Chapter 829: Dream, Puzzle, and Flowers
The rain in Tobesk truly lasted an entire Sunday. When Luvia arrived at Saint Delan Square Six as promised that evening, the rain showed no signs of lessening.
Tonight, there was already a hint of the chill of late autumn. In the dim and ambiguous light of the entrance hall, the purple-eyed girl stepped in, passing through the curtain of rain that looked like strings of pearls falling from the eaves. Xia De took her umbrella, and then went upstairs with the girl, who was feeling a bit cold.
Rainwater flowed down the drainage pipes on the walls into the gutters on the ground. The entire City was bathed in rain, peaceful and quiet.
On a rainy late autumn night, having a candlelight dinner with the beloved girl in one's own house was truly a pleasant experience. During dinner, Luvia told Xia De about a strange dream she had recently.
Perhaps it was due to being overly worried about the situation in Middlesburg. Even though the great battle had occurred half a week ago, Luvia still dreamt that Iluna and Sister Devlin, even working together, couldn't prevent Joey Barton from forcibly bringing Marilyn Handel back from death.
This directly led to the complete loss of control of the Level 0 relic, and Middlesburg experienced the terrifying disaster of a stampede of ghosts before Thursday morning.
“Was I not in your dream?”
Xia De, wearing a napkin, sat on the other side of the table with a silver fork, while Mia lay stretched out by his hand, waiting for Xia De to feed her.
The purple-eyed girl under the candlelight shook her head slightly:
“You weren't in the dream, but Middlesburg wasn't destroyed. Sister Devlin ignited a great fire to block the evil spirits from the Gap, and Joey Barton, regretting his actions, also participated in the destined-to-fail resistance. All living beings, including even the Vampires in the Middlesburg area, participated in the resistance against the evil spirits emerging from the collapsing Gap. At the end of the dream, I heard a horn sound, and then an Angel appeared under the moon.”
She looked at the candlelight, slightly lost in thought:
“That figure was very familiar. The pure white wings on his back were scorched black. He blew a horn in the air, suppressing all the evil spirits back into Sicar Mountain. From then on, Sicar Mountain became a ghost mountain, and the Church also suffered heavy losses due to the battle. Joey Barton, who had committed a great error, was severely wounded and hid in the mountain, but he ultimately did not get his wish; Marilyn Handel's soul was severely damaged and eventually completely shattered.”
“You see, if you overthink during the day, you'll have strange dreams at night.”
Xia De said with a smile, but he had kept his promise with Priest Augustus and had never mentioned the appearance of the Death Angel's wings to Luvia. Luvia's dream was not a simple dream:
“Because of my existence, the story moved towards the relatively best ending. Forget that strange dream.”
He picked up the goblet, which contained red wine he had made with sorcery. The purple-eyed girl also smiled with relief, picked up her glass, and clinked it with Xia De's:
“Yes, everything is fine. I shouldn't overthink, otherwise, I'll have to go to your basement to suppress the loss of control again.”
Bang~
After a crisp clink of glasses, Xia De drank half a glass of wine in one gulp and then coughed violently, choking. Luvia covered her mouth and chuckled softly, then stood up, reaching out to pat Xia De's back as he leaned on the table.
Mia, lying on the table, squinted her eyes and tilted her head towards the window. Candles were lit inside, and outside was a dark, rainy night. In the reflection on the glass, another almost identical figure stood behind the human woman.
“Meow~”
Mia meowed, curious as to why the other party wasn't sitting down to eat with them.
Only on a rainy night could a home feel so warm and comfortable. Of course, there was a small interlude at Saint Delan Square Six that night. It was when it was still half an hour before midnight. Xia De, with his arm around Luvia's smooth shoulder, quietly told her about the all things are impermanent card in the master bedroom.
As he spoke, Luvia spontaneously leaned in for a kiss, and Xia De smiled, holding her. Outside, a storm raged, but at this moment, holding the girl he loved, the Outsider felt that nothing could affect his good mood.
“Really?”
“She’s” murmur suddenly sounded in the darkness.
The curtains were tightly closed, keeping the sound of raindrops hitting the glass outside. The atmosphere was quite good now.
“Of course, it's true.”
Xia De replied in his mind. Luvia ended the kiss and opened her purple eyes:
“Knight, there’s still a lot of time tonight. Quickly, let me see if the primordial flame will also make your...”
“There is indeed one word that will make your current good mood completely disappear.”
“Oh, I don't believe it.”
“Puzzle.”
The amusement in “her” tone was completely undisguised.
Luvia had already reached out her arm, ready to pick up the youthful immortality leaf that had been placed on the bedside table in advance, but Xia De froze:
“Damn it! I forgot about this!”
“Xia De, what's wrong? Is there anything more important than now?”
The purple-eyed girl said, a little displeased, her brown short hair spread on the pillow, with a hint of reproach in her eyes:
“Are you going to find Dorothy or that Princess tonight?”
“Of course not! I forgot about the puzzle! (Chapter 770)”
That puzzle was this week's gift that Xia De had taken from the god's gift box when he was about to set off for Middlesburg to participate in the decisive battle. After receiving the gift, he experienced that long and painful Wednesday night. After returning home from Middlesburg, he fell into a state where he didn't want to do anything, only rest, for the latter half of the week, completely forgetting about the puzzle.
At this moment, there were still 27 minutes until the end of the week, and what Xia De needed to do was to cut out the puzzles from that puzzle book and then complete at least two puzzles.
Suddenly remembering this matter now, he felt trouble was imminent and had to ask Luvia for help:
“Help me, how about we do the puzzle together?”
The female Diviner hesitated:
“Puzzle? Is this some kind of code word? A new Knowledge you learned last night? Or a new trick you learned from the pink book?”
“Oh, Luvia, don't joke, I really need your help.”
It should have been a wonderful night, but Xia De was forced to get up, turn on the gas lamp, and listen to the dense rain outside while playing puzzles with Luvia on the bed for a full half hour. During this time, there was also a small interlude where Mia jumped onto the bed, attempting to mess up the puzzle.
And this cat received the “punishment” of being locked in the wardrobe for the entire night. In fact, Xia De wanted to try out the spell “Living Rope Trick” he learned from the pink book on this cat, which is a spell that manipulates ropes to move like living snakes. But out of concern for harming the small cat, Xia De ultimately did not try it.
The arrival of Monday meant that Xia De had to start dealing with the follow-up issues in Middlesburg. Of course, those issues were not very urgent, but they still needed to be addressed.
The rain, which had lasted for nearly two days, finally ended in the morning. After seeing off a refreshed Luvia under the still dripping eaves, bathed in the morning light, Xia De took out this week's new gift from the god's gift box – a small iron box containing needles and thread – and received a task to do something related to “sewing” within this week.
This was a test for the Outsider; he was not good at needlework, but he could ask Tifa for guidance.
The lazy cat, having eaten breakfast, was unwilling to go out with Xia De, and after eating and reading today's newspaper, Xia De went to Middlesburg through the basement.
Tobesk was already clear today, but Middlesburg was enveloped in autumn rain. After the great battle last week, the City had returned to calm in just half a week. Walking through the streets and alleys with an umbrella, there was no sign of panic among the City residents. However, when buying flowers and gifts by the roadside to visit patients, one could still hear many rumors about last Wednesday from people's mouths.
Most of those rumors were ridiculous and unfounded, but generally related to ghosts and war. Combined with the series of earthquakes and the eruption of Sicar Mountain on Wednesday night, the most outrageous version that eventually formed among the citizens was that a giant dragon living beneath Sicar Mountain had awakened.
This rumor gained widespread dissemination and acceptance because Sicar Mountain is still under limited access control, the reason being that the volcano still has the possibility of erupting. But in the eyes of the citizens, this became the official cover-up for the existence of a giant dragon.
But no matter what, making people believe it was a giant dragon was better than telling them that two gods had fought fiercely above Sicar Mountain.
At least in this matter, the truth of the matter was even more outrageous than the citizens' conjectures.
Xia De still hadn't decided what gifts to buy for Helen and Grace, but for visiting patients with flowers, there were relevant customs and rules in this era, so Xia De wasn't worried about buying the wrong thing. He bought two bouquets of crimson hydrangeas at a flower shop facing the street. As he walked out of the flower shop, he saw a flower-selling girl walking forward under the eaves of a distant shop on the street. He called out to her, wanting to buy flowers of another color to complement the monotonous colors.
“Oh? It's you.”
The flower-selling girl Xia De called out to was actually the same girl who had sold Xia De eight flowers during the great fog in Mi Fort. Now, the eight flowers each had their own destination, and Xia De met her again after the war.
The girl looked no different from over a week ago. She also recognized the generous and young gentleman, watching Xia De walk towards her with an umbrella and a shy smile:
“Sir, long time no see. Would you like to buy flowers?”
Last Wednesday's disaster seemed not to have affected her, and Xia De was also very happy:
“I'm going to visit two patients. Do you have any bouquets in your basket that can go with these hydrangeas?”
“Yes, sir. How about this?”
She chose two green platycodon grandiflorum for Xia De. Xia De thought they looked good, and when he was about to take out his wallet to pay, the girl refused:
“Sir, you gave too much money last time. These flowers are a gift for you.”
“But...”
Xia De didn't want to take advantage of the street flower girl; their lives were not easy.
“Sir, were the people you want to visit injured last Wednesday?”
The girl on the street asked with some concern. Xia De knew she was changing the subject, but he still nodded amidst the sound of rain:
“Yes, they suffered minor injuries in the earthquake. Is your family alright?”
“That night, some bad person tried to break into our house (Chapter 780), but he was driven away by another kind gentleman.”
“Kind gentleman?”
“Yes.”
The girl nodded:
“He said he was the principal of a school, but none of our children met the admission requirements. But a few days ago, he found the Church for us and arranged for my siblings and me to attend the Church school, and he gave us living expenses. Now, selling flowers is just a small supplement to our household income, so you don't have to give me money.”
“What's that gentleman's name?”
“Oh, I only know his surname is Pigman. He told us to call him Professor Pigman.”
The girl said with a smile:
“He told me that Knowledge is power. So, we need to acquire more Knowledge and not give up on school. Goodbye, sir, I wish you a wonderful day!”
She waved goodbye to Xia De on the street and walked forward along the narrow space under the eaves, leaving Xia De holding the flowers and looking at her back:
“Principal, Professor Pigman? Knowledge is power...”
Xia De turned to look at the street scene behind him. The rainy streets were still bustling. He seemed to see the principal of Saint Byron's, who, like him, had measured this City with his footsteps.
He successfully avoided Professor Pigman during the Mi Fort incident, but still heard about the Professor's experiences because of a small matter. Perhaps not everyone could create Miracles in repeated dangers like him. But luck always seemed to favor those kind and innocent children.
“May The Innocent Creator bless you.”
Xia De whispered in his heart, then held the flowers and umbrella, and re-entered the rain.
