“What is this?”
The dim evening sun on Tuesday shone into the living room on the second floor of Saint Delan Square Six.
Although Tobesk City did not have snow like Huntington, the thick fog in the city was still impressive.
The haze attenuated the sunlight, so gas lamps provided auxiliary lighting in the evening.
Priest Augustus, who had been called here by Xia De, sat on the sofa and took the small box Xia De handed him.
When he opened it, he found a rough stone figurine inside, which looked somewhat like a stone artifact from the ruins of a primitive civilization.
Priest Augustus frowned, while Xia De held Mia, whom he had brought back from Luvia.
The soft cat seemed to have slept well this afternoon; Luvia said that the female Diviners of the Prophet Association had fed the cat a large amount of food today, and the amount of that food seemed to be nowhere near the cat's limit.
“This afternoon, I went to see the Lake Goddess with Professor Drake of Huntington City, and then I fought with that Cherub.”
While the Old Priest examined the figurine in his hand, Xia De described his afternoon activities.
“Hmm? What?”
Priest Augustus, who was looking at the figurine, was startled and turned to look at Xia De in alarm, scrutinizing him as if worried that the person in front of him was just a ghost.
“Oh, no need to worry, that ‘Lake Goddess’ showed mercy, so I’m fine.
Not only was I not injured, but I also obtained the last Ling Rune of Sublimation Words, as well as the sensation of the fourth Ling Rune of the Four Ring.
This afternoon was very fulfilling, and I even helped an Old Professor overcome his past psychological trauma.”
Priest Augustus was still a bit uneasy:
“Fighting with a Cherub? Young man, why do you always engage in such thrilling adventures?
Sometimes you need to stop, read books at home, take on commissions, and not always wander around.”
Priest Augustus knew that the afternoon was definitely not as relaxed as Xia De made it sound.
“Anyway, I returned safely.
After returning to the Professor’s house, he wrote a reply letter to Professor Manning and then asked me to help him check the room.
I found a pile of books that didn’t belong to the Professor; those books were stored there by his Ring術士 friend, mostly related to Knowledge of the Pantanal Great Swamp.
Although not very useful, they were at least interesting.
I didn’t find any other relics, but I did discover this figurine.
However, this wasn’t given to him by that Ring術士 friend; this was an antique the Professor acquired from the local countryside when he was young.
It’s said that there was a primitive worship and belief in the ‘Lake Goddess’ locally.
But that was a matter of the old era; now only objects remain as evidence.”
Xia De recalled the events of the afternoon:
“Professor Drake didn’t want to have anything more to do with this matter, so he also gave me this figurine.
It has a very faint Miracle element, even fainter than the element of the holy water in the hands of the guest whom Dr. Schneider and I met at the Three Cats Inn last week.”
Xia De picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Mia squirmed on Xia De’s leg like a yellow worm, while Priest Augustus observed the figurine:
“Indeed, it’s attached with a very small amount of Miracle element.
I think that in 1842, as you mentioned, the Professor was able to successfully visit the Lake Goddess, which should also be related to this figurine.
It’s very interesting; I probably know which Cherub She is.”
The Priest put the small figurine back into the box.
This figurine was of no use to either of them, so Xia De decided to keep it as part of his collection to commemorate his adventure in Huntington City.
“Which one?”
Xia De asked in a low voice, and Priest Augustus frowned as he replied:
“cherub—cherub.
Yes, the pronunciation of ‘cherub’ that I said is very similar to the pronunciation of ‘Lake Cherub’ that Professor Drake mentioned, but what I said is a genuine Second Era word.
I explored the Knowledge of Cherubs that I possess, and combined with the power attached to this small figurine, I was able to confirm that the Lake Goddess is the Cherub created by the Old God 【Guardian Mentor】.”
“Cherub?”
This is a very important symbol in mysticism; in many rituals, it is necessary to symbolize these Cherubs through objects to achieve the effect of the ritual.
Of course, obscure Knowledge did not record which God’s Cherub the “Cherub” actually was; now Xia De understood:
“I remember that basic ritual studies mentioned that there are a total of five Cherubs.”
Xia De’s first-year foundation was still quite solid.
Priest Augustus nodded:
“The Old God 【Guardian Mentor】 created a total of nine Cherubs.
As for why modern ritual studies only mention five, it’s because…”
The Priest frowned slightly, and his voice became somewhat hoarse.
Xia De knew this was an old secret that should not be spread:
“When the ancient Gods departed, four Cherubs followed them, and five Cherubs remained in the mortal world.
Among the remaining Cherubs, it is even rumored that certain Cherubs passed on the Cherub’s bloodline to mortals, forming unique lineages.
The Cherub—cherub you encountered is the most important Cherub.
Although the nine Cherubs have no ranking, you can consider Her to be ranked first.
Legend says She is the right hand of 【Guardian Mentor】, responsible for writing the gospel that bestows blessings upon mortals on behalf of God, and is the Cherub closest to the Old God.”
“But why would those five Cherubs appear in our era? What is their mission?”
Xia De asked curiously, as this was also his fourth trial.
Priest Augustus indeed shook his head:
“Based on your description, I suspect She is not complete.
The power of ancient Cherubs is beyond our imagination.
If the Cherub were in Her complete form, anyone who saw Her would immediately fall into madness, and would absolutely not be as amiable as you described.
You yourself said that not only you and Professor Drake, but many people have seen the ‘Lake Goddess’.”
The Old Priest sighed softly.
He had just listened to Xia De’s complete account of Professor Drake’s story, and he was quite moved by it:
“For mortals, too much Knowledge and wisdom are poison.
Even a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer would go mad upon seeing the true appearance of a Cherub.”
Xia De nodded.
What he needed to do was find a way to inquire about the answer to the final trial, and he was very clear that his friends certainly could not answer this question.
Probably only God could provide the answer to the question.
“Oh, Priest, actually, I called you here this time to give you this.”
The hand that had been stroking Mia’s back fur moved away, making the squinting cat a bit displeased.
Xia De turned slightly, picked up the huge stone casket from the floor beside the sofa, and carefully placed it on the coffee table.
After pushing open the stone casket, Priest Augustus stood up in surprise, looking at the pure white bones inside.
The holy white bones glowed faintly, and their mere presence in the room caused faint illusions of charred feathers falling to appear in the ordinary room:
“This is…”
The Priest’s voice was even a bit distorted.
“Yes, it’s a gift from that Cherub to you.
I also don’t know why a part of the original Cherub’s remains would be in the Cherub’s hands, but since She gave it, I brought it back.”
“Detective, I didn’t expect you to give me such a big surprise at the end of a boring day.”
Priest Augustus said with a smile, his hand, slightly older than a young man’s, caressing the bones that emitted a pure white light.
Mia also stood on Xia De’s leg, craning her small head to look at the contents of the box, and lost interest once she realized it was bones.
“Very good, 19 pairs of ribs.
Xia De, I’ll give you a gift in a few days.”
The Priest said seriously:
“After fusing these bones, I’ll be able to create more useful alchemical items and potions.
Don’t refuse; this is what you deserve.
Besides that, the quality of holy water will also improve.
Although I still can’t mass-produce No. 3 holy water directly, the quality should be extremely close.”
After speaking, he lowered his head again to caress the bones in the stone casket, his expression somewhat similar to Xia De stroking Mia.
Xia De leaned back slightly against the sofa, holding a teacup in one hand and stroking the soft cat with the other.
In the glow of the setting sun, he vaguely saw a flash of charred wings behind Priest Augustus, who was wearing a thick robe.
Squinting his eyes slightly, Priest Augustus’s body overlapped with a broken skeleton.
As his own level increased, Xia De’s eyes were able to see more and more “real” scenes.
Of course, this was also related to Priest Augustus not being on guard against Xia De.
Xia De was very curious as to why only Priest Augustus survived the accident many years ago, and how he managed to fuse with the power of a Cherub.
The reason for his survival many years ago was the Priest’s biggest Secret, possibly even more secret than his possession of a Cherub’s power.
Priest Augustus did not stay long, leaving with the stone casket, a smile on his face, and incidentally asked Xia De what style of ornament he liked.
He would probably be able to make Xia De’s gift tomorrow or the day after.
Xia De saw Priest Augustus off at the door, and as the Priest, holding the heavy stone casket, was about to look for a carriage, he saw a carriage stop at Xia De’s doorstep:
“Look, my luck is really good.”
He even turned his head and said to Xia De.
Then, both of them saw Dorothy, wearing a black floral long dress and a scarf, step out of the carriage.
The Golden-haired girl blinked at the two men standing at the door and teased with a smile:
“Xia De, Priest, are you specifically welcoming me?”
---Outro---
ps: Today, a total of 3k+3.2k+3k+3.2k+2.8k ≈ 1.5w words were updated, which is equivalent to an additional 1w words, just enough to complete all the content of the “Lake Goddess Third Trial.”
Please vote at the end of the month; I’ve been very diligent with updates this month.
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