The elf girl Amelia does not intend to stay in Randall Valley for a long time tonight:
"Tonight it's my turn to sort out the chocobo feed. If I sneak out and don't go back as soon as possible, I'm afraid I'll be busy until early in the morning and won't be able to return to the dormitory. Then Aunt Susan from the sixth ring in the dormitory will scold me tomorrow morning.
of.……"
There was a worried expression on her beautiful face, and she copied the ancient Elvish poetry. Shade and Luvia watched her ride the unicorn and leave again. The cold wind of the winter night passed through the trees, softly
The white figure gradually disappeared, and Luvia's whisper sounded:
"I have contacted the local correspondence group and learned from them that this elf lady began to appear three years ago, appearing once a month on average. I checked the local records and found that nothing major happened here three years ago. She
It must be that a passage that existed from long ago was discovered "."
"Give yourself a holiday once a month?"
Shade murmured, thinking about the impact that having a "passage" that could go to St. Byrons at any time would have on him. Unconsciously, he actually missed those who still missed him in the fifth era.
Ladies.
Since this Tuesday, the next few days have been a little leisurely. Miss Benanis's followers went to investigate the whereabouts of the three auction items, and Luvia, who had obtained clues to the Word of Ascension, was busy planning her own talisman.
Wen obtained the plan, and Miss Lassus was so busy retracing her father's path that Shade often couldn't find her at the Wilde Opera House.
Of course, Shade was not completely idle during this period. He was invited by Queen Diana in Tobesk and attended a wedding ceremony of the Duke's daughter on Wednesday night. Because Miss Carina and Shade had almost confirmed their relationship.
, the queen hopes to strengthen her relationship with the increasingly independent Duchess Carina by wooing Shade.
There was a small episode at the banquet on Wednesday night. At that time, Shade was holding a wine glass and talking about his detective with Queen Diana, three princesses including Lesia, and two noble ladies he did not know.
story.
Queen Diana put down the glass of orange juice, suddenly smiled and said to several people:
"Speaking of which, there is something good that I can tell you in private. I bet you can't think of it... Some of us are giving birth to new lives."
"Um?"
Shade subconsciously wanted to see Lesia, while Lesia recalled in a panic whether it was hers or Dorothy's. Of course, no matter whose it was, she would be responsible for Shade.
But then Queen Diana pointed to herself and said with a smile: "The next generation of the royal family will have new heirs."
"That's great."
Agelina and their younger sister Alice Cavendish said together, and others also sent their own blessings. Shade secretly praised His Majesty the King's body in his heart, which is really good. The Cavendish royal family originally
In terms of the huge population, there is actually one more person. Larus III, the "Fire Jumper", is definitely the king who gave birth to the largest number of descendants in the recorded history of this century.
[Two of them are twins, two boys.]
"Huh? You can even see this?"
On Thursday, Shade finally had time to go to the Randall Valley to visit the local Masons. Although he no longer had to determine who the stone statue in the church was, he still wanted to hear about the rumors about the "moving sculpture" of the Masons.
To conduct an investigation.
Since he was not in a hurry about this matter, after breakfast, Shade lingered at home for a while, waiting for possible clients to come to his door. After ten o'clock, he went to a distant city alone, and when he arrived at the Masons' Association,
It's already eleven o'clock in the morning.
The full name of the association is "Randall Valley Masonry Guild". Its location is not in the urban area of Randall Valley City, but in the slightly more remote northeastern part of the city. Two blocks away from the association, there are train tracks and
The quarries in the mountainous area are connected, making it easy for stonemasons to go to the quarries at any time or transport suitable stones.
The northeastern part of the city is the old city of Randall Valley. The buildings here are quite old and the alleys and streets are quite narrow. If the western urban area of Randall Valley is more like a large city that flourished in the steam age,
city, then the time of the old town is still stuck in the nascent stage of the steam age.
And this old city style exists whether in Coldwater Port, Fort Midhill or even the city of Tobesk. This is the memory of the city.
I got off the carriage at the entrance of the narrow street and looked at the tall ancient stone buildings on both sides. The old city is closer to the factories and mining areas that emit waste gas outside the city, so the fog is particularly thick. In addition, the street is narrow and the buildings on both sides block it.
The sunshine, walking on the street, is like entering a dark mist world during the day.
The street where the Masons Association is located is called "Mason Street" and is one of the oldest streets in the Randall Valley. Most of the merchants on the entire street are engaged in business related to sculptures and stone sales. There can be seen everywhere on both sides of the street.
The stone sculptures that were released looked a bit scary in the thick fog that made the field of vision unclear.
But this place is not deserted at all. Businessmen from all over the Old World gather here to purchase works carved by local stonemasons. The "City of Stonemasons" is named after this street. In the sixth century before the beginning of the steam age,
In the old days, this street was the center of the Randall Valley.
But at this time, everything went downhill.
Because of the "attack on the prince" that happened last week, when Shade came to the Masons' Guild, he saw several local police officers, led by a detective with a star on his shoulder, taking notes at the front desk of the Masons' Guild.
What are you wearing?
Of course, this did not affect the normal business of the Stonemasons Association, and people were still coming and going inside the association.
To be more precise, the Randall Valley Masons Association itself is just a trade association composed of local masons, and the masons jointly endow it with rights. The main functions of the association include but are not limited to coordinating conflicts in the industry, and acting as a forum for foreigners.
Merchants introduce business, unify the price of stone in the city, and represent the entire Randall Valley masons at certain important occasions. Of course, when a large business requires a large number of craftsmen, coordination is also required by the masons' association, such as several
That business deal with the Angevin royal family ten years ago.
Shade came today still using the pseudonym John Watson, nominally to select a batch of stone statues to give as gifts to friends in Willondale City. The number Shade proposed was not large, so the association did not send a special receptionist
Or the manager will receive him. Shade can walk around the association, check out the works of different masons collected here, and then choose the craftsman he likes and place an order directly.
The weather was really bad today. When Xia De entered the association, it was still very foggy outside. After he confirmed the viewing area, it was still morning, but it was completely dark outside. Snowflakes were floating in the gloomy sky.
.Considering that it is already a moon with few stars, this is very likely to be the last heavy snowfall this winter.
The Stonemasons Association is divided into four floors. The entire left half of the hall on the first floor is displaying stone sculptures, and it even looks like a museum of stone statues. When Shade walked in, he saw that the window in the middle of the red velvet curtains was completely dark, and the goose feathers were on display.
Big snowflakes were falling one after another. There were also many people who came here to look at the goods. Among them were ordinary people like Xia De who were just looking around, as well as well-dressed wealthy businessmen or aristocratic butlers who picked out goods under the leadership of the receptionist.
goods.
Shade didn't have a specific goal at first, so he wandered around casually after entering the hall. He even thought that if he saw the statue he liked, he could buy it and give it to Princess Agelina as a birthday gift at the weekend.
There were various stone statues densely placed in the hall, some were busts with bases, and some were full-length statues in a one-to-one proportion. He even saw a young man setting up an easel in front of the stone statues to sketch, and later he heard that
It says that this is an item that can only be allowed after paying a fee.
Businessmen crowded around one after another. Shade took a brief stroll around and found no obvious traces of elements here, so he had the time to carefully observe the stone carvings. But soon, his attention was attracted by the row of oil paintings hanging on the wall.
The oil paintings hanging in the stone carving hall, except for the portraits of the founders of the Stonemasons Association at the door, are all heavy-color oil paintings depicting stone statues, and most of them are human statues.
These oil paintings are quite large, almost the height of an adult. What surprised Shade most was that most of the figures in these oil paintings did not contain clothing. In other words, most of the oil paintings were
The category of human body/art.
"Long time no see, Mr. Watson. I heard about the card game between you and Mr. Oxenfurt. I knew when I was in the Prophet's Association that the person who could defeat me must be extraordinary."
Shade was looking up at the oil painting when he suddenly heard a voice coming from behind him. He turned around and saw that the playwright Mr. Antonio had already walked to his side. This gentleman was whom Shade met while playing cards at the local Prophets Association.
He lost to Shade's Sun 1 [Story in the Woods·Silver Snow Wolf].
"Oh, it's Mr. Antonio, are you here to buy a stone statue too?"
"No, no, I'm just looking for inspiration for a new opera libretto."
The writer, who was wearing a brown leather jacket and dressed quite fashionably, said, and Shade also introduced his purpose. Then, the two of them looked up at the oil painting on the wall where a woman opened her arms as if to hug someone outside the painting.
"Are you curious why this kind of statue is only found in oil paintings? The statues on display are all well-dressed?"
Mr. Antonio asked with a smile, explaining for the outsider "John Watson":
"On the one hand, it's because the city hall said that this kind of display is indecent... The regulations started after the conflict between the Masons' Association and the royal family. Oh, the conflict between the local masons and the royal family is
"I know, I heard about this."
"That's easy to explain. On the other hand, the association found that unclothed stone statues are more likely to be stolen and more likely to be damaged during display. Although the items on display here are all worthless items for sale, they are frequently
Replacing them would be very troublesome. Later, I simply displayed the stone statues with most of them in the form of oil paintings."
As he spoke, he lowered his voice and added:
"Mr. Watson, you are a foreigner and it is difficult to find a job. If you are interested in this kind of vulgar, I mean this unique style of stone carving, I know craftsmen who specialize in making this type of stone carving."