"I'm sorry, ten months ago? You mean, I died at the beginning of this year?"
Now not only Shad, but even Sister Devlin raised her head slightly and looked at the "boy".
"I, died at the beginning of this year?"
Xia De repeated it again, pointing at himself in disbelief:
"Mr. Barton, you can't talk like that even if you're joking. Please hold my hand and tell me if I'm still alive."
Even if we calculate based on the time when the original owner was occupied by this outsider, the "date of death" should be the Saturday of the third week of June this year, rather than the further away early 1853.
As Shade spoke, he stretched out his hand. As expected, Joey Barton stood up with great effort, bent down and stretched out his hand to shake it.
One ring.
"Yes, you are alive."
He just touched it once and then let go. The boy still had an expression of disbelief on his face:
"The divination just now was death, and now it's like this... Oh, Mr. Watson, I'm sorry, I don't think I can do the divination for you."
"What's the meaning?"
"Maybe there's something wrong with my divination, or maybe something happened to you that you don't even know about..."
Joey Barton pointed to the envelope on the table:
"It only costs one person. I guess you are the one who escaped death."
He looked a little depressed and said softly:
"But sometimes, death is also a very good thing. After all, life always has an end. Normal birth, normal growth, normal death, this is natural, and it is a very enviable thing..."
Before Shad asked again, Joey Barton clapped his hands, let the people outside in, and prepared to see the guests off.
Although Xia De was still confused, he knew it was best not to ask too many questions. After all, he would have many opportunities to come here again. So he stood up and pushed Sister Defulin away. The nun also did not want to ask any more questions.
When the two returned to the carriage, Shade immediately expressed his doubts to the nun, who told him not to worry:
"Mr. Hamilton, maybe you have really been helped by a great man, but you don't know it. Did you encounter any accidents at the beginning of this year?"
At the beginning of this year, the stranger had not yet arrived. Because he did not inherit any memories, Shade did not know what the original owner had experienced at that time. He only knew that Detective Sparrow met the homeless man around that time and took him in. When St. Byrons Comprehensive College investigated Shade's identity information, it did not point out that the original owner had encountered something unusual at the beginning of this year:
"This is really strange. Maybe I should investigate whether there was any news about the collapse of tall towers in the Old World and the New World at the beginning of this year. If what the 'boy' said just now is correct, I hope the tall tower he refers to is not an inconspicuous mill tower in the countryside, or an abandoned tower in a remote mountain area."
Xia De sighed. He didn't expect that he would get such a result:
"Let's not talk about that for now, let's get back to the purpose of this trip. Sister, Mr. Joey Barton looks really strange. Did you see anything with your eyes?"
"His body is indeed 13 years old, but his soul seems to be over 40 years old."
The eleventh ring nun said.
Xia De was startled and asked softly:
"So, that body... isn't his?"
He thought about his own situation.
"No, that body is his. The soul fits the body perfectly."
"Has his soul been separated and separated for a long time?"
Xia De gave another guess, but the nun shook her head slightly:
"It's just speculation at the moment. I'll let the cult investigate. He's very strange. Since his accent is a local accent, he must have lived in the local area for a long time."
"What about his eyes? When he used his eyes to see through death, did you notice the Rhodes card? Did that card give him the power to see through death, or was it just a cover?"
Although there was only a coffee table between them at the time, Shade was unable to discern the source of the power. He only knew that those eyes were at least not demonic eyes.
"His eyes are indeed amazing. I think seeing through death is probably his natural talent."
The nun said, and after a moment's hesitation she added:
"But that Rhodes card gave me a very strange feeling. The card is indeed an ordinary item, but... it seems to enhance the power of his eyes. Maybe this is a strange casting condition that I don't understand."
Xia De had some guesses about this, but he still had to wait for the nun to investigate the matter thoroughly before he could speak.
"So, do you think it's possible for Joey Barton to join the Spiritual Order?"
"I don't think I will accept him. The cult does not welcome people with too many secrets."
The nun put on the silver eye mask that looked like a crown again and used the metal on both sides of the eye mask to bind her long hair:
"The cult will re-investigate Joey Barton. This person may have a solution to the dangers of the narrow space. Mr. Hamilton, it is a pleasure to cooperate with you this time. You are a friend of the cult, and you are welcome to come to me for help. As for the matter of Joey Barton, I will inform you when I have follow-up intelligence. I can see that you are also quite curious about him."
The carriage took Shad to Oak Street and then left with Sister Defulyn.
The reason why Shad got off at Oak Street was because he had made an appointment with Father Augustus to meet at noon today and wanted to ask him something.
Since the priest gave Shade the information about magic and narrow space last time, the two had not seen each other for more than half a month. When they met again at noon that day, the priest was still very emotional about his recent busyness.
Because he was worried about being seen with Shad, the priest specially found a restaurant far away from the center of Middleburg to invite Shad to have lunch. The two exchanged the latest news about Tobesk and Middlehill Castle, and Shad also told the priest the good news that Dorothy had successfully been promoted from the fourth ring to the fifth ring.
The priest told Shade that the Church of the Five Gods had mobilized so many old priests from all over the Old Continent to prepare for a large-scale ceremony, and that the ceremony was now ready and would probably take place later next week.
"So, it is indeed a ritual to suppress the narrow space?"
Shad asked as he cut the steak in front of him with a knife. This was a beef steak, said to be a famous local variety in Midhill Castle.
"Yes, there was originally a thirteenth-ring warlock of the Church of Nature, the 'Nature Singer', here, and two more were recently transferred here. In addition to them, Iluna Beas from our church has also returned. I remember she is your friend."
Xia De nodded:
"Yes, we'll take a steam-powered airship and should be able to arrive in the city tomorrow, which is Monday."
Father Augustus looked around and said in a low voice:
"Then you must not know. I just heard the news last night that the steam floating airship encountered trouble on its journey! So it was originally scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but now I'm afraid it will be postponed until Tuesday."
"What happened to them?"
Xia De looked at the priest in surprise, and the priest was very emotional:
"A green dragon."
Father Augustus shook his head and said with a sigh:
"It seems to have flown in from the open sea, and somehow ran into the steam floating airship. But don't worry, the problem has been solved. It is said that Miss Bei Yasi killed the dragon in the air with a single shot of the Sunlight Gun."
Seeing Shade's curious expression, Father Augustus added:
"That was a pure-blooded green dragon. Even though it was only a young dragon and was severely injured by the high-level sorcerers on the airship, and was also weakened by the divine ritual on the airship belonging to the Church of the Sun, being able to kill a dragon in an aerial battle as a low-level sorcerer is probably something that only the legendary heroes of ancient times could do."
He stirred the broth in front of him with a spoon:
"Young people today are really amazing. I think Iluna Beias will definitely become a hero on Rhodes' cards in the future. In this era when most dragons have disappeared, even the thirteenth ring warlocks may not be able to get the title of dragon slayer hero."
As he said this, he took out his pipe again. Of course, the priest would not smoke in a public place like a restaurant. He just took it out and wiped it out of habit.
"What happened to the green dragon's body?"
Shade asked again.
"It is said that it was left there to be dealt with. After all, they have to investigate where the dragon came from. But in addition to the green dragon, I heard that after the airship took off again, another sage-level humanoid relic slipped onto the cabin. I am not a ring sorcerer of the church, so I don't know much specific information, but I heard that the real body is a black humanoid, who disguised himself as a person who did not exist in people's memory and committed a series of murders. He was successfully expelled after being discovered."
"That ship was really unlucky. I mean, it was a very uneasy journey for them."
Shade sighed and picked up the glass of fruit wine at hand. Father Augustus also picked up his glass and clinked it with Shade in the air:
“Wish them good luck!”
This is the fruit wine that Shad brought himself; this restaurant allows customers to bring their own wine.
After the two put down their glasses, Xia De asked about what he was most concerned about:
"Priest, do you have any power related to the Eye of Death? Thaumaturgy, magic eye, or talent?"
"That's a really odd question."
Father Augustus said, but he was not wary of Shade, so he didn't mind telling Shade about such private matters:
"Of course, these eyes of mine can see any spirit, yes, any spirit."
But Shad's eyes can also do this, and Shad cannot think that he may be the chosen one of death just because his perception is strong.
"Also, I can vaguely see some signs of dying people. Very vague, almost like inspiration."
"Is this the magic you gave me?"
"No, no, it's another talent of mine."
Father Augustus said that the two of them were sitting at the innermost part of the "John's Steakhouse", so it was convenient for him to take a quick look at the entire restaurant:
"Like that gentleman."
The priest pointed to the stranger who had just entered the room. He was wearing a respectable suit and holding a black briefcase. He was probably a clerk working nearby.
"He will be dead within three months."
"What was the cause of death?"
"How should I know? Oh, detective, don't take this talent too seriously."
The priest said, and Shad thought that the talent of Priest Augustus was somewhat similar to that of the "boy" he met in the morning, but his performance was undoubtedly weaker than the latter.
"Also, I can vaguely perceive the soul's thoughts by looking at it, but I have to be at a very close distance and look at it for a long time."
This was very similar to Sister Defulin's talent, but compared to the gray-haired nun's ability to see through the secrets of the soul at a glance, the expressiveness of the priest's talent was undoubtedly much worse.