The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"We've been seeing each other more and more lately," Jon joked. "It's kind of weird."

Siles and Cindo sat opposite Jon.Qin Duo took out the potion bottle that he had used in the theater before, and let it continue to release a steady stream of cool wind.Jon breathed a sigh of relief.

Siles said: "After all, not many people know about 'Shadow'."

"...That's true." Jon sighed instead, "We are dealing with the believers of this god. But, to be honest, what about the god itself? Count on Antinam?"

Siles couldn't help being silent for a moment, he couldn't say that Antinam was asleep now, and they could only count on themselves.

Fortunately, Jon only complained a little, and he turned to say: "So... the Fillmore family." He paused for a while, as if he was sorting out his thoughts, and said, "I have a detective friend... "

"This Mr. detective can't be yourself?" Qin Duo asked sharply.

Jon was speechless for a moment, and he couldn't help but say, "Do I need to do this?"

"It's not like you haven't done this before, Mr. Detective." Qin Duo shrugged.

Siles held back his own smile and maintained a flat expression.

Jon rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway, I have a friend. He knows the architect of the Fillmore Family Museum. That building was probably built more than 30 years ago, and it was renovated more than ten years ago. , but only recently has it really been used.

"The designer once asked him for a favor, and then casually mentioned the construction history of this building to him...Of course, it was a long time ago, so my friend's memory is not very clear.

"He just remembered that when the Fillmore family built the building, it was said that it seemed to have received funding from the Const family ... more precisely, private sponsorship.

"Of course, it wasn't just the Conster family who sponsored the completion of this building. Many nobles at the time also did the same. The names of these patrons, theoretically speaking, should all be engraved on a side of the museum. On the small monument.

"...but. Of course there's a but here.

"Now we can't go into the museum to see it, but since it is a stone tablet, someone must be responsible for carving it. I asked another detective to visit the factory in the city, and then got a very interesting news.

"On that stele, there is no name of the Conster family engraved.

"The designer said swearingly that members of the Conster family invested a lot of money in this building."

Jon showed a rather playful expression.

Siles said in a low voice, "Ebenezer Const."

"Indeed." Jon snapped his fingers, "Therefore, he was expelled."

"More than 30 years ago." Qin Duo asked with great interest, "more than [-] years ago?"

"It's hard to say." Jon shrugged, "Because the construction of a building is a long process, it is difficult to give an exact time point: when the construction is decided, when the design is finalized, when the construction starts, when it is completed... Can be regarded as a specific time.

"However, the timing of the renovation more than a decade ago can be determined: it was 14 years ago."

"...So, something happened to Ebenezer Const, and that's why this museum needs to be refurbished?" Siles said, "To clear Ebenezer Const's name?"

"It's possible." Jon nodded, "However, the current monument was custom-made by the Fillmore family last year. There are no relevant clues for the one or even two pieces earlier. .

"As far as the current clues are concerned, we have been able to determine that the Fillmore family has a high probability of having a very good personal relationship with Ebenezer Const."

Siles agrees with this.

However, Jon's words seem to be inclined to say that it was Ebenezer Const who led the Fillmore family to the path of no return to the "shadow" of faith.

...but why not the other way around?What if it was the Fillmores who imposed that belief on Ebenezer Cost?

Combined with the rumored Fillmore family's teacup that has been preserved since the Silent Era, and the family's practice of staying away from the power center of the Sardinian Empire... Perhaps, the Fillmore family has been a "shadow" long, long ago. " believers.

Of course, it is difficult to say to what extent this belief has influenced family members.

Take the Bridges family as an example, the old painter Alden Bridges obviously knew that his family believed in Thaddeus; but to the outside world, even his daughter and grandson, the family was just Believe in Atkinya.

This cognitive difference probably exists in every ancient family today.The elders are still conservative, while the young have long forgotten the inheritance of blood.

It's hard to tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing.But this complicates the situation they are facing at the moment.

... The name that the lady mentioned to Sirius before - Jeremy Forbes, is said to be the illegitimate son of the Fillmore family.Did he really participate in the actions of the shadow believers, or was he trying to leave a way out for himself or his family?

Siles was thinking about it, but Jon suddenly mentioned the name in front of him.

He said, "Another thing...about, Jeremy Forbes."

Sirius suddenly looked up at him.

"I'm not sure if you have heard of this name. It is said that he is the manager of a part of the Fillmore family's assets." Jon explained briefly, "I heard this name from a detective friend.

"He said that many foreign affairs of the Fillmore family were handled by this person. I was very interested in this, so I asked about the places where he might appear on a daily basis, and then stayed for a while.

"...Yesterday morning, I ran into this man at a club. This place is a place where many businessmen gather and drink. By the way, I changed my identity to stay here. To my surprise, I've seen this guy before."

He paused, a little deliberately.

But Siles and Cindo just looked at him quietly, not applauding at all.

So Jon spread his hands regretfully: "Okay, gentlemen... the connector that the 'family' once arranged for me."

Siles was startled, thought for a moment, and then said, "That list?"

"Yes." Jon nodded, "The apostate—according to what the Church of the Past said—the apostate Hamlin gave me the list of priests of the Church of the Past, and then I will give it to Jerry M Forbes.

"I don't know what happened after that. Anyway, it didn't work out in the first step. However, Jeremy Forbes is probably the top of the 'family'.

"...That very likely means that the Fillmore family secretly supported the organization 'Family'."

Speaking, Jon showed a subtle expression.

Siles could understand Jon's mood to a certain extent.

When Jon joined the "Family" organization, he must have intended to do something to Antinam and the Church of the Past.He was indeed very opposed to the existence of gods.

However, the starting point of "family" is different from that of Jon.

Jon hopes that mankind can go to the future, but the "family" wants to bring mankind back to the past.

Now they seem to have a better understanding of the origin of the organization "Family" - from the hands of shadow believers.This is even more ridiculous.

"Family" fought against Anti-Nam, just to replace him.This is an obvious conflict of interests.

They were all silent for a moment.

Afterwards, Jon took a deep breath and said, "In this way, it seems very suspicious that the 'family' has kept silent so far. They must have other plans secretly."

Siles nodded, he thought so too.

Afterwards, he thought for a while, and then slowly told Jon the information he got here... He had a lot of information to say, and occasionally Qin Duo would help him check for gaps and make up for omissions.

Jon gradually became dumbfounded.He didn't interrupt Sirius, but Jon silently tore out a piece of paper and began to record what Sirius said—perhaps because of the eight-petal rose paper, so Jon also carried the paper with him Pen.

He wrote down two full sheets of paper, then shook the paper to let the ink dry quickly, and was silent for a while, before jokingly said: "It seems that less than four days have passed since the last time we met, right? Is it actually Four years have passed?"

Siles couldn't help smiling, he said, "It's just a coincidence."

"Oh, I'm afraid of you saying the word 'coincidence'." Jon shook his head, "Honestly, I admire your ability to gather information."

"I also got a lot of information from you." Siles said objectively, "Anyway, we have collected a lot of information now, and we can try to do something."

"What do you want to do?" Jon asked.

Siles thought for a moment, then said, "I want to talk to Jeremy Forbes."

In the information he told Jon just now, he had already mentioned his doubts about Jeremy's position.Jon also nodded, but then he said worriedly: "What if he is indeed on the side of the 'shadow'?"

"That's okay." Siles said, "At least this is a chance to try."

Jon didn't seem to agree. He looked at Qindo and confirmed that Qindo didn't intend to say anything. He spread his hands and said, "Okay. But when do you plan to meet him?"

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Siles said uncertainly, "I hope to confirm the position of Mr. Forbes before Saturday's incident."

"Then I'll help you contact this guy. Send him a message at the club he frequents." Jon said, "Where?"

Siles thought for a moment, then said: "Atherton Central Square. Let him wait for me in the square."

Of course, it is impossible for Siles to use his body to communicate with this man, but he intends to observe the guy first...to make a judgment, perhaps.

Jon nodded.

After deciding on this matter, Jon also breathed a sigh of relief.However, he soon thought of the "water" problem again, and couldn't help saying annoyedly: "How do we check the water problem? It's hard to be sure."

Even though Siles could use [Akamala's Spectacle Frame] to see the pollution in the water, but this kind of pollution is so slight that it's hard to detect—didn't he and Qindo not notice it in the first place?

If he looked for it intently, he might be able to find it.But that's too time-consuming.Not to mention, what if those shadow believers just threw something like a "mud bowl" into the Kanla River?Are they going to drain the entire Kanla River?

Pollution from food and water sources is really hard to prevent.

Siles thought about it for a while, and then said: "Anyway, we can't ignore this matter. Maybe we can collect water samples from different areas and conduct research."

"Water sample?" Jon heard this kind of statement for the first time, he understood it after thinking about it, and said, "Do you have a way to detect the pollution in it?"

Siles nodded.

Jon didn't ask too much - anyway, the ritual of "self-reappearance" was invented by Sirius, so he must have related methods to deal with pollution, this is Jon's idea.

He thought about it for a while, and then discussed with Siles which water samples should be selected.Qin Duo also gave his own opinions, especially mentioning some small towns around Lamifa City.

"Indeed." Jon said, "It's also very close to Ramifa City. Some food, drinks and the like are processed there."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but paused, and then sighed: "Why did I start researching these foods again? Is the Grayson incident going to repeat itself in Lamifah City?"

Jon mentioned the Grayson incident, but it made Siles have an association.

He pondered for a while with his shaky knowledge of geobiology, and then said, "What if people raise livestock that are contaminated, and the residents of Ramifa eat the meat of these contaminated animals?"

These words silenced both Jon and Qindo.

The reason why Siles thought of this question was mainly because the meat in the Grayson incident gave him a little inspiration.

He vaguely remembers learning about "bioconcentration" when he was a student on earth in the distant past - very distant indeed.

Pollutants in nature will spread and accumulate through the food chain, and humans, as the top of the food chain, naturally become the species that acquire the most pollutants.

… Could this phenomenon have occurred in a Fisher world?Pollutants in another sense?

Siles couldn't be sure of this, after all, the two worlds are different after all.

But he can be sure of two things: the animals in Fisher's world will be polluted by the old gods, and humans will indeed be polluted by eating questionable meat.

In this way, it seems logical that contaminated animals spread contamination to humans.Maybe not as bad as being directly polluted, but it does exist.

Add up, people will be polluted to a considerable extent.

Therefore, will shadow believers intentionally "poison"?

Farms, feed mills, meat processing plants, etc., of course, these places also need water... What if there is a problem with the water source in these places?

Perhaps this kind of pollution will not be effective in the short term, but this kind of long-term and chronic pollution is equally terrible.People will unknowingly become believers in the "shadow", and their future destiny has already been determined without even realizing it.

...Sileus wishes the Shadow Cultists weren't so smart.

Jon rubbed the center of his brows with a headache, and said: "I understand. I will investigate these related places too... It seems that I have to mobilize my detective friends.

"However, in this way, I may not have time to give you these water samples before Saturday."

"Don't worry." Siles whispered, "At least we have discovered the problem. Now the focus is still on Saturday."

Jon nodded.He glanced at the time, and couldn't sit still any longer. He bid farewell to Siles and Qindo, probably planning to look for water samples in related places.

After Jon left, Qindo couldn't help but say, "Do you think they will really do this?"

"From the perspective of shadow believers, they may do it easily." Siles said, still keeping calm, "They themselves are already immersed in pollution, and naturally they will not be stingy in spreading pollution.

"However, I think this may not be their ostensible plan. They may take a two-pronged approach, or even promote several plans at the same time... Whether we can find out the clues of their actions is the most important thing."

Qin Duo also agrees with this statement, although... the feeling like a gangrene still bothers him.

After a while, he said: "Shall we go to the fair?"

Ernestine's Tavern was empty at the moment, because all the personnel were working at the trade fair.This situation has already started from last Saturday, and it will not end until the trade fair ends this Saturday.

...On Saturday, the Ernestine Fair will come to an end.

Siles pinched the bridge of his nose with a slight headache, and he thought, there is another incident that was almost overlooked that happened on Saturday.

He said: "Let's go, go around."

Qin Duo nodded, and was about to ask if they wanted to buy something, but Siles added, "It would be bad if the shadow believers want to do something here when the fair ends on Saturday."

Qin Duo: "..."

He stared silently at his beloved god—the puppet body he was currently using—for a moment.

It wasn't until Siles cast a puzzled look that Jindo said slowly: "Yes..." He sighed, "Damn shadow believer."

... Siles always felt that there was a little subtle personal emotion in Qin Duo's seemingly plain curse.

In short, they went to the trade fair for a walk.

The underground passage was still bustling with activity.Today is Thursday, so there are not as many shopping customers as on weekends, but the sweltering air still makes everyone feel uncomfortable.

Because of this, the area used to buy groceries—the stall with potion bottles and metal blades—has become a flock of people.

Everyone wanted to enjoy the cool breeze, but this side seemed even more crowded.

Cendo mentioned business matters to Siles.On the trade fair side, they offer one hundred opportunities to pre-order metal blades every day, and of course the supply is still in short supply.But when the weather gradually cools down in September, this craze will subside.

Of course, there have been keen inquiries about whether there will be blades that can blow hot air in winter.The answer is of course yes.Many people breathed a sigh of relief.

You know, the severe cold of winter is sometimes much more unbearable than the heat of summer.

In addition to the business at the fair, the charity that Siles mentioned to Qin Duo before has also made progress.The Playa family has scoured some possible places.

... In addition to busy trade fair work and other daily tasks, they also need to help find suitable donation recipients. The members of the Praia family can be said to be quite diligent.

"Will this approach make you aware of fluctuations in power?"

In the noisy underground passage, Siles asked Qindo.

Qin Duo thought for a while, then shook his head.

In fact, Lygardia's power is more direct and simpler than Akamala's power, because that directly relates to the real world.Therefore, as long as Qin Duo does something in reality, Ligardia's power can basically be touched.

In addition, Ligardia's attitude towards his own blood is much better than that of Akamala's successor.Take ghosts and dolls as an example, there are also six, and Sirius has to get them step by step, but Qin Duo got them all as soon as he came up.

...Of course, from another perspective, Qin Duo may not be able to break through the natural moat of 99 to 100 willpower.He has come to the end of the human road since he was born, but perhaps it is limited to this.

Qin Duo himself didn't care about it.The only thing he cares about is whether his power can help those he loves.

He said, "Maybe I should do something outside Conster and Kansas? After all, Lygardia is the god of travel."

Siles thought for a moment, but was not sure if this would work.He felt that the way to obtain this power was really erratic.That way is not certain.

Rather, that power is there in the first place, it just depends on whether they can make relevant actions that "conform to the concept".

All the power in this world is gathered in the hands of the gods, it only depends on whether the gods are willing to bestow it.After the fall of the old gods, their power was vacant, no one cared about it, and was consumed by the revelators bit by bit.

From this point of view, after the fall of the old gods, all the power of this world returned to the hands of human beings.

...Of course, the distinction between ordinary people and revelators still exists.This is inevitable.

While discussing in low voices, they walked around the fair.The trade fair was still as usual, which made Siles feel a little relieved.Before leaving, they bumped into Eric Colens.

"Good afternoon, Eric," said Siles. "How was your day?"

"Not bad." Eric wiped his sweat, took out the potion bottle from his pocket, opened the bottle and fanned himself.After fanning it twice, a cool breeze came out of the mouth of the bottle, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

They were talking in a small clearing next to the entrance to the underpass.

Eric said: "Thanks to your invention. To be honest, I think it is much better than those rituals of killing and killing."

Celes smiled.

Naturally so in this day and age.This is the year 4 of the Fog Period.People have passed the barren, dangerous and hopeless situation in the early period of the Mist Age, and began to develop and prosper again.

People used to need the ritual of "fighting and killing" to help them survive, but now that people have obtained the basic conditions for survival, they can naturally pursue their own quality of life a little bit.

The world is changing and developing after all.

The devout believers who believed in Ji would not have thought that thousands of years later, people would use the power of gods to cool themselves down.

Eric blew the wind for a while, and then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Professor, I was about to tell you. I wanted to tell you through eight-petal rose paper, but since you are here, then Speak directly to you.

"It was my wife who found out that recently, in the handicraft market in the west city, a group of people seem to be making big purchases.

"You know, at the Geisha grocery store, there are some handicrafts made by some ladies whom my wife and Mrs. Finn know, and they put them there for consignment, but they haven't sent them recently coming.

"They said that someone offered a higher price. The buyer directly found the teachers of the pottery class, and asked these teachers to tell the students about the acquisition. Naturally, the students were willing to let their works, and even their homework. , can sell for some price."

Siles was a little surprised to hear the news, so he asked, "What are these people buying for?"

Eric shook his head: "It's not clear. However, those teachers have become salesmen instead, and one of them even found my wife... He said that the people who bought these handicrafts were the nobles of the East City. We feel free to sell things to him.

"...But, since it is a nobleman in the east city, is it necessary to go to the west city to buy these handicrafts? It's a pity that this teacher doesn't know which nobleman it is."

Eric said with a little regret.

Acquiring handicrafts... Siles thought about it for a while, and then suddenly thought of a delicate question.

"What exactly are they acquiring?" he asked.

"Specifically..." Eric thought for a while, and then said, "My wife didn't make it very clear... But since it's the pottery class my wife went to, it's probably some cups, plates, utensils, etc. It’s something you can use in life.”

Siles stared darkly.Qin Duo obviously understood his intention of asking, and frowned for a while.

Eric realized that this seemed to be a very important question, so he said: "My wife is at 13 Milford Street today. If you have time, you can stop by and ask her carefully."

Siles nodded and said, "Thanks, Eric. We'll go there now."

Eric wondered a little what Sirius wanted to know.

So, before leaving, Siles simply said: "Do you still remember what happened to me on this rainy vacation?"

He and his companions at 18 Housewell Street mentioned his experience on the Folio Sea, not in detail, but he did mention that he and Cendo had been attacked by water pollution.

Eric's face changed, and he said: "Those handicrafts may..."

"It will be used." Qin Duo helped to fill in the second half of the sentence.

"Remember to use the ritual of 'returning yourself' from time to time." Sirius said with a sigh, "Don't act rashly."

Eric nodded seriously.

Afterwards, Siles and Cindo left the fair and went to 13 Milford Street.As the evening approached, the temperature gradually became cooler, but there was still residual heat left on the road after the sun shone on it.

Eric's wife, Harriet Collens, greeted them with some surprise.

The familiar No. 13 Milford Street also gave Siles a long-lost feeling.This used to be the starting point for him to explore the world.

Harriet was busy with orders from the Geisha grocery store, and she couldn't help being surprised when she heard about the intentions of Siles and Qindo.She became a little nervous, afraid of what problems those acquired handicrafts would cause.

She said: "They are basically cups and bowls. Many of them are products of pottery courses. Beginners are not too good at making complicated handicrafts. They are the simplest styles."

What she meant was that she didn't think this kind of thing could cause any harm.but……

cup, bowl.

Siles sighed inwardly.

Harriet obviously also realized the problem because of Sirius' silence, her face gradually turned pale, and she felt very uneasy.

"Perhaps we can compare this incident to the Grayson incident." Siles turned and said, "I may have to pay a little attention to the entrance later."

Hearing about the Grayson incident, Harriet couldn't help being stunned for a moment.That's what happened last year.

She felt a little more stable in her heart for a while, and she felt that she had a little grasp of what happened next—at least the residents of Lamifa City, especially the residents of West City, had dealt with the Grayson incident.

She nodded.After a while, she whispered again: "Thank you for your hard work."

Siles was taken aback.

"We have always supported your actions." Harriet said, "Maybe we can't do much...but we have always supported you."

"...Thank you, Harriet," said Sirius finally. "Hopefully we can get a good result."

Harriet gave a genuine smile and said softly, "I hope so."

After leaving No. 13 Milford Street, Siles and Cindo walked slowly to the nearby Logan Market to take a taxi.They were all silent for a moment.

Later, Qin Duo said: "We have been paying attention to the shadow believers."

"Indeed," said Siles.He knew what Qin Duo wanted to say.

Qin Duo said again: "But there is nothing to pay attention to these disgusting shadow believers." He said gloomily, "It's just to deal with them, and they are not worth paying attention to at all."

A hint of amusement flashed across Siles' heart.

But he still said, "You're right, Gyndo." He did think so, "Essentially, that's far, far away from our lives."

Qin Duo looked at him sideways, then sighed.

"Why sigh?" Sirius asked a little puzzled.

"Let's go home quickly." Qin Duo answered irrelevantly, "I want to hug you."

When Siles uses the body of a puppet, there are always advantages of one kind or another-but there is also an inevitable disadvantage: not being able to hug and kiss with Jindo.

Siles couldn't help but laugh.

They returned home when the sky was completely crimson.

However, after returning home, Qindo couldn't hug Siles for the first time, because they received a letter.

From Alva Gilini.

Last Sunday, Siles sent Alva a letter, which asked two things.

One thing was mentioned by the newsboy before, that someone in the city bought a large number of maps of Lamifa City.The maps were produced by the Gilini family's printing house, so Alva might know the identity of the buyer.

The other thing is about fate cards.The fact that the shadow believers used paintings to try to reproduce the power of the old gods made Siles think of the depiction of the old gods on the fate card.It is also a "depict", where did the patterns of the fate card come from?

In Alva's reply, he gave relevant information about these two things.

"...

"Zhan Xinjia, Professor!

"It took me a while to inquire about the two things you mentioned, so I didn't write until several days later. Of course, I did get some relevant information.

"First of all, it's about the map of Lamifa City. Recently, the sales of such maps have indeed increased a lot, which surprised my parents.

"They all mentioned this at the dinner table, saying that because of the Grand Duke's plan to develop the withered wasteland, many people from outside the Principality of Const came to Lamifa City, and they all needed a map to understand it. .

"By the way, the fact that I went to the Land of Embers made them gradually let go of the haze of our family. Now we can talk about Land of Embers in a very peaceful manner.

"If you want me to say, that was already 400 years ago, there is no need to repeat the same old tune... Fortunately, my parents and elders seem to have gradually agreed with me.

"Uh, that's a little off topic.

"Anyway, in addition to the factor they mentioned, I also looked through some of the family's ledgers...Secretly, without letting others know. I have graduated now and participated in some of the family's businesses, so I can also look through these ledger.

"I found out that there was a fairly large purchase recently, which came from a map dealer in the East City. He seemed to be buying some maps outside the Principality of Const, especially the maps from the Endless Land, but suddenly Inexplicably purchased a batch of maps of Ramifa City.

"I find this man quite suspicious. His name is Ed Giesing. I've never heard of that name before. Maybe you can find out what happened to this man?

"And then there's the second thing, about Destiny Solitaire.

"You know, the orderer of the Destiny Cards is a mysterious man, he just explained the rules of the Destiny Cards, as for the patterns on the cards, we found someone to add them later.

"Different versions also have different card faces. The painters who draw these card faces are basically well-known painters in the city, and they were invited by our family. Of course, some older painters are not willing to accept our invitation.

"As for the first version of the picture, it is like this. Our family has a familiar businessman named David Babbitt. He runs some painting supplies and other businesses, and often orders some paper for painting from my family.

"After we received this order last year, he introduced us to a young painter named Kailan. David said that the painter's level is good, and the final product is indeed good.

"The painter let others call him 'Kelan', but that doesn't seem to be his real name.

"My dad casually told me this information when he was playing cards with me. I didn't know it before. He said that the painter Kailan's skills are quite good, but unfortunately they couldn't contact the painter later. Then It was last summer.

"We bought out the rights to these paintings at the time, so they are still used in subsequent printings. Of course, different versions have appeared now.

"If you want to know about the paintings in the first edition, maybe you can contact David Babbitt, a businessman. I put a business card of him in the envelope. As for the painter Kailan, we really don't have law contact.

"...that's it, I hope this information can bring you some help.

"I really want to know what you're investigating Alva.

"..."

Kailan?

Siles stared at the letter in astonishment.

Qin Duo looked at him with some doubts, leaned over and read the contents of the letter, and subconsciously said in surprise, "Kai Lan?"

Is it the Kailan they knew?

After a while, Siles calmed down, and he whispered, "Maybe we should sort out the information from scratch."

If Kailan had been involved in the printing process of the first edition of Destiny Solitaire, the whole thing would have been a little trickier.

The first question is, is this really the Kailan they know?

Considering the existence of the power of fate, the result is likely to be positive.

Starting from this assumed premise... Then, do the Shadow Believers know about Kailan's past job?

Linked to the existence of David Babbitt, Siles felt