On the surface, the relationship between Priest Augustus and Dorothy was that of ordinary friends, so the old priest greeted her with a normal expression
"Good afternoon, Miss Louisa. Are you here to see the detective? What a coincidence, he just returned home."
As he spoke, he pointed behind him and called out to the coachman to wait, helping him move the stone casket onto the carriage. Once aboard, the priest waved goodbye to Shade and Dorothy.
The blonde girl stood in the glow of the setting sun, the afterglow accentuating her makeup. Only after confirming that the carriage carrying Priest Augustus had departed did she greet Shade
"Shade, do you have other plans for the evening? Would you like to have dinner together?"
She shook the notebook in her hand, then greeted the cat peeking out from behind Shade's feet
"Good evening, Mia."
"Meow~"
The cat, who was very familiar with Dorothy, let out a cry, but still didn't dare to run out the door past Shade.
Completing the third trial of the Goddess of the Lake was a significant milestone for Shade. To celebrate, he accepted Dorothy's invitation. After changing his clothes, he took the cat and the lady writer to the "Golden October Restaurant" on Silver Cross Avenue.
This was one of the more expensive restaurants on Silver Cross Avenue, but fortunately, Shade had earned a great deal in Huntington over the past few days.
During the meal, Shade chatted with Dorothy about his experiences that afternoon
"I defeated an angel. Although the opponent deliberately suppressed their power, and I relied on the power of a Sage-level [Relic], it is still worth celebrating."
The upper-class patrons of high-end restaurants liked to bring their own drinks, and Shade was no different. In a rare move, he brought a bottle of wine and raised his glass to invite Dorothy to toast. Dorothy, now wearing a blue dress, raised her glass; she didn't seem particularly surprised
"If you suddenly told me one day that you had ascended to the Thirteenth Ring, I wouldn't be surprised either."
"I'm afraid that will still take a very long time."
Shade set down his goblet and used his hand to push away the cat, which was poking its head forward, trying to sniff the glass.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was excellent. The gas lamps here were extremely dim, but the candles in the candelabras on the tables were lit at varying heights. The lighting was just right—it didn't hinder vision, yet it enhanced the mood; the restaurant's high prices were justified.
Shade did not mention the specific details of his battle with the angel; for the sake of Dorothy's mental health, he couldn't discuss the specific origins of the Ancient Angel. However, he mentioned the [Arrow of Knowledge of Akenora]. He had placed that arrow and the water skin in the basement
"If a gifted person is scratched by it, they can become a Gifted, but the awakening is unstable. I think it's better if I keep this weapon. If it truly fell into the hands of the [Pantanal Voodoo Society], there's no telling what kind of chaos it would cause."
"Become a Gifted directly?"
The blonde girl blinked. Shade knew she was thinking of the little princess, Angelina.
"No, no, Lacia would never let Angelina become a Ring-caster now. Besides, you said yourself that using that arrow for awakening makes a Ring-caster more prone to losing control."
Dorothy contradicted herself, so Shade didn't say much more; Lacia had her own arrangements for Angelina. However, he expressed his sense of loss over failing to fire that arrow with great regret
"I was just one shot away from touching the fourth spiritual rune of the Fourth Ring, but that lady in white insisted on surrendering."
A waiter pushed a trolley, delivering the "Tobesk Oil-Poached Duck." Only after the waiter left did Shade continue to complain
"That feeling... it was as uncomfortable as having thousands of little Mias crawling all over me."
[Didn't you say hundreds this afternoon?]
Shade had exaggerated slightly. Dorothy understood exactly what he meant and covered her mouth with a handkerchief, laughing softly
"The arrow is in your hand, and you've obtained those special waters. There will always be another chance to use it."
"Yes, there will be chances in the future. But although the cash in my hand exceeded ten thousand pounds this afternoon, I still lack the confidence to buy a bow that satisfies me."
He shifted the topic himself to prevent that "thousand cats scratching the heart" feeling from intensifying.
"There are many famous relic bows in Saint Byron's. Since that Moon Witch, Miss Blainne O'Lannold, whom you mentioned is a half-elf, she should be skilled with a bow, right?"
Dorothy asked while looking down to handle her food. Shade nodded.
But the idea that elves are skilled with bows—much like the idea that elves never eat meat—was a stereotype. Shade had never seen Miss O'Lannold, who excelled in the power of the "Yellow Moon," use a bow-type weapon.
"Since you feel so distressed..."
The lady across the table winked at Shade. Subsequently, Shade felt something rubbing against his leg beneath the table covered by the white tablecloth; the texture felt like a lady's stockings. The tablecloth was long and the restaurant lighting was dim; otherwise, Dorothy would absolutely never have done this.
She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear with her right hand while using a fork in her left to pick up food from her plate, looking at Shade in the candlelight
"I'm feeling a bit unwell today. In a while, I'll return to Quill Street to record Professor Drake's stories. Even if they can't be published, they are excellent material. Perhaps, you could go find Luvia."
Her flushed cheeks lowered as she ate the duck. Shade blinked and used [Blood Echo] to confirm a few things. To ensure he hadn't misread the situation, he said in his mind
"Calculate it for me."
[It is today.]
He turned to look at the cat crouching on the high stool waiting to be fed; the cat stared back at him with wide eyes. When he had picked up Mia earlier, Luvia had mentioned she was going to the city's black market tonight to pick up the magic potions required for her course assignments. Thus, he would likely spend tonight at home with only Mia.
On a night alone at home, Shade had many things to do. Since he had obtained the [Strength] spiritual rune, he planned to learn a new Wonder.
He currently possessed the spell [Power of the Red Dragon], which he had obtained while adventuring in the Cadis Library when he used the [Sleeping Princess] to wake that big-tailed Red Dragon Witch. This spell was closely related to [Strength], but unfortunately, Shade didn't know how to turn it into a Wonder. However, the [Heaton Seal], the reward given to him by Mr. Lacan Mathis—a Twelfth Ring-caster of the Solar Church in the Midburgh Diocese—for helping guard the church before Shade cleaved the Gate of Death with his sword during the Battle of Midburgh, could now be learned.
The [Heaton Seal] was a very famous defensive Wonder of the Solar Church. Shade had already collected all the ritual materials required to learn it. Among them, the harder-to-obtain materials, "Golden Wheat Ears" and "Fragments of an Underworld Magma Turtle's Shell," had been procured for him by Iluna. Therefore, he planned to hold the ritual to learn the Wonder tonight.
After dinner, Shade and Dorothy agreed that when he attended Lacia's reading salon tomorrow night, Dorothy would come to St. Delan Square to help him look after Mia temporarily. After seeing the blonde girl to Quill Street, Shade stopped by 21 Ickum Street in the university district on his way back to bring home the ancient documents on the "Cannibal Aken Language" he had arranged with the Apuna Library.
Because the learning ritual for the [Heaton Seal] required it to be performed underground, Shade tidied up his basement upon returning home, choosing an open area in the basement as the ritual site.
He let Mia run and play in the house while he drew the ritual array on the basement floor and calculated the timing for placing the ritual symbols. The potion that needed to be drunk before the ritual was relatively simple to prepare, though the settling process was somewhat time-consuming.
At seven o'clock that evening, while Shade was still busy with the final preparations, there was actually a knock at his door. Before the knock, the badge hanging on Shade's chest had already emitted an alarming amount of heat; it seemed a witch had come to visit.
It wasn't Miss Galina, but Miss Sylvia. The young Archwitch seemed to be in a very good mood, and she had come alone again. After Shade opened the door, the young lady with black shoulder-length hair stood on the steps holding her handbag, with the mist-shrouded night square behind her
"Good evening, Shade. Is anyone home? Is it convenient for me to visit? I have a few details I'd like to discuss with you regarding the last paper."
She asked with a smile, and Shade made a gesture for her to enter
"Please come in. However, I am currently preparing a ritual to learn a Wonder. If you wish to discuss the paper, please wait half an hour. Brewing the Golden Sun Potion is truly time-consuming; I've been watching it in the basement for an hour, and the potion still hasn't boiled. Perhaps I should change the pot next time."
"Do you need help?"
Miss Sylvia stepped inside and took a deep breath
"It seems you put in too little White Chrysanthemum Essence. For a Golden Sun Potion used in an auxiliary ritual, I recommend replacing the White Chrysanthemum Essence in the standard preparation process with locust root juice."
Although Miss Sylvia was younger than the current body of the Outsider, an Archwitch was indeed an Archwitch. With her enthusiastic help, Shade completed the brewing of the potion quite smoothly. After consuming the potion and performing the ritual, he successfully learned the Wonder that, according to church records, could only be learned by Ring-casters of the Sixth Ring or above.
Casting the [Heaton Seal] required no materials, but it required a sword as a medium—whether a physical sword or a spiritual weapon.
Having learned the Wonder, Shade naturally wanted to test the effect of his first defensive Wonder. After clearing the clutter from the basement, Shade invited Miss Sylvia to be his sparring partner.
Miss Sylvia and the curious cat stood at the edge of the basement, while Shade stood in the center of the open space.
He summoned the [Moonlight Greatsword] and thrust it into the ground with one hand. Simultaneously, his left hand formed a seal: thumb and middle finger touching, pinky curved, and the ring and index fingers crossed.
"Heaton Seal!"
As spirituality flowed through his body, the elements of whispers influenced reality. In an instant, a dazzling circular golden shield appeared around Shade's body.
It wasn't a standard sphere, but rather a sphere missing the bottom third of its volume. The golden shield possessed a sun-like luster, completely overpowering the light of the basement's gas lamps and casting both the witch and the cat in gold.
There were no runes on the surface of the golden shield, but the luster on the surface flowed in sheets, looking quite mystical. The sphere completely illuminated the entire basement, and Shade, inside the shield, felt the temperature rise in the basement that lacked steam pipe heating.
It seemed he would have to be very careful when using this Wonder at night; it was far brighter than a gas streetlamp. However, among common charms, there were those that could obscure the light of a certain area. Although a charm wouldn't be enough to affect Shade's "Light Spell," it should be no problem to mask the light of other Wonders.
(End of Chapter)