This is an unusual morning. Hitarian walked down the stairs with a heavy heart, ate breakfast, washed clothes, grinded beans, and then opened the jam jar and poured it into the bald man's plate. Seeing this, Brownie Little Fairy Scissor let out a sob.
"Oh!" She quickly raised her hand and found a meat bone placed in front of the food demon. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid you have to change plates today...uh." "Scissors" flew aside in disgust. "Well, it's better to be more careful. It's good for your health."
The bald man wagged his tail and licked the jam without seeming to mind. It tasted a few bites and happily finished the breakfast.
Scissors cried even harder, and the syrup dripped down and was eaten by the bald head. Perhaps the latter covets more than just its breakfast. Hitarian turned around and opened the cupboard, looking for some sweets that the food goblin could replenish.
"What's going on?" Murum asked. He was attracted by the movement in the kitchen.
"A little trouble. I put the wrong plate."
"Can't we just change the plate?"
"Go ahead and talk to them." There were too many things in the cabinet, and Hitarian gave up searching. "I want to bring food to Ruth." She chose a plate of cherries.
"I've always wanted to ask, why does your sister eat in her dreams? Is it related to fire magic?"
Maybe there really is that kind of mystery. For the nameless people who wandered from outside the city, it was easier to use talent than professional magic, so it was called fire magic. But for the mysterious creatures that light fire in Byrne, their choice of profession often depends on their talent. Fire magic will be part of their profession, and the two are indistinguishable from each other.
"I'll tell you if I guess it right." Hitarian made a face. No one would believe that I used a Bible to give Ruth three meals a day.
But Ms Liana said this was unnecessary. My sister rarely consumes the energy in her body in her dreams, and the society regularly sends people to give her alchemy potions.
Potions were something she had never thought about. Before her internship in the hospital, she had never even been exposed to... Some potions can save people's lives, while others can cause death. Bronze gear naturally provides the former. Ms. Liana said that you don’t have to worry about going hungry after drinking the magic potion. It is nutritious and satisfying. Even so, Hitarian still insisted on giving fruits to Ruth, but she could only bring the appearance of the things into her dreams and eat them herself when she woke up.
Soon we didn’t even have any fruit. Hitarian thought. She closed the door quietly so that Murum would not notice her worry. As a Nightingale, Hitarian had learned how to control his emotions...
...until she walked into the room and found someone sitting on the bed.
The plate fell to the carpet and the cherries rolled all over the floor. For a moment, Hitarian couldn't think. "Ruth?" she said incredulously, "You're awake!"
My sister bent her knees, put her feet on the table, and fiddled with the shoelaces awkwardly with both hands. She turned to look at Hitarian and smiled beautifully. There is a strange feeling in this beauty, which stems from her brain being damaged by a high fever in her childhood, but no matter what, she finally woke up.
"Khitarian." She opened her hands, "Khitarian!"
She won't answer me. Hitarian felt tears stream down his cheeks. But that's enough. "You're awake." She was almost incoherent. "God bless you, how did you do it? Do you know how long you slept?"
"Kitarian!"
The sisters hugged each other, perhaps Shitarian holding Ruth one-sidedly. Her pretty sister just pointed at her shoelaces and smiled silly at her. "Barefoot," said Ruth.
Memories from the dream came flooding back to me. It's like I'm dreaming! Hitarian grabbed Ruth's shoulders and tried to probe her. At this time, the door was slammed open, and Murum came in with a bald head: "Kitarian? It happened..." The second half of his words swallowed back in his throat. "Gods bless you."
"Dog!" Ruth yelled, rushing towards the bald head, nearly knocking down Hitarian. Thanks to the Dalmatian who jumped on the bed and held her in his arms.
Hitarian quickly put her shoes on to prevent her from crawling on the ground like a bald head. Originally she didn't think there was anything wrong with this, but she was used to Ruth's quiet and sweet sleeping face. Now that her sister's behavior was revealed in front of Murum, Xitalian suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Wait a minute," she said awkwardly.
"I'm here to help you." The boy said. He walked over to Hitarian, tied Ruth's shoelaces, and lay on the ground picking cherries. “Fortunately, there is a carpet,” he lamented. “Otherwise, if the plate breaks, it would be too dangerous.”
"No. Ruth is lucky."
"I can see that." He touched Ruth's hair, "We should wash her hair and face."
"I will do it myself."
"I'm worried that you took the hot water for jam by mistake, so let's work together." Murum made a face, "Where did you put your little basin, Hitarian?" He turned around to find the toiletries.
Hitarian was ashamed of his actions and excited, and for a moment he didn't know what to do. She covered her face and tried to calm down, but the self-control she had honed through Nightingale's experience was gone. After all, do I really have any ability to control my emotions? She couldn't help but smile.
"Kitarian," Ruth said.
She suddenly put down the Dalmatian, straightened her back, sat upright on the bed, and presented two newly worn shoes to her sister. "Kitarian."
A strange and ridiculous feeling came to my mind. Hitarian had never seen Ruth like this. My sister is indeed obedient, but her behavior is not well-behaved at all. She doesn't know how to please people and only acts based on instinct. While wandering in the dream, Ruth kicked off her shoes countless times and crawled and ran around on the muddy ground. Hitarian let her have her way, but the tower apprentice insisted on putting them on again every time he showed up. It seemed like this As if it helps. Over time, Ruth actually learned to wait quietly while her shoes were tied or her socks were put on.
It seems like a memory from a thousand years ago. Hitarian thought. Before I was a nightingale of the Order. After "Tattoo" died in the Cathedral of Antoros, the Black Knight personally brought her and Regla back to Byrne. The school of thought would argue that we died and lost our lives in the war.
She didn't dare think about Uriel's whereabouts. So far, there is no news of his death in the mysterious realm, which undoubtedly proves that he is still alive... But since then, Hitarian has not seen him in dreams.
"Kitarian," my sister called.
She came to her senses. "Come down, Ruth." I'm afraid no one will insist on putting your shoes on anymore, but that's okay, every inch of the attic is carpeted. "I have to tell my mentor the news. After you freshen up, we can go out."
"Kitarian." Ruth remained motionless.
"What's wrong?"
My sister didn't answer. Her eyes wandered around the room, looking around with infantile curiosity. She looked like she was in a strange environment. Finally, she held up her hands as if to offer flowers or pray for baptism. Hitarian picked up Baldhead, thinking she was looking for a Dalmatian. "here."
"Small." Ruth pushed the bald head away, "Small."
Smaller than a dog. "Flowers? We don't sell flowers." Ruth didn't hold many small objects in her hands. She often squeezed things hard until they were deformed. Hitarian could only think that they had sold flowers in Clover City.
"ugly."
"Uglier than flowers? Or compared to bald heads?" Ruth looked at Kitarian incomprehensively. Well, this comparison is too difficult for her. "What?" She couldn't tell.
By this time, Murum had brought the basin. The towel was put on his shoulders: "Are you ready?"
Hitarian turned his head. But at this moment, the boy thrust the basin towards her, pulled off the towel with his backhand, and swung it at Ruth. The cloth swept across her face and passed over her fingers.
Hot water splashed out, soaking the clothes on his chest, and Hitarian gasped. Before she could react, Murum had loosened his hand and threw the towel far away.
Then, a spider as big as a fist emerged from under the towel.
Hitarian inhaled with a frightened hiss, and Murum picked up a basin and poured it over. The water flow knocked the spider away. Just as he was about to pull down the basin, Baldhead suddenly rushed over, bit it in one bite, and swallowed it whole.
"Where are the bugs?" the boy muttered.
"I don't know!" cried Hitarian, "and it ate it!"
"It's just a little bug." Murum didn't care. "Bald, come here." However, the dog did not obey the order. It backed away slowly, then jumped up and out of the window. The boy chased him to the balcony and saw the Dalmatian limping under the bushes. "Strange. Maybe it's eaten bad." He raised his eyebrows, "Kitarian?"
Hitarian was not so optimistic. An unfounded intuition told her that her baldness would not come back. She felt a growing sadness, but mostly fear. Her hands and feet were cold, and her eyes were fixed on Ruth. A feeling of suffocation filled the lungs.
My sister was sitting upright on the edge of the bed, keeping the gesture of holding her heart. There was only a vertical reflection on her cheek, which seemed to be swaying with her breathing. Spider silk.
Smaller than a dog. Hitarian thought. Not a flower, because it is uglier than flowers. What she was about to catch was a spider. She used her hands...
"Kitarian? Are you scared?" Murum had returned to fetch water and asked the Brown Fairy to help clean up the mess on the ground. He noticed the strange behavior of the Ringott sisters but could not understand them. After all, although he belongs to the unknown, he is still a mortal in essence.
"You take Ruth to the hospital." Hitarian said to Murum, "I'll get the bald head back."
"Don't you think this division of labor is unreasonable?"
"No. You're with Ruth. She's lucky." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "Listen to me, Murum, never get too far away from her. No way!"
"What?"
"Someone is targeting us." She finally realized that this was the nightingale's intuition, the night watchman's intuition. I'm one of them..."the ones in Byrne."
"Because of a spider? Maybe it just came to tell you there were bugs in the room."
"That's what Ruth told me, not the spider." She's my lucky star. After the incident in the Bible, Hitarian knew that he should never ignore his sister's strangeness. Luck is Ruth's fire magic. "But spiders are important too. I'll get them back."
The boy was a little influenced by her: "Okay, you go alone? Is there any danger?"
"This is inevitable." Hitarian was also very scared, but fortunately she was in Bain, not the Silent School or Anti-Angle City. Byrne is the heart of the Order and someone will protect her.
"Why don't we go find Ms. Liana." Murum suggested, "Let her make the decision."
Hitarian bit his lip.
"Ms. Liana was injured." She finally told him, "Just early this morning. Bronze Gear sent someone to send the news."
The boy grabbed her hand. "No wonder you are so absent-minded." He held her in his arms, "I will do as you say."
So they parted ways and finally gathered at the hospital of their mentor Ning Ail. Murum's eyes widened when he saw the bald head in Hitarian's arms.
"By the gods." He looked at the bony pile of fur. "You've got the wrong one, Hitarian. This can't be bald."
"When I found it, it was spinning a web." Hitarian opened the dog's mouth to reveal the sticky spider silk. She rubbed her gloves together to demonstrate the stickiness. "Apparently that thing isn't dead yet."
Murum took a step back and bumped into the hospital bed where Ruth lay.
"Don't worry, the night watchman has taken care of it." Ning Ail said.
Hitarian's mentor, the director of the Byrne National Hospital, is a nature spirit. She has long curly green hair, eyes like emeralds, and fingers like works of art, but fatigue and melancholy accumulate on her brows, making her haggard and cold. When the mentor took the bald head, the Dalmatian trembled, and the runes on its back flashed.
The next moment, the dean inserted his fingers into the bald man's chest.
Hitarian heard Murum utter a prayer. She stared intently at Ning Ail's movements, her armorless knuckles darting between ribs and organs, deftly untying the threads that cut into the flesh. Circles and circles of spider silk gathered in her palms.
"Bring me a stick," the instructor ordered.
Hitarian handed her a ladle. Ning Ail wrapped the thread around the handle of the spoon and rolled it into a spool. Finally, she pulled hard and pulled out the spider spinning silk.
"Good dog." The elf dean threw the spool and the spider into the bucket. "It is his duty to protect his master." She touched her bald head. "Take it. Reattach the hind legs and he'll be up and running tonight. You should be able to take care of this little injury."
"What is that thing?" Hitarian asked while cleaning the spider silk from the dog's mouth.
"We are in urgent need of supplies."
Hitarian didn't understand: "Supplies?"
The elf dean's green eyes swept over her coldly. "You are insensitive, Hitarian. The silk is extremely malleable and can be used for suturing."
Hitarian frowned. "Stitches?"
"That's right. That's it. Natural elves have been collecting spider silk to sew wounds for thousands of years... In my hometown, doctors would raise this kind of spider for collection. Like human masks, it was originally one of the symbols of medical treatment. ." The instructor washed his fingers. "Otherwise, the Night Watch can kill it directly without bringing it to me."
"Neither Celsus nor Wittek could find anyone. It was Worrell who saved Baldhead."
"The wounded?" Ning A'il also frowned, "I told you, Hitarian, you can't disturb the wounded..."
"He requested it, ma'am," Kitarian explained, "and I agreed. I thought it would put him in a better mood."
The elf dean nodded slightly. "Very good." While blaming, she was also generous in praising, "Helping others makes people happy both physically and mentally. Your judgment is correct."
"But why did the spider from the Blue Forest appear in Ruth's house?"
"I can't answer you." The elf dean admitted frankly, "It's just that it really shouldn't be there. This kind of thing lives in Heather's forest and doesn't like to be in contact with people. In fact, it's very difficult to raise them." She wiped Drying his fingers, he turned back to observe Ruth. "Your sister is in good health and there is no need to send her to me. As for the reason for her awakening, it has nothing to do with physical factors. You should know who to ask."
In other words, Shitarion thought, the spider would not climb over the mountains and climb into my attic from the Blue Forest.
She decided to explore the answer later. "How is Ms. Liana? Can I ask her?"
"I'm going to change her dressing. Come with me...that boy! I'm afraid it's useless for you to go. Stay here and take care of your dog." Ning Ail ordered. She found some bottles and cans from the cupboard. "It will still be some time before we can visit patients."
Hitarian felt that it would be useless if he went. Her magic can undoubtedly soothe people's emotions, but her mentor does not allow her to use it on members of the society who are responsible for their duties. She believes this interferes with other people's judgment.
"Reason can also bring bad results." Ning A'ir warned, "Because not all our opponents are rational people. If you kill your father, the son will fight to the death for revenge. If you ignore this, the society will be in big trouble... The Nameless One They also rely on emotions to connect with each other. Hitarian, being too rational will lead to bad consequences. Do you want to abandon Ruth one day?"
"I won't do that, and I can't do it."
"The key is the latter. You are too unskilled in manipulating magic, and we cannot predict the consequences. Comforting the wounded is the only thing you can do now."
The mentor doesn't know about my interrogation of prisoners, Shitarion thought. The night watchman didn't tell her. This is as it should be. The elf dean is a pure doctor, not a nightingale. Apart from treating illnesses, saving lives, and imparting knowledge, she cannot give Hitarian any more help.
Ms. Liana rests in a private room, her snake-scale scarf hanging from the top of a clothes rack.
"Lingott?"
"I'm sorry I came so late. How are you, Liana?"
The member of the Bronze Gear Society lowered his head and glanced at the bandage on his abdomen. "It was serious at the time, but it's getting better." She raised her head: "You came early enough, Hitarian. These times are different from the past, and you should stay home honestly. Both Murum and Ruth depend on you. Protect."
"The streets are safe during the day." Hitarian knew what she was worried about.
"It's far from enough. That's the result of my carelessness. Look carefully."
She was badly hurt. Hitarian smelled cicada sloughs, glasswort and shadow raspberries. The instructor used natural plants and magic medicine to relieve her pain. Ms. Liana's face was as white as the sheets, and she had lost a lot of blood from the wound.
"I heard that shops were being robbed and the city guard was attacked, so that the night watchman had to come out."
"The chaos ignited people's emotions."
"Their emotions are very stable," Hitarian said. "At least when they were arrested and taken to the Public Security Bureau, they were all very well-behaved, but they seemed to have different brains than us."
Liana was silent for a moment. "Damn northerners, how dare he teach you to do such a thing..."
"Someone has to come." She replied, "Besides, I am a knight personally appointed by the lord. Who else can be more suitable than me?" There was a clicking sound in the room, and the elf dean concentrated on grinding, as if taking their exchange as an example. It's out of earshot. "The caretaker told me that attackers who are infected by demons will be punished by death."
A long sigh escaped Ms. Liana's throat.
She reached out her hand and wiped the corners of her eyes. "The Night's Watch speaks the truth, my dear," she told Kitarian. "There is no need to pity the dead. Those people are no longer our kindred, they have... lost themselves."
Lose yourself. Hitarian didn't understand. After leaving the Sheriff's Department, she is still confused. "These people were bribed by the Seven Pillars? Have they betrayed the association?"
"No." Someone answered her, "What they betrayed is order."
Hitarian realized that the person who had spoken was standing behind him. She turned around and saw a stranger: wearing a priest's robe and wearing a thick mesh mask.
The man took off his mask and revealed his face.
Another northerner, even more distinctive than the leader Wittek. His skin is light brown, his hands and feet are thick, and his shoulders are broad. He has shoulder-length disheveled sand-colored hair, a fluffy sand-colored beard, and a pair of straight and slanted sand-colored eyebrows. His eyes are slender, bright, and dark red.
He had a smile, a friendly, warm, bright smile.
Liana was surprised and called out this person's identity: "Lord."
"Not your lord." The other party replied.
"Your Excellency Anlini," the elf dean said, "Why are you here?"
"For a lucky person." The demon lord waved his hand, "Continue to do your work, Nin Aiel, and don't let the wounded wait." His eyes turned to Hitarian.
"This is Your Excellency Lord Anlini of Shimmer." Ms. Liana forced a smile, "She has never met you, Your Excellency. Hitarian Ringot is my adopted daughter."
The Glimmer Lord was still smiling, but Hitarian felt him looking at him. Maybe he was waiting for me to ask the question.
"Lord," she said respectfully, "Why do you say the attacker betrayed the order?"
But the other person’s answer was different: “Can you feel their emotions?”
"Okay." Fire magic gave her talent.
"That's not their emotion. You should be able to detect that these people are either fanatical or chaotic, as if they can't control themselves."
"Because some force controls them?"
"Because the people who manipulate them are extremely unfamiliar with things like emotions." Glimmer Lord Anlini told her, "In other words, it is not humans who manipulate the Nameless Ones."
A chill gripped my heart. "demon."
"I'm afraid so. You haven't seen your fellow men fall, have you? Have you done any research on this?"
Hitarian was horrified and stunned. "No...research? No."
"Oh. I mean the wizard. You are a wizard of the school, I can see that. Has your mentor been exposed to related topics? After all, only you wizards can think about this kind of problem."
I'm not a wizard. "No." Hitarian noticed his mentor's gaze. The Silent School used the Bible to turn me into a wizard... This is really shocking. Even if I say it directly, I won't win people's trust, but all information about the Bible must be kept secret. She categorically denied: "I know nothing about it, Your Excellency. I regret that I cannot answer you."
But she did not doubt the channel through which Lord Shimmer got the relevant news. As one of the seven lords of the association, Anlini lost his territory fifteen years ago and was expelled by the Holy Radiance Council during the demon hunting movement. However, he still has a preeminent status in Byrne and is the leader of Lucia's followers among the Nameless Ones. By.
However, association is not a mysterious realm, and it is impossible to divide camps according to beliefs. Just like Shitarian, although he is a Lucia believer, he will not be loyal to Lord Shimmer. There is a tacit understanding on this point.
She began to guess why Anlini came to her door. Because of the Night Watch? What happened to the bronze gear? Turn to the dean for help? still……
Whatever Alini's purpose was, he didn't get to the point.
"Devils." Lord Shimmer read out the word, "The mysterious realm calls us this, but the Seven Fulcrums preserve the true history. These mysterious creatures who call themselves the guardians of order are very aware of the slander we have received. But if you pick your words Clearly, they will present evidence of our depravity." He paused. "Because we do lose ourselves."
"Lost?"
"The fire of the Nameless One will give you and me extra strength, Miss Ringot, which means that our souls are stronger and the flames are more vigorous. During the Dawn War, the 'Second Truth' tried to explain that the Veil of Dusk opened the hell to the evil dragon. Because of the door, he announced to the entire mysterious realm, oh no, the Grand Alliance of Saint Mirend, that the Nameless One is born with the potential to become a demon—if we pursue power too much."
Hitarian's fear grew. At this moment, no one can help but ask themselves: Am I a person who pursues power? Is the devil just one step away from me?
Ning Ail suddenly spoke: "The theory of potential is not confirmed, Your Excellency. We cannot yet define it."
"Yes, ma'am. But sometimes people need answers." Lord Shimmer shrugged, "No matter what, we are favored by the gods and jealous by others. This is an unmitigated fact."
Hitarian was very uneasy: "Are there no signs? Before becoming a demon...?"
"Most of the time, changes originate from fire." Ms. Liana explained, "The detection station will undoubtedly detect it in advance."
"Except for yesterday," Alini said, "the detection station showed that everything was normal, but someone lost control on the street and broke into the bronze gear - if I remember correctly, this is a parenting organization?"
"It is an institution for the placement of young children, Your Excellency. Many of our compatriots were abandoned at birth..."
Lord Shimmer waved his hands, as if he didn't want to know the details. "In short, the Night's Watch has found out the whereabouts of their out-of-control compatriots and believes that these people have not taken fire potions or other crazy things. And you, Miss Hitarian Ringot, do you think that their actions are motivated by Too much pressure?"
My answer matters. Hitarian suddenly realized that this would determine the nature of the incident.
She told the truth: "No, Lord, I can't judge. But it turns out that even if they are emotionally confused, the fire is not abnormal. It is other factors that drive people to become demons."
"Other factors." Anlini looked at her, "You mean, man-made?"
"There are many kinds of fire magic, sir."
Lord Shimmer nodded and looked away. "The night watchman told me that you brought your Sleeping Beauty sister to the hospital today."
Hitarian did not expect that he would mention Ruth: "That's it, my lord. She suddenly woke up and was almost bitten by a spider."
"I'm afraid these two things are related." The demon lord was still smiling, "I'm afraid this is a sign."
"It's an ominous sign." Ms. Liana's face turned even paler after hearing what happened to Ruth: "Someone is passing on information to us." She grabbed Hitarian's hand, her fingers were cold. "Ruth was found."
But Hitarian didn't understand: "Found? Why looking for Ruth?" Because of the Bible?
"Threats," Alini told her, "warnings. Demons attack bronze gears, spiders infest girls' beds... Haven't you heard yet? Someone is announcing that this city is no longer safe, and your lives will depend on it. His hand."
No longer safe. Hitarian shuddered, remembering the quarrel between the Black Knight and the two lords. Anlini did not show up at that time...
He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry." said the shimmering lord who has no territory. "I'm afraid the other party is not your enemy. But having said that, who is his target?"
