersonal relationships can only be seen clearly through competition. People are a combination of clarity and turbidity... Only by understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the other person's words and actions, and then acknowledging and recognizing them, can we truly know them.

Life is never without risks; you might anger someone or be disliked. Without taking such risks, you can't build true trust. He understands this very well.

Therefore, he simply smiled and replied:

"How will you know if you don't try? Although you can't achieve everything just by working hard, no matter what setbacks you encounter, or when you can't bear the glory of your goal and bow your head, you still need to keep trying."

"Is it because you won't understand some things unless you try them?"

After reading the data written by Babbage, Moriarty stood up.

"Well, that's pretty much it."

"...Why is he just like that old man?"

James Moriarty suddenly muttered something.

Babbage responded with a very complicated expression.