Background

After a quiet morning, the two took a carriage and visited the church. This time he did not meet the bishop, but the previous young priest, Mr. Claude, organized a morning prayer for groups of believers. After a while, he quickly received a recommendation from Father Colby.

Then the two of them took a carriage and went to Grime Street, where James's office was located. He hoped to speak to the assistant there and inquire about some situations.

He saw a terraced house in a humble business neighborhood when he arrived at No. 9 Grime Street. The wall was gray, like the other houses, with no iron gates, just a half-open door leading directly into the living room. On the door was a rusty iron sign that read "Paranormal Consultant" in old-fashioned lettering, with the logo of the O.S.P.I.S. next to it.

He knocked lightly before entering and found the door to be half ajar. Since there seemed to be no one inside, he began to assess the situation. Normally, a qualified gentleman would be patiently writing a card or note for the person in the house. Except for the suit, Althur didn't care much for such annoying rules.

"Is anyone here?" Althur asked loudly as he entered the room, then waited slowly for an answer. Little Brahms clung to Althur's side like a fluffy duckling.

He mumbled. "Is it okay to enter without permission?"

"We actually have permission from O.S.P.I.S. We're authorized investigators, after all."

Although Brahms didn't see the connection between O.S.P.I.S.'s license and entering someone's house alone, he agreed with what Althur said and nodded to agree.

After a few seconds, the sound of weary footsteps came from the second floor. A tired-looking man came down from the stairs and looked at Althur warily. The man looked at the visitors.

The man saw a young gentleman whose face was neat and clean and exuded an atmosphere of knowledge. Dressed in a black suit, he looked like a professional lawyer. Looking closer, the man saw a young boy in a sailor's outfit, about seven or eight years old, and bright like a life-size puppet.

"Who are you?" The man hesitated.

The young gentleman tipped his hat in greeting. "Althur, sent by the O.S.P.I.S. to settle some matters regarding exorcisms."

The man gave Althur a stern look and then began to introduce himself.

"Well, I'm Winston, Mr. James' assistant. I am currently dealing with some issues that Mr. James left behind." His voice is tired.

"So, things are still a bit of a mess. I hope you'll understand."

"Alright." Winston beckoned Althur to a reception bench after he nodded. The two sat facing each other in an awkward atmosphere.

"Would you like a drink?" Winston asked politely.

"No need. I just came by to get a general idea of the situation. Maybe I'll come back a few times." Althur said this with a glance at Brahms, who was sitting next to him.

"That's a relief. I don't know if you know about James' alcoholism. We don't have much of anything here except alcohol."

"Tell me about James."

Winston's eyes grew dull as he heard this request. His voice became sad.

"We have been friends for many years. He helped me a long time ago."

"I met him by chance, and he brought me here. We were together for a few years, and I went with him to help him with some errands."

"What about this town?" Althur led.

"We were here for about three years, and by then Calico was growing, though not as much as it is now."

When they arrived, there was only one church in the area, but poor working conditions in the coal mines resulted in the deaths of many workers.

Negative spirits and resentment are rampant, especially in the mine area. The leaders of the company and the town have repeatedly mobilized the church to carry out many waves of appeasement and cleansing. But they refused to go deep underground.

They wanted to build a new Lut temple and invite an able bishop to oversee the diocese. But James said that despite all their efforts, the temple refused to build the new temple.

"That is why it is up to us to go deep underground." Winston replied.

According to Winston's account, Bishop Colby was extremely opposed to coal mining and deep mining. In his sermons, he constantly criticized the town government. However, he was not a harsh man. Because of the constant display of piety by the leaders, Bishop Colby allowed regular purifications.

"This also helped James get close to the city manager and business leaders. It gave him a lot of money to feed his alcoholism."

"And it doesn't look good for the church."

He also mentioned that mining has fewer accidents. According to him, more than 10 years ago, a terrible accident killed more than 90 people, mostly young men. After that, the capital was alarmed, and many policies were changed. It was also the first time that Bishop Colby was in charge.

James' arrival was certainly more for the mines than to prevent supernatural accidents, but it didn't help many miners. They still had to work in horrible conditions until they lost their lives.

Althur and Brahms sat in opposite chairs and listened. He tried to relate to the other person and be a good assistant.

Psychological issues, money, alcohol, underground, Brahms caught the main points of the conversation. He looked at Althur and saw that he seemed to be concentrating on watching the other man and listening to what he was saying.

At the same time, the Temple of Lut seems to be in turmoil. They are not as active as before. "What's behind this?"

And finally, Bishop Colby's prejudice in the city was quite interesting. Despite his dislike, he still generously accepted the offerings of the faithful to the church.

"What's the point of that?" He sighed quietly, suppressing his curiosity. He had too much work to do at the moment.

The sniffling voice of the middle-aged man brought him back to focus. "It was an ordinary day. We received a request for an exorcism from a man."

"He said that his wife was under the control of the devil because she dared to leave the house late at night and committed immoral acts."

"We are neither the court nor the church. So, we do not judge in this matter."

"Who would have thought that after his successful expulsion, he would die so suddenly a few days later?

As if it were a member of his family," said the sad man as his companion left.

"What about the woman?" Althur asked again, before the man's mourning continued.

"I haven't noticed anything since. I've been too busy to check on her. But it may not turn out well. As you know, we all have to check the victim's psyche before the exorcism to see if it is the brain of an unusual person or that of an ordinary person affected by outside forces."

"So, you're the one who prepared these things."

He replied, "Yes, I will do the psychological diagnosis if the supernatural signs are not obvious. Of course, I have to do it under James' supervision to be sure."

The man hesitated a bit, as if embarrassed. "You know, some people with military backgrounds are grumpy, so some patients are not suitable for James' diagnosis."

"So how have you found the supernatural world?"

"Actually, before I met James, I thought it was just a rumor. As you know, a lot of legends and fairy tales make it hard for the average person to believe." He sighed.

"Until..." the man hesitated, as if he were talking about something sad. "Sorry, I mean until I see something truly supernatural."