The leaves outside the window swayed gently in the wind, making a rustling sound. A few yellow leaves could no longer stick to the branches and swirled down. Some birds that looked like sparrows were jumping on the branches. I don't know what I'm eating.
It has been autumn for some time, and the weather is gradually starting to get colder. Both Seventan and Arestle are kingdoms close to the northern ice fields.
In comparison, the cold winter in Seventan may be more difficult to endure. In autumn, the cold wind from the Santa Ana snowfield in the north often reaches Seventan earlier than other places, causing the kingdom to enter the cold season early.
Compared with the bleakness and coldness outside, the house looks reassuring and comfortable, with a clean and slightly monotonous design, bookshelves, stools, desks, not too gorgeous but elegant and simple decoration.
The originally somewhat empty and monotonous room was full of charm because the interior was filled with books. Books filled almost the entire room, whether on the floor or on the bookshelves.
You can see the traces of maintenance, and a path has been cleared on the way to the door, which is probably the only place where people can stay.
The wrinkled hand pushed up his golden monocle. On the wrinkled face was a pair of clear and transparent eyes that did not match his age. The dry and curly gray long hair was not trimmed, hanging down casually, being looked down upon by the owner. It can be hung at the back casually without affecting reading.
Looking at the book in front of him carefully, the old man was very engaged and serious. The well-readness that could be seen from the room did not make this old man lose his enthusiasm for reading.
"Dong dong dong..." There was a knock on the door, and it was pushed open without waiting for the old man to respond.
Outside is a young man who is not very old. He has slightly curly long hair that is somewhat similar to the old man, but because he is young, it is black and shiny. His eyes are also bright and energetic, and his green eyes have a different kind of wisdom. .
Compared to the old man, this young man looked even less energetic. A thick layer of dark circles was smeared around his eyes like paint, his face was strangely pale, and his energetic pupils revealed a sense of exhaustion that could not be ignored.
"Oh, Alyosha, how's the situation..." The old man didn't care about the young man's unannounced entry, and just asked casually.
"Grandpa, it's not too good or too bad. Our plan was quite successful. Several teams from the Gate of the Abyss successfully entered the territory of Arestle.
"Although many of them were picked out by the Royal Guards and the Edge of Night, they have also successfully provided some of the needed "nutrients" to the Source of Life. Given time, His maturity will be well completed."
"It's not enough, these are just enough for the job. The Royal Academy is getting more and more dissatisfied with me, an old guy, taking up too many resources.
"Although we use their name, Abyss Gate and other soldiers also think that we are together, but we know the specific situation ourselves. Oh, and also, you don't need to call me grandfather, it is better to call me Mr. Roland. I I like this title."
The old man put down the book in his hand and looked at the young man who looked very tired. Although his face was kind and smiling, it put a lot of pressure on Alyosha, and his back became slightly wet at some point. .
Alyosha knew what kind of person this biological grandfather was. All those crazy things were caused by him. Sometimes Alyosha even doubted that this learned and wise old man was under that shell. Is there any twisted thing hidden?
"Yes, the next situation is more complicated, so I will tell you part of it first, and I will explain the rest in detail."
"Say it."
Alyosha picked up the paper he had prepared in his hand, scanned the contents, and quickly repeated it to the old man.
Alyosha spoke very fast. At this age, the old man should have been very hard of hearing, but he never interrupted Alyosha once or asked him to slow down. He listened quietly to most of Alyosha's reports. .
Most of Alyosha's reports contained good news and detailed information, many of which were reports on the results of the old man's research, which made the old man's mouth curl up slightly.
At the end of the story, Alyosha paused and said, "Mr. Roland, what follows are two more important pieces of information."
"Um."
"Do you still remember the captain of the Abyss Gate team who was responsible for connecting with Aleister? His name was Odit. The "god-given" vampire you put him in charge of succeeded. The source of life successfully answered the prayer and changed Vampire flaws.”
"Oh? Isn't this good news...and it's not worth telling me."
"But he failed. The vampire was surrounded and killed by a standard unit of Night Blade, and Odit himself has disappeared. It is definitely missing, not dead. He is still alive, but he doesn't know where he went. .”
"The Abyss Chain Oath was not triggered?"
"No, maybe he didn't betray, but had other better ideas to carry out secretly." Alyosha proposed an idea.
"You have ignored the possibility that he may be crazy. When he is crazy, the shackles of the oath disappear."
"How is it possible, with the chains you gave them to those "gods", Mr. Roland, how could they go crazy?"
"You take it for granted. These "gods" are not worthy of being called gods at all. They are just a group of powerful void creatures. They are just larger pieces that I picked out from the fragments of that existence.
"No matter how powerful they are in your eyes, they will always be incomplete and uncontrollable. Do you understand?"
Without waiting for Alyosha to respond, the old man said to himself, "For example, there is an existence that represents the night. What is the result? All the chains are broken, and even his "believers" have all forgotten his name. This is Defective products will "fall apart" at some point."
"A real god will never die." The old man glanced at Alyosha, his eyes were unscrupulously deep. Alyosha unconsciously turned his head away and did not dare to look at the old man.
"This Night Blade's action team is quite elite. The vampires who defeated the sun are not something that ordinary teams can deal with. After being killed by them, Odit didn't know where he went. It seems that the Night Blade is better than me. It's even stronger than I imagined, so pay more attention to all the team actions of Night Blade in the future."
"Yes" Alyosha responded.
"Next."
"There is news about the big library you asked me to pay attention to. It is about to close."
"Huh?" The old man suddenly became energetic when he heard Alyosha mentioning the big library. He had been careless and suddenly sat upright. The book in his hand was completely put down. He tapped his knuckles on the table and fell into it. Meditating, the posture and spirit shown are nothing like that of an old man.
"The internal response also sent us a special message, saying that he might have found the "key". If I remember correctly, this is already the thirteenth key."
"Hahaha... finally, the door that belongs to him is finally opening. This guy has left a legacy for so many years. It's been so hard for me to wait."
The old man laughed wildly uncontrollably and then suppressed it with his hand. What followed was a whisper that no one else could hear.
"You didn't hear anything, did you?" The old man lowered his head and murmured to himself, then suddenly turned to look at Alyosha and asked abruptly.
"No, no..." Alyosha's heart trembled suddenly, and he shook his head hurriedly, indicating a small magic device hanging by his ear.
"Isn't it good? Small silencing magic circle. Very good. You are very sensible. You have to remember that I can have many grandchildren. Keep it up and you will get something. I don't want you to be like the previous few people. At least you are currently I’m still very satisfied.”
"Give him everything he wants, and it's research information, right? Give it all to him, and mark the particularly polluting knowledge in the middle. Don't let him go crazy with research like his father and then be killed by his own knights and almost exposed. us."
"I just want the key and let him send the information as soon as possible after getting the information. I must hold this "key" in my hand."
By the way, have you found the "key" hiding in the atrium? Hurry up and let them work. We are just missing the last two keys. We can't let that old guy from Aleister have an advantage over me. What's behind that door? , I must get it. "
"Yes! I will immediately ask the family members to speed up the search. He won't be able to hide for long." Alyosha nodded in agreement.
"Go down, don't let me down. Again, you don't need to pay attention to the so-called etiquette here."
"Your submissiveness can only represent your lack of confidence in fulfilling my requirements. Your way of dealing with each other politely will not bring me any satisfaction."
The old man waved his hand and asked Alyosha to go down, then added something he thought of.
"Yes." Suddenly he straightened up, Alyosha gave up the aristocratic etiquette he had learned over the years, quickened his pace and ran out of the old man's study.
Alyosha, who was panting, still had in his mind the flash of bright red fire in the eyes of the old man when he suddenly raised his head to ask questions, as well as those who had their hands and feet cut off, soaked in tanks, and hung with special potions and devices. The "key" to your life.
He didn't know what Mr. Roland wanted. He only knew that Mr. Roland wanted to collect a total of thirteen keys.
And those keys seem to correspond to a special person. There is an existence in Aleister similar to Mr. Roland, who is also looking for these people they call keys.
Thirteen keys, Mr. Roland seemed to want to open the remains of an ancient existence. The number thirteen echoed in Alyosha's mind, and a certain historical document he studied in his family library when he was young was removed from the corner of his memory. Inside out.
""The wizard god closest to the void, Luo...", his teeth suddenly bit the tip of his tongue to interrupt his thinking, and he picked up a handkerchief of his own and covered his eyes.
"I don't want to read anything, I don't want to read anything, I don't want to read anything." I mentally recited it three times until the book was blurred in my memory.
Alyosha breathed a sigh of relief, gave up all speculation and curiosity, and quickened his pace to implement Mr. Roland's request. Cold sweat left crystal drops of water on the wooden board behind him. Don't think about anything, don't be curious, don't peep, this This is what Alyosha relies on for his survival to this day.
…
A carriage was driving quickly on the dirt road in the wilderness. The horns on the heads of the two horses pulling the carriage and the few sparks on their bodies showed the identity of these mixed-breed horses.
The hybrid also brought unparalleled power, running wildly on all four hooves, pulling up the heavy metal carriage behind it.
In the carriage, Sieg looked at the briefing that came through the magic transmission in his hand, with a smile on his face.
"It's very good. Wang Yu and Edward successfully solved a chaos-creating operation planned by Gate of the Abyss in one day."
"There are also special creations of the enemy inside, "blessed vampires" who have reached the high level of formal knights through pure physical strength. Because of their correct on-the-spot judgment and cooperation, they successfully killed without anyone dying."
"Although this report was written by Charles Ryder at first glance, and the whole article is full of praise for himself, it honestly states the contribution of Wang Yu, Edward and even those soldiers."
"Well, also, Wang Yu's friend named Aviya, Charles greatly praised her on-the-spot reaction ability and magic level. It's not easy for this guy to praise her so much. If you have a chance, you can call Wang Yu Yu recommends her to join us."
"Finally, Charles seems to think that this report is for you to read, and he always mentions me as a civil servant in it from time to time."
"I mentioned that I don't have to go to fight, so I don't need that much money, and you can't see me these days, so I hope you will deduct half of my salary and give the extra to him who works hard to write reports."
Sieg put the report away, but he was not angry at all. This is how Ciel is, he has to jump every three days, and it would be abnormal not to jump.
"The others are good, but this guy just needs to be dealt with. Let them deal with the rats in the sewer. Professor, give me a list of possible moles later, and I will go check it myself."
Shugen, smoking a pipe, sat opposite the professor and listened to Sieg's summary of Ciel's action report.
Sieg smiled helplessly. For some reason, the title "Professor" became his own nickname in their mouths. However, it wasn't bad. At least he didn't hate this identity.
"Also, Charles mentioned that Aviya had some suspicions about the orphanage on the outskirts of the city. When Erfen was possessed by the vampire, there happened to be their outing not far away. They had already gone to investigate. There should be news soon, huh? There is news."
Sieg thought of what Charles mentioned last. Charles personally mentioned in the report that he didn't think there was any connection between them, but to be on the safe side, he went to investigate with Wang Yu and the others.
Sieg and Xiuge were talking, and coincidentally, as soon as they finished talking, news came from the magic guide. The crystal was infused with magic power, and Sieg looked at the content that appeared on it...
…
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" In an orphanage on the edge of the city, Wang Yu and Aviya stood in a file room in the center of the orphanage, flipping through the files on the table. Edward asked next to him who was holding the Wheel of Fortune card and was lost in thought. Shire.
"It seems that there is indeed no problem. The function of the magic of the Wheel of Fortune is to trace the trajectory left by the "extraordinary". In other words, if it does not work, at least there will be no extraordinary power here for a week."
Charles looked at the Tarot card that showed no response, and confirmed Edward's inquiry after confirming it again and again.
"Wang Yu, didn't your secret power detect anything?" Aviya covered the information in her hand and confirmed that the list of people in the orphanage was consistent with the people they saw cooperating with their investigation when they came in, and there were no omissions. .
Shaking his head, Wang Yu used ripples to observe the bodies of the orphans and staff. There was no problem. There were no traces of magic, magic or void power.
"Perhaps my guess is wrong, but the divine descending requires a medium. Just like the little statue you gave me, Wang Yu, how can it be possible for the divine to descend directly?" Aviya looked a little distressed. .
"It's not clear, but it seems to be the case at the moment. It doesn't matter. It's normal to make mistakes. In other words, your caution is exactly what we need."
Wang Yu patted Aviya on the shoulder. He didn't think Aviya's suspicion was unnecessary. First of all, the two did have a certain connection. Secondly, this investigation was not a waste of time.
"It seems there is no problem now, let's go." Wang Yu greeted Charles and Edward.
He found that Edward and Charles were still a little hesitant. Charles looked a little disappointed as he stared at the wheel of fortune that showed no response. It was clear that this guy didn't believe that there was any connection between the orphanage and Erfen. of.
"I always feel like I've forgotten something." Ciel scratched his head, but the guy quickly recovered. What he could forget was definitely not something important, at most it was a glance or a small thing he saw or experienced by chance.
"Forget it, let's go Edward." Charles pulled Edward next to him. Since he had carefully investigated and found no problems, he had unfounded suspicion that he was causing trouble for himself.
Nodding, Edward followed Ciel and left the archives. When he walked out of the orphanage gate, Edward looked back. He always felt that there was something wrong, but he still didn't think of anything, so he finally let it go.
…
At the entrance of Stevenson Magic Academy, a middle-aged knight looked at the girl holding the suitcase, his eyes full of love.
"Vanessa, you are a very good girl. You must seize this opportunity. There is not much I can do to help you. This place at Stevenson College is a small privilege before I retire. I hope I can Let you go further.”
This middle-aged knight was the knight who sent Vanessa to the orphanage during the chaos in the walled area at that time.
He has never been able to let go of this poor and sensible girl, and has been in contact and taking care of her since then. He also discovered Vanessa's intelligence and some magical talents.
Although her talent as a spellcaster does not seem to be that strong, Vanessa learns everything quickly and can memorize knowledge she does not understand in a short time. Except for being a little taciturn, she is very satisfied with the middle-aged knight.
I also took advantage of the fact that I was about to retire and went to the Blade of Night headquarters to apply for a recommendation spot, which could help this poor girl go further in the future.
"Thank you, Uncle Klaus. I will work hard and contact you more in the future." Vanessa gave the middle-aged knight a hug and walked into the academy under the kind gaze of the middle-aged knight.
In his pupils, the gelatin-like substance jumped for a moment, and finally fell silent. An imperceptible fluctuation of magic power came, and a sourceless fire started somewhere in the suitcase. A file was slowly and completely burned to ashes.
"Vanessa, one of the orphans who survived the Rampart disaster,...
