Chapter 288: 64. Moonlight
“What kind of impact will the emerging bills passed by the Parliament have on Nali, or rather, on the Western Continent and the future landscape of humanity?”
Inside the Healing Rot Church in the evening, the faint candlelight illuminated the loving and gentle gaze of the Mother, which was directed at the Nali man sitting beneath her, who was continually writing something with a steel pen.
The setting sun had already tilted to the west, and the sea surface, which gradually calmed after the winds had swept through, sparkled like a shimmering mirror, as if the terrifying natural disaster was just a fleeting memory. Perhaps it was because this coastline had experienced such disasters too many times in the past and future that everything today was merely routine for it.
Fisher and Emhart were copying the Genesis for Sister Ilos; the poor Healing Rot Church was not equipped with electric lights, and the only source of illumination was the candles that Ilos bought from the city of Derry. According to Emhart, Derry was a very peaceful little town that believed in the Frost Phoenix, allowing Ilos to venture into the city.
At this moment, an old magic radio was still sitting on the table, having just emitted some sound moments ago. This little gadget had been donated to Sister Summer by a visitor from the Western Continent who came to pray here.
Ordinarily, Ilos would use this device to listen to the magic hotline from the Kingdom of Sardinia and occasionally tune into foreign broadcasts, though she completely couldn’t understand other languages.
The radio continued to relay a conversation from the newsroom, occasionally mixing in some indistinct crackling sounds,
“Crackle. Last month, the Parliament just passed the tax reform; this month, a joint venture between the Nali Exploration Company and the royal family’s special supplies was also established. The recent movements of the New Party are rather ambiguous, crackle, and they have indicated this to Her Majesty Elizabeth. It’s hard to say why the party leader has recently changed their attitude.”
“The Griffin Party has also been very active lately. The establishment of the new guild and the reform of the noble title system targeting the old aristocrats is just to my taste, crackle! It’s time to show those fat pigs who have been living off their ancestors how the social tides have now turned.”
“Next month, Her Majesty Elizabeth will attend the enterprise expo in Saint Nali. I heard that the meeting hosted by the Godlin Royal aims to support small businesses and workshops outside of Saint Nali, which is a paradise for all kinds of steam engines and magicians.”
“Indeed, the Pei Chui Publishing House will be the primary reporting media for this event, following its progress in real time and reporting it in tomorrow’s newspaper. Citizens interested in participating, crackle crackle crackle.”
Suddenly, the sound from the nearby radio was interrupted, but Fisher did not pause in his copying of the Genesis. After all, the malfunction had been apparent since the little radio began to emit sound interference just earlier, so the sudden loss of sound was no surprise; it was probably because the magic rune inside was close to fading that this issue arose.
It made sense, too. Since Sister Summer had obtained this radio, at least a decade had passed. The fact that it still worked was a miracle; he could help Ilos fix it, but unfortunately, all the magic materials he had bought were lost to the sea, leaving only the carved magic ring still on his hand.
“Well, it sounds like your party has become more virtuous since you left. It’s rare to hear that they can pass such a bill. When I was in your Royal Library, I often heard a prince named ‘Dexter’ secretly complaining about the New Party and the Griffin Party’s issues; he made it impossible for me to sleep.”
Sir Book, sitting on Fisher’s shoulder, seemed to recall something from the past and said this.
Fisher checked over the contents he had copied and quickly remembered the specific meanings of the Northern Region script he had written. He then set down the paper and said,
“That’s because someone is secretly maintaining the balance in the Parliament nowadays. Elizabeth has not fully honored her commitments to the Griffin Party; at least privately, she has a clear mindset, and her approach is measured; she also understands what Nali needs to do now.”
“Hehe, still here analyzing things? I think you’d better think about how to escape from that Empress’s hands; if she catches you, you won’t have a good outcome.”
Fisher glanced expressionlessly at Emhart on his shoulder and asked,
“Which Empress are you talking about?”
Emhart opened his mouth, fell silent for a second, and then realized something, looking at him in disbelief and calling out,
“Ha, which one? Wait, you mean there’s more than one? What did you do before we met?”
Fisher smiled mysteriously but did not respond, dousing Emhart’s suddenly ignited curiosity with cold water, almost making him explode with anger.
Fisher gathered together the several sheets of handwritten drafts, and copying in Northern Region script was not very efficient; he had only managed to copy a third in several hours. Fortunately, the original length of the Genesis was not long, so he should be able to complete it by tomorrow, making the most of this time to study the rewards that the Moon Rabbit Tribe nun had received.
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
The church bell rang again; this was the last time it would signal the hour for the day, meaning that the time was now seven o’clock.
Speaking of which, had that Rabbit Nun been up there for several hours already?
When he returned to the church in the afternoon, Fisher had intended to see the situation at the belfry. However, it was a complete mess up there, far from the state of cleanliness she had described. Embarrassed, she had proactively offered to clean up for Fisher, yet she still hadn’t come down.
“Ilios?”
Fisher called for her from downstairs but received no answer, so he had to take Emhart with him to take a look.
Ascending the spiral staircase next to the confession room, the structure of the bell tower was generally hollow. Although there was plenty of space at the bottom of the great bell, it would probably be quite cold at night, barely serving as a place for Fisher to rest tonight.
When Fisher arrived, the second floor had already been tidied up. A water-filled wooden bucket leaned against the wall, indicating that Ilos had long since finished cleaning. However, he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t come down yet.
His gaze shifted ahead, aided by the final sliver of sunset, and finally, he saw Sister Ilos sitting gracefully on the ground among the neatly arranged clutter.
At that moment, she had her head bowed, seemingly examining something in her hands, so focused that she hadn’t noticed Fisher’s arrival.
“Ilios?”
“Ah, Mr. Fisher, sorry, were you calling me just now?”
“Uh-huh, what are you doing?”
At some point, she had removed her nun’s headscarf, causing her slightly curled golden hair to cascade down to her waist. She smiled and raised a handwritten notebook in her hand, turning to Fisher and saying,
“There isn’t much space to store things in the church. After Sister Summer passed away, I placed many of her belongings here. I only realized how many items were still here when I came up today to tidy things for Mr. Fisher.”
It turned out she was reminded of the past by the sight of these items. Sometimes, when you suddenly turn around to clean up things that have not been touched for a long time, such emotions can surface; those familiar yet strange objects colliding within your sight also awaken memories that you have already experienced. If those memories are related to an important person, the feeling becomes even more profound.
The Northern Region sky had completely darkened, as if the original warmth had been suddenly snatched away, bringing the peaceful Kingdom of Sardinia into another world.
The night breeze rose again, and strands of bright moonlight were guided by the invisible wind, slowly entering Fisher’s view. This was his first night in the Northern Region, and he suddenly felt that the nights here were several shades different from those on the Western Continent.
Fisher looked up at the sky; the air was clear of clouds, allowing the perfectly bright and cold crescent moon to reveal itself.
“Okay, Mr. Fisher, I’ve tidied this up! Hehe, I was not lying to you before. I used to clean here regularly, but I’ve come less often recently because it has been too cold. Ah, by the way, I need to bring you some warm things; I have a fleece sleeping bag, so you can rest here comfortably.”
Ilos set down what she was holding, turned around, and prepared to go downstairs. It was then, under the hazy moonlight, that Fisher suddenly noticed her pair of eyes had turned into a bright pink, almost enchanting, like glimmering pink jewels in the water, though she had had black eyes in the morning.
Ilos smiled at Fisher, but the next second, her expression suddenly froze as she looked at him; it seemed she had seen something extremely terrifying behind Fisher. She stumbled back in panic, instinctively extending a trembling finger pointing at him,
“F-F-Fisher, you… you have something behind you?!”
“Behind me?”
Fisher pointed to himself. He and Emhart turned to look, but saw nothing. As he turned back in confusion to see Ilos, her little face had turned even paler.
“There’s a gigantic eye, it’s watching you! Ah! It’s looking at you! I can’t see you! I can’t see you! I’m sorry! Ah!”
Ilos gazed at the empty space behind Fisher, not knowing what she had seen in her sight, but apparently, what she saw had a strong impact on her, causing her to keep retreating, forgetting that the structure of the bell tower was completely hollow and generally had no railings.
In the next moment, as she stumbled backwards in panic, she lost her footing and fell over the edge of the tower, her entire person uncontrollably plummeting downwards.
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(The end of this chapter)
