The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Three years ago," Nona said softly, "I was sick at that time. I always felt dizzy and sick. But it was not very serious at that time.

"This summer, all of a sudden, my body has gone bad. I don't know how to describe the feeling... It seems to have something to do with my head, but it doesn't seem to. It's like... It's like I've become another people."

Having said that, Nona couldn't help but trembled, and hugged herself even harder.

Mr. Phantom simply sat on the ground, watching Nona quietly.

Nona's statement made him think of "Colin Lane".That was when he first conducted experiments related to the pollution of the old gods, and met a revelator.

Colin always uses rituals related to the "Apostle of Evil", so he is polluted by the will of the patron he borrowed power from, and always feels as if he has become another person, as if something is lurking in his shadow .

...yes, mental pollution.Mr. Ghost thought so.

And, three years ago?Mike Lampson also suffered from mental problems three years ago.

So Mr. Phantom said, "Three years ago, Nona, did you get something at that time?"

Nona thought for a moment, then said, "A doll."

"what?"

"A rag doll," she said, "I picked it up from the trash can. After I got sick, my grandpa said the doll was not clean, so I threw it away. But I think the doll is very good."

Her voice is very soft, with a little girl's immaturity and innocence.She said, "What can a doll do?"

Mr. Ghost narrowed his eyes.Then he said, "So this summer, did you pick up anything?"

"This summer!" Nona said, "Mr. Phantom, do you want to say that my illness is related to these things?"

Mr. Phantom said frankly, "That's what I guessed." He added, "Nona, I have also met some other children who have the same disease as you. They seem to have encountered some dangerous children. s things."

It dawned on Nona, and she murmured, "There are other people like me. It's amazing. But I haven't seen any other children here."

"Where are you?" asked Mr. Ghost.

"I don't know either," Nona said. "A very bright and very dark place."

Very bright and very dark?

Mr. Ghost pressed, but Nona couldn't say anything.Moreover, once she continued to question, Nona would show a very confused and pitiful expression.

So Mr. Ghost changed the subject: "So, Nona, did you get anything this summer?"

Nona tilted her head, thought for a while, and then said, "This summer... there is a trade fair near my house."

Mr. Phantom couldn't help but startled.He thought, this should refer to the underground trade fair at the Ernestine Tavern, right?

Nona continued: "During that time, there were a lot of strangers around my house. Grandpa didn't let me go out casually, but I still sneaked out...because I saw someone throwing a golden thing away, I thought it was okay Sell ​​money, let grandpa not work so hard."

Mr. Ghost listened quietly to what a little girl was saying.He asked, "What's that?"

Nona opened her eyes slightly, and said, "That's a copper one... that is, the one that nobles often carry..."

"cane?"

"Yes." Nona nodded vigorously, "The handle of the cane."

Mr. Ghost frowned slightly: "Did you give this thing to your grandfather?"

"...No." Nona said dejectedly, "I don't know either... I originally wanted to give it to grandpa, and I picked it up just for grandpa, but...but I don't know, I just didn't tell grandpa about it. thing."

"Did your illness start to get serious then?"

"Yes. It should be... It should be that period of time." Nona said uncertainly, "Then... Then I don't know what happened. That day when Grandpa went out, I secretly threw that thing away.

"Then... grandpa came back and asked me to take the flower to the doctor. I went. But...but I felt even more uncomfortable. My head hurt so badly that I passed out.

"When I woke up again, I appeared in a dark room..."

she murmured.

As she told, Mr. Ghost also gradually remembered the information he got when he entered Nona's dream twice before.

The dark room...the bad medicine, other people's voices, what kind of experiment they want to do on Nona's body...

...What is that medicine?

Mr. Ghost felt that something was bothering him again.

Nona wanted to continue talking, but suddenly, the surroundings shook.Nona exclaimed, "Oops! Mr. Ghost, I need to wake up!"

Mr. Ghost wanted to ask something, but he only had time to say: "Tomorrow I will appear in your dream again!"

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Ghost!" Nona said briskly.She seems to be in a much better mood.

Then, the dream suddenly shattered.

He stood in the center of the isolated island, looking at the seedling that belonged to Nona.It still seemed to be thriving, so he was slightly relieved.He looked again at Emile Harrison's seedlings.

Today Emile is not dreaming.

He originally wanted to chat with Emil about the Rubik's Cube, but now he can only give up with regret.

He was the only one left in the silent deep sea dream.He spent a while thinking about what he had gained from talking with Nona this time.

Three years ago, Nona also inadvertently picked up something—most likely it was the time track, which caused mental problems.Her grandpa thought the doll was dirty and threw it away in time.

That stabilized Nona's situation a bit, but the effect was still there.

From this point of view, Nona is luckier than Mike.The latter's parents didn't find out about the bracelet, which made Mike's situation worse.However, Mr. and Mrs. Lampson cannot be blamed for this.

This summer, Nona, who was in a relatively stable situation, picked up another thing, which was suspected to be the handle of a nobleman's cane.That made her mental state deteriorate sharply, and Anselm Norrisen finally chose to take the risk and steal a copper cast crocus from a private museum.

...Then the question is, was Anselm's action motivated by indiscriminate choice, or was it a specific purpose?

In addition, he asked Nona to deliver the cast copper flower, while he stayed at home and waited for the police to come to his door. It seemed to prove that as long as this thing was delivered, the underground gang would save Nona.Therefore, he was able to rest assured that Nona would send flowers.

However, Anselm's "rest assured" seems to be nonsense.The underground gang seems to be consciously doing some experiments... some kind of experiment related to time track and spiritual pollution.

... what would that be?

After thinking for a while, he couldn't come up with an answer.

To say that the old god who has always appeared indistinctly behind this incident is probably the god of fertility and life, the flower that blooms in spring, Pessonari.

Whether it's the copper cast flower on Nona's side, or the main card life picked up by Nanisar, these two things all hint at the existence of Pessonari.But... Pessonari?

How does this old god who symbolizes life relate to these timelines that cause mental illness?

And the only one who can know the inside story - the mysterious creator of playing cards, is still missing.He hoped that Alva could investigate something, but he didn't hold out much hope for it.

After thinking for a while, he turned his attention to the deep sea dream he was currently in.What new discoveries would he need to get out of here—seriously, what if one day he found nothing?

Does that mean he's completely trapped here, or does that mean he's completely mastered Akamala's power?

However, he can't even search for dreams now...

At this moment, he suddenly froze for a moment.

When the idea of ​​"searching dreams" suddenly popped up in his brain, he felt an inexplicable feeling.He set his sights on the boundless, misty sea.

Countless dream bubbles float in it, surrounding the isolated island and the doll.

...he can search the dream.

At the moment he realized this, at 6 Hayward Street, at four o'clock in the morning, Sirius woke up suddenly.

He wondered in astonishment, could he actually search for dreams?Why is it okay now?

He realized that his grasp of Akamala's power had improved, but the embarrassing thing was that he didn't know why.Where did he invisibly match the power of Akamala?

Just in the past half a month?

After thinking about it, Siles turned his attention to the novel he was writing.

The Dreaming Adventures of Miss Garland.

In every sense, only this novel is compatible with Akamala's power.But to be honest, he hasn't started writing yet...

...Could it be that just related concepts and ideas can affect the power of gods?Or is it because he possesses part of Akamala's power, so his current behavior is like taking the initiative to "become" this god?

But he doesn't think that his spirit and will have been influenced by Akamala.It seems that just as Grenfell said, this is just the pure power of the old gods who have passed away.

But out of caution, Siles still passed a will judgment for himself.

[Keeper of the Secret, Siles Noel (university professor) is making a judgment of will. 】

【Will: 93/...】

A series of numbers flashed in front of Siles, he thought about it, and finally chose a "0".

[Will: 93/0, great success. 】

【Have you finally started working on your own brain?To be honest, the judgment this time can't affect anything... But, well, it was a big success after all.So, the dice dust off your soul for you. 】

Siles: "..."

Dust on the soul?

Why is there still dust on the soul?

He was quite suspicious, but he knew that this could not be a hint given by the dice casually.

That means... first, there is the concept of soul "dust"; second, there was dust on his soul before.

The dice dusted him off, but Sirius didn't really feel anything, didn't feel refreshed or relieved.Everything is as usual.But the dice did say so.

...so when did it get dusty?

Almost at the moment when this question appeared, Siles instinctively thought of a possibility: the sea of ​​darkness.He was stained with dust in the place between life and death.

He thought for a moment, then couldn't help sighing again.Although he knew it was a possibility, he couldn't really understand what the dice implied.

After all, when can he really establish a stable and efficient communication with the dice?

This question made Siles think of the research topic of Sealed Artifacts.

In the past period of time, he did gradually understand how to use the sealed item, but he couldn't really create a communication method as he imagined.

Facing his idea, his assistant Aneulin and Ms. Aston were very surprised.

Ms. Aston said directly: "Why do you want to communicate with the sealed item?"

"Because..." Siles gave a more reasonable answer, "It is rumored that there is a soul sealed in the sealed item. The sealed item has self-awareness, so why can't we communicate with it?"

Ms. Aston looked at Siles in shock, but instead she said: "You are indeed a genius. I have never thought of this path, maybe your idea is fruitful. Anyway, I hope you can study What happened."

The boss's support did make Siles breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, he put too much pressure on himself.No one expected him to be able to crack the secret of the sealed item within a few weeks, that would be a bit unbelievable.

It was getting light, and Sirius got up.It was Saturday morning, and he was going to the Historical Society.

In room 557, there are still those two sealed items.Aneurin didn't show up, and Sirius didn't need him to be on call at all times.

Siles looked at the feather and the nail silently.Under the dual effects of the time of the potion ceremony and [Akamala's Spectacle Frame], he could clearly see the strange traces on the two sealed items, as well as the weird mist.

In contrast, Siles felt that the seemingly harmless feathers were a little more dangerous, which was probably related to Luthmi, the god of stars and light.

……Wait a moment.

Siles suddenly realized a problem.

When explorers refer to the birdmen of the Neverland, they usually think of them as mutant creatures created by Trisley, the god of mountains and rivers.

No one ever wondered if that had anything to do with Ruthmi.People think that Birdman is a combination of human and animal, so it must be related to Trisley.But in fact, this faint blue mist proved that it was Luthmi's power.

... The sky is Ruthmi's domain.

Then why does Luthmi's power appear in the deep sea dream?

Siles frowned.He felt a subtle feeling more and more, because of the... "disharmony" of the old god's power.

Temiafa may have devoured Erkoo; Menawaka may have devoured Huddoka, or vice versa; the birdman's feathers did not come from Trisley, but from Ruthmi; and Ruthmi The power of the Abyss has invaded the dreamland of the deep sea, Akamala's paradise.

Grenfell once said that the divinity of the gods means the starting point and the end point of their power, but Sirius felt that their power didn't seem so simple, it seemed that they could...expand?

What is the relationship between Ruthmi and Akamala?

Stars, lights... night?

Siles suddenly understood - night!

The sun goes down and night falls.The brilliance of the stars shines on the earth, but human beings sink into dreams.Ruthmi wants to get Akamala's dream power.

That seemed to expand his power to a certain extent, but from another perspective, it seemed that his power was just extending in a certain direction...?

Siles was stunned for a moment, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

He considered the thirteen known gods, and the possibility that they would be hostile and devour each other.Then an idea came naturally in his brain.

Pessonari... the god of fertility and life, Pessonari, will he want to devour the god of mountains and rivers, Trisley?

Breeding, life.It seems to have a certain sense of fit with nature, wildness, mountains and rivers.

In addition, Siles remembered that in Jen Calder's book "Gods and Disciples in the Shadow", the author mentioned that Menawaka had a crush on Trisley.

According to some rumors, during the Imperial Period, Menawaka planned secretly, and finally caused Luthmi's Mingguang Empire to collapse.And Jan Calder said that during the Shadow Age, Thaddeus and Ruthmi had a child, and Pessonari broke with them for this reason...

Sirius had a headache.

He meant...how the relationship between these gods sounds so complicated!

Thirteen old gods.he thinks.This is not counting Antinam who appeared later.Who can know the thoughts of these lofty gods in the past ten thousand years?

After thinking for a while, Siles stopped torturing his brain with these questions.He left the Historical Society at noon and went to 18 Howesville Street.

And he did learn a piece of news at this gathering.

Mrs. Fuller said very gently: "Professor, I have made arrangements for you. On the afternoon of Friday, December 12, you are welcome to the Ramifa Museum."

That Friday afternoon, December 12?

Siles couldn't help but startled.

He thought, isn't that the day before the next deep sea dream?

He thanked Mrs. Fuller very sincerely.Mrs. Fuller smiled and waved her hands, signaling that he needn't be so polite.

"It's a piece of cake," Mrs. Fuller said.

They talked about the weather, food.Siles also talked about the dishes made by Qin Duo, and the freshness of the dishes amazed the few Consters present.

"When the winter is over, maybe I can travel during the spring break." Angela said, "I have never been to a country other than Conster."

"As the fog dissipates and the development of Everland develops, we will gradually learn about other countries." Eric whispered, with a bit of fascination, "I also hope that one day, I can bring Wife and daughter go to see the sea."

"Speaking of development," Mrs. Fuller said suddenly, "I heard that the development plan in Ramifa City has already started bidding."

"Already started?" Angela was a little surprised.

Mrs. Fuller nodded, then shook her head again: "At present, it is an internal bidding, and it has not been made public yet. However, the general plan has been finalized. I have a business partner who participated in the internal bidding. He said that the Grand Duke obviously wants to give The old nobles were caught off guard."

Darrell couldn't help but say, "It sounds like there's going to be a change in town soon."

"Yes." Mrs. Fuller said gently, "In a month or two, maybe some projects will be put on the agenda. For example, some road reconstruction, pipeline dredging and addition and modification, etc. In any case, as an ordinary As far as the residents are concerned, I think these projects make sense."

Eric nodded in agreement. As an elder, he obviously had more in common with Mrs. Fuller.He mentioned the clogged pipes in his home, the garbage on the roads in the West Side, and the homeless people all over the corners of the city, etc.

"It's not a comfortable environment." He sighed.

Angela rubbed her chin: "However, Mrs. Fuller, what you are talking about is just a small matter. When will the real big project come?"

Mrs. Fuller said meaningfully: "It depends on the compromise and balance between the Grand Duke and the old nobles."

Mentioning these old nobles, Sirius's heart moved, and he asked: "I want to ask you all." Others looked at him, "Do you know anything about the Principality's Minister of Finance, Jonathan Bryant?" ?”

"Jonathan Bryant?" Angela said, "Isn't that..."

Siles nodded and said, "Yes, he is a member of the Presbyterian Church of the Historical Society. We once suspected that he was the backstage sponsor of the underground gang in West City, but now..." He considered for a while, "I think he is indeed yes."

He told about his investigations in the past, including the boy he met in the hospital.

The rest listened with interest.

"A illegitimate child?" said Mrs. Fuller. "I haven't heard of it. But the chancellor is old enough to have a illegitimate child."

Angela nodded in agreement: "The Bryant family is that kind..." She wrinkled her face, "Old nobleman. There is no more old-fashioned and hypocritical noble family than this family, at least in the Principality of Constance .”

As soon as she said that, Darrell asked curiously, "How do you know?"

"Uh..." Angela looked at the ceiling, and then said frankly, "Well, because I had a very unpleasant relationship with this family when I was a child. They seem to want me to be engaged to Jonathan Bryant's nephew."

Darrell nodded half understanding.

Eric reacted immediately: "But the age gap between you is a bit big?"

"Yeah!" Angela said, "I wasn't even ten years old at the time, but that man was almost thirty years old and could be my father.

"I really don't understand how they have the ability to say this kind of proposal, and it's as if I married them into their family because I climbed up to them! Obviously my family also has the name of a marquis!"

Angela said the word "Marquis" very casually, as if she was too lazy to hide her identity as a noble lady.Of course, they are also very aware of Angela's noble status.

…They even knew who Angela's stepmother was.Although there seems to have never been any publicity in the newspapers about this matter.

In short, the Bryant family looks like an aristocratic family with a bad reputation, but it did produce a powerful minister of the exchequer.

Siles asked, "So how did the Bryant family develop into what it is today?"

Mrs. Fuller explained: "They are the retainers of the first Grand Duke. With the partition of the Sardinian Empire, they came to this land with the then Grand Duke Const. However, this was 400 years ago.

"The Bryants have always been strong supporters of the Consters, just like the Constantines. But that changed 14 years ago."

Angela said from the side: "They also hoped to marry my family at that time."

"14 years ago..." Siles whispered, "Because of the current Grand Duke?"

"Yes." Mrs. Fuller said, "The current Grand Duke has an elder brother. At that time, everyone thought that the successor Grand Duke would take the seat. But something happened, and the current one finally took office.

"The Bryant family is quite dissatisfied with this. They believe that the current Grand Duke and his supporters have destroyed the consistent tradition and aristocratic demeanor of the Principality of Const, and they should not continue to serve as the Grand Duke.

"...In fact, many old nobles think so."

Darrell half understood, he asked very straightforwardly: "So, what happened 14 years ago? Why didn't the Grand Duke's elder brother become Grand Duke?"

Mrs. Fuller smiled wryly, shook her head, and said, "No one knows." She paused, and exchanged glances with Eric.

Among the five people present, Siles, Angela, and Darrell, the three of them were children 14 years ago, and they didn't understand the domestic high-level situation at all.Mrs. Fuller and Eric knew a little better.

Eric hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I remember... just overnight, the original heir to the grand duke changed. A few days later, the elder brother of the current grand duke suddenly disappeared. After a few more month, the previous grand duke passed away, and the current grand duke succeeded."

Mrs. Fuller nodded, and she said: "As far as I know, the decision of the successor's change was made by the previous Grand Duke himself. There is no doubt about it. So the only doubt is what happened to cause the Change of heir."

Angela sighed and said, "It sounds really complicated."

Darrell nodded sympathetically.

"Since this is the case, then the next development plan in Lamifa City will obviously be their wrestling field." Siles said, "New and old forces, new and old nobles, everything will be updated."

Mrs. Fuller sighed, "Yes."

"...In this way, I suspect that Jonathan Bryant, as well as the underground gang whose interests have been harmed, are likely to jump over the wall at this time." Siles said in a low voice, "Perhaps we should pay attention to his actions. "

His companions nodded in agreement.

At the ensuing dawn revelation meeting, he also mentioned this matter with the three people here.

"Jonathan Bryant?" said the lady enthusiastically. "The Chancellor? I know him. What a shameless old man."

"What?" the newsboy asked with interest.

"He once wanted my stepdaughter to be betrothed to his nephew," said the lady. "They are a generation behind in age. I don't know how the old man could come up with such a proposal."

Dealer: "..."

He's saying...sometimes he's just not used to it.

The newsboy and the knight nodded in agreement.

The newsboy looked at the croupier thoughtfully, and said, "Mr. croupier, you are really sharp. The city of Lamifa will indeed become very chaotic for some time to come. This is really a troublesome winter day." ah."

"Indeed." The croupier whispered.

"Speaking of croupiers," the lady said with a sudden laugh, "I heard an interesting thing. Recently, croupiers have become quite a popular job in the Land of Never Embers, and some even Became a professional dealer."

All three of them were startled.

The knight asked curiously, "What's going on here?"

The genuine croupier present had a subtle premonition and helplessness in his heart.

"Because of a kind of card... Noel's card?" said the lady uncertainly. "That's what they seem to call it."

The knight glanced at the croupier in a nonchalant way.

The lady continued: "People say that there are secrets related to gods hidden in the deck of cards, which can only be discovered by playing cards... It is really a nonsense, but people believe it very much.

"They believe that the croupier of fate will give them a correct answer, so many adventurers are reluctant to venture out recently-it happened to be a cold winter day.

"They just stayed in the station or village, and then played cards with other explorers, looking for possible secrets according to the Noel card game. To me, they just want to play cards, not for any secrets.

"However, because of the existence of this so-called secret of the gods, they don't gamble when they play cards. It is also a very interesting thing. It is also a good thing.

"No one knows the origin of this card, it is said that it came from Hales House, but Hales House has been destroyed now, and no one knows the inventor of the card anymore.

"In short, in order to play cards, the croupier is naturally needed to deal the cards. But because they don't gamble, many people don't pay much attention when they act as croupiers. Gamblers feel that this will reduce the possibility of them discovering the secret, so they Find some more professional people to be dealers.

"Now they have played this card in many ways, and made cards of different shapes. Some cards have become expensive because of their beautiful cards, and even sold hundreds of duke coins at an underground auction. high price.

"... I'd say this group of explorers was just having fun in the cold winter. But some seem to be taking it seriously."

Having said that, the lady shrugged involuntarily.

Several of them couldn't help but looked at each other.

The newsboy said, "It's really...unexpected."

"I want to say that too." The noble lady touched her chin, "However, I think this is quite interesting."

The newspaper boy said mercilessly, "You mean to say that you can make a lot of money, right?"

The lady laughed.She thought for a while, and then said: "However, they don't gamble, which is a helpless thing. I don't know where the rumors came from, saying that if you want to discover the secrets in the cards, you can't gamble.

"Once you get involved with money, you lose any possibility of discovering the secrets of the gods... It's really incredible."

"Perhaps because of this, people believe that there are really secrets related to gods hidden in it." The knight said objectively, "Otherwise, it's just an ordinary card game. What secrets can there be hidden?"

The lady nodded in agreement, but she sneered again: "Knight, 'ordinary gameplay'? To be honest, many explorers are obsessed with it, and they don't even want to go on an expedition. They spend all day studying their own... ...what did they say?

"... Tactics. Yes, the tactics of playing cards. There are still people talking about fixed routines, which card to play first, which card in the community card to grab first, which old god card is best to use, etc. They will all It's played out. And how long has it been?"

The newsboy sighed, thought about it with interest, and couldn't help but say, "Maybe there will be some... Noel card contest?"

Dealer: "..."

The knight burst out laughing, and then couldn't help it anymore, he couldn't help laughing.

Newsboys and ladies looked at him inexplicably.

The knight laughed for a while before explaining: "I just feel that this is really incredible. A group of explorers, obsessed with cards... is a bit funny."

"That's true." The lady said, "However, rather than the adventure of life and death, perhaps they want to seek excitement from playing cards without danger. In this way, I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing."

The newsboy nodded approvingly.

"Speaking of strange things," the lady suddenly remembered something, "I would like to share with you a very interesting news from the Land of No Embers. Do you know Cindo Playa?"

Dealer: "..."

He seemed to know what the lady was going to say.His eyes slowly turned to the ceiling, feeling that he really wanted to turn into Mr. Ghost and float out of this room.

...Do ghosts really exist in this world?He thought he was thinking about it very rationally.

The knight shook his head, while the newsboy said, "I seem to have heard of it. An explorer? It is said that he is very powerful, but his personality is not very pleasing, and he always walks alone."

"It can't be said that he is alone now." The lady showed a mysterious smile, "It has been spread all over Eternal Land, it is said that this explorer fell in love with a man, and he is planning to bid farewell to Eternal Land." The madness of the earth, go back and enjoy the warm bed."

The smile clearly meant something.

The newsboy let out a small exclamation, and then said: "It's really interesting, I don't know who his lover will be?"

Dealer: "..."

Sitting here.He thought ironically.

And, "spread all over the land of no ember"?

He still seems to have underestimated Qin Duo's reputation in the Land of No Ashes...

After chatting about gossip and curious about how Noel Solitaire is played, the lady and the newsboy left one by one.They said in unison that in such cold weather, they didn't want to wait until it was dark to get home.

After they left, the knight took off his helmet, and said with a very obvious smile: "Professor Noel, first of all congratulations on the publication of your project summary. However, it seems that you are in the Land of Never Was the trip very exciting?"

Siles was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you. That's true. I have one more message to add."

Carol was taken aback, then asked curiously, "What?"

"Cindo Playa is my lover," Silestan said calmly.

Carol: "..."

He was stunned for a moment, then stared wide-eyed, looking at Sirius in disbelief.After a while, he burst out laughing, and said very brightly: "So, just now—Ciles, when we were talking about Mr. Praia just now, what were your thoughts?"

"...Cindo Playa's lover is sitting here," said Siles dryly.Of course, except for himself, no one else could see this "dry" emotion and tone from his indifferent and calm face.

Carol couldn't help laughing again.

Siles waited patiently for him to stop smiling.

"...Sorry, sorry, professor." Carol barely stopped smiling, and then said, "I just didn't expect that your life in the Land of Never Embers would be so wonderful."

Siles was helpless for a moment, and couldn't help showing a little smile."That's true," he said.

Carol looked at Siles suspiciously, wondering what exactly he meant by "indeed".

But Siles has changed the subject: "By the way, Carol, I want to ask you to do me a favor."

Carol said with some surprise: "It's the first time I've heard you say that... please tell me, Professor Noel. Just the ritual of 'returning yourself' you proposed is worth what I can do for you .”

Siles was startled, realizing that he had actually enjoyed the benefits of fame once.He said, "It's about Brewer Darrow. I heard..."

He considered the words