Because it was not Saturday, the prayer process was very simple. You just lined up under the statue and stood silently for a while, then walked away to make room for the next person.
There would be a nun in the middle holding holy water and sprinkling it - this holy water was just ordinary clean water. Tilan didn't want his shoes to get wet, so he stood a little further away from there.
"Your sins will be forgiven. May the sun shine upon you and the shadows protect you."
shadow?
As if realizing something, Tilan looked up and found that it was finally his turn.
These words were said by the priest on the stage. He was holding a scripture in his hand, wearing a white robe, and had a kind face. Seeing that Dilan was hesitant, he took the initiative to encourage her: "It's okay, kid, you don't need to say it out loud, even if you just keep it in your mind once, it will count."
I had no intention of saying it.
Rolling his eyes secretly, Tilan walked to the front, clasped his hands together and put them together, as if praying, listening to the priest's advice and letting the nun sprinkle holy water on his clothes and hair.
But she was thinking about something else. After she finished praying, she asked the priest, "I just heard you say 'The shadow will protect me'."
"Yes."
"Why 'Shadow'? The glory of the Mechanical Sun is everywhere. Isn't this a conflict?"
"Behind the most brilliant light there must be the deepest darkness." The priest shook his head and explained seriously, "I am not an authority, but I believe that if no one takes responsibility for this darkness and no one represents it, then the glory will be devoured by the darkness sooner or later."
"Who are the darkness and shadows?" Tilan responded quickly, "Those heroes who died?"
"That's natural." The priest smiled. "There are many of them that we don't even know their names. You have to admit that it is because of them walking in the shadows that we have the light we have today. This is the 'Shelter of Shadows'. Doesn't it deserve to be mentioned?"
The truth is that this is true, but it shouldn't be mentioned to the point of being on par with the concept of mechanical yang...
Although they still had some sense and did not put Shadow before Xie Yang, even this degree was exaggerated.
If those incestuous people heard this, they would have to fight. Was this what they said when I came here as a child?
I can't seem to remember clearly...
After leaving the church, Tilan was absent-mindedly thinking about his childhood. He got lost and left the planned travel route.
Very good... the scene now was completely unfamiliar to her. She was sure that this was a place she had never been to before.
Even if she had been there, she might not remember it, because they had built so many tall buildings…she wouldn’t recognize them at all.
She was not in a hurry, as she still had money. She could just hail a car or ask for directions, so she was not in a hurry. Instead, she wandered around on this unfamiliar road with interest.
"Special sale! Today's a special sale at the library!"
Following the call, she got a leaflet printed on thin paper.
"What is this?" she asked the newsboy.
"It's a library discount!" The newsboy gave her a big smile.
To do this job you have to know how to judge people. This girl has a healthy complexion and calluses on her hands. You can tell at a glance that she has been through a lot and will not make things difficult for poor people like them.
"The library is the 'Royal Library'... Just go straight ahead and turn left. It's surrounded by trees."
“Is it any different from other libraries?”
"There are a lot of books." The newsboy said seriously, "Not only are there a lot of them, but they are also of all kinds. The most important thing is that they are very affordable. As long as you have an identity that can be verified, you are eligible to buy books from there no matter what class you are from."
Well, that's really good for civilians.
Tilan didn't ask why he chose to buy instead of borrow - no one would be stupid enough to lend books to common people. Although it wasn't the majority, there were always some people who liked to take advantage of small bargains.
This is indeed quite good. You have to know that in Egang Castle, common people don’t even have the qualifications to step into such a place of learning.
Thinking that her identity as a minister could be checked, she decided to go to the library to have a look.
……
"Congratulations, then, Moore-Sally."
In the alley outside the mansion, a newspaper vendor spoke to the two brothers while selling things and talking.
"We joined the Engineering Society, and from now on we are one family."
"So we were able to join because we knew her?"
Wright narrowed his eyes at the scruffy old man.
He started selling newspapers at an old age.
This organization doesn't seem to be friendly to the elderly...
"Of course, if it was the dark-skinned princess we wouldn't be so straightforward. She would have to go through some tests if she wanted to come in."
The old man nodded.
"We are different?"
"Of course it's different. You have already been tested in Talignan. Therefore, you can join the order directly."
"Can I know what we are doing?"
Moore looked dazed.
"Protect her." The old man winked.
"Protect her - do things for her - pass on her will - and guard the flame of hope with her."
"My name is Luca, Luca-Pilalken."
"Very happy to meet all of you."
"Brother Sally."
Chapter 5: God in Dreams (Two in One)
The old man, named Luca, didn't say much to the Sally brothers.
After all, he was just a newspaper vendor in disguise. There were the most spies around the mansion, so after a brief greeting, he went for a walk pushing his cart.
what's next?
Moore-Sally was a little confused. He didn't understand why his brother Wright got a cool tattoo when he joined the club, but he didn't have one when it was his turn?
"Go back first." Wright squeezed the thick newspaper in his hand, "This is not the place to talk."
Back in the bedroom, Wright couldn't wait to find a paper cutter, so he cut the newspaper with his fingernails, and sure enough, he found a contract document inside.
"Both the texture of the paper and the font printed on it are exactly the same as the one I signed last time." Wright handed it to Moore, "and your name is already written below... It's up to you whether you want to sign it or not."
Moore said nothing, but took out a knife and tried to cut his finger.
He knew that the "signature" here actually meant dripping blood, similar to a spirit ritual. Blood was the proof of identity.
"You've thought it through." Just as he was about to make a move, Wright held him back. "I'm different from you... I've long been fed up with all the constraints put on me by Talignan. You know I long for a life of privilege and freedom, and to find excitement in between. Talignan can't give me that, so I can choose to join them."
"But what about you, Moore? Our personalities are completely opposite. You like a stable life and you don't like excitement. To be honest, I don't want you to really have anything to do with them. Maybe it's enough for you to be a peripheral member."
He thought he had spoken sincerely enough, but Moore instead looked at him with contempt, cut his finger and pressed a blood mark, then completed the contract with incredible efficiency.
Then he also saw the black flames - it started burning from the place where he left the blood mark, it was a black flame... The rising smoke was like a flowing shadow, swallowing up the entire contract. The remaining smoke was automatically absorbed by the back of his left hand, leaving a shield tattoo of the Engineering Society there.
The tattoo was also black, with a brilliant color like black flames. When it was first printed, Moore felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand, but soon the sensation disappeared, and along with it, the tattoo also disappeared.
"...Have you thought it through?" Wright raised his eyebrows.
"Nonsense!" Moore grabbed his collar and said, "How many relatives do we have? What do we mean to each other? How dare you say such a thing and ask me to leave you alone and go back to enjoy myself?"
"Even if I curse you to die before me?" Light smiled, "Okay brother, it's just a joke... I'm glad we can fight side by side again. Oh, I find that the Earl is always good at handling the relationship between us."
Moore ignored him and continued to rummage through the newspaper, and sure enough, he found a printed letter.
The letter stated that the "Namiya Mechanical Engineering Society" was not a combat-oriented organization that required everyone to take risks. Members could exchange all the knowledge they wanted to exchange within the organization, such as engineering, physics, mathematics, medicine, etc., and enjoy the privilege of entering an exclusive dream space.
But as a price and obligation, every time the badge pattern on the back of the hand appears and becomes hot, all members are expected to enter the dream space as quickly as possible to learn the details - that usually means an important task has been assigned.
It sounds like an academic salon.
Moore stared at these lines of words for a long time. The more he read, the stranger he felt this organization was.
The newspaper seller named Luca said that the purpose of establishing this organization was to protect her... Does he mean to protect Count Xiyang, that is, Hitzfeld?
Being able to enjoy a secret department exclusively outside of all systems is almost a status comparable to that of a king.
Moore felt sad that the girl had come to this point, but he was also puzzled by the powers and responsibilities stipulated by this secret department.
He himself didn't care which country he served. After all, tracing back to the source, Talignan's survival was due to Seran's kindness. From the perspective of fighting the gray fog, they were all serving the Namiyans, and there was no difference. He was not bothered by the change of camp.
However, since he has joined, he certainly hopes that this organization is really useful.
Secret Department... Secret Department... Since it is an organization of this nature, shouldn't we be responsible for tasks like collecting intelligence, eavesdropping on lords, assassinating heretics, etc.?
Why is it just to exchange knowledge... This sounds just like a university teachers' exchange meeting. If they only need members to join to do this kind of thing, why don't they go directly to the campus to recruit people, but have to come to me and Wright?
There is also this "dream space".
His eyes locked on the "new phrase", the corner of Moore's mouth twitched.
The meaning of dream space is... every member of the society can enter the dream world to communicate across regions?
Isn't this difficult? Dreams also have boundaries. If you enter a dream in Wayne Port, it is impossible for your true spirit to cross the boundary and run to Talignan. The spirit cannot leave the body too far. This is the basic common sense of the spirit science.
"That's easy." Wright saw what he was struggling with. "We'll know everything if we give it a try."
Taking his doubtful brother with him, Wright changed his coat and took him out to get a taxi. The two of them went directly to Mermaid Avenue, which might be the busiest area in Wayne Port, and asked several pharmacies on the street corners, trying to buy drugs to induce sleep.
"No more, sir." The owner of the first drugstore shook his head repeatedly, "It used to be okay, but now that no one dreams anymore, we don't sell that kind of medicine anymore."
Wright didn't say anything, but kept rolling up his sleeves and looking at his watch in between his explanations - this action was inevitably accompanied by brushing the back of his left hand several times. The other party was indifferent to this, and instead his eyes revealed an increasingly surprised and astonished emotion.
Is this person probably a psychopath?
"Excuse me." Wright raised his hat and gestured, "Let's go, Moore, to the next one."
They searched four stores and finally found something in the last one.
It was a female boss smoking a pipe. She narrowed her eyes after noticing Wright checking his watch several times and asked, "So why do you want drugs to make you dream? You know, we can't dream anymore, and many people would like it to continue forever."
"To witness the shadow?" Wright raised his eyebrows. "Or to protect the shadow... It doesn't matter. Anyway, a guy named Luca recommended it to us. Do you have it here? If not, we'll go to the next store."
If it was a normal boss, he would be completely confused by this. However, the female boss's face changed, and when he tried to look at the watch again, she pinched his left wrist with her left hand and uttered an obscure syllable character.
"laugh!"
A magical thing happened. As soon as she finished reading, black flames ignited on the back of Wright's left hand - and her own left hand. The flames quietly condensed into the shape of a shield, and then quickly extinguished, revealing two identical emblems.
"Newbies, huh..." She nodded. "Didn't old man Luca give you the Latent Shadow Potion directly?"
"We met him at the gate of the mansion."
"I know!" The female boss interrupted Wright, "We have discussed this internally... Then you must be the Sally brothers. Are you willing to betray Tarinian?"
"If your organization's name starts with 'Sarah', I definitely won't add it." Light retorted, "But it's not, right? ... So as long as we work for the same goal, it doesn't matter where we work."
"I like this answer. No wonder you were recommended internally for exemption from the test."
"Come in." She turned and walked towards the inner room.
"I can give you the Latent Shadow Potion."
"But this is your first time."
"It must be taken under the guidance of an experienced person."
……
On the other side, Tilan finally found the so-called "Royal National Library".
She had to admit that it was really tall - it had to be at least ten stories high, and if she remembered correctly, the height of each floor of a library-type building was much higher than that of a residential building, because the internal space was not large enough to accommodate the bookshelves, so it was probably equivalent to more than a dozen stories of an ordinary residential building.
Even the castle in Egangbao is not this high.
With a sigh, Tilan stood at the end of the line holding a flyer.
You have to queue - of course. There are people handing out flyers for promotions two blocks away. I expected there would be a lot of people before I came.
Fortunately, the process was not annoying. Library employees distributed cakes and water to the queue, as well as a chart of the library catalog, so that everyone could consider which books to choose after entering the queue while waiting in line.
Tilan thought about it and realized that she was best at swordplay, archery and leading a team to hunt. She was not interested in mathematics or science, so if there were any, she was eager to buy some geography and character books that were more story-oriented.
At least it can broaden her horizons, she thought.
Different geographical environments will definitely give birth to different lives. Each life diverges at the crossroads of evolution. She is eager to understand them, especially to know whether they taste good.
After making the decision, she quickly chose the books. After entering the door, she went straight to the naturally classified book collection area, and was dazzled by the rows and rows of rich books.
