“This kind of will and request, you can tell it’s not right just by hearing it.”
Shard Hamilton’s face, whose hand was being held in front of the bed, showed little expression. But he clearly knew that the detective accurately foresaw his death and, before dying, took in a not-so-bright homeless person, even leaving all his properties behind for a seemingly simple request. Therefore, this simple request definitely wouldn’t be simple.
The other party must be more than just a detective, but Shard, who occupied this new body, wasn’t the original guy either. Even if the original Shard didn’t know the truth, the current foreign visitor understood that he shouldn’t easily involve himself in such an obviously shady matter; otherwise…
“If you don’t agree, I can guarantee that after I die, you won’t get a penny, and nothing here will belong to you. You will return to being a homeless person, without gas lamps, without a fireplace, without three meals a day, without even a bed. You will return to your original life.”
But Shard had to agree; he had nothing in this world. Comparing becoming a homeless person to starting over, participating in a troublesome matter but gaining properties, Shard knew neither choice was good, but he had to choose one.
Moreover, since he was already standing here and had heard these words, he was already involved, so it wasn’t possible to exit anymore. Shard understood the times and knew how to measure his situation.
“Only, does the death of this Mr. Sparrow Hamilton relate to the supernatural? Does it relate to the voice in my head?”
He thought to himself but couldn’t analyze any further conclusions, yet the voice in his head appeared again at this moment:
[It does relate to the supernatural. He died because of a [relic]. This has nothing to do with you.]
The voice was still as elegant and calm. Even with a short amount of information, the whispered voice still sounded like it was reciting poetry.
“[Relic]?”
In the ancient, elegant language used by the woman, this was a specialized term. Different languages have different amounts of information, and in the language the woman used, this specialized term conveyed an enormous amount of information, including meanings such as ‘sealed object’, ‘contained object’, and ‘cursed object’.
Shard was glad he understood this language; from the term, he gleaned the meaning of ‘special item, capable of wielding supernatural power but extremely dangerous’.
This gave Shard some fairly ominous guesses about this world.
“Then, who exactly are you?”
The voice didn’t explain the term, so Shard asked in his mind. From the response to his question, he understood that the voice was also a thinking entity.
[I am you.]
The whispered voice answered softly, and the low, murmuring tone made Shard’s back tingle.
But Shard snorted lightly. He was very sure that this body was male, and the voice in his head was not the original owner.
Looking at the glow of the bedside lamp illuminating the lifeless, terribly wrinkled skin of the man on the bed, Shard then said to him:
“I understand, sir.”
“Shard, I have ten minutes left. If you have any more questions, ask them now.”
The other party said something quite incredible, his tone filled with exhaustion. But Shard knew that if what the other party said was entirely true, then the following questions would become the key to his survival in this world. He had to be cautious:
“Your death seems abnormal.”
Speaking slowly to disguise his voice, acting as if his head wasn’t working right, this way of speaking was quite laborious. The first question concerned his situation after the other’s death. Shard needed to ensure whether the cause of the detective’s death would implicate him.
“We indeed never talked about this before. I know you’ve always been worried. Don’t worry about this. My imminent death might scare you, but don’t worry. My death won’t implicate you. I need you to complete the task three months later, so you can rest assured about this. The one who killed me won’t show up again. After all, ordinary people like us aren’t worth their attention.”
The amount of information gained was quite good; the man on the bed didn’t intend to hide anything.
“Ordinary people?”
Shard was genuinely hesitating this time.
“You don’t need to know. Even I don’t quite understand. Those ritualists, those who harness the four elements of [Miracle], [Enlightenment], [Blasphemy], and [Whispers], the five major True God Churches, and the three Great Mystic Academies. This terrifying world, forget what I just mentioned, you’ll live better. Remember, you understand nothing.”
The man on the bed emphasized with all his might. Shard could only take note of these terms and then nodded:
“Alright, I understand nothing.”
He guessed that “ritualists” was this world’s term for mystics, and [Miracle], [Enlightenment], [Blasphemy], and [Whispers] were parts of the power system. The True God Churches and Mystic Academies were the major forces of mystics.
An ordinary detective couldn’t possibly know so much; Detective Hamilton indeed had many secrets.
But Shard didn’t continue with this topic. He had to get the other party willingly divulge more information within the limited time, rather than mutually guessing to sift out lies and truths:
“How should I live after you die? I don’t understand being a detective. I can’t read much.”
Although time was tight, he couldn’t speak faster. Not only due to the disguise, but also because Shard hadn’t yet mastered this language skillfully. This situation, where he could only walk during a race, made him quite anxious. But he couldn’t show his urgency, which made him even more anxious internally.
“It’s okay. Following what I taught you is enough. You just need to stay here for three months. After three months, sell everything and go live in the countryside. It’s more suitable for you there, enough for you to live out your life peacefully since the cost of living is lower.”
Probably really out of strength, the man on the bed didn’t say more complete sentences. But Shard had no memory of the past, didn’t know what the other had taught. He sought help from the voice in his head, but it did not appear.
“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
Shard asked for the third time; this question was also carefully considered.
“Remember what I’ve told you over these three months; remember the simple tasks I left in the memo, which you can try to handle to keep the detective agency running. Also, the card in this diary…”
The weakened man pointed to the bedside. He let go of Shard’s hand. Shard bent down and picked up the diary. Its brown leather cover fastened with a magnetic clasp, the diary was well-protected by its user.
Shard handed the diary to Mr. Hamilton on the bed, but the latter shook his head, almost unable to speak.
So Shard opened the diary himself, skimmed through it, each page marked with different consecutive dates, used on both sides. Most pages only had one sentence, “Nothing happened today, savings are running low,” while a few recorded the progress of cases the agency handled.
Flipping to the middle of the diary, the flipping stopped; a hard card was stuck there. Shard suppressed his urge to raise an eyebrow. It was a rectangular card, smaller than his palm.
Taking it out, the surface felt like it had a completely transparent wax layer, protecting the card from environmental damage. But upon closer touch, it seemed to be a transparent skin, making Shard suddenly think of human skin.
The card wasn’t thick; one could see through it under the room’s lamp.
What Shard thought was the back, had abstract images of the sun, moon, and stars, overlaid in a strange pattern; what he thought was the front, depicted a woman, half-turned, concealing her entire face, sitting sideways on a high stool, holding a moon in her hand.
Silver hair, a smile sketched on her profile, dressed in a robe. The card’s colors weren’t rich, only white, black, and cool tones in between.
In the top right corner of the front, a number 3 was marked; the top left had a small sun symbol. Between the two, at the center of the card’s top edge, a black vertical line was drawn in a white circle.
Below the woman’s image, at the bottom of the front, a small line of text was written:
[When using this card, the number can be adjusted within a range of 1 to 5.]
The card looked not very new, under the room’s low light, some hard-to-notice damages were visible from the side, but it also showed the owner carefully preserved it.
Shard fully understood the text on the card, just as he could understand the man and woman speaking.
“Strange that I can understand after crossing over, read, but I can barely speak.”
He thought, and asked softly:
“What is this?”
“A very valuable card, used in combination with the usual set of 54 playing cards, from the four suits of Sun, Moon, Stars, and Flowers, representing the [Sun 3] card. But this card is a special edition, with rare illustrations, highly collectible. Keep it in the diary, don’t get it wet or fold it, and don’t easily show it to others. If really desperate, go to Birmingham Collection House in Tobesk. They know its value. Rhod[1] card, my life’s most important collection.”
Shard nodded, taking note of the term “Rhod card” and understood it to be a common card game in this world, with that [Sun 3] similar to commemorative coins or stamps. He then put the card back into the diary. Though the card was fine, judging by the era’s productivity from the bedroom décor, this world could produce such items, so he had no excessive doubts.
“Sir, do you have anything else to say?”
Shard asked again, now letting the other speak was better than asking himself.
“Shard.”
Mr. Hamilton held Shard’s hand again, his eyes looking at the young man by the bed, a bit softer:
“I know I have never been a good person, but for involving you, I am truly sorry. Leave Tobesk City in three months. This capital city isn’t suitable for you.
But I think if you could understand, you would agree that taking you out of a homeless life was the right choice. Your head doesn’t work well, remember, never trust others’ words easily in the future, especially those trying to get you to spend money. I have arranged with Tobesk Public Cemetery and selected a grave. The corpse carrier will come soon; you don’t need to follow. Live in this house for three months, following the skills I taught you.
Shard, I am very sorry. Good luck.”
——————
Tl Note: Still not sure abut this term, So maybe will change it to Lord Card, but
The phrase “羅德牌” (luó dé pái) generally does not translate to “lord card.” Here’s why:
羅德 (luó dé): This part is a transliteration of the name “Rode,” not “lord.”
牌 (pái): This character primarily means “brand” or “cards” (in the plural form),
if anyone can help please tell me in comment.
