Chapter 37: Doctor's Appreciation |
Shad met with the doctor again in the consultation room. Compared to "that lady" on the third floor of the club last night, Shad had a much higher level of trust in the doctor. As a result, he recounted everything that had happened without holding back, feeling there was no need to omit any details.
This, of course, included the matter of the [Box of Darkness], though Shad avoided mentioning the exact conditions under which the box had lost control.
The doctor was visibly startled upon hearing how Shad first encountered a relic's loss of control. He stood up and paced around the room. By the time Shad mentioned the sage-grade [Relic], the doctor had already stopped pacing and held his head in his hands. When Shad described the insane ideas of the "Silver-Eyed," the doctor couldn’t help but groan aloud:
"Truly mad! I had heard before that [Blood of Mercury] was operating in the New World, experimenting with alchemy using unique minerals from there. I never expected they’d actually show up in Tobesk."
The doctor was quite satisfied with how Shad handled the [Box of Darkness] incident, though he didn’t find the [Silver Moon’s Radiance] technique particularly impressive, noting that there were many similar arcane arts. Shad's description of the technique suggested it was unusually bright but not particularly unique.
As for Shad trading the idol, which retained remnants of an Old God, to someone else, the doctor approved wholeheartedly. He even dismissed concerns about the woman possibly learning about their five-member correspondence group:
"There are plenty of people aware of our existence. Otherwise, how would we exchange materials and knowledge with others? How would we recruit talented individuals? Are we supposed to disguise ourselves every time? As long as the other party isn’t one of the True God Churches, her willingness to trade with a low-ring warlock like you means she’s likely quite friendly."
The doctor couldn't guess the woman's identity but speculated her warlock level must be high. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to detect Shad in such a manner, nor would she know so much about a sage-grade relic.
"Regardless, this turned out to be a good thing. You didn’t risk your life and ended up gaining a rare spell and a decent [Relic]. I’d say that’s lucky. The world isn’t safe; not every encounter ends so fortuitously," the doctor concluded.
The idol with remnants of an Old God held immense value, far surpassing that of a document-grade ring. But if he included the free information, knowledge, and Shad’s inadvertent role in triggering the [Box of Darkness]’s loss of control, the trade could barely be considered "fair." Most importantly, "that lady" was vastly stronger than Shad.
The doctor showed little interest in "that lady" from the club, as powerful warlocks often emerged in the northern capital of the Old Continent. His focus was on the [Blood of Mercury]:
"The Academy recently issued missions related to the [Blood of Mercury]. I was even considering participating... Now it seems I need to reevaluate, especially given the mention of sage-grade relics."
Muttering to himself, he glanced at Shad:
"Overall, you handled this quite well. You stayed safe, negotiated prudently, and provided the group with valuable intelligence. That’s a good start—it’s a glimpse of what your future life will look like.
However, this intelligence is significant. Perhaps I should offer you some compensation. Don’t refuse—though the five of us are in the same group and may one day cross the northern ice cap together, some matters require fair accounting. Ordinary intelligence can be shared freely, but this concerns something weighty..."
He paused to think before proposing, "How about four pounds? Each of us contributes one pound. That seems fair."
This kind of insider information would fetch far more on the black market, but within the group, such pricing was more reasonable. The four pounds weren’t a profit for Shad but a recognition of his contribution to the group.
"Four pounds—that’s like fetching young Franklin from the club eight times or getting another Mimia, my orange tabby," Shad thought, equating these relationships. He wasn’t greedy, so he smiled and replied, "That sounds great. But Doctor, I didn’t share information about Madame Lasso last night. Will that have any consequences?"
Taking the opportunity to ask, Dr. Schneider shook his head:
"If she didn’t ask, you had no obligation to say. But don’t interact with that lady again. She’s likely a member of the [Blood of Mercury]. Though I’ve never heard of them possessing gender-swapping relics, it’s probably related to their alchemical formulas. It seems the Academy’s bounty is more challenging than I thought."
The doctor frowned, cautioning Shad:
"In any case, avoid anything connected to the [Blood of Mercury]. I might take action soon, but I’m a five-ring warlock, and you’re not. The [Blood of Mercury] are lunatics who believe they can create legendary angel-grade relics. That’s absurd!"
"True. If angel-grade relics were common, the world would be utter chaos," Shad agreed sincerely.
The blue-eyed doctor, who seemed to have prior dealings with the organization, shifted the topic:
"Shad, for now, focus on learning basic life skills and developing your detective career. Engage more with the ordinary world. When you reach the second ring or grow sufficiently powerful, consider exploring Tobesk’s shadows. This crazy world is always more insane than you’d expect."
"Doctor, does the Academy always withhold crucial information from us?" Shad took the chance to ask.
To his surprise, the doctor shook his head:
"Don’t be too harsh on St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy. They usually share relevant intelligence at the appropriate time."
"And when is that?"
"Only they know," the doctor replied, leaning back in his armchair.
After leaving Dr. Schneider’s clinic, Shad found the day uneventful, aside from hearing about a gas explosion in an alley opposite the Silver Parrot Milk Company. No illicit organizations approached him, no generous clients rang his doorbell, and none of Sparrow Hamilton’s acquaintances visited.
Working alone at home, however, Shad made progress. Though he still couldn’t harness any [Space-Time] power, his proficiency with [Silver Moon] improved. Likely due to the breakthrough on the club’s third floor, Shad could now imbue objects with [Silver Moon]’s light, beyond just using the radiance spell.
His most successful attempt involved making the increasingly affectionate orange tabby Mimia glow for ten seconds. This scared the cat, causing her to dart around the house and even climb to the third floor via the broken staircase.
It took Shad a long time to coax the frightened cat back. This led him to suspect that the detective might have hidden his gun in one of three places: the sealed-off first floor, the unreachable third floor, or the unoccupied second-floor Room 2.
Without sufficient tools, Shad couldn’t investigate further, but he added these places to his agenda. He needed to confirm his home’s absolute safety.
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