“Shade, oh, I was wondering why you were here. I saw the newspaper—congratulations, a knighthood is truly impressive. I originally thought it was just a medal.”
The doctor stood with Shade by the corridor window looking outside, curious about Shade's current attitude. He straightened the sleeve of his black formal suit, which had been wrinkled by Shade's grip, and spoke loudly
“As for why I am here, do you remember Count Abrash's family? They have been among my most important patients recently.”
Shade frowned suspiciously
“The one with bulimia?”
The doctor nodded proudly
“Yes. The conditions of the Count's wife and daughter have improved significantly following my psychological counseling and the medication provided by their private physician. The Count's family is attending this banquet tonight, so they specially invited me as a token of their gratitude.”
“This is the first time I've heard of someone using a banquet invitation as a thank-you. This is a charity banquet for donating money; the Count is thanking you with this?”
Shade asked skeptically, and the doctor gave an awkward laugh. He wanted to explain, but seeing the look of suspicion on Shade's face, he decided to give up on lying. He scratched his nose and lowered his voice
“I knew I couldn't hide it from you, but I still hoped not to drag you into this; after all, this matter is too dangerous. What else could be the reason for me being here? I wasn't invited; I took the initiative, using the opportunity of curing the Countess, to get the Count to give me an invitation. My goal is a plaster statue.”
“What plaster statue? Hmm? A plaster statue?”
Shade suddenly remembered more. He turned around and leaned closer to the doctor
“You mean, those five...”
“Yes, one of them.”
Last week, through repeated dream-entry, the doctor had finally locked down the final hiding place of the [Forged Philosopher's Stone]. That precious liquid [Relic] had been poured into red glass using a special method to fake the eyes of a plaster statue, hidden within one of the five sculptures.
“One of them is here?”
“Yes. Count Maupassant isn't the only one raising funds for the university. Of the items being auctioned today, the Maupassant family's contributions only account for one-third; the remaining two-thirds were donated by others. One of the statues was donated. The statue itself is merely a craft piece—finely made and adorned with gemstones and precious metals—with a starting bid of 60 pounds.”
The doctor explained, lowering his voice to warn him
“This has nothing to do with you, which is why I didn't want to tell you just now.”
“But this banquet...”
Alert, Shade did not explicitly mention that the banquet was a ritual for the descent of an Evil God. Miss Galina had repeatedly warned him that any kind of Ring-Wielder or Relic could appear at tonight's banquet; therefore, once inside the mansion, he must absolutely not mention the descent of the Evil God under any circumstances.
“While that's all well and good, I have an urgent matter I need your help with.”
Shade cleared his thoughts, keeping his voice as low as possible and speaking rapidly
“Remember the client you introduced to me last time? There's been a problem with the commission. I need his psychological diagnostic materials. The guy is mentally unstable; he actually claims to have seen some mermaid in the sewers. I originally planned to visit you tomorrow, but I didn't expect to run into you here. If it's convenient, Doctor, could you go back now and bring his files to me? There's no rush.”
He emphasized "no rush"
“Just take your time getting them.”
As he spoke, he blinked rapidly at the doctor and then jerked his head. Dr. Schneider's luck might truly be terrible for him to stumble right into this, but Shade could not let him stay here.
The doctor was stunned for a moment by Shade's words
“Hmm? Oh, those files.”
His eyes widened, and then he made an expression of sudden realization
“I knew that commission wouldn't be easy; you've indeed run into a problem. It's fine, I'll go get them now—actually, why don't we go to the clinic together? I can introduce you to more details about that gentleman while we're at it.”
The doctor spoke while locking eyes with Shade, his pupils shifting constantly within his blue eyes. He understood there was danger here and wanted to leave with Shade.
But Shade shook his head
“I still have some things to attend to here. I'll find you at the clinic a bit later. My business is finished; I'm just waiting for my carriage.”
“Waiting for a carriage? Are you sure you don't want to leave with me?” the doctor asked hesitantly.
“Don't worry, I'm leaving soon too,” Shade said.
The doctor opened his mouth
“Very well then, I'll head back first to organize the materials you need. Shade...”
“What?”
“If you need my help, just ask.”
“Don't worry, my business is done. I only came to help someone attend the auction.”
The doctor pursed his lips, said nothing more, waved to Shade, and walked alone down the corridor toward the first-floor lobby.
Although this doctor's luck might truly be terrible, at least this time, he escaped the misfortune about to occur here.
The Church would not let Father Augustus appear here, Miss Annette was waiting for Shade in the distance, and once the doctor left, Shade would leave immediately. Furthermore, when he went to retrieve the [Ever-Youth Leaf] from Miss Louisa this morning, he had confirmed she would be staying home all night.
Thus, the five members of Group Five who had been unfortunate during the first Blood Banquet were truly unrelated to the Evil God's second Blood Banquet.
The maid's handling of the Event matter was slightly slower than Shade had anticipated. The agreed meeting time with Miss Annette and Miss Beatrice was 8:30, but by the time Shade received the signal that he could leave the mansion, it was already 8:10.
He left in the carriage with the maid, only breathing a sigh of relief once the mansion was completely out of sight through the window. The rain had stopped entirely, but the damp smell in the air mixed with the surging fog, making the city's scent rather unpleasant.
Shade handed the fountain pen, the old storybook, and the remaining gold pounds to Tifa the maid for safekeeping. The maid returned Shade's [Relic], his overcoat, and the ruby ring, smiling as she showed him the white pebble ring
“The plan went smoothly. Although it took some time, all traces have been cleared.”
The [Ring of Rebirth] lay quietly in the maid's palm. This, the first Relic Shade had encountered in this world, appeared before him once again.
“Miss Galina's business is finished; now it's time for my own.”
He waved his hand, his expression serious, but he made no move to take the ring to examine it.
Listening to the clatter of horse hooves, the black-haired maid asked curiously
“Mr. Hamilton, do you not wish to borrow this ring? You should know its function; it is equivalent to having an extra life.”
“Just give it directly to Miss Galina; I won't touch it.”
Shade shook his head. While the [Ring of Rebirth] was powerful, it also had the effect of distorting the mind. With divinity protecting him, rather than spending time using the ring, he would rather use his divinity directly. After all, there was no way he would flee tonight; he absolutely had to obtain the gift intended for him inside the [God's Gift Box].
“Then I shall wish you success in your operation in advance.”
The maid showed a regretful expression, then carefully placed the ring into a metal box and solemnly tucked the box into the pocket of her elaborate long dress. She pressed her legs together, folded her hands on her lap, and reminded him softly
“Although the Young Mistress cannot directly help you deal with the Silver-Eyed, if you require cleanup work afterward, you may mention it to her at any time.”
Shade looked at her in surprise, not expecting the maid to bring this up proactively. The black-haired maid wore a serene expression
“You are worthy of the Young Mistress's help.”
Shade smiled
“I've prepared quite thoroughly; I don't think anything will go wrong. But if there is truly a need for Miss Galina's help, I will ask. I only hope that next time, Miss Galina doesn't put me in such a dangerous situation.”
His hand toyed with the unused Time Key in his pocket
“I've prepared more than one emergency plan, even for the worst-case scenario. Tonight, that is not what I'm worried about.”
Shade looked out the window
“I'm worried about the descent ritual.”
“We must trust the Church of the True Gods.”
Hearing these words from a member of the Witches' Council was truly somewhat amusing.
“I ran into that Thirteenth-Ring Wielder, Mr. Hog Lundell, on the first floor just now. The Church is likely worried about accidents, but I have a strange feeling of unease. No, not unease about what I am about to do.”
He had no reason to be uneasy about the ruins; with a drop of divinity in hand, the Silver-Eyed was practically a dead man.
“I'm worried that other things will happen tonight.”
“Intuition? I understand.”
The maid nodded to Shade, her brown eyes meeting his
“I will inform the Young Mistress of your intuition in a moment. If possible, I will persuade her to keep a close eye on what happens in that mansion tonight.”
“Then I'll have to trouble you,” Shade said apologetically, as it was merely a feeling with no evidence.
“It's no problem; it is what I should do.”
She gave a slightly shy smile.
If he didn't know her strength, Shade would find it difficult to associate this elegant young maid with a Ring-Wielder.
The carriage did not take Shade directly to the door of the Knock Printing House where the ruins' entrance was located; that would have been far too foolish. The meeting point with the two ladies was the White Swan Hotel, located one street away from the printing house.
Miss Annette had rented a room here in advance and had been conducting investigations and divinations around the Knock Printing House for the past few days.
Yesterday, while exchanging intelligence at Shade's home, she had already explained the general method of entering the printing house and the ruins. By the time Shade met them using the "three strong, two weak" knocking pattern, Miss Annette had new findings
“Come quickly, Shade.”
Outside the window was the heavy darkness following the rain; almost every gas lamp in the room was lit, and several candles were even placed on the floor.
The three of them stood together before the bed. The sheets and quilts had been pushed aside, and the bedframe was covered in a dense array of notes, documents, and notebook pages. Miss Annette picked up one of the papers and handed it to Shade; on it was a circular emblem drawn in pencil.