They merged side by side into the crowd on Silver Cross Avenue on Wednesday evening. The bustling pedestrians were walking along their own paths of life, and in the sky, the setting sun was covering the city with a gray mist.
It was another ordinary Tuesday, another ordinary day in spring. Shade didn't know how long this peace would last, or whether a new disaster would soon appear around him again.
But at least through that cold emotion and empty heart, he has understood himself and all the ties that he, a stranger in this world, has.
This incident will not change him, but it will make Shad cherish everything he has even more. He hopes that days like this can last forever, and he hopes that all the love will always be by his side, just as Hela Osenfurt wished.
“That seems a bit greedy.”
Walking down the street and looking at the prosperous street scenes of the steam industrial era, Xia De sighed silently in his heart.
Suddenly he turned his head to look at Yin Luna's profile and asked softly:
"Yin Luna, if I say that I can pay any price to protect everything I cherish, do you think this is right?"
Yin Luna also turned to look at him, at the face illuminated by the increasingly brilliant sunset. She narrowed her eyes slightly:
"Of course it's correct, because that's what I thought too."
Yin Luna said softly, and Ji Dong in her heart made her blush a little. She knew that Xia De and she were essentially the same kind of people, and they were the only ones who were the same kind of people:
"Mortals are too insignificant. Being able to hold on to what is around us is happiness enough."
This is also her answer to "what if", and she firmly believes that she is the one who masters the balance.
The two did not talk about sensitive topics during dinner because they felt embarrassed to dine with Yin Luna but the meal bill would still be charged to Miss Lecia or Miss Carina. Therefore, this time Xia De did not choose to dine at a restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue - all the restaurants on that street assumed that Xia De would not pay for it himself.
He finally chose to dine at the "Marie Antari Restaurant" located in the east of Saint Teresa Square. The name comes from the late wife of the restaurant owner. Although it is located in a prosperous location in the city center, in fact, it was just a tavern and barbecue restaurant when it was inherited by the current owner from the deceased elders of the family more than 30 years ago. It was only because of the excellent location that it gradually developed into a high-end restaurant over time, favored by celebrities and nobles.
The restaurant's signature dishes are still the roast meats that Mia loves, especially roast beef and lamb. Served with herb sauce and vegetables, the delicious taste is praised by even Xia De, who doesn't have high requirements for food.
"The decoration is very nice, with a strong classical style. Look, there are signatures on the portraits of those celebrities!"
This was Yin Luna's first time to dine here, and during dinner she discussed the decoration here with Xia De.
"Literary and artistic celebrities like to dine here. It was Miss Dorothy Louisa who told me about this place. She said that she often dine here with her writer friends. However, even Dorothy now does not have the qualifications to have her portrait hung on the wall... After all, she is just a popular fiction writer."
Xia De introduced the restaurant, while Yin Luna looked around with great interest. With her salary and allowance, it was no problem for her to come here for dinner, but who to go with was a problem. She calculated the cost of the meal in her mind, and planned to invite Xia De and Luvia to come here for dinner when she had time.
After dinner, Xia De wanted to go home with Yin Luna to discuss things. But Yin Luna heard that Xia De wanted to go to Midhill Castle to have a bottle of blood identified by the old witch, so she offered to go with him:
"I can use the doors in your basement anyway. Besides, it would be boring to walk alone in the Sikar Mountains at night, right?"
What she said made sense, so Shade took Mia with him. Since it was a night walk, it would be good for the cat to breathe some fresh air.
After coming out of the abandoned tower on Mount Xikar, the two took advantage of the good moonlight in the mountains and found the road down the mountain through the woods.
They walked very fast. Yin Luna and Xia De walked side by side, looking at the scenery of Midhill Castle at the foot of the mountain, and finally started talking about business:
"News from the church. In the past two or three months, abnormal space transfer phenomena have frequently occurred in the material world."
Her voice was steady:
"This is the same type of phenomenon, specifically referring to an individual walking and suddenly appearing in a distant place. Its essence is the spatial chaos of the material world. Of course, this phenomenon has always existed, but it is rare. It is very rare. Therefore, it was not until recently that the frequency of the incident became abnormally high and the report was submitted to the Holy See."
"Is this matter related to the chosen one of the space?"
"Yes. After counting the number of accidents, we found that if all the incidents were connected together, they would actually form a large network centered on the Green Lake area. Because the sample data is large, we can trust this conclusion - the center of the abnormal space phenomenon is the Green Lake area."
"I've only heard that the Randall River Valley is the center of the earth in mysticism, but I've never heard that Green Lake is the center of space."
"There is indeed no such saying, but it is clear that some abnormality has occurred in the Green Lake area, which in turn affects the entire material world. This may not be man-made, but it may also be a damn natural phenomenon."
Shade then recounted her joint investigation with the witch in the Green Lake area yesterday, which was Monday. When she talked about the battle on the lake at night, the 17-year-old girl frowned deeply:
"That witch is really useless. She actually let you face such a great danger... Central Island and the Invisible Island? It's only been a day since the incident. The Tobesk Diocese only heard that something happened there, but has not received any more news. However, there will definitely be definite information tomorrow."
"What will be the cause of the spatial anomaly in the material world surrounding the Green Lake area?"
Shade put the dozing cat on his shoulder instead of holding it. Although Mia was not very heavy, it was still troublesome to hold her all the time.
"It weakens the stability of the material world, and loosens the ancient seals of the subspace. The more serious problem is that by constantly penetrating and connecting the originally stable space, it will cause larger-scale space anomalies, forming a chaotic space area that humans cannot enter, further compressing the material world and the area where intelligent life can survive, until the entire world collapses."
Yin Luna said, Xia De sighed:
"The problems are getting more serious each time. It's hard to imagine what will be waiting for us in the end."
Yin Luna wanted to make a little joke, but when she saw Xia De standing beside her, she suddenly grabbed his hand on the mountain road under the spring moonlight. In Xia De's opinion, their relationship had long surpassed friendship, so he was not surprised by this. Yin Luna suppressed her excited heartbeat and said with a smile:
"When the chosen ones of Chaos and the Witch appear, will the disaster be that all life will be transformed into women, and all civilization will end within a generation?"
"This is too scary. It's better not to tell such ghost stories at this late hour."
Xia De also laughed. He found that although Yin Luna was not very old, he always felt at ease when he was with her. Her face was immature, but she was always rational and calm in doing things.
This is also what Yin Luna thinks of Xia De and Luvia.
As for the alchemical item that Yin Luna provided to Xia De to keep warm in the snow-capped mountains during the next "seven-day trip", it was a pure gold bracelet with complex patterns.
The bracelet was engraved with religious symbols commonly used by the Church of the Sun. Only by looking closely could one discover some runes representing the "earth". In the four opposite positions of the bracelet, there were complete sun patterns in different forms.
Yin Luna carefully took out the bracelet and handed it to Xia De. Xia De could feel the warmth on the bracelet. He couldn't even tell whether it was Yin Luna's body temperature or the temperature of this powerful alchemical item itself.
"Similar to my 'Sunshine Gun Brooch', I made this using the same technique. Wearing it, you can use a weakened version of 'Power of the Earth - Earth Energy Cannon' once. Even if you don't use it for heating, it can help you experience the feeling of massive energy output."
Yin Luna explained in a good mood:
"But this is much more difficult to make than the Sun Gun Brooch, and its power is not as strong as the magic I use myself. But the basic functions are still complete. In addition to the one-time use, if you put the bracelet on your palm and then light it on fire, a tiny flame will form. It is a flame from the sun and the earth, which can provide you with warmth no matter what the situation is."
"Meow~"
The dishonest cat opened its eyes, climbed down Shad's arm, lay on his arm and sniffed the bracelet he was holding, looking very interested.
But when Xia De smiled and tried to put the bracelet on its little paw, the cat avoided it with disgust.
"Don't go, come and try to light a fire."
Xia De temporarily let go of Yin Luna's hand, holding the bracelet in one hand and grabbing the back of Xiaomia's neck with the other. He pointed the cat's head at the bracelet and shook it gently a few times. The reluctant cat understood Xia De's meaning, so it opened its mouth and meowed, and then some sparks appeared.
Under normal circumstances, the spark would have difficulty igniting a pile of dead leaves, but when it came into contact with the bracelet on Shade's palm, a pleasing golden flame immediately jumped out of the ring of the bracelet.
Warm, relaxing and comfortable, the perfect warmth dispels the slight chill in the mountains on spring nights, making it more comfortable than lying in front of the fireplace and reading a book in winter.