Whispering Verse

Hearing the footsteps coming from the basement, the three people in the living room upstairs stood up immediately.

Not long after, Shade appeared from the stairs with a serious look on his face. It was already six o'clock in the evening. Outside the window of the living room, Saint Teresa Square was shrouded in the autumn sunset, but Shade had no time to appreciate this beautiful sunset.

Hugging the cat that ran over happily, Shade motioned for everyone to sit down and talk:

"I did make it to Fort Midhill."

Shade spoke very directly, but he didn't come back all afternoon. In fact, the doctor, Dorothy and Luvia almost knew this would be the result.

The four of them sat on the sofa and listened to Shade describing his schedule during the day. The nuns at the House of the Blind once said not to mention them to others, so Shade concealed the identity of the ring wizard who helped him, but no one cared about such details.

"Level 0 relic?"

Everyone present knew this concept, so they were even more afraid of this power.

"Doctor, this is just the local magician's guess, but it's actually hard to say."

"Even if it's not an unknown level, the narrow space between life and death is definitely not a simple place."

Luvia frowned:

"What's next?"

Regardless of whether it is an unknowable relic or not, that is not something they can solve.

"I'm going to find a high-level warlock living in Tobesk later. She may have some ideas."

Both Luvia and Dorothy knew that he was referring to Miss Carina, because this was to save Priest Augustus, so Dorothy didn't say anything.

"Then I will go back first and try to test the progress of the investigation at the college. If they don't know the situation yet, I will think of some ways to see how to convey the information reasonably. Shade, you move really fast."

The doctor sighed.

"My friends still have some influence in Fort Midhill. I will contact them again. The next actions in Fort Midhill may require the support of secular forces."

Dorothy said, and Shade nodded. If there were police or even military cooperation in a strange city, his next actions would be much easier.

He was just curious about how Lecia still had power in Fort Midhill.

"Level 0 relic... I'll try to see if the Prophet Association has relevant records."

Luvia closed her eyes:

"I hope the priests can hold on until our help arrives, or the college can come up with a solution."

Shade tried to comfort her:

"My friends of the ring warlocks at Fort Midhill are very generous. They opened up some secret information about the missing people to me. Based on past experience, low-level warlocks like Priest August can probably wander around the border for a week. , if you still can’t come out after a week..."

He pursed his lips and did not continue.

Although the four people gathered together, no one was in the mood to suggest going to dinner together. Therefore, it was agreed that after meeting again at Shade tomorrow afternoon, everyone would leave alone.

After the very sad Shade took little Mia to have dinner, he finally waited for the carriage parked downstairs of his house.

It wasn't Miss Carina who was here, but the carriage was about to take Shade to the Duchess's manor in the suburbs.

Shade, who was worried, waited until the carriage started and realized that he had forgotten to leave Mia at home. But he didn't want to waste any more time, so he hugged the cat and continued thinking about things.

However, Mia was very dissatisfied with this unexpected trip. Instead of traveling with Shade, she preferred to wait at home for Shade to come back.

"Look who's here? Isn't this the King of Rhodes in 1853?"

As soon as I walked into the study room of the manor, I heard the witch saying teasingly.

She was sitting on the sofa, holding a small, closed red hard-cover book in her hands. If Shade is not mistaken, the title of the book seems to be "The Art of Power."

"Shad, you are really busy. You have just finished playing Big City Player, and you haven't even received the prize yet. Why are you interested in Fort Midhill?"

The witch waved, and the maids in the room went to prepare tea. Tifa stood behind Miss Carina, smiling and nodding to Shade.

"We've encountered something very troublesome."

Shade said distressedly, then sat down with Mia in his arms. Because he wanted to rescue Priest Augustus, he explained the current problems in as much detail as possible.

Miss Carina showed no expression at all while listening to Shade's story. After he finished speaking, he hesitated before asking:

"The edge between life and death, the last area before death... Shade, are you sure you really want to get involved in this kind of thing? I don't think I need to tell you, you also know how dangerous this is."

"Priest August is my friend, I can't ignore him."

Shade answered firmly, and the witch shook her head:

"I knew you would say that, so let's first talk about the so-called 'boundary between life and death'. I think your current knowledge is not at this level. How to describe it... This is not a real place, and there is no definite space to regulate the living and the dead. But because living people always believe that there should be a boundary between death and life, this kind of place appears, do you understand?"

Shade, who was holding the cat, thought for a moment:

"I probably understand."

"Not only Fort Midhill, in fact similar phenomena may occur all over the world, but Fort Midhill is the most serious one. But fortunately, in the past a long time ago, it was even worse than in the fifth era. In the more distant past, extraordinary beings in the material world sealed those weird edges of death, or the edges of life, all over the world. Even after years of changes, eras changed, and even the one under the Sikal Mountain became a relic, this seal Still exist."

"Since the seal exists, why would there be such a place where the exit was suddenly opened in Fort Midhill?"

"I don't know the reason. I just know that with the advent of the Sixth Age, similar seals have become increasingly unstable. There has been no change in the material world. Therefore, it is probably death itself that has changed."

The witch replied, and Shade frowned in thought, unable to understand what "death has changed" meant.

"In addition to basic knowledge, I can also provide you with some more practical help, but you have to pay the price yourself."

"I still have..."

"No, that's not what I meant. Do you think I am short of those few coins in your pocket?"

She mocked as the maids brought tea cups for the two of them and even prepared food for the cat in Shad's arms. The "arrogant" cat did not leave Shade immediately, but waited until the maids left before jumping on the coffee table.

Shade ignored it:

"Then what do you mean..."

"There is a great witch living in Fort Midhill, yes, a great witch. Ms. Xina Cassandra, who ranks twelfth among the thirteen seats in the parliament. She is 184 years old and looks about She appears to be in her fifties. Although she only has ten rings, she is good at demonology and knowledge of alien creatures. She is also the oldest among the existing great witches."

This also means that Ms. Cassandra is the earliest among the existing great witches to join the [Witch Council].

"We usually call her 'Grandma Cassandra'. During the Darkness incident some time ago, she provided most of the information about the human pus demon in the council. But unlike Xiwei, Xiwei and I have been together for a long time. We were good friends before, so even if you are exposed in front of her, I can keep you. But I can’t say what Granny Cassandra’s attitude is towards your existence.”

"Cassandra?"

Shade thought for a while:

“I think I’ve heard that last name somewhere…oh, I’ve seen it on a light pole!”

"Cassandra Auction House specializes in antiques and art auctions. You should know the Ford Auction House in downtown Tobesk, right? That is one of the local branches of Cassandra Auction House. This can be regarded as the world's largest auction house. One of the largest auction houses, and, unlike Xiwei who inherited her family’s business, Granny Cassandra earned all this through her own hard work, and she has a good teacher..."

The witch's golden eyes stared at Shade:

"Shad, for various reasons, it is impossible for me to go to Fort Midhill to help you. So if you want to get effective help from the local area, Grandma Cassandra is the best choice, but it is also a risky choice. No matter what No matter what, I will find a way to test Grandma Cassandra's attitude towards an existence like yours. If you want to see her, I can write you a letter of introduction and tell her in advance in the parliament. Best, Don’t expose your ability to get in and out of Parliament.”

"What does that lady Cassandra think of men?"

Shade asked curiously, scratching little Mia's chin.

"The attitudes of witches towards men are basically the same, but the underlying reasons are different. Xiwei really likes beautiful girls and believes that the witch's curse is a reasonable price for power. I am..."

She glanced at Tifa:

"Granny Cassandra was already very old when I joined the Council. It was impossible for me to ask her such a question, but apparently we are a society of handkerchief lovers."

She said with a smile, and Shade nodded to express his understanding:

"In addition to asking for help from this great witch, is there any organization in Fort Midhill that can provide me with support?"

"In addition to the witch, you can also seek help from the [Spiritual Cult]."

Shade promised to keep it a secret, so he didn't reveal anything about the "House of the Blind" just now.

"[Spiritual Order] has a base in Fort Midhill?"

He pretended not to know anything and wanted Miss Carina to tell her about the "House of the Blind".

"Not just a stronghold, the headquarters of the [Spiritual Order] is at Fort Midhill."

Miss Carina shook her finger and said, and Shade raised his eyebrows. Although he was a little surprised, he could understand that Ms. Michelle from the House of the Blind did not mention this. After all, he is just a strange ring warlock whose identity is unknown. Even if he gained some trust because of Priest Augustus, it was obviously impossible for the other party to completely trust him immediately.

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