Oritis in the world of Detective Conan

Chapter 125 Azoth's Theorem Proof (Part 3)

Conan is not the only one who has this idea. Toru Amuro, who is curious about the secrets of this library and the legendary philosopher's stone, also decides to attack at night.

In this way, the two entered the Azoth Library one after another while the others fell asleep in the hotel. Conan even lamented that the old guard had not locked the door of the library.

Since the two were investigating in different directions, Conan went straight to the bookcases in the hall upon entering the library, believing that these were the most likely places where secret passages might be hidden. Amuro Toru returned to Director Zangetsu's office, which he had visited that morning, to try to find some more clues.

In the hall, Conan took out his watch flashlight and shone it on the rows of bookshelves. However, he couldn't see any clues from the surface, so Conan pulled out a few books from the bookshelf and flipped through them. Then his mind was attacked by the obscure knowledge of alchemy.

"Really? These alchemy techniques aren't just about chemistry. Astronomy and divination are also mixed in." Conan rubbed his temples and complained.

Suddenly, he noticed that one of the books that was pulled out looked like a diary. Out of curiosity, he began to flip through the diary.

The owner of this diary seems to be a housekeeper at the Azoth Library.

"Today is my first day at the Azoth Library! The old guard led me across the old suspension bridge. The current director of the library is Director Mercury. He is a kind old man, a elder of the Esoteric Cult, and a knowledgeable master of alchemy."

"Director Mercury has brought his daughter to the library. Miss Miller is worthy of being a descendant of the Four Horsemen. Although blind, she possesses senses beyond the reach of ordinary people. I heard from the old guard that Miss Miller's synaesthesia is so strong that she can even perceive the knowledge contained in the paper and words just by touching them."

"How could this happen? The old guard said Miss Miller released the curse of the library? Director Mercury is to blame. He cut off his ring finger and resigned as director. Miss Miller also left... Oh, Ms. Maria, please bless me. I know nothing. Please don't let the curse find me!"

Seeing this, Conan understood that the previous director, Ms. Arya Miller, must have a close connection with the "curse" of the library. It is very likely that she was a researcher of the Oritis organization and tried to escape after discovering some secret.

Conan turned to the next page of the diary.

"Director Mercury recommended Mr. Mars, a young man who survived a mining disaster, as his successor. Mars possesses an ancient tome, which he calls his 'opportunity.' Ever since he took charge of the Azoth Library, Mars has been obsessed with refining the legendary 'pure water.'"

"The old guard said that 'pure water' can turn stone into gold, transform poor metals into precious metals, and can even be used as raw material for refining the philosopher's stone. Oh my God, Lady Maria, nothing good will happen if you get involved with the philosopher's stone..."

"Something happened, it really did. I saw Director Mars collapsed in his office, pale and coughing. Although he claimed it was just a trivial cost of the alchemy process, he looked really bad! When I was leaving the office, I knocked over a few reagent bottles. They seemed to contain various ores. I showed them to the old guard, but he told me to throw them away immediately because they were highly toxic stibnite."

Conan frowned. He had an impression of stibnite. Fool Gold had told him on the skyship that his body was made up of stibnite.

"So, Fool's Gold is Curator Mars? Then how did he become like that? Was it an alchemy accident, or was it intentional?"

Thinking of this, Conan turned the page again.

"Director Mars has disappeared in his office! The products of his experiments are still in his alchemical crucible, the floor is littered with stibnite fragments, and many precious minerals are missing! The police investigated but found no useful clues. Only Director Mars' alchemical notebook remained on the desk, with an inverted triangle symbol drawn in blood on the cover."

"Several days passed, and the police still hadn't found Curator Mars. They believed this was a burglary, and that Curator Mars must have been kidnapped and murdered. The old guard was furious. He thought this was absolutely impossible. He believed Curator Mars must have been killed during an experiment, as Curator Mars had just told him a few days ago that he would conduct the final adjustments to the 'Pure Water'."

"This is so strange! Just a few days ago, when I was tidying up the bookshelf, I discovered that some of Director Mars's previous manuscripts were missing. Someone must have coveted Director Mars's alchemical achievements and killed him and hid the body! This is terrible. Ms. Maria, please bless me, don't let such a disaster happen to me..."

Combining this diary entry with the rest of the text, Conan deduced another conclusion: "Director Mars must have experienced a problem while refining the 'Pure Water', transforming himself into a humanoid form. Perhaps the Oritis Organization behind this staged the burglary to conceal the truth."

Conan then flipped through the diary.

"Director Mars recommended Mr. Philemon as the next director. He comes from a family of four knights, is polite, and is confident in the challenge of refining the Philosopher's Stone. However, I am a little worried. The aftermath of the previous director's incident is still lingering, and the new director will be linked to the Philosopher's Stone again. May Ms. Maria bless you..."

Conan scratched his head and said, "It seems that these curators who got into trouble are all related to the research on the Philosopher's Stone."

The contents of the diary continue.

"Director Philemon decided to start with 'pure energy' and refine a 'perfect human' as the raw material for the Philosopher's Stone. He unfolded the ancestral painting for the old guard and me to see, and he believed that as long as 'pure energy' could be refined, refining the Philosopher's Stone would be within reach."

"Director Philemon really succeeded! The old guard and I were very happy for him. The little human figure floated in the flask. Director Philemon named it 'Homonkulus,' which means 'little man' in Latin."

Conan was shocked: "This is already in the scope of human experiments, it's really shocking."

However, Conan, who knew the endings of several curators, thought that the experiment might not go so smoothly, so he continued to flip through the pages.

"The experiment seems to have failed? Director Philemon was quite depressed. He said that 'Homonkuluz' had fully formed, but it was unconscious and couldn't even speak, let alone be used to refine the Philosopher's Stone. I secretly took a look at the little figure when the director wasn't paying attention, and it suddenly opened one eye and looked at me. I was startled and quickly told the director the news, but Director Philemon thought I was just comforting him and didn't take it seriously."

"Although Homonkulus couldn't achieve the purpose of the experiment, Director Philemon decided to nurture him carefully. The little man was transferred to a larger flask and began to grow slowly. He looked quite adorable. I breathed a sigh of relief. No philosopher's stone, no curse. It's truly a blessing from Lady Maria."