◎Like a kitten jumping into a boiling iron pot without knowing whether to live or die. ◎
It's not completely dark outside yet, but several beeswax candles filled with marigolds have been lit inside the church. The brilliant stained glass windows unfold like the title pages of a storybook, and the old stories of heaven and hell are reflected in the ambiguous light and shadow. lifelike.
The Supreme God carved in white marble uses meticulous lines to symbolize the justice of the gods. On both sides of the throne are knights in lacquered silver armor standing guard with swords in both hands. Everything seems to be prepared to bear witness to the judgment before night falls.
It was difficult for Dill to take his eyes away from a flame grille window. The orange sunset gave it heat. Above were countless pointed hat witches being tortured in the blazing fire. The scattered light cut their frightened faces. Their brooms were placed on the Burn it as firewood underneath.
Like a kitten jumping into a boiling iron pot without knowing whether to live or die.
There was a thump under her chest, and her racing heart was screaming to escape. Suddenly, the wings in her arms flapped gently, like warm hands soothing the girl's chest.
Dill hugged the big white goose and raised her eyes again. The pure white angel on the glass window smiled at her.
Her moon angel and moon goddess will always protect her, and she doesn't need to be afraid at all.
The spacious oak table in the center was almost full of people. There were cups and chips on the table, and there were singers playing the harp to accompany them. It was like a feast after prayer.
Sir Elder had taken off his velvet cloak, and his black silk coat was decorated with gold thread and agate buttons. As the son of the lord, he naturally sat on the main seat, which was in sharp contrast to the other travelers who were dressed sloppily and casually.
A man with a white beard and similarly well-dressed clothes was bowing to him. When he saw Mucha, his eyes immediately lit up and he stepped forward to greet him. He was able to move between the two nobles who were not easy to deal with with ease.
Dill patiently listened to their conversation. The man with the white beard must be the mayor.
"Lord Holdrog, please take a seat."
The mayor's tone was extremely respectful, almost as if he was praying to the statue, and the people around him began to whisper like a swarm of bees. Dill vaguely heard one of them whispering about Holdrog.
Ignoring Sir Elder's following gaze, Dill consciously found the most inconspicuous seat. Her appearance attracted the attention of many people. Fortunately, there was a more eye-catching presence on the other side.
The silver armor was as white as snow, with cold light flashing every step he took. The young man's youthfulness was frozen under layers of silver frost, and Dill didn't dare to look at him at all. The unsmiling Mucha is like a silver knight stepping down from the white throne in front, with an almost cold sense of sanctity in every move.
In fact, as soon as he walked into the room, the warm yellow light cooled down a lot, and the guests holding wine glasses couldn't help but sit upright.
They seemed to remember that they were in the temple, under the witness of the Most High God.
The young knight sat opposite the main seat. He did not touch the wine on the table and said directly: "It will get dark in less than an hour. Let's get straight to the point."
Sir Elder had obviously not forgotten the previous humiliation by the lake.
He smiled disdainfully: "Right under the eyes of the Supreme God, there is a Silver Knight of the Great Temple. Why do we need to be afraid of the night? Is it possible that the Lord Knight feels that the Temple cannot protect devout believers from the mere darkness of night?"
The knight didn't take it seriously: "You can stay as long as you want. There are unknown numbers, maybe groups, of werewolves outside waiting to hunt at night, and I only have a silver sword next to me."
Only the Silver Knight could not shy away from calling the devil by his name in the temple. The young man tore apart the hypocritical peace with a single word. The man in charge darkened his face, and the others could not help but hold their breath and concentrate.
They realize that the power of life and death is in the hands of others, and even the wine in the glass is no longer sweet, and even feels red but black.
The mayor realized that the atmosphere was not right, and immediately followed Mucha's words and began to hold a meeting.
Dill got to know other foreign guests one by one; a young couple who immigrated from other places half a year ago, a little nobleman who worshiped the Buddha and the accompanying singer were the guests brought back by Sir Elder, and finally a man from Hebrew wandering merchant.
When it was Dill's turn, she briefly introduced that she was a medicine man from the east coast. The other guests did not embarrass her, perhaps because Mucha answered the question quickly.
"The name of the person who disappeared yesterday is Val." He looked at the Hebrew businessman: "He must be your companion."
The Hebrew businessman's name is Datni, with a thick accent, brown skin and a prominent hooked nose. He and Val are both Hebrew jewelers, and they stopped in Jonestown to rest and resupply. Yesterday morning, Val said Going to the market to buy a new bridle for his donkey, Datny waited all day without seeing anyone.
This morning the mayor led people to search around and found several broken pieces of Hebrew linen not far from the forest, stained with sticky blood. Datny said sadly that his friend had planned to return to his hometown to get married after completing this business.
"Everyone is not looking so good. He Sai, let's change the song to something lighter, Manu from Vanilla Port." Sir Elder suddenly interjected. He put down his wine glass and knocked a crisp sound on the table.
The singer respectfully said to Datne: "This song is dedicated to your lord. My most beloved red mole was also given by a generous Heber businessman."
Dill looked at the singer who was worshiping Foretin. He was unexpectedly young. He was a young man in his early twenties, with handsome and deep features. He had another exotic style that was completely different from Dill. He had short dark brown hair that reached to the auricles and both ears. Showing off luxurious gold jewelry, there is a thumb-sized ruby on his chin. I don't know whether it is real or not, but it seems to be the "red mole" he calls his beloved.
Jose noticed Dill's gaze and gave her a toothy smile. The sound of his piano was touching, but the lyrics he sang were not the same.
[The Man Slave of Vanilla Port] is about a slave who carried spices. He stole and robbed along the way and became extremely rich by any means. He also killed a friend who was traveling with him and married the daughter of a wealthy businessman from Red Wine Bay on his behalf. In the end, he sat in While on the boat, the angry sea witch used a storm to sweep her into the abyss, and she will always be accompanied by the corpses of her friends at the bottom of the sea.
As the beautiful music played, the faces of the people present not only did not melt but became stiffer. Mucha shut up the singer with just one look. Sir Aird still had the same cynical attitude. Fortunately, he was accused of being slanderous. Datny seemed to have never heard this song about worshiping Froten, and the blank look on his face happened to fall into Dill's eyes.
Sandwiched between several nobles, the civilian couple was obviously restless.
The husband's wine glass was empty. He seemed to have gained enough courage and spoke in a trembling voice: "My lords, Bellis and I are busy in the market from morning to downhill every day. We pray in the church on time before bathing and rush to the church. Come home before curfew and all the townspeople and neighbors can vouch for us."
"This is not your decision, right, Lord Knight." Sir Aird twirled the wine glass. Every time he made things difficult for Mucha, he would glance at Dill intentionally or unintentionally.
Dill rubbed her head and diverted her attention. She told herself that this was a temple, and the little witch had better restrain all bad thoughts. [Ominous Omen A+] Upgrading would definitely be bad.
A silver cup interrupted her thoughts. Dill sniffed out that it was ordinary lemon juice. She raised her eyes and found that it was the wife of the young couple. She smiled tenderly to herself, as if she regarded Dill as a child.
Dill accepted her kindness in silence.
She subconsciously looked around and saw that the silver cups, silver plates, and even the knives and forks were all made of pure silver. The candlelight reflected on the smooth silverware, and the rough wine also flowed like moonlight.
It is not surprising that the temple of the Supreme God is decorated with noble silverware. The mayor wants to use them to entertain distinguished guests. Of course, it may also be because werewolves are afraid of silverware and are just testing it a little. But as Dill observed, no one here would say no to good wine and good food.
Dill stared at the distorted shadow on the cup, as if some disharmony was faintly twitching her nerves, forcing her to think.
"The church sent a bronze knight to investigate the disappearance half a year ago."
Mucha's voice attracted Dill's attention. He seemed to have no special expression, but Dill knew that he had waited long enough.
The mayor looked very sad. He shook his head reproachfully: "Sir Russell is a great and dedicated warrior. He stayed here for five days and soon said he had found traces of werewolves. Before leaving, he told us Everyone locked the doors and windows and entered the forest alone. The werewolf never appeared again. We always thought that he had succeeded in fighting the werewolf heroically, so we built a monument for him, right behind the church, including some of the things he left behind. , I can take you to see it later."
Mucha didn't respond immediately, and it took a long time before he heard him say a favor in a nasal voice. Dill couldn't help but feel heavy for him.
The little nobleman who was on good terms with Elder said impatiently: "It will be dark if we continue to talk. Demons are invulnerable. Since we can't guarantee the safety of all of us, let us leave as soon as possible."
The mayor looked a little embarrassed. Sir Elder had already stood up first and looked at the mayor with a stern look: "I was invited to be a witness. Could it be that you also want to interrogate me and my friends as prisoners? You Are you questioning the bloodline of Schulenberg Phillie?"
Of course the mayor did not dare. He was so frightened that he begged for mercy again and again. He called two alarm bell men in black robes to send Elder and others away, but the other party directly pushed them away and declared in front of Mucha without hesitation:
"Not only church knights can wield silver swords, Sunlenburg employs three Rhine silversmiths, and hundreds of knights are at the Earl's disposal. If necessary, I will advise my father to burn the entire forest and return the residents of Jonestown." A paradise."
The mayor was shocked when he heard this: "Sir, that forest is the land that everyone depends on for their livelihood!"
Sir Elder didn't even look at him. He gave Dill a meaningful look: "Any guest who wants to seek asylum is very welcome."
After a few people left, the businessman and the couple also stood up to say goodbye. They did not refuse the bellman's farewell, and even looked at the Silver Knight expectantly.
Mucha remained silent, perhaps he was still immersed in great sadness. In the end, only Dill was left alone. She looked at the other person's back as he left, and for a moment she thought about chasing after him, but in the end she made no move.
Dill was left alone, and the mayor stopped her at the door, acting quite enthusiastic:
"Remember that you came here with the Lord Knight. If you haven't found a place to live yet, my niece runs an inn."
Dill immediately refused: "No, I'm currently at Mrs. Cole..."
The mayor looked at her with wide eyes, and his mouth opened wide as if he had swallowed a lemon. Dill thought that she had accidentally cast some petrification spell on him.
It seemed that the mayor took a long time to find his voice, and he whispered: "Please allow me to rearrange your residence again."
Dill thought about what happened to Cole's mother and daughter, and said unconvinced: "No, they treated me very well. Mrs. Cole would pray to the Supreme God before three meals or before going to bed. She is the most devout and hard-working believer I have ever seen. , I heard Mrs. Cole say that you are the mayor..."
"child!"
The other party interrupted her eagerly, and her excited face showed no malice, but endless sadness and pleading:
"Young children, if you are really good for them, please treat them as if they don't exist."