"Another battle report?"
"Good news." Helen flicked her forehead, "What battle report? You said it in a decent way, little girl. It's just intelligence from the front line."
Roma didn't understand why as soon as she returned to the tower, people began to treat her like a kid under the skirt, as if the experiences of the White Night War and the desert island trip were all dreams. Old impressions are like chronic illnesses. Helen's symptoms were more severe, while Larson's symptoms were intermittent.
She decided to prove it from another angle. "Ms. Mabel prepared the high ring ceremony for me." The little lion told the witch.
"I checked her material list. There is no shortage of ingredients, but there are some unknown so-called potions in it, and, here, 'Shadow of Hu Yi'?" She shook her head. "There are also spells that have lost their meaning. This redundancy will only delay time, so it would be better to delete it."
"That's a psychic spell." Ms. Mabel's voice came first. "It helps to promote the perception of order and prolong the communication time with the souls of the forerunners on the career path. According to the stone tablet records, this helps to improve Her understanding." The elf lady stepped into the study and threw a pile of information to them.
"Roma is a very talented child." Helen explained, "She is just a little inattentive."
"How do you educate inattentive apprentices in your tower?"
The witch paused. It is obvious that although the apprentices who come to the tower to study range in age from ten to forty years old, they all know one thing: they can only stay if they take it seriously, otherwise it will only be a waste of money and precious opportunities. Naturally, Roma had no such concerns. “We are good at teaching students according to their aptitude,” she told Nature Spirit.
"I have met not many tower apprentices, but they are indeed excellent." Mabel agreed. "But it may only be limited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." She changed the subject. "Real corporal punishment will teach the disciples to obey. If anyone wants to be half-hearted, he will be beaten with a stick. Don't you astrologers do this?"
certainly. Roma couldn't think of any astrologer who would whip his apprentices with a stick. According to the astronomy room, such punishment only served as a warning and could not help the apprentices learn new things. It was really inefficient. It would be better to teach them to copy hundreds of copies. star map……
"If the mistake is really serious, the Ministry of Education will revoke the apprentice's qualifications and drive away those who are not smart, weak-minded, too ambitious, and those who don't know how to deal with people." The witch said, "But the tower is indeed not I'll beat them up. I don't think that will do much good."
"Not concentrating means lack of understanding." Mabel told her, "In my opinion, it is unrealistic for our little lion to sit quietly and realize the mysterious power, but she cannot always stay in the training ground and wait until she needs to pass on what she has learned. I start searching for words to describe it to the next generation. This is not only inefficient, but also achieves half the result with half the effort, and even appears to be fallacious. This is how the original career path is lost! Listen up, Roma, I will never allow this to happen. .”
"Precision and regularity are the first steps toward orthodoxy." The witch agreed.
Roma didn't like the news, but there was nothing she could do if Helen didn't support her. "Okay, Your Excellency. I'll do my best."
"You can't do it by yourself. Potion is necessary, it can open up your mind..."
The nature elf quickly extracted the relevant parts from the information that was half a person's height and handed it to the witch. Helen took it with great interest and browsed through the densely packed magic text like a heavenly book. Roma was interested in participating in it, but she only glanced at it and found that the version of the magic script written on it was not the one she was familiar with, so she sneaked away quietly.
I don't know what they can research. The little lion thought as he sat down on the armrest. Rather than improving rituals, the mystery of the high ring and more powerful magical skills are more worth looking forward to. There are also magic texts! After all, is this thing really necessary to be updated frequently?
She went all the way down to the medical department and ran to get the quiver of arrows that had been left in the potion vault yesterday. As a result, her friend and former classmate Sabina slipped out of the side door and bumped into her.
"Ouch!" Miss Astrologer was almost knocked out by her, and the medicine bottle fell in chaos. Roma immediately reached out and caught these precious potion containers one by one at an amazing speed.
By the time she got up with a groan, the little lion had already picked things up again. "It's not broken. Ha! Thanks I'm here."
"I wouldn't have fallen without you!" Sabina snatched the rail back.
"The fork in the medical department is always full of debris. If you are not careful, whoever comes here will be in trouble. You don't come here often." Roma noticed that she was taking some medicines without labels, "Why did you come here to get them all of a sudden? thing?"
"Uh..." Just by looking at her face, the little lion could tell that Sabina wanted to lie.
A little strange. "You have a mission, Sabina? Who asked you to come here? Larsen?"
"It's a prophet." The secretary compromised. After all, Sabina was not lax in her talk, but she always shared everything with Roma. "He personally ordered me to come and get some, uh, Amary Schito L-dormant cornflower concentrated essence hand-cranked infusion bottle."
"...What left hand?"
"A man named Amalischito squeezed the juice from left-hand cornflowers using a hand-cranked infusion machine."
"Oh." Roma nodded. "She juiced her left hand. What's the cure for that?"
Sabine rolled her eyes. "You don't understand even if I tell you."
"Really? You think you know me, but I'm not the same Roma Penelope you used to know. 'Shadow of Lake Clothes'. For example, this one. Do you know the potion effect of it?"
"Huyi is a kind of fairy that lives in the Twinkling Pool, Roma." Miss Astrologer pointed out with pity in her eyes, "They are called fairies of light, and they are relatives of Sita. So you understand."
Roma was caught off guard: "What do you know?"
"Hu Yi has no shadow. They themselves are the source of light."
No shadow? The little lion was stunned. So how is Ms. Mabel going to find it? What should I do with my ceremony? Her mind suddenly went blank.
Sabina suddenly bent down. "Hahaha." She laughed so much that she couldn't hold the pill bottle, "Haha——! I lied to you! Hahahaha, Roma, you are still the same! You are so..."
She's playing tricks on me. Roma flicked her tail in displeasure. I have to admit, Sabina does understand me as well as I understand her. She was sure that after laughing at her, this talented astrologer classmate would tell her the answer.
"Light sources also have shadows." Sabina answered honestly. "Everything that is opaque has a shadow, and this is not a reflection of real existence, but a kind of soul material."
The little lion frowned: "Material?"
"Astrologers rely on the stars to know the future, but what we observe is not the real stars, but the shadows of the stars. Because the stars are too far away from us, mortal vision can only receive the reflection of the star light transmitted from the distant star sea. In this reflection, there are changes in destiny and the truth of the world." Sabina told her, "The forefathers of astrology judged from this that the shadow of a mortal also contains a part of numerology, which is the shadow cast by the soul flame. Therefore, Shadows are also soul material.”
"What will happen if we collect the shadows?"
"Nothing will happen. Shadows are not irreproducible. In the final analysis, numerology is just information. I have shared a story with you. Will I lose this story from now on? No."
Roma still doesn't understand how to "collect" the shadow, or Hu Yi's shadow. The Twinkle Pool will soon return to Knox, where people will be able to see the lake clothes... and countless theta. Over the years, the only time anyone could see Theta was in the Oath Keepers. York Shain is the exception, as is the lion-man of the tower, the drow of Binneaio. "Hu Yi is a fairy. What do they look like?"
"It's probably a point of light. The goblin should be smaller than Sita."
"Food goblins are no smaller than real food."
Miss Astrologer sighed. "Just do as you like."
I'm not happy. But Roma knew better than to vent her anger on her friends. Windrunner's cumbersome high-ring ritual had nothing to do with Sabina.
"I have to walk faster."
Roma suddenly remembered something. Although York and Uriel have left the tower safely, her anger has not yet been vented. Now she finally remembered it! It can't just go by. "Let me help you." She took the potion column from her friend's hand and went to the top floor together. When passing by the conference hall, she found that the door to the inner lounge was ajar, so she moved closer to take a look.
There was really no one inside. Neither the commander nor his apprentice were there. The layout of the lounge is the same as last time, unchanged. There are no wrinkles on the sheets, the candlelight is discernible, and the firewood in the fireplace is piled up coldly without any trace of burning, making people doubt whether anyone really lives here. However……
"When will Uriel come back? After the demon hunting campaign is over?" Roma asked.
"maybe."
"This is going to take a long time." Before the White Night War, I would have foolishly asked for things to end so that everything would go as planned. But there are no such things as wishful thinking. Now, she knew Uriel wouldn't be able to return to the tower any time soon. York and Dalton also returned to escape the aftermath of the war in Eastman. "It's really strange. Croyta is obviously the safest place. Why does the Prophet want him to leave?"
"How would I know."
"In my opinion, holding a demon hunting activity is a stupid thing." The little lion muttered, "Since the mysterious realm can accommodate vampires and the church that buys and sells babies, then it should also give a place to the nameless ones."
"Stop talking nonsense. Demons are different."
What's the difference? Don't they need to devote themselves to studying the occult and holding fire ceremonies? It seems that we should learn from them. Roma couldn't help but speculate. But no matter how you guess, the real reason cannot be so superficial. Maybe people are afraid of getting hurt.
They returned to the corridor. A gardener's apprentice was scolded by the astrologer in the astronomy room when he almost knocked over a portrait while running to deliver a message. After criticizing the poor apprentice until he turned pale, he opened the letter and read it. At the same time, a "hissing" sound of corrosion came from the laboratory to their left, and a beam of light shot out, penetrating the corridor and the outer wall of the White Tower, straight into the sea of clouds, leaving a huge hole.
The astrologer was startled and rushed into the room, leaving the gardener behind. After a few seconds, the light beam disappeared, and the apprentice was given a new task to report to the maintenance department. "He forgot to turn off the instrument's long-range magnification light." Sabina concluded.
"What on earth distracted him?"
"Great news. You didn't know? The coalition defeated the association affiliated with the Washimouth Legion, called the 'Small Night Valley Self-Rescue Association'."
"'Big' good news?" Roma emphasized.
"Of course! This is a secret society composed of demonologists, at least medium-sized. Their members can not only perform ladder magic, but also create many dangerous rituals and weapons. They are members of the 'Washmouth Restoration Legion' Right-hand man. Now that all these demons are gone, the remnants of the association must have been severely damaged." The secretary told her excitedly. "The coalition forces captured four-fifths of the enemy, and everyone is celebrating victory."
Roma frowned. She thought for a long time before digging out the memory of the "Washmouth Restoration Legion" from her brain. "That principality on the border of Bres? It was annexed by the empire hundreds of years ago."
"Mortals cannot eradicate the roots. There was a royal family member who was possessed by a demon and escaped the purge. With the support of the association, he raised the banner of restoration, and the remnants of Washimuth surrendered to the demon. It's really disgusting."
"You really think so?"
Sabine shrugged. "You know me, Roma. This story is quite romantic. Think about it, a prince who lost his country gained strength by chance and launched righteous revenge against a huge empire - if only the devil wouldn't eat people casually."
"Demons can really eat people?"
"They even attack relatives and friends. This is recorded in the library." The secretary said without hesitation, "But to be honest, these people may also be the original victims. Their souls were eaten by the devil and they became the devil's victims." Only then will the container become disowned."
Her description reminded the little lion of the Bloodborn. They were also the victims of vampires hunting their prey, but what they received was not help, but execution. She knew that she shouldn't connect the two, but in her emotions, the common destinies always connected the two. "Don't you think there's a contradiction? If the original soul dies, how does the devil disguise himself as that person?"
"I don't know. I'm not a demon hunter. But if that's not the case, the original soul of the Nameless One is the soul of the demon." Sabina shuddered, "God, wouldn't his behavior be even more terrifying?"
Roma paused. If you think about it carefully, only madmen would hurt people randomly. Are all the anonymous people in secret societies madmen? This is impossible. "I have never seen a real demon." At most, there are only nameless ones who have not yet become demons. "What do these evil creatures look like?"
"I haven't seen it either. There can't be a demon in Chloe's Tower."
"Envoys from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will go to the battlefield." Roma remembered, "to the front lines to fight alongside the demon hunters. They will definitely see the demon." Meet the Nameless One. A warrior doesn't show mercy, does he? She wasn't sure what she would do.
Sabina didn't answer. "arrive."
The girls entered the room, walking by candlelight. The prophet's laboratory is as empty as a hall. Three walls are made of glass, and one side is backed by the corridor. There are a row of small doors of different colors from far to near. The nearest one is gold, which is illuminated by the light when the door is opened. All the doors were closed, and no one knew where they led except the prophet.
The door faces the starry sky. Part of the ground is suspended outside the tower, and the feet are also made of transparent glass, exerting mysterious power. A wine cabinet stands at the junction. The tall tube mirror set up on the edge of the glass table is completely covered with red velvet.
Roma noticed something new in the house. A strange thing that looks like a handleless blade with a cold light shining at both ends. It floats quietly in the air, enveloped by dozens of stacked rings, full of symmetry and regular beauty. As they approached, the thing whirled violently, pointing one pointed end at Roma.
"What's that?" she asked.
"A pointer. It's just an instrument that indicates direction." Sabina replied softly.
"direction?"
"Maybe it's destiny. We are astrologers in the tower."
"What does it mean when it points at me?"
The secretary couldn't answer. At this moment, a light suddenly turned on deep in the room, and a small red door was exposed to the light. "It means that you have a part in the future prophecies that affect Knox." The voice came from behind the door, through the darkness. The prophet opened the small door and got out.
Roma stared at the red door. The color was uncomfortable, and there was a strange pull in it that was both disgusting and attractive, constantly troubling her mood.
"Don't like it very much?" the prophet took the potion and asked with a smile.
"It's a bit strange. What is..." here? She wanted to know but didn't want to get close.
"Don't be afraid. Me too." 'Black Night Qiming' said comfortingly. "Different people will see different things, all related to self. That's probably our role in it."
Roma didn't understand this. But suddenly, she lost interest in getting to the bottom of any topic about the door.
The prophet seemed to understand her. Maybe he doesn't like it here either? "Oh, let me see, the color and dosage are exactly the same. Very good. You brought what I wanted, Miss Nana. What would you like to drink?"
"I am at your command, my lord," Sabina said immediately.
"Is there any wine?" Roma called.
"The sun is shining brightly, which is not a good time to drink."
"Just a little cider, please." She tried her best to ignore the strange door. "My head hurts."
"What a drunken kitten. But this is probably what you will look like many years from now. It's too early now." The prophet was quite interested: "What happened?"
The little lion told him about the ceremony and Mabel's thoughts, and Sabina listened carefully. But somehow, she lowered her voice unconsciously, as if there was a fourth person in the room.
"I like my career," she concluded, "but I don't like spending my life studying it."
The prophet put the medicine rail aside and touched his bald head. The pocket watch on his chest made a "ding-ding-ding" sound. I don't know whether it was the chain or the hands. He opened the lid and the sound suddenly disappeared.
"It's a little depressing here," he said to himself.
At this moment, the room brightened, the clouds dispersed, and the glass reflected slippery light. Roma's blond hair was dazzling, and she turned away to avoid it, knowing how she looked in the light. "Lion" Ronald often teased her like this.
Some people are still fooled. Sabina let out a short exclamation and covered her face with her hands. "Roma!"
"Too bright," the prophet muttered, prying open the cork of the potion with one hand.
Can't blame me. "What happened?" the little lion asked.
"Alarm clock. I need a timer."
"Why? Are you waiting for a celestial sign, my lord? Or a new prophecy?"
"Jesus! Roma, maybe I just want to know what time it is. Here, Berry Juice, Nana."
The little lion watched helplessly as the prophet handed the potion to Sabina. Miss Astrologer squinted her eyes and instinctively took the bottle of "someone's left hand juice" and brought it to her mouth. "There's a magic potion in there," she reminded. But in the next moment, she realized that she had been deceived.
"Now it's berry juice. Don't worry, the bottle is clean." The prophet reached out to scratch her chin, and Roma frowned and avoided it. "Relax, little Roma, just follow the steps."
"I want to find Uriel," she confided.
"After seeing the red prophecy?"
"But, Grandpa Prophet, didn't you tell Uriel that Croita was not safe too? You asked him to leave, but refused me. This is really unfair."
The prophet stared at her. "Safety depends on the person, Roma. If he stays in Blumnot, he will only be miserable and restless. And you, why are you so impatient?"
Facing the prophet, even Roma did not dare to say anything like sympathizing with the devil. In the final analysis, the demon hunting movement was just the aftermath transmitted from the distant ground to her. She smelled blood, but all she could do was turn over in bed. Sometimes, Roma would wake up from nightmares, stare at the endless clouds outside the window, and calm her heartbeat amidst the peaceful laughter and footsteps.
No matter how much I deny it, it is just as Larson said, those bloody memories on Gray Wing Island are long gone. "I'm worried about my friends," Roma lied.
"The war will not affect them." the prophet affirmed.
indeed. Will not be affected. means safety. However, this was actually not the answer she wanted. After realizing this, Roma suddenly felt frustrated. I should have kept them. Why can't I speak? "It's because... at that time... I didn't think Croita was safe."
Sabina frowned at her.
The prophet was not surprised. Maybe he knew I was lying? After all, nothing happens unexpectedly. Roma wasn't sure. "We have participated in war mobilization, and the atmosphere will be different from usual." Deimos said calmly, "You are referring to the matters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"Dean Rubin once sent York and Dalton to reconnoiter deep in Hocklin." Roma finally had the opportunity to expose this man's conspiracy, "He did it on purpose! He wanted them to die."
"Sir Rubin," the saint corrected, "I understand what you mean, Roma. This matter has passed. Are you still angry?"
She is incredible. "The past? What past! Not at all."
"People got out safely. Didn't they?"
"But Dean Rubin -" The saint's eyes were full of reproach, causing Rome to change his words. "——Sir Rubin. He shouldn't have done that. This is wrong!"
"I understand what you mean, Roma," the prophet repeated, probably in a tone of relief. "But you are looking at this matter from a completely different perspective. I can't make a decision, either for you or for him. To be honest, Roma, Your Excellency the Blue Envoy did nothing wrong."
Panic suddenly rose in her heart. "He must be wrong."
"Ah, childish thoughts," muttered the prophet. "Little Roma, little lion, little girl." He shook his head. "Tell me, do you think Larson should be held responsible for taking special care of you?"
"That's different."
"There is no difference." The saint said decisively, "Even if there is, it is by no means as big as you think. Everyone has responsibilities, and sometimes will and behavior cannot go hand in hand. If your friend is not here, he who was sent to detect the enemy's situation It will be someone else, someone you have never met, but who belongs to a family, someone who is close to someone's heart. I dare say they care about them, just like you care about your little friends. Think about it. The Blue Envoy A person's reasons may be mixed with personal opinions, but being on the front line, he has the right to do so."
Roma was very angry: "Then why didn't he send me? Is he afraid? Afraid of Larson or Ronald?"
"Obviously, he also has the power not to send you."
The little lion was speechless. Naturally, the battlefield commander is the decision-maker, and both she and York Dalton are just soldiers carrying out orders...but a real commander will never be hostile to a soldier. she thought.
Yet the prophet's attitude was already clear. In his eyes, I was probably losing my temper. "Does it mean that as long as I don't become Lord Kong Jing, you will never listen to me?"
The saint sighed. "No one listens, so what am I doing now? Look, little girl, some things are not what you see."
"I'm not the only one who saw this!"
"You can only see what's in front of you, Roma. In your eyes, the Blue Envoy is a despicable person, but he can't be called a capable person at all. From the beginning to the end, he has never been your enemy."
Roma remembered the words of Detective Miss Agatha. What the Qing Envoy wants is meritorious service, and war is the means. However, the demon hunting movement was not initiated by Qingzhi alone. The Battle of Sky Island was an opportunity he seized, not created by himself.
"The battle of Huoklin has ended long ago, but the war in the tower is still going on. At this time, instead of creating an imaginary enemy, you should learn to make yourself valuable. Fighting is risky." The prophet said in a soft voice. , "You were Larson's apprentice, Roma. If you continue to cause trouble, people will think that he failed to teach you well. This is not true, right? So you must regulate your behavior so as not to implicate others."
Larson? "Involved?"
"Times have changed. Now everyone has to be careful about what they say and what they do."
"when?"
"The war has brought about variables." The saint didn't seem to want to explain it to her. After the words came out, he turned around.
The girls exchanged uneasy glances. "I don't understand." Roma muttered. Her tail accidentally touched Sabina's arm.
"You will understand sooner or later."
"Roma will soon become the envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Sabina explained to her in a low voice, "I...we each have our own division of labor and are no longer apprentices. We will do better, sir."
"This is absolutely true." The tower saint waved his hand. "Let's go. Someone is coming for you."
Roma didn't want to leave like this. Miss Astrologer had long wanted to run away, but now she had to stand where she was. How could I force her anymore? Roma begins to realize that she made a mistake in coming with Sabina.
She compromised. "I'll remember this. I will."
"And remember to say 'my lord'. A good memory will help you during the High Ring Ceremony. Go ahead, my little lion. Have sweet dreams."
Some people died, but not completely...
