Whispering Verse

[Thunder], as a derivative element of the power of the "sun", is a relatively common spiritual rune like light, earth, wind, water, fire, etc. In addition, in the extraordinary system of the past era, the manipulation of elements has always been an important part of the occult. Therefore, [Thunder] has quite a lot of thaumaturgy, so much so that Shade has 200 pounds as the highest in the Black Raven Library. The price was limited, and I actually saw a list of 50 magic tricks at once.

But in the end, Shade didn't buy anything. He planned to compare it with the thaumaturgy in the college library. Although the [Thunder] Spirit Rune does not particularly match his current Ring Warlock system, in view of the powerful attack capability of [Thunder] Thaumaturgy, Shade is willing to have this Spirit Rune associated with several more Thaumatology techniques. His energy is limited, so he needs to carefully consider what he chooses.

After leaving the Black Raven Library, it was finally time for lunch. When Shade returned home, he saw Iluna who had changed into a blue dress. She was holding a handbag hanging in front of her body, waiting for him with some anxiety at the foot of the steps of No. 6 Saint Teresa Square.

After having lunch with little Mia and Iluna, the seventeen-year-old girl continued her mission in a good mood to visit other theft victims in the university district. Shade returned home and sent a letter to the address Miss Sylvia gave him at the end of the Lakeview Manor banquet, asking to meet with the big witch to discuss his thesis.

Because he wanted the letter to be delivered today, Shade went to the post office to send an expedited letter. When I walked out of the post office, I stood at the door of the post office and looked at the street scene, thinking about where I was going:

"Go home and read Professor Manning's letters? Or go to the nearby Old John's Pawn Shop?"

Looking at the two different roads on the left and right, Shade chose to try his luck at the pawn shop.

In the sleepy afternoon, there were no customers at Old John's Pawn Shop. The owner of the shop was reading a book. When he saw Sha De coming, he raised his eyebrows first and then signaled that he had something to talk to Sha De.

"I'm not a rich man. I won't buy relics that look fancy but are actually useless."

Shade said immediately after walking in. The old man looked unhappy:

"Detective, look what you said. Am I that kind of profiteer? It's another matter. I have a commission here. Do you want to take it?"

"Commission? Is it stolen from you too?"

"What theft? Who dares to steal from me?"

The old man wearing glasses shook his head, glanced at the door of the store, and made sure no one pushed the door open, then lowered his voice:

"It's not a personal commission from me, it's a commission from the monastery. Do you want to accept it? The reward is very good."

He tapped his finger on the counter table, causing the brass-colored metal-framed magnifying glass beside him to tremble.

"What do you need me to do? Father John, you know that there should be many local ring magicians who are better than me, right?"

Shade also became interested. He knew that Father John would occasionally seek help from familiar guests, but he didn't expect that this time it would be his turn.

"There are indeed many who are better than you, but it's best to find a reliable person to do this."

The old man lowered his voice slightly:

"Do you know the Apna Library?"

Shade raised his eyebrows:

"Of course I know that a small ring warlock organization has a very bad relationship with the three major colleges."

And he is suspected of possessing one-third of the stone tablets "containing knowledge that enhances time."

"The Priory has purchased a batch of materials from the Apna Library and will pick them up on Saturday night. Detective, I would like to entrust you to help pick them up."

"The Priory is local, doesn't it have a lot of people?"

Shade asked in surprise, but Old John shook his head:

"Don't think that we are a very large organization. I thought you knew that we are actually a special academic group. Everyone else in Tobesk has something to do or is not mature enough. Besides, we don't trust Apner Books It’s like that group of people don’t trust us. I want to find a strong, trustworthy, and proper person to handle this matter, and I think you are a good fit.”

Shade smiled and shook his head:

"Dad, what is the truth?"

"Those middle-circle warlocks from the Priory are involved. You are the only local person who knows our true identity. And Schneider praised you for being very capable in doing things, so I want you to go."

"Is that all?"

Shade asked again, and the old man coughed awkwardly:

"It's also because you came just when I wanted to find someone. Moreover, based on what I know about you, you are very obsessed with the house in Saint Teresa Square. I don't believe you would run away for a box of information. "

Old John said, without waiting for Shade to refuse, he directly offered the price:

"For 25 pounds, you just need to pick up the goods and deliver them to me. If other unexpected situations arise along the way, I can add more money."

As he said that, he took out a handful of change from the biscuit box under the counter, counted it, transferred 3 pennies back, and handed the rest to Shade:

"I'll give you the full amount directly."

"So generous this time?"

Shade swept the change in front of him and counted it carefully. It turned out to be exactly 25 pounds, not more than a penny.

"Because this payment is from the Priory, it can be reimbursed."

The old man said with a smile, knowing that Shade had already agreed.

"Then why did you give me change? Is this out of caution?"

Shade looked up and asked.

"No, I just saved too much change and I'm too lazy to change it in full."

The smile on his face made the wrinkles a little more obvious. Among all the old gentlemen Shade had seen in this era, Father John was the one with the youngest mentality.

With the arrival of Princess Margaret, the city of Tobesk in early winter became turbulent again. Father John obviously knew what happened at Lakeview Manor on Tuesday night, but he didn't want to talk to Shade. On the contrary, he clearly knew that the Truth Society and the cultists they hired had come to this city, but he probably didn't want to talk about the "chosen ones", so the old man didn't want to talk to Shade on this topic.

As for the box of information that Shade had been entrusted to pick up on Saturday night, Shade asked indirectly about the contents, but John's father shook his head solemnly and signaled Shade not to ask. His attitude gave Shade reason to suspect that after the [Apna Library] shared the fragments of the poem with the [Truth Society], it then sold those materials to the [Hermitage of Guiding Light].

But he didn't want to report it this time, at least he wanted to see the information before making a decision.

"I think I have reason to doubt whether the funds provided by the monastery for this task are 25 pounds."

Shade put the change into his wallet. He usually didn't use a wallet and kept the change in his pocket. The wallet contained gun licenses and large bills, but Old John gave him too much change.

"Are you looking down on me too much? How could I be greedy for such funds?"

The old man snorted, and then asked suspiciously:

"I heard that you recently fell in love with a foreign princess. Why do you still care about a few pounds?"

"Who did you hear this rumor from?"

"That's what the newspapers say, and the down-and-out nobles who often come to me to pawn their family antiques also say the same thing."

"No, no, this is not the real situation. Princess Margaret and I have nothing to do with each other."

Old John smiled and did not continue to answer, and Shade didn't know whether he was teasing himself or whether he really believed this rumor.

While the two were talking about something, Dr. Schneider actually came to the pawn shop to pick up the tinderbox-style alchemy item he had ordered from Old John.

The doctor was a little surprised to see Shade here and said hello. While John's father went to the second floor to pick up the goods, the doctor asked the young detective:

"Shade, do you want to go see a patient with me later? He's an interesting patient. Maybe you can help."

"What kind of mental illness is this and bulimia?"

Shade was shocked.

"Oh, detective, don't scare me, of course not. This time it's persecution paranoia, and of course, there are other atypical symptoms."

The doctor shrugged his shoulders, because he was worried that Shade would not know this symptom, so he explained:

"The so-called persecution delusion is that you are always worried that someone wants to kill you. This is a patient from other places. I have been treating it for three weeks. It is currently effective, but not very effective. I am afraid that continued treatment will no longer be effective. It’s very useful, so I’d like you to help me take a look at it from a detective’s point of view, maybe I can find something else.”

Shade thought for a while:

"Will it take a long time?"

He also plans to go back and read Professor Manning's letters.

"Just an hour or two."

The doctor took out his pocket watch and took a look:

"But not at my clinic. The treatment location is at the Three Cats Hotel in the north of the city. The patient believes that the safest place is where he lives. Some time ago, I tried to persuade him to go to the pub opposite Ridwich Field for a chat. , but he didn’t agree.”

"No problem, but are you sure this is really just an ordinary patient?"

Shade asked suspiciously, and the doctor nodded immediately:

"Of course, I've been in treatment for three weeks and nothing has happened."

Shade then stopped asking any more questions. Although Dr. Schneider was very unlucky, not every patient would be involved in the occult or relics. If it only took him an hour or two to help the doctor, Shade would certainly not refuse.

There was nothing much to do in the afternoon anyway, so he decided to go with the doctor.

After bidding farewell to Old John, Shade and Dr. Schneider took a carriage to the Three Cats Inn. When getting off the carriage at Psalm Square, the doctor took the initiative to pay the fare. The patient with "persecution delusion" paid extremely generous medical fees, and the doctor invited Sha De to help this time.

As the largest civic square in the North City slums, Anthem Square was still so lively on Friday afternoon. Shade and the doctor walked just a few dozen meters away from the Three Cats Hotel. They asked each other, "Do you need to exchange gold pounds for Carson Rikron? Is the exchange rate preferential? Are you interested in playing Rhodes at night? Do you have time to find out?" People from the newly opened Pink Club came over, but were chased away by Dr. Schneider.

Dr. Schneider's patient, Mr. Jims, lives on the third floor of the Three Cats Hotel. He was originally reluctant to leave the room, but recently, probably because the treatment had some effect, he agreed to meet on the second floor of the Three Cats Hotel.