"Creak," a heavy iron door was pushed open, and Richard and Sherlock entered the warehouse.
This was a large hall built underground, nearly a thousand square meters in size. On both sides of the hall, numerous wooden shelves stood, carrying a vast collection of Sherlock’s peculiar items—such as enormous gemstones, amber encasing complete insects, broken magic wands, and the teeth of an old wizard ripped out by someone.
In the middle of the hall, there was an open space where some larger items that did not fit on the shelves were piled up—like bizarrely shaped stones, the skeletons of some ancient colossal creatures, and complete specimens of demonized creatures.
One could say this was a truly magical place, where many unimaginable, stylistically diverse things could be found.
After bringing Richard in, Sherlock, holding a painting in his hand, quickly ran towards the depths of the warehouse and shouted, "Richard, feel free to look around, I hope you can find the Balasi Silver you need. I’ll frame this Color Painting first."
After speaking, Sherlock ran past a shelf and disappeared with a turn.
Richard shrugged his shoulders, looked in the direction Sherlock had vanished, and said, "Alright then." He turned around and began his search.
Looking around, Richard realized that since his last visit to this collection warehouse, Sherlock had certainly added many new items during this period, such as specimens of Mermaid corpses, complete ivory carvings, miniature gold statues, and so on.
However, after searching for a while, he found no trace of Metal Palladium.
After a few more rounds of searching, he found plenty of silver-white metals, but most were silver, with a minor part being Platinum, which he already owned and did not need. There was not a single gram of Metal Palladium.
Richard’s forehead furrowed slightly.
He continued searching with patience, and finally, after more than half an hour, he shook his head and accepted reality: Sherlock did not possess any Metal Palladium.
That was normal, after all; the true uses of Metal Palladium were not yet discovered in the current world, so no one would collect it deliberately. Even if collected, many mistook it for fake silver. Sherlock’s treasure vault was not a magic box that contained anything one could wish for.
In that case, he would have to find a way to slowly gather it himself.
Eventually, he would obtain the Metal Palladium, but it would take quite some time—estimating at least a month, and if he was unlucky, and there were no suitable mines nearby, then perhaps two months, three months, or even more.
But there was no other way.
Taking a deep breath, Richard prepared to tell Sherlock about his findings and then leave. After looking around, he could not find Sherlock in the labyrinth-like warehouse.
"Sherlock!" Richard could not help but call out.
"I’m over here—" Sherlock’s voice came from a corner, weak and listless in response.
"Hm? What are you doing?" Richard raised an eyebrow and quickly followed the voice, only to see Sherlock squatting in a corner, staring intently at a statue. Around the statue were some fresh chippings, and Sherlock was holding a carving knife—obviously, he had been carving this statue during the time he disappeared.
Sherlock’s skills were clearly excellent; the statue he carved looked lifelike, as if it were a living girl around fifteen or sixteen years old, with pigtails and a smiling face.
"Beautiful, so beautiful..." Sherlock murmured as he gazed at the statue, "I want to remember her in my heart forever."
As he spoke, Sherlock turned to glance at Richard, explaining, "I remember placing her here about a half-month ago. I had already completed most of her, but was interrupted by some urgent matters and forgot about it.
Just now, after I finished framing your painting, I turned around and saw her again. It must be fate, so I made sure to finish her properly. Hmm... a perfect existence!"
Richard’s eyes flickered as he said to Sherlock, "Don’t you already have a beautiful maid? Can a living person not compare to a statue?"
"No, it’s different," Sherlock shook his head, "Living people have their advantages, and statues have theirs. Living people give me the most authentic feelings, but statues can maintain their perfect pose forever."
"Of course," Sherlock suddenly thought of something and said out loud, "Statues also have a downside; they are too heavy and not convenient to carry. Forcing to transport them, they tend to get damaged during the process. So, once a statue is finished, the best treatment is to keep it in one place forever. If I want to own her forever, I can only remember her firmly in my heart. Sigh." He sighed at the end.
Richard blinked and said, "It doesn’t necessarily have to be so absolute."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Sherlock looked over.
"I know of something that can capture a scene forever and preserve it on paper," Richard explained.
"Are you talking about drawing?" Sherlock pointed to the framed Color Painting next to him, saying, "But drawing is not real. Do you see this depiction of hell? I don’t believe it’s the real hell. I also know that some spells have similar effects to drawing, but none of these are real."
Richard said, "What I’m talking about is neither drawing nor spells, but a device that works with light. If possible, I’ll bring it for you to see next time I come. You’ll understand then. Of course, this machine is special; you must ensure its private use, and it absolutely must not be disclosed to others."
"I, can you not trust me?" Sherlock said.
"If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have mentioned the device," Richard said.
"That settles it, then," Sherlock stated, and then asked, "By the way, how did your search for the Balasi Silver go?"
Richard shook his head, "I didn’t find it. Apparently, you don’t have it here."
"Then shall I have some of my friends look for it for you?" Sherlock asked earnestly, "As you know, I have many friends. While our friendship isn’t as deep as ours, they are always willing to help me out for the right price.
So, just by mentioning money, maybe we can find the Balasi Silver you need. Of course, it may take some time, but I assure you that within a month, I absolutely can help you find it."
"A month, huh," Richard said, "Actually, if I looked myself, it would take about a month as well, so I’ll just do it myself, no trouble to you."
"That won’t do," Sherlock got anxious, "You don’t like getting things from me for free, and I don’t like getting things from you for free either. I’ve already taken your Color Painting for nothing, and I’ve requested that device that works with light from you, so I must give you something in exchange.
How about this: besides Lucia and me, take whichever you like from my courtyard."
Richard: "..." Are you serious?