Joan of Arc. Letitia. Mrs. Hudson.

The name was quite long, and she looked at the man crouching in front of her.

I was a little confused for a while......

"Isn't this the stupid passerby from yesterday?"

And Sherlock had the same thoughts as she did at this time:

"Isn't this the stupid woman from yesterday?"

Anyway, the two of them looked at each other as if they were still, until the three-flowered kitten meowed dissatisfiedly.

"Well, I can't believe it, but ...... The world is so small. Sherlock was the first to stand up, smiling.

Mrs. Hudson blinked, as if she finally realized what was going on, and asked with some surprise, "You...... Is that the tenant who came yesterday? ”

"Of course, my landlord."

"Forehead......" There was a deep groan that lasted for three seconds: "The world..... It's quite small......"

......

......

This somewhat awkward encounter took Sherlock almost five minutes;

He briefly introduced himself to the landlady, and tried his best to show his kindness and duty as a legal citizen of the Empire, and at the same time, he confirmed his own speculation yesterday;

That's it..... Mrs. Hudson was just a single girl who lived alone before she was 20 years old.

Of course, he couldn't have dismantled the other party on the spot, but just smiled goodbye, and then came to the side of the road and called a passing carriage.

"Take me to 36 Zotland Street, White Thorn Security ......"

"I'm happy to serve you, sir!"

The coachman waved his whip————

Legend has it that before the gates of hell opened, the boundaries of London belonged to a continental plate known as 'Europe'.

In the traditional symbols of Europe and China, thorns represent the meaning of "protection", presumably because the thorn bushes that climb all over the walls can effectively restrict thieves from climbing up and down.

And under this tradition, all industries such as security, caravans, safes, and security gates will largely carry the word 'thorn'.

Perhaps, somewhere in a certain corner, there is also a Black Thorn security company.

The carriage passed through a noisy, open-air gathering of old objects and down the misty River Thames, with the heavy, distant whistles of countless merchant ships outside the carriages.

After a full hour, I finally stopped at the edge of a fairly conspicuous church.

Because of the people's reverence for the Holy Light and the Holy See, as long as there are churches in the neighborhood, they are generally clean, and some believers even spontaneously clean the entire long street when the first rays of sunlight fall, which is a sign of piety for them.

After a few steps along the paved pavement of crushed stone and asphalt, Sherlock arrived at the destination of his trip.

The buildings around it should not look old, but they are a little dense, and along the street you can see a flower shop, several restaurants and cafes, and apartment numbers everywhere in London.

The first one on the very edge is a somewhat heavy wooden door...... Of course, the wood is only attached to the surface, and there must be an anti-theft iron plate inside.

The act of breaking into a door with an axe is already a delusion of the last century.

Sherlock walked over, confirmed the house number, and then found the sign of [White Thorn Security Company] in a small corner of the wall, and couldn't help but sigh:

It is worthy of the official establishment of the government and the Holy See, and although it has the title of 'company', it does not look like it wants to attract business.

As he thought, he pushed the door open.

What caught my eye was a corridor, and a piece of paper posted on the wall, which read;

[Please don't knock on the first door, please go inside to report the case, shout directly in case of emergencies, negotiate business and go to the second floor. 】。

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, and he didn't know why, he felt that the two lines of text showed a very helpless energy.

When I passed through the first door, I had to take a special look at the sign on the door, which said "Infirmary", and there was a note on the door that was similar to the one just now.

It must be that some people are often too anxious, and after coming in, they knock wildly when they see the nearest door to them, which causes the doctor of this company to put such a conspicuous notice on the wall.

Continue on to the second floor.

Although the company has some government investment, almost all of them exude a distinct Holy See flavor, such as the golden sunflower logo on the ends of the handrails, the gas lamps inlaid with gold grids on the walls, and some brass pendants embedded in the ceiling.

There is no way, after all, the shroud of holy light is the foundation of human survival, which leads to the Holy See always pressing the imperial government, even if the emperor changes the throne, he needs to go through the blessing of the pope before he can sit on that chair.

In fact, Sherlock dared to bet his smoking rights for a week, not to mention that the Holy See and the government were ostensibly like brothers, but secretly, they must be engaged in an extremely cruel and bloody power struggle with each other.

And this competition must have been going on for centuries, but the poor class was not aware of it.

On the second floor, after walking a few steps down the hallway, I saw a sign above a door that read the word "Consultation...... Walked over and knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter!"

A not-so-friendly female voice came from inside.

Pushing open the door, I saw a large table with stacks of papers, like a small bunker, blocking the people behind it, and only the sound of crackling and stamping could be heard.

"Hello, I'm here...... reported. Sherlock hesitated, then decided to use the word 'report'.

The next second, the sound of the stamp stopped, and a middle-aged lady with heavy glasses poked her head out from behind a stack of papers, looked Sherlock up and down, and it took ten seconds before she finally spoke:

"You're the detective who was referred? Call...... Called......"

"Sherlock. Sherlock holmes. ”

"Oh, yes, yes." The middle-aged woman looks like the type who has been trapped in the office all the year round, and has a 'annoying' attitude towards anyone who comes to consult, but the letter of recommendation signed by the high priest of the Holy See could not be ignored, so she had to get up helplessly: "Follow me!" ”

On the way, the woman introduced herself as 'Evelyn Marie', which sounded like she was from the countryside.

She was not taller than Sherlock's shoulders, but she walked vigorously, her chest and stomach trembled at the same frequency, and soon she led Sherlock to a door, and Miss Mary restrained her attitude that the whole world owed her 50 pounds, and knocked lightly: "Priest Thompson, remember yesterday's notice that a Mr. Sherlock would be coming to report...... He's already here. ”

"Yes."

A short scale came from inside the door, and Mary slowly pushed it open, signaling that it was time to enter, but added in time, "Take off your hat, Priest Thompson is very respectful." ”

"Thank you." Sherlock replied, and took off his hat, and for a moment he noticed that Miss Mary's brow was furrowed when she saw her somewhat messy hairstyle.

"It seems that the staff here are a bit rigid." He muttered to himself, and walked into the office.

It was morning, but the whole office was dark, the curtains were tightly drawn, and only a candle burned on the desk, with a distinctive scent of brown grass, which was mentioned in some market books, and was a kind of incense commonly used by contractors in meditation.

And in the dim light, a man about 40 years old was engaged in a very common prayer ceremony, dressed in a full white priest's robe, his hair and beard meticulously groomed, the brass pendant in his hand swaying slightly, and his mouth constantly chanting prayers.

From any point of view, it is incomparably religious.

After five minutes had passed, when the prayer had finally ended, Priest Thomson opened his somewhat gray eyes, stared at Sherlock for a moment, and said:

"Detective?"

"Yes."

"Contractor?"

"Just received the canonization ceremony."

"[Manipulator] or [Symbiote]?"

"Huh?" Sherlock was stunned for a moment, these two words were foreign to him.

And his reaction also made Priest Thompson show an inexplicable annoyance:

"That's it."

He sighed, sat back in his chair, snapped his fingers.

In the next second, the curtains quickly opened to both sides, and the sunlight shone into the room, and Priest Thompson gently extinguished the candle in front of him with his hand, and said in a deep voice:

"Then I say, listen...... Don't interject. ”