It was the 29th day of the Windy Moon, the first quarter of 1854. Every Saturday night in the study room, Shad and the girls studied fairy tales related to Cinderella. Tonight, Shad did not plan to start a new study immediately, but told Dorothy about some of his experiences in the City of Eternal Night, and talked about his state and inner feelings before and after obtaining the new fairy tale puzzle lock.
Leisia's low-ring sublimation words and medium-ring sublimation words chose the stories of the sleeping princess and the mermaid respectively, while Dorothy chose the match girl and Cinderella. Although there are great differences between the sublimation words and the puzzle lock, Shad's experience and the power he possesses can also effectively help the princess and the writer master their power.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Shad once again threw down the crystal shoes to demonstrate the normal function of the puzzle. Dorothy then put down the pen in her hand and clipped it on the notebook, indicating that Shad was ready.
"The effect of your puzzle is very different from that of my Word of Ascension. In the castle of the night, only time can stop the blessed princess from using the power of time to form a defense. Perhaps I can try to obtain additional spirit runes such as return change in each ring in addition to the Word of Ascension spirit runes, so as to change the effect of the Word of Ascension."
Dorothy mused:
"This is indeed an idea I had not thought of before. I originally thought that this fairy tale corresponded to the power of time and night, but I didn't expect that in your hands it would actually be the power of space."
"The Words of Ascension correspond to existing rules, but the Mystique is the inner thoughts of the Ringwitch. Cinderella created the Mystique because of my 'integrity'. I promised to help her return home, so this wish gave birth to the power of the heart."
"Compassion, courage, sacrifice, wisdom, integrity, you are truly a true knight."
She described the qualities of Shade's five puzzle locks and sighed softly:
"Your talent is really bizarre. But I also thought that this might be related to your core spiritual rune."
"What's the meaning?"
Shade asked curiously.
"We won't discuss the relationship between the maze and the mind. The essence of the maze is actually to construct another space with specific rules, covering the normal world. Therefore, time and space, as the framework of the world, will definitely play a role in the construction of the maze. Your time and space spirit runes may be the reason why you can learn so many mazes."
The writer said that this gave Shade a new idea. He had never thought that his outstanding talent in "Mystery Lock" might be related to the spirit rune:
"But having too much talent isn't always a good thing. If it was just a single puzzle, I would be able to use it fully at the tenth or eleventh ring, just like Miss Vanessa Benanis's Golden Theater of Ode to Glory. But now that the five puzzles are combined together, I don't think an average ringmaster would be able to possess it even at the twelfth ring."
Shad sighed and leaned forward on the table. The shadow of his head fell on Mia on the table, making the "gas lamp" cat get up and walk away unhappily.
"Some specific spirit runes and magic can increase the amount of spirit stored. And I heard from Luvia that you are different from ordinary people. You have many strange blessings and states on your body. Your spirit storage capacity should be very large, right?"
"Yes, but it is still difficult to bear this kind of composite puzzle lock. If I still have a new puzzle lock in each ring and put it into the current composite puzzle lock, I think even if I reach the thirteenth ring, I may not be able to use all the puzzle locks."
But at least the "demigod" stage is definitely possible.
The blonde girl looked at him in a pretended angry manner:
"Are you trying to make me envy you even more, knight? Provoking jealousy in others is not what a knight should do."
Then he and Shade laughed together:
"Why think so much? Others can't envy you even if they want to."
She cleaned up the table and asked again:
"Lecia and I will prepare and start teaching you new content next week. What do you think about the choice of fairy tales? Or do you want us to choose for you?"
"Clock Tower Lovers, maybe."
Shad said casually, and Dorothy smiled and said:
"This is very good content. The farthest distance is the distance between life and death. If you use this to obtain the spirit rune again, the corresponding puzzle lock may be able to cross space. Oh, isn't this what you and Leicia watched on Thursday? I thought you were busy with other things at the time and didn't pay attention to the content of the opera."
The passionate kiss, the messy red hair, and the gentle whisper in the dark box flashed through Xia De's mind:
"I remember that night, didn't you also show up for twenty minutes?"
Dorothy blushed:
"Lecia forced me to go. She said it would make her feel that we are all by your side."
Shade then asked:
"Is she coming tonight?"
"Of course, Leicia likes to participate."
She bit her lip lightly and stared at Xia De quietly for a few seconds:
"Me too."
The gentleness of the girls sometimes made the diligent foreigner inevitably fall into laziness. But fortunately, Xia De was determined, so he still insisted on getting up early on Sunday morning.
More than half a month had passed since the battle of Randall Valley, and this peaceful life made people quite lazy. Sometimes, Shade would think about whether he should take the initiative to find something interesting to do, but the trivialities of life always left him no time to do other things.
For example, this Sunday night, he will attend the opening dinner of the "Round the City Equestrian Competition", where he will be able to meet his opponents. According to the regulations, such dinners must bring female companions, so Shad invited Dorothy to attend.
This was Luvia's suggestion. The purple-eyed girl was still making up for the classes and work she missed due to her "vacation" in Randall Valley. She probably wouldn't have time to participate in such a "time-wasting nightlife" for another month.
Although the banquet was held at night, the preparations before the banquet took up most of the day, including dressing up, preparing clothes, and even hiring a carriage in advance because the banquet was held in a manor on the outskirts of the city.
In short, Shad didn't do much else during the day. He intended to take his cat out with him, but after many "adventures" in the Randall River Valley, Mia had obviously exhausted her enthusiasm for going out, and she had to sleep in at home to accumulate the idea of going out again.
So, the cat rejected Shad and stayed in the metal stomach, unwilling to come out, while Shad was packing up the armor he was going to wear.
"Look, you look really handsome in that armor."
In the evening, Leicia sent several maids to help Shade put on the armor given by Miss Goder together with Dorothy. Even after removing the complicated chain accessories, it was still not an easy task.
The floor-length mirror that was originally placed on the side bedroom was temporarily placed in the living room, so that Xia De, who was holding the helmet, could see his own clothes and appearance.
On the other side of the living room was a second-hand camera that Shade had bought from the Steambird Newspaper. The writer, who had already put on her azure blue dress, was thinking of taking a photo with Shade before leaving the house:
"I will write on the back of the photograph: The Knight and his Lover, taken at the end of the windy month of 1854, in the Place Sainte-Teresa."
The blonde girl was standing next to Shade at this time, and looked at the two people in the mirror with him:
"That's really nice. I thought you would look best in a tuxedo or formal dress, but I didn't expect armor would look good too."
"This suit of armor is a little too fitted."
Xia De said this and tried to move his arms and legs. This golden armor was a full-body armor. He originally thought it would be quite uncomfortable to put on, but it unexpectedly fit him well.
"Your client is really generous."
Dorothy smiled and asked the fair-haired young maid who was fiddling with the position of the camera:
"Miss Durr, how much gold pounds do you think this knight's armor is worth?"
Miss Weiss Duer was one of Leicia's personal maids, and appeared in front of Shade only slightly less frequently than Ajelina. She smiled and looked at Shade's armor, because she had just helped Shade put it on, so she knew the thickness of the metal of the armor very well:
"I am not a master in the forging industry, nor am I very good at evaluating antiques. But I am sure that this is undoubtedly a suit of armor that is worthy of being an heirloom for any noble. Even the Cavendish family would not mind collecting this suit of armor and passing it down to future generations."
She also gave a very appropriate example:
"If this were still the era of cold-weapon knights, this set of armor would probably be passed down among ignorant villagers as the equipment of 'chosen heroes' and 'holy warriors bestowed by God'. It looks intimidating, but it's actually quite sturdy."
“That’s high praise.”
Xia De said, turning around and looking at his back in the mirror:
"I thought Miss Gold was just... I guess I should bring more gifts when I visit that lady in town."
The reason why people had to wear armor tonight's banquet was to follow the tradition of the old times. Besides those gentlemen who were forced to wear armor, everyone else respected this tradition very much.
After they had dressed up, Shad and Dorothy said goodbye to the maids who came to help them, left Mia at home, and took a four-wheeled rental carriage to the manor outside the city. It was an asset of the royal family, and the banquet where Shad was knighted last year was also held here.
The "Edward III Arena" used for the competition is located near the manor, and the shadow of the arena is even clearly visible in the afterglow of the sunset.