According to the description of the Miracle, Gluttony's Feast, Xia De had to choose an edible substance and start consuming it that night, completing four meals before midnight.
The range of food options was wide, but it had to meet the basic condition of being able to reach a state of "satiety" with normal consumption. This meant things like the northwest wind wouldn't work, because even if one tried to drink the wind, it would be difficult to get full. But theoretically, if it were a handful of dust, as long as Xia De dared to eat it, it would fit the Miracle's goal.
However, Xia De wanted to choose something "approachable" and readily available, so he finally chose water. Among the three simple spells he mastered, there was the ability to directly summon water.
"I hope I don't die from bloating."
So he began boiling hot water repeatedly with a kettle, and during this time, he often shooed away Mia, who was squatting by the sink, trying to drink from the faucet, all while worrying about his own physical condition.
He placed the learning materials, including the stomachs of viviparous animals, fetal hair, and ox bezoar, into the kettle. After they were thoroughly soaked, he stirred and chanted the incantation, then began drinking water repeatedly.
When the amount of water drunk exceeds a certain limit, drinking water itself becomes a very painful process. Xia De was unsure what the so-called "satiated state" truly was, so he could only drink as much as possible.
Eventually, even the naive Mia thought that Xia De might get into trouble if he kept drinking, so she stood on the dining table and used her small paws to stop him from touching the water glass. When Xia De tried to push Mia away, Mia slapped Xia De on the chest with another paw.
The small orange Mia's strength wasn't great, but it still made Xia De almost spit out a mouthful of water, so he believed that he must be in a state of "satiety" at this point.
"Oh, I'm even getting water poisoning."
This was his thought at the time.
By the time he finally finished his fourth drink, it was already eleven o'clock at night. Xia De, leaning on the dining table, had never felt such a strong aversion to water, but he still forced himself to perform the final step.
He took a clean glass goblet from the cupboard, carefully poured a small amount of clear water into the bottom of the glass, then Xia De cut his finger with a fruit knife and dripped blood into the water.
After letting it sit for a moment, he summoned the Destiny Ring from the steam mist and aimed the glow of the gluttony Ling Rune at the water glass. The blood diffused in the water immediately emitted a strange glow, and Xia De immediately picked up the water glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Then, with a huge urge to vomit, he rushed into the washroom and only came out after a long while, wiping his mouth with a towel.
"Meow~"
Mia, squatting on the dining table, looked at him worriedly. Xia De forced a smile at Mia, then sat down again. He poured a small amount of clear water into the glass again, pointed at the water glass with his hand, and as a silver light flickered, the water surface also showed a glow representing the power of the Ling Rune.
Although he had vomited a lot just now, Xia De didn't want to drink water for the time being. So he poured the silver-glowing water onto his cut finger. Immediately, the wound on his finger wriggled and healed at a visible speed, much better than the effect of Cindyia's Silver Moon Grace, and could completely serve as a good healing ability.
What she said was indeed true; the Ling Rune obtained by devouring the Divine Radiance of the evil god was indeed extraordinarily powerful.
She chuckled in his ear.
"It's a pity that Gluttony's Feast can only treat physical damage. With two healing abilities, my only concern now is receiving mental damage during the day."
Xia De thought to himself, then saw Mia lower her head and lick the silver-glowing water that had dripped onto the dining table.
The orange Mia suddenly looked up at Xia De, her furry cheeks turned upwards, her amber eyes met the Detective's eyes, and her whiskers trembled with the upward movement of her head. Her big eyes were very pretty.
Then—
Burp~
Mia suddenly let out a burp, trying to cover her mouth with her right front paw, but still couldn't stop burping. So Mia fell into a state of being angry with herself, rolling around on the dining table, exposing her soft white belly.
"It really does reach a 'satiated' state with just a little use... Isn't it only supposed to be useful for myself?"
Xia De suddenly realized this, and then understood that his special blasphemy, gluttony, not only enhanced its power but also made the food created by the Miracle useful to other creatures.
However, the silver light in the remaining liquid in the water glass had weakened to the point of being almost invisible, indicating that the special blasphemy Ling Rune enhanced the Miracle's effect and expanded its scope of application, but it still couldn't create potions that could maintain their effect for a long time, like creating similar magical potions.
In other words, Xia De couldn't profit from this.
"The Miracle's effect, allowing Mia to be full with just one lick, is also related to your Divine Radiance state."
The woman in his mind supplemented him with a murmur in his ear, and Xia De nodded:
"This is also very good. Although it's not an offensive ability, at least my survival ability has greatly increased. For offensive abilities, that Moonlight is temporarily enough."
With a smile, he happily picked up his Mia, who was still burping continuously. The ill-tempered Mia immediately gave Xia De a paw, but she knew how to control her strength, so she didn't even leave a white mark on the back of his hand.
Early Wednesday morning, because he had drunk too much water the night before, Xia De and Mia both had trouble eating breakfast. Even when faced with her favorite goat milk, the orange Mia still only licked a few times before leaving the dining table. And Xia De didn't receive two bottles of milk this morning because the milk ordered by Sparrow Detective from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company had expired. If he still wanted to drink, he would need to order it himself from the milk company.
The news in the newspaper was still uninteresting.
The earthquake that occurred in the southern part of the City over the weekend was no longer reported. Now, the front page of the newspaper reported that Queen Diana would attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the east hall of Tobesk Station next week.
In the advertisement section at the back of The Tobesk Daily, there were several wanted posters from Leedweich Field. This also reminded Xia De of the Detective agency's advertisement and he planned to ask Miss Louisa for some suggestions the next time he saw her.
"If it's a newspaper Miss Louisa is familiar with, maybe the advertising fee can even be discounted."
He actually had this idea.
After the major event at Lakeview Manor ended, life seemed to suddenly return to peaceful normalcy. The illegal organizations were lurking, and the Orthodox Church's current focus was not The Masked Man Under the Silver Moon. Perhaps, Tobesk would finally be able to be peaceful for the next few weeks.
This also made Xia De very relaxed; the tense days were uncomfortable. Coming to this steam era, he actually preferred to observe more, rather than always fighting others to the death.
Soon after breakfast, someone came to visit.
The first to arrive at the Detective agency was Baron Lavende, a rhode cards enthusiast, his purpose, of course, being that Ancient Fairy Tale - Match Girl card.
