ebookslot Chapter 248 Telegraph Office
Chapter 248 Telegraph Office
Chapter 248 Telegraph Office
On the drawing paper, the deep blue church is shrouded in a layer of dark clouds, standing silently in the gale and mist, appearing sinister and terrifying amidst the interweaving of silver and blood-red lightning.
Upon closer inspection, a distorted human face appears to be visible in the dark clouds, looking down at the church below and the believers sheltered by it.
"Your painting..."
"If you like it, I can give it to you."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that this was an acquaintance, the one he had met before who was the substitute punishment man with a full beard.
"Sheriff Nicolo?"
"You know me?" A hint of doubt flashed in Nicolo's eyes.
Although Bansi Port is not large, it is an important port for travel to and from the Roside Islands, and there is a large flow of people here. Those who know him and know that he has the nominal title of sheriff are either people who have been involved in extraordinary cases and have had contact with him, or they are acquaintances. But he is not the young man painting in front of him.
After trying to recall carefully, he still couldn't remember where he had seen the other person before.
Cyril smiled and casually explained:
"We just met a couple of days ago. Because of a wanted criminal you were chasing, you even had the police take me to the police station. Captain Ellan had to bail me out later."
"Aellan?" Nicolo murmured, a few blurry images flashing through his mind, then he smiled at him as if suddenly realizing something:
"Oh, it's you. Sorry, my mind's been a bit muddled lately, I didn't recognize you at the moment."
He paused, then turned his gaze back to the painting:
"Your painting... is quite beautiful, but it feels a bit depressing."
"Are you a follower of storms? Why did you paint the church like that?"
...Of course it's oppressive. Even my casual sketches reflect the reality of this place and have a certain prophetic quality.
A church where even the bishop was tempted and corrupted by an evil god will naturally reveal a dark and somber atmosphere in a painting that contains elements of reality.
The repressed side.
However, Inspector Nicolo's inspiration isn't very high. If Erlan were here, he would probably have noticed the subtle differences in my painting.
Composing himself, he pointed to the crowds running around the church in the painting and said, using an excuse he had already prepared:
"I wanted to express the oppressive and heavy side of the storm, but the 'Lord of the Storm' will always protect his followers."
"I see." Niccolò nodded slightly.
"Although I don't really know how to appreciate art, I think this is a very good painting."
Cyril accepted the compliment quite naturally and replied smoothly:
"May I hang it on the notice board at the edge of the square so that people passing by can see it?"
Nicolo thought for a moment and nodded: "Of course, but without the necessary protection, your painting may fade in just a few days due to the sun and rain, or even be blown away by a strong wind."
"Don't you think it's a shame that such a painting is destroyed in just a few days?"
Xi Ruien smiled and shook his head: "Of course not, the baptism of wind and rain can be considered a second processing of my painting."
Moreover, my purpose in drawing everywhere has always been to digest magical potions. If I were to let these paintings with some real elements circulate everywhere, I would probably be seen as a madman throwing magical items around and then be wanted by all the churches.
After exchanging a few words with Nicolo, Cyril took the painting off the shelf and pinned it to a notice board on the side of the street next to the square.
He then packed up his drawing tools and prepared to head to his next destination.
As he passed by the telegraph office, he saw that the door was open and there were two seemingly normal employees, a man and a woman. One was repairing the telegraph machine, and the other was tending to the potted plants on the windowsill.
Remembering the spiritual intuition he had sensed in front of the telegraph office, Sirion stopped and looked at the two people inside with great curiosity.
Under spiritual vision, there was nothing unusual or discordant about them. The only problem was that their bodies were not very healthy, but not to the point of being sick.
But in reality, everything inside the small telegraph office appeared distorted, bathed in a red glow, and the two staff members were tightly intertwined like twisted ropes.
After only one glance, Cyril withdrew his self-light.
The astrologer's spiritual intuition was reminding him that the danger lurking here might awaken as he looked closer.
Seemingly startled by his gaze, the female staff member tending the potted plants looked at him and then walked over:
"I'm sorry, sir, there's a problem with the telegraph machine today. If you need to send a telegram, please come back tomorrow."
A perfectly timed hint of disappointment appeared on Sirion's face:
"Really? That's a real shame. I'm boarding the ship and leaving tomorrow morning."
"terribly sorry."
The other person bowed his head apologetically to him, then turned back to the male worker behind him who was diligently repairing the telegraph machine. "Pavo, could you fix the telegraph machine before dark today?"
The male employee, referred to as Paavo, glanced up at Cyril standing outside the telegraph office, then shook his head:
"I don't know either."
"To be honest, I'm not good at repairing machinery, but there's really no one else on this island who can repair telegraph machines."
"If you urgently need to send a telegram, you can wait here for a while. Perhaps I can fix this stubborn machine in a bit. Of course, it's also possible that I won't be able to fix it until tomorrow."
"The Ruhnn government should really have assigned us a skilled equipment repairman instead of making us tinker with it ourselves."
The female staff member standing at the door replied, "Aren't you the one who's good at repairing mechanical equipment?"
Pavo, who was repairing a telegraph machine, nodded:
"But that was an old-fashioned device from a long time ago. We now use the latest generation of telegraph machines. Apart from the fact that they work on similar principles, they are very different in every other way."
"Besides, I'm not good at repairing machinery, but there's no one here who's 'better' than me."
Cyril stood outside the telegraph office gates, listening quietly to their conversation. If one ignored the distorted scene he had witnessed in his real life, this would undoubtedly be a perfectly normal daily work routine.
...What I just saw might only be a tendency right now, not yet to the point of no return, so they all seemed normal under my spiritual vision.
While pondering, he looked at the female staff member standing at the door and asked:
"Madam, I was planning to wait here for a while, but since I'm just killing time anyway, would you mind if I painted a picture for you?"
"A painting?" The woman in work clothes behind the door looked at him from a distance.
Cyril nodded slightly: "Yes, I'm a wandering painter who's been searching for inspiration. I just had a sudden inspiration and want to paint a picture of daily life at a telegraph office. Is that alright?"
The female staff member standing at the door had a clear indication of interest on her face.
"Drawing? Do we need to pose in any way to cooperate with you?"
She paused, then turned to Paavo, who was repairing the telegraph machine behind her, and asked:
"Pavo, what do you think?"
Without looking up, Pavo replied, "I still need to repair the telegraph machine."
Cyril smiled and explained, "You don't need to do anything. You can completely ignore me and just continue with your own things."
"This is the most authentic everyday life."
"No problem," Pavo replied casually while repairing the telegraph machine.
Then the female staff member at the door nodded in agreement, saying, "Then I have no problem with that either."
With the consent of the two telegraph office staff, Cyril set up his easel outside the telegraph office and began a new round of painting.
Unlike before, this time he did not deliberately suppress the special qualities he brought to the painting; instead, he amplified its prophetic nature.
It took about half an hour to complete a painting that looked ordinary but was very detailed.
In the scene, Pavo and a female staff member who introduces herself as Melanie are busy at their respective telegraph machines and desks, their shadows stretching out along the floor and onto the innermost wall of the room.
The seashells and fish bones inlaid on the wall as decoration gave the shadows a three-dimensional outline, making them seem like a third person in the room.
Sirion frowned slightly as he looked at the completed painting in front of him. Although he was the creator, he was not entirely sure whether his interpretation was correct.
...If we look at it from the perspective of interpreting dreams and astrology in the field of divination:
The shadows on the wall could represent a hidden third party, or they could represent a new, dangerous consciousness growing within Pavo or Melanie.
The shadow comes from the sunlight outside, symbolizing changes brought about by external forces, so the second guess is more reasonable.