Even if Sir Prisha did not know how many Glimmerstones he needed, he certainly wanted more. So it was not that he was in no hurry to enter the swamp, but that he had to stay behind, at least until he obtained the Glimmerstones here:
"That was why he was seen by the Witches' follower. It was not carelessness—he had to stay!"
Having figured this out, Shade did not try to solve the Keeper of Secrets' trial before him. Sir Prisha had clearly reached the final stage, while he had only just begun and could no longer catch up:
"Since the Keeper of Secrets is still here, that means the trial has not ended yet, at least!"
With that thought, Shade tried to gather wrath within his heart. Then, standing beside the cardboard house, he covered his face with both hands.
Amid rustling sounds, stone skin spread from his hands across his entire body. At the same time, curled wings grew from his back, and Shade once again turned into a stone statue amid the wind and snow.
The White-Haired Old Man saw this and gently shook his head before retreating into the cardboard house. The blizzard grew fiercer, snowflakes covering the angel statue's head and shoulders. Gradually, the statue was buried beneath the snow.
No one would want to venture into a filthy alley that no one cleared of snow in weather like this. Half an hour later, a new figure finally entered the deserted alley. Legenes Presia's boots stepped onto the snow surface as though it were solid pavement, carrying him smoothly to the cardboard house.
He failed to notice the angel statue that had nearly blended into the alley. Instead, he called out softly:
"I have helped the children in the slums, allowing them to safely survive