The two of them soon arrived at the entrance of the cemetery. Although it was in the wilderness far from the village, the sultry summer night was not quiet at all. The wind carried the drone of cicadas and the rustling of treetops to their ears, but tucked inside his hood, he couldn't feel a hint of the breeze's coolness.
Naturally, there were no obvious lights near the cemetery; only the faint glow of the gravedigger's cottage in the center was visible.
The perimeter of the cemetery was enclosed by an iron fence. Due to the heavy rains of previous days, the path was covered in dried mud. The fence gates appeared to be locked, but upon closer inspection, the two spiked gates were simply chained together.
Though it was a village cemetery, it looked relatively formal, likely due to its proximity to the city. After unlocking the chains and entering, a straight path less than thirty paces long led directly to the gravedigger's cottage in the center, while the rest of the cemetery consisted of graves from both the past and present.
Unlike the homelands of foreigners, according to the traditions of Delarion and the funeral regulations of the Tobesk region, the height of a general grave mound could not exceed the length of a thumb. However, long white stones were permitted to border the edges of the grave on the ground to make the location easier to identify. Following Miss Louisa and looking out over the cemetery under the moonlight, he could only see rows of similar-looking graves lying there, a silence tinged with a terrifying chill.
The styles of the tombstones varied. Most of the small stone markers were embedded directly into the dirt in front of the graves—a relatively cheap burial method. Although Shade had never visited Detective Spyro at the city's public cemetery, his grave was likely of this style.
Tombstones that stood upright on the ground indicated that the deceased had done something worthy of record in life, or that their relatives were willing to pay for an expensive plot. For instance, if Shade himself were to meet an unfortunate and tragic end, with his current savings and the "Delarion Honorary Knight Medal" soon to be in his hands, he would be qualified for an upright tombstone.
"Hmm? What am I thinking about?"
He asked himself silently.
After entering the cemetery, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly. The woman's voice in his heart had once asked Shade if he was afraid of ghosts; while he truly wasn't, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of apprehension in this environment.
"Still, in a world with mysteries, visiting a cemetery at night seems like a decent plot point for a story."
He thought to himself with private amusement, but Miss Louisa suddenly stopped and looked to the left of the path.
Shade looked over as well. Two long and two short white stones bordered a grave. By the moonlight, he could vaguely make out the inscription on the tombstone: the unlucky fellow lying here had died 24 years ago, the cause of death being a peanut stuck in his windpipe during breakfast. By the time people discovered his body, three days had passed.
What was unusual was not the cause of death, but the fact that the stones on the grave were vibrating. This was no earthquake. Under the gaze of Shade and Miss Louisa, a decayed finger first poked out from the dirt, followed by a foul-smelling corpse-hand piercing through the ground.
"Mr. Corps, perhaps you should try a wraith to surprise me next time."
Miss Louisa shouted loudly toward the lit gravedigger's cottage, a match appearing in her right hand beneath her robe. She simply flicked the match in the air, and the tip ignited.
She then tossed the burning match toward the hand emerging from the grave. Almost the instant the flame touched the decayed corpse, the fire flared up brilliantly like a firework. But it was only for a moment; when the light vanished, only a wisp of blue smoke from the match rose from the ground. The grave remained intact, and the extinguished matchstick lay there quietly.
"Another one of those little tricks," Miss Louisa commented dissatisfiedly. Then, both of them heard a *bang*. Turning around, they saw the door of the gravedigger's cottage open.
Contrary to Shade's imagination, even for a village cemetery, the gravedigger's cottage was not a simple straw hut that would blow over in a breeze. It was a proper stone house. Inside the door was the dim light of a kerosene lamp, and a scrawny, pale middle-aged man who looked as if he had indulged in too many excesses stepped out from the light, looking at the two figures in black robes with some impatience
"I knew tonight wouldn't be peaceful. What do you want?"
Despite his odd appearance, Mr. Corps the gravedigger spoke normally.
Miss Louisa gave Shade a nudge; Shade knew it was best not to linger here.
"A small bag of bone powder, a bone whistle made from a human hand bone, two eardrums, thirty cc's of decayed blood, and a Face-Stone."
A "Face-Stone" was a stone material cultured from a corpse using special techniques. Rather than a mineral, it was more of an alchemical material, and it was the most expensive of the lot.
"Do you have enough money?" the impatient middle-aged man asked. Shade noticed he was wearing a black apron, which inexplicably reminded Shade of a butcher.
"How much?"
"12 pounds."
"I can pay now."
"Then wait a moment."
After the brief exchange, Mr. Corps turned back into his cottage. The two outside could hear him rummaging through things. Before long, he emerged carrying a paper bag.
He walked toward Shade. As they drew close, Shade smelled a familiar scent of corpses—absolutely a smell acquired from years of contact with the dead that could never be washed away.
Money was exchanged for goods, and then Mr. Corps returned to his cottage and closed the door, having no intention of further acknowledging them. If he ran a normal shop with this attitude, he would likely never make a fortune.
Even including the time Mr. Corps spent searching for the items, the entire transaction took less than ten minutes.
"Don't forget to wrap that chain back up when you leave."
That was the last thing he said to them.
Miss Louisa shrugged at Shade.
"He's always like this, don't be surprised."
Upon leaving the cemetery and entering the small grove, Shade immediately used the materials in his arms to study the occult art. He didn't want to walk around carrying a pile of these things.
"Shade, you will gradually encounter more Ring-Wizards in the future. When you do, you'll find that Mr. Corps is definitely not the strangest person."
This was Miss Louisa's assessment of Mr. Corps. She leaned against a tree, watching Shade examine the bag of bone powder. Among the three effects of the occult art [Soul Echo], the only active one, "Spirit Communication," required casting materials—namely, bone powder. Fortunately, the amount used was very small, so this small cloth bag would last Shade a long time.
He then pressed the stone against his ear.
"But the Ring-Wizards I've encountered all seem quite normal... except for that Lasora."
Shade spoke, but his attention was primarily focused on the Face-Stone in his hand. This strange stone was manufactured using corpses; according to alchemists, they possessed the ability to speak because they had absorbed fragmented souls. An important step in learning the occult art was listening to what the stone actually said.
As for the bone whistle, eardrums, and other miscellaneous materials, they served as auxiliary aids.
"Detective, that's because most of the Ring-Wizards you've encountered were formally trained by academies or the church. Unconventionally employed Ring-Wizards have a higher risk of losing control and are more eccentric in personality."
She said this and then let out a yawn. Seeing Shade look over, she turned her head away, her face flushing slightly. Although she had removed her hood, the moonlight in the woods was dimmer, so Shade couldn't see her expression.
"What, have you never seen a lady yawn?" the blonde girl asked.
"...I've seen a lady hiccup," Shade joked, immediately realizing the joke was somewhat ill-timed as Miss Louisa reached up, snapped off a twig from the branch above her, and threw it at him.
(Mia is running...)
In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday again. Opening his eyes in bed, Shade couldn't help but marvel at how quickly the week had passed since he started at MI6 on Monday.
The most important event today was heading to the royal estate outside the city tonight to attend the commendation banquet. If not for this, Shade would have used that white stone crystal during the day to perform his first spatial teleportation.
Of course, he didn't waste the day. After breakfast, he first wrote another letter to his client, Mrs. Lemel, to confirm more details regarding the receipt of the inheritance next week.
Then, he was visited once again by Captain Radis. Although the Captain hadn't received a medal or similar award, he was on the commendation list, so he invited Shade to depart with him tonight.
After seeing the Captain off, Shade had intended to go out to mail the letter and then find Father Augustus. He wanted to listen to a sermon at the Church of Dawn to at least make himself a familiar face there.
Unexpectedly, before he had even changed into his outdoor clothes, Shade's superior, Mr. Anlos, arrived at his door.
He didn't enter, but simply stood in the foyer talking to Shade.
"Hamilton, there's been a change in circumstances. You might not be getting the 'Delarion Honorary Knight Medal' as originally stated."
The gentleman had likely rushed over; he was sweating profusely as he gripped the doorframe behind him.
"Why? Oh, please come upstairs, let's sit down and talk."
"No need to go upstairs, I have other things to attend to. You know our department is never idle. As for your medal..."
He suddenly leaned closer to Shade, eyes wide but voice very low
"I've heard news that you're going to receive a reward far weightier than a medal."
Then, returning to his original position, the middle-aged man wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, disregarding his image.
"Speaking of which, your home is truly cool... so, you must be on time tonight. You must dress appropriately. Absolutely do not be late."
"Weightier than a medal? Is the Royal Family giving me a title?" Shade paused, then asked in surprise.
"What are you dreaming of?" Mr. Anlos laughed, waving his hand at him.
"The news I heard might not be entirely accurate, but the Church of Dawn put in a great deal of effort. You really are clever, knowing how to obtain support from the church of the True God. Oh, and the Royal Family—I don't know who, but someone is working hard to help you secure a reward. No, not Queen Diana or Miss Galina, but another influential member of the Royal Family..."
He looked Shade over, as if wanting to get to know the young man in front of him all over again.
"In any case, absolutely do not be late tonight. Remember, absolutely do not be late."