Stroking the Husky, Silas began to organize his thoughts about his experiences in the dream.
As he pondered, he sensed something new within his mind.
It was a viscous, purple substance, seemingly like a liquid, yet also resembling vapor.
"This must be what John Ross called 'Spiritual Energy'!" Seeing this, Silas recalled the relevant knowledge the necromancer had imparted.
Spiritual Energy was an energy generated from the mind, the prime mover born from the union of one's soul and the mystical. It was the fuel and foundation for wielding mystical powers.
"Ha! So, this means I've already stepped into the mystical domain ahead of schedule. Indeed! My dreams and reality are truly connected. The things I analyzed through the divine body in my dreams have materialized in the real world. In the dream, I deciphered knowledge related to the sound of souls, understood its principles and methods of propagation, and even how to simply control these sounds."
"Listening, generating, propagating, and controlling – these are my current abilities. Although they can't inflict substantial damage, they can at least interfere with others, and in a critical moment, they could save my life." Silas clenched his fists, his expression excited.
"Though I still don't know what this so-called 'Profession' is, I have indeed grasped a mystical power."
Having confirmed this, Silas thought of the two pitiful Demonesses.
"According to my memories, the Churches of Holy Blood, Healing, and Nighthawk all adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards Demonesses. However, they never let the bodies of Demonesses go to waste, claiming it's to prevent the land from being tainted by the Demonesses, but the truth is surely not that simple."
"Considering the current state of medical science in this world, surgical procedures are already widespread. Therefore, any Church that obtains a Demoness's body would undoubtedly perform dissections and research. Over so many years, they must have discovered that distinct nodule in a Demoness's chest and learned the truth behind their 'mutation,' yet they haven't publicized this information."
At this, Silas fell into deep thought.
"Based on historical experience, from ancient times to the present, such desperate attempts to conceal the truth invariably hide enormous benefits and secrets beyond human imagination."
"I'm currently lacking too many clues to figure it out completely, but for now, this matter must be kept secret. If it leaks out and causes turmoil within the Churches, some powerful figures might be able to track me down directly."
A shiver ran down his spine. "This secret stays locked away. I absolutely cannot speak of it!"
With that thought, Silas opened his drawer. Inside were two golden banknotes, each about the size of a child's palm.
The gleaming gold paper was inscribed with the insignia of the Church of Holy Blood. This was the official currency of the Empire: the Crown.
This Crown note had a denomination of 1. But this one Crown was not to be underestimated; its purchasing power was astonishing.
If one ate normal grey bread, potatoes, and vegetables, with meat once every three meals, this single note could provide Silas's current household with seven hearty, satisfying meals.
These were the only two Crowns Silas possessed; the rest of his money consisted of loose Bits.
Carefully stowing away the Crowns, Silas thought for a moment, then hurried to the small balcony in the living room. He opened a wooden cabinet inside and took out two rather bulky, grey, thick overcoats.
These were the cold-weather work uniforms his parents had worn when they worked in the factory. They had absolutely no aesthetic appeal but were exceptionally warm.
They had been stored here since his parents' death. Fortunately, Ada had been meticulous enough to ensure they were protected from moisture and insects. The two overcoats were undamaged and didn't have too offensive an odor.
Silas took off his own overcoat and suit, changing into a very ordinary grey cotton robe. He didn't bother with a hat. He packed the two thick overcoats into a large suitcase. After a moment's thought, Silas also filled a small thermos from his home with hot water and included two cups, wrapping them in the middle of the coats.
Silas instructed the Husky, "I'll be back soon. Guard the house well. I'll buy you some treats when I return."
"Hah! Hah!" The Husky instantly perked up, bouncing around excitedly on the floor, its goofy expression enough to make anyone laugh.
A muscle twitched at the corner of Silas's eye. "The thought of having to ride you out in public to put on airs… it always gives me a pang in my liver."
Locking the door, Silas emerged, carrying the suitcase.
"Thankfully, that school on Maple Leaf Street isn't far from here, and it's quite remote now."
First, he went to the bakery downstairs and bought two pounds of grey bread. He also purchased a large jar of butter and two tins of fish. He packed these into a prepared insulated woven bag and placed it in the suitcase. Then, Silas, carrying the suitcase, set off quickly.
Maple Leaf Street was just one street over, behind their apartment building.
It was truly on the edge of the city, a completely abandoned old district. Its factories, schools, and housing had all been decommissioned and were slated for demolition.
According to the city's plans, a district of detached villas, very suitable for the middle class, was to be built there.
It was currently working hours, so the dilapidated street was almost deserted.
As Silas walked, he listened intently to all the sounds around him, ensuring he wasn't being followed by Church personnel or anyone else.
To be on the safe side, Silas didn't even go directly to the school. Instead, he first ducked into a nearby derelict building, wandered around for a bit, and even rummaged through some dusty, crumbling walls, looking for all the world like a vagrant searching for discarded scraps.
"It seems Master Jeros was right. The Church really is short-handed." After circling around and confirming he hadn't attracted any attention, Silas walked openly into the abandoned school.
The entire school was now a pristine white, covered in snow. However, numerous footprints, both human and animal, crisscrossed the snowy expanse.
Most of the humans who came here at this time were homeless vagrants or mischievous children looking for a secret hideout.
Crunching through the snow, Silas walked towards the teaching building, half of which had already been demolished, leaving a scene of devastation. Relying on his memories of the place, he searched for a suitable location.
Silas had spent his elementary school years here. Although it had been a long time, he still remembered some things.
"That's a basement there. It looks relatively intact. I remember there weren't many such basements here, only two. One was an ice cellar, used for storing blocks of ice, and the other was a storeroom for cured meat and dried fish."
"But only part of the storeroom was underground; a portion was above ground." Silas thought, turning his head to look west. He saw that the top of the low-slung storeroom building had indeed been leveled, now a large, open pit.
"Then that must be the ice cellar," Silas concluded.
Turning, he crossed the flattened ruins of the western half of the school and reached the eastern side, where some classrooms still partially stood. He walked through a roofless corridor and saw an opening partially concealed by a dilapidated wooden plank.
"This attempt at camouflage is rather crude," Silas chuckled, brushing away the snow to reveal dusty steps leading down.
Facing the steps, Silas didn't descend rashly. Instead, he crouched down and said in a low voice, "I am the proxy of the Lord of Death and Storms."
Hearing this low voice, two sets of hurried footsteps immediately sounded from the quiet depths below. Then, two pitiful, small faces, tinged blue with cold, appeared before Silas.