After returning home from Coldwater Harbor, Shad, wearing a scarf, left home again with his cat and gifts prepared for his friends.
The city is already preparing for the year-end festival celebrations. Next to the fountain statue in Sainte-Teresa Square, workers are standing on ladders, trying to hang ribbons on the girl holding a water bottle.
Every household hung a wreath of mistletoe on the door, and middle-class families even spent extra pounds to decorate their courtyards and fences. Everyone he met on the road was beaming with joy, and even the driver wished Shad a happy "New Year's Eve," and Shad gave him an extra tip.
The festive atmosphere enveloped the entire city. In places that Shade could not see, human civilization was celebrating the upcoming festival. The story of the fourth chosen one was temporarily over. Before the new story began, outsiders could enjoy this important festival that comes once a year.
The first stop was Professor Manning's home in the university district, which was close to St. Teresa's Square. Although Xia De did not make an appointment to visit him in advance, the old professor did not have any travel plans before the end of the year.
He welcomed Shade's visit with great pleasure. Shade hid Little Mia in the inner pocket of his coat, and then handed over a small sculpture of a black cat as a holiday gift:
"You have given me a lot of help over the past year."
Professor Manning accepted the gift with great joy, and gave Shade a very delicate metal pen holder in return. This is a handicraft, made of pure metal. There is a gear mechanism inside. Pressing the button in the decorative flower pattern at the bottom of the pen holder will make a small secret compartment at the bottom of the pen holder to hide the note.
"I received a letter from Professor Drake a few days ago. He seems to have finally figured it out. There are only a few of his old friends left. I am really happy for him."
Professor Manning smiled and said that Shade had certainly prepared a gift for Professor Drake. Of course, the gift was sent in the name of "John Watson" and entrusted to Mr. Bernhardt's old butler. Professor Drake would probably like the little angel statue that Shade had sent.
They didn't stay long with Professor Manning. The next stop was Dr. Schneider. Since Shad didn't attend the study session on Saturday, the doctor knew that he had taken the ebony pistol on an adventure. The doctor was of course happy to see Shad appear intact.
"Although you said that the demon that increases desire is your year-end gift, I think it would be better to give you something else."
In the reception room on the second floor, Shade took out the red silk scarf he had prepared. Of course, it was not made of pure silk, but a mixture of Delarion northern tall sheep cashmere and silk.
The towel was quite expensive, but it was also a suitable gift for a doctor. It was Dr. Schneider who led the terrified outsiders on the path of the ring wizard, and Shade always remembered this.
"Why are you being so polite?"
The doctor smiled and refused for a few times, then happily accepted the gift. He also prepared a year-end gift for Shade, which was a book called "Emotional Weaving". The content of the book was certainly not about weaving crafts, it was a book for ring sorcerers, recording the story of a giant eight-eyed spider that lived in the Third Age. Although it was a copy of a copy of a copy of a translated version, it was also possible to obtain spiritual runes or magic by reading it.
"Also, I have prepared the dream-entering ritual you requested."
The doctor gave Shad a heavy black suitcase:
"I have written down the ritual method and put it inside. The materials are inexpensive, and I have prepared them for you. But we have to make it clear that if Annat asks, I will not admit that I knew in advance that you wanted to enter her dream."
The doctor warned, and Shade smiled and nodded, placing Mia on the box on the coffee table.
"The dream ritual must be prepared in advance and started when one falls asleep. I wonder if the ritual materials contain volatile substances?"
"No, no, you can set it up in advance and use it within a week. I am an expert on the study of dreams."
The doctor said this with great satisfaction. Xia De took note of this and asked:
"Luvia has told me that our group's exam will be held on Friday of this week, which is the third day of the first month of 1854. Doctor, on Thursday, which is the second night of 1854, can you come to my house? I want you to help me with a ritual to enhance the effectiveness of thaumaturgy. The ritual requires the participation of ancient powers, but it is not complicated and will be completed in half an hour at most... However, the location of the ritual is very demanding and must be in the bell tower."
Xia De didn't want to do this before the end of the year, so he would hold the ceremony after the Red Butterfly Day.
"Of course, no problem. There won't be many patients coming to my clinic around the end of the year. You helped me hold the promotion ceremony, and I will help you hold the ceremony of sublimation of thaumaturgy. What's there to refuse?"
So Xia De got up and left, and the doctor sent him downstairs. Although the doctor had no family, he was not alone at the end of the year. Most doctors in this psychological clinic would bring their families to celebrate the holiday together in the clinic to celebrate the peaceful end of another year. The clinic would be very lively at that time.
The second stop in the Chapel of Dawn was the church, which was busy and joyful as the year was coming to an end. The choir children, wearing cotton clothes and under the care of the old nun, were making snowmen in the square, the believers who volunteered to help were cleaning the church windows, and the believers who came to pray for the last time this year were stuffing banknotes into the donation box one by one.
The entire church and even the entire square were decorated for the festival. When Shad got off the carriage, he was even handed an invitation to a grand open-air banquet to be held in the square tomorrow night. Unfortunately, he definitely wouldn't have time tomorrow night.
A shed was set up on the west side of the church to distribute relief meals for the end of the year, and a stage for public performances was being built on the east side of the church. Shad, holding Mia in his arms, watched all this. When he entered the church, which was more lively than usual, and found Father Augustus, the old priest was standing under a ladder on the side wall of the main hall of the church, assigning the task of visiting the elderly in the city to the young priests who were gathered in a circle.
This is certainly not the year-end visit to the elderly as remembered by outsiders, but rather a tradition of the Church of the Five Gods in which the church distributes year-end gifts to the elderly among its core believers.
The old priest talked to Shad only after he had arranged everything. He received a pen from Shad as a year-end gift and gave him three books as a gift in return.
“Why do you all give me books?”
Shade asked with a smile, but still happily accepted the gift. Unlike the book of occult knowledge given by the doctor, the three books given by the priest were "The Biography of Saint Sidis", a religious classic of the Church of Dawn, and "Friends Around You: A Guide to Raising Cats (Part 1)" and "Friends Around You: A Guide to Raising Cats (Part 2)".
Although it sounds ordinary, the latter two are quite expensive books because the written and internal diagrams and illustrations are all in color. This is not printing, but handwritten and hand-painted books, and in the era of steam industry, handicrafts remain more expensive than in previous eras.
"Meow?"
Looking at the colorful cat on the cover of the book that Shad was holding, Mia suddenly waved her paws and slapped the pages, making an extremely dissatisfied sound, which made Shad and Priest Augustus laugh.
"Priest, one more thing."
Although there were many people in the main hall, most of them were either praying on the long chairs in front or walking by in a hurry. No one paid attention to this side, so Xia De lowered his voice a little:
"I will use the relic at the foot of the statue on Thursday night. ... I will come here to get it on Thursday afternoon."
The priest looked around carelessly and nodded slightly:
"No problem. I won't repeat the words of paying attention to safety, but remember to return it after use. If it gets out of control again, I don't think Annat has the confidence to contain it again."
Priest Augustus's year-end festival will be spent in this church. The old priest has spent countless year-end festivals in this church and witnessed the ups and downs of this church over the past half century. Even Bishop Owen, who was transferred from another diocese when he was in his forties, cannot compare to him.
Therefore, priest Augustus would not be alone at the end of the year. On the contrary, he was probably the busiest one among the four people in the group. Seeing that someone else came to see the priest, Shade said goodbye to the old man and went to wish Bishop Owen, who was also very busy, a happy end of the year before leaving for the Prophet's Association.
Silver Cross Avenue, where the Prophet's Association is located, is the center of Tobesk, the capital of the entire Delarion Kingdom. At the end of 1853, when the New Year's Day was approaching, the changes here were more obvious than in other places in the city.
When the carriage carrying Shad and Mia arrived here in the snow, Shad looked up at the distance of the street, looking at the ribbons connecting the street lights on both sides, extending into the distance in the snow like a door arch, until it extended to the invisible end of the road.
Without Shade's knowledge, the gas street lamps had been replaced with new ones. The glass lampshades of the new lamps looked particularly new, and workers were doing the final inspection on ladders. The colorful emblems of the royal Cavendish family had been hung on the fences and walls outside the Yodel Palace, and the flag of the Kingdom of Delarion was flying on the top of every building in the Yodel Palace.
There were noisy sounds everywhere. There were an unusually large number of pedestrians on Silver Cross Avenue today. There was also a long queue in front of the entrance of Yodel Palace. His Majesty the King was going to meet many people today, but only a few of them could get in.
Everyone is in high spirits, even the newspaper boy can receive more tips than usual. The joyful atmosphere is spreading throughout the city with the arrival of the festival, and no one wants to remain unhappy at the end of the year.