"Come in." A deep voice motioned for Claudia to open the door and enter.

The candles on the lampstand flickered, flickering and dimming. The study was littered with ancient books, Italian and Arabic books from her master, and oriental square scripts from her mother. The smell of old books was in the air.

"I've already bought the things, and I've just handed them over to my wife." Claudia obediently reported to the master.

"Well done, but what about the business that taught you?" Master closed the ancient book in his hand, took the shochu from the messy desk, and poured a large gulp into it.

"Got it back." Claudia got up and opened her fanny pack, pulling out a strange dagger with a crystal ball embedded in its small handle.

The master took it and looked at it, and raised his glass to Claudia with satisfaction: "Well done my child, but there is still a lot to learn to be a good 'Fidai'. ”

After drinking the last drop of wine in the wine glass, the master looked into the empty wine glass, muttered a curse, and said to Claudia, "I think you must be very tired, go and rest first, and help me get some more wine by the way." ”

Claudia complied, and when she passed the glass, she hesitated. She was considering whether she should ask Master to allow her to go out of the central square for the sake of her excellent mission.

Sensing Claudia's strange appearance, the master looked up at her: "What's wrong?" ”

Claudia didn't say anything in the end, just smiled and shook her head: "I'm too tired, go to sleep first." ”

With that, she turned around and deftly flashed out of the study.

In another western city, the sun's rays have faded, leaving only a dazzling and desolate afterglow of the sunset scattered across the horizon. The gray-blue color of the east seems to have been soaked in seawater, spreading from deep to shallow.

It's twilight, a time that doesn't belong to day or night.

The dark shadow of the church in the distance stood at the end of the road in front of us. The Gothic spire pierces the sky, and the shadow of the cross at the top is drawn into a sharp shape in the twilight as the sun sinks.

The shadows began to converge from the corners where the sun was weak, and finally began to surround the church with twilight steps.

The moment the twilight disappears, the person hidden in the shadow reveals his true face. Their robes were long and heavy, and the color of the pitch black contrasted sharply with the pale of their skin and the sparkle of their pupils, a sickly and eerie beauty.

They were small in number, and their pace was uniform and extremely fast. Like a group of night messengers, the endless night begins to spread from under their feet.

Sensing someone approaching, the church's large black door opened, and the carved white shield red cross on the door was cut open in the middle to welcome the returnees, the emblem of the Knights Templar.

Passing through the hall, the shadows cast by the skylight on the hall floor quickly faded, and the lampstands were silently lit.

The last carved gate opened, and the long-awaited senators sat in their chairs and greeted their loyal subordinates who had finally returned.

There were four senators, and the person on the highest seat was half-hidden in the darkness, motionless, like a sculpture.

Directly in front of him, the man with a cross embroidered neckline, with a gentle smile, took the initiative to get up and stretched out his hand to the subordinates in front of him, as if he had finally met with old friends who had not seen him for many years: "I'm glad that many of you are back, there is no better news than this." Anna, can you close the door for us? ”

"Yes, Lord Angelo."

The white-robed woman named Anna bowed respectfully, and the slender and beautiful silver staff in her hand swept lightly at the door, and the heavy door immediately closed automatically.

"So, share your good news with us." Angelo looked at Anna approvingly and sat down in his chair.

"We've found the exact hiding place of the target, but they're gone now and haven't come back, we've never seen them, so we're really sorry." Anna said, lowering her eyes and unconsciously clenching the silver staff in her hand. The red cross embroidered on the chest of the white robe on his body rose and fell slightly with the breath of his master.

Angelo raised his hand and gave her a reassuring look, "It's not your fault, Anna. We've been looking for people we haven't found for decades, and there's no reason to ask you to find them all at once. ”

"Thank you for your understanding." Anna looked up, and the joy and emotion in her eyes were self-evident.

Angelo turned to another white-robed woman and made an inviting gesture: "Vera, what about the other friends?" ”

"We found it too. She appeared, but according to your request, she was the daughter of King John of the East, the noble princess, and she must not be harmed, so we lost her several times. The white-robed woman named Vera shook her head and replied honestly.

Angelo listened to her answer and nodded thoughtfully. At this time, a bishop-like person who was silent on the side spoke: "Your Excellency, there is one thing. ”

Hearing this, Angelo smiled and raised his head, "Please, Eric." ”

"It's a portrait of them." Eric said, his pale hand reaching out from under his black felt robe, holding a small piece of parchment.

He stepped forward and handed the portrait to Angelo, facing his senator Clem. Clem took it and looked at it, it was a portrait of a man, four women, and five young people, all of them were dressed in oriental attire, and their appearance was extremely delicate and beautiful, but other than that, they were unremarkable.

However, there was one detail that caught his eye - the background of the portrait was the sky and the mountains, and above the mountains, an object shaped like a snail, suspended in the air.

Clem smiled slightly: "This thing is not drawn casually." ”

His gaze was as sharp as that of an eagle's falcon, and after a circle of scanning, he finally fixed on the only man in the middle of the portrait.

Taking the portrait handed over by Clem, Angelo only glanced at it and understood, and he handed the portrait to the patriarch Franz on the other side: "This news is really good, thank you." Things are important and urgent. Inform our friends in Florence that we have guests coming. ”

"I'll go there myself to make sure nothing goes wrong." Anna stepped forward and offered to ask.

"Are there any other friends who would like to meet them?" Clem put his hand under his chin, and the narrow fox's eyes lit up for a moment.

"We'll go together." Eric bowed respectfully.

"Then I'll bother you." Angelo took the portrait in Franz's hand, turned and walked to the top of the place, and walked towards the man who was sitting half-hidden in the darkness.

"Okay friends, let's go relax for a while." Clem stood, his robes sliding from his chair like night at his feet.