Chapter 43 Memories of Number Six, St. Theresa's Square

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“Actually, I didn’t uncover anything about the unusual price. Augustus helped me find the information in the Church’s records.”

The doctor gestured for the gray-haired old priest to speak. The latter nodded, his gray hair looking especially worn beneath the dim glow of the gas lamp.

“About a hundred years ago, a shocking murder took place at Number Six, Saint Trelane Square. According to the Church’s records, two unidentified nine-ring sorcerers fought there and died almost simultaneously. A subsequent investigation found that they had lost control of themselves after reading a large number of ancient books. Although the Church believed that this would not affect the house itself, most of the house’s owners since then have died inside it.”

“This sounds rather like the beginning of a horror story...” Shade thought, before realizing something else.

“Wait. Am I the protagonist?”

The old priest paused before continuing.

“The Church could find nothing wrong with the house either, so about thirty years ago, it purchased the property and sealed it away. Only after repeated inspections two years ago did it put the old house up for sale at a low price. But wealthy people who inquired about the price of houses on Saint Trelane Square were all concerned about such taboos, while poor people who did not care about them would never have asked about property prices on Saint Trelane Square. Somehow, in the end, the house was purchased by Sparrow Hamilton.”

It sounded as though the former detective had picked up an incredible bargain—only to die afterward.

“Did that detective know about the house?” Miss Louisa asked curiously. The writer was extremely interested in such matters.

“Of course he did. The Church would not conceal something like this, and it informed him of the house’s history at the time. For safety’s sake, before the detective purchased it, the Church sealed off the first floor, where the accident had occurred a century ago; blocked the staircase to the third floor, which had become somewhat unsafe through years of neglect; and locked Room Two on the second floor, where a mass suicide had taken place seventy years ago... Who would have thought that this owner, too, would die in that house?”

The old priest could not help clutching the pendant at his chest and praying for Mr. Sparrow Hamilton, hoping that his soul might rest in peace.

Shade, who believed he possessed an overly vivid imagination, was already growing uneasy. The outsider had encountered plenty of stories like this.

“So, I...”

“But I don’t think Sparrow Hamilton’s death was caused by a curse. This was different from what happened before. The previous owners all died suddenly within a few months, with no cause ever discovered. The detective, however, died after living there for two years, and even the cause of his death can be determined.”

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Dr. Schneider said this, his blue eyes turning toward Shade.

“Of course, if you feel uncomfortable living there, you can sell the house. But because of Sparrow Hamilton’s death... I’m afraid the price will fall even further.”

His suggestion was quite reasonable.

“I have no intention of selling it for now. If the detective agency weren’t located in the city center, no one would be willing to believe in a nameless detective like me. Besides, if I sold the house, I still wouldn’t be able to buy a better one in Tobesk with the money... I read in the newspaper that inexpensive houses are available in the university district of Tobesk, but their prices are more despairing than even an out-of-control relic.”

At this, Miss Louisa immediately wore an expression of agreement. The solitary blond woman was evidently paying attention to such news as well.

Shade could not afford to move yet, so he planned to live there for a few months and see how things went. If anything happened, he would move out at once.

According to the information provided by the priest, all the previous owners had heard strange sounds and seen suspicious shadows in the house before dying suddenly. Those who had been alerted by such signs and moved away suffered no harm. Every person who continued living there, however, had died.

“This is even more like a vulgar horror story—and I’m still the protagonist.”

He thought this, then asked another question.

“Although the house belongs to Detective Sparrow, and I have his will, I haven’t seen the deeds proving ownership of the land and property.”

At this, the old priest waved his hand, his expression relaxed.

“Those documents are kept at the Church of Dawn, where I serve. The detective deposited them there, since the Church had its own concerns. If you wish to reclaim them, simply bring his suicide note with you. The Church of Dawn is in central Tobesk, a half-hour walk from Saint Trelane Square. The tree-lined avenues near the church are lovely, and there are plenty of public carriages.

“But to prevent the Church from becoming suspicious of the detective’s death, reopening the investigation into the house, and perhaps even investigating you, I’ll obtain a death certificate stating that Sparrow Hamilton died of illness... This will not be a forged document. The one I get for you will be genuine... Consider it a gift for joining us. I won’t charge you for this assistance.”

And so, Detective Sparrow Hamilton’s death was given a final and conclusive explanation. With documentation sufficient to deceive the Church of the True Gods, no one except Shade and the doctor would ever know the secret behind the detective’s death.

Before today’s meeting ended, Shade finally mentioned his textual relic, the Vampire Ring. Unfortunately, none of the three people present had ever encountered this relic. The doctor did say that he could make inquiries through the academy library using parchment, but it would probably take some time before there was an answer.

Since Shade now possessed two relics, both of them relics of relatively high danger levels, he could be considered a fairly wealthy ring sorcerer. The doctor advised him to master one or two powerful thaumaturgies and spells for self-defense before beginning his reading of The Mad Pursuer of Light.

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“No one will supervise the progress of your self-study. You must take responsibility for yourself.”

That was the advice the blue-eyed doctor gave Shade before the four of them parted. But after leaving the clinic, the old priest Augustus told Shade not to take the doctor’s attitude to heart.

“Bill is always like this. Although he seems strict with people, he is actually kinder than anyone.”

He spoke while filling his pipe with tobacco, apparently having endured his abstinence for quite some time in the clinic.

“We have all endured his lectures. Once you spend more time with him, you’ll understand.”

Miss Louisa said the same. She boarded a carriage directly outside the clinic and left, while the less affluent Shade and Priest Augustus planned to depart on foot.

Shade would need to find a carriage later to transport his books home, but an ordinary hired carriage might not have enough room, so he intended to visit the nearest carriage company.

Shade noticed that Miss Louisa had been repeatedly trying to touch her earlobe that day, even though the woman wore no jewelry on her ears. She had not displayed this strange habit the last time they met.

He informed the old priest, who was traveling in the same direction for the moment. When they parted at the next intersection, Priest Augustus told Shade not to worry about it.

“Because of the existence of ‘another self,’ it is perfectly normal for a ring sorcerer to behave strangely from time to time. As long as they have not lost control through contact with relics or ancient knowledge, there is no need to pay attention to such oddities.”

The priest smiled as he walked with Shade along Lung Avenue in the affluent district. The people conducting business there were all well dressed, and Shade and the priest were only barely presentable by comparison.

“Since a year ago, Louisa has become somewhat strange every few days. She is actually fairly normal at present. Last summer, we even suspected that another soul had taken possession of her body while she was reading ancient fairy tales.”

Shade’s expression stiffened, and he did not dare continue discussing the possibility of souls possessing bodies. But he now understood that even ring sorcerers who appeared perfectly normal might display peculiarities unknown to others.

Ring sorcerers had never been a safe scholarly profession.