Iluna Bishaid was busier, so Shade did not stay long at the Blackstone Security Company and left shortly after.
He did not go home afterward. Instead, taking advantage of his free time today, he visited Priest Augustus at the Church of Dawn. As it happened to be Sunday, the priest pulled Shade into the service to discuss some religious topics with Bishop Owen, and then had Shade eat lunch at the church.
Only after lunch did Shade have time to discuss his own matters. First, naturally, was the request for Priest Augustus to investigate the cult of the Old God, the [Uncertain Sage]. Subsequently, he handed the priest a notebook containing the recipe for the "Anti-Fire Potion" as improved by Miss Violet. Shade had already changed the Fifth Epoch terminology for the materials to Sixth Epoch terms based on the contents of [Witch's Echo].
Priest Augustus took a glance
"Oh? Did you copy this from an ancient book?"
"You know this recipe?"
"Of course, but this is an obsolete recipe," Priest Augustus said. The two chatted in the priest's room within the church, and the priest returned the notebook to Shade.
"It's already been obsolete, huh."
Shade sighed slightly, but was also quite gratified. This meant that potion science had been continuously evolving; even a recipe from a Thirteenth-Ring Great Witch could one day become obsolete.
"Although the details differ, it is indeed that recipe. Oh, it wasn't phased out because the effect was poor. In fact, this is the most effective configuration method for an anti-fire potion to date; it is even referred to as the [Ultra-Effective Anti-Fire Potion] in some books. From the perspective of potion science alone, this recipe has almost reached the pinnacle of anti-fire potions," Priest Augustus said with a sigh of admiration.
"Then why was it phased out?"
Shade asked curiously. The priest pointed to the recipe open in the notebook
"Too expensive."
"What?"
"There is currently no consensus on who exactly invented this recipe, but the person must have been a formidable figure in the Fifth Epoch. The recipe fully utilizes the properties of every single material, and the blending method is extremely sophisticated; the chemical combinations and reactions between different materials can be described as exquisite. But the problem is, this recipe is simply too expensive."
He paused for a moment and then added
"Simply too expensive."
Shade wore an expression of realization; this fit his impression of Miss Violet. She was a Witch Emperor ruling a nation and possessed staggering knowledge; she wouldn't have worried about the cost of materials when improving a recipe. He just hadn't expected that this recipe would still be circulating in the current Sixth Epoch.
It was a recipe improved under mental pressure and dangerous environments merely to deal with a god's trial, yet it was still praised by today's Ring Sorcerers. Though the Witch Emperors were extravagant and decadent, their power and wisdom indeed matched their status.
As Shade was pondering, Priest Augustus suddenly frowned and sniffed toward him.
Seeing this, the cat Shade was holding for a nap also narrowed its eyes and sniffed.
"Shade, remember this Monday at the train station when I smelled a familiar scent on you? I forgot to ask you yesterday at Doctor Schneider's—why has this scent become even more intense than it was on Monday?"
Having said that, he glanced at Shade's cat
"And your cat has that familiar scent on it as well."
The only time Shade had taken the cat on a trip to a strange place this week was the visit to the Lake of Cherubim with Sister Daphne. Combining this with the last time the priest noticed the scent—which was after he saw the Lake of Cherubim but failed to ascend—Shade raised an eyebrow, immediately realizing what Priest Augustus had smelled.
"Do you know of the Goddess in the Lake?"
"Shade, are you talking about the fairy tale of the 'Waters of Wisdom'?"
"No, no, it's not a fairy tale. I actually encountered her."
Shade explained his experiences in Huntington in detail to the priest. The old priest was quite surprised
"Now that you put it that way, I think I have some clues. While I can't be certain, the so-called 'Goddess in the Lake' is very likely an angel."
Shade wasn't too surprised
"That should be correct. She isn't a relic, but she's definitely not a true Great One; I'm certain of that. If she's an angel, then it makes sense. Priest, do you know which angel she might be?"
In the current Sixth Epoch, angels of the Orthodox Gods only appeared on special occasions, the angels of the Old Gods had long since departed with their deities, and angels of the Evil Gods were even rarer. Consequently, Shade actually knew very little about angels.
"She should be an Ancient One who has survived from the old eras," the priest said after thinking. He possessed the power of the "First Angel," the Angel of Death; an angel he could call an "Ancient One" must necessarily be related to the Old Gods.
"How interesting, that such an ancient angel still exists in this era."
Priest Augustus made up his mind and said to Shade
"I will help you investigate exactly who this angel is. Since she calls herself a 'Cherub,' that word must have a corresponding meaning. If her identity can be confirmed, you might be able to figure out her thoughts when you undergo the trial, which could help you resolve the trouble faster."
"Priest, don't you want to go see this angel?" Shade suggested. Although the priest could not use the [Magician's Escape Box] available only to high-ring sorcerers, as long as one looked diligently, there would always be a way to get the priest to Huntington.
Priest Augustus shook his head slightly
"For her to survive until now, she must have some abnormal means; it's even possible she is merely a manifestation of some power and not her true self. We both have our own responsibilities and goals; it's better if I don't go see her. Besides, I am merely a mortal who has inherited a portion of an angel's power. We are different."
Priest Augustus was worried about the appearance of an ancient angel. In his view, the appearance of any Ancient One meant that something major was about to happen. However, he did not stop Shade from continuing his contact with the "Goddess in the Lake." As long as the angels of the Old Gods hadn't gone mad from losing control, most of them harbored no direct malice toward humans.
"Take this."
The priest reached out to Shade. In his aged palm lay a familiar charred feather
"The next time you see that lady, give her this feather. For the sake of being fellow angels, she will slightly lower the difficulty of your trial."
"Does this count as cheating?"
Despite saying this, Shade took the feather and used it to scratch the cat napping on the table. Mia squirmed, turning her body to lie in another direction, ignoring Shade entirely.
"What do you mean 'cheating'? Just give the feather to the lady; what she chooses to do is her business," the priest said, waving his hand.
Sunday was the church's day of worship, and Shade spent the entire afternoon at the cathedral; after all, on the surface, he was still a core believer of the Dawn Church in this diocese. Although Priest Augustus was called away for an urgent matter at three in the afternoon, Shade still held the cat and listened to the old priest's sermon until the end, and volunteered in the evening activity of distributing relief food to vagrants and the homeless at the church entrance.
This left Shade, who had almost received relief food himself during the summer, feeling quite reflective.
The so-called relief food consisted of black bread and seasonal dried vegetables in paper bags, which could be eaten raw or soaked in hot water. The paper bags the church used to hold the food were also valuable to the poor. While Shade was helping distribute the food, he heard the old monk in charge of transport say that these paper bags could be cut up to serve as filters for hand-rolled cigarettes or kept as excellent tinder for starting fires.
As an outsider, he naturally wouldn't ask stupid questions like "If they can't even afford food, why are they smoking?" but he knew that with the arrival of winter, the church would increase the frequency of relief food distribution. The first snow had already fallen; based on previous years' experience, the city would be covered in silver within two weeks at most. This year's weather didn't seem extreme so far, but even so, many people would inevitably fail to survive the winter.
Standing in the light of civilization, the outsider could naturally see those standing in its shadows. The age of steam was rolling in like a tide; both sides were part of the era. Back in his hometown, he had heard the phrase "the best of times and the worst of times," but for Shade, standing upon this earth, all he did currently was reach out to help the people he encountered.
Shade did not eat dinner at the church. After bidding farewell to Priest Augustus, he returned to St. Delan Square. In the evening, he officially received an invitation from Lacia to attend a reading salon she was hosting on Wednesday night. The venue was the Prophet Association; although the association generally didn't conduct business at night, it could provide services as a club.
As for Lacia inviting Shade directly, it was at the request of Princess Margaret, so the invitation wasn't abrupt. Holding the invitation, Shade thought about the missions surrounding Princess Margaret, and then wondered if there really were people who wanted to harm the princess.
"The people of the Truth Society may look fierce, but Miss Pavo already explained that she only wants to ask Princess Margaret some questions and doesn't want to hurt her; they are also afraid of the Church's Inquisition. Therefore, the only current threat to Margaret of Anjou is likely ordinary people."
Recently, Princess Margaret's itinerary in Tobesk had been quite complex; the princess hadn't come to Tobesk for a vacation. The security pressure on MI6 was immense. Although Shade wasn't involved in direct security work, he knew his colleagues' jobs were not easy.
Shade, who had received his mission directly from the King, was actually the most relaxed of them all.
And so came another Monday, the 25th day of the Month of Frost. Waking up early in the morning, Shade excitedly got out of bed and reached out to touch the wall; sure enough, he felt the temperature of the wall.
Although this method of heating was unremarkable in the outsider's hometown, experiencing steam pipe heating in this era still left the outsider quite amazed.
Before breakfast, following the notice issued by the St. Delan Square neighborhood, Shade—accompanied by a groggy little Mia—checked from the basement to the attic, confirming that no leaks had occurred after the steam heating for this winter began.
Having confirmed the heating had started, Shade was in a great mood, holding the cat and letting its small paws touch the warm parts of the wall.
Little Mia was also very surprised by the heating walls. This cat was born in the spring of 1853 and had probably never seen city heating. She extended her paws and kept scratching at the wall, as if wanting to know what else was inside. That sight made Shade's mood even better.
But his mood was about to turn sour very quickly.
(End of Chapter)