"Um?"
"What's wrong?"
On the bright and warm second floor of the Prophet's Association, Princess Margaret asked Xia De curiously.
She was sitting with Shad, Leicia, Princess Ajelina, Sir Prisha, and Miss Eva Swift, a local Carsenrick poet, listening to Shad telling his detective stories.
The salon was in full swing at this time, with people gathering with familiar guests to discuss topics of interest, and exclamations and applause could be heard from time to time.
Xia De was just telling the story of how he helped Mr. Hank solve a "night haunting" when he suddenly froze and turned to look out the window.
Leixia picked up the teacup to hide her worried expression. Others didn't know what happened to Shade. The night outside the window was still calm. The Prophet Association knew what might happen outside tonight, and of course they would not let these distinguished guests notice the abnormality outside.
But Xia De was different. He was quite familiar with Yin Luna's "sunshine gun", so he learned from "her" at the first time that Yin Luna seemed to have fought with others outside.
"Nothing. I was just talking about going to investigate Mr. Hank's friends, so I suddenly remembered that I didn't seem to turn off the gas lamp when I went out."
Xia De said embarrassedly:
"But it doesn't matter. Let's continue telling the story. This story will probably be published by Miss Louisa in the newspaper in the middle of next month. This is definitely not the most bizarre case in my detective career, but it is also quite interesting. Mr. Hank's friends are distributed in..."
He was telling his own story, but he was quite uneasy in his heart. Because they were far away, he could only know that Yin Luna was fighting with others because of his familiarity with her, but Xia De really couldn't guess what was going on outside.
"It shouldn't be the Thief Jack who showed up. Yin Luna won't just use the Sunshine Gun to deal with that thief who gets stronger when facing a stronger opponent."
He felt uneasy, so he finished the story and excused himself to go to the bathroom again:
"I guess I shouldn't have drunk so much black tea this afternoon."
Shade said very apologetically, standing up and heading for the door.
Although Shade was not there, people were still happy to continue the discussion. Princess Leixia held the Hamilton Detective Stories and said with some regret:
"I did invite Miss Louisa, but unfortunately she was unable to come due to some matters."
"Your Highness, I heard that Miss Louisa and Mr. Hamilton are very good friends. I wonder if this is true?"
The writer Carsenrick, who had met Shade and Dorothy several times at different banquets, asked with a smile. Leicia shook her head slightly:
"Mr. Hamilton and I are not particularly familiar with each other."
When he said this, his eyes wandered for a moment, and the little princess beside him tried hard not to make a strange expression.
"But it is said that he has a wide range of friends, whether they are noble merchants, professors, shop owners, or poor people in the downtown area, they are all his friends. I think because of the source material, Miss Louisa should have a good relationship with Detective Hamilton."
"I heard of Mr. Hamilton's reputation when I was in Carson Creek."
Sir Prisher said, and pretended to glance at the door:
"I'm not saying bad things about others behind their backs. This should be considered a compliment. It is said that the Knight Hamilton is very popular with girls. I talked to this young gentleman before the salon started. He is indeed as knowledgeable and talented as the rumors say. He can even be called a wise man. If Miss Louisa has a crush on the Knight for this reason during the process of collecting materials, we will not be surprised. This is a very normal thing."
"Yes, Mr. Hamilton's looks are very attractive to girls."
The little princess said, Sir Prisha nodded in agreement, and Leicia wanted to laugh but couldn't. Only Princess Margaret held the wine glass with a thoughtful expression.
Since we know that Shad is a correspondence ringmaster of St. Byrons, we have reason to suspect that everyone around him may be a correspondence student in the same group. Margaret Anjou has no desire for Shad's secrets, but is curious about Shad's life.
Everyone in the salon was enjoying the evening. The literary salon attended by young ladies and gentlemen from the upper class could make everyone feel comfortable even if it was just to kill time, because it was a symbol of status.
In the next second, before anyone expected it, the sound of broken glass suddenly broke the atmosphere of the literary salon. When the cold wind from outside blew into the room through the completely broken window, the people who were originally talking and laughing all shut their mouths.
A middle-aged gentleman in a black suit and holding a walking stick jumped down from the windowsill with his leather boots. Behind him, a young man in a short shirt, holding his left arm, also crawled into the room tremblingly:
"Professor Ans, maybe you could fly slower next time."
“It’s right here.”
Professor Ans seemed to have anticipated the situation in the room, and said to the people looking at him with a smile:
"Except Margaret of Anjou, Ajelina Cavendish, Nasser Cavendish and Resia Cavendish, everyone else please go to sleep!"
The power of the spell spread to the room along with the sound, and ordinary people who were unprepared fell on the carpet or sofa in an instant. Fortunately, the carpet and sofa were soft enough, so no one was injured.
The three princesses stood up immediately, and Leisia protected Ajelina behind her. As for Prince Nasser, he had just gone to the bathroom and had not returned yet.
Princesses Lecia and Margaret frowned and hesitated whether to take action, but at this moment the door was kicked open, and the eight members of the ring wizard team of the Church of Creation who had been lying in ambush next door all rushed in.
At the same time, Yin Luna swiftly rushed into the room from the window. Behind her, Miss Green, the tenth-ring warlock of the Church of the Sun, and old Mr. Modro, the eleventh-ring warlock of the Church of Peace, wearing a white clergy robe, also "walked" in from the window.
The eight people at the window and the three people at the door surrounded Professor Ans and the cultists. The former raised his eyebrows, took off his white gloves and said with a smile:
"It looks exactly like Miss Pavlo's plan."
He looked around at the people present and snapped his fingers elegantly. Before the church's ring wizards took action, the cultists who believed in Mr. Doom had already thrown the dice in their hands.
“Stop him!”
But it was too late. The whispering elements of the angel-level relic spread all around, and an invisible barrier completely isolated this room from the normal world. All the lights in the room went out at this moment, but the next second, a beam of white skylight shone on the side of the cultist who rolled the dice.
The steady beam of light illuminated the square stone table, with a chair in each of the three directions: east, south and north.
Everyone stood in the darkness. The silent silence was not because they were intentional not to speak, but because they had temporarily lost the ability to make a sound.
Professor Ans of the Truth Society walked out of the darkness, came to the white light of the sky, and sat on the east side of the table. The cultist of "Mr. Doom" sat on the north side, covering his arm.
The people in the darkness were moving. Miss Green stood in front of the three princesses and used magic to protect them. Mr. Modro used gestures to remind people not to stay away from the light, but in fact no one would do so. It seemed that there was a terrifying beast watching them from the depths of the terrible darkness. Only by staying around the light could they feel at ease.
The whispering elements are mainly concentrated in the light and the further darkness, otherwise Princess Margaret and Leicia would have to consider whether to faint at the right time.
The "professor" who had already taken his seat knocked on the table and said to the church's ring magicians:
"Angel-level relic, dice story collection. Based on the current scene, it generates the most realistic game, telling a magical adventure story. Three players can participate in this story, and each chooses their own 'protagonist' to go on an adventure in reality. By the way, after all the players are seated, the narrator of the story will appear, and the latter calls himself the 'Secret Keeper'. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, according to our investigation, this relic is related to the ancient god of wisdom and knowledge. Winning this game is also considered to have completed a trial of the Secret Keeper."
"Are you crazy? Taking the initiative to interfere with the fate of the chosen one?"
Even though she knew the madness of the Truth Society, Miss Green still scolded them in a low voice.
The requirement for the Secret Keeper is "power related to the Ancient God Secret Keeper Mentor", so in addition to naturally occurring relics, reusing the contained relics can also be considered to meet the requirements of the poem. However, the church did not do this, on the one hand because it was not sure whether there were undiscovered fragments of the poem that prohibited it, and on the other hand because the fate of the chosen cannot be easily touched. If the Secret Keeper Trial is initiated in a deliberate way, it will definitely cause big problems.
"Crazy?"
Professor Ans smiled and shook his head:
"It's indeed crazy, but Miss Pavlo believes that this is a very successful experiment no matter what the result is. Although this gentleman and I took a big risk, such an experiment will definitely have results, right? This is a very valuable attempt, and we never do meaningless things. And if we are really lucky, we can get two pieces of wise pyroxene at once tonight."
The cultist sitting next to him muttered "madman" under his breath, but no one paid any attention to him.
"By the way, if it weren't for the fact that opening this relic requires the existence of mutually hostile game players, I wouldn't be here. There's one more position left, who wants to join?"
He looked at everyone present:
"Also, don't worry about anyone disturbing us. While this relic is open, no one will notice what's happening here, and everyone will temporarily ignore us. This space is completely isolated from the outside world, and until the game is over, no method can harm us, the seated participants. You see, I also invited three princesses and a prince..."
The "Professor" glanced at everyone present and raised his eyebrows:
"It's a shame that His Royal Highness the young Prince is not here, but the princesses are lucky enough to watch the most authentic story that follows, in which we were involved and influenced. The Royal Family is aware of the existence of the Ringwitch, so this does not violate the Official Secrets Act."
"Oh, you just want to take hostages."
Yin Luna's voice interrupted him. As she walked towards the square table under the beam of light, the Creation Church team, led by the bearded man, also came over. The high-level warlocks tested the boundaries of this space and found that they could not leave. The walls and windows still existed, but they were not connected to the outside world.
"Want to join this damn game?"
Yin Luna asked Miss Green. They both belonged to the Church of the Sun, and Yin Luna was used to following the arrangements of high-level warlocks.
"I have three princesses to protect. I will not participate. And you have higher rights to move freely outside. You decide."
Miss Green said that among the three princesses protected by the holy emblem behind her, the two older ones had their own thoughts.
Yin Luna looked at Mr. Modro again, who also said:
"You decide. The dark domain a while ago also had the power to make people ignore a certain space, but wasn't it also noticed that something was wrong afterwards?"
Professor Ans declined to comment on this.
Yin Luna looked at the Creation Church team, and the bearded captain shook his head slightly:
"My command authority is the lowest among us. You decide."
Yin Luna finally looked at the three princesses. The princesses were standing together and looking at the scene in front of them in "panic", with people sleeping around them.
"Your Highnesses, please come closer. According to the Official Secrets Act, the church will protect the safety of the royal family. You may need to drink some holy water."
After saying that, Yin Luna nodded to Miss Green and Mr. Modro, walked around to the south side of the square table under the beam of light, and sat on the stool.