After returning home from Coldwater Port, Shade, wearing a scarf, left the house with his cat and gifts for his friends.
The city is already preparing for the end of the year celebrations. Next to the fountain statue in Saint Teresa Square, workers are stepping on ladders, trying to hang ribbons on the girl holding the water bottle.
Every household hangs mistletoe garlands on their doors, and middle-class families even spend extra gold pounds to decorate their courtyards and fences. Everyone you meet on the road looks beaming, even the coachman.
Everyone would say "Happy New Year's Day" to Shade, and Shade also gave him an excessive tip.
A festive atmosphere enveloped the entire city. Where Shade could not see, human civilization was celebrating the upcoming festival. The story of the fourth chosen one ended temporarily. Before the new story begins, the foreign land
People can enjoy this important festival once a year.
The first stop was Professor Manning's home in the university area close to Saint Teresa Square. Although Shade had not made an appointment to visit in advance, the old professor had no travel plans before the end of the year.
He was very happy to welcome Shade's visit. Shade hid little Mia in the inner pocket of his coat, and then handed over a small sculpture of a black cat as a holiday gift:
"You have given me a lot of help this year."
Professor Manning happily accepted the gift and gave Shade a very exquisite metal pen holder in return. This is a handicraft, made of pure metal. There is a gear mechanism inside. Press the button in the decorative flower pattern at the bottom of the pen holder.
You can make a small hidden compartment for hiding notes appear at the bottom of the pen holder.
"I received a letter from Professor Drake a few days ago. He seems to have finally figured it out. There are not many old friends left. I am really happy for him."
Professor Manning said with a smile, of course Shade did not forget to prepare a gift from Professor Drake. Of course, the gift was sent by Mr. Bernhardt's old butler in the name of "John Watson".
Professor Drake would probably like the little angel statue that Shard sent. He did not stay at Professor Manning's place for long. The next stop was Dr. Schneider's. Shade did not attend the study meeting on Saturday, and the doctor already knew that he had taken the ebony pistol on his adventure. At this time, he saw Shade's intact body.
Of course the doctor would be happy if he showed up.
"Although you said that the demon of multiplied desires is a year-end gift to you, I think it would be better to give him something."
In the reception room on the second floor, Shade took out the red silk scarf he had prepared. Of course, it was not made of pure silk, but made of Delrayon Northern Tall Sheep Cashmere mixed with silk.
The price of this towel is quite expensive, but it is also suitable as a gift for a doctor. It was Dr. Schneider who led the frightened foreigners to embark on the path of ring magicians. Shade always remembered this.
"Why are you so polite?"
The doctor smiled and pushed it away for a few times, and then happily accepted the gift. He also prepared a year-end gift for Shade, which was a book called "Emotional Textile". The content of the book is of course not about textile technology.
It is a book written by ring magicians, recording the story of a giant eight-eyed spider that lived in the Third Age. Although it is a translated copy of a copy of a copy, it is possible that spiritual runes or thaumaturgy can be obtained through reading it.
"In addition, I have prepared the dream ceremony you want."
The doctor gave Shad a black suitcase, which was very heavy:
"I have written down the ritual method and put it inside. The materials are not valuable, and I have prepared them for you. But we have to say yes, if Anat asks, I will not admit it. I know in advance that you want to enter her
dream."
The doctor warned, Shade nodded with a smile and put little Mia on the box on the coffee table:
"The dream ritual must be prepared in advance and activated when you fall asleep. I wonder if the ritual materials are volatile?"
"No, no, if you arrange it in advance, it will be fine if you use it within a week. I am very professional in the knowledge of dreams."
The doctor said quite proudly. Shade took note of this and asked again:
"Louvia has told me that our group's exam time is Friday this week, which is the third day of the first month of 1854. Doctor, will you be able to come on Thursday, the second night of 1854?
A trip to my home? I want you to help me conduct a ritual to enhance the effect of thaumaturgy. The ritual requires the participation of ancient powers, but it is not complicated and can be completed in half an hour at most... However, the location of the ritual is demanding.
, it needs to be in the bell tower.”
Xia De didn't want to do this thing before the New Year's Day, so he waited until after the Red Butterfly Day to hold the ceremony.
"Of course it's no problem. There won't be many patients coming to my place around the New Year's Day. You helped me hold a promotion ceremony, and I'll help you hold a ceremony to sublimate thaumaturgy. What's there to shirk?"
So Xia De got up and left, and the doctor sent him downstairs. Although the doctor had no family, he was not alone during the New Year's Day. Most doctors in this psychological clinic would bring their families to celebrate the holidays together in the clinic.
Another year has come to an end peacefully, and the clinic will be very busy then.
Shade’s second stop was Dawn Church. The church that was about to usher in the end of the year was also busy and joyful. Children in the choir, wearing cotton clothes and under the care of old nuns, piled snowmen in the square and volunteered
The believers who helped cleaned the church windows, while the believers who came to pray for the last time of the year stuffed one banknote after another into the donation box.
The entire church and even the entire square have been decorated with festive decorations. When Shade got off the carriage, he was even given an invitation to a grand open-air banquet to be held in the square tomorrow night. Unfortunately, he will definitely not be there tomorrow night.
time.
On the west side of the church, a shed was set up to distribute end-of-year relief meals, and on the east side of the church, a stage for public performances was being set up. Shade watched all this while holding little Mia, and entered the church, which was busier than usual, to find Augustus.
When he was a priest, the old priest was standing under a ladder on the side wall of the main auditorium of the church, assigning tasks to the young priests gathered in a circle to visit the old man in the city.
This is of course not the end-of-year visit to the elderly that outsiders remember, but the church’s distribution of end-of-year gifts to elderly core believers, which is a tradition of the Five Gods Church.
The old priest finished arranging things before talking to Shade. While receiving a pen from Shade as a year-end gift, he also gave him three books as gifts in return.
"Why do you all give me books?"
Shade asked with a smile, but he still happily accepted the gift. Unlike the books given by the doctor that recorded occult knowledge, the three books given by the priest were one of the religious classics "The Life of St. Sidious" by the Church of the Dawn.
", and the other two books are "Friends Around You: A Guide to Cat Feeding (Part 1)" and "Friends Around You: A Guide to Cat Feeding (Part 2)."
Although they sound ordinary, the latter two are quite expensive books because the written and internal diagrams and illustrations are in color. This is not a printing press, but a handwritten and hand-drawn book, and in the age of steam industry, handicrafts
It remains more expensive than the previous era.
"Meow?"
Looking at the colorful cat on the cover of the book that Shade was holding, Little Mia suddenly slapped the page with her paws and let out an extremely dissatisfied cry, which made both Shade and Priest August laugh.
"Priest, there is one more thing."
Although there were many people in the main auditorium, most of them were praying on the long chairs in front or walking by in a hurry. No one paid attention to this side, so Shade lowered his voice slightly:
"I will use the relic at the foot of the statue on Thursday night... I will come here to pick it up on Thursday afternoon."
The priest's eyes looked around casually and nodded slightly:
"No problem, I won't repeat it because of safety precautions and the like, but remember to return it after use. If it gets out of control again, I don't think Anat is confident that she can contain it again."
Priest Augustus will spend his last days in this church. The old priest has spent countless last days in this church and has witnessed the ups and downs of this church in the past half century.
Even Bishop Owen, who was transferred from a foreign diocese to the local area when he was in his forties, could not compare with him.
Therefore, Priest August will not be alone at the end of the year. On the contrary, he is probably the busiest one among the four people in the group. Seeing that someone came to see the priest again, Shade said goodbye to the old man and went to talk to him who was also very busy.
Bishop Owen said a happy New Year's Day and then left for the Prophet's Association.
Silver Cross Avenue, where the Prophet's Association is located, is the center of Tobesk, the capital of the Kingdom of Delarian, and as the end of the year approaches in 1853, the changes here are more obvious than in other parts of the city.
When the carriage brought Shade and Mia here in the snow, Shade raised his head and looked toward the distance of the street, looking at the colorful ribbons connecting the street lights on the left and right sides, extending into the distance in the snow like door arches.
, until it extends to the end of the road that cannot be seen.
Before Shade didn't know it, the gas street lamp had been replaced with a brand new style. The glass lampshade of the brand new lamp looked particularly brand new. Workers were doing final inspections on the ladder. On the fence and wall outside Yodel Palace
, the colorful coat of arms of the royal Cavendish family has also been hung, and the flag of the Kingdom of Delarian is flying on the top of every building in Yoder Palace.
There were noisy sounds everywhere. There were a lot of pedestrians on Silver Cross Avenue today, and there was a long queue at the entrance of Yodel Palace. His Majesty the King was going to receive a lot of people today, but only a few were able to get in.
Everyone is beaming, and even the boy selling newspapers can receive more tips than usual. The joyful atmosphere is spreading throughout the city with the arrival of the festival, and no one wants to keep it at the end of the year.