Shade had not made an appointment for this visit in advance, but when the professor heard that it was a writer from Delrayon who had made a special visit to collect materials for a new book, he was still very happy to invite him in and received Shade in the study.
Professor Kansas Drake is a thin old man, wearing a pair of brown-framed reading glasses, and his legs are covered with a checkered red blanket, so Shade cannot see his waist below. With Shade
Different from the Delarians that Dr. Drake met, Professor Drake has a standard Southern Old World appearance, that is, a long face, slightly dark skin, and slightly upward eyelashes.
Shade entered the study first, and then the maid pushed Professor Drake in. He asked the fat maid who seemed to be very reliable to prepare tea, and then started talking to Shade.
This was not the first time that Shade pretended to be a writer in Delrayon, so he was able to talk about this profession that he was not engaged in. He quickly transitioned from the topic of local folklore to the legend of the "Lady of the Lake"
superior.
"Yes, I have indeed studied this legend. Mr. Watson, you should also understand the general content. In a certain lake west of Huntington City, there lives a goddess who can grant people's wishes."
The old professor solemnly drew the Holy Emblem of the Church of Nature on his chest. This is a loyal believer of the God of Nature:
"Mortals are always eager for such legends, but most studies believe that perhaps in ancient times, a solitary woman lived in the lake area to the west of the city. Local villagers occasionally saw her bathing in the lake, or in the morning.
I saw her walking in the forest on a foggy morning, so the rumor of the Lady of the Lake spread. You also know that country people always like to exaggerate their experiences, and those stories passed down by mouth will spread after several generations.
It became the legend we know now.”
"But is that really the case?"
Shade asked suspiciously. Of course that was not the case. Otherwise, Sister Devlin and Mr. Edmond would not have recommended Shade to come here.
"This is just the most widely circulated theory at present, and it is also the common view among scholars who study the local history and folklore of Huntingdon."
The professor shrugged and answered Shade in Delarian. Although Professor Drake was from the south, he had lived in the North for a long time when he was young, and his Delarian was very good.
"So what do you think? Viscount Bernhard who introduced me here said that you are a scholar with very own ideas."
Shade gave a small compliment, and Professor Drake also smiled:
"Young people today are so nice to talk to. I know what you want to know from me, and you are not the first person to ask me this question. Yes, I do know some things that ordinary people don't know, but I
I can’t tell you directly.”
"You need krona? No problem, I'm willing to sponsor your research."
Shade put down the tea cup and was about to take out his wallet as he spoke, but the professor shook his head slightly:
"Young man, let me ask you three questions. The answers you give will determine whether you can get an answer from me."
Shade didn't expect to encounter such a request, but he still nodded:
"No problem. Although I don't brag about my wisdom too much to others, but it's just three questions, I can probably handle them. Professor, please ask."
A sparrow flew out of the window and landed on the window sill of the study. The professor turned to look at the sparrow and sighed softly:
"In my opinion, wisdom is equal to wealth. I don't want your wealth or your wisdom. Please listen, Mr. Watson, if you meet the Lady of the Lake and she gives you the opportunity to make a wish, what will you make?
What do you wish for?"
Shade thought for a moment:
"In addition to wanting to get materials, I am actually looking for lost things recently. If I really meet that goddess, I will ask her to tell me how to find the lost things. Or, she may be able to give me the things directly.
.”
Shade said, his eyes also saw the sparrow on the windowsill, and then he thought of Mia, who was still sleeping when he left home. The cat may have woken up now and was "inspecting the territory" at home.
"Second question, if the Lady of the Lake can help you realize your wish, but you have to pay a price to realize your wish, are you willing to pay?"
The physically disabled professor asked again, looking at Xia De with sharp eyes. Xia De thought for a moment:
"Is it an equal exchange? Or do I have to pay more?"
"You don't have to pay, but when you get what you want, some subtle changes have already happened."
Old Professor Drake whispered, and Shade raised his eyebrows:
"Then I won't make a wish. Although I want to find a certain item, there are actually other ways to try. There is no need to take risks. After all, I have too many treasures in life that I don't want to give up, Professor. What is the third question?
"
"If killing the Lady of the Lake would make your wish come true at no cost, would you do it?"
The professor finally asked, and Shade shook his head:
"Although I don't think the goddess of the lake in local rumors is a truly great person like the gods, I guess it shouldn't be that easy to kill such a legendary creature, right?
"Assume the other party doesn't resist at all."
The professor stared at Sha De, who still shook his head without thinking:
"Professor Drake, this is a really strange question. But a long time ago, when I was still young about the world and my own life, I once said to my friend: Murdering other people for your own purposes will only
You get the guilt that you have to carry with you for the rest of your life.”
This was the content of Shade's conversation with Reverend August and Dr. Schneider, back in the summer.
Professor Drake smiled:
"Very good. You are more sensible and kind than most young people I know. I am curious about the environment in which you grew up."
He raised his hand and pointed behind him:
"Now, can you hand me the red photo album on the third floor of the bookshelf? Please forgive the request of an old man with limited legs and feet."
Shade got up and found a photo album from the bookshelf and handed it to the professor. The professor opened it with a nostalgic expression, took out one of the photos and handed it to Shade:
"Mr. Watson, please look at this one."
When I touched the black and white photo with my fingers, a voice immediately sounded in my ears:
【You came into contact with "Whispers."】
This was an extremely weak whisper element. Without "her" prompt, Shade wouldn't have even noticed it immediately. He was slightly startled, but he didn't show too much surprise, and instead looked at the photo itself.
It is difficult to distinguish fine details in black and white photos, and the photo in his hand has already turned yellow due to oxidation. Even though the professor's finger pointed out a clear location, Shade still could not see anything special. That was The scenery photos by the lake were taken at least ten years ago.
He looked at the yellowed old photos very carefully. They were obviously photos of normal lakeside scenery, but the more he looked at them, the more panicked he felt in his heart, as if he was staring at something terrifying, but the photo was really just an ordinary lakeside photo. landscape.
"You feel it, right? If you stare at it for a long time, you will feel uneasy."
The professor said softly, and then pointed to the photo:
"Look behind that tree, there's a face here."
Shade looked down at the tree suspiciously, trying to imagine the shadow behind the tree as a human face. Unexpectedly, as the black shadow slowly squirmed, the whispering elements became thicker in the photo at an extremely fast speed.
At the same time, in the black shadow of the lake where Professor Drake was originally pointing, a woman with black hair and a pale face actually appeared because the photo was only black and white.
Most of her body was hidden behind the tree, and the upper body with exposed shoulders looked like she was not wearing any clothes. As the woman became clearer and clearer, the rotten mud on her body also appeared, becoming more real and vivid.
She looked at Shade in the photo, her eyes blinking, and the malicious expression on her face was completely undisguised.
"Relic?"
Although the afterglow of divinity still exists, there is no divinity around him. The cold feeling immediately spreads from the fingertips to Shade's body along with the curse, and is then suppressed by the first fire flowing in his body.
Shade immediately let go of the photo, and then looked at Professor Drake in surprise, only to find that the other person didn't seem to see the woman who was getting clearer. Instead, he looked at Shade hesitantly:
"Mr. Watson, what's wrong with you?"
"Professor can't see?"
Shade was a little confused, but then he realized that Professor Drake's inspiration was probably too weak to capture the malice of the face in the photo. Shade, who was extremely inspired, caught the malice, so he was targeted by the curse.
This photo is definitely not the relic itself, but the power of the relic was recorded in the photo to spread the curse. Shade has heard of this type of item, and it can be regarded as a derivative of the relic, but the effect is not strong.
"I saw that woman. Yes, she was very model. There was only an outline."
Xia Dehanhu said:
"Is this the Lady of the Lake?"
"Of course not. This is a photo that a local sold me many years ago. This photo proved to me when I was young that there are indeed things in the west of Huntingdon that are difficult for normal people to understand. This world is actually not simple. .”
The professor said, casually throwing the photo on the table. The sunlight outside the window shone on the photo. As the two people stopped looking at the photo, the whispering elements in the photo also returned to an extremely low level.
Shade nodded immediately. Now he knew that there was at least one cursed humanoid relic in the west of Huntington City in the shape of a woman with hair. The relic was at least Sage level (Level 2). The curse was still suppressed in his body and he would leave in a moment.
Professor here, he must find a way to solve this curse.
"That's when you started to transform from an ordinary scholar to a folklorist who studies mysticism part-time?"
"Yes, I always thought legends were just legends, but then I started to try to study folklore from a mystical perspective. Of course, the field I covered was very superficial because it was quite dangerous. As for the existence of the Lady of the Lake, there is actually a lot of evidence
.Young man, you probably don’t know that the scope of the Pantanal has been continuously shrinking in the past five hundred years.”
"oh?"
Xia De raised his eyebrows and turned to look at the city's tourist map hanging on the wall of the study:
"You're saying that the location where the Lady of the Lake appears was in the area that used to be the Pantanal?"
"Yes, I have delved deeply into the folklore and legends of the Pantanal region. Oh~ it was very weird, evil and twisted things. I even often regretted provoking those things when I was young."
The professor shook his head and said to Shade:
"But the contact with those terrifying information is not completely fruitless. I am very sure that the 'Lady of the Lake' in local legend really exists, and it is in a certain lake in the east of Huntington City. The location of that lake is not fixed.
According to certain rules, only special people can come into contact with it."