The lighting in the hotel room was ample. Shade could clearly see that the center of the emblem was a rectangle, topped with a pointed hat, upon which a face was outlined with three lines.
"What is this?"
Miss Annette explained in a rapid torrent of words
"A new clue obtained from the doctor. Wasn't the doctor gathering intelligence all last week? Since someone knows the location of the ruins, naturally, someone must have entered them. This is a pattern discovered within the ruins. I could never figure out exactly what it was, but I didn't expect Iluna to recognize it."
Miss Bias gave a reserved smile and explained to Shade
"I only just thought of it while waiting for you. This is the holy emblem of the fallen Old God, the [Creator of Innocence]. In the basic knowledge training for Ring Sorcerers of the Orthodox Church, identifying the emblems of the Old Gods is an important examination subject. This deity is not well-known, so even though I scored ninety-one out of a hundred, I only just recalled it."
The young lady's final sentence seemed to be a way of praising herself.
"An Old God... the Creator of Innocence?"
Looking at the emblem, an image popped into Shade's head of that deity suddenly jumping out and shouting "Surprise!"
"Not surprising. So, that underground ruin is..."
"Left behind by His believers," Miss Annette said with certainty, gesturing for Shade to take a seat. "This Old God fell in the early Fifth Epoch, but His believers did not completely vanish until the Sixth Epoch; they firmly believed the god would return. Just as Iluna said, records regarding this deity are very scarce. He was not powerful, and His followers were not keen on proselytizing. Judging by the timeline, both Iluna and I believe that the underground ruins of Tobesk are very likely left by the final group of believers of the Old God [Creator of Innocence]."
Shade nodded, and Miss Bias added from the side
"In other words, besides that Sage-grade relic, it is highly probable that the ruins hide the majority of the assets and all the secrets held by a vanished Old God cult."
Shade turned his head to look toward the direction of the Knock Printing House in the night outside the window.
"What else could be there?"
"It's hard to say. Now, it's time to set out."
After Shade synchronized the pocket watches of the two ladies one last time, the three of them briefly recounted the action plan and precautions. They then burned all the notes and materials in the room before leaving the hotel.
The street where the Knock Printing House was located was called Malton Market Street. After a full day of rain, the street was thick with mud. Night had fallen, and as the fog surged back onto the streets, tonight seemed like a poor time for travel.
Wearing a long dress and glasses, looking exhausted, Miss Annette appeared on the roadside. She hurried to the exterior of the printing house, but since it was after business hours, the iron gates of the courtyard were already closed.
After a few light knocks, a small window in the iron gate opened, and a man stood behind the door with an impatient expression.
"Who is it? We're closed."
"I am Alina Fick. I ordered a batch of business cards here a few days ago," the exhausted woman with short brown hair said, her tone equally impatient. "Can you give me those cards now? I know you're closed, but I'm in a hurry to use them."
The man looking out from behind the door looked displeased, but he nodded nonetheless.
"Very well, ma'am. Please wait a moment."
With that, he turned and walked toward the tallest building in the courtyard—the office building of the Knock Printing House.
He did not close the small window in the iron gate when he left, giving Miss Annette the opportunity to look inside.
After confirming the situation in the courtyard was the same as during the daytime reconnaissance, Miss Annette fished something out of her handbag and gripped it in her palm.
The man fetching the printed materials soon returned carrying a cardboard box. The small window in the iron gate was too small for the box to pass through, so he also carried a ring of keys.
After opening the gate, Miss Annette did not immediately take the box. She looked down at the muddy ground, prompting the man to look down as well while holding the box. The gas streetlamps on this road were not very bright, and there was little light in the printing house courtyard.
"Is there something on the ground?" the man asked in confusion.
"Nothing," Miss Annette said. Suddenly, she reached out and slapped the object gripped in her palm onto the man's forehead.
"Thaumaturgy—Mind Puppet!"
On the slip of paper in her hand, bright red ink outlined ancient runes. The runes were slapped onto the man's forehead; the moment the thaumaturgy took effect, an eerie red light flashed, as if it were being branded directly into the man's head.
The man's eyes widened as he tried to scream, but the light appeared in his pupils at that moment. The reflection in his eyes was no longer the woman before him, but the rune on his forehead.
His expression became vacant.
"Ma'am, here is your merchandise."
"Thank you. Place it here on the clean ground; someone will be coming to pick me up shortly," Miss Annette said, and the man complied. After a polite exchange of greetings, he locked the iron gate from the inside and walked normally toward the building where only the second floor had lights on.
Soon, Shade, wearing a black overcoat, appeared. He shook hands with Miss Annette, exchanged a few words of small talk, bent over to pick up the cardboard box, and then walked away with her along the street.
"Everything went smoothly."
Once they were far enough away, they turned into a narrow alley without streetlamps.
Miss Annette immediately closed her eyes, and Miss Bias, who had been hiding there waiting for them, supported her.
The female diviner held a puppet bound with white thread. The puppet was crudely made, not even larger than a palm, and the red rune on its head was flashing.
"The target is a First-Ring Sorcerer. I can only control him for twenty minutes, after which he will fall into a deep sleep..."
Her eyeballs rolled continuously beneath her closed eyelids, her voice very low
"The Silver-Eyed One doesn't even trust most people within his own organization, so few people know this address. After the Mercury Blood organization fragmented and hid within the city, the manpower here was also reduced. There should be seven night watchmen here; four of them are Ring Sorcerers. On the first floor, I see two watchmen... he is struggling, trying to break free from control. No problem, no abnormality detected, though his head might have some issues later, but that's not my concern... The situation on the second floor is fine; there are two people in the room with the lights on, one of whom is a Ring Sorcerer. I am greeting them, and then the third floor... I cannot go to the third floor. He is afraid; the person living on the third floor must have done something to him."
Miss Annette kept her eyes tightly shut and frowned. After a long while, she opened her eyes and let out a long breath, her forehead drenched in sweat.
"It's fine. I've had him return to the first floor and tell the other two that he needs to rest for a bit."
"Are you sure he won't wake up?" Miss Bias asked, still supporting Miss Annette.
The latter seemed to have recovered. She showed them the puppet in her hand, whose head was nearly torn off.
"He absolutely won't wake up within three days. Even if he wakes up after three days, he'll be a fool and won't remember my face."
"Have the positions of the four Ring Sorcerers been confirmed?" Shade asked as the three of them walked deeper into the alley.
"The First-Ring one is now 'asleep.' The one on the second floor should be Third-Ring or Fourth-Ring, currently reading a knight's novel. I didn't go up to the third floor, but judging by the emotional reaction, it should be a very strong Ring Sorcerer. There is one more I haven't seen, but according to the doctor's intelligence, they should be in the basement guarding the ruins' gate they've excavated. That person's level is completely unknown."
"That's already very good. It's impossible to know everything at once."
Shade nodded; the first step of the operation was a success.
He took the relic [Bordeaux Candle] from his pocket.
"Let's enter the printing house."
"Are you sure you want to use this candle now? My spells combined with alchemical items can also achieve invisibility," Miss Bias asked in a low voice.
Tonight, the young lady wore a form-fitting white shirt with bell sleeves and a row of dark gold buttons down the chest, cinched at the waist, with lace patterns decorating the collar and hem. On her lower body, she wore black ladies' trousers, which were relatively fashionable for the era and more convenient for movement than a skirt.
Her long hair was tied back in a bun, exposing her ears, making her look exceptionally capable.
Shade nodded.
"Use it now. This relic is a consumable, but we shouldn't treasure it too much because of that. Tonight's goal is to make you a Chosen One; it's worth any price."
The three continued deeper into the alley. Led by Miss Annette, they navigated various forks and finally arrived at a small alley on the east side of the printing house's courtyard wall.
Asking Shade and Miss Bias to step back, Miss Annette carefully tossed a coin. After confirming the result under the faint moonlight, she nodded to the two behind her.
"Divination shows that acting now is safe."
Shade recited an incantation and discarded a frog leg. Then, holding the candle and narrowing his eyes slightly, the flame immediately ignited the wick. He vanished from the sight of Miss Bias and Miss Annette, and the two ladies waited quietly beneath the wall.
Five seconds later, Shade pinched out the light of the candle and reappeared at the base of the wall.
"No problem. I just jumped up to look into the courtyard; no one is moving inside, but be careful of the hounds."
"Use this."
Miss Bias took out a small cloth bag and had the others sprinkle the powder inside on themselves. The powder was another type of alchemical product that could mask scents for a short time, a standard supply for the Church's Ring Sorcerers.
Shade held the relit candle, and Miss Annette and Miss Bias gripped his arms firmly, one on each side.
"Get ready!"
He bent slightly, gathered his breath, and leaped violently. The weight of the two ladies dragged at him, but they still soared into the air, flipped lightly over the wall, and landed steadily in the courtyard.
The moment their feet touched the ground, something invisible, like the wind, suddenly leaped upward from the ground. Miss Annette immediately shook the silver bracelet on her wrist.
"Stop!" she commanded.
Under the effect of this borrowed relic, the security measures laid out in the courtyard were neutralized.
The use of the relic extinguished the candle in Shade's hand, but he immediately relit it, causing no attention during the process.
"Quickly~"
Miss Annette urged, pulling at Shade's hem along with Miss Bias, as Shade led them across the courtyard and into the main building.
Overhead, the silver, red, and yellow moons were gradually being obscured by drifting dark clouds. Tonight, for Shade, would be a sleepless night.