Chapter 140

Chapter 140: .

Duncan sensed Vanna’s presence rushing toward the antique shop. It did not come in a straight line. It kept changing direction and even paused in strange places.

What was an Inquisitor who lived in the Upper City doing suddenly coming to this Lower City antique shop? And why was her route so strange?

The moment the aura of that young Deep Sea Inquisitor appeared in his senses, Duncan frowned a little and, without thinking, glanced at Shirley.

Was she here for Shirley? Had the Deep Sea Church finally found the summoner in the city who traveled with Abyssal demons? Or was she here for him? He had always acted very carefully. He had left no clues that could point to the Vanished. At most, the original identity of this body as a Suntist might be exposed… but that still should not alarm a full Inquisitor, right?

The way that aura approached—fast yet winding—did not look at all like someone just strolling past. It felt full of purpose.

His thoughts rose and fell in an instant. Duncan quietly looked at Nina, who was reading beside him, then stood up and walked toward the front door of the antique shop.

Shirley noticed his movement and followed him without thinking: “Mr. Duncan? What’s going on…?”

“Stay in the shop.” Duncan gave Shirley, who no matter how you looked at it should count as a Heretic, a look and told her to stay where she was. Then he went to the door and looked toward the direction of the aura he sensed.

Then he understood why Vanna’s aura was getting closer so fast—

She had come by car.

A dark gray car driven by a steam engine screeched to a stop at the shop’s door. The door opened and two people stepped down. One was Vanna. She had changed into regular clothes, but her height still drew the eye at once. The other was the psychiatrist he had met once before, Miss Heidi.

Duncan: “…”

He thought for a moment about all the wild scenes he had imagined after sensing an aura rush toward him. Maybe he should stop assuming every supernatural matter involved people in spotless white robes drifting in and out like the wind. Thinking about it now, those brief pauses while Vanna came over were probably just her waiting at traffic lights…

Then he saw the psychiatrist lady wave to him in high spirits and greet him cheerfully: “Mr. Duncan!”

Duncan’s mouth twitched. When he saw Vanna in ordinary clothes, he already knew he had overthought things. Even so, as he walked up to them, he deliberately gave this Inquisitor a few extra looks and showed just the right amount of surprise: “And this is…?”

“Ah, you must recognize her. There’s no one in this city who doesn’t,” Heidi said with a teasing smile. “Our respected Inquisitor, Miss Vanna. But she’s off duty today, so relax a little—she’s my friend. When she heard what happened at the City Museum, she insisted on coming along to thank you in person…”

“Friend?” This time Duncan’s surprise had some real feeling in it. He really had not expected this. “I didn’t think you would bring such a big shot over…”

“Calling me a ‘big shot’ is a bit much, Mr. Duncan,” Vanna said.

It seemed she had been quietly sizing up the antique shopkeeper from the start. She finally spoke with a slight smile. Her voice was a little hoarse and low, with a hint of magnetism. But to Duncan, this was not the first time he had heard the Inquisitor’s voice.

“Just treat me as an ordinary guest. As Heidi said, I’m off duty today. I came mainly to thank you for saving Heidi at the City Museum, and also to learn a few things… Don’t worry, it’s nothing like a formal interrogation.”

Learn a few things?

Duncan’s expression did not change. He kept his usual friendly smile, stepped aside, and invited the two special visitors into the shop: “Then let’s not stand in the doorway. Please, come in—business is slow today anyway, so we might as well make the place lively.”

He spoke as he walked back into the antique shop. As soon as he went in, he saw Shirley craning her neck, peeking toward the outside. He casually rubbed the girl’s hair: “Calm down later.”

Shirley froze: “Calm down for wha—”

The next second, she knew why she had to calm down.

She saw the Inquisitor who stood at the very top of Pland’s Church when it came to force step inside. The “big sister” over one meter ninety tall walked past the little shorty under one meter sixty, and the pressure she brought was not only visual.

Shirley almost blurted out without thinking: “Wo—wow, you’re so tall!”

Vanna stopped without thinking and glanced at the girl standing nearby, whose expression was strange and whose whole body was tight. She nodded to her in a friendly way: “Hello.”

“Her name is Shirley,” Duncan said casually from the side. “She helps out in my shop. She was also there when the trouble at the City Museum happened. Miss Heidi should have mentioned her to you.”

“So you’re Shirley?” Vanna nodded, matching the description she had heard with the real person in front of her. “You really are a cute little girl.”

At this time, Nina, who had been reading by the counter, also heard the commotion. She ran over, and the first thing she saw was Vanna’s astonishing height. She recognized this famous Inquisitor at once and let out the same startled cry as Shirley.

“…This is why I don’t like going out with you,” Heidi finally could not help speaking up from behind Vanna, where Nina had not noticed her for a long time. “You just stand there and grab all the attention—I’m supposed to be the main character today, you know?”

“But I don’t want to attract attention this way either,” Vanna looked at her friend with a straight face. “I’ve already done my best to look ordinary today.”

“…Forget it, I’m used to it.” Heidi sighed, then greeted Nina and Shirley one by one. After that she took out the visiting gift she had brought and handed it to Duncan.

“I don’t know what you like, but I can’t come to thank you with empty hands. My father asked me to give this to you. He said someone as well-read as you, who is interested in history and occult studies, should like it.”

“You’re too polite. It was just a small favor at the time,” Duncan said in return as he reached out and took the gift. It was a wooden box that already looked quite old. He opened the lid right there, but when he saw what was inside, he became a little puzzled. “This is…?”

Inside was a book, a beautifully bound and expensive book, the kind respectable scholars in the Upper City would keep in their homes. On the hard dark purple cover, a line of elegant cursive letters read:

“City-States and Gods”

“This is a book from my father’s collection. It’s already very hard to find on the market now—its author was the great naturalist and theologian Mr. Maldano Victor from a century ago,” Heidi said with a smile. “It describes the historical changes of the Age of City-States and how various deity faiths, including the four True Gods, influenced civilized society. He said you should like things in this field.”

Duncan quietly looked at the exquisite book in the box, and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

“Of course, I really do like it. Please thank Old Mr. Morris for his kindness for me.”

After some polite words and a bit of friendly small talk—and since there were no other guests today anyway—Duncan simply closed the front door of the antique shop and treated the fairly spacious first floor as a sitting room.

Nina brought over two more chairs. Duncan brewed the best coffee in the shop for the two guests. Shirley pretended to straighten the shelves but actually just looked for a corner to lower her presence. Vanna looked around the small shop that seemed ordinary on the surface with some curiosity, while Heidi had already skillfully set her “medical box” on the counter. At the same time, she said to Nina: “Let’s get straight to the point. I heard you’ve been troubled by nightmares for a while, and often seem absent-minded?”

“Ah, they’re not really nightmares, just a strange dream that keeps going on…” Nina had not expected Miss Heidi to be so direct. She paused for a moment before answering. “I always dream that I’m standing somewhere very, very high, like on top of a tower. Then I see several blocks at my feet that have all been burned to ash. But nothing scary actually appears…”

“Stop,” Heidi raised a hand in a gesture, opening her medical box as she spoke casually. “Recurring scene, high place, fire, no specific frightening images, but the dream itself comes back so often that your mind can’t rest… Let me think…”

Nina leaned forward to peek into Heidi’s medical box. The first thing she saw inside were chisels, axes, saws, and all kinds of bottles and jars. She shrank her neck at once: “Um… Miss Heidi… can I not get treatment? I don’t think I’m that bad actually…”

Duncan also saw what was in Heidi’s medical box, and his eyebrow twitched: “Excuse me, but… are these really things you need for Mental Therapy?”

Was this elegant and gentle-looking physician in front of him actually a psychiatrist, or a vet?!