Waking from a long slumber, by the time Shade opened his eyes and saw a somewhat familiar ceiling, time had shifted from Wednesday night to seven o'clock on Thursday evening.
After twenty hours of deep sleep, his spirit felt quite refreshed. Beneath him was an exceptionally soft bed, covered by a soft purple quilt. The light gauze hanging from the golden bedposts told Shade that he was not in his own home. He was wearing silk pajamas he had never seen before, the room smelled of a reassuring incense, and the temperature was perfectly comfortable.
"Miss Galina's manor?"
"Meow~"
A familiar cat cry made Shade turn to his side. Little Mia, curled into a cat-ball by the pillow, was staring at him with wide eyes. The cat pressed its fluffy face forward, affectionately rubbing against Shade's cheek, and jumped onto his stomach as he sat up in bed.
Pulling back the bed curtains, Shade stroked the cat and looked out the window. At seven in the evening, the sun had completely set. He discovered with some surprise that heavy snow was falling outside. Relying on his Dark Vision, he saw that the vast wilderness outside the manor had been dyed silver-white, and snow had already accumulated on the windowsill.
"Is it snowing again?"
The sweeping snowfall symbolized the full arrival of winter. Shade stared blankly at the snow, feeling a fleeting illusion that he had slept through an entire season.
"Are you awake?"
The door opened a crack, and a young brown-haired maid cautiously peeked her head in. After receiving Shade's affirmative answer, she lit the gas lamp in the room and then quickly hurried off, holding the hem of her skirt, to inform the mistress of the manor of the good news.
"That maid just now was Wendy Marcus, sixteen years old. She became a Ring Wielder this spring and is currently 1st Ring," Shade recalled in his mind. He looked down at his pajamas and was about to get out of bed when hurried footsteps appeared at the door.
A maid with long black hair pushed open the door. There was a hint of anxiety in her eyes, but seeing Shade sitting up while holding the cat, a relaxed smile appeared.
Tifa, dressed in a black-and-white maid's gown, said, "Mr. Hamilton, you're awake."
She only addressed Shade by his name when they were alone. Other maids filed in behind her, some drawing the curtains, some helping Shade select clothes from the wardrobe, and others standing aside with food trays.
"The Mistress has gone to the Council and will be back shortly. Would you like to lie down for a while longer and eat dinner here, or would you prefer to wash up and prepare for dinner now? The Mistress will be back within twenty minutes," Tifa asked.
"Good evening, Tifa. It feels wonderful to see you immediately upon waking. Let's have dinner together; I'll get up right away," Shade said, then hesitated. "That [Sage's Glowstone] is currently—"
Tifa walked to the bedside and leaned over slightly to open the nightstand drawer. As Shade retracted his gaze, she brought out a wooden box. The box contained the gems and jewelry from the shattered jewelry case, and lying on top was the teardrop-shaped blue crystal.
"This belongs to you. Of course, nominally speaking, the Church asked the Mistress to inform you that this box of jewelry is a gift from her to you," she said with a smile.
Shade smiled as well. The Church's arrangement allowed him to retrieve the jewelry while explaining its origin, and it even gave Miss Galina an additional favor to call upon. It truly was the best arrangement.
Placing the rubbing cat back onto the quilt, Shade took the box of jewelry. After a moment's thought, he said to the maid, "Pick one."
Tifa blinked, leaned over slightly, and pinched out a pearl the size of a fingernail. She did not straighten up immediately; instead, she gave Shade a light kiss on the cheek. The maids standing behind the head maid acted as if they hadn't seen a thing.
Many things had actually happened on Wednesday night. Due to the influence of the [Dice Storybook], Shade had merely walked from Silver Cross Avenue back to St. Delan Square. However, to distract the Church, several Ring Wielders from illegal organizations—including Miss Pavo, the Vice President of the Truth Society—had engaged in battles with the Orthodox Church's Ring Wielder squads across the north, south, east, and west regions of Tobesk. Because they were within the city, the intensity of the fighting had been kept low.
While the [Dice Storybook] was deployed in the core district of Tobesk, in the city's northern district on Wednesday night, the cult [The Society of All Numbers Returning to One] encountered a humanoid Sage-level (Level 2) relic, the [Potion Master Gagura], who could also serve as a Secret Keeper, and began the trial of "Crafting the Abyss Sin Potion." In the eastern part of the city, Miss Pavo of the [Truth Society] clashed with the Ring Wielder organization [Emerald Alchemy Association]. After Mr. Sari Pilot, the 13th Ring Wielder of the Creation Church known as "Iron Right Hand," arrived, the melee between the two parties caused a city fire, though fortunately, it was extinguished in time.
And during the day on this Thursday when Shade awoke, the Orthodox Church—following a new fragment of a poetic verse provided by the Zalas Occult Academy—found the Secret Keeper-level relic [Human Puzzle] in the ancient sewers of Tobesk.
It consisted of 108,000 small pieces of human skin. The verse fragment indicated that this puzzle was also related to the Ancient God [Mentor of Secrets] and could likewise be considered a type of Secret Keeper.
In short, during the day Shade was unconscious, the stories of Tobesk did not stop just because he was absent. While waiting for Miss Galina to return from the Witches' Council, Tifa informed Shade of these events.
It was only when the slightly exhausted Great Witch arrived at the dining room to have dinner with Shade that he finally learned what had happened regarding [Gentleman Jack] and the [Dice Storybook] after he lost consciousness.
"The Church has confirmed that you were merely accidentally caught up in it and firmly believes you are an ordinary person. With Iluna's cooperation, their physical examination discovered absolutely nothing. I must admit, Shade, even I couldn't have done better than you in this matter. You and Iluna played your parts well. I think that from now on, unless you expose your identity, the Church will never suspect you are a Ring Wielder."
As the maids pushed the food trolley into the dining room, the Duchess, who had been busy all day, teased him. Her fatigue did not diminish her usual glamorous appearance; on the contrary, her languid demeanor made the red-haired Duchess even more charming.
She chuckled, "In the end, I was the one who brought you here. Although Iluna helped you block some unnecessary checks, she couldn't actively suggest that you recover at her apartment. Shade, you should thank me. I was also the one feeding your cat for you. Although Iluna was a bit unhappy, the moment Tifa appeared, your cat ran straight to her side."
In reality, it was Tifa who fed the cat, but the black-haired maid standing behind the Duchess simply pursed her lips with a smile and did not point this out.
"How do we explain so many people suddenly falling unconscious at Lecia's literary salon?" Shade asked, quite concerned about this point while eating his pre-dinner dessert. Outside the window, snowflakes fell softly. Anyone would be in a good mood enjoying gourmet food in a warm room on such a cold winter night.
Although only two people were dining, the number of maids serving them was considerable. In the past, as an outsider, Shade would have felt the Duchess was sometimes too extravagant, but after seeing Miss Violet, the Witch Emperor of the Fifth Epoch in the year 5177, who brought a squad of beautiful maids even on adventures, he felt that the Great Witches of the Sixth Epoch were quite frugal.
"You don't need to worry about that. A gas pipe leak at the Diviner's Association caused mild gas poisoning. Except for a certain unlucky gentleman, the others were only unconscious for a short time before being rescued. Before waking them, the Church confiscated everyone's timekeeping devices and kept them at the Diviner's Association for a long time after they woke up, so they couldn't discover the discrepancy in time.
So, Shade, who was that unlucky gentleman?"
Galina Cavendish smiled happily, holding a goblet in her right hand. Her unrestrained smile made her beautiful face even more radiant.
"I imagine it was probably me," he said, laughing at himself. "So, the information I should know is that I unfortunately suffered gas poisoning and was then brought here to recover?"
The baked snails were placed before him. The cat, lying on the table to show it wouldn't move, kept its body still while its head turned like a swivel toward the steaming plate.
"Yes, and this also involves the conflict between me and Lecia. The fact that you suffered misfortune at her salon makes our relationship even more strained—it's common knowledge that she and I don't get along, so everyone believes this version."
Miss Galina put down her wine glass and picked up a silver dinner knife. "Gas poisoning; there are a few such accidents every year, it just happened to occur at the Diviner's Association this time. The Church has already agreed that the Diviner's Association will take responsibility, though aside from you, no one else suffered fatal injuries. They estimated you would wake up late tonight or tomorrow morning without any aftereffects. The Diviner's Association asked me to tell you to go to the Dawn Church tomorrow morning; the Dawn Church will be responsible for helping you negotiate compensation with the Association. Of course, you also need to discuss this..."
The witch said, her golden eyes glancing at the box by Shade's hand. "Keep this [Sage's Glowstone] for yourself. Although I don't know why you exposed it, you surely have your own ideas. The Church told me to tell you that this box of gems is a gift from me to you, and that blue crystal is the most expensive—more expensive than all the others combined. They insisted I emphasize this point to you; it must absolutely not be given to anyone else."
"Then what is the reason for you giving me this box of jewelry?" Shade asked curiously.
The witch thought for a moment. "The Church didn't specify that; they told me to come up with a reason myself. Let me think..."
Her fair, slender fingers snapped in an unladylike manner. She smiled and waved to Tifa, who brought over a glass of plain water. After rinsing her mouth, the witch looked at Shade with a hint of a smile in her eyes.
The beautiful lady in the red-and-white dress beckoned to Shade. Shade leaned in suspiciously, and the red-haired witch pressed one hand against the back of his head and kissed him under Tifa's gaze.
"This is the reward for that."
Galina Cavendish carefully wiped her lips with a napkin. The gas lamp illuminated those golden eyes, which held a slightly flirtatious smile.