When Shad woke up from a long sleep, he found that he was facing an unfamiliar ceiling. The ceiling was not white, but was painted with bright and solemn religious murals.
He was staring at the scene of the saint sitting by the river and preaching to the believers, but before he could utter an exclamation like "strange ceiling", a voice came from the side:
"Are you awake?"
"Priest Augustus?"
Turning around, I saw the priest sitting on an iron chair in front of the bed, holding a newspaper, wearing a white clergy robe. Not far behind him was a wall, with brass gas pipes and steam pipes clinging to it, and the gas pipes were connected to the gas lamps on the wall that emitted warm light.
The style of the gas lamp is very religious, with a naked man raising his arms and light radiating from his arms.
With the help of the light, Shad saw that the newspaper in the priest's hand was the Tobysk Evening News.
Of the two pages of the open newspaper facing Shade, the left page reported Princess Recia's visit to Carsenrick, the upper page on the right reported the frequent child trafficking cases in the city, and the lower page reported the earthquake in the southern part of Tobysk. Judging from the reports, the damage caused by the earthquake was not great.
"Has there been an earthquake in Tobesk recently?"
Xia De, who had just woken up, thought about it, and then saw that the current date was Monday, and this newspaper would only be published in the evening...
"Finally woke up? You slept for almost the entire day, and it's already eight o'clock on Monday night. How do you feel now?"
The old priest criticized jokingly.
"Monday night? Oops! Little Mia!"
Xia De was stunned for a second, and then he jumped up from the bed almost immediately. He didn't expect that he couldn't go home on Sunday night, and now the poor orange cat at home has been hungry for a whole day, and he might not be able to survive.
"Where am I now? Church? Priest, I want to go home! Little Mia..."
"Don't worry, you are in the Dawn Church now. It's safe here. Look, your cat is here too."
The priest said, motioning for Shad to look at the pillow.
Sure enough, the little orange cat was lying there, and seemed to be about to lose his temper because he was woken up by the conversation between the detective and the priest. But when he saw that Shade had woken up, he was very happy to rub his soft face against the back of his hand.
A cat's body temperature is slightly higher than that of a human. Shade felt the warmth and softness of little Mia who had just woken up.
"Your cat is really obedient, at least when it's around you. Is it Detective Sparrow Hamilton's pet? I thought detectives would prefer to keep dogs with a keen sense of smell as pets."
The priest asked curiously as he folded up the newspaper and put it on the bedside table.
"No, it's the client's pet. It turns out I just slept for a day, and I thought..."
He thought that using the power of "divine overflow" would at least make him unconscious for two or three days. If it was only one day, then the price would be acceptable.
"By the way, what was the price for me to use the last page of that script?"
The divinity even heals the damage you suffer from facing the evil god, let alone the price of using the relic? Judging from the situation at the time, the price seems to be the gradual loss of hair.
She was still whispering in his ear, which made Xia De feel much more at ease.
As he stroked the cat and breathed a sigh of relief, in a daze, the memories before he fell into the coma came flooding back to him. The scenes in Lake View Manor seemed to flash before his eyes.
The Rhodes card, the grape trellis, the revolver, the evil god, the twelve paths of divine sublimation, the "Whispering Poems" mentioned by Miss Anat, and... ... Myself before the Silver Moon:
"Is everything over?"
He sat up, feeling refreshed and full of energy.
"If you mean what happened last night, it's over. At least for us."
The old priest said, it seemed that he had already thought of this, and waited for Shade to ask:
"We were almost discovered by the Orthodox Church, but with the help of your friends, we all escaped successfully, and no one knew what we did. I brought you back to the church and said you were my friend, so I took care of you. Louisa is in the care of Annat, but the doctor's condition is not good. He forcibly used the power of the Word of Sublimation. Although she woke up in the afternoon, I'm afraid she won't be able to get out of bed for a few weeks. May God bless him... By the way, why did you sleep for so long? But it's good to wake up. You look energetic."
The priest said, holding up the cup and handing it to Shad. He had been unconscious for a whole day, and although he looked better than anyone else, he should drink some water.
Shade thanked the priest, holding the teacup in one hand and stroking the orange cat, which was particularly energetic after being woken up. From the attitude of priest Augustus, it was clear that the doctor's problem could be solved:
"How are you, priest?"
"Very good. I'm probably the one with the least injuries except for Anat."
The old man smiled and said, Xia De was completely relieved, and asked again:
"My friends helped us? Aren't you my friends? Could it be Baron Lavender, but he still has the face to do this?"
"It's 'that lady' you mentioned. She proved that we were with her the whole time, not in a sensitive place. The people from the Orthodox Church didn't even see us."
The priest said, standing up and checking the door again. After confirming that it was closed, he turned up the steam lamp in the shape of a man with outstretched arms.
"So it was her."
As Xia De listened, he held the cat on his knees with one hand and scratched its chin with his fingers. The cat squinted its eyes and tilted its neck.
"However, before we left, the lady left you a letter and asked you to read it when you wake up."
The priest took out the envelope from the pocket of his robe, and Shade took it and pulled out the letter paper, which showed a short message written in cursive letters. This cursive writing style is common among nobles and is a variant of the common Draerion language.
"Oh? She asked me to write to the Lucky Southern Cross Club after I woke up and let them know. She wants to see me. Is there something she needs me to do?"
Shade raised an eyebrow at the letter.
"Isn't this great? If she helps you for no reason, then that's something to be wary of. It seems like this lady isn't a bad person."
said the priest, and then added:
"I have been in this city for many years. In my opinion, 'that lady' is probably related to the royal family. To have such power and to be able to protect us in the situation last night means she is not an ordinary noble. Although I couldn't see her face, there are probably no more than five women in the entire Tobesk, no, the entire Delarion Kingdom who can do this. I have never heard of a high-level ring sorcerer in the current royal family. It seems that our intelligence is still insufficient."
"Do you know who she is?"
Xia De folded the letter and put it on the bedside table to prevent it from being bitten by little Mia.
"Although I don't know, there are only a few possibilities. I won't speculate. If she is willing to trust you, she will let you know sooner or later. Remember to send a letter as soon as possible. Although you should be wary of strangers, you should not be too suspicious of those who help you with good intentions."
The priest imparted his life experience, and Xia De nodded. He understood all these principles.
Perhaps because he felt the room was a little dull, after discussing these sensitive topics, the priest stood up and walked to the window, pulling open the heavy curtains. As soon as he opened the window, the cool night breeze blew in, and the priest and Shade both breathed a sigh of relief.
The summer nights in Tobysk are slightly cool. Now that we are entering July, midsummer is about to arrive.