Albert looked at the photo, his expression did not change at all, and his eyes naturally raised to look at Ed. "What is this?" He asked calmly.

"Come on, old fellow." Ed waved his hand, looking impatient with Albert's pretentiousness, "Let's not play that game." You know that since I'm sitting here and I'm showing you something, I should understand that some things don't make sense to me anymore. At this time, it doesn't make any sense for you to go back and forth. ”

“……”

"You know," Ed suddenly became interested, sat up straight, and put his hands on the desk, "Actually, I haven't been in this business for long, and I didn't like this profession at first, just using my last bit of capital to make a living in this new world that has justified the dregs of my old times...... I was able to barely struggle to continue living. But now, I find myself starting to enjoy the job. ”

"Yes." Albert seemed to snort through his nose.

"It's more interesting than you think, because you don't know what you're going to find in the end." Ed grinned, "There's no secret to what a detective does. Collect the clues one by one, piece them together in a clear way, connect them together, think deeply, and explore those coincidences and strange places. Everyone, all the detectives, we are almost like this, little by little, layer by layer, constantly moving forward, constantly god-man, and at the end of the day, the truth is pulled out of the dark dirt intact, intact, and there are no shortcuts. And in the process, at a certain moment, at a certain moment when you are analyzing the whole picture of the event, you will suddenly have a consciousness of something that you were not aware of. And that will completely overturn everything you know at the moment. ”

“…… I think I've heard something similar from an old friend. Albert twisted in the comfortable leather chair and shifted his position, chewing on a cigar in his mouth and raising his chin at Ed," continued. I'm starting to get interested. ”

"Suffice it to say that the mystery behind this is not as complex as you might think. Once you have a question about something for some reason, it is easy to have a question about everything that is related to it, and once you have a question about everything, it is very easy to find another connection. Ed said, making a small, expressive gesture, then paused, "When I left in the morning, I happened to find Miss Eliki's birthmark. ”

Even through a layer of opaque glass, Ed could feel Albert's gaze flickering. "So?"

"I had a little bit of an idea, but I wasn't sure at all – it was crazy, it was just a joke." Ed said, shaking his head in amusement, and then sighed with emotion, "But sometimes, some things in this world are just so crazy, like a joke...... Soon, I met the other person in the photo. ”

“……”

"It was all a coincidence. He was wearing a stand-up collar, and I couldn't have taken the initiative to rip off his clothes to see the base of his neck. But as he knelt in front of me, I glanced at his face and followed the gap to see where he was. Ed gestured to himself in the position he had spoken, and poked his collarbone with his fingers around his neck, "And then, all of a sudden, everything was clear. I've always had a question in my mind, and all these things are too much for a wolf to do alone. Not only did he control my every move in the palm of his hand, but he also unknowingly connected with Miss Hayes, the assistant next to the old dean, and planted bombs in the old dean's base camp in advance, which is definitely not something that only one person can do in a short time - at least not the wolf. There must be someone else, someone else who is behind him to help him. This man gave the wolf all the information he needed, as well as all the hardware he needed, supported all his actions behind the scenes, and managed to hide everyone's eyes from anyone to notice his presence. ”

Ed paused as he said this, looking at Albert. Albert sat there unmoved, taking a hard puff on his cigar and opening his mouth to exhale softly. So the white things floated softly from the air to the naked eye, very slow, and very enchanting, like jellyfish in the sea, or dead ghosts.

"I only thought about one person having such a skill, and I think you can understand why I came up with such a guess." Ed continued, "Remember what I just said, once you have a question about one thing for some reason, then it's easy to have a question about everything that is connected, and once you have a question about everything, it's very easy to find another connection...... While I was suspicious, I thought of another thing, and that was that this man had come to me earlier, given me a semi-obligatory commission, and then gave me a clue that led me to the distant Belvedere border—and I now even wonder if that place was really the house of the fellow named Jules, for in the light of what had happened afterwards, it seemed to be cooperating with the wolf to pull me out of the city. ”

"Actually, there's another layer of purpose." Albert chuckled and bit his cigar at this point, "He wants you to get that kid back." Because for him, for us, that kid is no longer of use. ”

“…… He didn't want to go back alive at all, he wanted to blow himself up to Saturn with that place, and end everything where it all began. Ed's gaze was calm, and Albert nodded silently.

"That's his choice. I respect his choice. ”

"What about Eliqi?"

"Huh?"

"Eliqi," Ed pointed with his thumb in the direction of the doorway without looking back, "what does she think?" The wolf was her brother, right? ”

"Actually...... It's a little uncle. Albert corrected, "Although it doesn't look like it, the wolf is a whole generation older than her." ”

"Whatever their relationship, it doesn't seem like she cares much about him." Ed didn't dwell on it at all, but continued to talk about things, "She let him go out alone, revenge alone, take it all by himself, and then pay all the price alone, and hide behind the scenes, without worrying that a little responsibility will be traced to her." ”

“……”

Albert didn't answer Ed's words right away. He just looked at Ed, sitting there quietly smoking a cigarette, as if a lifelike wax figure was displayed in the deepest part of the wax museum, ordered to be used as an inner key to the dancers' club.

Ed waited, patient. Now that the two of them had spoken to each other, he wouldn't worry that Albert wouldn't be willing to say it halfway through. He'll talk to him until he gets everything he's trying to figure out.