“The Wall of the Faithless?”
The information accidentally revealed by the Bishop left the outsider surprised and confused, unsure if this was merely religious rhetoric or if such a thing truly existed.
He reached out to return the commemorative coin to Bishop Owen, but the Bishop waved his hand, refusing to take it.
“Keep this as a souvenir; it was intended for the promotion of the Festival of Holy Prayer anyway. Mr. Hamilton, you are welcome to visit the Dawn Church often. We have very formal scripture readings every week, or you could simply come to the confessional to voice your troubles.”
He had not yet given up on the idea of recruiting Shard into the faith.
Shard agreed verbally and slid the small coin into his shirt breast pocket to prevent it from slipping out of his overcoat pocket.
Bishop Owen had other matters to attend to. After he left, Priest Augustus led Shard away from Dawn Square to retrieve the potion, “The Price of Growth.”
The priest had his own rented base outside the Dawn Church for brewing potions; after all, brewing potions inside the church was far too risky.
“Priest, does the Wall of the Faithless truly exist in our world?”
Shard asked in a low voice on the way. Priest Augustus's answer was ambiguous
“No one has ever returned after death, so I cannot give a definitive answer. However, based on ancient texts and documents, the concept of the ‘Wall of the Faithless’ has been clearly mentioned since at least the Third Epoch. It is very likely that it truly exists... Detective, I recall that since you awakened from Blind Stupidity, you have not yet chosen a faith. That simply won't do...”
He slowed his pace and looked at Shard, smiling as he repeated the same offer as Bishop Owen
“Would you be interested in learning about the faith of our Lord, [Mr. Dawn]?”
If one were merely a shallow believer, there were no specific obligations to undertake, and one didn't even need to pray at the church every week. Correspondingly, however, if one encountered something like a haunting, they shouldn't expect the Church to provide free exorcism; other forms of assistance from the Church were not provided free of charge either.
Shard walked beside the priest, pondering the matter of faith.
In truth, he wasn't certain if he could complete the twelve paths of Divine Ascension before he died. Therefore, to prevent himself from being used as wall-filler after death, and to avoid awkwardness when asked about his faith during daily social interactions, choosing a deity to be a shallow believer of didn't seem like a bad idea.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
He gave his answer. There was no rush anyway; whenever he needed it, Shard could simply go to the church, buy some ornaments with holy symbols to place in his home, and verbally declare himself a believer of an Orthodox God.
Priest Augustus had rented a basement in an apartment near the Dawn Church; the landlord was an old friend of many years and absolutely reliable. The priest's books, relics, various spellcasting materials, and potion-making equipment were mostly kept in this basement.
The street was called Gret Street, adjacent to Dawn Square. Walking from the church entrance to the apartment basement took only about ten minutes.
The basement here was much more spacious than the one at Shard's home, and the ceiling was higher. Because the first floor of the apartment was actually slightly higher than the street level, a small window had been opened at the top of the basement wall, allowing a meager amount of sunlight to filter in.
Of course, it had to be closed on rainy days.
This place essentially served as a "studio." The priest had not only set up bottles, jars, and instruments for brewing potions but even had a bed and a wardrobe.
The potion “The Price of Growth” and its materials were handed to Shard by the priest in a paper bag. All the materials were stuffed into bottles; the liquid inside was brown, with some suspicious flocculent substances floating within. The bottles themselves were wrapped in newspaper.
This wasn't to protect them from sunlight, but to prevent the smell from leaking out.
“I will never make this potion again; the scent is truly unbearable. Even when I was a young missionary in the rural villages, I never encountered such a smell.”
When Shard settled the cost of the materials with the priest, the priest looked utterly helpless.
Aside from these matters, Shard had drawn a pattern found on the bottom of a potion bottle in the hidden space of his basement in his notebook, hoping the priest could help identify it.
The main body of the pattern was an equilateral triangle, with a small circle connected to each of the three corners, and a winged human inside the triangle.
“Interesting. It should be some kind of ancient symbol, but I don't recognize it.”
Priest Augustus shook his head.
“You don't recognize it either?”
“But don't be disappointed. Although I don't know it, the church library might have a record of this symbol. I can go check, but would it be convenient for you to reveal the origin of this mark?”
The priest asked. Shard cautiously shook his head
“It's not convenient for now, but I will tell you in the future. Please be careful when you search; this symbol is very likely related to the Ring Warlocks. I hope this doesn't bring you any trouble.”
“It's fine, a small matter.”
The priest waved his hand, and the two parted ways on the bustling street.
It was exactly eight o'clock. Shard carried the paper bag back to St. Therese Square first, hiding the potion and the pile of disgusting materials behind the hidden wall in his basement, waiting to attempt bringing them into the past after midnight tonight.
Afterward, he greeted little Mia, who was strolling in the house, before stepping out the door once more.
The lawyer commissioned by Mrs. Lemelle for the investigation was named Locke Laurel. He had left his business card when visiting Mrs. Lemelle, so it was easy for Shard to find him using the clues on the card.
Mr. Laurel did not work in a law firm with a fixed office; he was a licensed lawyer providing private legal consultation and assistance. The nature of his work was similar to Shard's detective agency, though he certainly earned more than Shard.
This gentleman lived in the North District of Tobesk. Although the North District was generally considered the lower city of Tobesk, the lawyer's residence was not a slum. It was a place called Queen Mary Street, where the lawyer rented a second-floor apartment facing the street.
Shard knew no one in this area, so there was no need to disguise his face when visiting. However, after identifying the house number, he knocked on the door for a long time without anyone answering.
Just as he thought about knocking on the neighboring apartment to ask the neighbors, the door finally opened.
The person who opened the door was a short, plump man smelling of alcohol, wearing shorts and a striped short-sleeved shirt; his entire silhouette looked square. The hair on his arms was denser than the beard on his wide chin, and his eyes were squinted as if he were unaccustomed to the morning light in the mist. When he spoke, he mumbled, making it hard to hear clearly
“Who are you looking for? Oh, for God's sake, can you not knock so early?”
It wasn't even nine o'clock yet, which wasn't actually that early, but one cannot reason with a drunkard.