"Yeah, nothing was going on at home yesterday, so I came early."
Miss Seagull nodded lightly and casually tucked the strands of hair from her forehead behind her ear, revealing a crystal-clear little ear and a silver cross earring.
She was a devout follower of the Dawn Era faith—or rather, her whole family was.
"By the way, when I came yesterday, the apartment was pretty quiet. Did you all only arrive today?"
Miss Seagull stepped forward and asked casually.
Mr. Oystercatcher laughed twice. "Yeah, the clinic was too busy yesterday. I pulled teeth for several patients in a row. Sigh, people these days do love their sweets too much..."
Miss Seagull studied him for a couple of seconds.
She knew Mr. Oystercatcher's nature very well. He wasn't good at lying and was rather carefree. To put it nicely, he was straightforward; to put it less nicely, he was a bit of a simpleton. He could basically be ruled out as the person from last night.
Miss Seagull's gaze quickly swept over the others.
Miss Sparrow had gone to the dining room and was chatting and laughing with Old Jerry. She knew Miss Sparrow rarely spent the night at the apartment, and from her earlier question, she could tell that she'd only arrived that morning.
As for Old Jerry, he was even less likely. He usually went to bed around eight or nine at night and never entered the storage room without permission.
"Sorry." Mr. Stork took off his hat and had just begun to speak when Miss Seagull's gaze immediately sharpened.
The handsome older gentleman was startled by the short-haired woman's look and hurriedly explained with an awkward smile, "I went out to visit a friend yesterday and spent the night there. I didn't know you'd come, Miss Seagull. I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you."
Miss Seagull froze, realizing she'd misunderstood.
She took a deep breath and managed a faint smile.
"I see... It's fine. Being at the apartment is more comfortable than being at home anyway."
As she spoke, her gaze had already settled on the blond young man. He met her eyes and looked momentarily confused, which only confirmed her suspicion.
So it was you!
A hard-to-describe wave of shame and indignation rose in Miss Seagull's heart. She felt as if someone had stripped her naked and stared at her. She wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and crawl into it.
"Mr. Snowy Owl, this is your first night at the apartment. Did you sleep well?"
She clenched her small hands and asked through gritted teeth.
"Thank you for asking, Miss Seagull. I slept quite well..." Gilan nodded and smiled. "The apartment is much nicer than my previous place. It's been a long time since I've had such a good night's sleep."
But inside, he felt only cold indifference.
This woman is hostile toward me... If she's trying to hurt me, I should kill her.
Miss Seagull looked at the blond young man's handsome, smiling face, and her shame and indignation grew even stronger.
He must be laughing at me inside!
Great Heavenly God Omer, I beg you to take me away right now!
Life in this world is too hard!
"Y-you..." Miss Seagull opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.
Instead, her fair face flushed red.
Fortunately, Miss Sparrow eased her embarrassment just then.
"Wow! I can't believe you're such a gentleman, Mr. Snowy Owl. You even prepared a gift for me!"
The playful young woman walked over briskly, her hands behind her back and a sweet, teasing smile on her face.
Everyone present was taken aback.
Gilan's gaze passed over Miss Sparrow to Old Jerry in the kitchen. The old man was wiping his hands on his apron and smiling at him as if to say, "You're welcome."
Mr. Stork and Mr. Oystercatcher exchanged a look and smiled approvingly.
Seeing this, Gilan realized there'd been a misunderstanding.
Remembering that Miss Sparrow had helped him too, he sighed inwardly and simply nodded.
He went upstairs, brought down the flower basket, and handed it to Miss Sparrow.
"I'm very grateful for your care, Miss Sparrow. You've helped me a lot."
"These flowers are so lovely. I really like them!" Miss Sparrow took off her straw hat, held the basket, and lowered her head to smell the flowers. Her smiling eyes curved like crescent moons. "Thank you, Mr. Snowy Owl!"
After the little episode in the living room,
the members of the Record Society all went into the storage room.
Gilan and the others took their seats. Mr. Stork put on white rubber gloves and carefully held a reel of black film, then loaded it into the projector.
"The movies shown by the 'True Film Reel' can only be seen and experienced firsthand by those with sufficiently high 'Gnosis'... 'Gnosis' is the soul's power of perception. Everyone is born with a different level, but all of you here are exceptionally gifted and can glimpse its mysteries."
Mr. Stork turned around, his expression unusually serious.
Perhaps because Gilan was a new member, he explained everything in more detail than usual:
"However, there are many things to keep in mind while watching a movie. Please remember them. First, if we're injured or killed in the movie world, our bodies in reality will also suffer adverse effects. At worst, we might experience headaches and exhaustion; at best, we could fall into a coma, become paralyzed, or even die for real... So remember: safety comes first."
Mr. Oystercatcher and the others nodded solemnly. They knew this well.
Gilan had also witnessed the miserable state of those death-row prisoners, so he nodded to show he understood.
"Second, we can't leave the movie world on our own while watching. So Old Jerry will watch over us this time. If anything seems wrong, he can wake us up in time."
As Mr. Stork spoke, Old Jerry, dressed like a butler, stood in the corner of the storage room and nodded to everyone. The members of the Record Society returned his gesture with grateful smiles.
Gilan's heart gave a jolt.
I can't leave midway? Then I...
He quickly understood. The reason he could leave the movie world whenever he wanted was the Iridescence... and that was a powerful trump card for him!
"Third, although we can bring weapons and other items into the movie world, there are restrictions, and they differ from one movie to another... My guess is that they have to do with weight. Generally, we can't bring anything weighing more than ten pounds into a movie."
Mr. Stork's voice was grave.
"Before we start watching, please check your belongings again. Don't let your guard down."
"Understood, Mr. Stork." Everyone nodded.
Gilan took the Colt Snubnose Revolver from its holster at his waist and clicked open the cylinder. Six gleaming yellow 9mm bullets rested inside.
He felt inside his coat pocket. The two speedloaders full of bullets were right where they should be.
Gilan turned to look at the others.
Mr. Stork's waist bulged, so he'd probably brought a pistol too. He also wore black leather gloves and carried his ever-present cane... No, more precisely, he'd swapped the gold-inlaid walnut cane for a Steel-Core Engraved Cane. Its curved handle was shaped like a full-metal stork with a pointed beak.
That must be one of his weapons for self-defense, Gilan thought.
Mr. Oystercatcher had brought two Borchardts and a pair of brass knuckles. Noticing Gilan looking, he flashed him a hearty smile.
Could those two guns be the ones I asked him to sell for me?
Gilan was taken aback.
Miss Seagull carried a small bag. He had no idea what was inside. When Gilan looked her way, she glared back at him.
Miss Sparrow had the most unusual item. It was a lightweight composite bow in shades of gray and red, and it must have cost a fortune.
Gilan guessed Miss Sparrow had probably had it custom-made.
"All right, is everyone ready?"
Mr. Stork asked, and everyone nodded.
"Then, our viewing of 'Black Lake' begins now..."