Whispering Verse

Not only was it raining in Tobesk today, but it was also raining at Fort Midhill. But when investigating at the Academy Castle yesterday afternoon, the sky was very gloomy, so Shade prepared an umbrella in advance.

Fortunately, there was no leakage in the abandoned tower, so Shade completed the last 100 swings of the knife in the tower this week before entering the city.

First, they went to the Home for the Blind. The special blood provided by Sister Devlin was not ready yet, but here Shade got a letter from Captain Rades and learned about the follow-up situation of the serial murder case they solved yesterday.

Although the prisoner was injured and could not be revived at all, the evidence was solid and there was no surprise. The credit for this incident was taken by Captain Rades alone, and the city hall was also happy to promote the cooperation between the Royal Army Captain and the police to solve the serial murder case.

Shade even saw a newspaper at the House of the Blind that published a frontal and half-length photo of Captain Rades. This matter may become a topic of conversation among the citizens of Fort Midhill throughout the autumn. Although Captain Rades will not be promoted from the rank of captain just because of this incident, he will definitely be commended. . .

In the letter, the captain once again invited Shade to visit the traveler's camp on the Windy Trail next Thursday. Next Thursday is the captain's day off. He can take Shad for a walk in the Sikal Mountains or go hunting together.

"Then go into the mountain next Thursday to find the sword. I'm not familiar with the terrain of Sikal Mountain. It's not easy to find a specific cave in the mountain."

This is why Shade has been wandering around Fort Midhill, but has not rushed into the mountains to find the sword.

After leaving the House of the Blind, Shade went to Cassandra Auction House and met the old witch. Mother-in-law Cassandra was a little busy today, so Shade waited for half an hour to see her.

The witch already knew the whole story from Professor Dunn. She was very satisfied with Shade's quick action, so she directly took out the bottle of blood promised to Shade:

"The blood of Zakato the Devourer, the evil spirit demon of the Third Age."

"Devil's blood."

Shade carefully took the bottle in his hand. Although it was not heavy at all, psychological reasons made Shade think that the thing he was holding was heavier than a shot put:

"Is there any danger in this bottle of blood?"

Because of Darkness and Human Pussy, he was very taboo about being associated with demons unless necessary.

"This is the blood I got from the teacher. She said it was not dangerous."

The old witch said reassuringly.

But Shade still decided to keep this bottle of blood in the "God's Gift Box" until dawn on Sunday before attending the last cocktail party.

"In addition, I originally planned to let you meet my current apprentice. But I thought about it carefully and decided not to let more witches know about your existence."

Grandma Cassandra said again, holding the armrest of the seat with her hand wearing an emerald ring:

"I am already very old. I will not care about the affairs of you young people. As long as you do not harm the interests of the parliament, I will not disclose your existence to other people in the parliament. Young people, you do not have to do this. Worry."

"I see."

"Also, last time you asked me about the chosen one with the gift of death, I went to talk to Carina, and she said that she told you the whole story of "The Whispering Canto"."

"Yes, there is also the matter of the chosen ones."

There is no need to lie about this. Shade, who was sitting opposite the witch, answered very smoothly:

"Miss Carina's actions in Tobesk can easily attract attention. The female followers around her always have places that are inconvenient to go to. Therefore, when investigating Ivan Darkness lurking in Tobesk, she once Made me do something so I know about it too.”

The old witch nodded, her kind and kind expression unchanged:

"Then let me tell you something:

A few days ago, the Speaker communicated with me about the information about the third candidate. The only thing that can be confirmed at present is that the third selected candidate must be at Fort Midhill at this time. "

So a large group of people can be excluded.

"The parliament has very little content in the poem corresponding to the third chosen one, and this is the same for the three major thaumaturgy academies. However, the Five Gods Church, especially the Natural Church, seems to have key clues. There is reason to believe that the third The three chosen ones correspond to 'death'."

This is consistent with Shade's guess.

"Then do you need me to help you investigate something at Fort Midhill?"

he asked again.

"It's not necessary at the moment. I just want you to know something to prevent accidents from happening while at Fort Midhill."

The old man smiled and shook his head, and said in a slow voice:

"Considering that I am getting older, after repeated consideration and discussion, the council decided to send another great witch here next month to assist me in my investigation."

This is probably not only because Granny Cassandra only has ten rings and is old, but also because the events of Tobesk's Darkness have made the Ring Warlock organizations in the material world realize the greater importance of the Chosen One.

"Who is it?"

Shade decided to finish the affairs of Fort Midhill as soon as possible in the remaining few days of this month and avoid coming here next month.

"Don't worry, it's Sivi, Sivi Avora."

The old man said with a smile, obviously knowing that Miss Aurora knew about Shade:

"In order not to arouse suspicion, I won't come at the beginning of next month. The specific date has not been determined yet, but I think she will be happy to see you here."

Miss Aurora is very friendly to Shade, and she is the third seat in the council, a twelfth-level warlock and a twelfth-level witch. She is also the first person to bring Shade into the [Witch Council]. If the witch was here, things at Fort Midhill would be much simpler.

"Excuse me, has the Parliament decided how to deal with the matters underground at Fort Midhill?"

Shade asked again. Granny Cassandra, as the great witch resident in the local area, could not possibly allow the city to turn into a ghost.

"The three passages in the narrow room, the door at the foot of the mountain, were suspected to have been temporarily sealed by the high-circle warlock on the day you rescued your friend; the one at the top of the mountain was guarded by the ancients, and the Righteous God Church will find a way to do this; as for the mountainside, it was blocked by the Witch Emperor The passage hides the location, and the council’s idea is that it’s up to us to find the location and reinforce the seal.”

In other words, there is no problem at the foot of the mountain for the time being, the church is responsible for strengthening the top of the mountain, and the witches are looking for the ones on the mountainside. From this point of view, even if the problem of Hazama cannot be completely solved, at least Fort Midhill will not be destroyed by an outbreak of death this autumn.

The old witch sighed:

"The Witch Emperors probably left something near the passage in the narrow room, maybe even a fragment of "The Whispering Psalm", so the young girls are very interested in it."

"Grandma Cassandra, so in this case, you not only have to find the third chosen one, but you also have to find the mountainside passage in the narrow room? Oh, this is really not easy."

"Yes, the young girls in the parliament are really inconsiderate of an old man like me."

She smiled and shook her head, not complaining but teasing:

"So Hamilton, before Xiwei arrives, I might entrust you to do other things. Carina said that although you only have three rings, you are very reliable in doing things."

Shade was actually more curious about what else Miss Carina said about him:

"No problem, I'm willing to help you."

Nothing new happened over the next few days. Now that he knew that the disaster at Fort Midhill had been taken seriously, Shade suddenly lost his enthusiasm for exploring the secrets of the narrow space between life and death.

The things he had to deal with in the Fort Midhill area were basically almost over. Because I was not in a hurry to find the sword, I visited the address recorded on the note by the serial killer Henry Val on Friday.

As expected, it turned out to be the address of the boy who was said to be "able to see the date and manner of death."

When Shade followed the pattern on the note and knocked on the door of Building A, No. 8, Pigtail Lane, using three long words, two short words, and three short words and two long words, the person who opened the door knew that this was the address of the "Crow Club".

Shade knew about this club, and in the local information provided by Sister Devlin, there was a record of this small group of ring wizards. This organization is very small, not to mention compared to the [Spiritual Cult] that radiates throughout the eastern part of the Old Continent, even the [Mercury Blood] hiding in Tibet is bigger than them.

Of course, he pretended not to know the truth about this club, and still used the pseudonym "John Watson". He claimed that he was the writer who wanted to draw materials. He had heard interesting local rumors in the pub, so he wanted to meet the man who could see it. The boy who dated someone else's death.

But he was stopped by the man in Central who was communicating with him:

"Yes, but you need to make an appointment."

The man acted matter-of-factly, without doubting the reasons given by the "writer" in front of him.

"Huh? Do you still need to make an appointment?"

Shade, who was standing on the doorstep with an umbrella, was a little surprised:

"Is something wrong with that boy?"

"No, but he only sees guests twice a day. This is a rule. Moreover, we charge a fee. It is 10 pounds for a single visit. You can bring up to two friends. For each additional person, the price doubles. Three people are forty. Pounds. We won’t issue a receipt, and you can’t even try to negotiate the price.”

This makes them less like a group of ring wizards and more like local con men. Shade was originally curious as to why the witch and the church didn't find out about this group of people, but now he understands.

So he calmed down:

"Okay, I'll make an appointment. How long do I have to wait? Can I pay to jump in line?"

"Of course not. We have to follow the rules, and there are not many people in front of us. Next Sunday, you can come after nine o'clock in the morning, but if you don't show up before one o'clock in the afternoon, you will have to make another appointment."

Today was only Friday, which meant that there were actually more than a dozen people waiting to see the boy. There must be ring warlocks among them, but Shade felt that there must be more ordinary people.

"Well, I may bring a friend next Sunday. Please remember John Watson's appointment."

He was about to leave, but was stopped again:

"Wait a minute, we need to pay a deposit of 5 pounds."

The man twirled his fingers at Shade, who was holding an umbrella.

"ah?"

Shade looked at him in surprise.

"Otherwise, wouldn't we be at a huge loss if we turned down other guests' reservations because of you?"

If it hadn't been for the discovery that the boy's prediction was very accurate regarding Henry Val, Shade would have really suspected that he had fallen into a fraud trap.

Take a deep breath:

"Okay, I'll pay."

So he got a metal brooch with a crow's mark as a voucher for the appointment. But when he turned around to leave under his umbrella, Shade still thought that he would always suspect that he had been scammed until he actually saw the boy next Sunday.

On Friday, he just confirmed the appointment with the boy who could witness the death at Fort Midhill and returned home. Although it was still raining at Fort Midhill, it was already sunny in Tobesk.

In the afternoon, a new client came to the house. The Drax family, who lived in the West District of Tobesk, commissioned Shade to help find their lost pet cat. The twelve-year-old boy at home has been crying and feeling extremely guilty for accidentally letting the cat escape when he opened the door.

The Drax family was introduced to them by the old lady Midela who entrusted Shade to find cats last time. They have their own shop and a small factory in Nancheng District, specializing in manufacturing and selling metal bolts and nuts for steam engines. Although the product is single, the goods can even be exported to Kasenlik, so it belongs to a relatively wealthy family.

When Shade signed the commission contract, he asked for a high commission fee of 13 pounds. This is partly because the lost cat is a very expensive breed, at least more expensive than urban orange cats like Mia, and partly because Shade promised to find the cat within three days, and if he can’t find it, he will refund the deposit, which is one penny. No charge either.

For him, it was just a waste of time, so he dared to promise like this.

But it didn't take Shad three days at all. He successfully found the cat on the roof three blocks away from Drax's family the next morning, Saturday morning.

To be more precise, when Shade passed under the roof, the dark blue cat that looked very similar to the so-called "Persian cat" in the hometown of foreigners immediately jumped from the roof of the apartment building to the second floor window sill, and then jumped He went to the soft cloth ceiling of the shop facing the street, and finally came to the ground to meow affectionately around Shade.

"If Sparrow Hamilton is a detective who specializes in investigating mistresses, then I am a detective who specializes in finding pet cats."

When Xia De received the commission fee, he was thinking in his heart. After completing this commission, Shade continued to maintain his perfect investigation completion rate.

"Speaking of which, I have met almost all the acquaintances I may encounter at Fort Midhill, but I have only not met Miss Black who is on vacation."

This is Detective Sparrow's last remaining commission, to find the person involved in Miss White's missing sister, Miss Black. Of course, she didn't actually disappear, she just had a quarrel with her sister, so she ran away to live outside.

"I probably won't meet her at Fort Midhill. When Miss Black returns to Tobesk, I will end this commission at any cost. I hope the client, Miss White, will not go on vacation too," he said. Get up, it seems like I still don’t know what these two ladies look like.”

Shade thought to himself as he prepared to walk home along the street. After lunch, he would go to the doctor for a meeting.

The carriage passed by him, and most of the people on the street put on autumn clothes. The southern part of Tobesk is probably the industrial area of ​​Tobesk. The people here are mixed. Not only can you see upper-class gentlemen in formal attire and holding canes on the street, but you can also see decently dressed middle-class clerks and people on their clothes. The patched-up urban lower class workers.

[So, what if she can’t come back? 】

she asked softly in her ear.

The streets are hazy with mist. In autumn, due to the influence of monsoons and temperature differences, urban smog conditions are worse than in summer.

"Are you saying that Miss Black might also encounter an accident due to the incident at Fort Midhill? Oh, this is indeed possible. It is too dangerous there now."

Shade was lost in thought, but he did not forget to pick some fruits from the fruit stand on the street corner. He planned to give a few bottles of fruit juice as gifts to other members of the group.

The autumn semester was a bit boring compared to the summer semester when exams were about to take place. At the study meeting on Saturday afternoon, surprisingly, no one needed to contact the college. After the August priest was safe, the college no longer informed Dr. Schneider about Fort Midhill. Doctors who didn't know what happened there would naturally not ask, which led to the study that afternoon. Yes, it only lasted less than an hour and ended.

Luvia shared the current status of her autumn astrology activities with everyone, and was worried that the recent rain and dark clouds covering the sky would delay her progress; Shade reported on the current situation of Priest Augustus at Fort Midhill and The fruit wine he brought was distributed to everyone; the doctor had already calculated the phase of the full yellow moon, and planned to hold a formal ceremony around the end of next month to promote the promotion from the fifth ring to the sixth ring. Dorothy is a little faster. Her promotion ceremony from four rings to five does not require such a harsh moon phase. However, because the words of sublimation in series are related to the "little match girl", she hopes to get Shade. s help.

Dorothy has prepared all the ceremony materials, and has made an appointment with Shad to hold the ceremony on Sunday night, that is, tomorrow night, at No. 6 St. Teresa Square.

Before leaving the group meeting at the end, Shade had a separate conversation with the doctor and asked him about demons:

"Doctor, do you know the evil spirit demon - Zakato the Devourer?"

The blood Granny Cassandra gave Shad was the blood of this demon.

"of course I know."

The doctor, who had a lot of knowledge about demons, looked at Shade in surprise at the window in the corridor:

"Why do you ask?"

"What would happen if you drank its blood?"

"Um?"

The doctor was even more surprised:

"Detective, are you crazy? You want to drink the blood of the devil?"

"I just want to know what would happen if I drank this demon's blood?"

Shade asked cautiously.

"Wait a minute, let me think about it, this question is really strange."

The blue-eyed doctor made a gesture of listening:

"Theoretically speaking, drinking a small amount of demon's blood won't be a big problem. After all, although the evil spirits of the Third Age are weird, they are not full of poison. As for the demon you are talking about, it is not famous. The most famous thing in his life was that in the distant fourth era, he tricked the king of a small country into giving up all his people and swallowed up the entire country through trade."

Shade was immediately speechless:

"Bon Appetit, so where is it active now?"

The doctor smiled and said:

"I know this. It's a very famous story. Around 230 in the Sixth Age, when it was moving in the material world, it met another great person and then disappeared."

"Who did you meet?"

"The one who appeared in this city during the summer."

PS: Happy New Year and wish everyone a happy New Year! In the new year, all your wishes may come true and everything goes well!

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