When Bella and Elena arrived at the bookstore, Mr. Pickle was sorting through the shelves.

After a long absence, Mr. Pickle seemed to have gained a lot of fortune, and the beard on his face became more and thicker.

Seeing two regular customers, he greeted them warmly.

There was another customer in the store.

And this guest, Bella and Elena also knew each other. It was none other than Mr. Murray, who had just arrived in Paris the other day.

Although he was not wearing a military uniform, his perennial swordsmanship cultivation gave him a unique and lofty temperament all over his body.

Compared with his peers, he is not so much handsome, but more of a steady cultivation.

Previously, Bella and his party were on the train to Segovera, and they solved a murder case with Mr. Murray. Mr. Murray also has a lot of experience in solving puzzles.

Speaking of which, when he was in the Iberian Peninsula before, whether in Aragon or Castile, Mr. Murray seems to have always worn a military uniform.

At Miss Fremea's birthday party, Bella and Elena met Mr. Murray in casual clothes for the first time.

Elena was even surprised for a moment that he had other clothes besides military uniforms.

"After all, it's a bit eye-catching to come here in uniform." Mr. Murray explained.

Although it is a mission, it is not an official diplomatic visit, and it is better to keep a low profile.

At this time, Mr. Murray appears in Mr. Pickle's bookstore, and happens to meet Bella and Elena, who have come to look for books.

"Unexpectedly, Mr. Murray is also a book lover." Elena sighed, "I don't understand why so many people like to bury themselves in books all day."

Isn't it good to go shopping happily?

"Only occasionally." Mr. Murray smiled and said, "I heard that Mr. Pickle has some good books here, so I took the time to stop and read them. I didn't have anything important to do during my time in Paris anyway."

"I thought you'd practice swordsmanship in the embassy?" Elena said jokingly.

"Huh? Am I alone?" Mr. Murray doesn't seem to have grasped the meaning of Elena's words.

"Isn't that right?" Elena said jokingly.

"You're kidding, ahaha-" Mr. Murray smiled awkwardly.

"Mr. Murray is too honest, Elena, don't bully him." Bella said, "I wonder if Mr. Murray has found any interesting books here?"

"Well, there are a lot of books in this store, and the fields covered are relatively comprehensive." Mr. Murray replied, "I also found a study of Eastern Kendo."

Mr. Murray studied European swordsmanship, and his skills are among the best. No wonder he was interested in swordsmanship in the Far East.

"Oriental Kendo?" Elena seemed a little curious, "What does the Eastern Kendo look like?"

"Well, I've heard my master mention it before, and the swordsmanship that is popular in the Far East is very different from ours here." Mr. Murray said, "You know, most of the swords we use are slender and can be wielded with one hand. This is also good for flexibility. In the far east, most of the swords they used were on the heavy side, and there was a single-edged weapon called the "Taidao". That's right, it's more like a knife than a sword. In fact, it does belong to the category of knives. However, they practiced the skill of wielding the sword, which is still called 'kendo'."

"Kendo" with a sword.

"Is there such a thing?" Elena was immediately interested, "It's obviously a sword, but it's still called 'kendo'?"

"Yes, that's true." Mr. Murray continued, "Not just the name, but there are many different genres that have spawned from the technical side."

"Oh?"

"For example, as far as I know, there is a kind of swordsmanship that focuses on drawing a sword, called 'Drawing a Sword Slash', also known as 'Iai Slash'."

"What's that?"

"Because their swords are usually put in their sheaths, and when they fight against others, they must draw their swords before they can fight. In this way, whoever is fast enough will be the first to draw his sword from the sheath and use his moves, so that he can have the upper hand."

"Well, it does." Elena seemed to understand.

Preemptively, there are indeed certain advantages.

"So, someone invented a method of using the opportunity to draw the knife and attack at the same time - the knife is drawn and the knife is released, that is, before the opponent reacts, get the first move."

"I see, isn't that the equivalent of shooting while the gun is loaded?"

Before the other party could pull the trigger, a bullet had already been fired.

"Ah...... That's the kind of reason......" Mr. Murray could only nod.

Although Elena's metaphor is far-fetched, it hits the nail on the head.

"Preemptive strikes are exactly the characteristics of 'Iai Slashing'." Mr. Murray concluded.

"But no matter what you do, there are a lot of advantages to the first move, right?" Elena said.

Whether it's a sword duel, a gun duel, or a magic duel, it's all the same.

"You say that, it seems true." Mr. Murray had nothing to say.

It's so simple - that's it.

The three of them chatted for a while.

Mr. Murray spoke of his recent experience with emotion.

"It's a big change here." Murray said.

"Oh? Has Mr. Murray been to Paris before?" Elena asked.

"Hmm." Murray nodded, then continued, "Like...... That was almost 10 years ago. At that time, I had just said goodbye to the experience of the Navy, and before I moved to the Army, I had traveled with my master and traveled to many places in Europe. That includes Paris."

"So, you and Margaret's grandfather must have had a relationship on land, right?"

"Nope." Mr. Murray shook his head, "At that time, old Mr. Price happened to be out to sea in search of treasure."

"Ah, it seems like it was that time."

Elena remembered what Margaret had told before, and the time coincided.

"Was there a big difference between Paris then and now?" Bella asked.

"Of course, I remember......," replied Mr. Murray, after a moment's thought, "at that time, there was a row of old houses in the neighborhood, and there used to be a tailor's shop, and now I don't know where it has moved. At that time, the urban area was not as large as it is today, and now, not only are the banks of the Seine very prosperous, but even the urban area has expanded considerably. Speaking of which, since the Industrial Revolution, cities have really grown faster and faster. In the past, it took decades or even centuries to build a church, and it took generations of effort to build it. In addition, most of the materials used at that time were stone and wood, and the process was easy to drag. In recent years, the use of steel has greatly improved the efficiency of buildings. A building can be completed in just a few years, as fast as half a year."

To some extent, the level of architecture has also been affected by the development of science and technology.

"But cities are constantly evolving, but they don't always bring good things." Bella remembered the "ghost" incident in the park before.

It is precisely because of the needs of urban planning that children are deprived of the only place to play.

Although human civilization is constantly improving, it is also getting farther and farther away from nature.

"Anyway, what are you looking for when you come to the bookstore?" Mr. Pickle asked.

"Ah, I almost forgot about business." Bella said, "Excuse me, is there any information about the 'Girl of Orleans'?"

"Do you mean the saint who saved France during the Hundred Years' War?" Mr. Pickel confirmed.

"That's right." Bella replied.

"Well...... "Well," said Mr. Pickle, brushing his full beard, pondering for a moment, "there seems to be no special biography. However, there have been studies in this area."

"Has anyone studied it?"

"Well, it's not research to be exact."

"What do you mean?"

"Gilles de Rice, have you heard?"

"Well, is that the one who studies the dark arts?" Bella said.

"That's right," Mr. Pickle nodded, "he was an adjutant under that holy woman, and he was a great general."

"However, history doesn't seem to have a good opinion of him."

"Because, after the fire in which the saint died in Rouen, he was immersed in the dark arts. It is said that hundreds of children were killed and burned at the stake."

"This ......"

"It's cruel." Elena frowned, "Children?"

"Yes." "It's because it's so cruel that it's called black magic."

There is no such thing as good or evil in magic itself, but there are people who use it.

The same magic can be used to save people as well as to harm people.

Black magic, on the other hand, although used to refer to evil magic, does not possess the attributes of good or evil in itself.

"It is said that the reason why he is so persistent is because he wants to resurrect the holy woman who died in the fire."

Hearing this, not only Bella and Elena, but even Mr. Murray was a little concerned.

"Dead and back from the dead? Is that a forbidden technique?" Elena said in surprise.

"Perhaps, it's the forbidden art that makes people crazy." Mr. Pickle continued, "Or maybe it's the almost crazy people who get their hands on forbidden arts."

Judgments cannot be made arbitrarily.

"And then?" Elena asked.

"Later? Well...... At least so far, the saint hasn't been resurrected, right?" Mr. Pixar said.

"In other words, failed?"

"There's no way to know the specifics. However, it is undeniable that, in a sense, Gilles de Les should be regarded as an expert on the study of the Holy Maiden, right?"

"There seems to be some truth to what you say." Bella said, "Does that person have any writings left?"