Upon returning to the second floor, Xia De walked directly towards the lady with a brown turban, whose turban and scarf almost blended into one.
On the woman's table lay a stack of Diviner cards, half a glass of beer, a pencil, a black-bound notebook, and a string of smooth, polished pebbles.
She looked like a common Diviner who made a living from fortune-telling. Few people in the pub would initiate a conversation with such a lady, as one might inadvertently find themselves sitting opposite her, paying money for nonsensical predictions.
In particular, this lady appeared quite old; although her face was not visible, her dressing style indicated she was definitely not under 40.
Xia De sat opposite her, and the lady, who had been looking down at her cards, raised her head, saw Xia De's face, and then shook her head, resuming her card-reading.
“Luvia, what are you doing here?”
Xia De asked softly, taking a shilling from his pocket and handing it to her. Luvia, with black hair, green eyes, and strange makeup, shook her head:
“Sir, a Divination costs two shillings. One shilling isn't even enough for my drinks this afternoon.”
“Madam, drinking too much is not only bad for your health, but it also makes your Divination results seem even more like nonsense than they appear.”
Hearing Xia De’s words, a passing waitress with a tray couldn't help but smile.
Xia De took out another coin and pushed it over:
“Are you also here for the victor box?”
“What box?”
Luvia, wearing the turban, took Xia De's money, tucked the coin into a folded corner of her clothes, gathered the Diviner cards into her hand, and began to shuffle them:
“Detective, instead of reading at home on a snowy day, or going to other Cities, you’ve come all the way here. Is it for a commission?”
She was very familiar with Xia De’s daily schedule. As she spoke, she placed the shuffled Diviner deck on the bottom right of the table, then divided them into stacks of five cards, placing them in the center of the table.
“Yes, a commission, but it involves extraordinary powers, so I’m not sure what will happen. Luvia, what are you here to do? Do you need my help?”
Xia De asked as he watched her cut the cards.
“Not for now. I’m trying to confirm the identity of a Chosen One. I had some insights in a dream a few days ago, so I came to try my luck. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d probably leave in half an hour.”
The dreams of skilled Diviners mostly portend the future, so acting according to the guidance of dreams is a common practice for Diviners.
“A Chosen One?”
Xia De raised an eyebrow but didn't turn his head to scan around. In various corners of the City unknown to him, Luvia had never stopped her search for the Chosen One:
“Let me stay and help you. Chosen Ones must all be Ring術士, at least I can determine who might be suspicious.”
“That’s fine, it won’t delay your matters. If there’s no result in half an hour at most, I’ll give up. After all, dreams are too ethereal; I’ve been having a lot of strange dreams recently.”
Luvia hesitated, her card-cutting movements paused, but quickly returned to normal:
“Many things have changed, yet nothing has changed. I pride myself on following the chapter of fate, but perhaps in the end, I will discover that everything I have done is merely walking in the same circle, repeatedly.”
“What are you saying? Are Diviners always so melancholic?”
Xia De asked with a smile. The girl with the turban also smiled and motioned for Xia De to choose a card and turn it over:
“Speaking of which, your recent Divinations have indeed been very accurate. The ‘Game’ you drew at the Prophet Association on Wednesday evening perfectly pointed to the events of that night.”
He casually turned over a card; the card face was “Anger.”
“A card representing emotion.”
Xia De sighed and put the card back. Luvia also didn’t offer any opinion, gathering the Diviner cards back together.
“I’ll go down and tell my companions. They might worry if they wait too long.”
“Who did Dorothy come with? That maid with the good figure?”
Luvia asked as she sorted the cards.
“Not Tifa, it’s Princess Margaret.”
“Detective, your methods are truly clever.”
Luvia teased, then said in a hoarse voice:
“Sir, I cannot Divination your fate; your fate seems shrouded in a thin mist.”
Xia De smiled, watching her performance, but didn't expect Luvia to reach out, pull a 1-pound coin from the corner of her clothes, and hand it to him.
“I only paid two shillings, you don’t need to refund this much.”
Xia De reminded her.
“Sir, I think you might be possessed by a demon.”
Luvia held back her laughter:
“So, one day soon, I will come to your home to help you exorcise the demon. This will probably last until late at night, and this is your deposit.”
Xia De didn't ask why the Diviner had to pay him to “exorcise the demon.” He smiled and extended his hand, and Luvia placed the coin in his palm, even rubbing Xia De’s palm with the pad of her index finger.
After accepting Luvia's “deposit,” Xia De stood up and returned downstairs to inform Dorothy and Princess Margaret that he might stay upstairs for about half an hour before returning. The two girls had no objections; they had many common topics, especially with Dorothy intentionally or unintentionally trying to get information from Princess Margaret, which made Xia De unsure whether it was Dorothy or Leia who was actually there.
Upon returning to the second floor, Luvia was talking to the waiter, ordering two more glasses of juice. Once Xia De was seated, she began shuffling and cutting the cards again, seemingly intending to continue Divination for Xia De to prevent them from sitting idly and drawing suspicion.
Although Xia De’s perception was strong, it couldn't allow him to directly determine who among an entire floor of people was a Ring術士. Before he came to the second floor, Luvia had only been able to identify targets by prolonged observation of someone, so she would certainly miss some people who came from other staircases or arrived at Three Cats Inn earlier than her.
But that didn’t matter; Luvia was just here to try her luck. The only reason she was still sitting there with such interest was purely because Xia De was sitting opposite her.
At 3:20 PM, which was ten minutes after Xia De reseated himself on the second floor, a lady in a black and red dress came up the stairs, followed by a blond middle-aged gentleman in a sharp blue-black suit. The lady carried a small silver book and, after glancing around the second floor, walked towards the left side of the staircase, where there were more empty tables.
“Miss Pa Wo?”
Although she was disguised, Xia De recognized her at a glance. To avoid being discovered, he immediately turned his head slightly to look the other way, and according to “Her” observation, Miss Pa Wo and her companion’s gaze did not linger on him.
He quietly told Luvia who he had seen. The girl, who was shuffling cards for what seemed like the hundredth time, frowned slightly:
“I observed her last time and confirmed she isn’t a Chosen One, at least not a primary candidate.”
She said softly, glancing at the lady who was seating herself and calling a waiter. Half a minute later, she shook her head again:
“No, she really isn’t.”
“What about her companion?”
“Not them either.”
“What a coincidence, to run into people from the Truth Society here. They’re not planning some conspiracy, are they?”
Xia De muttered softly. Luvia thought for a moment:
“Miss Pa Wo is different from the other lunatics of The Society of Truth. She’s very calm, and on several occasions where she caused trouble in the City, she deliberately avoided ordinary people. Three Cats Inn is so crowded right now; she wouldn’t cause trouble. I think she must have an important meeting and is waiting for someone.”
“That makes sense. I’m curious who she’s meeting. However, people who strongly believe in numbers like her are usually very punctual. They won’t arrive too early or too late, so we should soon see who The Society of Truth is meeting with next.”
Xia De said softly. Neither he nor Luvia had any intention of reporting Miss Pa Wo. Since she boldly chose to appear in such a public place, it was unlikely she wouldn't be prepared for an ambush by the Orthodox Church.
Just as Xia De expected, Miss Pa Wo and her companion had barely finished ordering drinks when another Ring術士 appeared from the staircase. This time, it was two men. Xia De couldn't determine their level from too far away, and he didn't recognize either of the newly arrived individuals.
One was tall and, surprisingly, was wearing only a single layer of clothing in the snowy winter. The other was also very tall but slender, appearing unremarkable except for a blue tattoo around his right eye.
Xia De didn't speak, he just pointed in that direction. Luvia watched the latter sit down with Miss Pa Wo, carefully observing for half a minute before shaking her head again:
“It’s not them either.”
“Do you know them?”
Xia De asked:
“Perhaps they’re Cultists hired by the Truth Society again.”
“I haven’t seen them either. They’re not locals; their appearance suggests they might be from the Pantanal region. Perhaps they’re from that Voodoo Society you mentioned.”
Luvia answered softly. In this world, people who are good at observing and summarizing can distinguish differences in the appearance of people from different regions based on life experience, but the Outsider, who had only been in this world for half a year, did not possess this ability:
“The Voodoo Society? What are they doing here? I heard in Huntington City that they are preparing to do something big. A talking mouse overheard some news that they are looking for the arrow in my hand for a once-in-a-century event.”
“It is indeed strange. People from the Voodoo Society generally don’t leave the Pantanal region. I’ve never heard of them being hired to come to Tobesk.”
“Perhaps it’s because The Society of Truth paid too much.”
Xia De joked.
Luvia also shifted her gaze from the group, writing down the results of her recent card Divination in her notebook, and asked with a smile:
“A few days ago, you said that in Huntington City, because you couldn’t shoot that arrow, you felt like your cat was crawling all over you. Did you then spend the night at Dorothy’s place?”
“Why do you all put these two things together? No, Dorothy hasn’t been feeling well lately.”
“So, after that incident last Tuesday, these past few nights, Saint Delan Square Six has only been you and your cat.”
Luvia picked up the wine glass beside her with her right hand. Xia De thought back for a moment and nodded:
“Yes, and by the way, Mia is currently—”
“She’s not legally yours yet.”
Luvia waved her hand, interrupting him, and laughed with a long drawl:
“How pitiful, Detective, with three lovers and rumors with a Grand Duchess, yet you have to spend the long nights alone.”
