Chapter 261 [The Realm of Honesty]
"This is the irrigation water for the golden wheat seedlings."
In front of the Castella volcano, Elder Grant pointed to the water pool in front of him and introduced it to the two of them.
"In the north, there is almost no natural water. Most of the ice and snow are used to thaw. Only in Castela Volcano can such a natural water pool appear." Elder Grant subconsciously emphasized.
Gothe and Loic approached the pool.
The edge of the pool is covered with a thick layer of moss that is very common in the north.
This moss species should be moss. The lush green and the blue of the pool form a color combination that is extremely rare in the north.
The soil around the pond is moist and fertile.
The water in the pool is crystal clear, and you can even see a few small fish swimming leisurely in it.
"The source of the water in the pool is the groundwater inside the volcano. This groundwater has been filtered by the volcanic rock layers, and the water quality is extremely pure. Logically speaking, there should be no insect eggs." Elder Grant pointed to the other side of the pool.
Hym Visible to the naked eye, there is a steady stream of water pouring into the pool.
The water flow still has a hint of warmth, which is in sharp contrast to the extremely cold environment in the north.
Gothe squatted down, and Flora, who was sitting on his shoulder, was carefully observing the pool.
It can be found that there are still some small bubbles emerging in the soil at the edge of the pool.
These bubbles are signs of underground heat sources.
Although the Castela volcano has been dormant for a long time, the underground heat source is still very active, which keeps the water temperature in the pool at a relatively stable level and will not be affected by the temperature in the north and freeze.
Here, Flora has also finished her observation.
"This water is indeed very pure, there are no ice worm eggs, and it also contains minerals suitable for the growth of golden wheat." Gothe stood up and gave Flora the conclusion.
"However, the ice nematode eggs in the golden wheat field do come from irrigation water. Lady Flora can be sure of this." He affirmed.
This is Flora's innate ability, which is the information obtained from "communication" with plants.
Plants don’t lie.
“All the irrigation water for the Jinhui Wheat Field is taken from the pool in front of you, without exception?” Gothe confirmed to Elder Grant.
"There are no exceptions," Elder Grant said with absolute certainty: "Although we don't understand what minerals you are talking about, we have long discovered that using the water here to irrigate the golden wheat can make the golden wheat grow better, and it can also be slightly improved. Increase the yield. "
hh "So when we water Jinhui Wheat, we strictly stipulate that we can only use the water here."
hhh "Who is generally responsible for fetching water and watering it?" Gao De frowned, thought for a while, and asked again.
Since there are no ice nematode eggs in the water pool, but the ice nematode eggs in the wheat fields clearly come from the irrigation water, the ice nematode eggs only appear in the process from water collection to watering.
Obviously, both Elder Grant and Loitch also came to this conclusion.
Elder Grant’s face became extremely solemn. He thought about it carefully and spit out three names from his mouth.
"Ethan, Evan, and Simon are usually responsible for fetching and watering the water. They have all been working here for almost ten years, they are very reliable, and they are also very familiar with Jinhui Wheat."
"Are you sure there are no omissions? Those who are not responsible for watering, but can also access the water pool are counted." Gothe nodded and asked again.
It’s not that I don’t believe Elder Grant, but speaking from experience, in this case, the average person’s answer is always one-sided and will miss some special circumstances.
Often, these special situations are the final answer - because universal situations are too easy to investigate.
Elder Grant understood Gothe's caution. He thought for a while and then said: "There is also Thomas. He was also responsible for planting golden wheat before. Later, he injured his waist and could not do this work, so he had to quit." />
"Normally, I come here at least once a day to check on the situation of Golden Wheat." Elder Grant said, he is a very responsible person:
"But occasionally there are times when I am too busy to leave. Thomas is a servant in my house and has experience in growing Golden Wheat, so at this time, I will ask Thomas to go to the fields for me to take a look."
"A few days ago, because I was busy with the matters assigned by your saint, I asked Thomas to look at the golden wheat fields for me for a day."
Gothe and Roic looked at each other.
The time is just right, and it is impossible not to doubt it.
"Then I'll have to trouble Elder Grant to call Thomas over. We have a few questions to ask him." Loitch said.
"Okay." Elder Grant looked heavy, but still nodded in agreement.
Thomas is a middle-aged man, not quite old yet.
When he was called over, he seemed a little submissive.
When he saw that in addition to Elder Grant, there were two outsiders, Loic and Gothe, waiting for him, a trace of uneasiness and nervousness flashed in his eyes.
Before Thomas arrived, Loic cast a spell to prepare for the next inquiry.
He stretched out his right index finger, drew a circle in the air, and then pointed toward the ground.
Following Roic's gesture, magic reverberated in the air.
A layer of invisible ripples spread out along with the magic waves, covering a spherical area with a radius of 15 feet centered on him.
Second-level enchantment spells.
【Realm of Honesty】.
Rare universal spells—most of the spells mastered by these Iceborn are very different from the spells in the outside world. They are spells that Gothe has not learned in the general spell class.
Gothe looked at Loic in surprise.
"This is the spell formula I bought from your foreign mage," Roic explained to Gothe casually: "It was a foreign mage who wanted to come to the north to make a fortune. He almost died in a wolf's mouth, but I rescued him and followed me for a while."
【Realm of Honesty】is a functional spell that is not lethal and does not help in combat, but it has powerful spell effectiveness in terms of interrogation.
Because in the realm of honesty, the subject cannot lie intentionally.
However, the realm of honesty still has many flaws and is not a panacea.
The most prominent point is that the subject can be aware of the existence of the realm of honesty, so he can actively avoid answering questions that would usually be answered with lies.
Even when answering questions, you can be evasive and avoid the important ones, because as long as it does not exceed the scope of the truth, there will be no problem.
After all, this is only a second-level spell.
Of course, [Region of Honesty] is sufficient in most cases.
The moment he entered the realm of honesty, Thomas' body froze.
—He has realized the existence of the realm of honesty.
"Thomas, they have some questions they want to ask you. Just cooperate with them and tell the truth." Elder Grant comforted him.
"I understand, elder, and I will cooperate with them." Thomas replied with some embarrassment and nervousness.
"You can ask." Elder Grant folded his hands and stood aside.
Roich did not shy away from suspicion, and went straight to the point in front of Elder Grant: "Does the pest problem of Jinhui Wheat have something to do with you?"
He didn't bother to ask step by step about ice worm eggs and irrigation water, and went straight to the core issue.
"What?" Thomas was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't react.
"You only need to answer yes or no, don't say anything else." Loic drank lightly.
"No." Thomas shook his head repeatedly, looking flustered, and kept explaining: "It's none of my business."
Roic heard this answer, glanced at Gothe, and then shook his head.
Meaning, the other party did not lie.
Thomas has nothing to do with the pest problem?
Gaode frowned slightly, always feeling that something was wrong.
He began to think about it in his mind.
Soon, Gothe raised his head again.
It is obvious that the person behind the scenes is the internal senior management of the Snowfield Guardian.
Hence, the person behind the scenes was extremely aware of Loic's ability. When framing Kathleen, he wiped out all the smells at the scene to cut off the possibility of Loic chasing the murderer by smell.
In the same way, the person behind the scenes may also know the [Realm of Honesty] controlled by Loic.
So, is it possible that at the beginning of planning the pest infestation, the person behind the scenes had already considered the "Realm of Honesty" and made corresponding arrangements.
For example, a "white lie" was used from the beginning to get Thomas to do something, and Thomas believed it?
In the realm of honesty, the subject cannot lie intentionally.
This is the spell effect of [Realm of Honesty], but it is also its limitation.
The field of honesty can only limit the subject's subjective lying behavior.
What if the subject himself was deceived into thinking that he was telling the truth?
Even if in fact it is a lie, as long as he believes it to be true from the bottom of his heart, he can pass the judgment of the realm of honesty.
"Five days ago, when you inspected the Jinhui Wheat Field on behalf of Elder Grant, did you do anything beyond the scope of your duties, good or bad?" Gothe stared into Thomas's eyes, carefully considered his words, and then asked after making sure that there were no loopholes.
Roic on the side was startled for a moment, and then showed an expression of realization.
He glanced at Gothe in slight surprise - he had already guessed Gothe's thoughts from Gothe's question at the moment, and was surprised that Gothe could think of this in such a short period of time.
The moment he heard Gothe's question, Thomas' expression suddenly changed.
"How to count things beyond the scope of responsibilities?" Thomas tried to calm down.
"Answer yes or no, don't change the subject!" Elder Grant also saw the problem, and his eyes became cold.
He was a man who missed old friendships. It was precisely because he saw how difficult it was for Thomas to work in the golden wheat fields for so many years that he accepted him as a servant after he was injured.
The result was that if Gao De had not intervened, the death of Jinhui Mai would have been a big deal, enough to make him fall from his position as elder, and he would not be able to keep it until the end of the year.
The thought of encountering such a backstab made Elder Grant's heart burn like fire.
Thomas looked at Elder Grant's cold gaze, and the composure he had pretended suddenly collapsed, and tears suddenly fell down his face.
"Elder, Elder, I really didn't do anything. The pest problem really has nothing to do with me. You were kind enough to take me in, and you have nothing to say to me these years. Even if I have no conscience, I will not do anything to betray you!"
"Elder, you believe me."
It is useless no matter what Thomas says. His reaction and attitude at the moment can actually explain everything.
Hearing Elder Grant's cold tone, Thomas' face turned pale. He looked at young Gothe, staring at his face, and then nodded desperately, "Yes."
"What did you do?" Elder Grant then asked.
Now that he has confessed, Thomas simply broke the pot and stopped hiding it, "I was entrusted by others to bring a magic pet into the volcanic field five days ago."
h "I only did this, and I really don't know anything about the next insect infestation."
h "What magic pet?" Elder Grant had no intention of paying attention to Thomas' pale explanation. He explained, and continued: "Who is he entrusted by?"
"A toad pet." Thomas replied: "I don't know who is behind it. They use my family to coerce me. They usually contact me through letters, and they can't see anyone at all."
As expected, even in this link, the person behind the scenes did not leave many flaws.
Gaode secretly thought in his heart.
“Taking your family to intimidate you. How long has this been going on?” Elder Grant asked again.
"The man just asked me to bring the toad pet in when I entered the volcanic field. There was no need to do anything else. After I came out, the toad pet left on its own."
"I have no idea what happened in the meantime, and what was the person's intention in asking me to do this."
“Catherine’s arrest is the other one of the two guests that Elder Grant received the day before yesterday. Does it have anything to do with you?” Here, Gothe has skipped the insect pests and jumped directly to the matter of Kathleen that he is more concerned about.
"I" Thomas' struggling explanation came to an abrupt end, as if he was stuck.
Seeing his reaction, Roic suddenly became happy—obviously, not only was Thomas a participant in this matter, he also obviously knew some inside information.
Finally found a useful clue.
"I can't say it, I can't say it. If I say it, my wife and children will be dead." Thomas suddenly shouted in despair.
The next moment, black blood and white foam suddenly began to come out of his mouth, and then he tilted his head and fell down.
(End of this chapter)