Crazy Britain:They’re All Raising Me

Fairy Eyes...

The moment Will saw those two words, everything clicked into place.

No wonder Artoria had suddenly blown up earlier—even though Ritsuka Fujimaru had clearly tried to cover for him. She must have activated it.

Well… so be it. It's not like this was the first time she'd pulled something like this. She'd been "accidentally" opening that thing for ages. If anything, she was consistent.

And as someone who'd experienced the brunt of her wrath firsthand, Will felt more qualified than anyone to make that judgment.

Still, at least she wasn't his enemy this time.

Which meant, for once, Fairy Eyes was actually on their side—a powerful ability that just so happened to be ineffective against Will himself.

And that meant… he didn't need to slowly test Adonis's expressions, carefully read every twitch of his face.

No, all he had to do was ask the questions, and then wait for Artoria's real-time mind-reading report to come through.

Bad news: Artoria had popped Fairy Eyes again.

Good news: This time, she was in the party.

[Will: Can you tell which part of his story is a lie?]

[Artoria: It's about the "core." I can confirm he's lying about having seen it on Naotaba… he was nervous. I could see it clearly. He's hiding something—but I'm still not sure what exactly he's trying to cover up.]

[Will: What about the Babbage part? Isn't he Babbage?]

[Artoria: That part doesn't seem like a lie. He truly believes he's Prince Adonis. He doesn't consider himself to have any connection with Babbage or PBM. He doesn't even think he's linked to the fog's mastermind. He genuinely wants to protect Yti. That's actually what convinced me to help Scotland Yard in the first place.]

[Will: I see…]

Will fell silent in thought.

So, Adonis really was defending Yti? That complicated things.

It wasn't unreasonable—Will had considered this possibility before. But if that was true, then his theory about Adonis being the mastermind behind the fog completely collapsed.

The trail had gone cold.

He'd have to start over.

After a few moments of silence, Will raised his head and asked,

"So, Adonis… earlier you mentioned something about the cult rituals and the spellbooks. We'd like to take a look at those—there's no issue with that, is there?"

"…Of course not."

After a half-second pause, Adonis nodded.

"Please wait here. I'll retrieve the relevant files for you."

But just as he turned to leave, Artoria suddenly spoke up.

"Wait, Uncle. Let me come with you."

And right at that moment, Will saw a notification flash in the party comms.

[Artoria: Don't let him go alone! I can tell from his aura—he's planning to alter the documents before handing them to us!]

"That would be rather improper of you, wouldn't it?" Adonis frowned, turning to face her.

"Tyre, these people may be your friends, but they're also guests from afar. It's your duty to host them properly—how can you leave them here alone?"

"That's no problem at all. We don't care about that stuff," Will said coolly, stepping forward after reading the message.

"And this isn't exactly the time for a leisurely discussion about social etiquette. Your officers are still out there fighting monsters. We've got no time to sit around and sip tea. What we care about now is efficiency. In fact, why don't we all go to the archive room together? We might find something new ourselves."

"But…" Adonis clearly wanted to refuse, but Will had cornered him.

By invoking the safety of the officers risking their lives outside, Will had tied Adonis's hands. If he insisted on protocol now, it would seem like he cared more about manners than lives.

"Yeah, yeah!" Ritsuka Fujimaru chimed in helpfully.

"We're all here to resolve the Yti situation. Time is of the essence—let's not waste it on formalities!"

She had no idea what Artoria and Will were saying in their team channel, but seeing her companions taking the lead, she naturally jumped on board.

Then, Will struck the final blow.

"What's the matter, Your Highness? Why so hesitant? Is there something in the archive you don't want us to see? Or perhaps… you were planning to tamper with the files before we arrived?"

"…"

Adonis's expression shifted multiple times in rapid succession, then settled into a heavy sigh.

"…Very well. Since you insist, follow me."

From there, Adonis said nothing more. He led them through the busy station, up two flights of stairs, and finally stopped before a large room.

"It's in here. Please, come in."

With that, he opened the door—and revealed the archive room of Scotland Yard.

It looked just like the archives Will had seen in movies. Tall shelves filled with labeled document boxes, neatly arranged and solemn in atmosphere.

Adonis walked among the shelves, retrieved several folders, and laid them out before the group.

"All the relevant documents are here. I've already ordered my men to call for Captain Ella—she should be here shortly. In the meantime, feel free to review these."

Will glanced at Artoria and gave her a subtle wink. Then he turned back to Adonis.

"You're sure this is everything? Nothing's missing?"

"Of course," Adonis replied smoothly. "I've brought every case file I could find. Nothing has been omitted."

"Oh?" Will nodded. "Then there shouldn't be anything… inconvenient for us to see among them, right?"

"Hahaha! Young man, you've got quite the sense of humor. If there were something too sensitive to share, I wouldn't be handing it over, would I?"

The second half sounded like a joke… but the look on his face said otherwise.

He seemed nervous.

Will squinted and immediately opened the team chat.

[Will: Was that last bit a lie too? Did he withhold anything from us?]

[Artoria: …This is strange. I was starting to think my Fairy Eyes might be broken. He is lying—but not just about the first part. Even that second 'joke' of his is a lie too. How can both parts be false?]

[Will: …Wait, what? What's the problem? Didn't you say he wanted to hide something before? So if he's lying, then that tracks, doesn't it? …Hold on—]

[Will: Are you saying… that the line 'If there was something, I wouldn't give it to you' is also a lie?]

[Artoria: Yes. That's exactly it. Adonis did want to hide something—but he still gave it to us.]

[Artoria: Oh… I see now.]

[Will: What is it?]

Artoria narrowed her eyes at Adonis and replied again:

[Artoria: He was being deliberately misleading. It seems your earlier interrogation rattled him—he's now suspicious that you might have some kind of criminal profiling experience. He suspects you can detect lies based on microexpressions and vocal tone. So he tried to trip you up.]

[Artoria: The data he wanted to conceal was bundled with essential documents he had to show us. He couldn't remove it. And he had no time or opportunity to tamper with it. So instead, he told two lies in one sentence—banking on the idea that if you caught him lying, you'd naturally assume it was about hiding files. That way, you'd miss the real clue right under your nose.]

[Artoria: In other words, he's gambling that even if we have everything, we still won't recognize the truth when we see it. And if you do notice his lies, you'll be misled into thinking he successfully covered his tracks.]

That made things very clear.

Will nodded to himself.

He hadn't expected Adonis to pull such a twist. But thanks to Artoria's Fairy Eyes—which were practically mind-reading—he'd been caught red-handed anyway.

In this moment, Will no longer felt bad about Artoria's constant use of her ability. Heck, at this point, forgetting to close it didn't even count as cheating.

It was just Artoria being Artoria.

[Will: Well… good thing you're—]

[Artoria: Hm?]

[Will: …Nothing. Never mind.]

He had almost said, "Good thing you're here. I'm really glad I have you."

But in the end, he swallowed it back.

He had a reputation to uphold. As the bearer of Guinevere's "evil" side, getting all sappy and soft like the other him would be disgraceful.

Nope. Not happening.

With that, Will lowered his head and started going through the documents seriously. The others each picked up a copy as well.

The top files were exactly what Adonis had mentioned—Scotland Yard's case logs on cult activity.

The first entry was a brief overview of the cult:

"According to intelligence provided by Detective Randolph, the group responsible for repeated crimes over the past decade—including but not limited to kidnapping, murder, illegal gatherings, and public endangerment—is a sect known as the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign."

"Members of the Brotherhood are fanatical worshipers of the 'King in Yellow,' Hastur. They wear yellow robes and accessories inscribed with the Yellow Sign, chanting praises to their god."

"The origins of the Brotherhood are unknown. According to captured members, their roots go back to 10,000 B.C.—obviously delusional rambling. However, based on evidence provided by Randolph Carter, the Brotherhood has been active in the UK for centuries. They've even allegedly had contact with figures from Arthurian legend."

"Most members blend into society as normal people, often working in jobs that require frequent travel. When a mission begins, they gather at the target location, identifying each other via yellow stone bracelets or secret hand signals."

"According to foreign intelligence, the Brotherhood is known among cultists for their extremism and brutality. Ironically, their devotion to Hastur seems laced with fatalism—they believe all who bear the Yellow Sign meet a grim end."

"Their recent surge in activity appears to stem from a divine revelation claimed by their leader—who now seeks to summon their god to Earth."

Then came a breakdown of the summoning ritual:

"The cult must arrange nine enchanted megaliths, each over nine cubic yards, in a V formation to mark Hastur's descent point."

"The ritual can only be performed on a clear night when Aldebaran rises above the horizon."

"Bayaki, the monstrous servants of Hastur, increase the ritual's success rate by 10% per creature present."

"The following is the full ritual… however, we still cannot determine its connection, if any, to the notorious kidnapping of philanthropist Dr. Henry Jekyll."

"Perhaps… the Jekyll case was not committed by the Brotherhood at all, and merely coincided with their activities?"

Will's eye twitched.

Hold on.

Why was this turning into gossip about his own family?

Was he the first victim of these nutjobs?!

He'd long suspected something like this… but this made it real. These cultists seriously planned to summon Hastur?

Then why… kidnap him?

As the questions spiraled in his mind, he flipped to the last page—and froze.

A cold sweat ran down his spine. A chill raced from his back to the top of his skull, freezing his fingertips.

His body stiffened.

At the bottom of the final page was a note:

"Lastly, we include the sacred Yellow Sign of the Brotherhood."

Beneath the text was a bizarre, childlike scrawl in yellow ink—a strange symbol that looked like it had been doodled by a lunatic.

But Will had seen that symbol before.

On the badge he found shortly after arriving here—near his initial point of entry.

The one he still carried in the real world.

And in that moment, everything clicked.

His abduction at the start of this singularity had never been a coincidence.