Chapter 144

Chapter 144.

“I’m very sorry, I’m very sorry, I don’t even know what happened…”

Heidi apologized with a face full of embarrassment. As a veteran psychiatrist, and a professional who had finished all her studies under the strict standards of the Truth Academy, her shame at this moment was hard to describe. Honestly, when Vanna had woken her up with that helpless look, Heidi had almost felt that her whole career was over…

At the same time, Nina had just woken up from her nap on the bed and looked completely confused. She had no idea what had happened. She only stared in a daze as Heidi apologized to her, then finally turned her eyes toward Duncan: “Uncle Duncan, what happened? Why did Miss Heidi…”

“The psychiatrist who was hypnotizing you was sleeping even more soundly than you were,” Duncan said helplessly. He sighed and pointed at the side of the bed. “She even drooled on the floor.”

His words were very blunt. As soon as he finished, Heidi could hardly lift her head.

In this awkward and messy mood, only Vanna still kept a serious face. She looked around the whole room at once, as if she were searching for or sensing something. At last her gaze fell on Heidi: “Are you really all right? Why did you fall asleep first during a hypnosis session?”

Hearing her friend’s serious tone, Heidi slowly came back to herself. She frowned and tried to recall carefully. After a moment she shook her head slightly: “There’s nothing wrong with me. I must have been too tired lately, and after I finished the session I relaxed too much, so I drifted off.”

“You finished the session, then?” Vanna still did not seem reassured and asked again.

“Yes, it was finished.” Heidi thought it through once more, then nodded. “I asked Miss Nina a few questions. I only got drowsy and fell asleep after she answered.”

Duncan noticed how especially serious Vanna looked and could not help asking: “Is something wrong?”

“No… I’m just a little worried about Heidi,” Vanna said, shaking her head. “She has never had something like this happen before. But it’s probably just like she said. She’s too tired. She’s been working nonstop lately, and the rare day off she had was ruined by the fire at the City Museum.”

As soon as Nina heard that, she instinctively turned to Heidi and said: “Sorry. It looks like I took up the little free time you had…”

“No, no, you don’t need to apologize,” Heidi said quickly, waving her hand. “And if you look at it another way, I actually got a good nap here. I haven’t slept this soundly in a long time.”

After Vanna confirmed that there was indeed nothing abnormal about Heidi, she looked up at the sky outside the window. Then she stood and turned to Duncan: “It’s getting late. It looks like we should take our leave.”

“Don’t you need to rest a bit?” Duncan asked with the concern of the master of the house. “Miss Heidi still looks a little tired.”

“I’m much better already,” Heidi said with a small smile. “It’s not safe to stay out at night. I have to get home before the Sun goes down—my father worries about that a lot.”

Hearing that, Duncan did not say anything more. He helped Nina down from the bed, then looked at the two guests: “Then let me walk you downstairs.”

He escorted Heidi and Vanna to the front door on the first floor. By then, the Sun was already sinking toward the distant horizon.

Vanna went to start the car’s steam core. The strange steam machines of this world seemed to need almost no time to heat their boilers before starting. Duncan saw the dark gray car quickly give off the light hum of running machinery, while Heidi suddenly turned back before stepping out of the shop. She glanced at Nina beside her, and in the end her eyes fell on Duncan.

“I can see that you are a very responsible guardian now, but for a while before this you seemed to neglect Nina a little—and her tension and anxiety came from that,” Miss Psychiatrist said honestly and directly. “Of course, her condition is much better already, and after this session it will improve even more. But even the best treatment needs to be reinforced. The best healing for the mind still comes from a family’s care.”

[Nina’s tension and anxiety? And that earlier period… was before I took over this body?]

Duncan understood at once. He nodded to Heidi and thanked her sincerely: “Thank you for your help. I really wasn’t in a good state for a while before. That was my fault.”

“Actually, I should sit down and talk with you more carefully. Speaking with family after a session is also a very important part of the process, but we really don’t have time today,” Heidi said with a sigh as she took half a step back. “When I get home, I’ll sort out Nina’s condition again and write some follow-up suggestions in a letter for you.”

The two special guests finally said goodbye and left.

Watching that eye-catching car drive farther and farther down the street in the sunset of the Lower City, Duncan let out a small breath. His first face-to-face meeting with the Church’s Inquisitor had been even more peaceful and smooth than he had expected.

After Vanna and Heidi left, Shirley finally crawled out of a corner on the first floor. The young lady stared nervously toward the door and only dared to come closer when she saw Duncan and Nina come back: “They really left?”

“They left, they left, relax,” Duncan said, glancing at Shirley with a helpless tone. “You were hiding way too obviously. That actually makes people suspicious, you know? It’s a good thing that Inquisitor didn’t think too much about it.”

“Of course I’m scared! That’s an Inquisitor! The highest fighting force the Church has in the whole city-state!” Shirley’s eyes went wide. She seemed afraid Duncan would not understand her worry and rushed to explain: “The highest-ranking clergy I usually meet are just the priest at the local Cathedral and the Guardians on patrol. And even then I have to duck out of their way—it’s not like you don’t know I have a mutt like Dog with me…”

She paused there and let out a sigh: “Ah, of course it’s normal if you don’t understand how I feel. To a being like you, the city’s Inquisitors probably aren’t much different from the priest at the local Cathedral…”

Nina looked at Shirley, then turned to glance in the direction where Vanna and Heidi had left. She frowned: “Shirley, someone like you… a ‘wild supernatural’… would the Church really arrest you? You haven’t done anything bad. Miss Heidi and Miss Vanna are both very nice people…”

“It has nothing to do with whether I do bad things or not,” Shirley said with a sigh. “The Church doesn’t arrest every wild supernatural, because in this world there are always some people who touch supernatural power for strange reasons. They aren’t all heretics, and the Church also allows a few free supernatural folk to live honestly among the common people—but they would definitely arrest me and Dog. By their standards, as long as you have anything to do with demons from the Abyssal Deep or Subspace, no matter what you are like right now, you are a potential heretic in the future.”

Nina frowned. This was a field she had never dealt with before, and Shirley’s words made her feel a little torn. But Duncan quickly broke through her thoughts: “Nina, how are you feeling now?”

“Me? I’m fine,” Nina answered at once. “I think Miss Heidi’s ‘treatment’ worked pretty well. I talked with her for a while and took a little nap. I feel much more relaxed!”

“Really? That’s good.”

Duncan nodded lightly and did not say anything more. He started walking toward the stairs. Only then did Shirley seem to suddenly react. She looked at the sky outside and could not help letting out a cry of despair: “Ah, I was planning to go home today…”

“You can just think about it,” Duncan said without turning his head. “Take a look at the sky outside. Are you really planning to spend the night playing cat and mouse with the Church’s Guardians?”

Nina also laughed. She stepped forward and patted Shirley on the shoulder: “Just stay here with peace of mind. You can keep me company and chat with me before bed—going home can wait until tomorrow!”

…

On the way back to the Upper City, Vanna held the steering wheel, and Heidi sat in the passenger seat beside her, yawning.

“Yaaawn… That nap felt really good…” Heidi yawned again and asked casually: “So, what did you talk about with that antique shopkeeper? Did you notice anything wrong?”

“No anomalies at all,” Vanna answered while watching the road ahead. “That shopkeeper was just an ordinary person, and so was that young lady named Shirley. There were no signs that the whole antique shop had been touched by any supernatural power or evil will. They really should have just escaped by luck. And you? Did you notice anything while dealing with Nina?”

“Everything was normal,” Heidi said with a nod. She raised her hand and touched the crystal pendant that she had put back on her chest. The rune bead bracelet on her wrist, which represented the Truth Academy, slid down a little. One bead in the circle was already missing, but she did not notice it at all. “But Nina did mention something during the hypnosis. It was a bit strange.”

“Strange? What was it?”

“She mentioned that she had been caught in a big fire when she was little, the fire during that factory leak incident eleven years ago,” Heidi said offhandedly. “But you know, eleven years ago there wasn’t any…”

She had only said half of it when a sudden squeal of brakes and the shaking of the car cut her off. Vanna brought the car to a sharp stop and stared wide-eyed at her friend: “A big fire?! Nina said she remembered a fire eleven years ago?”

“Yes,” Heidi said, a little dazed. “Why are you reacting so strongly?”

Vanna did not speak for a moment. Her face changed twice in quick succession. From her reaction, Heidi sensed that something was wrong: “Should we turn around right now? We can go back and ask her properly…”

“No.” After thinking for a moment, Vanna suddenly shook her head, then turned her attention back to the road ahead.

The car started moving again. Under the ever-dimming sky, the scenery of the streets on both sides began to slide backward faster and faster.

Heidi looked at her friend in the driver’s seat, worried and puzzled. She seemed about to ask something, but before she could speak, Vanna shook her head slightly.

“I know you’re confused, but don’t ask for now. Until I’ve confirmed a few things, don’t mention this to anyone else.”

She paused there, then spoke again in a low voice, almost to herself: “Maybe… we came a bit too hastily today.”