At some point, a gurgling sound echoed from beneath the frozen lake. Along with this sound, whispers of the element spread rapidly across the ice, enveloping the entire lake.
The two witches ignored their previous "little joke" and immediately stepped in front of Shade. Dark clouds drifted in from nowhere, obscuring the three moons. As darkness fell over everything, the ice shattered, revealing lake water that was pitch black. Within that ink-like water, a short figure, blending seamlessly with the shadows and possessing an indiscernible form, appeared on the surface
"Very interesting."
The voice was raspy, yet it was clearly that of a boy around eleven or twelve years old. However, despite being a child, he radiated an overwhelming malice; even the sound of his voice triggered an instinctive sense of discomfort.
"I didn't expect that in the modern era, long after the Fifth Epoch has passed, I would encounter two Great Witches at once."
He gave a small huff.
"I know what you want from me. You women are always like this—taking whatever you want without a care for anyone else's opinion."
He seemed to harbor a deep grudge against witches.
"However, I am quite interested in the malicious jokes of witches. Since you have found and amused me, I shall naturally give you a trial: currently, something filled with malice is lurking within this city. Yes, a malevolent spirit-demon of the Third Epoch; don't tell me you aren't even aware of that."
None of the three spoke.
"Find it, defeat it. Any method of defeat is permitted, even a game of cards. Once the trial is complete, if any one of you tells a joke to a glass of water, I will appear."
Having said this, he dove straight back into the lake, appearing truly unwilling to converse further with the witches.
Then, the dark clouds obscuring the moons dispersed, and the whispering elements and ink-black color gradually contracted toward the center of the lake until they vanished. Fragments of ice remained floating on the surface, proving that the boy had not been a hallucination.
"A demon, huh."
Miss Karina looked at Shade, and Shade immediately nodded.
"No problem, leave this to me. I guarantee there will be a result before the end of this week."
Perhaps because he was accompanied by two witches, the matter proceeded exceptionally smoothly. The three then left Regent Park and returned to the carriage. Miss Karina needed to return to her manor outside the city, and Miss Sylvia had to go back to look after Princess Margaret, so the carriage first dropped Shade off at St. Delan Square.
After the carriage stopped in front of Number Six, Miss Karina, who had been sitting beside Shade, kissed his cheek and whispered her farewell. She then glanced at Miss Sylvia, likely still remembering the little "joke" from Regent Park.
Thus, a relatively leisurely Tuesday passed. Early the next morning, Shade arrived at the Diviner's Association holding Miya, once again requesting a private meeting with Luvia under the pretext of divining for the "cat."
He had become a regular at the Diviner's Association, and the people there all knew him. In fact, as soon as they saw Shade arriving with the cat, the receptionists would proactively bring out the divination registration form and fill in everything except for the signature.
More than half a week had passed since Shade signed the contract for [Genesis: Knowledge]. During this time, the Diviner's Association had used various means to "leak" the news through unofficial channels that Shade would obtain that card. As for the reason, it was certainly not that Shade had used the gems given by the Duchess to trade for a Lord card, but rather as a gesture of gratitude for Shade's contributions to the Association.
No one knew the specific nature of these "contributions," which led to many rumors. In any case, by the time Shade arrived at the Association that morning, he was already receiving congratulations.
The guests who appeared at the Association so early were mostly Lord card veterans capable of playing cards there all day, and their information was naturally well-informed. Shade even encountered Mr. Ruwatz Belson, whom he had met while playing cards at the Lakeview Manor banquet—the gentleman in his thirties who had married the forty-five-year-old Baroness Liana Pompey.
The two chatted briefly, and Mr. Belson made no effort to hide his envy of Shade. He eagerly invited Shade to come to the Diviner's Association or the Lord Card Club for a few games once he obtained [Genesis: Knowledge]; no local player would refuse such an opportunity.
The weather was pleasant today. The early morning mist was unexpectedly thin, allowing sunlight to spill across the floor of the divination room.
When Shade and Luvia pushed open the door and entered the room, Shade, still holding the cat, let out a yawn. Luvia closed the door while clutching her crystal ball and asked with a smile
"Didn't rest well last night?"
"Yeah, didn't sleep until three."
The purple-eyed girl calculated the time.
"You weren't reading until three, were you? Even if you're taking the skip-grade exam, given your progress, you shouldn't need to work that hard."
"No, no. The only time I touched a pen last night was around nine; I spent half an hour finishing the report for the commission I received on Monday."
"Then what did you do after that?"
Luvia continued to ask. Shade opened his mouth, and images of a soft bed in a dim bedroom, scattered long golden hair, and a gentle girl flashed before his eyes.
"Was Dorothy at your place last night?"
Luvia read Shade's expression instantly and asked teasingly.
"Yes. For the past half-week to a week, she's been staying with me because of the demon matter."
Luvia raised an eyebrow.
"A demon? Those malevolent spirits of the Third Epoch?"
"That happened after I parted ways with you at the Three Cats Inn on Monday. It was originally a simple commission, but some problems have arisen, which is why I specifically came to see you. Let's sit down and talk; this even relates to the trial of the 'Secret Keeper'."
The story wasn't long, but because it involved demons and witches, Shade explained it in detail.
Throughout the narration, Luvia kept her brow furrowed, nodding gently only after he finished.
"Though I don't know why you're so confident in 'fighting a demon,' since you've given your word, I won't ask further."
She grabbed Shade's hand, which was currently stroking Miya.
"If you need help from me or Iluna, you must tell us. A Third Epoch spirit, even in a wounded and weakened state, is absolutely no joke."
"Don't worry, this is the one thing I'm very confident about."
This confidence stemmed from the doctor's past feat of easily defeating a Balrog in the Sikar Mountains during autumn.
Luvia was still somewhat worried but said no more.
"If you truly can complete this trial within the week, then you and Iluna will collectively hold three Brilliance Stones. The professors from the three academies have already entered the city; I suspect the peaceful days are coming to an end. The story of the fourth Chosen has entered its latter half, and things are about to get chaotic here again."
"For now, it depends on the attitude of that Sir Prisha."
Shade nodded.
"Today is Wednesday, the fourth day of the Month of Slumber. I'll try to gauge Sir Prisha's thoughts within ten days. By next weekend or the weekend after, we will launch our final operation regarding the Chosen Ceremony. Past experience tells me that a major event always occurs at the end of the Chosen Ceremony. I really don't want some ancient evil or a Grade 0 relic appearing in Tobesk."
"Balance brought the Evil God, Darkness led to the Coldwater Harbor tsunami and the Descent of Darkness in Tobesk, and Death caused the reversal of life and death to breed the undead. I wonder what Knowledge and Wisdom will lead to this time."
Luvia seemed somewhat languid. After a slight sigh, she mentioned another matter.
"You and Dorothy both stay safe. Also, I had a strange dream recently."
"What dream?"
"The dream was chaotic; I only remember some details. The sky was a murky yellow and black, like an overturned oil painting palette. Great fires burned all around. Miss Pavo—yes, the Vice President of the [Truth Society]—had half her body petrified."
Her purple eyes stared at the crystal ball, revealing a look of concern.
"She was sitting in the center of the fire, leaning against a large rock. Her left arm was gone, and half her face was covered in blood. She gave me that Angel-grade relic, the [Smowell Codex]. Not just handing it to me, but completely transferring ownership. She seemed to want to tell me more, but she passed away before she could finish. Her last words were a blessing, but the memory in the dream is blurred; I don't remember what she blessed me with..."
She looked up at Shade.
"The imagery was incredibly vivid. It's a strange dream. I originally thought it was a prophetic dream about the Chosen of [Knowledge and Wisdom], but the scene felt as if it happened in the very distant future. I wonder if this portends something?"
Shade did not voice his opinion, but he had more conjectures in his heart. Luvia gazed at the air before her; the images from that dream had yet to leave her mind.
After bidding farewell to Luvia, Shade delivered the completed commission report to Sir Cameron. Today was Wednesday, and Sir Cameron was auditing accounts at his cigarette factory—everyone had to audit at the end of the year. He was quite surprised that Shade had found the culprit in such a short time. In the report, Shade only mentioned the spice merchant and noted that the true owner of the box had once stayed at the Three Cats Inn but had since departed, making them untraceable.
This counted as completing the commission. Although the completion rate wasn't high, after Dorothy helped polish it last night, the report—spanning over a dozen pages—looked very professional. At the very least, Sir Cameron was full of praise after skimming through it.
He was especially pleased when he heard that the female writer Dorothy Louisa had been accompanying Shade in the investigation and would likely write the story of the box into a tale.
He even wanted to invite Shade to lunch to discuss the box in more detail.
However, Shade had already promised Dorothy they would eat dinner at home together, so he claimed to have other matters and declined Sir Cameron's kindness.