The concert hall is well soundproofed, but you can still hear the symphony being played in the background.
The doctor and Shade, who have officially sneaked in here, disguised themselves as music lovers who came to visit a famous musician, and they don't have to worry about their identities being exposed for the time being.
The two of them went all the way to the second floor through the small staircase on the east side of the concert hall. Although the doctor could roughly sense the location of the demon he had marked, because the demon already knew that he was being tracked, the doctor's perception could not be too accurate. He could only confirm that the demon was in one of the six rooms. The six rooms were opposite each other and could be seen by turning around the corridor. People were coming and going in the corridor, some holding performance costumes, or loudly reminding the musicians who were about to go on stage to put on their makeup as soon as possible.
In addition to the orchestra members and the concert hall's dispatchers, there were also people like Shade and the doctor who came to visit the musicians backstage. Even though it was not easy to be allowed to enter the backstage, Tobesk was not short of people with status.
This resulted in the six rooms chosen by the doctor looking very lively.
Although there were many people, this was also part of the doctor's plan. He threw a straw man made of hay to Shade, winked at Shade, and then walked to the three rooms on the left, while Shade looked at the three rooms on the right.
They first need to confirm the location of the demon. It is much more convenient to act separately than together.
There are three rooms on the right. The first one is a public dressing room. After Xia De turned in, he saw rows of dressing tables put together. The musicians who were about to go on stage were anxiously doing their final touches of makeup, while those who were not in a hurry were adjusting their makeup in front of the mirror.
The reporter was in a corner talking to a few girls who had just come off the stage, while servants in the backstage were hurriedly pushing carts to deliver musical instruments. Famous conductors and musicians certainly have their own dressing rooms, and the musicians here are part of a collective that is not valued.
The air was filled with the strong smell of powder, and the density of gas lamps on the walls exceeded the normal lighting needs. People who put on makeup needed sufficient light. When Xia De walked into the room, no one paid too much attention to him, because everyone had their own things to do. This room was particularly large, and it even reminded Xia De of a square.
The doctor could rely on induction to find the devil, but Shad could only rely on the straw man. He held the straw man in his left hand and put it in his pocket, planning to walk around this huge public dressing room and try to contact everyone.
He walked from east to west, and just after he finished walking around the first two rows, he saw a familiar person putting on makeup.
Yin Luna sat obediently in front of the mirror on the dressing table, with her hands on her knees, watching the middle-aged woman behind her in the mirror fixing her hair, and watching the woman in a tight black suit putting powder on her face.
There was another sorceress standing next to the dressing table. If Shade remembered correctly, this was Miss Green, a high-level sorceress from the Church of the Sun. She was laughing and teasing Yin Luna's expression at the moment:
"You're already seventeen years old, have you never worn proper makeup?"
"Of course I have... but this is the first time I've put on makeup like this."
Yin Luna answered, and she caught a glimpse of Shade looking at her in the mirror. The mask given by Dr. Schneider had changed Shade's face, but Yin Luna still relied on instinct and intuition to immediately realize who the stranger was.
She couldn't be completely sure until she saw Shad in the mirror raise his right hand. He first drew the holy emblem of the sun god on his chest, hesitated, and raised his hand to his ear as if to scratch his head, but in fact he raised his forearm, palm forward, five fingers together and bent inward, making a "cat waving" gesture.
Drawing the holy emblem represented the recognition of Yin Luna, and the ridiculous action afterwards represented Xia De's own identity. Yin Luna easily understood what Xia De meant, and holding back her laughter, she said to Miss Green beside her:
“Although I can go on stage, will I really not disturb other people’s performances?”
"It doesn't matter. Just don't blow into the silver flute. Do whatever others do."
Miss Green said, and then Xia De knew that Yin Luna was preparing to go on stage.
"Will that bard really show up? So many of us are preparing for this. If he doesn't show up, all our work tonight will be in vain."
Yin Luna asked again.
"At least not only us, but others also think he will show up."
Miss Green continued, and at the same time, Xia De saw from the mirror that Yin Luna's hand on the dressing table made the number "four".
"The fourth pyroxene? The keeper of the bard state? Besides the church, the professor sent by the academy is also for this?"
Xia De immediately understood what Yin Luna meant, shook his head at her in the mirror, and continued to walk forward. What he meant was that he didn't come here tonight for the "bard". Yin Luna, who was sitting in front of the dressing table, also understood what Xia De meant and was very confused about why he came.
There was no trace of demons in the busy public dressing room, but Shade found many ring sorcerers from the church. They disguised themselves in various identities, and Yin Luna was not the only one who was forced to perform on stage, but she seemed to be the only one who really didn't understand music.
It seems that the church believes that the "bard" is more likely to appear on the stage during performances. Xia De can only wish in his heart that Yin Luna will not make a fool of herself on the stage.
After walking around the public dressing room, Shade felt that he was covered with the smell of powder. He reminded himself to change his clothes before going home, otherwise the writer lady would definitely be unhappy. Then he walked into the second room on the right side of the corridor, which was the public lounge for the musicians.
Generally speaking, the dressing room of a concert hall is actually a lounge, but the Royal Festival Hall has special significance to the royal family, so the interior decoration and functional area division are also different from normal.
Of course, it's called a lounge, but it's not quiet at all. It's the performance time, and both the stage and the audience are quite nervous. Most of the musicians who have finished their makeup are waiting here to go on stage, and most of the guests who come to visit the musicians also gather here. There are even young people holding flowers, giving gifts to their female friends to congratulate the performance. Everything seems normal.
There were also ring sorcerers from the Orthodox Church in this lounge, but there were very few of them and most of them were low-level. Xia De still walked around in it, thinking that he would still be fine. Unexpectedly, when he approached the man standing at the window looking at the night, the straw man in his pocket trembled three times.
“Found it!”
Shade kept his expression unchanged, pretending to be just passing by, trying to walk behind the "man" who had his back to him. But just as Shade was concentrating on the road, the man who was leaning on the windowsill and looking at the night view of Tobesk turned around and asked Shade in a very warm tone:
"Sir, what time is it now?"
Xia De stopped and took out his pocket watch to take a look:
"It's already half past eight in the evening. Why, sir, is your performance time coming up?"
"Yes, I am the violinist of the 8:46 White Bird Sonata Suite No. 1."
He said to Shade with a smile, and then asked:
"So sir, what are you doing here?"
You can easily tell the identities of the people who appear in this lounge from their clothes.
"Come to visit Miss Lisa."
Shade said that he had read the program provided by the doctor, and although the focus was on remembering the time, he also remembered the names:
“That’s a great cellist.”
"Yes, it is excellent."
The devil nodded in agreement:
"Her cello skills have almost reached their peak at her age."
Because he is an old man with gray hair, it doesn't seem out of place to say this:
"But I can see that Miss Lisa is not satisfied with her current status. She wants to go further."
"But she is already the best cellist in Tobesk. I heard that even Queen Diana praised her."
"Yes, but people always have desires."
The demon said with a smile, and Shad nodded. He guessed that Dr. Schneider's disguise was so good that the demon didn't see who he was and instead fell in love with him.
The following words also prove Xia De's point:
"Sir, I see you also have unusual desires."
"Yeah?"
Xia De acted a little surprised and pressed his chest.
The lights in the room were so bright that the nearby scene was reflected on the window glass. The profiles of Shade and the devil were reflected on the glass, and the two smiling faces almost blended into the night.
"Everyone has desires, wanting to earn pounds, wanting to be famous, wanting a title, wanting beautiful girls, this is normal."
Xia De said that he was not in a hurry at this moment. The doctor would come over after checking the three rooms on the right. He could completely hold the demon here and wait for the doctor:
"Don't you have any desires?"
Shad asked back.
"Of course I have desires too, but I can see that you are different."
The demon in the shape of an old musician whispered softly. If it were an ordinary person, it would have been affected by its words at this time:
"Such pure desire is rare. Tell me, young man, what do you want?"
"I want ... pounds."
Amidst her chuckle, Shade gave a fairly honest answer. He already had a five-digit deposit, and he was actually very hungry for money. Ten thousand pounds was not a lot for a ringmaster, and he had been thinking about how to make money recently. Although if he really needed money urgently, neither Miss Carina nor Resia would be stingy in lending him a hand, but outsiders did not like to ask ladies for money.
“It’s very simple.”
The devil reached behind him, and although there was nothing behind him, he pulled out a "Victor Box" out of thin air:
"Here you go. You can use this to copy infinite money."