novelonline Chapter 3593 Innocence
Chapter 3593 Innocence
Chapter 3593 Innocence
That morning, Shad stayed in Tobesk and didn't wander around. He first organized the books and materials he had recently acquired at home. Seeing that the maids had already helped him with the many chores at the beginning of the month, he thought of giving the cat another bath before spring arrived.
But then he discovered that because of the short casting time of [Blood Moon Return]—that is, the time it takes for the red vortex to form—he couldn't catch the cat that had read his "bad intentions".
Tifa would bring people to clean the room in the afternoon, so Shad didn't need to clean it himself. So at ten o'clock in the morning, he took Mia to the Dawn Church for worship. After participating earnestly in the church activities, they had lunch at the church at noon.
Bishop Irwin chuckled and said he hadn't seen Shad for several weeks, then asked what Shad had been up to lately.
This is how Shad answered:
"Besides handling some minor, unimportant tasks, I'm renovating my house. Please don't tell anyone else about this. The Duke said my house was too small, so he helped me buy number seven St. Teresa's Place next door."
Bishop Irwin gave a knowing look and then thoughtfully offered some renovation advice.
On the way to the clinic in the east of the city by carriage after lunch with Priest Augustus, Shad told the priest that he had already used the angel feather.
"That's good. I told you not to keep that feather in your hand forever; it's not something that should exist in this era. Who did you use it on?"
As the carriage traveled through the streets and alleys of Tobeskoye, Shad told the old priest the story of young Beren.
When the two got out of the car in front of the clinic, the priest also sighed because of this story:
"The fact that this feather miraculously appeared in this era might be so that you could save that child. Even the angel of death is so gentle."
During the subsequent group meeting, Luvia announced that she would be going on a business trip. Dr. Schneider then brought out wine glasses, and everyone raised their glasses to bid Luvia farewell.
"I'll be going to the island to take care of some things in a while, you know, it's about that escaped demon, and we might even meet again then."
The doctor said that he seemed to have completely emerged from the shadow of the "Demon King" and was actively preparing to face the Black Hand - Tifreon, who possessed the blood of the "Demon King".
There wasn't much noteworthy happening at the group meeting that day, except that Father Augustus shared the story of how he had acquired a snuff bottle-shaped relic that week.
He heard rumors about "snuff bottles that can make people happy" at the church. He initially thought it was someone selling and spreading illegal herbs. However, after investigating it when he had nothing else to do, he discovered that it was a relic that could transform pain into tobacco, which, once lit, would bring people lasting happiness.
"Someone placed it near the city prison, and after transforming the pain, sold the tobacco to local nobles who sought pleasure for profit. That person is a low-level sorcerer from out of town, and even if I hadn't run into him, the church would have discovered it soon."
Dorothy then smiled and said:
"He should have left his belongings at the school, especially before exam week; that might have been more efficient."
Everyone laughed.
The group meeting ended at 3:30 PM. Dorothy didn't leave with Shad; instead, she went to Luvia's to continue helping her pack. Of course, the writer would definitely be going to No. 6 St. Teresa's Place that evening.
Xia De didn't rush to leave the doctor's clinic. After the other three had left, he first gave a brief overview of the events that had taken place on the island that week, and then asked the doctor:
"How are the preparations going?"
The doctor shook his head:
"We need to be very careful this time, please give me some more time. Moreover, we must seize the opportunity when it reappears, and next time we must solve the problem once and for all. If we let it get away again, things will probably become even more complicated."
We need to prepare for both the worst and the best. If, after dealing with Black Hand—Tifron—we find he still has that stuff's blood on him, Detective, do you have a way to handle it?
Shade shook his head:
"No."
"So I need more time."
This means that Shad still bears the responsibility of finding the demon. But this isn't a problem, because he knows he doesn't need to search for it; the demon will surely appear on its own in other events.
Taking advantage of the remaining time in the afternoon, Shad took Mia to Fatoumunst Island in the twilight. But apart from a brief snowfall in the morning, the island was peaceful throughout Saturday.
That evening, Dorothy generously invited Luvia to her home:
"Luvia is leaving soon, we can't leave her alone at home, she'll be so lonely."
Of course, Saturday night classes couldn't be missed. Dorothy claimed she had learned a new magic trick, one that touched on the very core of the "Snow White" story.
Luvia stayed home to study the murals, while Dorothy took Shad to the Vista Woods. There, surrounded by a large flock of chocobos, she stood in the snow and made Shad take a few steps back.
"Shad, answer me a question: Why is it that the princess in Snow White has become the representative of the 'fairy tale princess' image in modern times?"
"Because, besides the wonderful story, her innocence, kindness, and naivety perfectly match people's fantasies about 'princess'."
Dorothy nodded, then took a red apple from her pocket. Holding the apple in her right hand, she touched it to her forehead, lowered her head slightly, closed her eyes, and knelt down on one knee in the snow.
As she moved, a pure white circular ritual unfolded on the snow, centered on her, with a radius of approximately 40 feet (about 12 meters). Within this area, Shad and the chocobos were all bathed in a pure white light.
Even after Dorothy stood up, the circular ritual that had unfolded on the snow did not disappear. Shad looked at his faintly glowing hands, sensing the power within them:
"A miraculous healing technique that can treat a wide area?"
"It heals wounds, soothes the spirit, and to some extent can dispel curses and identify evil."
Dorothy was somewhat proud:
"The Magical Art - [Snow White's Grace]. This is the core magical art derived from the fairy tale 'Snow White,' representing the story's core meaning. Since my elevated discourse has chosen this fairy tale, this magical art must naturally be learned."
What I'm showing you isn't the complete form of this magical technique. The complete form requires thirteen rings to cast, and when cast at full power, its range can even extend to an entire city, and the effect is far superior to what I'm showing you now.
The chocobos all ran around in this glowing area, but unfortunately, although the effect range was large, once the spell was completed, the ritual would not move with the caster, but would remain fixed in a specific location.
Shad asked again:
"The effects of this magical technique can last, right?"
"Yes, and it doesn't continuously deplete my spirit, but rather the range and duration are determined by the spirit paid when casting the spell. My current limit when casting alone is enough to maintain the effect of this magic for ten minutes. If I were to combine with Lacia, Grace, and Helen... I haven't tried it yet, but it would definitely be amazing."
This is indeed a remarkable healing technique, with numerous, wide-ranging, and long-lasting effects. Apart from the fact that it cannot be moved and that an apple is required to cast the spell, which is a bit odd, this technique has almost no drawbacks.
Dorothy demonstrated this magic to Shad so that, after reading multiple versions of the story and analyzing the characters from various perspectives, he could return to the core of the story and understand what "Snow White" truly wanted to express:
"This story is the most beautiful and innocent memory of most people's childhood. Even illiterate women in the slums can tell this fairy tale to their children. Shad, don't forget any innocence and beauty, that's what I want to tell you."
The maid at the Ice and Snow Castle said something similar yesterday.
(Mia is running.)
On Sunday, as soon as Shad arrived in Kyle Todd, Claire dropped a bombshell:
"Shad, didn't you ask everyone a few days ago if they knew about the 'Stone Harp'? We found the Stone Harp last night, do you want to go take a look?"
It was quite a coincidence. The day before yesterday, after returning from the Temple of Destiny, the elders also heard from Claire about everything, including the children in the hospital and the temple in the snow mountain.
The Fatu people of the Fifth Age had come into contact with that temple, so Claire's information gave the elders new ideas. Recently, reviewing the secret scrolls in the tribe's collection, scrolls that might not have been looked at for centuries, also helped them understand how their ancestors had prevented the Prophet's Association from reaching the snow-capped mountains.
Therefore, yesterday afternoon, Elder Harald, Elder Virda, and Elder Ursa went to the summit of Mount Fatumunster – the Peak of Destiny – and then used the "Ice Jade" collected by the tribe to try to find the "Upper Spring" that should be near the temple, which was originally the purest and most sacred spring in the hearts of the Fatum people.
Although they didn't find Shangquan, their search wasn't entirely fruitless. They discovered a cave high up in the mountain, and after passing through it, they found a valley area in the mountains that remained green with trees and flowers even in winter.
The area was small, and in the center of the canyon was a spring.
"This sounds like a fairy tale. Isn't that Kamiizumi?"
"Upon inspection, it was found that it was not the Upper Spring, but rather a hidden spring in the snow-capped mountains. However, the spring water was just as clear and very similar to the water from the 'Upper Spring' that we are currently using."
In that canyon, an altar was also discovered, upon which lay a snake's skin, and beneath it, a stone harp and a snakeskin scroll.