Since he had gained more information about that "ga of life" in tis past, Shard beca actively involved in conducting an investigation.
And the thod of investigation was naturally to commission others to help him gather information. This was an inevitable matter, for Shard had no direct channels for intelligence. Unless the Silvermoon Library, referred to by the librarians as "the repository of all knowledge," opened its doors to him, Shard could only honestly seek help from others.
On Monday morning, as Priest Augustus had just finished breakfast in the chapel's dining hall and was thinking of taking a walk in Dawn Square to aid his digestion, he saw Shard hurriedly alighting from a carriage:
"Oh, Detective, you've co so early; surely you're not here to listen to the sermons, are you?"
The Priest was in a good mood, standing at the church entrance in his robes and even joked with Shard. He greeted Shard and talked him into going inside the church for a conversation. As they walked down the corridor, Shard discreetly handed the Priest the Holy Emblem that Mr. Riddle had drawn, sowhat worried about passing an Old God's Holy Emblem in a True God's chapel, an act of blasphemy:
"Priest, I'd like to commission you to help
find the Old God corresponding to this Holy Emblem."
"Holy Emblem?"
Priest Augustus glanced down at the strange lines, and a sensation of chaos and a hint of discomfort confird to him that this was not a re doodle:
"This is... Oh, it's this one!"
"Priest, you recognize this?"
"Of course, this is the long-gone Old God known as 'The Restless Black Hunter,' or also called 'God of Gambling.' In fact, even today, there are still scattered believers of this Deity. Although the order has long since vanished, gamblers pass down His stories by word of mouth, and His divine statues and Holy Emblems can occasionally be found in underground gambling dens."
The Priest elaborated, then asked curiously:
"I heard from Annette that your luck in Roder Card gas has always been quite good; you surely don't need to seek help from this Deity, do you?"
"No no, not Roder Cards."
Shard imdiately shook his head:
"I want to know more about The Great One."
"I can't help you with that."
The Priest shook his head regretfully, looked around, and then said in a lowered voice:
"The Order of this Deity has long vanished, and the Church has very few records of Him. Recently, the Church found materials left by the worshippers of the Old God, the Creator of Innocence, but it isn't often that such 'treasures' are found."
"I see... What would happen if I attempted to cheat in front of this Deity?"
Shard didn't dare admit that he wanted to cheat in a gamble with a Deity. He rely wished to try to join the ga himself; although he had only experienced life in this world for a re two months, it was certainly more exciting than Mr. Riddle's experiences.
"If that Deity hasn't yet departed, you could refer to the fates of those well-known blasphers in history for the consequences of cheating in front of The Great One."
Which ant certain death, making it clear to Shard that it would be better not to entertain any crooked thoughts about this gamble.
Seeing that Shard had no further questions, the Priest went on to say:
"It just so happens you ca to see
today, I have prepared the Weak Angel Potion I promised you last ti. Co with
to my workshop to get it."
Priest Augustus's Potion Workshop was a basent rented from a friend on a street next to Dawn Square. The two chatted as they walked and, on a Monday morning, there were not many who could leisurely stroll through the streets like them.
After all, everyone has to live, and both the Old Cleric of the church and Shard, who could live for a month on a single commission, clearly did not belong to what was considered normal.
The two discussed the upcoming prayer event to be held by Dawn Chapel and talked about the church's plan to book the Draleon Royal Opera House for the weekend to invite troupes to perform an opera based on 'religious stories'.
And as a local, devout believer, Shard could naturally get a ticket directly from Priest Augustus if he wanted to go.
"Does the church often hold such... cultural events?"
It took Shard a while to find the right words to describe. A boy selling newspapers approached them but withdrew when he saw Priest Augustus's attire—the church already subscribed to newspapers.
Yet, the priest still smiled and called the boy over, buying a copy of the Steam Bird Daily with the change from his pocket. Today was Monday, and there was a new installnt of Dorothy's detective stories which she had proudly claid to be a real success on Saturday.
Even Shard was now fond of following Dorothy's serialized stories. It wasn't because he wanted to see others praise him but rather to see how Dorothy adapted those tedious detective records.
The priest folded the newspaper and tucked it under his arm as he continued to explain:
"We frequently hold similar activities. The sermons and preaching that were popular in old tis are hardly sufficient for this era. The prosperity of the steam industry has made people wealthier and created a greater need for spiritual guidance. So, besides the most important festival activities every year, the Church of the Five Gods organizes a variety of assembly activities every once in a while."
"Unsatisfied and unbalanced, I understand," Shard nodded, but he didn't delve too deeply into the topic. Instead, he asked:
"Besides organizing opera viewings, what other activities are there?"
Seeing Shard's keen interest, Priest Augustus explained with a smile:
"Psychological counseling, mutual aid societies, or organizing to make cookies in the chapel that the church then delivers to slums or city welfare hos. Oh, and every six months, we organize gatherings for young believers whose family situations we thoroughly understand, giving them an opportunity to et each other."
This could be considered a matchmaking activity, and children born to believers who married each other were likely to beco devout followers themselves.
Priest Augustus, however, did not invite Shard to these events, as the old man vaguely realized that Shard had a special relationship with the two Female Sorcerers in his group.
The two also discussed the Circle Sorcerer of the Truth Society they had encountered the previous week at the end of Hanged Ghost Alley in the Naless Graveyard. Priest Augustus had handed him over to the church, which of course conducted further interrogation, hoping to gain more information about the Truth Society.
Unfortunately, perhaps because Shard's Great Sin Chain had pierced the soul twice, even though he was revived through ritual, his wisdom and thought processes were still sowhat confused.
The church, after examination, concluded that his soul had beco distorted and attributed this to the dreadful resurrection ritual. As for more news about the Truth Society, it was currently only possible to deduce from the private letters of the captured Circle Sorcerer, but breaking the encryption of those letters written in the Ancient Language also took ti.
The Truth Society, being the kind of organization it was, wouldn't have sent just one person to act in Tobesk; the church believed he must have had companions still in the local diocese.
"So, don't use that chain of yours unless it's necessary," the priest warned Shard as he fumbled for his keys to open the door:
"Just seeing that chain, I can almost feel the sin. I believe you can control your power, but I worry others won't trust you."
As he stepped over the threshold and entered the underground chamber, a strange, indescribable bitter odor filled the air, a scent resulting from Priest Augustus frequently concocting magic potions there. The temperature in the basent was considerably higher than above ground, likely due to the furnace in the corner still glowing with embers.
The "Weak Angel Potion" that Priest Augustus had prepared for Shard now rested on the test tube rack of the experinter's stand. When handing the glass tube to Shard, he complained that further advanced potion courses required more precise chemical instrunts, and acquiring such devices was a great hassle. Saint Byrons's prices were exorbitant, the Draleon National Precision Instrunts Institute was difficult to access, and although so departnts of the chanical Academy in the University District would take custom orders, their turnaround ti was extrely long.
The "Weak Angel Potion" looked like a tube of transparent liquid, indistinguishable from water by appearance. But upon contact, a voice imdiately signaled to Shard that he was experiencing a "miracle."
Shard gripped the test tube and instantly felt a warm temperature, akin to holding a comfortably heated hot water bag on a winter's day.
While not the sa kind of item as the "Sunlight Gun" brooch crafted by Iluna, the elents and spirit contained within Priest Augustus's magic potion were almost more powerful than the pin.
"To use it against a demon, the most direct thod is to pour it into the demon's mouth. However, considering that most evil spirit demons are not in human form, they may not have a mouth or other orifices, so you could also douse it on their bodies,"
Priest said as he leaned on the table, explaining to Shard:
"I don't know exactly what you're up against, but with one dose of this, even if it doesn't completely banish the foe, it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on them."
"Would it be useful to pour this on my weapon?"
Shard asked curiously, taking a sniff from the uncorked test tube, detecting a mild grass scent. It was fortunate that Mia was currently engrossed in "adventures" at ho and had not followed him out, otherwise the cat would certainly have tried to swipe it.
"Certainly, it would endow the weapon with holy light damage for a limited duration. Moreover, dropping the liquid on your eyelids, nose, and ears would enable you to detect traces of evil entities with invisibility capabilities."
Priest mused for a mont:
"It's a difficult potion to concoct, and I can only provide you with this much in the short term. If you can't manage on your own, rember to ask
for help, oh, I an, ask the church for assistance."
"Of course, Priest."
Shard didn't ntion his companions and said, sowhat embarrassed:
"Priest, the potion you provided is too precious, and my help wasn't much. So, do you need anything else..."
"You don't need to say that, our group should be helping each other. Besides, you're fighting demons, which is a just cause. If I took paynt from you, I would be seen as avaricious."
Priest Augustus stopped Shard from continuing and Shard could only keep his gratitude inside, thinking he'd find a way to repay the priest in the future.
anwhile, he took out the mark for expelling demons he had copied from Mr. Riddle's body, wanting to ask the priest if he knew what it was.
Though he expected the priest might need to consult so resources, to his surprise, the priest furrowed his brows. Not only did the priest recognize the holy emblem of the deity, but he also recognized this:
"Oh? Where did you see this mark? I suppose you're not well-versed in basic heraldry, as modified versions of this symbol are often used in many blessing ceremonies."
"I saw it in... an ancient book that described thods to fight demons. The book ntioned that this mark could expel demons. Priest, is this the imprint left by a relic?"
"Yes, oh Detective, I never expected to see this from you."
Priest Augustus asked Shard to sit down and have a conversation:
"As you know, the evil spirit demons are twisted and horrifying entities that survived from the ancient Third Era. Although intelligent beings of that ti feared them, the mystical system of that era was not completely without ans to combat them. A group of people who aid to hunt demons gathered together, and the mark you saw was the seal they wore. Back then, this was a considerably powerful alchemical item."
"So did that group of people continue to exist? Like, in the dark turbulence of the Fourth Era, the witches' Fifth Era, and our current Sixth Era, is there still such a group? Do they have so sort of organization?"
Shard asked curiously.
"They disappeared toward the end of the Third Era or the beginning of the Fourth Era for various reasons. The tal seals that had survived transford into relics, the very things you're looking for. As for how many of those seals remain, I do not know, but what I do know is that they are 'Keeper of Secrets Level Relics' nad 'Demon Hunting Seals.'"
"Only Keeper of Secrets level?"
Shard expressed his surprise.
"Because the sole purpose of the seal is to grant the object branded with the mark the power to resist demons. Other than combating demons, it serves no purpose, and even its two negative traits are related only to demons. If a Circle Sorcerer does not make contact with it over a long period, once a sorcerer touches it again, it will directly attract demons. Moreover, possession of this seal increases the likelihood of encountering demons,"
Priest explained.
"Then where are these seals now?"
"I do not know."
Priest shook his head:
"But there is a belief that when demons appear, these seals will also manifest, the last gift the Demon Hunters of the Third Era left for posterity."
"That just makes things more difficult."
Shard thought to himself that now, including both the church and the Academy's magician groups, all were searching for traces of Daknis. At this point, regardless of the route Shard took to find the "Demon Hunting Seals," other organizations would co to know of it.
Unless a seal literally ran into Shard, he couldn't see how else he might have any chance to acquire it.
"Oh, Shard, about this magic potion, rember not to tell anyone that you got it from ,"
Priest Augustus suddenly added.
"Even Dr. Schneider and the others should not know?"
"Yes, no one should know,"
Priest emphasized seriously.
"No problem, I've already got enough bizarre items on
as it is,"
Shard nodded, aware that this magic potion was certainly no simple concoction.
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