Because he was sleeping in an unfamiliar place, Xia De woke up very early the next morning. Feeling for the pocket watch on his bedside table, he saw that it was 6:30 AM. He thought he would go downstairs to see if any newspapers had been delivered, as he knew that the people of Tobesk generally had the habit of subscribing to them.
The former Mr. Detective could certainly be considered middle-class, and the nature of his work required him to read newspapers to stay informed about current events. Therefore, it was indeed possible that the current Xia De had inherited the newspaper subscription.
Wearing his slippers, he walked down the stairs to the first-floor foyer. He looked with some curiosity at the sealed-off first floor, thinking that when he had time, he could pry off a wooden board to see what was inside.
He turned on the gas lamp in the foyer, but unfortunately, he did not see a newspaper pushed through the delivery slot on the doormat.
He shook his head with some regret, intending to change his clothes and go out for breakfast. But his slippers had barely touched the first step when he heard the sound of a bell.
Outside the door of this apartment building was a pull-rope. When pulled, the rope would trigger a gear mechanism inside the door, ringing a bell located on the inner side—a sort of primitive doorbell.
"The paperboy is here? No, why would the paperboy knock? Could it be that it's time to pay for next month's subscription?"
Xia De, whose savings were meager, thought with some panic. Calculating the money he had left, he turned around and looked at the door with unease. No matter who was outside, he couldn't possibly know them. It was unlikely to be someone collecting money; it was more probable that they were looking for the previous owner of this place.
"Perhaps a new client?"
In a worse-case scenario, perhaps it was the landlord coming to collect rent.
There was no peephole or similar structure on the door, so Xia De had to walk up to it and ask, using the linguistic knowledge he had acquired in his head yesterday
"May I ask who is there?"
He immediately received a reply from outside the door, in a familiar voice
"Is this the Hamilton Detective Agency? I am Bill Schneider. Do you remember me? The psychiatrist from yesterday. We exchanged business cards at the entrance of the newspaper office opposite the Lark Club."
On this morning, also shrouded in fog, one of the few people in this world whose name Xia De knew had come to visit him.
Not expecting the visitor to be Dr. Schneider, Xia De stood behind the door, unsure whether he should open it. His hesitation, even if only for a moment, let the psychiatrist outside know of the detective's wariness
"Mr. Hamilton, you don't need to overthink this. Although it is strange to visit at this hour, I have no ill intentions. Since time is short, please take a look at this first."
The man outside spoke as he pushed a piece of paper through the newspaper delivery slot.
"Do you remember what I said yesterday? Adult education, correspondence courses. Detective, you possess a very special talent."
Xia De bent down to pick up the paper and raised his hand to slightly brighten the foyer's gas lamp. By this light, he saw that it was an admissions brochure.
"Hmm?"
He suspected his eyes were playing tricks on him, or that he hadn't fully woken up yet.
The paper, about the size of A4, was outlined with silver borders in the shape of a parchment scroll. It was an admissions promotional document for a higher education institution called "St. Byrons Comprehensive College." Aside from the school emblem in the shape of a "book locked by chains" at the top, there were not many patterns; the printed text occupied most of the page.
St. Byrons Comprehensive College was not recruiting ordinary students; they were recruiting adult students for "correspondence" courses.
Beyond this, the paper listed the college's ten departments, specified tuition fees, enrollment times, academic systems, admission conditions and restrictions, and the recommendation-based application process. At least from these aspects, it looked like an ordinary school.
"But why is there no school address?"
Xia De asked after a long while, then was surprised that he hadn't asked the other party if they had a mental illness, coming over early in the morning to deliver admissions documents to a stranger.
"Your observation is very keen."
The psychiatrist outside praised him, then asked
"Then, at least let me inside to talk, shall we? Perhaps I can answer your questions, regarding the 'other you' inside your head."
The voice in his head did not appear upon being mentioned. Xia De, inside the door, opened his mouth, then opened the door.
The middle-aged doctor, carrying a briefcase, wearing a brown overcoat and a silk cap, stood on the steps. He wore a pair of somewhat thick black boots. He still had his fastidious mustache, and his blue eyes made one feel quite favorably toward him
"Don't forget your milk."
He pointed to the milk box on the left side of the door. His accent was standard; he was likely a local of Tobesk
"The milkman just left when I arrived."
"Alright, please come in."
Xia De nodded hesitantly, sized up the doctor, and tried to put on a friendly expression. He picked up the keys from the shoe cabinet to unlock the milk box, and the psychiatrist followed him into the apartment building only after Xia De had retrieved the milk bottle.
The doctor was also surprised by the sealed-off part of the first floor, but he didn't say much, instead following the silent Xia De up the stairs to Room 1 on the second floor.
Leaving the doctor to wait for a moment, Xia De returned to the bedroom to change his clothes, then boiled some hot water to treat his guest. Although the kitchen had no food, at least there was black tea for entertaining the detective's clients; otherwise, Xia De would have had to serve his guest plain boiled water.
Once everything was settled, the two sat down to talk.
The fabric sofa set in the living room had a distinct sense of age; it was unclear if it was an antique. Two long and two short sofas surrounded a wooden coffee table from all sides, very suitable for discussing business with clients.
The doctor and Xia De sat on the long sofas facing each other.
"Self-introductions are unnecessary. First, I need you to trust me."
Dr. Schneider, the mustachioed psychiatrist, spoke first. He smiled and thanked Xia De for the black tea
"I came here today truly because of the college brochure I gave you. First, let me describe your current symptoms—"
"Wait a moment, are the symptoms related to the school?"
Xia De asked, though he already had a guess in his heart. He was not a "local"; he had seen those crazy fantasies and was more adaptable to such situations. The "St. Byrons Comprehensive College" the other party mentioned was likely a school of the same type as Hogwarts.
"Of course they are related. Please listen to me. Mr. Xia De Hamilton, are you able to hear another voice inside your head?"
Although Xia De tried hard to control his expression, he saw his failure in the smile of Mr. Schneider opposite him.
The doctor added
"That voice, is it saying some inexplicable things? And, are some of the words helpful to you? It whispers in your ear, speaks suddenly when you least expect it, yet it bears no malice toward you."
Xia De knew he couldn't hide it, so he nodded.
"And, Detective, these symptoms of yours must have appeared within the last 72 hours."
"To be precise, 24 hours."
Xia De said.
"That's even better. Then we have plenty of time; it seems our luck is quite good. After all, the talent awakening period is 72 hours, so I have more time to explain the situation to you."
Dr. Schneider smiled
"The symptoms above are similar to manifestations of schizophrenia, but in my eyes, they are not."
He pointed to himself, his blue eyes looking at Xia De, and he spoke very slowly
"For a specific group of people, the existence of the 'other me' is a wonderful and dangerous talent. No, I should say, this is the initial manifestation of a talent. If it can be guided, you will be able to see a more real world—a mysterious, dangerous world. If it is not guided—"
"Return to mediocrity?"
"No, worse."
The doctor shook his head
"I don't want to deceive you; at least there is no need for that now. To put it clearly, this is a sign of 'Ring-術士' (Ring-Mage/Ring-Warlock) talent. It is a very rare talent. You can treat this as a gift of fate, or a curse of fate. As for 'Ring-術士', you can think of it as a special profession—a profession capable of using mysterious power. I hope you understand what I mean."
The doctor was deliberately observing Xia De's expression. This era was still an ignorant one; people who believed in the True Gods generally did not accept concepts like "witchcraft." But fortunately, just as the doctor's investigation had shown, the detective opposite him had been mentally ill just a few days ago and had only returned to normal due to the awakening of his talent, so his views were different from those of normal citizens.
On the other side, with his guess confirmed, Xia De nodded hesitantly. He wanted to feign surprise, as a normal person would certainly be surprised, but at this moment, his heart was exceptionally calm—even calm to a fault. He thought this might be because of the excessive pressure yesterday
"In other words, hearing strange voices in my ears is actually a form of expression for some kind of system—a power system? Do many people experience this? Just like some people see further, and some people hear more?"
Xia De asked.
"Yes, 'I am you, you are me.' Every Ring-術士 is like this. If you successfully become a Ring-術士, then this voice will accompany you for life and help you for life. That voice is the other you; it is just that your fields of vision are different. It will help you contact this crazy and noisy world in a more real way, to contact the hidden and the bizarre. Knowledge, information, and even words possess dangerous power, and outside the safe world of ordinary people, we cannot use our souls to directly approach those powers capable of distorting ourselves."
The doctor waited a moment, giving Xia De time to think
"But the awakening period for Ring-術士 talent is very short. From the first time the whispers appear in the ear to the moment the voice disappears completely, it usually happens within 72 hours. And not every talented person can hear the voice frequently and realize that the voice is not their own thought. They will only treat it as a hallucination or think something is wrong with their ears.
Therefore, Detective Xia De Hamilton, whether it is the three major colleges or the Church, it is very difficult to recruit and cultivate new personnel. That is why I said we are both lucky."
(End of chapter)