Chapter Summaries

Shade finalized a six-month commission with Baron Lavend to safeguard and use the Match Girl card, earning 10 Pounds. Captain Rades visited to apologize and offered Shade his relic pistol, then mentioned another ornament he had won; Shade accompanied him to search his rental apartment for it.

• Shade signed an agreement to safeguard Ancient Fairy Tales · Match Girl for Baron Lavend and received a 5-Pound commission fee, with a promise to sell the card to the Baron for 5 Pounds after six months.
• Captain Rades visited to apologize for the Lake View Manor incident and offered to compensate Shade for his black suit, but Shade declined and gave him contacts for Schneider Psychological Clinic and Dawn Church.
• Captain Rades explained that he had won the Gun of Kindness from a drunkard in a Rhodes Cards game and said Shade could keep the pistol.
• Captain Rades recalled winning a small ornament in the same game and said it might still be in his rental apartment.
• Shade agreed to accompany Captain Rades to his home in Pig Tail Alley to look for the ornament.

Shade visited Captain Rades's cramped apartment in Pig Tail Alley to search for the missing Pendant, then read the Steam Bird Daily and noted an academic lecture he wanted to attend. The search failed, and their plans for lunch were interrupted by a gunfight in the alley.

• Shade and Captain Rades climbed to the captain's apartment, passing a white cat on the stairs.
• Shade inspected the room and found old bloodstains but no sign of the Pendant.
• Shade read the Steam Bird Daily, learned of Princess Leisha's planned return, and wrote down the date of a Tobesk University lecture.
• Captain Rades told Shade they had not found the Pendant and offered to buy him lunch, but Shade insisted on paying instead.
• A man shouted in Pig Tail Alley and gunshots followed; Captain Rades dismissed the disturbance as a common occurrence.

Shade heard Captain Rades panic at the sound of a gunshot because he feared Military Intelligence Section Six, then spent the afternoon walking with Mia through Tobesk’s University District. He met Miss Louisa, who asked him to help investigate a rumor about a special object, and Shade realized she intended to contain a relic.

• After a second gunshot, Captain Rades trembled with fear of Military Intelligence Section Six and told Shade about its brutal interrogations and rumors of Gray Gloves spies in Tobesk.
• Shade and Captain Rades ate together, and Rades promised to keep searching for the ornament and look for work for Shade.
• Shade returned home, played with Mia, translated more of “Chasing the Four Elements: Wind and Fire,” and later took Mia for a walk in the University District.
• Shade watched students from Tobesk Theology College play Rhodes Cards, then set off toward the Terrarell River with Mia.
• Miss Louisa stopped her carriage beside Shade and asked him to help buy something special after hearing a strange rumor; Shade realized she wanted to contain a relic.

Three days after the Lake View Manor incident, Miss Louisa took Shade to meet Professor Manning and investigate the Dream Pen of Joy, a dangerous relic he had bought from a deceased writer. They arrived at the professor’s home to discuss purchasing the pen, while Mia ignored his black cat.

• Miss Louisa explained that the Dream Pen of Joy used its owner’s blood to draw a person into the Scribe’s dream and might have caused its previous owner’s death.
• Shade accompanied Miss Louisa through Tion Academy Street and Cat Tail Alley to visit Professor Tiris Manning, who had bought the missing pen.
• Shade gave a flower-selling girl three pence after Mia nearly bit a flower, then joked that he would deduct the money from Mia’s dinner.
• Professor Manning welcomed Miss Louisa and Shade into his book-filled study and served them tea.
• Professor Manning’s black cat watched Mia from behind the desk, but Mia showed no interest in playing with it.

Shade and Miss Louisa visited Professor Manning to buy the Dream Pen of Joy, but discovered a nightmare creature was lurking in the house. As they searched the third floor, Shade's body developed glowing golden cracks, and the chapter ended with him radiating sacred light.

• Miss Louisa told Professor Manning that the fountain pen had belonged to her late friend, and he agreed to retrieve it from the collection room.
• Shade learned that prolonged use of the Dream Pen of Joy could materialize nightmares, and Miss Louisa explained she wanted the relic to inspire her Thaumaturgy studies.
• Shade and Miss Louisa realized a black cat was an illusion born from a nightmare, left Little Mia and the maid in the study, and went upstairs to look for Professor Manning.
• Miss Louisa warned Shade that the nightmare seemed newly born as they cautiously searched the silent third floor.
• Shade noticed golden fissures spreading across his body and clothes, with warm, sacred light shining from within them.

Shade and Miss Louisa struggled to escape a nightmare created by the out-of-control Joyful Dream Pen. After Louisa’s fire failed to break the dream, she used her Frozen to Death rune to shatter it again.

• Shade recognized the false Miss Louisa as part of a dream and destroyed her with Silver Moonlight.
• Dream-born monsters attacked Shade, who used his Destiny Ring and Thaumaturgy to cut through them, but remained trapped in the dream.
• The real Miss Louisa found Shade and explained that the nightmare had formed from the Joyful Dream Pen.
• Miss Louisa used her Match Girl fire Thaumaturgy to break the dream, but Shade realized they were still dreaming.
• Miss Louisa invoked her Frozen to Death rune, sending an icy current through the corridor to shatter the dream again.

Miss Louisa and Shade escaped the Dream and found Professor Manning unconscious, with an out-of-control fountain pen and a nightmare Black Cat attached to him. As Miss Louisa fought the creature in its true form, she summoned the Match Girl from her self-created thaumaturgy.

• Shade's golden radiance drove away a black mist, and Miss Louisa used Scribe and Dream Illusion to return them to reality.
• Miss Louisa led Shade into a collection room, where they found Professor Manning unconscious with a fountain pen embedded in his wrist and a Black Cat standing on him.
• The Black Cat claimed that it loved Professor Manning, and Miss Louisa exposed the collection room as an illusion with golden flames.
• The nightmare Black Cat appeared as a mass of cat skin and tongues across the ceiling, resisting Miss Louisa's flames and Shade's moonlight attack.
• Miss Louisa used Scribe and Match to summon the Match Girl, and Shade recognized the tale as Ancient Fairy Tale · Match Girl.

Shade and Miss Louisa used their Thaumaturgies to destroy the nightmare caused by the Dream Pen of Joy, though Shade’s Light Spell temporarily blinded Louisa. Shade restored her sight and then used his healing Thaumaturgy to revive the near-death Professor Manning.

• Miss Louisa explained that her Match Girl Thaumaturgy could harm the half-real, half-illusory nightmare, and urged Shade to use Light Spell.
• Shade’s Silver Moon light overwhelmed the room and, together with the Match Girl’s flame, drove away the black nightmare.
• Shade found that Miss Louisa had temporarily lost her sight, then healed her eyes with water processed through Satiety Feast.
• Miss Louisa pointed out that Professor Manning was still dying after the nightmare drained his Life Force.
• Shade used False Immortality and Satiety Feast to treat Professor Manning, whose shriveled body began to improve.

Shade and Miss Louisa rescued Professor Manning from the Dream Pen of Joy, and he gave them the relic in exchange for their silence. Before they left, Professor Manning also gave Shade a special Rhodes Card as hush money.

• Miss Louisa identified Shade’s Gluttony Thaumaturgy as a way to restore Life Energy, while Shade continued feeding water to Professor Manning.
• Professor Manning woke up, admitted he had been pretending to sleep, and begged Shade and Miss Louisa to keep what happened secret.
• Shade and Miss Louisa helped Professor Manning recover enough to sit in a chair, and he explained that he had learned to use the fountain pen through a dream.
• Professor Manning agreed to give them the Dream Pen of Joy and keep their encounter secret, then gave Shade a special Rhodes Card as hush money.

Shade and Miss Louisa discussed the recovered Dream Pen and her fairy-tale Thaumaturgy over dinner. Learning that her Match Girl story closely matched a tale from his previous memory left Shade wondering whether other transmigrators had once lived in this world.

• Shade reluctantly accepted Professor Manning's Northern Cities Port City card as hush money, and the three swore to keep the incident secret.
• Miss Louisa warned Professor Manning to rest and report any strange dreams after the Dream Pen malfunction.
• Miss Louisa invited Shade and Mia to dinner, where she explained that her Light Spell was unusually effective against the weak nightmare because of his understanding of Silver Moon.
• Miss Louisa told Shade that her Thaumaturgy drew on the fairy tale Match Girl, using her Scribe and Roleplaying Core Runes.
• Shade heard that Match Girl told of a poor girl who lit four matches and died on a snowy night, and he wondered whether other transmigrators had been in the world.

Shade used the Time Key to return to Hope Town in the past, where he met the Old God Innocent Creator again. After confirming Shade had obtained God's Radiance, the god prepared to continue their encounter.

• Shade left Miss Louisa after dinner and returned home to wait until midnight, spending the time translating and reading.
• Shade used the Time Key and received a message from Father of Infinite Tree that he must witness Innocent Creator's final wish before the Old God fell.
• Shade manifested his Destiny Ring and saw God's Radiance shining through cracks across his skin in the Time Corridor.
• Shade stepped through the fog into Hope Town at night and entered the unchanged toy store.
• Innocent Creator recognized that Shade had found God's Radiance, and Shade confirmed it had been difficult to obtain.

Shade met the Innocent Creator in Hope Town and learned the Old God’s final wish was to fulfill three children’s desires. Unable to do so with Its remaining power, the deity asked Shade to grant them strength, adulthood, and good stories.

• Shade asked the Innocent Creator about time, Its impending fall, and the Words of Sublimation, learning that Hope Town had no normal flow of time and that the deity would not explain the later mystical power.
• The Innocent Creator summoned three children who had been drawn into Hope Town and explained that fulfilling their wishes was Its final wish.
• The eldest girl wished for strength to protect herself, one boy wanted to grow up immediately, and the youngest boy wanted to hear good stories.
• The Innocent Creator admitted It lacked the power to grant their wishes and asked Shade to fulfill them, promising him an additional gift.

Shade told three children the fairy tale “The Little Match Girl” to fulfill their wish for a story, while the saint brought its scenes to life. After the tale ended, the children shared what they had learned, and the saint blessed Parker Chad as a future fairy tale writer.

• Shade chose to tell a fairy tale and promised to return another time to fulfill the children’s wishes for growth and strength.
• The saint transformed the toy store into a snowy street as Shade told the story of a poor girl selling Matches.
• The saint’s visions showed a black-cloaked figure taking the girl away, and Shade finished the tale with her death and departure.
• Parker Chad praised the story and told Shade his name was Parker Chad.
• The children gave different lessons from the tale, and the saint blessed the youngest boy as a future fairy tale writer.

Shade returned from the past after telling the children the story of the Match Girl, gaining a stronger Ignite thaumaturgy despite failing the mission. Confident he could fulfill the remaining wishes, he visited Miss Louisa early the next morning to ask about the books he had been reading.

• Shade told the Saint that he wished he could save the girl, and the Saint said False Immortality suited him.
• The White Fog pulled Shade back to the present, where he learned the mission was incomplete and the Time Key was damaged 2/3.
• Shade discovered that Ignite could now produce a flame directly and believed the story had brought him closer to completing Father of Infinite Tree's mission.
• After breakfast, Shade hired a carriage to visit Miss Louisa at No. 211 Quill Street and ask her about his questions from reading.
• Miss Louisa let Shade into the building, while the landlady scrutinized him at the entrance.

Shade visited Miss Louisa to learn how a story’s original author could gain power from it, then considered whether the Match Girl’s manuscript might let him claim its power. Miss Louisa offered to lend him a copy on Saturday, and Shade left to pursue newspaper advertisements for the Detective Agency.

• Shade asked Miss Louisa when the Match Girl originated and what would happen if its author lived to the present.
• Miss Louisa explained that the author would need the original manuscript to be recognized as the story’s creator and use its related powers.
• Shade concluded that leaving a story in the past was impractical, but asked Miss Louisa about finding a copy to test whether he could gain power from it.
• Miss Louisa said her Ring Arcanist friend had a copy and offered to lend it to Shade for a week on Saturday.
• Shade left No. 211 Quill Street and decided to visit newspapers to discuss advertisements.

Shade arranged advertisements for his detective agency in several Tobesk newspapers and secured a cheap spot in the Steam Bird Daily through Dorothy Louisa’s referral. Back at Saint Derain Square, he received a letter from That Lady asking him to meet her at The Club that evening.

• Shade visited Tobesk newspaper offices and bought short-term advertisements in local papers after finding national newspaper rates too expensive.
• At the Steam Bird Daily, a manager offered Shade a discounted advertisement because Dorothy Louisa had referred him and her father, Professor Scavin Louisa, was a shareholder.
• Shade paid ten shillings for a monthly advertisement and resolved to thank Miss Louisa for the favor.
• Shade returned to Saint Derain Square and found a letter from That Lady requesting a meeting at The Club that evening.
• Shade wondered what task That Lady would ask of him in return for helping the group escape Lake View Manor.

Iluna Bayes visited Shade Hamilton’s detective agency under the official roles of Blackstone Security employee and Nominal Police Officer, seeking information about Lassoya. Shade pretended to be an ordinary detective while concealing that both of them knew Lassoya was dead.

• Shade answered the door and recognized Iluna Bayes, whom he had met before but no longer remembered clearly.
• Iluna introduced herself as a Nominal Police Officer and said she had come to ask about Lassoya as part of an official inquiry.
• Shade welcomed Iluna into his agency and served her tea while maintaining his ordinary-detective persona.
• Iluna told Shade that Ridgewich Field had listed Lassoya as a wanted criminal.
• Shade feigned surprise and said he had not expected Mr. Lawrence’s mistress to become a wanted criminal.

Miss Bayes questioned Shade about Lassoya and the events at Lake View Manor, while Shade concealed his involvement in the incident. He learned that Mrs. Lawrence had been murdered and Mr. Lawrence had disappeared, leaving him shaken as Miss Bayes asked to take any related documents.

• Miss Bayes questioned Shade about Lassoya, Detective Sparrow Hamilton, and his visit to Lake View Manor, while her ring seemed to detect whispers of lies.
• Shade told Miss Bayes he had seen Lassoya at the manor with Mr. Lawrence and described seeing a person in burgundy formal wear.
• Miss Bayes warned Shade that the Church and Kingdom kept cultist incidents from the public and asked whether he had given Mrs. Lawrence all of Sparrow's investigation reports.
• Miss Bayes revealed that Mrs. Lawrence had been found dead and Mr. Lawrence had disappeared, and Shade reacted with genuine shock and regret.
• Miss Bayes said investigators suspected Lassoya's accomplices and asked to take every document in Shade's office related to the investigations.

Shade handed Miss Bayes the documents concerning Lassoya, then accepted her commission to investigate Mr. Lawrence's disappearance at the Lucky Southern Cross Club. They traveled there together, with Shade bringing his unlicensed gun, and approached the club's front entrance.

• Shade and Miss Bayes sorted and transferred the investigation documents, while Little Mia nearly bit a hole in Shade's diary.
• Miss Bayes commissioned Shade to accompany her to the Lucky Southern Cross Club and investigate Mr. Lawrence's disappearance as a pair of wine merchants.
• Shade agreed to the commission and asked whether he could bring his gun; Miss Bayes told him to claim it was hers if anyone questioned him.
• Shade and Miss Bayes took a carriage to the club and walked toward its front entrance.

Shade accompanied Miss Bayes to the Lucky Southern Cross Club to investigate, but their cover was exposed when Mr. Nite recognized him. Shade used an excuse about meeting the mysterious lady to send Miss Bayes on alone, then met the lady upstairs earlier than planned.

• Miss Bayes told Shade to distract the club manager while she investigated the club, promising him greater payment if he kept the manager occupied.
• Mr. Nite recognized Shade and questioned why he had returned to the club.
• Shade claimed he had come to see a lady and showed Mr. Nite three Rhodes Cards as his excuse.
• Mr. Nite arranged a separate room for Miss Bayes and brought Shade upstairs to meet the lady.
• The lady praised Shade for his actions at Lake View Manor and asked why he had arrived early.