Chapter 553

Chapter 553.

Go with them?

Nina froze for a moment, then understood what was going on.

Thinking back over the whole event, thinking about what she and Shirley had done before and after that strange thing like “living steel” appeared, she felt it was normal for these knowledge guards to be on their guard. Any incident involving an supernatural intrusion had to bring every person and object that might have suffered corruption into the inspection range as much as possible. This was an iron rule for the Guardians.

Back on the ship, Vanna often talked about her daily work as an Inquisitor, which also included many of the Guardians’ rules. And as Uncle Duncan often said, it was exactly these rules, strict to the point of being harsh, that ensured the city-states could survive in this era of the Deep Sea and let most ordinary persons still live relatively stable lives in this dangerous world.

So she nodded and quietly tugged on Shirley’s arm, to keep Shirley from suddenly blurting out some crude words. Then she looked at the knowledge guard in front of her and said: “All right… but if we don’t go back for a long time, our families will worry.”

“We just need to confirm whether you have suffered mental corruption or subconscious suggestion,” that knowledge guard seemed to relax and patiently explained. “This is a necessary procedure for screening and protection. If there is no corruption, you will be allowed to leave very soon.”

He paused, then added: “After you come to the academy with us, we will first register your basic information. There will be someone specially assigned to contact your family, so you do not need to worry about that.”

“Oh, then let’s go,” Nina said with a smile, then turned to look at Shirley. “No problem, right?”

“What problem could there be?” Shirley muttered. “I’m even a little looking forward to it…”

From Shirley’s tone, Nina heard a kind of waiting-for-a-show mood, even a bit of gloating. Nina knew what this fellow was looking forward to, but she did not say anything more. Instead, she looked again at the “mass” that had almost stopped moving and could not help asking: “Do you know what this thing is?”

“A kind of anomalous entity that has invaded the Mortal Realm, but we cannot tell you the details,” the knowledge guard said in an official tone. “If, after evaluation, it is confirmed as an incident that can be made public, the academy will release the information.”

“Oh…” Nina drew out the sound, then turned to leave with the Guardians. But before going, she still could not help stopping and looking back at the strangely shaped “mass” once more.

It had already grown still. Even the final spasms and tremors had stopped. On its completely solidified, iron-gray outer shell, a rock-like texture was slowly spreading.

…

Inside the “mysterious mansion” at No. 99 Crown Street, with its tall spires and lush gardens, Duncan and Lucretia were chatting about many of the things that had happened in Frostholm some time ago. Not far away, Morris was curiously talking with the clockwork doll Lunie, seemingly interested in how Lunie was driven. Vanna was not in the sitting room. It was time for her daytime prayer, and Lucretia had set aside a special “prayer room” for this devout Saint of the Storm.

“…When I left, order in Frostholm had already been restored, but it will still take a lot of work to clean away all the corruption left by those ‘elementses’,” Duncan said to Lucretia as he talked about the situation in the north. “I heard Tyrian’s overtime schedule has been lined up all the way into next quarter…”

“He spent half a century living free as a pirate in the Frost Sea. Now he finally has to pay back the debts he owes from that lazy time,” Lucretia said with feeling. “By the way, have you ever gone to the frozen seas even farther north of Frostholm?”

“No, I have not,” Duncan shook his head. “I only heard that there are endless ice fields there, and the solid ice stretches all the way into the deep part of the fog at the border. I am indeed a bit curious about that place, but what happened in Lightwind Harbor concerns me more.”

“It is said that in the frozen seas north of Frostholm, some ice layers even hold relics left by explorers from the Dark Age and the old Age of City-States. Some people once tried to walk across those ice layers to explore the fog, but in the end they were swallowed up by sudden extreme cold… Compared to that, I think the warmer southern seas are more suitable as a breakthrough point to challenge the ‘border’…”

“If I have the chance, I really do want to see that border… Don’t worry, I know how dangerous that fog is. I’m just very curious…”

“As long as you do not rush into that fog again, it’s fine.”

The two “father and daughter,” reunited after a long time, chatted on and off. They talked about the things that had happened lately, the many incredible phenomena on the Boundless Sea, the fog at the border, and those dangerous regions far from the civilized world.

Their topics did not always flow smoothly, and Lucretia was not someone good at chatting, but somehow they had still talked like this for a long time.

But suddenly, Duncan stopped.

He seemed to “hear” something. His brows furrowed slightly. After a brief moment of focused sensing, he turned his gaze to a certain direction outside the window.

Lucretia noticed her father’s change at once: “What happened?”

“Nina is calling me,” Duncan turned his head with a strange look on his face and glanced at Lucretia. “…How do you get to the district academy?”

“The district academy?” Lucretia froze for a moment. “What are you going to the district academy for?”

“To fish someone out.”

Lucretia: “…?”

…

“Name?”

“Nina.” Nina hesitated for a moment and did not say the “surname” she used now.

The registrar across the table did not think much of it, and simply kept taking down notes as a routine: “Age?”

“Seventeen.”

“Occupation?”

“I’m still in high school…”

“Are you a local of Lightwind Harbor?”

“I’m from Pland. I came to Lightwind Harbor to travel and I’m staying for now at… a relative’s house.”

The registrar recorded each piece of basic information. Hearing the girl’s honest answers, he looked up with a smile and spoke in a gentle, soothing tone: “Don’t be nervous, young lady. These are just routine forms. You didn’t do anything wrong, you were only accidentally caught up in an supernatural incident. These records are for your protection—don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” Nina said very obediently. Then she glanced at the registrar mister with a bit of embarrassment. “Just try not to be scared later.”

“Me? Why would I be afraid?” The registrar was startled for a moment, then waved his hand with a helpless smile. He just thought this was a young lady with little experience of the world talking nonsense because she was nervous, and did not take it to heart. “Ah, if only your companion were as well-mannered as you.”

Nina froze for a second and pricked up her ears to listen to the sounds from the next room. As expected, she heard some very Shirley-style *crude language*.

But it did not sound like she was screaming curses at anyone. It was just some swear words for venting, like when someone talks and casually adds in many phrases with a high “your mom” content. In Shirley’s own words, those were all “intonation particles.”

So Nina relaxed a little and smiled awkwardly: “This is already her being pretty restrained.”

“It’s fine. In our position we have seen all kinds of people, especially people who have come into contact with supernatural powers. Unstable minds, even people who start hitting and smashing things, are normal. We are used to it,” the registrar said casually, waving his hand. “It’s just a little surprising is all. She clearly looks like such a well-behaved young lady…”

Nina thought back to how Shirley behaved in front of Uncle Duncan and secretly thought that, from a certain angle, the registrar’s first impression was not wrong…

After a little while longer, she asked curiously: “When can we go back?”

The registrar, who wore the robe of a cleric from the Truth Academy, turned his head to look at the incense and the quietly burning candle on the table beside him.

“We have to wait until the incense burns out and the candle flame goes out on its own. If none of the catalysts react, then you can leave.”

“Oh,” Nina nodded. After staying quiet for only a few minutes, she asked again: “What about that ‘thing’ that appeared at the market earlier? Has it been caught?”

“Sorry, I can’t say,” the registrar shook his head, then added a reminder. “I suggest you stop paying attention to it and try to avoid recalling it. Some ‘foreign things’ that invade the Mortal Realm can produce a parasitic effect in the minds of witnesses. Although we have not yet found signs that you or your companion have suffered this kind of corruption, frequent recall and too much curiosity could still bring bad effects.”

“Oh.” Nina nodded again, then finally quieted down, as if she were patiently waiting for the incense to burn out and the “inspection” to end.

The young registrar sitting opposite her quietly let out a small breath. As he tidied up the forms he had just filled out and shifted his sitting position, his hand slid out from a hidden compartment under the table.

A small device shaped like a pocket watch had appeared in his hand.

Hidden by the tabletop, he pressed the cover of the device. The “watch cover” opened with a soft sound, but beneath it there was no dial and no hands. Instead there was a surface like mercury. The “mercury” rose and sank slightly, as if it were some kind of living thing.

He carefully tilted the “mercury” toward the girl across the table and closely watched the changes on the silvery surface.

This girl named Nina looked sane, spoke clearly, and was even very well-mannered. But that could not ease the worries of a professional clergy member. Many times, people who had already suffered mental corruption could still keep this kind of “clear mind” for a short time. If they were not checked carefully, corruption could easily slip out unnoticed.

According to the report from the field team, this girl and her companion had taken the initiative to approach the patrolling knowledge guards in the few seconds before the “invading thing” appeared. During the incident they had also shown many actions that did not follow common sense. These abnormal points all clearly needed to be checked with care.

Yet the surface of the mercury did not show even a trace of an anomaly.

The “registrar” frowned and brought the device closer to his eyes, carefully examining the slight changes as the surface rose and fell.

Suddenly, he seemed to truly see something in the faintly rippling mercury surface—

It was strands of golden light.

It was fire gathering together.

It was some mysterious, vast power, ancient lost knowledge, the mighty light and heat that had existed since the beginning of time, the source of all things in the world…

A roaring sound echoed in his mind. Knowledge like a storm crashed against the edge of his reason. A thirst for Truth seemed to grip his thoughts. The Mortal soul longed for the pull of the Sun. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, fixing a divine gaze on what was about to surge toward him—

A hand suddenly reached in from the side and blocked his view.

“Don’t stare at things for no reason,” a deep, commanding voice sounded in his ear. “You already felt something was wrong and still kept looking. Why do you people from the Truth Academy all have this problem?”