After saying goodbye to Doctor Schneider, Shade ran into Priest Augustus downstairs, who had not yet left. He then departed with the priest in a carriage.
Priest Augustus had deliberately waited for Shade, naturally because he had something to say:
"On Wednesday, did you use the Thorn Ring I gave you?"
"Yes. I used it to wield power lent to me by someone else. The Thorn Ring has many cracks now; I estimate it will break the next time I use it."
Shade sighed over the halo's effects:
"It really helped me. Otherwise, I truly have no idea how I could have dealt with the skull back then. I still have no leads for the moment. Priest, can't you make an Alchemy Item that can track bones from afar?"
"Young man, don't treat alchemy as if it can do everything."
The priest smiled and shook his head:
"You needn't be so anxious about this either. Whether we find it or not will not have much impact on us. In any case, if you need me to go there, I can set out at any time. If I did not want The Church to know where I was going, I could even have the chapel reimburse my train fare and lodging. The young men handling finances at the chapel now were all trained by me back then."
At least while Doctor Schneider was at Green Lake, Shade did not want Priest Augustus going there. But judging from the current situation, he truly needed the strength of the entire group this time.
The carriage first took the priest to Dawn Church, then brought Shade home.
When he went upstairs, he found the house quite lively. Dorothy, Luvia, and even Iluna were all there. The Girl with Purple Eyes was preparing tea in