Dr. Schneider naturally knew what Shade was asking. He sat up straight and took out the newspaper he had just put in his pocket. He leaned back, unfolded the newspaper, and used it to cover his face:
"I have already gone to meet Mr. Fernandez, the curator of the Randall Valley City Statue Museum. After you defeated the mirror, the curse on him disappeared. Although the life span he lost in the past cannot be made up, at least he has gained freedom in the short remaining life. I had a brief chat with him, and he asked me to thank you. He originally wanted to give you some money as a reward, but I helped you refuse."
"Just refuse it. Mr. Fernandez should use the money to enjoy the last days of his life."
Shade breathed a sigh of relief. He did not look at the doctor behind the newspaper, but took out a handful of cat food from his pocket. He bent down and threw the crushed cat food on the ground in front of him. One person leaned back, and the other leaned forward, as if he and the doctor were not talking at all.
The pigeons at the church door were really attracted by the cat food and gathered around:
"The curator reminded me that the cross could be used against the mirror. He was a great help. That's good. What about the captain?"
A sighing voice came from behind the newspaper:
"I found all the demon summoning materials in the safe at Oxenfurt Manor. I wanted to go check again yesterday to see if I had missed anything else, but the church had already sealed it off. So, I went outside the city yesterday to visit Captain Woody, but unfortunately he passed away."
"Um?"
Although he raised his questioning voice, Shade, who was feeding the pigeons, had no change in expression. He continued to watch the pigeons eat:
"When? How did he die?"
"There was a big earthquake early Saturday morning, and the house on Captain Woody's farm collapsed. By the time people dug him out, he was already dead."
"But he..."
Shade, who was sprinkling cat food to the pigeons, wanted to say that the captain had magical abilities given by an unknown sea demon, but then he remembered that most of those abilities were only effective in an environment with rivers or oceans.
"Because he had just died and hadn't been buried yet, I went to see the body."
The doctor's voice continued to come from behind the newspaper. The noisy street and pedestrians in front of the two people did not affect their conversation:
"The captain's soul has disappeared. There are obvious signs of demonic power. The demon has taken the captain's soul away... There is no way to track it for the time being. The other party's power is not weaker than that stone mirror."
Shad pursed his lips. He thought that even if he couldn't break the contract between Captain Woody and the devil, he could at least help him. But he didn't expect this result.
"When you sign a contract with the devil, you should have thought about what the outcome would be. You don't have to feel sad for him. I got a letter from the captain's old servant. It was left by Captain Woody for you, or for your friends."
The doctor said that the early spring sunshine was very comfortable. Although the temperature was very low in the past winter, the temperature was rising quickly now that the first Randall flower was in full bloom.
"I or my friends... Captain Woody doesn't seem to have much hope for me. Doctor, what does the letter say?"
"Some things about demons, and the details of summoning demons. He probably didn't explain this part to you clearly last time. At the end of the letter, the old captain said that he accepted his fate calmly and that he must give back what he gained. He said that if you really succeed in dealing with Stone Oxenfurt and the demon, please carry their stories and live a good life. Although he is not afraid of death, he is afraid of being forgotten."
The doctor's tone was monotonous. This was probably not a very new story for him. Before he met Shade in the summer of 1853 and invited him to school, Bill Schneider himself had solved many troubles related to demons. He had seen too many such stories.
"I'll remember the old captain."
Shade nodded and sprinkled another handful of cat food, watching the pigeons lower their heads and fight for the crumbs of cat food in front of him.
Although his sigh was very light, the doctor still noticed it. He turned the newspaper to the next page and looked at the statement and notice issued by the City Hall regarding the temporary closure of the river valley outside the city:
"I know what you're lamenting, but detective, that's life. There are always people coming to us, and there are always people leaving."
“When two leaves fall from a tree and intertwine in the air, it means that they will soon part ways. And when we meet friends in life, the day we meet means that we will say goodbye forever.”
Xia De said, and the doctor tilted his head from behind the newspaper and looked at his bent back:
"Who said that? It sounds good, maybe I can write it down."
"Dorothy. The conclusion of Miss Norma's disappearance in Hamilton's Detective Stories. But the story has not been published yet. It will probably appear in the paper next week."
The doctor nodded and wrote down the name of the story. He raised his head to let the warm morning sun shine on his face, then continued to look at the newspaper and asked with a smile:
“Although you didn’t write it yourself, from the look on your face, it seems like you really had a lot of feelings about this adventure in the Randall River Valley.”
"Yes."
There were many people walking in front of the two of them, but no one stopped to pay attention to the young man feeding pigeons and the middle-aged man reading newspapers. Behind them, the ripples on the surface of the Ailon River reflected the golden sunlight. The shadows of boats had appeared upstream of the river, and at the edge of the river, washerwomen gathered in groups of three or four, beating clothes while chatting in vulgar slang about interesting stories they had heard.
Spring is really coming.
The street in front of him was crowded with people. Xia De continued to crush the cat food in his hand with his fingers, and even felt that the sunlight was a little dazzling:
"I have seen many stories here, including the hatred between the Royal Family of Anjou and the Stonemasons Guild that lasted for more than ten years, the tragic marriage story of Stone Oxenfurt and Hella Watson, the tragicomedy of love between the Enriquez couple, and the legend of the Granger family that has lasted for two eras. Of course, there are also the noble souls who voluntarily sacrificed themselves, the unlucky curator cursed by the devil, and the girl who followed in her father's footsteps..."
Another handful of cat food crumbs were spilled, and the white pigeons immediately followed the cat food and came to the feet of Shade and the doctor. Shade looked at the way their white feathers were huddled together, and the doctor's voice came from behind the newspaper again:
“If you remember these stories, the people in these stories will not disappear because of your memory. You are a witness, just like the earth beneath our feet and the sky above our heads. Although you cannot tell these stories to more people, you have witnessed them and they will remain in your heart. Those people and those things are not meaningless.”
“This passage is also very interesting.”
Shade felt the wind blowing through his hair as he shook his head gently.
The wind blew the cat food crumbs on the ground to one side, causing the pigeons to crowd to chase them; the wind gently swept across the tender green shoots in the flower bed behind the benches that were cared for by the church nuns; the wind swept across the crowd flowing in front of the church at dawn, so the gentlemen held down the hats on their heads, the ladies gently pulled at the hems of their skirts, the flower girls held down the cloth on their baskets, and the newspaper boys covered the newspapers in their bags.
Shade looked up at the crowd and the church in front of him. He still had many stories to share and many things to tell his friends. The story of the chosen one of the earth was not the most touching story he had seen in the Randall River Valley. Those people and things in the corner of his memory, perhaps as Dr. Schneider said, would remain in his heart forever.
He sighed softly, and then met the eyes of old Harker, who was walking towards the church steps in the crowd but turned back by chance. The old stonemason, who had once assassinated Prince William of Anjou at a banquet but was released from prison under another identity due to Margaret's operation, suddenly felt that the handsome young man sitting on the bench looked like an agent who had interrogated him. But he shook his head and found that the two faces seemed different.
Shad nodded politely to him and continued to look upwards towards the slightly busy church entrance. He then raised his eyes again to look at the stained glass on the front of the church, at the church spire, at the white clouds, and finally at the sun.
“It’s a nice day.”
He muttered softly, and lowered his head to look at the pigeons eating at his feet. The sound of newspapers flipping rang in his ears, but this time Dr. Schneider did not speak.
The sun was warm on his body. If possible, Xia De would like to sit here for a while longer, so that time can rest. In the wind, "she" smiled gently and whispered in Xia De's ear:
In the sixth era of the present world, the year 1854 of the Universal Calendar, spring, the month of wind. The wind of early spring blows across the land, and your eyes have witnessed the story of the ancient river valley. The love carved out of stone is shattered, the girl destined to sacrifice lives for you, the guardian of the land holds up the noble golden cup, the feast of gods and humans is your myth. Kiss the soil, kiss the flowers, kiss the world, the land and I will all witness your story. When the beautiful witch clings to you standing on the land, in this ancient city in the spring, strangers who have traveled across the land, facing the sun, have you really seen the ending you expect
"Yeah, that's how I wanted it to end... probably."
As I came up with the answer in my mind, for some reason I suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if this story had no meaning anymore.
When the old story ends, a new story always begins, just like the arrival of spring on the earth.
"Her" voice is even gentler than the early spring breeze.
"Yes."
Xia De smiled in his heart and crushed the last few grains of cat food and threw them on the ground.
The sun shines on Shade, who is bending over on a bench on the bank of the Ailon River, and Dr. Schneider, who is reading a newspaper. The pedestrians walking on the street are in a hurry, and the carriages passing through the street are as busy as usual.
The roof of the Dawn Church reflected dazzling light, and the stained glass windows on the church walls also reflected strange colors that were not seen on rainy or foggy days.
When the young nun pushed open the window on the second floor of the church and tried to fasten it with an iron bolt, she looked across the busy street and saw a young man bending over to feed pigeons. She blushed for some reason. On the side of the bench, on the black iron gas lamp post, the lower right corner of the advertisement about "Stonemasons Association Recruitment to Willendel" rustled in the slightly cold wind.
On this sunny morning, the scenery outside the church is simply the best oil painting depicting early spring. In the center of the picture, Xia De, with his head lowered, suddenly said to the doctor beside him:
"By the way, when we get back to Tobesk, please come with me to see Detective Sparrow Hamilton. We buried a flower seed next to his grave last fall."
"Of course, I think the seed has taken root. But why not invite Louisa or Anat?"
The doctor asked curiously. Xia De looked at the pigeon expressionlessly and shook his head slowly:
"I don't want Uncle Sparrow to know what I did in the house he left behind."
The doctor holding the newspaper laughed:
"You see, the detective is dead, but he still exists. In the earth and in your heart."
Xia De nodded. At this time, large clouds as white as cotton were slowly floating in the blue sky above their heads. The pigeons that should have been soaring in the blue sky, attracted by the cat food, lowered their heads and gathered on the ground.
"Born on the earth, die on the earth, and be buried on the earth."
Xia De suddenly remembered Mr. Lathers's epitaph, so he straightened up slightly and turned his head, moving his gaze from the ground to the doctor beside him:
"doctor."
"What's wrong?"
The middle-aged man with blue eyes also turned his head, still holding the newspaper, and looked at Shade from the side.
"Although I know we will be separated one day, I hope that day will be as late as possible."
"Um...thank you?"
"Will you accept my blessing?"
"certainly."
Shade winked at him.
“I’ve heard this a lot lately in the Randall Valley—May the earth be with you and me.”
The doctor smiled and nodded, but suddenly saw the huge golden Holy Grail flash behind Shade. Because the sun was bright, the shadow of the Holy Grail in the lake looked like an illusion.
Bill Dimon Schneider did not delve into these, but continued to read the newspaper in his hand leisurely. After all, the newspaper was very interesting, and the phantom behind Shade was not the first time it appeared.
Xia De lowered his head and continued to look at the pigeons in front of him. His mood gradually improved, and he began to think about what he should do in the spring of 1854.
Going outings with Leicia, accompanying Dorothy to the city to collect materials, holding Mia to the Prophet's Association to ask Luvia for divination, or going to the Carina Manor to spend a wonderful afternoon and evening with the beautiful witch. Of course, we can't forget the honorary degree, the Tour de Tobesk riding competition and visiting Miss Gode. The life of a foreigner is always so busy.
He couldn't help but smile, then he looked up and saw the elderly bishop walking out of the shadows at the church door and walking to the church steps in the sunshine.
Xia De tugged at the doctor's sleeve, stood up and waved to the old man. The early spring breeze blew again, blowing his clothes. In his ear, "she" whispered softly:
You have gained new powers, stranger.
(End of this volume)