Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 122 “The figure on the edge of the square”

After asking where the rescue point near the square was, Heidi covered her head and left on her own since Duncan didn’t want to deal with the officials at the scene. To him, having a girl and dark hound around clergies was a terrible idea no matter how he thought about it.

Watching Heidi’s figure gradually drift away, Duncan exhaled softly and turned to Nina: “You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No,” Nina was still a little shocked. She had been subconsciously grabbing Duncan’s sleeve, and only now did she realize this fact and let go. “You haven’t said it yet; why did you appear in the museum?”

“I happened to be running an errand nearby,” Duncan said with a smile, “and then I suddenly heard the news of the fire in the museum. That’s why I came.”

Then before the other party could question further, he reached out and ruffled the girl’s hair to comfort Nina: “Okay, it’s all over now. I’m happy that you’re not hurt.”

“…… I’m not a kid anymore!” Nina shook her head, and then her eyes caught sight of Shirley standing next to her. She had wanted to say something when her mind abruptly noticed some inconsistencies in their friendship. “Shirley… how come I suddenly… feel like you’re…”

The gothic girl’s attention was still focused on Duncan when this came out of the blue. Realizing things were turning bad, the panic she tried so hard to suppress was now visibly showing on her face.

Duncan didn’t miss this change of course. The reason? The panic-looking appearance from Shirley was exactly the same way from the bus fare incident earlier today. Then, as he thought about the two girls’ behavior and personality, it told the ghost captain that something was definitely amiss in the story of them being classmates. There are too many loopholes….

Duncan rubbed his chin, then tapped Nina’s shoulder and pointed to the other: “Do you really know her?”

“Yes, her name is Shirley, and she is my new friend, but…” Nina frowned, “But for some reason, I can’t remember when she appeared at school…”

Duncan turned and eyed the nervous-looking Shirley, who was already trying to reduce her presence to a minimum. Softening his tone so the other party wouldn’t flee: “There is still a chance to explain it yourself, or I…”

As soon as those words came out, Shirley cracked and jumped to defend herself: “I’m sorry, I’m wrong. I just wanted to investigate something, so I mixed into the school. But I never intended to hurt Nina! I even blocked a piece of falling wood back in the museum for her. Please believe me, I really didn’t know she was your kin. Please let me go…”

Duncan didn’t mean anything by his last sentence, so this bombardment of an apology caught him completely off guard. Coughing awkwardly to clear the air: “Not kin, she is my niece.”

As he spoke, his gaze also noticed Shirley’s hands.

There were traces of burns still lingering on the skin. Although the scar was faint and healing, it does add to her credibility of meaning no harm.

Of course, Shirley didn’t know what Duncan was thinking and was running empty in the brain: “If you say… a niece… then a niece…”

Nina only faintly reacted at this. Showing a surprised face at her uncle, she then shifts her attention to the “friend” in front: “Wait, you two… know each other? And Shirley, why are you…”

“We met by chance,” Duncan said lightly and didn’t let Shirley speak. He didn’t want to expose Nina to their secret just yet either: “Looks like we have a lot of things to talk about, Shirley?”

Shirley was about to cry and showed a sad face: “If that’s what you say…”

“That’s right.”

“Okay…”

“Uncle, don’t be so mean to Shirley,” Nina was still confused at this time, but she could see that her new friend and uncle weren’t on the friendliest terms. The former was scared silly, and the latter was rude to some extent. “My brain is a mess right now… Can someone explain what’s happening to me?”

“Let’s go home and talk about it slowly.” Duncan exhaled softly as he watched the smoking museum in the distance. “It’s too chaotic here, and you two must go back to shower and change your clothes.”

Shirley stammered, “I… I’m going too?” Then she nodded vigorously without waiting for Duncan to speak: “You’re right!”

Duncan sighed like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He doesn’t recall ever torturing the girl or threatening her. Yet, she’s treating him like the evilest demon god in existence.

But then, the corner of his eyes caught a glimpse of something on the edge of the square.

It was an individual drenched in a black trench coat facing away from this site. Judging from the rearview, the person should be quite tall and thin. However, the most notable feature would have to be the large black umbrella the person used on this sunny day.

In this weather, where there’s no wind or rain, a tall and thin man in a long trench coat with an umbrella would seem off no matter what. But since so many people were gathered on the square’s edge, no one bothered to notice this strange oddity.

“Uncle?” Nina noticed how Duncan suddenly stopped and looked curiously in the other direction, “Is there anything over there?”

“There’s a guy playing with an umbrella over there. It’s strange on this sunny day.” Duncan said casually.

“Someone playing with an umbrella?” Nina was startled, “Where? I didn’t see it…”

“I didn’t see it either,” Shirley also rubbed her eyes, curiously following Duncan’s line of sight, “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?’

“Didn’t you see it?” Duncan frowned instantly. He glanced at Shirley and Nina, but after he turned his gaze back to the direction of the square in the next second, the figure with the umbrella somehow disappeared.

“Uncle?” Nina looked at Duncan with concern, “Did you inhale too much smoke and not feel well?”

“…… I’m fine. Maybe I’ve mistaken.” In order not to worry Nina, Duncan just shook his head and said indifferently.

But nevertheless, his gaze remained on the other side of the square with deep concern.

If it’s just an umbrella weirdo, it’s not a big deal.

But if it’s a figure that only I can see, it’s a different story.

……

Vanna brought a team of elite guardians with her after getting news of the fire in the museum. However, when she arrived, the flames had already been snuffed out.

“The fire has subsided on its own, and we have no evidence of a supernatural power being behind the incident.” The brave grizzly-looking storm priest came to report.

“Subsided on its own?” As soon as she heard the priest’s report, Vanna’s expression became serious, “… When you led the team into the fire, did you find any clues?”

“There was widespread excessive panic, visual hallucinations, and whispering among the citizens fleeing the scene. I suspect that there was a strong likelihood of corruption in the museum,” the priest nodded, “but as we searched, we found nothing inside… The only anomaly was that the flames suddenly subsided on their own.”

Speaking of this, the priest made another gesture of prayer to the goddess, adding: “But it is precisely due to this that the guardians and I can exit unharmed.”

Vanna nodded lightly over the safety of those involved: “Okay, when the fire is completely over, I will arrange for others to thoroughly scrub the museum again. We need to ensure there are no signs of abnormalities in the collection…”

After a brief command, the young inquisitor swept her gaze over the citizens who were being rescued and comforted. The way she’s behaving, it’s as if the lady’s looking for something in the crowd.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly came from nearby: “Vanna! I’m here!”

Vanna looked up and saw Heidi waving hard at herself from the crowd. The doctor was a mess but safe nevertheless.