They merged side by side into the crowd of people on Silver Cross Avenue on Wednesday evening. The bustling pedestrians are walking along their own life paths. In the sky, under the setting sun, there is a gray mist shrouding the city.
It’s another ordinary Tuesday, another ordinary day in spring. Shade didn't know how long this kind of peace could last, or if a new disaster would soon appear around him again.
But at least through his cold emotions and empty heart, he has understood himself and all the ties that a foreigner has in this world.
This incident will not change him, but it will make Shade appreciate everything he has more. He hoped that days like this could last forever, and he hoped that all the love could always be by his side, just like Haila Oxenfurt's blessing.
"That seems a bit greedy."
Walking on the street and looking at the prosperous street scene in the steam industry era, Xia De sighed silently in his heart.
Suddenly he turned to look at Iluna's side face and asked softly:
"Iluna, if I say that I will pay any price to protect everything I cherish, do you think this is right?"
Iluna also turned to look at him, looking at the face illuminated by the increasingly brilliant sunset. She squinted slightly:
"Of course you're right, because that's what I thought too."
Iluna said softly, the throbbing in her heart making her blush a little. She knew that Shade and she were essentially the same kind of people, and they were the only ones:
"Mortals are too insignificant. Being able to grasp the things around them is enough to make them happy."
This is also her answer to "what if". She firmly believes that she is the one who holds the balance.
The two of them did not talk about those sensitive topics during dinner because they were embarrassed to eat with Iluna, but the money for the meal was still recorded in Lesia or Miss Carina's account, so this time Shade did not choose to go to Silver Cross Avenue. restaurants on that street - all the restaurants on that street had a tacit understanding that Shad wouldn't pay for it himself.
He finally chose to dine at the "Marie Antari Restaurant" located east of Saint Teresa Square. The name was the name of the restaurant owner's late wife. Although it is located in a prosperous location in the city center, in fact, when the current owner inherited it from the deceased family elder more than thirty years ago, it was just a pub and barbecue restaurant. Just because of the excellent location, over time, it gradually developed into a high-end restaurant, favored by celebrities and aristocrats.
The restaurant's current signature dish is still the barbecue that is loved by little Mia, especially roast beef and roast lamb. After being paired with herb juice and vegetables, the delicious taste made even Shade, who doesn't have high requirements for food, praise it.
"The decoration is very good, with a strong classical style. Look, there are signatures on the portraits of celebrities!"
It was Eluna's first time to dine here, and she and Shade discussed the decoration here during dinner.
"Literary and artistic celebrities like to dine here. Miss Dorothy Louisa told me about this place. She said that she often dines here with her writer friends. However, even Dorothy now , are not qualified to leave their own portraits hanging on the wall. After all, they are just popular writers."
Shade introduced, while Iluna looked around with interest. With her salary and subsidy, it is no problem to come here to eat, but who to come with is the problem. He was calculating the cost of this meal in his mind, planning to invite Shade and Luvia to dine here together when he has time.
After dinner, Shade originally wanted to go home with Iluna to talk about things. But Iluna heard that Shade wanted to go to Fort Midhill soon and go to the old witch to identify a bottle of blood, so she volunteered to go with him:
"Anyway, I can use those doors under your house. Besides, it would be boring to walk alone in Sikal Mountain at night, right?"
What she said made sense, so Shade took little Mia with him. Since it’s a night walk, it’s a good idea to let the cat breathe some fresh air.
After walking out of the abandoned tower in Xikal Mountain, the two of them took advantage of the beautiful moonlight in the mountains and found the main road down the mountain through the woods.
Their footsteps were fast. Iluna and Shade walked side by side, looking at the scenery of Fort Midhill below the mountain, and finally started talking about business:
"New news from the church. In the past two or three months, abnormal space transfer phenomena have occurred frequently in the material world."
Her voice was steady:
"This is the same type of phenomenon. Specifically, it refers to the sudden appearance of a walking individual in a distant location. Its essence is the spatial chaos of the material world. Of course, this phenomenon has always existed, but it is very rare, quite rare. "As a result, reports were not delivered to the Holy See until recently, when the frequency of incidents became unusually high."
"Is this thing related to the chosen one in space?"
"Yes, after counting the number of accidents, we found that if we connect all the incidents together, it will actually form a large network centered on the Green Lake area. Because the sample data is large, we can trust this conclusion - —The center of the abnormal space phenomenon is the Green Lake area."
"I have only heard that Randall Valley is the center of the earth in mysticism, but I have never heard that Green Lake is the center of space."
"There is indeed no such statement, but it is obvious that there is some kind of abnormality in the Green Lake area, which in turn affects the entire material world. This is not necessarily man-made, it may also be a damn natural phenomenon."
Shade then told about his joint investigation with the witch yesterday, Monday, in the Green Lake area. When talking about the battle on the lake at night, the seventeen-year-old girl frowned deeply:
"That witch is really useless. She actually made you face such a big danger. Central Island and Invisible Island? It's only been a day since the incident happened. Tobesk Diocese only heard that something happened over there, but it hasn't received it yet. More news, but I’ll definitely have firm information tomorrow.”
"What will cause the spatial anomalies in the material world surrounding the Green Lake area?"
Shade put the cat, which was squinting and pretending to sleep, on his shoulder instead of continuing to hold it. Although Mia is not very heavy, it is very troublesome to hold her all the time.
"Weaken the stability of the physical world space, thereby loosening those ancient subspace seals. The more serious problem is that such continuous penetration and connection of the originally stable space will cause a larger range of abnormal space accidents, creating a situation that humans cannot enter. The chaotic space area further compresses the material world and the area where intelligent life can survive, until the entire world collapses."
Iluna said, and Shade sighed:
"The problem is getting worse every time. It's hard to imagine what will be waiting for us in the end."
Iluna wanted to make a little joke, but looking at Shade on the side, she suddenly held his hand on the mountain road under the spring moonlit night. In Shade's view, the relationship between the two has long gone beyond friendship, so he was not surprised by this. Iluna suppressed the excited beating of her heart and said with a smile:
"When the chosen ones of Chaos and Witches appear, will the disaster be that all life is transformed into women, thus ending all civilizations in one generation?"
"This is too scary. It's better not to tell such ghost stories at this late hour."
Shade also laughed. He found that although Iluna was not very old, there was always a reassuring feeling when he was with her. Her face is immature, but she is always sensible and calm in her actions.
This is also Iluna's view of Shade and Luvia.
As for the alchemical item that Iluna provided to Shade to keep warm in the snowy mountains during the next "seven-day trip", it was a pure gold bracelet with complex carvings.
The bracelets are engraved with religious symbols commonly used by the Church of the Sun. Only if you look carefully can you find some runes representing "earth". The four opposite positions of the bracelet have complete sun patterns in different forms.
Iluna carefully took out the bracelet and handed it to Shade. Shade could feel the warmth on the bracelet. He couldn't even tell whether it was Iluna's body temperature or the powerful alchemy item itself. temperature.
"Similar to my 'Sunshine Gun Brooch', I made this using the same technique. Wearing it, you can use a weakened version of the 'Power of the Earth·Earth Energy Cannon'. Even if it is not used for heating, it can still help you experience The feeling of huge energy output.”
Iluna explained in a good mood:
"However, this is much more difficult to make than the Sunshine Gun brooch, and it is not as powerful as the thaumaturgy I use myself. But the basic functions are still complete. In addition to one-time use, if you put the bracelet in the palm of your hand , and then light a fire in the palm of your hand to form a tiny flame. That is the flame from the sun and the earth, which can provide you with warmth no matter what the situation."
"Meow~"
The dishonest cat opened its eyes, climbed down Shade's arm, lay on his arm and sniffed the bracelet he was holding, looking very interested.
But when Shade smiled and tried to put the bracelet on its little paw, the cat avoided it in disgust.
"Don't leave, come here and try to light a fire."
Shade temporarily let go of Iluna's hand, holding the bracelet in one hand and grabbing the back of little Mia's neck with the other. Aim the cat's head at the bracelet and shake it gently a few times. The reluctant cat understood what Shade meant, so it opened its mouth and said "meow~", and then as expected, a few sparks appeared.
Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the spark to ignite the pile of dead leaves, but after it came into contact with the bracelet in Shade's palm, a pleasant golden flame immediately jumped within the ring of the bracelet.
Warm, relaxing, and comfortable, just the right amount of warmth dispels the slight chill in the mountains on spring nights. It's more comfortable than lying in front of the fireplace reading a book in winter.
PS: At the request of readers, in the information volume 2 - Shade's Thaumaturgy and Spells chapter, a new entry [Divinity] is added to record Shade's acquisition of divinity. The following is the information so far, which will be updated in the information section:
Note that Shade currently receives a total of ten points of divinity, five drops for promotion (1→2, 2→3, 3→4, 4→5, 5→6), and three drops for divine descent (1853 Tobeksha, Fort Midhill in the fall of 1853, Randall Valley in the spring of 1854), with two drops remaining.
Divinity:
1. [Lord of the Blood Feast]: Big Event at Lakeview Manor
2. [Innocent Creator]: The gift of the relic [God’s Gift Box]
3. [Lord of the Blood Feast]: The incident of divine descent in Tobesk City on the summer night of 1853
4. [Lord of the Scarlet Spiral]: Shadow Event in Coldwater Harbor - The Murloc’s Golden Pearl
5. [Vampire Duke Loair]: A major event of chaos in life and death in the autumn of 1853 - the Battle of Sikar Mountain & Red Butterfly
6. [Rageful Storm]: Winter Lake View Manor in 1853 - Schluch Lake - Relic [Rageful Divine Punishment]
7. [Wisdom]: Four tests of the Lady of the Lake
8. [Earth]: Heart of the Earth
9. [Stone Heart Demon]: The Crazy Land of Randall Valley in the Spring of 1853-The Battle of Randall Valley
10. [God of the Drowned in the Deep]: Spring of 1854 - Fall of Green Lake
