Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “Is this the shop that sells that shirt?”


  Sylvanas stood at the dead-end of a winding alley. Instead of a garment shop, it was more appropriate to call it a criminals’ nest.

  The outer walls were filled with graffiti, while the main door was blackened by a previous scorching. On top of that, there was a huge crimson word “Torn” on the wall.

  At the corner of the shop, a slender Gnome with deep eye sockets and eyes that were thirsty for knowledge was reading a tattered old mathematical book passionately. When he discovered someone coming in, he lifted his head nervously. When he saw Arthur and his friends, the Gnome climbed up and ran off.

  The entire alley was filled with a sense of decadence.

  “I don’t know, but the shopkeeper pointed us here,” BurningChestHair said puzzledly.

  NotWearingPants said, “He said that he was giving us guidance because we are from Eternal Kingdom and warned us not to tell others.”


  “Could it be a criminals’ nest?”


  “Isn’t this better? We can rob them!” Peasant said excitedly.

  “Robbing others is illegal!” Sylvanas replied angrily.

  “You thought that the internet is outside the purview of the law?” BurningChestHair said.

  “Stop fooling around. Can one of you knock on the door? The light on the shop sign is still on,” NotWearingPants said as he pointed to the shop sign overhead.

  The shop sign was still lit up.

  The sign read, “Not selling clothes—Open”.

  Though it was “Open”, the main door was tightly shut.

  Arthur walked up and knocked on the door.

  “Who’s that?”


  A voice came out of the shop. The main door was slightly ajar, and a rounded black nose peeped out. The nose had large nostrils and thick nose hairs. It sniffed hard.

  “Orcs? What do you want? If you’re learning in secret at my door and asking me for food, please go and die.”
……

  The creature spoke rapidly before inhaling deeply as though he was out of breath. He was then going to shut the door, but Arthur stopped him from closing it and accidentally cut the black nose.

  “Ouch!”


  While he was shouting out in pain, Arthur said, “Apologies, we’re here to buy things!”


  The creature with the big nose closed the door and opened up several locks behind it.

  The door was opened, and a squinting mole stood at the door. He sniffed hard before giving way as he said, “Six of you? Please come in.”


  Arthur and his friends looked at each other. There were only five of them. The mole’s nose wasn’t very accurate.

  The five of them entered the shop, and the mole invited them to take a seat. He then took out a menu and placed it before them.

  “What would you like to eat?” the mole stood at the side and asked.

  “No, we’re not here to eat.”


  The mole said, “Not here for food? Ah, are you here for room rental? I have very good rooms. What do you like? Without windows? Rooms with windows are best for underground creatures. Those who request open windows and air circulation, I don’t understand why they did that……”


  The mole looked frustrated, but his guests said, “No, we’re not here for rental.”


  “Tsk, are you here to buy clothes?” The mole showed his look of disdain.

  “No, we’re here to find a creature,” Sylvanas said, and the mole was excited.

  “Finding a creature? You’ve found the correct sleuth! Who are you looking for? Cheating partner? Child’s infatuation target? Or other targets? No matter what it is, we at Don’t Want to Sell Clothes can help you. We’re the best at sleuthing.”


  Arthur and his friends looked at each other. Then, NotWearingPants took out a photograph.

  “Do you recognize the creature in the photograph?” NotWearingPants asked.

  The mole squinted his eyes and hesitated. He sniffed and said, “Can you provide his personal items?”
……

  Professor Bacon’s personal items weren’t difficult to obtain. Arthur and his comrades returned to Eternal Kingdom and found Brainiac.

  Brainiac didn’t expect to have news so fast. There were many personal items belonging to Professor Bacon in his office.

  Brainiac brought back a professor’s costume and handed it over to Arthur.

  Arthur and his comrades took the costume and hurried back to the shop called Don’t Want to Sell Clothes. They wanted the mole to find Professor Bacon. When they returned to the shop, they saw something unexpected.

  The shop Don’t Want to Sell Clothes was engulfed in huge flames……

  Winterfell’s fire engine Beetlemons were parked outside the alley.

  Tens of uniformed Orcs and Gnomes were scurrying in the ruined shop that was burned down. They were looking for survivors.

  Cherry stood at the ruined shop entrance and smoked his burning metal stick.

  “It’s an accident! It’s a garment shop, but it’s secretly doing food and beverages. There was even a naked fire at the back. The uncovered fire burned the cloth materials in the warehouse and caused the fire!” a Garrison Guard concluded after an initial inspection.

  Another Garrison Guard said, “Not necessarily. According to our intelligence, there were five citizens of Eternal Kingdom who came here to find a creature. Soon after they left, the shop caught fire and the shopkeeper was burnt to death. He’s a mole and doesn’t need to sleep at night, so why didn’t he escape during the fire? We can’t exclude the possibility of suicide!”


  A few Garrison Guards looked at Cherry.

  When Cherry was working in Small Distant Town at the foot of the Black Volcano, he contributed to solving a big case.

  Though Cherry wasn’t able to claim much credit, Dungeon Lord Nicholas invited him to return to Winterfell and gave him a new position—Winterfell Garrison Guard Senior Captain!

  Senior Captain was more prestigious than Captain.

  Cherry considered the offer and struggled for a long time. After three seconds, he accepted the offer reluctantly.

  The citizens of Eternal Kingdom, who first discovered the incident, immediately informed the Garrison Guard. Senior Captain Cherry arrived at the crime scene in a hurry.

  Everyone looked at Cherry. They were waiting for Cherry’s professional opinion.

  Cherry inhaled silently and made “Zi, zi, zi” sounds before saying, “Five of them came here to ask questions, and the shopkeeper perished. It looks like an accident!”


  Cherry was far from being a famous sleuth. The burning metal stick in his hand fell to the ground and made “Da, da” sounds. He then said, “It was a garment shop, but it flouted the rules and ran as a restaurant. The uncovered fire in the kitchen lit up the cloth in the warehouse and caused the fire!”


  “But Captain Cherry……”


  When an Orc was about to pose a question, another Garrison Guard immediately corrected him, “Call him Senior Captain Cherry!”


  “Apologies, Senior Captain Cherry, but if it was an accident, why didn’t the mole shopkeeper escape? Wasn’t he awake at that time?”


  Cherry leaned against the wall, lifting one of his legs and resting it on the wall. He lowered his head and hid half of his face in the shadows. He looked grave as he said, “Responsibility!”


  The Garrison Guards at the side were shocked. The Garrison Guard that posed the question was enlightened. He said, “Is that so? I understand! The five of them were going to meet the shopkeeper, so he waited for them to return. From his business records, besides selling a few articles of clothing, he didn’t have any income. Finally, he was able to do business, and he wanted to complete the deal even if he died!”


  “Therefore, he was burnt to death.”


  “I see.”


  “I understand.”


  “Hmm, issue arrest warrants for the five witnesses! If not for them, the shopkeeper wouldn’t have died!”


  The Garrison Guards were about to capture the five of them when someone shouted, “Senior Captain! Come here immediately! I have a new discovery!”


  Cherry lifted his head and saw a few citizens of Eternal Kingdom surrounding the ruins and looking at something.

  Cherry lit up a metal stick in silence and beckoned his Garrison Guards over. He said, “The case has new developments!”