Chapter 86: Wake Up |
When Shad woke from his long sleep, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Unlike a plain white one, this ceiling was adorned with brightly colored yet solemn religious murals.
He stared blankly at the depiction of a saint preaching to followers by the riverside. Before he could mutter something along the lines of “An unfamiliar ceiling,” a voice spoke beside him:
“You’re awake?”
“Father August?”
Turning his head, Shad saw the priest sitting in an iron-framed chair by the bed, holding a newspaper. He was dressed in the white robes of the clergy. Behind him, not far from the wall, brass gas pipes and insulated steam pipes climbed along the surface, connecting to a gas lamp on the wall that emitted a warm glow.
The lamp had a religious design—a nude man raising his arms high, the light radiating from between them.
By the light, Shad noticed that the newspaper in the priest’s hands was the Tobesk Evening Post. The open pages facing Shad contained two stories: the left side detailed Princess Rezia’s visit to Carsonrick, while the right side reported on a spate of child abductions in the city. The bottom section covered a recent earthquake in southern Tobesk, though the damage appeared minimal.
“Has Tobesk been experiencing earthquakes recently?” Shad wondered aloud, noticing the date—it was Monday. Yet the Evening Post was only issued at night.
“Finally awake? You’ve slept almost the entire day. It’s already eight o’clock on Monday evening. How are you feeling?” The elder priest’s tone carried a playful reprimand.
“Where am I now? Is this a church? Father, I need to get home! Mimia…”
“Don’t worry; you’re at the Dawn Church. It’s safe here. Look, your cat is here too.”
The priest gestured toward the pillow beside Shad. Sure enough, the tiny orange tabby lay curled up there. Disturbed by the conversation, she looked as though she might throw a tantrum, but upon seeing Shad awake, she happily rubbed her soft face against his hand.
A cat’s body is warmer than a human’s. Shad felt the little tabby’s soft, cozy warmth and her freshly-awakened liveliness.
“Your cat is remarkably well-behaved—at least when she’s with you. I thought detectives would prefer dogs with sharp noses as their companions,” the priest remarked curiously as he folded the newspaper and placed it on the bedside table.
“No, she belongs to a client. I was only asleep for a day? I thought…” Shad trailed off, thinking he’d been unconscious for at least two or three days after using the divine power. If it had only been one day, then the price was manageable.
“And the cost of using that script’s final page?”
【The divinity healed even the damage you suffered from the Evil God, let alone the price of using the relic. Based on the situation, it seems the cost was gradual hair loss.】
Her whispered words in his ear eased his concerns.
While stroking the cat, Shad sighed in relief. Yet, as memories of his pre-coma state rushed back, scenes from Lakeside Manor played vividly in his mind: Rhodes Cards, grape trellises, a revolver, the Evil God, the twelve paths of divine ascension, Miss Anat’s mention of the Whispering Verses, and the self he had seen beneath the silver moon.
“Is it all over?” he asked, feeling refreshed and energetic as he sat up.
“If you mean last night’s events, yes, it’s over—for us, at least,” the priest said. He seemed to have prepared this response, waiting for Shad’s question.
“We narrowly avoided detection by the True God Church, but thanks to your friend, everyone escaped safely. No one knows what we did. I brought you here to the church, claiming you were a friend, so I could take care of you. Miss Louisa is under Anat’s care, but the doctor’s condition is concerning. He forced himself to use the power of the Ascension Words, and although he woke up this afternoon, he won’t be able to get out of bed for weeks. May God bless him… By the way, why did you sleep for so long? Regardless, it’s good that you’re awake now; you seem to be in excellent spirits.”
The priest handed Shad a cup of tea. Though Shad appeared healthy, he’d been unconscious for a full day and needed to rehydrate.
Shad thanked him, sipping the tea with one hand while stroking the now-energetic tabby with the other. Judging by Father August’s demeanor, the doctor’s condition seemed manageable.
“And how are you holding up, Father?”
“I’m quite well. Aside from Miss Anat, I’m probably the least injured of everyone.”
The elder smiled, finally putting Shad at ease. Shad asked further, “My friend helped us? But aren’t you all my friends? Could it be Baron Lavender? Does he have that much sway?”
“No, it was the ‘lady’ you mentioned. She proved we were with her the entire time, away from sensitive areas. The True God Church never even saw us.”
The priest stood up to check the door, ensuring it was shut, then adjusted the gas lamp’s brightness.
“So, it was her,” Shad mused, cradling the cat in one arm and scratching her chin with his fingers. The tabby squinted contentedly and tilted her head back.
“Before we left, the lady left you a letter. She asked me to give it to you when you woke up,” the priest said, retrieving an envelope from his robe’s inner pocket. Shad accepted it, pulling out the letter. The message, written in ornate script, was a style common among nobles and a variant of the Drarian Common Tongue.
“Oh? She wants me to write to the Lucky Southern Cross Club to inform her I’m awake. She has something she needs me to do?” Shad raised an eyebrow at the letter.
“Isn’t that a good thing? If she helps you without asking for anything in return, then you should be wary. This shows she’s not a bad person,” the priest remarked, adding thoughtfully, “I’ve been in this city for many years. In my opinion, this ‘lady’ is likely connected to the royal family. To have such authority and shield us in last night’s situation, she can’t be an ordinary noble. I didn’t see her face, but I’d wager there are fewer than five women in all of Tobesk—or even the Kingdom of Drarian—capable of that. Strange that I’ve never heard of a high-ranking Ring Warlock in the current royal family. It seems our intelligence is lacking.”
“Do you know who she is?” Shad folded the letter and placed it on the bedside table, ensuring Mimia couldn’t chew on it.
“Not exactly, but the possibilities are limited. I won’t speculate further. If she trusts you, you’ll learn her identity sooner or later. Remember to send that letter quickly. While it’s good to be cautious of strangers, you shouldn’t distrust a benevolent helper too much.”
The priest imparted his wisdom, and Shad nodded in agreement. He understood the principle well.
Perhaps finding the room a bit stifling, the priest stood and pulled back the heavy curtains, opening the window. The cool night breeze flowed in, and both men exhaled deeply.
The summer nights in Tobesk were mildly cool, signaling that July had arrived and the peak of summer was near.
