The Whispering Verses Chapter 11: St Barrons Comprehensive College

Because he slept in a strange place, Shade woke up very early the next morning. He touched the pocket watch on the bedside and saw that the time was half past six, so he thought of going downstairs to see if there would be a newspaper delivered. He knew that people in Tobesk City generally had the habit of ordering newspapers.

The former Mr. Detective can be considered middle-class by any means, and the nature of his job also requires him to read newspapers to understand the news. Therefore, it is indeed possible for the current Xia De to inherit the future newspapers.

Wearing slippers, we walked along the stairs to the first floor foyer. We looked curiously at the sealed first floor, thinking that if we had time, we could take apart a piece of wood and take a look inside.

The gas lamp in the foyer was turned on. Unfortunately, I didn't see the newspaper inserted through the delivery port on the footmat in front of the door.

Shaking his head with regret, he wanted to change his clothes and go out for breakfast. But just as the slippers touched the first step, I heard the sound of the bell.

There is a door rope outside the door of this apartment building. When pulled, the rope will affect the gear mechanism inside the door and ring the bell on the inside. It is a simple doorbell.

"The newspaper delivery guy is here? No, why is the newspaper delivery guy knocking on the door... Is it time to pay for the next month's newspaper subscription?"

Xia De, who had little savings, thought with some horror in his heart. He calculated the remaining money and turned to look at the door uneasily. No matter who was outside the door, it was impossible for him to recognize him, and the possibility of collecting money was not high. It was most likely that he was looking for the owner of the place.

"Maybe a new client?"

Worse case scenario, maybe the landlord who collects rent has arrived.

There is no structure like a cat's eye on the door, so Shade can only come to the door, use the language knowledge he got in his head yesterday to translate and ask:

"Who is it?"

Immediately got the answer from outside the door, it was a familiar voice:

"Is this the Hamilton Detective Agency? I'm Bill Schneider, do you remember me? We were the psychiatrist yesterday. We exchanged business cards at the door of the newspaper office opposite the Lark Club."

On this early morning, which was also shrouded in fog, one of the few people in the world who knew Shade's name came to visit him.

Unexpectedly, the visitor was Dr. Schneider. Shade stood behind the door, wondering whether he should open the door. He only hesitated for a moment before letting the psychiatrist outside the door know the detective's precautions:

"Mr. Hamilton, you don't have to think too much. Although it is strange to come to visit at this time, I have no ill intentions. After all, I don't have much time. Please take a look at this first."

The man outside the door was talking and sent a piece of paper in through the newspaper delivery port.

"Remember what I said yesterday? Adult education, correspondence teaching. Detective, you have a very special talent."

Shad bent down and took the piece of paper, then raised his hand to slightly adjust the light of the gas lamp in the foyer. Through this light, I saw that it was an admissions brochure.

"Huh?"

He suspected that he was dazzled or had not yet woken up.

The paper in hand is about the same size as A4, with silver edges outlining the shape of a parchment roll. This is an admissions promotion document for an institution of higher learning called "St. Byrons Comprehensive College". Except for the school emblem in the shape of a "chained book" directly above, there are not many patterns, and the printed text takes up most of the paper.

St. Barrons Comprehensive College is not recruiting ordinary students, they are recruiting "correspondence" adult students.

In addition to this, the ten departments of the college are also written on the paper, which also states the tuition fees, admission time, academic year, admissions conditions and restrictions, and the recommendation-based registration process. At least in these respects, it's just an ordinary school.

"But why is there no school address?"

It took Xia De a long time to ask, and then he was surprised that he did not ask whether the other party had mental illness, but actually came over to deliver enrollment documents to a stranger early in the morning.

"Your observations are very keen."

The psychiatrist outside the door praised, and then asked:

"Well, at least let me go inside and talk, okay? Maybe I can answer your questions about...the other you in your head."

The voice in his head did not appear because of being mentioned. Shade opened his mouth and opened the door anyway.

The middle-aged doctor holding a briefcase, wearing a brown coat and a small silk hat, stood on the steps, and wore a pair of thick black boots. He still has a neat mustache, and his blue eyes make people feel very good:

"Don't forget your milk."

He pointed to the milk crate on the left side of the door. He had a standard accent and was probably a native of Tobesk City:

"When I came just now, the milkman had just left."

"Okay, please come in."

Xia De nodded hesitantly, looked at the doctor, and tried his best to make a kind expression. He picked up the key on the shoe cabinet to unlock the milk box, and the psychiatrist followed Shade into the apartment door after he got the milk bottle.

He was also surprised by the sealed part on the first floor, but the doctor didn't say anything more. Instead, he and the silent Shade walked along the stairs to Room 1 on the second floor.

Let the doctor wait for a while, Shade went back to the bedroom to change his clothes, and then boiled hot water to entertain the guests. Although there was no food in the kitchen, at least there was black tea for the client of the detective case, otherwise Shade would have had to serve the guests with boiled water.

After everything was put away, the two sat down to talk.

The fabric sofa set in the living room has a sense of age. I don’t know if it is an antique. Two long and two short, surrounded by wooden coffee tables from all sides, it is very suitable for discussing business with clients.

The doctor and Shade were sitting on the couch facing each other.

"There is no need to introduce myself, first I want you to trust me."

The mustached psychiatrist Schneider spoke first. He smiled and thanked Shade for the black tea:

"This time I came here really for the college promotional page I just gave you. First, let me describe your current symptoms-"

"Wait a minute, are the symptoms related to school?"

Xia De asked, but there was already a guess in his mind. He is not a "local", he has seen those crazy fantasies, and is more adaptable to this situation. The "St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy" mentioned by the other party is probably the same type of school as Hogwarts.

"Of course, please listen to me. Mr. Shade Hamilton, can you hear another voice in your head?"

Although Shade tried hard to control his expression, he could see his failure in the smile of Mr. Schneider opposite him.

The doctor added:

"Is that voice saying some inexplicable words? And, are some words helpful to you? He will whisper in your ear and speak suddenly when you don't expect it, but he has no malice towards you."

Xia De knew that he couldn't hide it, so he nodded.

"And, detective, your symptoms must have appeared within 72 hours."

"To be precise, 24 hours."

Xia De said.

"That's better, then we still have a lot of time, and it seems we are very lucky. After all, the talent awakening time is 72 hours, so I have more time to explain the situation to you."

Dr. Schneider smiled:

"The above symptoms are similar to those of schizophrenia, but they don't actually appear to me."

He pointed to himself, looked at Shade with his blue eyes, and spoke very slowly:

"For certain groups of people, the existence of 'another self' is a wonderful and dangerous talent. No, it should be said that this is an early manifestation of talent. If it can be guided, then you can see To a more real world, a mysterious and dangerous world, if not guided..."

"Return to the ordinary?"

"No, it's worse."

The doctor shook his head:

"I don't want to deceive you, at least there is no need for it now. To be clear, this is a symptom of the 'Circle Warlock' talent, a very rare talent. You regard this as a gift of fate, or a curse of fate. It’s all okay. As for the 'ring warlock', you can think of it as a special profession that can use... mysterious power. I hope you understand what I mean."

The doctor is deliberately observing Sha De's expression. This era is still an era of ignorance, and people who believe in righteous gods generally do not accept concepts such as "witchcraft." But fortunately, just like the doctor's investigation, the detective opposite had a brain problem a few days ago. He only returned to normal due to the awakening of his talent, so he had a different concept from normal citizens.

On the other side, the guess was confirmed, and Shade nodded hesitantly. He wanted to pretend to be surprised, because normal people would definitely be surprised, but at this moment, he felt particularly calm inside, even a little too calm. He thought this might be the reason for being too stressed yesterday:

"In other words, hearing strange sounds in the ears is actually a manifestation of some...system, a power system? Many people do this? It's like some people see further, and some people Listen to more?"

Xia De asked.

"Yes, 'I am you, you are me', every Ring Warlock is like this. If you successfully become a Ring Warlock, then this voice will accompany you throughout your life and help you throughout your life. That voice is another you, It's just that your vision is different. He will help you contact this crazy and noisy world in a more real way. Knowledge, information and even words have dangerous power outside the safe world of ordinary people. , we cannot use our souls to directly approach those forces that can distort ourselves."

The doctor waited for a moment and gave Shade time to think:

“But the awakening time of the Ring Warlock talent is very short. From the first whisper in the ear to the complete disappearance of the sound, it usually takes 72 hours, and not every talent can hear the sound frequently, and Realizing that the sound is not their own, they just think it is an illusion or something is wrong with their ears.

Therefore, Detective Shade Hamilton, whether it is the three major colleges or the church, it is very difficult to recruit and train new personnel. That's why I say we are all lucky. ”