"Thank you, sister Shermane."
In front of an apartment building on the edge of North Borough, watching two workers wearing clothing with bear claws and the words "Black Bear Cannery" moving the last box into their new home, Daisy showed a heartfelt smile on his face and thanked Shermane beside him.
"No need to thank me. This is all the money Liv has saved through hard work. I just helped her find a cost-effective place to live... If you can go to school well and pass the Grammar School exam of North Borough, that will be the greatest thank you to her."
Shermane looked at Liv who was busy in the apartment, taking cups and decorations out of the box and placing them in various places in the new home. He said with emotion, raising a hand, subconsciously wanting to touch Daisy's head, but stopped his behavior at the last moment and secretly put his hand down.
That's Sherman's habitual movement, not mine... She thought in a daze, and suddenly felt a rough but warm touch from her palm. She looked down and found that she was caught by Daisy's hand.
It was a hand that was repeatedly burned by steam but still insisted on helping its mother iron clothes. It was not until Liv entered Canned Food Factory that it could hold a pen and study with peace of mind after getting a job that could support the whole family.
"Sister... if you want to touch it, just touch it..."
After getting the "invitation" from Daisy, Shermane hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and pressed it on the other person's head.
The familiar feeling stunned both of them.
After a while, Daisy asked cautiously:
"Sister Shermane, may I ask... when can Sherman come back?"
The pronunciation of the two names was extremely similar. Shermane was in a daze for a while before she remembered that this was also her own name. She pursed her lips and replied in a tone that she didn't quite believe:
"I don't know either. He left Backlund and went to Sivellas County. Maybe he won't come back until the war is over."
After saying that, she patted Daisy on the head comfortingly, went into the room and said goodbye to Liv, put on her hood and left as if being chased by someone.
It wasn't until he left this street and returned to East Borough, where the surrounding houses were obviously more dilapidated, that Shermane breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down.
"Why should I run away? Daisy didn't recognize me. Besides, no one can think that Sherman suddenly turned into a woman... Well, I hope that after Liv's family moves to North Borough, the two girls can go to school with peace of mind, so that their family can finally get out of poverty..."
She walked quickly through Narrow Cramped Alley, naturally avoiding the wanderer who passed by but secretly reached out his hand under her cloak, muttering to herself.
Putting aside her own feelings, the improvement in the life of the Liv family is the epitome of most workers of "Black Bear Cannery". This factory, whose main products are fruit, canned meat and Carbonated Drink, has been doing very well during this period. The new drinks have been sold to the entire Loen Kingdom, and even When sold to the distant Rhoside Islands, the cans were snapped up by Backlund residents who were affected by the war atmosphere. Even the military placed many orders for cans and "Black Bear Cola". Every worker's feet were light on the way to and from get off work, and the topic of discussion was not the shadow of the war, but what to do after receiving the salary.
This is thanks to Miss Angelica's subsequent investment and the strategy of converting profits into new production and rewards for workers... Thinking of this, a satisfied smile appeared on Shermane's face.
If she hadn't been worried about the performance of "Pleasure" Demoness recently, she would have even felt that the month of war had been the happiest period of her life.
Pleasure... This word came to mind, Shermane's smile froze on his face, and then a touch of red appeared on his face.
She had just fled Liv's new home in a hurry, not only because of Daisy's doubts, but also because of the physiological reaction that naturally appeared in her body when she came into contact with young women.
"Damn, Sherman, no, Shermane, Daisy is only fifteen years old. Even if Miss Triss says that all this is a normal reaction, it is too much... No, this is not the point. I used to like men..."
Shermane, who was a little confused in his mind, emerged from the alley, and suddenly found himself in the small square at the entrance of Church of Night.
There seemed to be some Student Aid Fund publicity event being held here. Most of the East Borough residents who were passing by in a hurry were not even interested in taking a look. However, there were also a few people whose children were studying in missionary schools who came to learn about the conditions for receiving scholarships, making the originally deserted square quite lively.
Bypassing the noisy crowd, Shermane saw the already familiar figure at the door of the church.
Leonard Mitchell leaned against the door arch of the church Prayer Hall, looking warily at the East Borough residents who had gathered around him. There was always an illusion in his heart that these disheveled people would swarm up.
In the center of the crowd, a blond girl was enthusiastically introducing the background and scope of student aid of "Loen Charity Student Aid Fund". Her frail body was almost buried. Beside her, a black-haired man with a receding hairline was trying to straighten his waist to make himself look taller and maintain order.
I didn't expect to see Klein's brother here... Well, he looks taller and stronger than "Justice" Miss, but in fact, the weak girl he tried to protect is actually Sequence 5's Beyonder. He can knock him down with one punch, and Intimidation everyone in the square with a roar...
Finding that although the scene was a bit chaotic, it still maintained order under some kind of secret guidance. Leonard murmured in his heart and calmly emptied his mind. His eyes gradually lost focus and he recalled the conversation after Tarot Club this week when "Empress" Angel and "The World" Klein left him alone.
At that time, he learned that the two people had actually found the legendary "Ghost Empire" last week and met the Amon's Avatars inside.
What is surprising is that one of the Amon clones who had been lurking in that "Dream City" for more than ten years actually merged with part of the Parasite's memories and thoughts, and became a "good Amon" who was willing to sacrifice himself for the city.
Angel and Klein found Leonard, with the purpose of asking him to ask Pales Zoroaster in his body: Is this situation true, or is it a disguise and trap of Amon's clone?
After leaving Gray Fog and returning to reality, Leonard immediately told Pallez about the matter. After some analysis, the latter believed that the "Archon" Amon might indeed be affected by the host and show a different personality and characteristics from other clones.
"Normally, Amon's Avatars will get all the memories of the original body, inherit his ideas and personality, and clearly know that they are clones and are controlled by the original body, so the probability of 'rebellion' is extremely low. But as your colleagues said It is said that in the process of parasitism, this clone adopted unconventional means because it wanted to hide from the city's laws. It is likely that some accidents occurred at the moment of successful parasitism, making it no longer a pure 'Amon'...
"But this is only on the premise that there is no conflict of interest between them. If I appear in front of this clone, facing the last piece of the puzzle of Amon becoming a god, he may show his true nature and try every means to remove this information. The information is transmitted to the main body... So if you ask me to 'verify' the idea of Amon, then the only thing I will do is to absorb his Beyonder Characteristic and let it disappear completely... Just tell your two colleagues like this."
Pallez's serious voice echoed in his mind. Leonard sighed softly, refocused his eyes, and suddenly found a young woman wearing a hooded cloak standing in front of him.
It's that "Pleasure" Demoness Shermane...Leonard subconsciously straightened his body, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said pretending not to care:
"I thought you would be late...well, I mean, I didn't wait long."
The laughter that Pallez instantly burst out in his mind made his expression become a little stiff.
Fortunately, Shermane didn't care. Instead, he took out an envelope from under his cloak, stuffed it into Leonard, and said:
"This is the recent trend of Mr. K of 'Aurora Order', the details of the gatherings he held and the items he bought and sold... Compared with before, the biggest difference is that he stopped the original commission to find followers of 'Fool'."
Stop looking for followers of Mr. "Fool"... Leonard's mind immediately returned to the right track, took the envelope, thought for a moment, and asked:
"Were there any other suspicious people at the party?"
"Most of them are familiar members, but there is a new member who wears a hood and mask every day and never participates in transactions. He is always the last one to leave. I suspect that he is also a member of 'Aurora Order', but he is not followed because he is afraid of being discovered."
Shermane replied patiently.
"You did the right thing, observe first and don't act rashly."
Leonard nodded and replied.
The two communicated for a while more. Shermane saw that the crowd in the square gradually dispersed, and the two people standing at the door of the church talking became more conspicuous. He tightened his hood, said goodbye to Leonard and left in a hurry.
Looking at her back that seemed to be running away, Leonard opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he just shook his head and stuffed the envelope containing the information into his pocket.
"Didn't you say you were going to use work as an excuse to invite her to the cafe?"
In his mind, the teasing voice of Pallez suddenly appeared.
"That's what I planned, but then she suddenly ran away... Well, why did I use that word?"
Leonard turned his head and whispered.
"Heh."
What answered him was Pallez's unexplained laughter.
After distributing all the flyers, Audrey Hall let out a sigh of satisfaction. At the moment when he used "Psychological Invisibility" to eliminate his sense of existence, he stretched his body rather inelegantly, and then reappeared in the sight of other staff.
"I hope this publicity will enable more students who are unable to go to school for various reasons to return to school..."
She took the Sweet Iced Tea from Mr. Benson and took a sip, thinking hopefully.
"On Tarot Club, Mr. World said that everyone should pay attention to the war situation of Northern Front. He said that if something happens to Prince Gowenton, it means that the next stage of the war is about to begin... This points to a conspiracy that even dad and the others did not expect... I hope this kind of thing will not happen, otherwise the fragile peace of Backlund may be broken by the flames of war again..."
Looking at the busy East Borough street, or Passerby who is full of hope or confused, "Justice" Miss prayed to Goddess from the bottom of his heart.
Above her head, a crow flew from a distance, passing through the haze that had gradually faded this year, and stopped on the highly recognizable spire of Church of Night. It faced the direction of the square, tilting its head, and its eyes were observing something.