Shade glanced sideways at the withered, blackened roses in the display window behind him, then continued his greeting:
"Mr. Asmon, long time no see. Rain, night, a flower shop, candles—once again, we meet in such an interesting setting. Care to sit down and talk?"
The Demon Scholar did not mind the poor surroundings. He sat at the table outside the flower shop, and after the sleeve of his robe brushed across the tabletop, he placed down the notebook he carried with him, its corners even curled up.
Shade pointed at himself.
"I spent more than half of spring in Randall River Valley, and I have to admit, spring there was truly beautiful. After the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe left Randall River Valley, I left as well. Then I went to Weilun Dai'er City. I had planned to head to Tobesk to watch the Around the City Equestrian Competition, but some trivial matter delayed me. Boring policemen. So I came here, hoping to see whether anything new might happen while the two countries were negotiating."
He said with a smile:
"I was there for the assassination not long ago. I plan to use that assassination as the basis for a fine detective-and-spy novel. The Detective Hamilton Story Collection will probably be facing a rival soon. Oh, speaking of which, what? There are demon rumors in the Green Lake Region too?"
Mr. Xiao En Asmon leaned forward slightly, his black eyes fixed on Shade in the candlelight.
"An assassination? That was merely a brief shower before conspiracy and war. But an unexpected encounter is indeed fitting for storytelling. Yes, there are legends of demons here, and that is why I came. They say the island in the center of Green Lake is called Devil's Island. I stayed in Glass City for half