"Tell me again, why are we in this place?" asked Selene, sitting in a rather small, but rather cozy and delicate room, but there was something strange about it.
Everything was very 'tidy' as if the person who lived in this house had a severe obsession with order, she even noticed the excessive combination of everything, as if the whole room was one big puzzle.
Next to her was Baron Zeppeli, quietly enjoying his usual glass of wine, but don't get carried away, even if he looks like an old alcoholic, the wine itself is one of his weapons in battle.
"Simple meditation can't help you with your emotional problems, young moon, so I thought of one of my acquaintances," the man replied after taking a sip from his glass.
"I taught you how to fight and how to use your surroundings, Erina taught you how to weave, though I don't know why a warrior like you would need that. From Jojo, you learned the basics of archaeology, but in the end, we could never get to grips with your 'crazy emotions', as you put it.
I could simply dismiss it as those charlatans who want to run electricity through your head or touch your private parts to stop you from being 'hysterical', but your emotions could be affected by something deeper, and that's why we're here," Zeppeli added, seeing the uncomfortable face of his half-pupil.
The man couldn't help but think back to the strange vision he'd had two weeks ago when he'd examined the young girl in front of him, the surprise he'd felt when he'd realized that she was innocent, with all that dark aura, and even suffering from uncontrolled emotions, made him feel that he should help her.
Selene could only watch as her Charm attribute had strangely risen to 15 points after using some tactics to appeal to the inner goodness of Zeppeli, a man who did not hesitate even when he knew he would die if he remained behind the Stone Mask.
Zeppeli had taken it upon herself to teach her how to fight, contrary to his clothes, the man was a brash one and advocated using any means to win, this was no joke, he even fervently recommended Selene hit a man's underbelly if she had the opportunity.
His way of fighting also included the ability to act stealthily and out of sight, he said that when you're fighting inhuman beings you don't need human ethics, so sneak attacks, betrayal, backstabbing, everything was valid.
Erina taught her how to knit, and oddly enough that not only helped her progress in her secondary mission, but she felt it was becoming something more, perhaps if she cultivated her knowledge of tailoring she could unlock some sub-profession related to it, but that would be for the future.
Jonathan taught her about archaeology, at least the basics, not for nothing was it a university degree. And that made it possible for her to complete one of her two side missions, raising her Intelligence attribute to 8 points.
"But Sherlock Holmes, isn't he just a detective?" asked Selene with some doubt, even though she was going crazy inside.
'OH SHIT, SHERLOCK, isn't this world just Jojo's? Or is it something else... what I do know is that these spin-off worlds are something more than what the plot shows you...' her mind boiled as she felt a twinge of excitement at the thought of meeting such a person.
Even if you've never read anything by this man, who he was and what he did are something like common culture. The god of reason, the greatest detective, the inspiration for The Walking Dead, Conan, and so many titles.
"Would you like a pass?" a scruffy Englishman asked, before bringing his face close to a suspicious line of white powder, which he inhaled sharply.
'Yeah... I didn't see that,' Selene decided mentally as she watched this man inhaling magic powders.
"Stop it, Mr. Sherlock, there's something I'd like you to advise me on," Zeppeli's face crumpled visibly at the detective's cheek, but he was here to do a favor and he wasn't the man's father, so he left it at that.
"Oh, whatever you want, I'll help you, you can always count on me. So, what do you want, does the lady here want a consultation with the great Sherlock Holmes? By the way, I'm free tonight if you want~" the man flirted, causing Selene's eyes to twitch nervously.
"Nothing like that, we need you to teach her how to organize her mind in that thing you call 'Mental Palace', she really needs to organize her inner self, simple meditation only suppresses her emotions, but your means can allow her to manage them properly" Zeppeli then explained Selene's condition, there was no need to hide it.
"Look Baron, I know you've helped me with some strange things, like that weird guy who wreaked havoc on a full moon, or that you have some rather strange methods for making golden rays, but what your friend needs is alcohol, opium or to be fucked hard" Sherlock simply waved his hand and sat back in his chair, ignoring the stiff smile on Selene's face.
"Isn't it just hysteria because her time is running out and she hasn't had children? A little joy would solve that, wouldn't it? And as long as it doesn't become a mess for me, why go so far as to need so much mystical mess as meditation?
Although the Mind Palace might help her organize her thoughts, she would have to vent those impetuous emotions one way or another, so why waste time inside your head when she could simply solve her problems with any mildly capable man?" Sherlock's harsh words plunged the entire room into stony silence.
Zeppeli rolled his eyes, that's why he only had Sherlock as an acquaintance, he was a truly repulsive fellow, a hedonist who did what he did not for the sake of helping, but for the sake of pleasure. His problem-solving was just that, his opium, a good case solved was more than any magic powder he could snort or inject.
Selene on the other hand was getting angry, she felt like killing the man, and her murderous intent was growing more and more when she saw the man's disgusting face with a bit of white on his nose, but she was a reasonable woman, even if she was only a few weeks old, she knew she couldn't go crazy, not now.
"I will find ways to solve this problem, but a way to control my mind properly would make things easier, it would also make my learning much more streamlined," Selene reasoned, and even put a slight smile on her face, making the most of her 15 point charm.
Sherlock stared at her for a few seconds, as if enchanted by her, before bursting out laughing like a madman, going completely off-key and causing Selene's smile to become increasingly stiff.
"Darling, you're beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, even your green hair is exotic and I'd love to know if it's green down there, but apprenticeship? What do women need to learn apart from the necessities of the home? And with your beauty, is that even necessary for you?" The man then wiped the corners of his eyes, apparently he had laughed himself to tears recently.
"Come on, Sherlock, you seriously underestimate Miss Mond, she's not just a vase if you don't want to teach her, at least write down the method of learning the mental palace," Zeppeli cleared his throat and decided to intervene quickly, but a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.
He could feel Selene's ferocity, that dark aura growing stronger and stronger within her, and it seemed that Sherlock had provoked someone terrible. His grandfather, may he rest in peace, had taught him that to live well, he must not encourage women, especially those of his country, Italy, or he would never live in peace again.
Even though Selene's last name was German, it did not change the fact that Zeppeli saw in her this strong temper, Miss Pendleton had it too, and she had seen the mastodon Jonathan give in to the young blonde's whims with incredible ease.
"OK, just because you're asking, you've already helped me once and it's only fair that I return the favor," Sherlock still chuckled occasionally as he picked up a blank notebook and began writing about the mental palace.
It wasn't very extensive, but he decided that since Selene was very beautiful, he might as well add some of his personal improvements and extra notes, even though it was nonsense to him, he would keep his word.
"Here, I think that's all I can do. By the way, Baron Zeppeli, do you know anything about the strange disappearances of women in some places? I'm not talking about the alleged Jack The Ripper, but something else, some mention blood-sucking monsters and stuff?" asked Sherlock after handing the notebook to Zeppeli, who passed it to Selene.
"This time you have to stay out of it Sherlock, this is not something a normal person like you can handle with simple reasoning, forces beyond your comprehension are at work in this situation," Zeppeli said with a stern face as he listened to Sherlock's words.
He had heard not very good rumors about what was going on in some areas and had a strong suspicion that it was all caused by Dio Brando's henchmen, so he warned the detective, knowing that normal people had no proper method to solve this problem.
But he knew his words hadn't had the desired effect when he saw the sparkle in Sherlock's eyes, who seemed to have stumbled upon a case 'worthy' of his achievement and was more than willing to go all the way to the bottom of it.
"Mr Zeppeli..." As they rode in a carriage, Selene, who had not spoken for a long time, made a sound.
"Yes, Miss Mond?" asked the man, who was still sipping wine quietly.
"Do you know what testicular torsion is?" the smile Selene put on at that moment made Zeppeli remember the stories about evil demons he had heard in mass, but he dismissed them, Miss Mond had only a dark aura, but she was too beautiful to be an evil demon.
Only Selene's red eyes seemed to glow brighter as she looked at the lock of hair she held in her hand, it seemed the baldness of the English would not fail even the best detective.
'Looks like it's time to take a look at my book... to think that the information in my lineage is about curses and disadvantages, I'm anything but a priest... but the nuns' uniforms are really beautiful,' Selene thought, knowing who would be her first victim as she organized not only her emotions but also her memories, both those of her life and those of her lineage.
Zeppeli didn't know what a testicular torsion was, but when she heard the term, she couldn't help but feel a dull pain in her lower body, and as she watched the young woman next to her obsessively looking at the hair that probably belonged to her detective acquaintance, she thought of some evil methods she had seen.
'But she's too beautiful to be an evil witch, I guess it's just her peculiarities,' Zeppeli had unknowingly fallen under the subtle influence Selene exerted, her charm, her temperament, the energy she easily radiated and her very nature made this happen, even someone with a strong will could fall into cognitive distortions if they were constantly permeated, like drops of water falling on a stone.
Although we have another term for such a thing, mental contamination is one of the aspects of her lineage. But Selene is too beautiful, how could someone so beautiful be evil?
Surely this dark aura was more than just a reflection of her true nature, perhaps something they could use to their advantage in the fight against Dio Brando, these were the kinds of thoughts Zeppeli had as he ignored Selene's ever-increasing peculiarities.