Whispering Verse

"Do we need to conduct further investigation on this body robbery case?"

Shade then asked Iluna, and the two of them took over the task of finding Mrs. Fennell's body. Now that the body has been found, their mission is actually over. They can leave this remote and gloomy place and go to the city to spend the rest of the day.

"What time is it now?"

Iluna thought for a moment and asked, and Shade blinked and immediately got the answer:

"Three forty-five p.m."

Detective Mario, who was standing next to the two of them, originally thought he was asking him, so he also took out his pocket watch. After comparing the times, I found that the answer given by Xia De had an error of only two minutes, and I was immediately surprised:

"It's so accurate!"

In fact, it was his pocket watch that was running slow.

"Then go to the city and pay a visit to Mr. Julian."

Iluna sighed:

"Now that we have encountered it, and I still have two days off, I have to figure it out. Detective, I will give you an additional investigation report afterwards. If we fail to solve the problem, we will also give you the investigation record. of."

"OK."

Detective Mario nodded, and then directed the young people he brought to clean up the scene and inform the relatives of the two corpses that the bodies had been found.

Shade and Iluna said hello to the old gravekeeper who scolded the corpse robbers, and then turned and left the cemetery:

"Calculating the time, we can probably reach the north of the city around six o'clock. How about eating together first? I know that the Three Cats Hotel in Anthem Square is very good at their craftsmanship."

Shade suggested, and the girl with long brown hair walking side by side smiled:

"Of course, but you can't bring your cat with you this time. It's just the two of us. I mean, we have to visit other people, so it's very rude to bring a pet."

Shade usually prepares cat food for Mia in advance before going out. Although the cat is greedy, it has never stretched itself out, so Shade is not worried about it.

From the public cemetery on the eastern outskirts of the city, take a carriage all the way to the north of the city. It was still very bright when we set out, but when Shade jumped out of the carriage first and then reached out to help Eluna get out of the car, it was already dark in Psalm Square.

The time was 6:03, and Shade's estimate of the time was very accurate.

Although the municipal construction in the lower city is far less than that near Saint Teresa Square, there are at least street lights installed in Anthem Square. When the lights come on, this time usually means that the vendors in Saint Teresa Square have left, leaving peace and quiet to the residents. In Anthem Square, this means the beginning of nightlife and the opening of the evening market.

"I come here often. Our team often takes over tasks in the lower city."

Iluna said to Shade:

"Look at the blacksmith over there."

As she walked through the square, she pointed to the blacksmith shop with the sign "Honorable People" hanging on it, which was very conspicuous in the evening because of the light from the furnace:

"The old blacksmith there is very skilled in craftsmanship. The captain once helped him, so when our team entrusted him with making iron tools, he only charged the lowest price."

"Doesn't the Church of the Sun have a dedicated blacksmith?"

Shade asked curiously. Although we are now in the steam age, the profession of blacksmith is still indispensable in urban life.

“Of course there is, but it’s expensive and sometimes you have to queue.”

Iluna shrugged, looked over Shade's shoulder, and looked at the group of children running around on the roadside. She didn't know what she thought of, and a smile appeared on her lips:

"Big cities are good. When I was training in the Holy See, I also went on official business. There were not many ring magicians in those small places, and the black market was not orderly. Even if I was willing to spend money, sometimes I couldn't find what I wanted. "

"Although Tobesk is a big city, the black market trade in Cold Water Port is actually more prosperous than here."

"I haven't seen the sea yet."

The seventeen-year-old girl said melancholy, glanced at Shade, and the two walked into the Three Cats Hotel together. Because it was dinner time in the evening, there were not many customers on the first and second floors.

The poet playing the lute sat on a high platform beside the wall and played softly. But he was not the one Shade saw last time. The last time he saw him was the poetess. The Three Cats Hotel probably hired a lot of bards to perform on a rotating basis. Although this did not bring significant income to the hotel, it should still be of some use in attracting customers.

Many people have said that when night falls, you can find wandering warblers in cool clothes in this hotel, but at this time, it looks the same as during the day.

The buzzing sound symbolized the lively business. Shade and Iluna chose a seat against the wall to sit down. The wooden tabletop, which had been stained by wine stains for many years, was somewhat mottled, but this was more in line with the atmosphere here.

Because they were a little busy now, the waiter didn't notice them. Shade asked Iluna about her food preferences and walked to the counter to order.

"Oh, isn't this Detective Hamilton?"

The hotel owner, Mrs. Sang Mei, greeted him warmly. The gas light on the wall on the side of the counter was very soft. Amidst the smell of wine and food, he turned slightly sideways and looked in the direction where Sha De came from:

"I noticed you when you came in just now, detective. Your female companion this time is different from the previous two times."

She showed an ambiguous smile, obviously treating Shade as a playboy:

"But I have to admit, you have really good vision."

Shade did not correct her opinion, but looked sideways at Iluna. Iluna looked around curiously and gave him a smile. valley

"I'm still the same, my companion wants something light, but like me, a broth."

"You're lucky. A freshly slaughtered beef cow arrived in the afternoon. What about the drinks? When you go out to eat with a beautiful girl, you always have to drink some wine together? This will also make it easier to do other things at night."

She reminded her "kindly" while recording, and Shade shook his head:

"We'll have something to do later. We won't drink."

"It's a pity, but since the time has come, you can stay a little longer. At seven o'clock, our poetess Ashara will come out to perform. She is very famous."

She reminded again that Shade calculated the time and found that spending an hour eating here didn't seem to be a waste of time.

"Oh, by the way, do you know this person?"

After ordering the meal, he wanted to turn around and leave, but then he remembered something, so he took out the photos in his notebook. The female shopkeeper tore off the paper with the order in her hand, strung it on a nail on the counter, and waited for the waiter to take it to the kitchen. After hearing Xia De's words, he stretched his head to look again:

"Is your business so good? You always seem to get commissions."

What Shade took out was the photo of Mr. Toby Julian, the brother of the missing female corpse they were looking for, which was given by Detective Mario.

"I don't know, who is this?"

Mrs. Sangmei shook her head. Although Xia De was sorry, it was reasonable. The lower city was so big that it was impossible for the female shopkeeper to know everyone.

"Toby Julian."

"Oh, the brother of the girl who hanged herself?"

Mrs. Sangmei asked with great interest.

"You know him?"

"Of course, there aren't many new things happening in Xiacheng District. Girls who hang themselves for love don't happen every month. I haven't seen them, but I've heard others talk about it."

The female shopkeeper said with a smile. She had nothing else to do at the moment and didn't mind chatting with Shade:

"I heard it mentioned when chatting with our regular customers here. Brother and sister Julian have been dependent on each other since childhood. Many people know how sad Toby Julian cried when he learned about the death of his sister."

I don’t know if her information is based on rumors, but since the brother and sister have a good relationship, Mr. Toby Julian should not mind cooperating with the investigation for a while.

"Oh, I also heard that Mr. Julian seems to be getting married. Someone said that he ordered a women's wedding dress last week, a very expensive one. He didn't rent it, he bought one. , he is really rich."

"His sister just died and he is getting married?"

Shade asked suspiciously, putting two 1-shilling coins on the counter. This was the cost of the meal. Without ordering drinks, it was very cheap to have a good meal in the Lower City.

"Then I don't know, but people always have to look forward."

The female shopkeeper shook her head as if sighing:

"All mortals are mortal. It is better for the living to look forward than to be held back by the dead."

Seeing that Shade was standing still, he swept two coins into the carton under the counter and asked again:

"Detective, is there anything else? I only know this information."

"You haven't got any change yet."

Shade pointed out.

"You want fivepence? Oh, detective, that's the price you pay for listening to my story."

Iluna had nothing else to do at night. When she heard Shade's suggestion to sit here for a while and wait for the famous bard to appear, she happily agreed.

So the two of them spent an hour and a half at the Three Cats Hotel, chatting about this commission, their respective lives, and about Iluna's preparations to learn the art of "balance" from Miss Carina, and even We also talked about Luvia.

Iluna was quite envious of the color of Luvia's eyes, and thought those purple eyes were more beautiful than anyone else's eyes she had ever seen.

But when Shade smiled and asked the seventeen-year-old girl in front of him if she was willing to use her magical left eye in exchange for Luvia, Iluna Bea refused without thinking:

"Of course not."

It seems that Iluna is also a pragmatist.

"why?"

Shade asked while stirring the broth with a spoon. The mood of eating in a restaurant is completely different from that of eating at home.

"because"

Iluna looked up at the young man sitting opposite, smiling under the light. In her blurred eyes, she seemed to see some golden bright marks on Shade, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Raising her eyebrows, the seventeen-year-old girl smiled:

"Because you gave it to me."