Whispering Verse

"Good evening, why didn't you see that cute cat last time?"

The elf girl seemed to be in a good mood. After sitting down, she asked the waiter who came over knowingly and asked for a glass of butterbeer. Strictly speaking, this drink is not alcoholic because it contains no alcohol at all:

"Do you know that the tavern in St. Byrons has been refusing to sell me this kind of drink?"

"Why?"

Luvia asked, and the elf girl said half-annoyed:

"The dwarf bartender said that the academy wouldn't let him sell drinks to underage elves, even if I was over the age of 10. I once wanted to buy alcohol from the money-grubbing goblin's shop across the street from the wand, but that damn goblin would rather Even if you sell me an ether attenuation alchemy bomb, you won’t sell me drinks.”

She deliberately kept her exact age vague.

Shade and Luvia both smiled, and the latter even said:

"In fact, it is indeed not suitable for minors to drink. Yes, I know butterbeer has no alcohol."

"According to past standards, Miss Amelia is actually an adult. After the establishment of St. Byrons, the standards of adulthood were redefined for the elven race."

Shade pointed out.

"Yes! That's right! According to the customs of ancient times, I am actually an adult!"

The elf girl agreed with Shade's view. Of course, she did not forget the business of coming here:

"Mr. Hamilton, this is the information you want. The college actually doesn't have many investigative reports on the Randall Valley."

Having said this, I am still a little worried that Shade is not satisfied with the results of his investigation:

"But when I was checking information in the library last week, I found that Miss Denister had someone put together all the information about the Randall Valley. The college seemed to have a special operation targeting this place. I heard the dense forest in the dormitory next door. The goblin senior said that the Astronomy Academy is ready to send professors to this city."

"No, no, your information is very valuable. And the time key you gave me last time was of great help."

Shade said immediately, looking at each other with Luvia, both of them understood that the matter of the "Chosen One of the Earth" in Randall Valley City was completely exposed. The church chose to arrest those cultists who might have clues last weekend, most likely for this reason.

“Here’s the poem for the week.”

Shade handed her the notebook that he had copied in advance. Thaumatology was not suitable for use in public places:

"In addition, please try not to appear in the city unless necessary recently."

Shade kindly warned:

"Last time we met, your little beast felt evil. Later, I investigated and found that it was most likely the devil."

"demon?"

Luvia raised her eyebrows before Shade had time to tell her about this. Miss Elf was startled, and then her face flushed, as if she was very excited:

"Are they the dangerous demons in the legend? Oh, I've only read about them in books. Legend has it that just seeing them will bring bad luck!"

"The evil spirits of the Third Age are quite ancient and powerful. That evil spirit has been here for at least a hundred years. It's hard to imagine what kind of power it has. You must be careful."

Shade warned, worried that the elf lady who had never experienced danger might accidentally encounter a demon. But fortunately, the education at St. Byrons is still very comprehensive. Although Emilia looks excited, she also knows what this means:

"Well, apart from coming to see you every week, I haven't come here to wander around recently. I gave this to you. I originally planned to sell it on the black market, but I think you need it more."

She handed each of Shade and Luvia an amulet woven with white hair. There were also elven runes representing "protection" on the amulet:

"This is a 'protection against evil amulet' made from unicorn hair, unicorn horn fragments and unicorn blood. Don't worry, my job is to raise them. These materials are collected daily. The college won't care about the losses."

The elf girl said quite proudly, so Shade and Luvia did not refuse. Although Shade has an accessory such as the [Demon Hunting Seal] that is specially designed to deal with demons, the doctor said not to expose the demon hunter's equipment before finding the demon itself, so it is appropriate to carry this amulet.

The two unicorn talismans were valuable, but the elf girl did not ask for the money given by Shade and Luvia. The three of them chatted about the recent news in the city, and then the elf girl got up and prepared to return to the academy.

Shade and Luvia put her on the carriage at the door of the hotel, and then watched the carriage go away.

"We'll have dinner at the witch's place later. Don't be in a hurry to go home. Tell me about the devil first."

Luvia turned and looked at Shade:

"Have you known about this for a long time? Is it related to that strange Stone Oxenfurt?"

"I haven't investigated this matter clearly yet. I'll talk to you in detail when I get some clues. It's very dangerous, but it's okay if you don't rush home."

The purple-eyed girl nodded reservedly:

"You can talk to me about what books you and they read last night."

(Little Mia is running.)

Since the letter to make an appointment to visit had been sent to Oxenfurt Manor the day before, Shade set out from the city of Randall Valley City early on Tuesday morning and rode horseback to Oxenfurt Manor, which was far outside the city. Tezu's house.

The thaumaturgy [Seeing Demons] provided by the doctor has been learned. This time, in addition to returning medals and investigating statues, Shade has made up his mind to determine who the ancient evil hidden in the city is.

We set off on horseback from the Wilde Opera House at 8:30 in the morning. By the time we arrived at the old manor outside the city, it was almost ten o'clock.

After crossing the bridge and passing through the forest, I saw the manor where the light seemed to be weaker than elsewhere. The crows flew over Shade's head and flew towards the interior of the manor, but soon flew away in panic and disappeared into the distance in the gloomy sky.

When he dismounted at the gate of the manor, the old housekeeper was already waiting for Shade.

He opened the fence gate and helped Shade hold the horse, and then told Shade:

"Sorry, Mr. Watson. The master received a letter from the city half an hour ago and has gone into the city, but he said he would be back at noon."

"It's okay, I can wait."

Shade didn't care about this, but followed the old butler into the slightly gloomy manor. This manor is on the subtle edge of "abandoned" and "in use". Weeds can be seen everywhere along the walls, but you can also see tidy flower beds and a pavilion that looks like it has just been repaired.

Doctors have warned that although thaumaturgy [seeing magic] is safe, there is a possibility of being discovered, so it is best not to use it frequently. Shade planned to meet Oxenfurt himself before using it, so he did nothing along the way. Instead, he waited until the old butler sent the horse to the backyard stable before following him into the mansion.

Just like last time, there is no trace of any human activity here. There was obviously no dust inside the cold building, it was cleaned very clean, and there were even many portraits hanging there, but because of the dim light, the wallpaper turned a muddy yellow, which made it look particularly eerie.

After waiting in the lounge for a while, Shade unexpectedly found snow falling outside the window, which reminded him of the last time that snowflakes appeared in the sky not long after he arrived here.

But before Shade had any other thoughts about the falling snow in late winter, Helena Oxenfurt, wearing a black veil, walked in with her weird maid.

Shade stood up from the sofa and greeted with a smile:

"Long time no see, Mrs. Oxenfurt."

"Good day, Mr. Watson."

The woman's voice was still so indifferent. She ordered the maid with her head lowered to prepare tea, and then the host and the guest took their seats on the sofa.

"Visual Demon!"

The only abnormality caused by the use of thaumaturgy is that the eyes feel a slight chill. The field of view then becomes like a strange fish-eye lens, with the edges of the field of view becoming blurry and the center becoming incredibly clear.

The originally normal world has changed, and snowflakes are actually falling around Haila Oxenfurt. Considering that [Visual Demon] is a detection thaumaturgy specifically aimed at demons, this explains the first clue:

"The devil is associated with snow."

"Mr. Watson, you're here again."

The woman whispered, writing in the air with her finger last time to warn Shade not to come again.

"By coincidence, I picked up another item belonging to Mr. Oxenfurt."

Shade said, before the woman asked:

"Your husband won't let me tell you about it, so I can't say what it is."

The woman was silent for a moment:

"I didn't tell him about the wedding ring last time, it was you who sent it back."

Shade just smiled:

"I'm just doing something good. I just hope this doesn't damage your relationship as husband and wife. Speaking of which, Mr. Oxenfurt is really busy."

"He and Prince William of Anjou discovered gold in the mountains."

The woman spoke in an indifferent voice about the rumors that had been buzzing in the city recently. Of course, Shade already knew that the gold mine was fake and was meant to cover up the silver mine offshore.

"That's really amazing, ma'am. People in the city praise your husband as an amazing person."

At this time, the maid came back pushing the creaking dining cart, and Shade did not stop talking:

"You started from scratch to restore your family's glory, and now your business is getting bigger and bigger. Although this kind of thing is not unheard of in the era when the steam industry was booming, I have been traveling in the Old World for so long. People as powerful as your husband are indeed rare."

The black veil was very thin, but Shade did not observe that the woman smiled because of her compliment. She just said:

"He always wins, wins at everything."

Stone Oxenfurt also decided to entrust Shad to find three items because Shad beat him three times in "Rhodes", "horse racing" and "dice gambling".

"Luck is also a part of strength, and I envy this kind of luck."

He said, took the tea cup from the maid, and then blinked again:

"Visual demon."

Just as Shade expected, the maid was also acting strangely. Her skin turned out to be the color of bluish stone due to the thaumaturgic effect.