"Good evening, why didn't you see that cute cat last time?"
The elf girl seemed to be in a good mood. After sitting down, she asked the waiter who came over for a glass of butterbeer. Strictly speaking, this drink is not alcoholic because it does not contain alcohol at all:
"Do you know that the tavern in St. Byrons has been refusing to sell me this kind of drink?"
"Why?"
Luvia asked, and the elf girl said half annoyed:
"The dwarf bartender said that the academy wouldn't let him sell drinks to underage elves, even if I was over the age of 10. I once wanted to buy alcohol from the money-grubbing goblin's shop across the street from the wand, but that damn goblin would rather
He sold me an ether attenuation alchemy bomb, but he refused to sell me drinks."
She deliberately kept her exact age vague.
Both Shade and Luvia smiled, and the latter even said:
"Actually, minors are not suitable for drinking. Yes, I know butterbeer has no alcohol."
"According to past standards, Miss Amelia is actually an adult. After the establishment of St. Byrons, the standards of adulthood were redefined for the elven race."
Shade pointed out.
"Yes! That's right! According to the customs of ancient times, I am actually an adult!"
The elf girl agreed with Shade's view. Of course, she did not forget the business reason for coming here:
"Mr. Hamilton, this is the information you want. The college actually doesn't have many investigative reports on the Randall Valley."
Having said this, I am still a little worried that Shade is not satisfied with the results of his investigation:
"But when I was checking information in the library last week, I found that Miss Denister had someone put together all the information about the Randall Valley. The college seemed to have a special operation targeting this place. I heard the dense forest in the dormitory next door.
The goblin senior said that the School of Astronomy is ready to send professors to this city."
"No, no, your information is very valuable. And the time key you gave me last time was of great help."
Shade said immediately, and looked at each other with Luvia. Both of them understood that the affairs of the "Chosen One of the Earth" in Randall Valley City were completely exposed. The church chose to arrest those who might have clues last weekend.
Cultists are most likely because of this reason.
"Here's this week's poem."
Shade handed her the notebook that he had copied in advance. Thaumaturgy is not suitable for use in public places:
"In addition, if it is not necessary recently, please try not to appear in the city."
Shade kindly warned:
"Last time we met, your little beast felt evil. Later, I investigated and found that it is most likely the devil."
"demon?"
Luvia raised her eyebrows. Shade hadn't had time to tell her about this matter. Miss Elf was surprised, and then her face flushed, as if she was very excited:
"Are they the dangerous demons in the legend? Oh, I've only read about them in books. Legend has it that just seeing them will bring bad luck!"
"The evil spirits of the Third Age are quite ancient and powerful. That evil spirit has been here for at least a hundred years. It's hard to imagine what kind of power it has. You must be careful."
Shade warned, worried that the elf lady who had never experienced danger would accidentally encounter a demon. But fortunately, the education at St. Byrons was still very comprehensive. Although Emilia looked excited, she also knew what this meant.
What:
"Well, apart from coming to see you every week, I haven't come here to wander around recently. I gave this to you. I originally planned to sell it on the black market, but I think you need it more."
She handed each of Shade and Luvia an amulet woven with white hair. There were also elven runes representing "protection" on the amulet:
"This is a 'protection against evil amulet' made from unicorn hair, unicorn horn fragments and unicorn blood. Don't worry, my job is to raise them. These materials are collected daily.
The college will not care about these losses."
The elf girl said quite proudly, so Shade and Luvia did not refuse. Although Shade had a [Demon Hunting Seal], a special accessory for dealing with demons, the doctor said not to expose the demon hunter's identity before finding the demon's true body.
equipment, so it is appropriate to carry this amulet.
The two unicorn amulets were very valuable, but the elf girl did not ask for the money given by Shade and Luvia. The three of them chatted about the recent news in the city, and then the elf girl got up and prepared to return to the academy.
Shade and Luvia put her on the carriage at the door of the hotel, and then watched the carriage go away.
"We'll have dinner at the witch's place later. Don't be in a hurry to go home. Tell me about the devil first."
Luvia turned and looked at Shade:
"Have you known about this for a long time? Is it related to that strange Stone Oxenfurt?"
"I haven't investigated this matter clearly yet. I'll discuss it with you in detail when I have some clues. It's very dangerous, but it's okay if you don't rush home."
The purple-eyed girl nodded reservedly:
"You can talk to me about what books you and they read last night."
(Little Mia is running.)
Since the letter to make an appointment to visit had been sent to Oxenfurt Manor the day before, Shade set out from the city of Randall Valley City early on Tuesday morning and rode to Oxenfurt Manor, which was far outside the city.
Tezu's house.
The thaumaturgy [seeing demons] provided by the doctor has been learned. This time, in addition to returning the medal and investigating the statue, Shade made up his mind to determine who the ancient evil hidden in the city is.
We set off on horseback from the Wilde Opera House at 8:30 in the morning. By the time we arrived at the old manor outside the city, it was almost ten o'clock.
After crossing the bridge and passing through the forest, I saw the manor, which seemed to have weaker light than other places. The crows flew over Shade's head and flew into the manor, but soon flew away in panic.
, disappeared into the distance of the gloomy sky.
When he dismounted at the gate of the manor, the old housekeeper was already waiting for Shade.
He opened the fence gate and helped Shade hold the horse, and then told Shade:
"Sorry, Mr. Watson. The master received a letter from the city half an hour ago and has already gone to the city, but he said he would be back at noon."
"It's okay, I can wait."
Shade didn't care about this, but followed the old housekeeper into the slightly gloomy manor. The manor was on the delicate edge of "abandoned" and "in use", and weeds could be seen everywhere along the walls, but it could also
I saw the flowerbeds that had been tidied up and the pavilion that looked like it had just been renovated.
The doctor warned that although the thaumaturgy [Seeing Demon] is safe, there is a possibility of being discovered, so it is best not to use it frequently. Shade planned to use it after meeting Oxenfurt himself, so he did nothing along the way.
Instead, he waited until the old housekeeper sent the horse to the stable in the backyard before following him into the mansion.
Just like last time, there are no traces of any human activity at all. There is obviously no dust inside the cold building, and it is very clean. There are even many portraits hanging on it, but because of the dim light, the wallpaper turns muddy
Yellow makes it look particularly gloomy.
After waiting in the lounge for a while, Shade unexpectedly discovered that it was snowing outside the window. This reminded him of the last time that snowflakes appeared in the sky not long after he came here.
But before Shade had any other thoughts about the falling snow in late winter, Helena Oxenfurt, wearing a black veil, walked in with her weird maid.
Shade stood up from the sofa and greeted with a smile:
"Long time no see, Mrs. Oxenfurt."
"Good day, Mr. Watson."
The woman's voice was still so indifferent. She ordered the maid with her head lowered to prepare tea, and then the host and the guest took their seats on the sofa.
"Visual Demon!"
The only abnormality caused by the use of thaumaturgy was that the eyes felt a slight chill. Then the field of vision became like a strange fish-eye lens, the edges of the field of vision became blurred and the center became extremely clear.
The originally normal world has changed, and snowflakes are actually floating around Haela Oxenfurt. Considering that [Visual Demon] is a detection-type thaumaturgy specifically targeted at demons, this explains the first clue:
"The devil is associated with snow."
"Mr. Watson, you're here again."
The woman whispered that she had written words in the air with her finger last time to warn Shade not to come again.
"By coincidence, I picked up another item belonging to Mr. Oxenfurt."
Shade said, and before the woman asked the question:
"Your husband won't let me tell you about it, so I can't say what it is."
The woman was silent for a moment:
"I didn't tell him the wedding ring last time, it was you who sent it back."
Shade just smiled:
"I'm just doing something good, I just hope it doesn't damage your relationship as husband and wife. Speaking of which, Mr. Oxenfurt is really busy."
"He and Prince William of Anjou discovered gold in the mountains."
The woman spoke in an indifferent voice about the rumors that had been abuzz in the city recently. Of course, Shade already knew that the gold mine was fake and was meant to cover up the silver mine offshore.
"That's really amazing, ma'am. People in the city praise your husband as an amazing person."
At this time, the maid came back pushing the creaking dining cart, and Shade did not stop talking:
"You started from scratch and restored your family's glory, and now your business is getting bigger and bigger. In the era when the steam industry was booming, this kind of thing was not unheard of, but I have been traveling in the Old World for so long. People as powerful as your husband are indeed rare."
The black veil was very thin, but Shade did not observe that the woman smiled because of her compliment. She just said:
"He always wins, wins at everything."
Stone Oxenfurt also decided to entrust Shad to find three items because Shad beat him three times in "Rhodes", "Horse Racing" and "Dice".
"Luck is also a part of strength, and I envy this kind of luck."
He said, took the tea cup from the maid, and then blinked again:
"Visual Demon."
Just as Shade expected, the maid also had abnormalities. Her skin turned out to be the color of bluish stone due to the thaumaturgic effect.