A few hundred meters away, at the eastern street corner of St. Delan Square, Father Augustus and Doctor Schneider entered the square together. They walked along the edges of the street where the streetlamps did not reach, both appearing composed.
"Doctor, I am here to deliver an alchemy item to Shade; it is something I owe him. What brings you here? The Church is monitoring this area closely tonight; it took quite some effort for me to get through without being detected. Oh, I must give Shade a surprise this time."
Father Augustus asked softly; the old priest seemed to be in a good mood tonight.
"The Academy sent word at seven o'clock, asking me to monitor this area tonight and report whatever happens afterward. The best vantage point is, of course, Shade's home; he should lend me his window. The Academy also informed me that the Church is monitoring this area closely, and I too spent some effort getting here."
Doctor Schneider replied with a nod, turning to look behind him.
"When I was coming from that street just now, I saw people fighting in the sky. What on earth is happening tonight?"
Although Father Augustus did not know about the "Sage's Glowstone," he knew it pertained to the "Chosen." He did not want the doctor to get entangled in such matters, so he simply shook his head.
Both were heading for Shade's home, but just as they crossed the square and approached the central fountain, they both frowned and looked toward Number 6 St. Delan Square.
A strange man and woman were currently peering inside through a first-floor window of Number 6. Clearly, the two strangers had been in that position for a while, yet the doctor and the priest had only just noticed them.
Bill Schneider and Rat Augustus frowned deeply.
***
On Silver Cross Avenue, inside a closed room on the second floor of the Diviner's Association, it was silent and dark. Everyone was staring at the tabletop under a white light. Iluna's eyes were fixed on the puppet representing Shade, which was moving toward St. Delan Square.
"It seems my luck is not bad tonight. Although Mr. Hamilton cannot detect the whereabouts of 'Gentleman Jack,' he has a perfectly reasonable excuse to head toward St. Delan Square as well."
"But what use is a single stroke of luck? 'The Prowler in the Night,' Jogori Dius, and 'The Charming Lady,' Lydia Penglow, have already arrived at St. Delan Square, while your Hamilton is still on the way."
The professor from the Truth Society spoke in a relaxed tone.
On the map representing the surrounding area on the table, two puppets had already entered the perimeter of St. Delan Square. Meanwhile, the detected "Gentleman Jack" was moving quickly within the square, conducting a final reconnaissance before acting, much like an ordinary thief.
"With the first bit of luck, there may be a second," Miss Green, standing behind Iluna, said softly.
"As it stands, while your story characters are indeed strong, they aren't strong enough to guarantee victory. No matter how powerful a Circle Mage is, they still fear bullets. Otherwise, why didn't you manipulate your characters to attack Shade Hamilton the moment the story began?"
Her analysis put the others at ease. Professor Ons pointed to his companion.
"Guess why I am acting together with this gentleman, Mr. Dion, a believer of the Great One, 'Mr. Misfortune'?"
The young cultist looked up at the group, kissed the holy symbol of the evil god once more, and asked softly, "Professor, is it my turn to act?"
"Yes."
The middle-aged professor nodded. "A story cannot be smooth sailing forever; it is time for some complications to arise."
"What are you planning to do?" Iluna asked vigilantly.
The cultist removed the holy symbol pendant from his chest and placed the divine item, which contained blasphemous elements, onto the table.
"Keeper of Secrets, I offer this holy symbol to you in exchange for all characters in the story encountering a stroke of misfortune."
A figure clad in black robes raised its right arm. With a gentle wave of its wide sleeve over the holy symbol, the item vanished.
The professor explained to Iluna with satisfaction
"Only a few powers can directly interfere with the game, including the holy symbols of gods related to fate, stories, and wisdom. The misfortune summoned specifically for the story will only manifest as events that can reasonably occur within the story's setting; gods, angels, or relics will not appear abruptly."
"Indeed. The Vice President of the 'Truth Society' anticipated that a character chosen by the Church would possess extraordinary qualities. Therefore, we pre-arranged strictly contained relics at various nearby intersections. When misfortune descends, fate will cause those relics to verge on losing control. Our characters know how to deal with those specific relics, but as for Mr. Hamilton..."
The disheveled cultist smiled, his yellowish-brown teeth looking particularly ghastly.
The bearded captain of the Mechanical Church wanted to start cursing again, and old Mr. Modro of the Peace Church clenched his fist. Dorothy, protecting Angelina, was about to swap places with Lacia again to warn Shade that a relic was about to attack him, but Iluna spoke up at that moment.
"A friend of mine once told me many times that those who manipulate fate are only played by fate. Misfortune summoned through malice only leads one down a divergent path of destiny."
She picked up the parchment containing Shade's information. The voice of the black-robed Keeper of Secrets echoed from the darkness in all directions, describing the next turn of the story
"The night is as cold as water. On the winter streets, 'Mortal Luck' Shade Hamilton is still pondering the thief's target. In a daze, he seems to hear the terrifying whispers of misfortune. When he looks up, he finds himself surrounded by darkness.
'Mortal Luck' encounters the Document-class relic 'The Man-Eating Cats' in the night. Abandoned pet cats died lonely in trash heaps, and their accumulated malice condensed into a curse of feline swarms in the night. Due to the sudden event brought by misfortune, Shade Hamilton cannot escape by any means. Now conducting a Sanity Check. Roll the dice; if the number is below 200, he immediately goes insane upon witnessing the relic."
"200? But Mr. Hamilton is just an ordinary person..." someone in the darkness remarked.
Dorothy and Angelina weren't nervous at all, but Princess Margaret, who was near them, bit her lip in panic. Although she didn't know why Shade had become an "ordinary person," she didn't want the capable knight who had helped her to die here or have his identity exposed.
*Clatter~*
The rolled number was 25. Iluna unfurled Shade's parchment. Although the number was small, her expression remained calm.
"Number 25. Symbol bonus: 10 points. Character trait 'Feline Affinity' bonus: 76."
No one doubted this. Although Shade didn't take Mia out often, many people had seen the cat—at least many in Lakeview Manor had—so it was known that Shade was very liked by cats.
"Character special ability..."
Dorothy, Princess Margaret, and Angelina all held their breath, fearing she would read out something that exposed his identity.
"Cat Training. Provides a multiplier of 3 for this check..."
She glanced at the explanation on the parchment and rolled the dice again. This time, the number was 53. Even though the people around the table knew they shouldn't make noise, they couldn't help but gasp.
Iluna's eyes swept over traits that could not be read aloud, such as "Supernatural Creature Affinity," "Bond of the Moon and Cat," "Basic Blessing of the Time Quest - Life Friendly," and "Awe of the First Fire."
"Character special ability 'Cat Training' bonus: 53 × 3 = 159. Total: 270. Check passed."
"Wait, isn't this too exaggerated?" the young cultist who summoned the misfortune immediately questioned.
"It is indeed possible for an ordinary human to master some impressive skills through long-term training and unique talent. If Shade Hamilton had a 3x multiplier in gambling, I wouldn't be surprised, but why does his cat training have a 3x multiplier?"
The Keeper of Secrets ignored the question. Instead, Iluna let out a serious huff.
"This only proves that Hamilton chose the wrong profession. He should perhaps work in a circus; that way he could raise cats and play cards. Hamilton's cat is orange, and tigers are also orange; they are very similar."
The three princesses in the darkness struggled to suppress their laughter.
Iluna continued: "In reality, no matter how proficient one is at training cats, it would be absolutely impossible to avoid the mental influence of a relic based on that. But that is the magic of stories. I should thank you; if Hamilton weren't a story character, he really would have gone insane by now."
There were many special bonus values that Iluna did not read aloud, some of which exceeded the required 200 on their own. For example, the special status "Protection of Ten Thousand Souls" provided a bonus of 200; the souls trapped on the edge of life and death in the Sikar Mountains, even if each gave Shade only a tiny blessing, formed a staggering mental resistance. Furthermore, the fourth profession beyond "Detective," "Correspondence Student," and "Agent"—the "Time Investigator"—provided an additional 275 points due to the nature of the profession itself.
Additionally, in the [Legendary Degree] column of the parchment, the three special titles "The God-Caller of Tobesk," "The Mermaid-Slayer of Coldwater Port," and "The Undead-Enemy of Midshillburg" each provided 300 extra mental resistance points. Adding in the occult and spell-based values that required dice rolls and various other miscellaneous bonuses, if the total value of Shade's check were actually calculated, it would easily exceed three thousand.
The seventeen-year-old girl had absolutely no way of losing.
"He simply didn't go insane, but he is still being affected by the relic. Do you think this relic won't actively attack him? He is just an ordinary human; fate will not always favor him," the Truth Society professor reminded.
As his voice fell, the voice from beneath the hood spoke
"Document-class relic 'The Man-Eating Cats' launches an attack. It requires consecutive passes in Soul Defense and Physical Defense to..."
The narration suddenly stopped. Everyone was surprised, but no one dared to urge it forward.
This eerie silence lasted for a full half-minute before the broken story resumed
"Document-class relic 'The Man-Eating Cats' has retreated. On a leisurely winter night, attempting to murder an ordinary person with feline affinity is clearly not a good idea. Perhaps sensing another terrifying power nearby, they retreated. 'The Man-Eating Cats' has transitioned from an uncontrolled state back into a contained state. 'Mortal Luck' Shade Hamilton's misfortune is lifted; he continues toward St. Delan Square."
"Huh?"
The cultist gaped, never imagining such a thing would happen. Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to inform Shade of the current situation for the time being.
"What terrifying power is in that area?" Miss Green asked Mr. Modro softly.
The latter shook his head slightly. "This is the center of Tobesk; how could there be a terrifying power... Ah, I see. It seems a fight has already broken out nearby. That street is on the edge of the story scene. Perhaps an unknown Circle Mage nearby had a dispute with the Church. Or perhaps some relic they were carrying disturbed 'The Man-Eating Cats'."
No one could guess exactly what had happened, but clearly, the young detective had encountered some great luck.