Stepping downstairs in slippers, he picked up the milk and newspaper, and took the opportunity to move the "God's Gift Box" from the basement to upstairs. This week's gift was a thick brown wool scarf, perfect for the current season. As for this week's task, it was "No Task."
When Shade received this information from "Her," he thought he had misheard, but he soon learned why
【The Innocent Creator believes that children need rest sometimes.】
"That deity is truly admirable," Shade muttered softly, putting the scarf away to be worn when it snowed. Just as he was "fighting" the cat perched on the scarf for ownership, there was a knock at the door downstairs.
"Could it be a client?"
But when Shade opened the door, he saw Dorothy with her head lowered. The blonde girl looked somewhat haggard, appearing as though she had come here immediately after a simple wash.
"Come in quickly. Oh, Dorothy, don't you have a key? Why are you knocking?"
Shade let Dorothy inside. "Why are you here so early? Have you had breakfast? If not, eat first before we talk. I can share Mia's goat milk with you; I tasted some secretly last time, and the flavor is quite good."
"Meow?"
The cat, perched high on the stairs, looked at Shade's back.
"No, there is something I need to tell you. I've had a theft at my place," Dorothy said, standing in the foyer. Shade was stunned.
"Theft? Oh, it couldn't be... looking at you, it must be that relic, [Gentleman Jack], right? My Dorothy, don't be sad. Losing things is normal. I heard yesterday that even the headquarters of the Church's Ring-caster squad lost something. After all, it is a Sage-level relic."
He took Dorothy's hand. "Let's go upstairs before we talk. What did you lose? Was it very valuable? It wasn't another relic, was it?"
Shade comforted her, "The Church also lost a Keeper-level relic. That relic is so arrogant; something was bound to happen sooner or later. A certain lady's Sun Spear is poised and ready; even the gods would curse such a shameless thief."
"Nothing valuable was lost. It was your things that were stolen," Dorothy said with her head down, her hand still held by Shade.
"My things?"
Shade blinked, unable to recall for a moment what it could be.
"The letters—the letters you got from Professor Manning. I finished organizing the contents for you yesterday and placed them on the desk. When I woke up this morning, I found the study window had been opened somehow, and two of the letters were missing."
She looked up at Shade with worry, only to see him looking relieved.
"Dorothy, you really scared me. Coming here so early, I thought something major had happened. I think I understand now why Dr. Schneider is unwilling to see me in the early morning. It's just a few letters, it's fine. I'll apologize to Professor Manning; the professor likely won't mind too much."
The lively cat led the way as Shade continued upstairs, holding the blonde girl's hand.
"Is it really okay?" Dorothy asked softly, worried.
"It's fine. However, do you remember the specific contents of those two letters? The relic [Gentleman Jack] doesn't steal things without value. Since it only took those two letters, it means the clues I'm looking for regarding Professor Drake of Huntington are in those two letters."
The blonde girl nodded. "I summarized the content of every letter for you and recorded all the suspicious points. Although I can't reconstruct every detail of those two letters, I remember the general content."
"That's good. Thank you for your hard work, Dorothy."
Shade kissed the blonde girl's cheek, and her mood seemed to improve.
【Do you really not care that those letters were stolen?】 "She" asked softly as they entered the second-floor room.
"How could I not care? It actually dared to steal from Dorothy!"
With a smile on his face, Shade brought the prepared breakfast to the dining table, but Dorothy insisted he sit down while she handled it.
"Right now, I am actually very angry~"
Saying this in his heart made the anger feel even more intense. Dorothy was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and wouldn't notice Shade's psychological shift, but the cat by his side tilted its head and let out a low "Meow~". The cat miraculously sensed Shade's emotions; it seemed house pets all possessed this strange ability.
【Note: Having absorbed the divinity of the Old God 'Raging Storm,' your personality is being influenced by that divinity in the short term,】 "She" said softly.
"I know, but this anger is definitely not just because of the divinity's influence. It actually dared to steal from Dorothy..."
The blonde girl, wearing an apron, turned on the gas and lit the slightly rusted stove with a match, clearly believing the breakfast Shade had made wasn't enough for two people and one cat.
Shade looked at the blonde girl's figure. "Sometimes, appropriate anger helps maintain clarity and ambition. I will definitely retaliate!"
Although two important letters were lost, Dorothy had already organized the contents of all the letters and summarized them with excellent writing.
Specifically, judging from the letters between Professor Manning of Tobesk and Professor Drake of Huntington, Professor Drake was a man of considerable "ambition" and drive. His research was highly purposeful, and while he held a heart full of awe for the unknown and ancient history, he always desired to know more.
Professor Manning had warned Professor Drake multiple times that some knowledge was not for them to investigate casually, but Professor Drake's replies were quite perfunctory.
This description was completely different from the leg-broken Professor Drake that Shade knew. The Professor Drake he knew was clearly a man of few desires, living like a plant.
In Dorothy's notebook, the general contents of the two missing letters were also recorded.
They were letters sent by Professor Drake to Professor Manning, inquiring about the visiting scholars' exchange between the two schools for the following year. These were not official school documents, but rather an exchange of opinions and greetings between two esteemed professors. Among Professor Manning's letters, these two had not initially caught Dorothy's attention; like Shade, she was more interested in the academic discussions between the two professors.
According to the information Dorothy had noted, in both letters, Professor Drake described his health issues. However, he wasn't sick; instead, he praised his body for being extremely healthy, even mentioning that he could race with the young people at the school and stay up all night.
From a normal perspective, there was nothing wrong with these letters. But if one assumed there was a problem, then Professor Drake's "good health" seemed highly problematic.
The tone Professor Drake used in those two letters was quite passionate and positive—even overly so. He seemed to have encountered something wonderful, excitedly envisioning the continuation of his research and planning to personally lead a team to the archaeological excavation in the southern forests of Carsonrick. He claimed in the letters, "I have mastered my body's potential; I can work for another 20 years."
Considering Professor Drake's age at the time, this was quite an achievement.
Two days before the second of the two letters reached Professor Manning—which was the third day after the letter was sent by Professor Drake—Professor Drake set out to visit the "Goddess of the Lake" and met with an accident. Therefore, Shade had reason to believe that some unknown phenomenon had influenced the professor, making him "very healthy." But the professor subsequently realized this health was abnormal and posed a fatal threat, which is why he departed for the Lake of Cherubim.
Among the three clues obtained from Professor Drake, besides the letters, there were a diary and a book. In the diary, Professor Drake claimed that "double images appeared before his eyes," and in the book, there was a strange script writing 【Knowledge is Power】.
The former could perhaps be linked to Professor Drake's "good health," while the investigation into the latter led Shade to discover that the strange script originated from the Fourth Epoch; beyond that, there were no clues.
"From this obscure information, it can be basically inferred that the 'Goddess of the Lake' not only erased the professor's memories but even wiped away other traces," Shade told Dorothy while eating breakfast. The blonde girl still felt apologetic for losing the important letters, and hearing Shade's words, she nodded.
"Yes, so did that old professor come into contact with some relic, or was he targeted by something more terrifying?"
"Both are possible."
Shade patted little Mia beside him. "I've also commissioned a friend in Huntington to investigate the events that happened in the city back then through the Church. If I can find an incident involving Professor Drake and compare it with the clues I have now, I should be able to find out the truth of what the professor encountered."
This would mean the second of the four trials of the Goddess of the Lake was complete. But Shade knew it wouldn't be that simple; perhaps the trouble from back then hadn't been fully resolved, and the true purpose of the "Goddess of the Lake's" trial was for Shade to resolve that matter.
After breakfast, Dorothy bid Shade farewell and urged him that if he found a way to capture the relic that stole the letters, he must call her to help. The blonde girl truly felt very guilty about it.
Considering the possibility that his own home could be robbed, Shade re-confirmed that his valuables had been moved to the basement before taking Mia outside.
Today, the steam capital of Tobesk was still shrouded in thick fog. After leaving the house, Shade headed directly toward Silver Cross Avenue. By the time he arrived at the entrance of the Seer Association, it had already opened.
Shade noticed that the Association's sign had been replaced with a new one, and the bulletin board had a new style. This was likely not just because Princess Margaret was attending a reading salon here, but more because the Gold-pounds of the Seer Association had nowhere else to spend... the Rhode card business was truly very profitable.
As usual, using the excuse of divining for the cat, he met Luvia during her working hours.
The staff of the Seer Association had grown accustomed to Shade's behavior. Seeing him arrive with a cat, they went directly to notify Luvia on the second floor.
When Luvia opened the door to the divination room, Shade was "fighting" with Mia using his right hand—that is, playing with the cat. The purple-eyed girl sat down with a smile.
"You really can find fun at any time. Oh, I just ran into Vice President Mark. He heard you were coming and asked me to inquire if you'll be participating in the Seer Association's Rhode card tournament at the end of the year. If you are, I can help you register now."
At the end of the year, whether it was official institutions or steam factories, noble clubs or large organizations like the Seer Association, events were held to commemorate the ending year. It might be the council's year-end summary for His Majesty the King, a small amount of bonus given by factory owners to workers, or gifts from high-end clubs to their members.
But for the Seer Association, the best way to celebrate was to hold a Rhode card tournament, which was an annual tradition.
"Register me first; if I have time, I'll participate."
Shade skipped the topic of Rhode cards. "There's something I want your help with."
He placed the remaining two coins—the [Coin of Wisdom] and the [Dandelion Coin]—on the table.
"Help me divine one thing."