"Your time...... What do you think? Anderson asked aloud as he shifted his pace slightly closer to the man with the lantern.

"Very well," replied the fellow named "Ex," perhaps with a smile, "life here is much more comfortable than at sea." ”

"I didn't think you were going to fit into a comfortable life," Anderson said with a slightly strange look on his face, "and you're not from Oakfa...... Whew-"

Anderson screamed in an exaggerated manner, clutching the flesh on his bottom ribs.

"You two are still like that." The man carrying the lantern laughed and sighed.

Okfa ignored Anderson, just looked at the man with the lantern with a slight smile.

"There's no way to walk into a room and see a row of 'respectable' characters sitting in old-fashioned chairs whispering," the man with the lantern replied to Anderson's question seriously, "so I don't need to worry about someone torturing ......me for my 'cool deeds,'" he said.

"Hey, adventurer at sea who is not an unforgivable villain, I thought you would have admitted it a long time ago!" Anderson said in a surprised voice.

“…… At least it's cozy...... And I'm old......" The man with the lantern was silent for a moment after Anderson's words before he said as if to sigh, "...... It's like a dream......"

It's like a sweet dream...... Agnes walked slowly behind them, munching on the man's words in her heart.

"Here we are." The man with the lantern spoke suddenly, and Agnes followed his line of sight to look up.

This is the scene on Anderson's first drawing, an ancient city gate, in the style of the end of the Quaternary period. There is a spired watchtower on one side, and a roofless gate tower with only a lookout on the other, and only faint shadows on the city wall can be seen in the dark night, with an obvious taste of decay.

"Is there any name for this door?" Adevina asked.

"What's a special name?" The man with the lantern laughed, "This is just an ordinary city gate. ”

Agnes pressed the wide-brimmed hat on her head with one hand, and looked up, the fine black appeared under her eyes, the shadowy fire appeared in front of her eyes, the sharp spear pierced the emaciated but sturdy body, and the scarlet blood slowly flowed down the dark gray city wall, silently absorbed.

"I'm not going in," said the man with the lantern, looking up at the gate for a long time, "I can't get too far from the harbor tonight." ”

"Of course," said Agnes, who casually pushed the door open, "it's your duty. ”

The ethereal orchestral chord mixed with the pure and unadulterated singing came to Agnes's ears in the next moment along the night wind, and Angnes subconsciously set her eyes in that direction.

"Did you hear that?" Agnes asked.

"I heard that, too." Adevina nodded with a serious expression.

Anderson and Okfa glanced at each other and nodded at the same time.

"So do we." The two of them said almost at the same time.

Sbasnereki nodded as several people turned their gazes, did not speak, and his expression looked a little ugly.

Agnes knew the reason for the change in his face, after all, she had only recently been analysed by hearing singing in the opera house as a high-risk factor.

"The sound of heaven," a voice said next to it, "it's like an angel's song, isn't it?" ”

Agnes turned her gaze to the place where the sound came from, a young man with gray hair, dressed in a black and white gown and holding a red oak cane, looking like a gentleman who was about to go to a banquet in the Northern Continent.

"Long time no see, dear Okfa......" the young man smiled with the graceful smile that is most common in high society as several people cast their eyes, "and...... Anderson, who should be feeding the sharks. ”

Anderson was stunned for a moment, then an exaggerated smile appeared on his face.

"Dimmesdale, I've seen a lot of people dressed like you......" Anderson's smile looked a little underwhelming, especially with his thoughtful movements.

"I remember!" He clapped his hands suddenly, his expression abrupt, "At the banquet of an earl in Intis, this earl especially likes to see young men dressed like this, and every time after his banquet, at least one of them can get his investment!" ”

What is he implicating...... Agnes couldn't help but glance at Anderson with a strange expression.

"At least you are the one who has been to the earl's banquet now, Anderson," said the young man named "Dimmesdale," the smile on his face froze for a moment, and then "and I have now gained wealth and respect by my efforts. ”

He didn't wait for Anderson to speak again, and looked in the direction where the music was coming from.

"This is the singing voice of Aliadni Humbert," said the young man, somewhat carelessly, but his expression was distinctly and utterly absorbed in the ethereal singing, with a strange excitement and obsession, "the most famous eunuch in the city of Navarre, I have heard that he is the lover of the count. ”

The eunuch singer, Angnes, had seen these people in historical documents, and the time of their initial appearance is no longer verifiable with the loss of a large amount of information from the Age of the Gods, but they are indeed seen in a small number of excavated Quaternary historical documents. And their disappearance is certain - it is the credit of Russell the Great.

Human beings are always capable of doing cruel things for their desires, whether they are more instinctive or appear to be motivated by some noble purpose.

Young boys have loud and clear voices, but when they reach their formative stage, their voices quickly become low, and most of the time they are unable to take on even the most ordinary female roles. These boys are castrated before they reach developmental age, and they will have a wider vocal range than women, and with an unusually good lung capacity, their singing voices are "so crisp, powerful, and sweet that no woman can have", as Teacher Conte once lamented to Agnes, these people are the sorrow of human history, but they are the jewels of musical development.

"You are fortunate," said the young man, "that there is a celebration of Navarre tonight, and that Aliadeni will sing his opera for the occasion at the Phoenix Opera, and that the Count and Countess will be present there tonight to address every citizen. ”

Beside him, a carriage that may have belonged to the aristocracy drove by, and the horses' hooves rattled on the bluestone pavement, quickly passing the ragged and crowded paupers on both sides of the street.

Agnes turned her head to look back, and the ancient gate had been so far away that it had almost disappeared into the darkness of night in the bright lights and floating scents.