Whispering Verse

When Shade woke up from his long sleep, he found an unfamiliar ceiling in front of him. The ceiling is not white, it is painted with bright and serious religious murals.

He was in a daze at the image of the saint sitting by the river preaching to the believers, but before he could sigh like "strange ceiling", a voice came from the side:

"you're awake?"

"Priest Augustus?"

Turning around, I saw the priest sitting on the iron chair in front of the bed holding a newspaper, wearing a white clerical robe. Not far behind him was the wall, with brass-colored gas pipes and wrapped steam pipes clinging to it. The gas pipes were connected to the gas lamps that emitted a warm glow on the wall.

The style of the gas lamp is very religious. The naked man raises his arms and the light radiates from his arms.

Through the light, Shade saw that the newspaper in the priest's hand was the Tobesk City Evening News.

Of the two pages of the open newspaper facing Shade, the one on the left reports on Princess Lesia's visit to Kasenlik, the upper page on the right reports on the frequent child abductions in the city, and the lower page reports An earthquake occurred in the southern part of Tobesk city. Judging from reports, the damage caused by the earthquake was not great.

“Has there been an earthquake in Tobesk recently?”

Shade, who had just woken up, thought, and then saw that the current date was Monday, and this newspaper would only be published in the evening...

"Finally woke up? You've slept almost all day, and it's already eight o'clock on Monday night. How do you feel now?"

The old priest criticized jokingly.

"Monday night? Oops! Little Mia!"

Shade was stunned for a moment, and the next second he almost jumped up from the bed. He didn't expect that he wouldn't be able to go home on Sunday night. Now the poor orange cat at home had been hungry all day and was probably going to die.

"Where am I now? Church? Priest, I want to go home! Little Mia..."

"Don't worry, you're in the Dawn Church now, it's safe here. Look, your cat is here too."

The priest said, motioning Shade to look at the pillow.

Sure enough, the little orange cat was lying there, awakened by the conversation between the detective and the priest, and seemed to want to lose his temper. But seeing that Shade was awake, she was very happy to rub the back of his hand with her soft face.

The body temperature of a cat is slightly higher than that of a human being, and Shade felt the warmth and softness of little Mia who had just woken up.

"Your cat is really obedient, at least when it's around you. Is it Detective Sparrow Hamilton's pet? I thought detectives would be more inclined to keep dogs with a keen sense of smell as pets."

The priest asked curiously as he folded the newspaper and put it on the bedside table.

"No, it's the client's pet. It turns out that I just slept for a day, and I responded..."

He thought that using the "divine overflow" power would result in him being comatose for at least two or three days. If it's just for one day, then the price is still acceptable.

"Speaking of which, what's the price for using the last page of that script?"

[Divinity even heals the damage you suffered when facing the evil god, not to mention the cost of using the relic? Judging from the situation at the time, the price seemed to be the gradual loss of hair. 】

She was still whispering in his ear, which reassured Shade a lot.

As he stroked the cat and breathed a sigh of relief, in a daze, the memories before his coma came to mind again. Scenes in Lakeview Manor seemed to flash before my eyes——

Rhodes cards, grape racks, revolvers, evil gods, the path to the sublimation of the Twelve Divinities, the "Whispering Psalms" mentioned by Miss Anat, and...myself before the Silver Moon:

"Is everything over?"

He sat up and felt refreshed and full of energy.

"If you mean what happened last night, it's over, at least for us."

The old priest said, it seemed that he had already thought about these words, and was waiting for Shade to ask:

"We were almost discovered by the Orthodox Church, but with the help of your friends, everyone escaped smoothly, and no one knew what we did. I took you back to the church and said that you were my friend. I'm here to take care of you. Louisa is under the care of Anat, but the doctor's situation is not good. He forcibly used the power of the word of sublimation. Although he woke up in the afternoon, he probably won't be able to get out of bed for several weeks. May God bless him... Speaking of which, why did you sleep for so long? But just wake up, you seem to be in good spirits."

The priest said, picking up the teacup and handing it to Shade. He has been in a coma for a whole day. Although he looks better than anyone else, he should add some fluids.

Shade thanked the priest, holding the teacup in one hand and continuing to pet the orange cat, which was particularly energetic after being woken up. Looking at Priest August’s attitude, we know that the doctor’s problem should be solved:

"Priest, how are you doing?"

"It's pretty good. I'm probably the least injured besides Anat."

The old man said with a smile. Shade was completely relieved and asked again:

"My friends helped us? Aren't my friends all of you? Is it Baron Lavender, but he still has such dignity?"

"It's 'that lady' you mentioned. She proved that we were always with her and not in a sensitive place. People from the Orthodox Church didn't even see us."

The priest said, standing up and checking the door again. After confirming that it was closed, he turned the steam lamp in the shape of a man with open arms brighter.

"It turns out it's her."

While Shade listened, he held the cat on his lap with one hand and scratched its chin with his fingers. The cat squinted its eyes and raised its neck.

"However, before we left, the lady left a letter for you to read when you wake up."

The priest took out the envelope from the pocket of his robe. Shade took it and pulled out the letter paper. What he saw was a short message written in floral letters. This way of writing in cursive letters is common among nobles and is a variation of the common Delarian language.

"Oh? She asked me to wake up and write to the Lucky Southern Cross Club to let me know. She wants to see me. Is there something she needs me to do?"

Shade looked at the letter and raised his eyebrows.

"Isn't this great? If it's just helping you for nothing, then it's worth being vigilant. It seems like this lady is not a bad person."

said the priest, and then added:

"I have been in this city for many years. According to my opinion, 'that lady' is probably related to the royal family. Being so powerful and able to protect us in last night's situation shows that she is not an ordinary noble. Although I couldn't see her face, there are probably no more than five women in the entire Tobesk, no, the entire Kingdom of Delarion, who can do this. I have never heard of it before that there are some in the contemporary royal family. High-level Ring Warlock, it seems our information is still not enough."

"Do you know who she is?"

Shade folded the letter and put it on the bedside table to prevent it from being bitten by little Mia.

"Although I don't know, there are only a few possibilities. I won't guess. If she is willing to trust you, she will let you know sooner or later. Remember to send the letter early, although you have to be wary of strangers. But we shouldn’t be too suspicious of well-intentioned helpers.”

The priest imparted his life experience, and Shade nodded. He understood these principles.

Probably feeling that the room was a bit dull, after talking about these sensitive topics, the priest got up and went to the window and opened the heavy curtains. Opening the window, the cool night breeze blew in immediately, and the priest and Shade let out a long breath at the same time.

The summer nights in Tobesk are slightly cooler, it’s July, and midsummer is coming.