The light of dawn was already illuminating the courtyard of Russell Manor. In front of the smoking bonfire, the old witch glanced at Shade again:
"Very good. Young man, please rest assured that I am a very open-minded person. I will not say anything about you and Karina."
She winked at Shade.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but out of the corner of his eye, Shade seemed to see Sister Defulin, who had always been expressionless, smile. But if he looked closely, the white face under the silver crown-shaped eye mask was still expressionless.
After the excitement, fatigue had already surged into Shade's heart. He had been fighting evil spirits all night, breaking into the land of death, using maze locks, and even attending the evil god's cocktail party. Even though the physical fatigue was still bearable, the mental fatigue was uncontrollable.
Since he had finished telling his story, he could only say goodbye to the witch and Sister Defulin and arrange the next visit. After making sure that no one was following him, he climbed up Mount Sikar from the foot of the mountain, found the abandoned tower in the forest, and returned to his home.
"Oh, Shad!"
Just as I returned to the first floor from the basement, someone opened the door of number 6 St. Teresa's Square with a key from outside.
It was Luvia, carrying a metal lunch box, and looked at Shad in shock as he walked out of the basement.
At this time, footsteps were heard upstairs, but Luvia still closed the door without hesitation, put the lunch box on the shoe cabinet, and then opened her arms to hug him.
"Shad!"
Dorothy and Little Mia walked down the stairs together. Luvia suddenly let go of Shad, pushed him away, and went back to get the lunch box with a slightly red face. Therefore, the blonde writer did not see the scene of the two hugging.
"The priest is safe."
Shade said to the two of them, yawning and feeling like he could hardly keep his eyes open.
He bent down and picked up his cat. Little Mia nestled in Shad's arms, not caring how dirty he was.
"Very good."
Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to hug Shad, but she couldn't because of Luvia:
"Did last night go well?"
"well enough."
He didn't tell the two girls that he had died once, for fear of causing panic.
"Dr. Schneider went back last night, but he will probably be here again soon. We all stayed at your place last night, and I just went out to buy breakfast, so it's a good opportunity for us to eat together."
Luvia said, motioning to go upstairs to talk.
Both ladies can cook, but there are not many good ingredients in the Shade family's kitchen, which is enough to starve a mouse to death, and they are not in the mood to cook, so Luvia ran out to buy breakfast.
"Come to think of it, I'm really hungry and very sleepy."
As he spoke, Shade yawned again. And as if his yawn was contagious, the cat in his arms also yawned with its mouth wide open.
"No problem, but have breakfast first and then go to bed. We'll go tell the doctor the good news later."
Luvia, who was walking in front, shook the lunch box in her hand with a smile on her face.
The blonde writer walked behind and confirmed that Xia De had returned safely. She also smiled and said:
"Your milk and Mia's goat milk have been heated up. Really, Shade, your house is so big, can't you store more food?"
Perhaps death had finally affected him, so he omitted the story behind the door and told the girls about his experience last night at the dining table. After having breakfast at around 7am on Sunday, he went to bed and slept until 8am on Monday the next day. When he opened his eyes again, the window outside the bedroom still showed the dawn of Tobesk, which made him doubt whether he had fallen asleep.
"I actually slept for twenty-four hours?"
Yes.
After waking up, he felt a tightness in his chest again, so he reached out and fished for the cat, which was curled up on the quilt. Seeing Xia De wake up, the cat looked at him in surprise, and then suddenly tried to rub Xia De's face with its face.
It probably thought that Shade, who had slept for a whole day, was no longer able to survive.
I walked out of the bedroom wearing slippers and holding the cat, but as soon as I opened the door, I saw Tifa standing next to the sofa, two unfamiliar maids were busy making tea in the kitchen, and Miss Carina was sitting on the sofa with a book.
Hearing the voice, the red-haired duchess put away the book and tilted her head to look at the doorway where she lay sideways. The autumn morning light shone on the witch's almost flawless face, and her golden eyes really sparkled in the afterglow of the morning glow.
"What's that look in your eyes?"
The lazy red-haired witch asked, putting the book in her hand aside:
"I've been waiting for you all morning. How did you sleep?"
"very nice."
Shade, who had come to his senses, said with a smile, looking at the witch's figure in the morning light. Miss Carina also noticed Shade's eyes and said with a nonchalant smile:
"I don't have anything else to do today. Let's have breakfast together later. I'm still waiting for your story."
She motioned for Shad to sit down and talk, and Shad also noticed the letters left by Dorothy and Luvia. They also had their own things to do, so they left after Shad fell asleep and confirmed that he was safe.
They came again last night and found Shad still sleeping, so they didn't wake him up. Instead, they made dinner for Mia, left a letter and asked her to let them know when she woke up, and then left again.
As for how Miss Carina opened the door on the first floor of No. 6 St. Teresa's Square this morning, it was because Shad gave Tifa a spare key so that the maid who came to clean the house every week could enter.
"You don't have to worry about Grandma Cassandra. After she heard about you, she was even a little too friendly to you... You are really good at pleasing the witches."
The last half of the sentence was said in a low voice, which made Tifa smile. Seeing Shade looking at her, the black-haired maid winked at him.
"Mother-in-law Cassandra has already told me about your experience in Midhill Castle. You are really brave."
The witch looked at Shade, staring at him with her golden eyes, but she did not blame him for taking such an excessive risk:
"You were lucky this time, but you can't always be so lucky, Reckless Knight."
“I have always believed that the difference between recklessness and courage lies only in the result, not in the basis for the decision.”
Xia De held the cat and expressed his opinion:
"Anyway, I succeeded."
"But Fort Midhill is in chaos."
The witch said lightly, lifting a piece of hair by her ear and tucked it behind her ear.
"This has nothing to do with me."
Xia De immediately shook his head, wanting to distance himself from the matter, but at the same time he felt that his own sofa was so familiar.
"The special aurora phenomenon before dawn on Sunday may have nothing to do with you. Now the main suspect is the God Summoner of Tobesk, the Merman Nemesis of Coldwater Harbor, who ran away from nowhere."
These two titles should refer to the same person. While she was speaking, she glanced at Xia De:
"But because of the disappearance of your team members, you sought help from Saint Byrons, which in turn led to Saint Byrons sending a letter to the Church of Dawn, which in turn led to the academy discovering the small actions of the Five Gods Church in Midhill Castle and the Sikar Mountain area."
The maid brought a tray with some appetizers on it. Tifa bent down and placed the plate on the table. Shad and Miss Carina both glanced at her figure. Shad let go of the cat, but the reserved Mia would not touch the food on the plate by herself. She was waiting for Shad to give it to her.
"so... ... "
The hand that wasn't petting the cat tapped on the sofa.
"So the academy has discovered something extraordinary. No, it's not the Narrow Space between Life and Death. The academy has also heard about this relic, but it really has nothing to do with the three major thaumaturgy schools. The academy discovered that the Whispering Poems in the hands of the church point to the third chosen one, and the ceremony will eventually be held in the city of Midhill Castle."
The Whispering Poems were written on different objects by the last thirteen Witch Emperors, so the people of the Sixth Epoch could only see fragments. As for the second chosen one, people knew that he would experience adventures in Coldwater Harbor, and the information about the third chosen one was the location of the final ceremony.
"The Chosen One of Death?"
Xia De frowned slightly, then expressed his own judgment:
"Since it's such a special place like Midhill Castle, I don't think it can't be unrelated to death."
"Most people think so, including the Council. This time it's about Midhill Castle, so I can finally have some free time - this matter is handled by Mother-in-law Zina Cassandra of the Twelfth Seat."
The witch glanced at Shade and couldn't help laughing:
"But it's true that wherever you go, the chosen one will appear. How about telling me your destination in advance before you go on a long journey next time?"
"Just a coincidence, I guess."
"You will definitely go to Midhill Castle soon, and I won't stop you. But you must remember not to go to the narrow space between life and death again. After meeting Granny Cassandra last night, I met the Speaker again. She warned me not to try to touch the secrets of Midhill Castle easily, as it is more dangerous than I imagined."
The "Chairman" was the strongest witch of the time. As a thirteenth-ring warlock, her witch level should be at least twelfth. And how strong twelfth or even thirteenth-level witches were, Shade had seen it from the original librarian Miss Orlanod and the founder of the academy.