The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Professor, Zhan Xinjia.

"It is my pleasure to write to you with the good news. Perhaps you have also heard that your 'badget' caused an unexpected stir at the October Fair. I am afraid people were caught off guard by last winter's The cold freaked out.

"In addition, the delivery service is also very popular with the residents of Ramifa City. We have delivered the first batch of pre-ordered metal leaf and leaf-shaped bottles to the homes of those residents in the past few days.

“Not surprisingly, the latter is more popular despite being more expensive.

"We have also allocated the hired enlighteners according to the plots of the community. They will be our helpers and the helpers of those community residents.

"Many services are steadily progressing, but are still being scheduled. We tend to think that maybe our Revelation service will start next month, because by then, the weather will be really cold down.

"However, if people get used to such services, these idle revelators may become busy immediately, or even overwhelmed.

"A new round of the Noel Poker Tournament is already underway. We intend to end this tournament this year, and then start a longer and larger tournament in the spring of next year. This matter has already It's in preparation.

"...The October Bazaar is in full swing, and people have never felt the power of the Blighted Wasteland development plan and the renovation plan in Lamifa City so clearly. Products from all over the world are gathered in the arcade block.

"October rain beats on the glass skylight, and the sky shines on the dazzling array of goods... For people in Fisher's world, this may be the first time in 400 or even 1000 years that they once again have the same experience as other countries. People connect.

"It's an amazing feeling that I can't put into words. I don't know if you've been to the Arcade District yourself, there's a sense of ... prosperity.

"I'm not saying that the city of Ramifa in the past was very dilapidated, but that people began to have self-confidence. Confidence in this world, self-confidence in themselves... I think this is indeed the beginning of the dawn era.

"Of course, I understand what we're doing. I've contacted a group of revelators, especially the revelators we employ. They're more than happy to step up, for you, for the world, for the world Humans, do something.

"This should be the good news you are most looking forward to.

"There are only ten days left until God's birthday. To be honest, I'm really nervous. It's human nature, and it's hard to control this kind of emotion, especially since you've been silent for such a long time. A word.

"I admire your reason and patience, and I look forward to the final good news.

"..."

October 10th, Thursday.

In the morning, when Siles was going out to go to Ramifa University, he received this letter from the businessman Ranmier.

Some of the information revealed in the letter made Celes feel relieved, but at the end Ranmeer's small complaint also made Celes feel a little funny.

He had to say, indeed, as the birthday of the god was getting closer and closer, Sirius couldn't help but feel a little nervous.But at the same time, that—almost ruthless—calmness locked his soul firmly.

He knew that many people in this city were as nervous as him, but they couldn't be as calm as him.This may be a small problem.

"...Let's go...?" Qin Duo came over and noticed the letter in Sirius's hand, and couldn't help being a little surprised, "Who wrote it?"

"Ranmere," said Siles, after a pause, and added, "Mr. Big Rummere. He mentioned something about the October Fair in his letter."

Qin Duo was taken aback, and he said with great interest: "The [smart fan] business? To be honest, I have heard a lot about it recently. Moreover, the name you chose..." He thought for a while, and then sincerely Said, "Quite interesting."

Siles laughed, he put Langmeer's letter away, and then went out with Cendo.

On Thursday morning, he had to meet two apprentices.

Originally, Qinduo didn't need to go with him, but considering that day was getting closer, Qinduo didn't want Sires to go alone, so he simply accompanied him.

However, if there is anyone in this city who can best understand Siles' calmness, then it may only be Qin Duo.

The time has entered October, and the gloomy rainy season once again ruled the sky of Ramifa City.That reflected their mood, but it was just right to let Sirius breathe a sigh of relief-the weather in September is always so gentle that it doesn't seem like the shadow believers still exist.

The October rain seemed to tear away the gentle mask, leaving the truth of the matter naked in front of them.

...It was true that the past period of time was calm, but now Siles understood why everything was so quiet.

Because the shadow believers have achieved their goal, and there is only one last step left - only the action on the day of God's birthday.Everyone is waiting for that day to come.

Siles and Cindo held an umbrella, and then got into the carriage together.Of course, the carriage was also specially arranged by the Praia family.They must now be foolproof.

It was still early, and the lazy, fine rain was not as disturbing as it was in July, but it still continued.Siles lifted the curtain of the car window, looking at the torrential rain quietly.At a certain moment, the rain almost blurred his vision of Lamifa City.

"What are you worried about?"

"The sewer." Siles put down the curtain and expressed his thoughts.

"The rainy season in July didn't flood the city, so it won't be a big deal now." Qin Duo said disapprovingly, but soon he changed his tone again, "Of course, if you are worried about those 'Rats in the gutter'..."

Siles looked at Qindo helplessly, then Qindo smiled in a low voice, and leaned against Siles.He reached out to wipe a string of raindrops from his shoulder for Siles, and said, "They've been hiding in the sewers."

This matter has been confirmed.

Last month, when Ms. Heidi wrote a letter, mentioning in a rather hesitant tone that the manhole cover next to the Lancelot Theater had disappeared, Siles picked a time and made a special trip to see the manhole cover. manhole cover.

Of course he brought [Akamala's Spectacle Holder], and at the edge of the sewer, he indeed saw a weird...indescribably invisible mist.It was like a dirty black mixed with colorful and different colors.

He encountered a judgment of will, and of course he succeeded.Judging from the statement given by the dice, this pollution comes from the "shadow".

This incident gave Siles a strange feeling, because it confirmed many of his guesses.

For example, "Shadow" did "condescend" to contact its human believers, and even helped to give them a place to hide; for another example, "Shadow" did mix the power of some other old gods together, and merged them into own strength.

This means that "Shadow" is trying to use this method to achieve what he wants.

Siles even found it horrific, because it was absolutely painful and insane.Of course gods also go mad because they are polluted by other gods, and at this time "Shadow" wants to tame the power of these gods by brute force.

That must be painful, so the "Shadow"'s desire to seize this power is also extremely strong.

... This is not good news for them.

This means that it will be more difficult for Siles to deceive "Shadow".

Regardless, "Shadow" is one thing, and something else is already looming.

"It's going to be quite busy again this weekend," Cendo said suddenly.

Siles nodded.

Normally, he thought, weekends were a time for rest, but somehow, his weekends seemed cursed, always busy, always fulfilling.

For him, the next few days mean the summarization and closure of many things.

As far as the city of Lamifa is concerned, Detective Jon passed the news through the eight-petal rose paper last night, mysteriously saying that he had made some progress in the investigation of Jeremy Forbes. Meet at Sting's Tavern.

Siles was rather curious about this—perhaps a little helpless.Ever since his identity as the homeless Bourne was revealed, the detective has become quite confident and ambiguous.

In addition, outside of Ramifa City, Middleton's investigation and the incident in Biddle City also attracted Siles' attention.

Needless to say, Garrett Gielgud, the captain is still under investigation; as for Biddle City, at the end of September, Hurd Dreyson finally mustered up the courage to pack up his emotions, Came to the dreamland and met Mr. Ghost.

Of course, he almost couldn't control his emotions—mainly grievances and sadness—but the journey to Neverland undoubtedly made him grow a lot.So in the end he mentioned those things rather calmly.

Mr. Ghost was watching him quietly, and for a moment he thought of Herman Grove.

In contrast, Herd Dreyson may be lucky, after all, he did not encounter the desperate and gloomy experience of Herman; but now, of course, Heard is not as capable as Herman.

However, everyone has their own situation after all, and he didn't want to deliberately compare these two young people.

All in all, Hurd Dreyson's investigation in Biddle City was also proceeding with difficulty.Based on Mr. Ghost's relationship, he got the secret help of those children and their parents, which made his investigation a little smoother.

Siles looked forward to his harvest.

As for the preparations for God's birthday, the situation is already progressing step by step.

It is worth mentioning that Siles' assistant in the Research Department of the Historical Society, Aneurin Moore, provided unexpected help.

He was a young man from a poor family, and that's why he chose to be a Revelator.Siles' project gave him a good allowance, and with the hot sale of [Smart Fan], he also got his own part of the profit.

Not long ago, Aneurin thanked Siles solemnly for this matter, and asked what he could do, because this careful young man had noticed that Siles had been busy with something recently.

Siles considered it for a while, and considering that Aneurin was a revelator after all, he probably mentioned to Aneurin that there might be troubles from the followers of the old god on the birthday of the god.They need to prepare for that day in advance, which requires more revelators to be involved.

And Anuilin's eyes widened immediately, saying that he could help with this matter.

After careful questioning, Siles realized that young people like Aneurin, who are newcomers, come from a poor family, and at the same time are full of desire to change their status quo, of course they would choose to hug each other for warmth.

There are about one or two hundred young people like this in the Historical Society, and they have established a very loose organization, more similar to a mutual aid society.Annelin is one of them.

These young people are grateful to Professor Siles Noel, because they may have to come into contact with those spiritual pollutions-those terrible and dangerous timelines in order to make money and gain power.

It was Sirius who saved them, or, so to speak, Sirius who pulled them from the edge of the cliff.They were more than happy to do Siles a favor.

Anuilin was in charge of contacting these young people.

This also eased the pressure on Siles.He has contacted many people, from all walks of life and fields.It wasn't the first time he realized that he had good connections in Ramifa City, but this time was the most obvious one.

Young people, businessmen, workers, nobles, priests, knights, students, homeless, members of underground organizations... To be honest, he was even a little surprised.

These people will unite when that day comes to fight against the crazy followers of the shadow (and maybe some followers of the old god who take advantage of the chaos).

And that day is not far away.

...The carriage stopped at the gate of La Mifa University, which also brought Siles back to his senses.He went to the office with Cendo.

Dorothea and Jules were already waiting for them.

The approaching of God's birthday, although it means that the shadow believers will carry out the final action, it also means that the first semester of the school year of Ramifa University is coming to an end.

...so Siles was looking at the thesis that the two apprentices had just finished writing.

The two apprentices were sitting upright, their eyes tense.

Qin Duo couldn't help laughing at the sidelines, and couldn't help but say, "Could it be that your thesis is poorly done?"

The cramped teaching assistant made the two apprentices almost desperate.Dorothea covered her eyes, and Jules patted his face with trembling hands, as if hoping to wake up.

Qin Duo even laughed out loud immediately.

Siles had no choice but to raise his head and glance at Qindo, telling his teaching assistant to calm down and stop laughing at the two young students who are about to graduate and are very desperate for their graduation thesis.

After a while, Siles put down the drafts of the two students' papers.He glanced at it very briefly, then pondered for a moment.

The two apprentices held their breath.

"...not a bad paper." Siles said, after thinking for a while, he added, "Based on the standard of a term paper."

Dorothea and Jules were visibly relieved, and both even smiled cheerfully.

Qin Duo said, "Don't worry about your graduation thesis?"

"That's for the next semester." Dorothea shrugged, "We'll deal with those followers of the old god first."

Jules nodded with the same serious face.I really don't know if the look of preparedness on his face is because of the group of shadow believers who are ready to move, or because of his terrible graduation thesis.

Siles and Qindo looked at each other, and both felt a little bit of irony - "Shadow" will not be honored, and of course shadow believers are the same.

But it also explains their daily life to some extent, the complicated and obscure matters related to the Revelator, which always go hand in hand with the ordinary school life.

This also made Siles think of another thing.

Next Monday, October 10th, an academic team from Kansas will arrive at Ramifa University for an academic visit.

They originally planned to come here in early October, but the weather gave them a reason to delay the trip.So in the end, they arrived in Ramifa City in mid-October.

The timing of their visit was delicate, not only because it was the final week of Ramifa University - which is not the usual day for academic visits - but also because it was so close to the birthday of God.

It is said that the academic team even planned to leave after watching the God's Birthday celebration in Lamifa City.

This made Sirius feel a little uneasy.

He was not sure whether the sudden appearance of this academic team from Kansas at this time would have an unexpected impact on the situation in Ramifa City, or bring them unexpected gains.

As the director of the Department of Literary History, Siles has of course obtained the list of members of this team, and he handed the list to Qindo, hoping that the Praia family will conduct an investigation.

After all, they are from Kansas, which is the natural sphere of influence of the Playa family.

Siles is not sure what kind of answer he hopes to get... He hopes to gain some useful information, but at the same time, he would rather this group of people have nothing to do with shadow believers.

In short, related news should also be answered this weekend.

Siles' mind turned around on this matter, and then returned to the current situation.He discussed the content of the dissertation with the apprentices, and at the same time asked them what they thought about the dissertation; but it was obvious that none of them had thought about it.

Dorothea hesitated, but finally admitted frankly: "Our minds are full of followers of the old gods... and the upcoming birthday of the gods. This makes us distracted. Sorry, Professor."

Jules also whispered, "Professor, I'm sorry."

Siles shook his head: "No need to apologize, this is human nature. You still have enough time to arrange the papers, and don't worry." He paused, and then made a small joke, "You guys Look, I haven't even finished my academic assignments for this year."

"But you can do it in a month!" Jules said almost automatically.

Siles was silent for a moment.Although it was indeed a compliment - of course it was - he felt slightly speechless.

Qin Duo laughed softly, and said, "Of course, trust Professor Noel."

Siles couldn't help but glance over.

The office fell into a brief pleasant atmosphere.

But soon, it seemed that Jules thought of something because he talked about the followers of the old gods.He hesitated before saying, "I'm not sure, but...the painting seems finished."

"What painting?" Dorothea didn't react immediately, "...Wait, that painting by Emil?"

They looked at each other.

"It seems to be. But I can't be sure because I haven't been confirmed," Jules explained. "I just went to the Bridges family because I am ending this tutoring job.

"As for Emil's grandfather and mother, both showed a kind of...uncontrollable joy. Sometimes they even giggled inexplicably as if they were...polluted."

At this point, he frowned slightly, and said: "And Emil remained silent. But I noticed some traces of paint on his fingers, so I suspected it was because...he had already finished the painting painting."

Siles frowned slightly.In the past period of time, there was no movement on Emil's side.

In the past month or two, he had also entered Emil's dreams and had a few conversations with the young boy.The emir did not mention the progress of which painting, as if he was always struggling with what to paint.

The last time he entered Emil's dream... Siles remembered, it was at the end of September.Mr. Ghost brought a batch of new toys to Emil for him to experience.Emile is always the first child to try out these toys.

At that time, Emil was fine, as always, he was interested in those toys, and his mental state appeared to be quite normal.

Siles felt a slight sinking in his heart.Has the situation on Emir's side changed in just ten or so days?

In fact, after gradually understanding the nature of the Thirteen Paintings project, Siles paid less attention to the "actual" paintings.

The shadow believers seem to be planning to draw on that conceptual painting, rather than actually painting a picture.And there was still no progress on Emil's side, so Siles almost thought that this matter was over.

...But the fact is that this incident has not passed.

At first, Siles thought that Emil's painting would be one of the thirteen paintings, but later ruled out this possibility... But now, he seems to have to reconsider this possibility?

Could this have something to do with Atkinya's powers?

But the question is... aren't the Bridges family essentially followers of Thaddeus?

Siles was lost in thought.

Dorothea thought about it carefully, and then she couldn't help but said in surprise: "I never noticed anything unusual here, and Grandpa didn't show much either... Could it be that they've been hiding this?"

"I think so," Jules said. "I think ... they didn't even welcome my visits, and almost couldn't wait to settle the previous payment and let me go."

Dorothea touched her chin and couldn't help saying, "It sounds really weird."

"Besides the paint marks on his hands, is there anything else that Emil showed?" Siles asked.

Jules thought for a moment, then shook his head, and said, "There's nothing else wrong...by the way, he's been holding on to a Rubik's Cube."

"Magic cube?"

"It seems to be Geisha's Rubik's Cube?" Jules said. "Emil likes those toys in Geisha very much. When I left, I noticed that he was playing origami there."

Siles was slightly taken aback.

Apart from this detail, Jules didn't notice anything else.Soon, they bypassed the topic and continued discussing their studies.Of course, Dorothea still said that she would go back and ask Grandpa to see if there was any unique information channel from the elders.

As the time approached noon, the two apprentices bid farewell to Siles.

After they left, Qin Duo said: "If Emil encounters any problems, he should come to you in the dream, right? But, according to Jules, it has been several days."

Siles nodded too.This is the most critical issue. This matter seems to have succeeded inexplicably, without warning before it happened.

He felt a little worried about Emile.

And he suddenly found a...subtle loophole.

Emile knew that Mr. Ghost was related to Sirius Noel, although he didn't know it was the same person.Emil does know that many of Geisha's toys come from Mr. Ghost.

Even Siles was able to open this store because he secretly contacted Mr. Ghost (although it was in his brain), and got Mr. Ghost's consent and authorization, so he sold these toys.

The very first Rubik's Cube was given to Emil by Mr. Ghost.

Siles believes that Emil will not reveal this secret at will, but Emil has not appeared in the dream in the past ten days, which makes Siles feel a little uneasy, after all, this time is almost enough for this The child draws the picture.

After thinking for a while, Siles pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I will go to the dreamland tonight to see if Emil will appear. There is no need to panic now."

Cindo also nodded, and he stretched out his hand to smooth the frown of Siles—he always didn't like to see Siles so worried—and said: "Well, let's go to have lunch, and then Go and meet the detective."

They simply ate lunch in the cafeteria of La Mifa University, and then took a carriage to the Ernestine Tavern in the west city.

After noon, the rain stopped slowly.The sky is still gloomy, and the kind of water vapor seems to seep into the cracks of human bones, every inch and every minute is damp.

Qindo obviously didn't like this kind of weather very much, he sat quietly around Siles, just playing with his fingers.After a while, he seemed to remember suddenly, and asked, "Do you have any plans for the winter vacation?"

winter vacation?

Siles was slightly taken aback, and only then did he think that after the end of this semester—after God's birthday, they would usher in a long-lost vacation.

Moreover, this also means that it will be almost a year since he met Qin Duo.

This is really... a time that seems like a lifetime away.

Siles looked sideways at Cendo, and then laughed: "Going to Kansas?"

"Vacation?" Qin Duo asked.

"Of course." Siles replied, "find a place to rest for a while."

Qin Duo nodded happily.

Siles said again: "Solve the paper by the way."

Qin Duo: "..."

He sighed slightly plaintively, and said, "Can't you deal with me first?"

Siles hesitated for a moment, and then said in an objective tone: "I can't use 'solve' to describe you."

Qin Duo tilted his head in confusion.

"……enjoy?"

Qin Duo's expression was blank for a moment, then he stared at Siles for a while, and finally he said sullenly: "You should deal with me now."

Siles couldn't help laughing.

They deliberately didn't talk about "Shadow" on the way to Ernestine's Tavern.They've talked too much, they're tired and bored.

So they always avoid talking about "shadows" in irrelevant moments.At a more distant point, they had to take the "Shadow" with seriousness.

Like...the meeting with Detective Jon.

"In addition to the 'family', Jeremy Forbes is likely to be involved in other organizations of the Apocalypse." Jon got straight to the point, and went straight to the point, "It is very likely that he had followed the old gods earlier. dealt with.

"...I'm not talking about shadow believers, but those thirteen old god believers."

Siles couldn't help feeling a little surprised, he asked, "Is there any evidence to prove this?"

"Indeed." Jon nodded, "For some time, my detective friends and I have been investigating Jeremy Forbes. You want to know his whereabouts and whereabouts two or three days before his death.

"But we found that Jeremy's actions have always been very hidden and low-key. We have to expand our investigation and understand his daily life activities-this is something we have done before, but now we need to understand him... how to say , the unknown part.

"He might have chosen to hide that somewhere in that part of his life, considering that when he did that, he was doing it to give himself a way out."

Siles nodded and said, "You found it."

"It was indeed found!" Jon showed a confident, interested smile that fits the identity of a detective, "His former secretary-cum-lover, knows more than people think.

"To be honest, discovering the lover status of these two people is the most important thing. If not, this former secretary lady would not choose to be honest. She was a little angry that she was excluded from this death, but More still sad.

"She wanted to know the truth about Jeremy's death, so she told me something. The detective's identity is very effective at this time... Do you know that no one is paying attention to Jeremy Forbes' death now? People are I think he died of illness, that's all.

"But this lady, she doesn't believe it. She thinks there are other reasons for Jeremy's death, and she has been gathering information about it that she has learned, but she is alone and alone.

"If it weren't for us detectives, then she might have chosen to let go. Time can always wash away all traces... But with our efforts, she still told us some information."

Siles listened quietly, and before Jon actually mentioned the information, he first asked a question: "So, when the lady secretary...became the 'former' secretary, was...?"

Jon showed a rather subtle expression, probably feeling that Sirius' sharpness was a bit surprising.

"At the end of July this year," he said.

"...so before the shadow believers arrived in Lamifa City." Qindo whispered, "Jeremy Forbes did this on purpose...he wanted this lady to avoid this storm."

"I think so too." Jon said, "From her performance, although they are not married, they have a good relationship."

"So, this lady doesn't know what's going on with Jeremy after August." Siles said, "What she knows is before the arrival of the Shadow Believers... that is, the Fillmore family. That part of the business."

"Yes. In the part of the information she told us, she did complain a lot about the...'dangerous business' of the Fillmore family." Jon shrugged, "That used to scare her.

"In fact, she even believed that Jeremy Forbes died because of those things about the Fillmore family - those jobs. She didn't know anything about the existence of 'Shadow'."

Siles was taken aback for a moment, and he frowned, then said, "I remember that Jeremy Forbes was in charge of the Fillmore family's investment matters...it sounds quite mundane."

"If the investment is not so 'worldly', then the situation is completely different." Jon said meaningfully, "say, something from the land of no embers."

From the land of no embers?

Siles felt that this statement seemed quite familiar-to be precise, he seemed to have heard about it in the past...he had indeed.

"...from, the artwork from the Neverland?" Siles murmured in a low voice.

Jon was obviously taken aback, and then he spread his hands: "Oh, you already knew it in advance."

"I just think of David Babbitt," said Siles. "This merchant was in this kind of reselling business when he was young. He smuggled cultural relics, antiques, and especially artworks unearthed from archaeological sites, borrowing This made a huge windfall, and then I turned to the painting supplies business."

David Babbitt.

In the attempted murder at the Ernestine Fair in August, the victim had been hired by David Babbitt.David Babbitt himself was a member of the secret society of the Lamifah Chamber of Commerce.

The lady had previously provided some information about the businessman, referring to his illegal activities in his youth.

In addition, Cendo had confirmed with Hurd Dreyson that Hurd's grandfather had bought some smuggled items from David Babbitt.

... For some nobles, this kind of "smuggling" from the Never Embers, especially in the field of antiques and works of art, is commonplace.After all, the laws in the past were not so perfect, and the supervision was never in place, not to mention that there were nobles guarding and stealing among them.

From these perspectives, David Babbitt probably had some connections with shadow believers (or followers of the old gods) a long time ago.

However, at this moment, Siles also realized a subtle possibility.

He said: "The Fillmore family has quite a deep connection with art...and Jeremy Forbes is responsible for acquiring these things? Are these smuggled items from Land of No Embers?"

It suddenly occurred to him that the first floor of the Fillmore Family Museum, that is, the items they collected after they came to the Principality of Constance, was also full of beautiful things.That means they never stopped buying art, antiques.

However, in the Age of Fog, many parts of the world are shrouded in mist.In other words, where do they go for antiques?

...only the Emberlands.

Siles took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Did Jeremy Forbes deal with David Babbitt?"

Jon nodded, and he said: "The lady secretary provided a note to prove that the Fillmore family once bought a large amount of art from David, and it is very likely that this money made David Resolve to change careers and never engage in that dangerous activity again.

"...Actually, according to the lady secretary, this is the first deal that Jeremy has done since he became an adult, and that was many years ago.

"Because this job was done well, and the things I bought were appreciated by members of the Fillmore family, that's why Jeremy received more attention later on, and was finally officially in charge of the Fillmore family's investment. affairs.

"I went to the Fillmore Family Museum some time ago and confirmed that the smuggled artworks are in the exhibition hall on the first floor."

Jon said in a rather sarcastic tone.

Siles considered it for a while, and then said: "I originally thought that Jeremy Forbes was not in charge of the art-related transactions."

"Indeed, after buying the art