The girl standing in the doorway looked to be eleven or twelve years old at best, short in a warm white coat, and a slight steaming heat from her woolen hat—she seemed to have come all the way, gasping for breath at the sight of Maurice, but soon a bright smile bloomed on her face.

"It's Grandpa Maurice, right? Mom told me to send this," she reached out and handed over a key, "it's the basement key, Mom said she forgot to give it to you when she left." ”

"Ah, thank you, little girl," Morris reacted, nodding as he reached for the key, "Come in and warm up, won't you?" ”

The little girl was just about to speak, when Duncan's voice suddenly sounded from behind Morris, with a little surprise: "Annie? ”

Looking over the old scholar's shoulder, Duncan looked at the girl standing in the doorway with some surprise.

It was Anne Barberly, the daughter of Obsidian Captain Christo Barberly, whom she had seen at the cemetery gates.

Duncan understood what had happened—whether to describe it as a coincidence, or to lament the "smallness" of the city-state, and after going around and around, he met the Obsidian Captain's daughter again, and Maurice and Vana had spent the day finding a temporary accommodation...... It happened to be Anne's house.

Anne also saw the burly figure that suddenly appeared in front of her, and her eyes widened instantly.

The unexpected situation made the girl seem a little at a loss, and she looked at it in a daze for a few seconds before she reacted in hindsight and greeted awkwardly: "Ah, it's the uncle at the gate of the cemetery...... You...... Hello? ”

Her last greeting was visibly hesitant, apparently recalling the experience at the cemetery gate, and the spectacle of the flames rising from Duncan's departure—Duncan hadn't thought much of it at the time, but that scene had undoubtedly left a deep impression on the little girl's mind.

Even at a young age, Anne knew that it was supernatural power—knowledge of which had long been written in the textbooks of every city-state and extended to the general education of all citizens, and the superficial knowledge of supernatural powers and the skills to protect them were the basis for the survival of ordinary people in this world.

But what kind of power it was, Anne couldn't tell - it wasn't mentioned in her textbooks, the cemetery's caretaker grandfather didn't explain it to her, she went home and told her mother, who didn't tell her anything.

This seems to be a secret that children should not touch yet.

Anne looked at Duncan standing opposite in a little daze, the previous reminder from the guard grandfather was still in her ears, which made her instinctively a little uneasy, but the burly figure suddenly stepped aside, his voice sounded a little scary, but with a hint of gentleness: "Come in and take a break, it's starting to snowflake outside again." ”

Anne glanced back with hindsight, and saw that the snowflakes were falling from the sky again, and a few of them were burrowing into her neck with the wind.

She entered the house by surprise, and looked around in confusion.

The older sister, who had beautiful blonde hair and looked noble, also stood in the living room, right next to the dining table, casting a curious glance at her.

She took off her veil and looked very pretty—almost the prettiest person Anne had ever seen.

"Mom said you can't just disturb the tenants," said Anne, rubbing the dirt and snow on her little boots on the mat in the entrance, "she said that Grandpa Morris was a university scholar and that it was rude to mess around......

"You didn't bother, we just wanted to know about the situation of the new residence," Morris also guessed the general situation at this time, and immediately said, "and now that it is snowing outside, it is not safe for you to run back from the path, take a rest here, and then Vana will send you back." ”

Anne glanced up at Fanna, who looked like a little giant, and nodded subconsciously.

Then she looked at Duncan and hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "I see...... So you need to live in a house too? ”

"Of course I'll live in the house," Duncan laughed, casually as he led Anne to the couch in the living room, "and you're running around outside alone, won't your mother be worried?" ”

In his opinion, Anne was really running a little too far, not only running alone to the cemetery in the morning, but also crossing the path between the blocks in this bad weather, and giving keys to new tenants who didn't know the details, which was too unreassuring.

"It's okay, everyone in this area knows me, and my mother said that half of the people on these two streets are friends of my father," Anne didn't care at all, she sat on the sofa, her hands under her thighs, and swayed back and forth, "And my mother is usually very busy, she has to settle accounts and fill out forms for people, and she has to help in the chapel when she has time, I am used to running around." ”

Duncan thought for a moment and asked, "What about ...... Did you tell your mom what I told you when you got home? ”

"Tell her," Anne nodded, and then the expression on her face was a little strange, "she said at first that I was talking nonsense, and then I told her grandfather, the caretaker of the cemetery, what he said, and she went back to her room alone...... I seem to have cried when I came out...... But he smiled and told me that he would make fish cutlets and sausage stew in the evening, because today is a day to celebrate. ”

She stopped shaking her body, looking a little confused, she looked up at Duncan, and said curiously and hesitantly, "I feel...... I don't really understand. ”

"It's okay, you'll understand sooner or later," Duncan laughed, "and some things are too complicated for you right now. ”

"Uncle, you speak the same way as the caretaker grandfather, he often says that," Anne muttered, then shook her head, as if thinking very seriously, before looking up again, "Uncle, you ...... Don't you want to be disturbed? ”

Duncan was curious: "Why do you say that?" ”

"Because you were dressed like this—and suddenly disappeared when you left, Mother said, it was the secret staff of the cathedral or the hermits of association...... It seems to be the word, to be a pie. ”

Duncan didn't know how to answer the girl's words for a moment, but the latter obviously didn't wait for his answer, Anne thought for a while, and then suddenly said: "I won't talk nonsense with others, and the caretaker grandfather also reminded me, so that I should treat you as if I had never seen you, and don't talk to anyone except my mother." ”

Duncan smiled dumbly, but before he could speak, Anne continued, "Can I tell the caretaker grandfather?" Tell him...... You live in my house? ”

Maurice and Vanna, who came to the couch to listen to the bustle, couldn't help but look at each other when they heard the girl's words, and Alice immediately set her eyes on Duncan.

They all felt that there was something wrong with this.

However, Duncan was silent for only a few seconds, and then nodded lightly with a smile: "Yes, I don't mind." ”

……

At the same time, near the eastern port, the collection of samples from the wreck of the "Haiyan" had begun.

Several light clippers departed from the pier and cautiously approached the surface of the sea, which was still floating with filthy "mud" and a small amount of flames, each with chaplains and relics on board, as well as nitroglycerin explosives for emergency purposes.

And on the shore, the port garrison is also ready for docking work.

A vacant warehouse had been selected as a temporary transit facility, and the priests and guards who had arrived from the upper church had completed the decontamination and countermeasures of the entire area, and the gatekeeper Agatha had left behind a team of elite cronies before leaving, in case of an accident while collecting samples of the wreckage.

Liszt stood on the pier, looking out over the sea, while several of his cronies and subordinates watched, keeping an eye on the salvage work.

"Isn't it really a problem to get those things ashore?" "Of course, I'm not questioning the gatekeeper's judgment, but those things ...... A few hours ago they were rushing towards Frost Island at an alarming speed, are they really 'dead' now? ”

"Lady Agatha has repeatedly confirmed in the depths of the spirit realm that these things are no longer active," Liszt said with a calm expression, "They can indeed be 'killed', judging by Lady Agatha's attitude and disposition plan, I think the cathedral may have even been exposed to similar things." ”

"Something like that? Already in the city-state? A junior officer looked surprised, "This ...... Didn't hear anything about this at all......"

"If you didn't hear it, it means that this matter should not be made public, at least not yet, the cathedral and the town hall have their own judgment," Liszt shook his head, "Anyway, Lady Agatha is trustworthy, she will not risk the safety of the city-state, all we have to do is to listen to the judgment of the professionals—the priest knows how to deal with such a strange thing than a soldier." ”

The cronies stopped talking, but at that moment, there was another rush of footsteps, and a soldier hurried to the dock.

"Sir!" The soldier trotted up to Liszt, saluted, and handed the defense commander a document that had just been delivered through a high-pressure air duct, "Order from the town hall." ”

"Looks like the official order to blockade Dagger Island has arrived." Liszt took the document as he spoke, but when he saw the contents of the document, his expression suddenly changed.

A close confidant noticed: "Sir? Is there a situation? ”

“…… It is indeed an order for the blockade of the waterway, but not for the blockade of Dagger Island," Liszt's expression was solemn, and his tone became extremely serious, "Strictly speaking, it is not just the blockade of Dagger Island - the order requires the blockade of all the passages in and out of the frost, and the entry of all defenders into a state of readiness. ”

"Blockade...... The whole Frost Island?! ”

"The Sea Mist Fleet appears in the nearby seas," Liszt took a light breath, his face even more gloomy and ugly than the sky at the moment, "the entire Sea Mist Fleet." ”

(End of chapter)