"I more or less understand," Holmes said faintly as he sat across from Kasenhis.
"What you want is for me, with no clues, no timeline, no crime scene, and without us even knowing what the object in question actually is, to deduce which cultural relic that damned bald egghead corrupted into one of these so-called Horcruxes, and then work out where he hid it."
Holmes took out his pipe, packed it with tobacco, drew in a heavy breath, and looked somewhat exhausted as he stared at Kasenhis across from him.
He was beginning to suspect that Kasenhis didn't actually see him as a detective.
More like some kind of eldritch god that could grant wishes or provide answers as long as it was fed or given a sacrifice.
"So you can't do it?" Kasenhis asked with a sigh.
Holmes took a tactical sip of water.
"I wouldn't say there's absolutely nothing I can do."
Kasenhis's eyes lit up.
Holmes continued.
"What I need first is a basic timeline. For example, where your enemy was when he created this Horcrux, how old he was at the time, things like that."
Kasenhis leaned back in his chair.
"Hmm..."
"Is there an easier way?" he asked.
Holmes shrugged.
"Of course. Come outside and get in the car."
The three of them left the apartment and got into the car.
Kasenhis sat in the back, humming to himself as he watched the scenery outside.
After some time, the car stopped.
"Where are we?" Kasenhis asked.
"Lily Dale. A spiritualist community. You could say it's one of the most famous gatherings of mediums in all of New York, even in the entire United States. There are 275 residents here, and 45 of them are certified mediums. They offer séances, mediumship research, healing services, and paranormal seminars throughout the year. Finding things for people, like what you mentioned, should be roughly within their field of expertise," Holmes explained.
Kasenhis nodded.
"I get it. What you mean is that asking you to locate something out of thin air when I have absolutely no clues gives you no better odds than coming here, finding some so-called medium, fraud, or charlatan, and having them accidentally stumble onto the answer."
He looked at Holmes.
"So you've seriously gotten bored enough to spend nearly two hours driving here just to make me realise how ridiculously unreasonable my request was?"
Holmes shrugged.
"You're overthinking it. What I mean is that mediums seem to belong to a different system from wizards."
"Though it probably isn't appropriate for a detective like me to say this, they do seem genuinely capable of knowing certain things without any prerequisite conditions or even any exchange of energy."
After saying all that, he even began muttering quietly to himself.
"Though even now, I still want to burn this entire place to the ground."
After Holmes's long explanation, Kasenhis finally understood a little.
Energy-based magical divination... ×
Natural mysticism-based divination... ✓
"Which one here is the most accurate?"
The instant Kasenhis asked that question, both Holmes and Peanut, who was sitting in the car, widened their eyes.
But Holmes quickly looked like he had been angered into laughing and pointed toward a shop around the corner.
Kasenhis nodded.
"Thanks!"
The two people left in the car exchanged a glance.
Peanut spoke first.
"So how exactly did Kasenhis, an actual wizard, manage to believe that load of nonsense you just told him...?"
Holmes shook his head.
"I knew magic affected intelligence!"
With that, the two sat in gloomy silence inside the car.
Before long, Kasenhis came back out carrying three cups of coffee.
"Wasn't that supposed to be a medium's studio? Why is it a coffee shop?" Kasenhis asked in confusion.
Holmes took the coffee from him.
"What I'm genuinely curious about is why you actually believed the nonsense I said. We both know you're a wizard, and we still brought you to a place like this. Didn't you think there was something wrong with that?"
Kasenhis took a sip of coffee as well.
"Precisely because I know that you know I'm a wizard. So if you brought me somewhere like this, then this place obviously had to contain something genuinely valuable that I wouldn't look down on."
"...."
Holmes continued drinking his coffee.
For the first time, he discovered that his intelligence apparently wasn't omnipotent.
At least when Kasenhis was involved, his intelligence didn't seem particularly useful.
Kasenhis awkwardly pursed his lips.
"...Did I misunderstand?"
Holmes shook his head.
"Your reasoning was wrong, but you still reached the correct conclusion. We didn't come here for any so-called mediums. We came here for coffee. The coffee here is excellent enough that we're willing to drive two hours just to drink it."
"So... what about the thing I asked you to investigate?" Kasenhis asked.
"We'll go back and discuss it properly."
Holmes sighed and sat back down in the passenger seat.
If Kasenhis weren't one of the very few friends they had, Holmes absolutely would have pulled out a pistol and shot the bastard.
He was way too fucking irritating.
Back at the two men's apartment, Kasenhis naturally sat down in the client's chair.
"Alright. Let's see what we can do. First, we need to fill in the missing information."
Holmes pulled out a notebook.
"That's fine. But before that, you two need some protection. That guy put magic on his name, so generally speaking, if you're not strong enough, it's better not to say it aloud."
As Kasenhis spoke, he pulled out an enchanted book and placed an isolation spell on Holmes and Peanut, ensuring Voldemort couldn't locate them through the magic attached to his name.
"We're good now, right? Tell me the bald bastard's real name and age," Holmes said.
"Real name, Tom Riddle. Born in 1926. He now goes by Voldemort," Kasenhis said lazily from where he was curled up on the sofa.
"Tsk, tsk. Just a simple rearrangement of letters? What was his family situation like?" Holmes asked.
"Hmm... orphan. His mother died after giving birth to him. After starting school, he found his father and killed him. He also killed his uncle and framed someone else for it," Kasenhis explained.
"If we only look at him and his father... Riddle was his father's surname, correct? And while the name Tom has always been common, it was especially popular around the 1900s. So I'm guessing his father was also named Tom, and he inherited his father's name. Is that right?" Holmes asked.
"Exactly." Kasenhis nodded.
"A contradictory man."
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