"Church exorcism? For what? Did some kind of accident happen here? Wait, I don't remember seeing any news about this place during that time."
Mr. Antonio asked suspiciously. The middle-aged stone mason nodded.
"During the earthquake last autumn, Old Stone Mason Humphrey was struck in the head by a toppled stone statue and died on the spot. There was nothing suspicious about it. The police came too, and there were many people present at the time. It truly was an accident. It wasn't reported in the newspapers; only an obituary was published. After all, if merchants from elsewhere learned that the stone statues had been stained with blood, the price of every statue would be driven down."
Mr. Antonio and Shade exchanged a glance. Both felt that the matter was worth investigating. Although Mr. Antonio was an ordinary man, he understood that the Church must have had a reason for sending people to perform an exorcism.
"Besides that, there's one more thing."
The middle-aged stone mason continued.
"Uncle Huck is the living storybook of the Stone Masons Association. He knows more stories and history about the association than anyone. He once told me that if I ever saw something terrifying in the association, I should cover my face, crouch down, and turn my back to the light source. If you want to learn those stories, you can—"
He showed an apologetic expression.
"You won't be able to find him. No, he isn't dead. He was taken away because of the banquet assassination."
"The Uncle Huck you mentioned, is he the one..."
Shade mimed firing a pistol. The middle-aged stone mason nodded guardedly.
"The higher-ups won't allow us to discuss it."
Shade took out his wallet and gave the stone mason before him a silver coin. Then he said to Mr.