The man wearing an old robe had lived in this shabby hotel for many days. He wanted to have lunch as usual, but when he went down the stairs, he unexpectedly saw a very familiar figure against the wall.
"Long time no see, Mr. Watson."
Shade looked down at the news and heard someone greeting him in Kasenlik with a strange accent. When he looked up, he saw the man pulling up the wooden chair opposite the table and the kerosene lamp on the wall.
He sat down under the light.
His eyelashes are extremely short, his black eyes are extremely lively, he wears an old brown robe from the desert area, and his green beard is probably longer than his hair.
"Mr. Sean Asmon?"
Shade was suddenly startled, not expecting to meet him again.
"Yes, Mr. Watson, I am very happy to meet you again in a strange city."
The demonologist put down his notebook and showed his trademark weird smile to Shade.
Although this expression was very strange, it was not the first time that Shade had seen it. Moreover, he was still very happy to meet his former friends in Kasenlik:
"Mr. Asmon, why are you here? First we went to Coldwater Port, then we went southeast to Fort Midhill, and then we turned back to the southwest and came here."
"Of course it's to continue the search for the legend of the devil."
He still maintained that "smiling but not smiling" appearance, and his scalp almost glowed under the dim kerosene lamp:
"Besides, Mr. Watson, didn't you also appear here?"
"Yes, yes, to celebrate this unusual reunion, let me buy you a drink."
As he spoke, he called the fat waiter who seemed a little absent-minded. The latter was twice the size of Shad. Mr. Sean Asmon did not pay any courtesy to Shad. After ordering a glass of ale for himself, he put his left hand on
He held his knees, tilted his body and stretched his head, and started chatting with Shade again.
"Is there a demon in Huntingdon? Oh, Mr. Asmon, I often hear urban legends about vampires in the local area."
Shade said with a smile, and the demonologist's voice was as smooth as a snake crawling in summer and autumn:
"Yes, the devil. But it's not Huntington, it's the Everglades. I've heard many legends here, such as interconnected caves and snake-like man-eating vines."
While Shade subconsciously looked to the west, Mr. Asmon's black eyes were still staring at him:
"There are some very interesting legends, and there are quite a few demonic ruins inside the Everglades. I believe I can find something valuable, which will make this journey interesting."
In fact, if he had gone to Tobesk some time ago, the probability of finding the devil would have been greater.
"But in my opinion, going deep into the Everglades during this season is not a good idea."
The two of them picked up wine glasses and drank, and the candlelight on the side of the table made their shadows sway slightly. This hotel was so shabby that there was no gas pipe, and of course there was no steam pipe, so even the heating was powered by wood.
Method. The only fireplace is quite old and is the brightest light source in the room.
But this gave this shabby little hotel a surprisingly ancient and vicissitudes of feeling.
Shade knew that big things would happen in the Pantanal next, so he tried to persuade him. The demonologist let out a weird laugh in his throat, but there was no smile in his eyes:
"I just want to wander around the periphery without going deep into the swamp. Those series of lakes are the target of my investigation."
But in this way, his probability of finding an angel is much greater than that of finding a devil. After all, there really is an angel living in the lake locally.
"But it's really interesting to say."
Shade placed the wine glass on the wooden table with slight chopping marks and soaked with decades of wine stains:
"Mr. Asmon, it seems that every time we see you, we are in a place with a 'rose' name. The Pink Rose Tavern in Coldwater Harbor, the Blue Rose Inn on the Windy Trail in West Carr Mountain, and now the Rose Inn in Huntington.
Bloody Rose Hotel.”
"No, no, no, Mr. Watson, I didn't choose this place to live on purpose. It's just that my pockets are not rich."
He stretched his head forward slightly, but his expression didn't look embarrassed at all.
Shade smiled and nodded:
"Do you need me to sponsor your research? Maybe when we meet again in the next strange city, you can tell me the stories you encountered there."
As he spoke, he took out his wallet. Although he had only met the demonologist twice, Shade had a pretty good impression of him.
[Probably because he gave you the ancient [Demon·Soul Stealer Bishop] when he met you for the first time. 】
"She" reminded softly in Shade's ear, but Mr. Asmon pursed his lips and made a "tsk tsk" sound while shaking his head:
"This won't work. I study demonology. My knowledge tells me that it is not a good habit to accept other people's kindness or make wishes at will. However, I do have a good thing here."
He opened his notebook with its edges turned up and showed half of the cards.
The problem with that card was not only that it was only half a card, but the remaining half was also badly discolored and damaged, but it could still be seen that it was the upper half of a Rhodes card.
Shade took the card and looked at it, but he couldn't identify what card it was from the remaining card surface, so the demonologist explained to Shade:
"Some time ago, I and a group of people explored a group of unowned tombs in the wild."
In other words, a group of people collaborated to rob tombs, and the demonologist in front of him looked very much like someone who could do similar things.
"That place is very dangerous, but there are not many valuable burial objects. This is something I brought out of the tomb. It is lying in the soil of the tomb passage. I don't know whether it is a burial object or a burial object left by a previous group of visitors.
It's a pity that the power of time has destroyed too many things.
I have investigated this card, and if I am not mistaken, it should be [Natural Disaster·Blizzard] from Star 8 (note). The rules recorded by the Prophet Association are: when this card is drawn, if the opponent has not stopped and has cards in his hand
If the number is an even number, you can remove the card with the smallest number from the opponent's revealed hand, and the special effects of the removed card will still work."
Mr. Asmon explained with a weird smile, and Shade was a little surprised:
"The Natural Disaster series is very famous and has been reprinted many times. Judging from the appearance and printing technology of this card, it is probably the first edition. It is a pity that it has been damaged like this, otherwise it must be quite valuable.
.”
"Yes, but as far as I know, the Prophet Association provides the owners of Rhodes cards with a service of exchanging old cards for new ones."
The demonologist continued, and Shade nodded.
After all, except for the thirteen cards in the founding series, the other playing cards are just ordinary items and will be damaged sooner or later (note). The Prophet Association thoughtfully provides replacement services for the holders of the Rhodes cards, that is, carrying the complete
Old playing cards and related documents whose strength exceeds a certain level can be exchanged for new cards by paying coins.
Among them, there are complete regulations on the integrity of the old cards and the relevant documents required. However, if the reputation in the Prophet Association is large enough, or you can come up with suitable reasons to convince the association, even if the necessary conditions are missing, you can
Increase the price for new ones.
"very funny."
Shade commented, taking out his notebook and inserting the old cards:
"Mr. Asmon, since you are not willing to accept my kindness for nothing, then you might as well sell me this old card."
He rummaged through his wallet and handed out a 3 kronor note:
"This is what I paid for the goods."
This amount of money was actually too much, after all, it took 11 to 12 gold pounds to exchange for one crown. Shade purely wanted to sponsor the man in front of him, at least so that he would not have to live in such a shabby place.
"In this case."
Mr. Asmon accepted the three green banknotes:
"Why don't we continue telling the story we didn't finish last time."
"Devil story? Of course."
The demonologist squinted his eyes slightly, and Shade felt that the light from the kerosene lamp and the candle dripping wax on the table was a little dim at this moment.
"Mr. Watson, do you still remember the content of the story we told the first two times?"
"Yes Yes."
Shade held the handle of the wine glass and replied:
"A wonderful existence, because of people's recognition, really has the power of the rumored devil. He has traveled to many places and brought countless disasters, but he failed only once when he met a person who had no wishes.
.
The devil hides in the soul of a person who has no desire, walks with him, and brings disaster, causing a person without desire to be expelled by friends, partners, and even everyone. But when he was dying, the human said with a smile that he used his own
The devil was sealed for a lifetime, and the devil smiled and said that men still have wishes after all. It swallowed up the man's soul and went to where they came from."
Shade shook his head:
"That's where men come from."
"Yes, and the story obviously continues."
The long-faced man picked up his glass of wine and talked about this topic with the acquaintances he met occasionally under the dim light in a dilapidated tavern, which was quite atmospheric.
"I have a feeling this is not going to be a happy ending."
Shade said softly, and then smiled to himself:
"How can a story about demons have a happy ending?"
The demonologist's smooth voice sounded at this time:
"A man without wishes spends his whole life traveling far away with the devil in his soul, just hoping that it can stay away from his family and friends. But the devil only spends one night to return to the man's hometown, back to
The starting point of the journey. This story happened there.”
"Tsk, tsk."
Shade sighed softly, but the sound of wine glasses being roughly placed on the table around him covered up his astonishment.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
ps1: Thank you to the reader @在南风里 for providing the inspiration for this Rhodes card.
ps2: The original thirteen cards have not been damaged all year round, but have never attracted attention. This is because they have the characteristics that no one will notice the abnormality. For example, the great witch of the fifth era has [Impermanence and Darkness] but has not studied it.
Nothing happens. I have said this once before.
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