The residents of Twilight Town have been talking about several things recently.

First of all, in the fourth month after the official establishment of Duxi Town, according to the statistics of various trade unions and residential area associations, the population of the town officially exceeded 700, which is already the largest town in the western coastal area of the Silver Ring Kingdom.

The second thing is that it has recently been discovered that whether Father Todd is preaching in a church, resting in the garden, or blowing the wind on the beach, he is always accompanied by a knight with a big sword and an iron mask on his face.

Let's say it's a guard, it's not quite like it. In their daily conversations, Todd would always refuse to follow the knight with words such as "don't follow me" and "don't you have anywhere else to go". Therefore, it is believed that the priest does not want to see this person.

It's impossible to say it's an enemy. The knight only followed the priest every day, and did not see him do anything else. Moreover, when someone mentioned this matter to Huggins, who was in charge of the defense of the town, the other party always talked about him left and right.

The third thing is related to Todd. I don't know which nerve the priest got wrong, and he actually bought a batch of gadgets from the merchants that only nobles would have fun with - pet rats. These little white creatures, who could only look at them but could not eat them, and could not work in the fields, were all used for the children of the aristocratic family to raise and play, and no one knew why the priest spent this unjust money.

At this time, Todd was in the laboratory, busy with the experiments that were about to be carried out, and he didn't have time to pay attention to the rumors outside. The time bomb that could detonate at any time in his body forced him to put the investigation of the mutation of the Sutherland Relic at the top of his current work.

The mice he bought were not for ornamental use, but for use as a stress test against Sutherland's bacteria.

The general process is to determine the maximum non-effect dose (MNL) of the four bacterial mixtures in the body according to the animal toxicity test, and determine the daily allowable intake (ADl) value of mice according to the MNL, increase it day by day according to the proportion of body fluid, inject it into the body of the mouse, and observe the physiological changes that may occur.

The reason why the mouse is used is because the gene sequence of the mouse in the mouse is similar to that of humans, and its whole genome is about 98% similar to that of humans.

The second is because it is easy to cultivate and the quantity is sufficient. Pathological experiments require a large number of test subjects for statistical analysis, which requires artificial breeding of a certain number of test subjects.

The third is because of the low cost. It is only five bronze stars to buy a guinea pig, which consumes less feed, is not picky eater, and does not take up space.

As for the rest of the preparation, the bacterial samples are readily available and ready for propagation in Petri dishes. The anesthetic uses ether, which is obtained by dehydrating alcohol using concentrated sulfuric acid.

With that in mind, Todd had one last crucial thing left to figure out how to get it.

Leave the lab and walk into the church in Twilighttown. Although it was the priest's workplace, Todd was amazed by the place of prayer built by immigrants every time he visited.

In the main hall of the church, there were already many people who were praying, and they saw the appearance of the priest and stood up in greeting.

Todd motioned for the group to sit down with both hands, focusing on the two figures sitting next to each other in the back row.

Alfonso and Huggins.

Todd knew that if he was busy in the laboratory, the former would be waiting in the church, which had become a tacit understanding between the two.

The latter, as the head of the Twilight Guards, Todd has not seen him for quite some time. I heard that he was not far from Twilight Town, and he conducted intensive training for the town's guards in case of emergency.

But the two men sat together and talked like old friends, which Todd had not expected.

Seeing the priest approaching, Huggins guessed that the object he was looking for would not be him, so he interrupted the conversation with Alfonso and took the initiative to move out of the way.

Todd gave him a grateful look, sat down next to Alfonso, and said his request straight to the point: "Your Excellency De Cavo, I have something to ask for. ”

The knight's body was slightly sideways, but he did not speak.

Knowing that silence is the other party's habit of listening, Todd lowered his voice: "I would like to borrow from you a person who will play a vital role in the study of relics." ”

"Who?"

"Your servant, Walton. ”

Alfonso nodded, knowing that since Todd had spoken, he must have a good reason.

Seeing the knight turn around and leave the church, Huggins, who was waiting on the side, approached Todd's side and whispered, "About Alfonso, I want to talk to you." ”

The two went to the church's confessional room, where Huggins told Todd about a long-forgotten past.

"Alfonso and I originally belonged to the same Order of Knights of the Silverring Kingdom and were loyal to the Silverring Royal Family. From the time of the Cadet Knights, we have been fighting side by side for six years against the barbarians of the North. Huggins, with his gloved hands crossed and his fingers crossed, prayed to the cross in front of him.

When Todd heard this, he remembered the strange behavior of the two of them when they were fighting against the pirates of the north before, and suddenly understood the reason, and he asked, "Later, Alfonso changed from a secular knight to a church knight, what happened?"

Huggins' eyes looked into the distance, as if he remembered memories of the past, and his tone was gloomy: "It starts with his family, Alfonso de Cavo originally had a beautiful wife and a pair of healthy children. His wife was tired of family work and a hidden illness because her husband had been away from war for a long time. After that, Alfonso sought medical attention. Finally, one day, a traveler who claimed to be from the east gave him a brass pipe, claiming that the contents could save his wife......"

Todd took a breath and unconsciously interrupted Huggins' words: "Brass? you mean ......"

"That's right, it's the Sutherland Relic inside. Huggins closed his eyes and sighed heavily: "At that time, Alfonso, who was desperate, only used copper pipes with the mentality of giving it a try, and his wife's illness really improved, but unfortunately the good times did not last long......"

"Sutherland Relic Turns His Wife into a Monster ......"

Hearing Todd's words, Huggins was surprised and said, "He told you this?!"

"No, not all, just a part, and then?"

The man's eyes were fixed on the cross: "One night about half a year later, his wife turned into a monster and killed two children with his own hands, and Alfonso, who rushed home, in grief and despair, killed his wife...... After that, he donated all his fortune to the Church and became an inquisitor hunter of xenos......"

Todd gasped, and suddenly he remembered something, "Wait! Did you know I was going to be a monster when you brought me back to the monastery?"

Huggins immediately shook his head: "No, I didn't know it at the time. The fact that Sutherland's successor will eventually become a monster is a hidden part of the Church's annals, and is unknown to the general public. Today, it was only after I repeatedly asked me that Alfonso told me what had happened. ”

The man turned his face to Todd, "The reason why I tell you these things is because if you can solve the mystery of the heir turned into a monster, you can not only save yourself, but perhaps also a heart imprisoned by pain and self-blame. ”