On December 13, the sky over Roseburg was gray.

The convoy slowly arrived at the main entrance.

Although it is not grandiose, the decoration of the carriage is not luxurious. But the guards at the city gate did not dare to stop them in the slightest.

Just because outside the pure black carriage, the golden lion's head is polyphonic.

That's the symbol of Noah's royal family!

In the front carriage, a middle-aged man with a serious and calm face sat up.

He has curly black hair and dark red eyes. Wears a pair of narrow-brimmed black square-rimmed glasses.

The man lifted the curtain and glanced outside.

"It's snowing, Kaphne."

He asked in a low voice of concern, "Are you cold?" ”

The girl in the same carriage as him, Kaphne, did not respond.

Kaphne didn't pay attention to her father's words, but focused on drawing.

She looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and her black curls were scattered all the way around her waist. He wears a painter-like beret on his head.

She wore only a black waist-cinching lace dress. Barefoot pulled out of his boots and curled up under him, squatting down on the long, soft bench seat, resting his sketchpad on his knees, concentrating on what he was smearing.

"-Kaphne?"

The middle-aged man did not get a response.

He reached for Kaphne's sketchpad and pulled it away.

The man patiently asked again: "Are you cold, do you want to add clothes?" ”

“……”

Kaphne just shook her head silently.

Unlike men, although she also has red pupils, those eyes are closer to the color of glass.

That kind of bizarre transparency can even make people wonder if she has normal vision.

And the man also seemed very distressed about her silence, just like every child or couple who asked "what to eat tonight" got the answer "whatever":

"What do you mean by shaking your head? Not cold or no clothes? ”

As he spoke, the man glanced down at Kaphne's painting.

Then he was stunned.

Kaphne's painting is a lifelike human-faced bird.

Its posture was strange and twisted, its wings seemed to be broken, and each feather had an eye on it. It ran on the fire with its legs outstretched, but its feathers showed no signs of being burned.

The moment he saw this strange and terrifying painting, a well-concealed fear and disgust flashed in the man's eyes.

But he quickly asked softly, "What is this, Kaphne?" ”

“…… It's God. ”

She whispered, "He has aroused me." ”

Her voice was extremely soft and soft, and she murmured in a whisper like a dream.

But hearing this, the man was shocked.

"—Don't you dare to say that!"

He threw away the painting as if he had been electrocuted, stood up and rebuked.

But he didn't dare to teach Kaphne anything.

Just looking at the extremely clear crimson pupils made him feel a wave of fear. A strong creepy sensation rose from behind, and the man felt the skin on his body peel away without the slightest pain.

He tried his best to suppress the fear that was almost boiling in his heart, barely showed a gentle smile, pushed his glasses and whispered, "Kaphne, we have arrived.

"It's not far from Frozen Water Harbor. Don't you want to see Amos Morrison's paintings? I'll take you to the ruins of Morrison's gallery tomorrow......"

“…… No need. ”

Kaphne shook her head slightly, not knowing what it meant.

As she spoke, she silently picked up the frame that had been thrown aside and retracted into her seat.

She vigorously smeared the picture with black paint, almost blacking out most of the paintings.

Although he knew that he shouldn't talk to Caphni, who was painting, the man couldn't help but ask, "Did you draw something wrong?" ”

"Yes, it's wrong."

Caveni made a soft, soft voice, and said two words that were rare to say, "He should have four faces and four wings." I can't look far enough......

"He had the face of a man in front, a lion on his right, an ox on his left, and an eagle on his back......"

When she said this, she raised her head and looked at the man seriously: "'Four' can represent time in the ceremony, Dad." ”

“…… I don't understand any of that. I'm not transcendent, and I don't understand what it means. ”

The man smiled wryly and said, "You don't have to explain it to me...... You just draw yours. ”

"Hmm."

Kaphni also seemed to lose interest in continuing to explain.

She hummed softly and hung her head again.

The man leaned back in the back seat with a pale face.

- I saw it again.

Every time he made eye contact with Kaphne, the man seemed to see a myriad of black, shadowy tentacles under her skirt.

He was also a little confused whether this was some kind of delusion......

Because it could also be the illusion that Kaphne's black lace skirt gave him on the carriage that was constantly rocking gently.

…… Who knows.

The man rubbed his temples a little tiredly.

It's time to take a break.

"—Wake up, wake up!"

On the other side, Annan heard Salvatore's call.

The moment he came to his senses, a large number of words appeared in front of Annan's eyes:

【You have completed a ritual, your Will Attribute +1】

[You look at the most holy thing, and the erosion has been reduced to zero]

[You have received the new marker "High Impact: Remnants of the Wheel of the Crane"]

[If you don't remove it in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword "brilliance" in seven days (difficulty: distorted).] 】

"Don Juan? Are you awake? ”

As if sensing Annan's eyelids twitching, Salvatore's voice was a little surprised: "Don Juan? ”

“…… Well. ”

Annan opened his eyes and found himself lying on the bed, wrapped in two layers of quilts.

For some reason, he felt a lot of warm glass bottles stuffed in his quilt.

…… This is, hot water bottles?

Strange thoughts flashed through Annan's mind.

Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and drank a few large sips of water, complaining: "I originally wanted to leave you some private space, but I didn't expect you to fall asleep in front of the mirror?" Did you look at something in a mirror? How can you still pass out?

"Do you know how cold it is in that place? The cold clothing itself doesn't fit well, and lying on the ground can't protect you from the cold at all. The worst thing is that you are lying on the ground with a peaceful face, and I was shocked when I went in and saw you-"

"Senior," Annan asked suddenly, "how long have I been unconscious?" ”

"More than an hour - don't interrupt! I really never expected that the elixir I concocted would be used in such a place......"

The more Salvatore spoke, the more he felt a stomachache: "What exactly do you see? How can you still pass out? Can this mirror still hurt people? Here, drink some hot water...... How are you now? ”

"No, it's not a mirror problem. I passed out for some other reason. ”

Annan shook his head, took the cup of hot water, and took a sip.

He wasn't lying.

It wasn't true that he fainted because of the mirror...... If nothing else, it may be a problem with the Book of Cranes.

And......

"If so, how am I now......

Annan's expression was a little strange: "My feeling is that I am in very good shape now. I think it should be the effect of a panacea. ”

He felt his head unusually clear, his body strong, and very comfortable. He had never felt so comfortable since he came into the world...... If you want to describe it, it's like a person who walks in the rain for a long time, and finally takes a shower and changes into warm and dry clothes.

But even Annan himself didn't know that this was the effect of a panacea......

Or in the mirror, the role of another "Annan".

(End of chapter)