In order to resist the opening of the demonic gate, the original Ferty monarch cut off the new energy research ———— electricity that was emerging at that time like a tyrant; In turn, all the economy and talent were sent to the steam vein.

This kind of move is directly equivalent to strangling a revolutionary research in the cradle, and even after centuries, many scholars are still criticizing this crazy behavior.

But the soldiers of the Holy Cult stationed along the shores of the Redk Strait knew very well that without the determination of this strong man to break his wrist, there would be no vigorous development of steam technology, no steam chariots, no high-powered combat armor, and no weapons of war after that.

The demons will not give humans the opportunity to slowly develop new energy sources.

So 70% of the history books of the empire have the phrase——— without steam, there is no humanity."

Thanks to the boom in steam technology, most of the land around the city was expropriated to build the huge steam engines that would run the entire city, and this rapid process led to the separation of humans from the natural world, and industrial production and acid rain made animals more and more marginalized in the production process.

In this way, the sense of conquest in human nature that stands at the top of the biological chain and looks down on other races gradually cannot find an outlet for it.

Thereupon...... Pets appeared! Even in a very short time, it swept the entire upper class, and then broke into the lives of almost all classes of people with an unstoppable trend.

There is even a strange phenomenon that the lower the people, the more they like to have pets.

The specific reason is probably because of some kind of love and yearning for life that wealthy people do not have.

So in London's lower suburbs, the pet market is much hotter than in the upper suburbs.

At the corner of Baker Street, there are several pet supply stores, and even at the junction of another block, there is a pet hospital, which is not cheap.

At 6:30 a.m., Sherlock arrived in the area in the light rain.

Pet-related shops usually open early, after all, if the little ones stored here don't clean up in the morning, they will make the house smell of urine.

"Jingle ......"

The wind chimes behind the door made a pleasant sound, but this sound did not have the slightest refreshing effect on the shopkeeper who was forced to get up in the morning.

When he saw Sherlock walk in, he could only barely squeeze out a smile.

"Dear Sir, what do you need?"

"A warm cat bed, it doesn't need to be too big, but it should be closed, preferably with a curtain, so that a little one who is less than two months old can survive this winter."

Sherlock said, gesturing to the size of the cat's nest in his mind.

He's probably got some weird fetish for stuffing things into an enclosed space, as the criminals who stuffed them into suitcases can attest to that.

Now, he wanted to find a closed kennel for the kitten, which should be fluffy inside, so that it would be warm to curl up in and keep out the wind.

Soon, the shopkeeper found a few that looked good, and Sherlock chose one that was more dark yellow, similar to the coat color of the little milk cat, and it was estimated that it would get used to the feeling of home sooner.

......

The rain outside the store is not clear when it will stop.

The weather in London has an inexplicable hard-line attitude, with windy and rainy, snow and hail, and the fog will never disperse until noon.

The fog, the vagabonds, the chimneys, the bells, the faith, are the traces that can never be erased in this city.

And on this hazy morning street, in the sound of the drizzling rain, a carriage slowly appeared...... And its modest frame, without any ornamentation, not even too bright colors, pushed away the morning mist, stepped on the puddles that had accumulated on the road, and stopped at a carriage stop on the side of the street.

Even if there are no other cars or pedestrians on the road, it still obeys the most dispensable traffic rules.

Immediately afterward, a man with glasses came out of the car, not very tall, perhaps less than thirty years old, or in his forties, or even fifty years old;

Probably everyone who sees him will have a momentary sense of his age, because few people can imagine that a person who is still young in appearance would have such calm eyes. It was so calm that it was as if he had experienced countless years of vicissitudes, and even if a demon opened its bloody mouth in front of his eyes, it would not tremble at all.

Fortunately, as he stood up straight, the reflection on his glasses covered his eyes, which had aged decades in advance, in a white vastness.

In the process, a pitch-black umbrella was also stretched open above his head, not allowing a drop of rain to fall on him.

"Master, you still have about fifteen minutes to spare, if you delay, it may cause some unnecessary panic among the people over there."

The person holding the umbrella is an old man, with white beard and hair, but his body is tall and straight, at least 190 cm in length, dressed in the most traditional butler clothes, with low eyebrows and kind eyes, but it gives people a feeling that he is not very daring to approach.

"I just happened to pass by and wanted to take a look, and I haven't seen a small animal at home for more than ten years."

"After all, you've had a hair allergy at one time." The old man said.

"After so many years, it's been good for a long time, it's just that those people are too careful." The man's expression was indifferent, but his tone was very easy-going.

The master and servant walked towards the first pet shop across the street.

"Jingle bell~~" The wind chimes rang again.

Even the shop owner was a little surprised that on this rainy morning, there would be customers one after another, could this be a sign of good luck?

"It's already wrapped for you, just use water when cleaning, I wish you a happy life." The boss smiled and handed the packaged cat bed to Sherlock, and then smiled hard, and said to the two guests who had just come in: "The two guests came really early, it's cold outside, do you need any help?" ”

In the process of saying this, Sherlock had already turned around and looked at the cat nest in his hand with satisfaction...... Like every downtown resident who is about to buy a new home for their pet, there is a little warmth and relief.

And at the moment when he walked through the door.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at the short man beside him....... At the same time, he raised his eyes very casually and glanced at the old butler who was putting away his umbrella.

The old man's eyes did not have a trace of waves, and Sherlock's eyes were also calm, and the two of them looked at each other for a second of staggering.

The door was pushed open and then shut, as if to signal that there would be no more intersection.

"What's wrong?"

The young man seemed to notice the strangeness of his butler just now, and asked.

"It's okay, it's just an ordinary person."

The old man stood on the ground, looked at the droplets of water dripping down the umbrella bones, and responded respectfully.

The pet shopkeeper's smile was still flattering......

He didn't hear the conversation between the two guests, he just saw that the quality of their clothes was not cheap, and that they both acted with a kind of bearing that the residents of the lower city did not have.

This made him feel that he could make a good profit.

However, to the disappointment, the old man just stood quietly in the doorway, and the diminutive man just walked into the shop and looked through the cage at the kittens...... Didn't touch, didn't even get closer.

After three or five minutes, the two men left.

"Strange people ......"

This is the shopkeeper's final evaluation of the two of them.

......

On the way, the carriage began to move forward, and in the carriage, the man and the old man sat opposite each other.

Even though the window didn't open, the man's glasses still glowed white for no apparent reason.

"Tell me about the guy just now." The man asked suddenly.

"That person?"

"The one I just met in the store." The man said: "Usually, even if you meet the Pope, or even the archbishop, you will not go out of your way to take a second look. ”

The old man was silent for a while, as a housekeeper, he naturally didn't dare to disobey his master's will, but for the downtown resident who had passed by by mistake, he didn't know what to say, and he didn't even know why he was looking sideways, at that time, ...... Just a knee-jerk reaction.

"Just a very ordinary citizen of the Empire, the contract level is very low, I may have just been a little absent-minded at that time." The humble word of the steward.

The man in front of him didn't think much about it, maybe it was countless thoughts that surged through his mind in an instant, in short, he nodded: "All the way to London, you are indeed a little tired, settle down for a while and take a good rest." ”

The man said, looking into a corner of the carriage, thinking that he was only 26 years old, and that he would meet a woman next month; The two will be together for a lifetime, but they have never seen each other, and he feels from the bottom of his heart...... It's ridiculous.

"We'll get off at the Oak Church in a while, and we'll be greeted by special personnel, all the security personnel are carefully selected, and their whereabouts are kept absolutely confidential, so you can rest assured, master."

"Outside of the parish, don't use too respectful titles."

"And just call you Mr. Etymore?" The old man asked tentatively, he couldn't directly address the other party as His Royal Highness the Holy Son.

After hearing this name, the man's eyes flashed a trace of boredom, but he was well covered by his glasses, and he shook his head slightly: "The surname Etimori is too eye-catching, so I still have to change it slightly, just call ..... Moriarty bar. ”

He shuffled the alphabetical order of the names......

"Yes, Mr. Moriarty." The old man said respectfully.

The carriage faded away and disappeared into the belated morning light, and the rain fell from the sky and fell on the long deserted street, washing away all traces

......