"What was the result?"
"They didn't know Sir Laikins Prisia was the Chosen One, but you were right, Prisia did appear at this event as a Ring術士 from Apner Library. The probability of him being an academic spy is almost one hundred percent."
The girl with purple eyes took a small sip from her glass. Every time after a special divination, her mental state was not very good:
"What they were discussing was related to the Chosen One. Some time ago, you looked at the information Apner Library sold to Old John and learned that the Selected One Ritual needs to be performed on water. Actually, that's not accurate. Apner Library omitted a sentence: 'The ritual is placed on water.' This is indeed the original text of the poem fragment, but the original text is actually 'The ritual is placed on an island on water.'"
"Lake Heart Island?"
Xia De asked in surprise, then felt that such a requirement was normal.
"Yes."
Luvia slowly nodded:
"Apner Library's role in this incident is quite puzzling. They possess the poem fragment but didn't report it to the Church immediately; they sold the fragment to other organizations, but it lacked important information. Pa Wo doesn't trust them much either. Among the three groups just now, The Society of Truth's people seemed like the normal ones."
"What were they discussing? Just the poem's content?"
"Apner Library seems to have more information. They invited the Truth Society to cooperate with them to find the Chosen One together. This Selected One Ritual is very different from the previous three. Within the scope of the Selected One Ritual, any Ring術士 will gain wisdom inspiration. The Library is coveting this."
The purple-eyed girl counted on her fingers:
"Apner Library wants to cooperate with the Truth Society, the Pantanal Voodoo Society is a helper hired by the Truth Society, and the Voodoo Society is also seeking Knowledge about the sealing ritual from the Library, while the Library wants to seek the most accurate map of the Pantanal region from the Voodoo Society. The dominant organization among the three is The Society of Truth. You might not believe it, but that Pa Wo actually wanted to dissuade Apner Library and the Voodoo Society."
She paused:
"They were being secretive when they talked about things. I can only confirm that the Pantanal Voodoo Society has a big operation in the Great Swamp area, and this operation requires the help of Apner Library. The Society of Truth is helping the two organizations get to know each other, and also has its own demands."
The relationship was truly complex, Xia De frowned slightly;
"I will inform the Witches about the matter in the Great Swamp area; they might be interested in handling it. Let's talk about the Chosen One first. Currently, the Selected One Ritual is basically clear: five wise man's stones, the location is Lake Heart Island, and there are probably still some details of the ritual that need to be clarified. We can use coins to confirm them then."
He tapped the table:
"Recently, I will frequently contact Sir Prisia to confirm his stance and whether there are others behind him. I will complete this work before any one party simultaneously possesses five wise man's stones. Luvia, I'll also have to trouble you to use the Prophet Association to confirm the current collection status of the wise man's stones."
Xia De also couldn't guarantee that what he knew was the complete situation, just like in Middelsburg, he thought Mr. Bernhardt had collected 5 relics related to the species, but in fact, when the summoning ritual was finally held, the Vampire already had 9.
"No problem, I will confirm that. But so far, at least the Church's message from Yiluna shows that the Church only knows about two. Although the great sin potion and the human puzzle haven't been completed yet, you're right, there might be other Keepers who have already appeared, but we don't know about them."
The purple-eyed girl looked at Xia De with some melancholy:
"What will happen this time? An ancient evil unsealed? An ancient creature from a sub-space summoned? Or a deity descending?"
"Why are you looking at me? How would I know?"
Xia De said immediately, Luvia shook her head:
"I won't disturb your business here. It's probably going to be busy again for a while, and then there's exam week—"
She walked directly towards the staircase, not even looking back.
Not long after Luvia left, Xia De also got up and returned to the first floor. Dorothy and Princess Margaret were still chatting downstairs, and they were having a lively conversation.
Knowing that Xia De had finished his business on the second floor and was now going to the fourth floor to investigate the "victor box" matter, the two ladies urged Xia De to act quickly. Although their intention was probably fear that the "craftsman" selling the box would escape, Xia De always thought they were annoyed that he was interrupting the girls' conversation.
So, at 3:50 PM, Xia De finally went up the stairs to the fourth floor.
Compared to the hustle and bustle downstairs, the third and fourth floor accommodation areas of the Three Cats Inn were significantly quieter. It was Monday afternoon, and most of the guests staying at the inn would not stay in their cramped rooms.
When Xia De arrived on the fourth floor, the corridor was empty, and the rooms on both sides were closed.
The inn arranged for people to clean the corridor every morning. Because it had snowed all day, there were some muddy footprints on the floor. The walls on both sides of the corridor had quite obvious signs of oxidation and yellowing, but fortunately, the wall paint was still perfectly attached to the wall.
This kind of inn would not hang oil paintings on the walls to display artistic taste, because the oil paintings would be stolen the day after they were hung. No peculiar smell and no rats were already the most valuable aspects of an inn in this era, and the Three Cats Inn did very well in this regard.
"Room 413 on the fourth floor."
Xia De thought of the address he had inquired about from the spice merchant that morning, and walked forward, looking at the wooden doorplates nailed to the door panels on both sides. The inn's basic facilities were not bad; each door had an old brass gas lamp in the style of a "cat carrying an oil lamp" on one side.
Room 413 was located in the middle of the fourth floor, on the east side. It looked as unremarkable as the other rooms. As Xia De walked towards that room, he originally intended to stop at the door, pretending to tie his shoelaces, but then remembered that the boots he was wearing today had no shoelaces.
So, he put his right hand into his pocket and rattled the coins inside. When he was three steps away from being directly in front of Room 413, a small 1-penny copper coin slipped out of his pocket, rolled forward, and happened to stop right at the door of 413.
"How unlucky."
Xia De said, shaking his head, then quickly took two steps and bent down to reach for the coin lying on the ground.
【Maintain normal movements, do not show any abnormality.】
"What's wrong?"
【That cat is watching you.】
"What?"
【The gas lamp at the door of Room 413, the brass cat is watching you.】
Xia De did not continue to ask. After picking up the coin, he continued to walk forward.
【The gas lamp cat has returned to normal and is no longer watching you.】
Hearing the voice in his ear, Xia De did not stop, but walked another few dozen steps before turning to look at the door of Room 413 in the distance:
"Interesting, how did that cat 'watch' me? Could it only move its eyes, or—"
【Its whole body can move.】
"A summoned creature? Or a living metal life form?"
【I can only observe, I cannot analyze for you.】
Xia De pursed his lips and nodded, then rummaged through his pocket for the Moonlight ring and put it on his right hand. He kissed the ring, then quickly walked towards Room 413. The moment he saw the cat carrying the lamp begin to tremble, Xia De extended his hand with the ring:
"Bewilderment!"
In the clear yellow Moonlight, the trembling brass cat stiffened and stopped moving. Although Xia De didn't know what it was exactly, at least the yellow moon's Miracle was effective.
Actually, when that cat moved, most people probably wouldn't be able to observe it. Xia De had only encountered this kind of protective measure in the Witch's echo, which was a relatively classical method.
To be safe, Xia De did not touch the lamp by the wall. He waited for a moment, and seeing that the door did not open, he knew that his spellcasting had not been noticed by the owner of the brass cat.
"Do you think there's anyone inside the door?"
Xia De asked in his mind, and naturally received no answer.
He had basically concluded by now that the person living here was a Ring術士 who possessed extraordinary alchemy. Although he didn't know what rank the other party was, it would certainly be impolite to go in alone.
Even if he bypassed the cat's surveillance at the door, it didn't mean the other party was weaker than him. He thought about calling the two girls up; with three Ring術士 going in, even if the other party was of a higher rank than all of them, they would definitely not dare to make a move in such a place.
"Or Dorothy goes in with me, and Princess Margaret ambushes at the staircase, going to the Church if anything happens."
He planned in his mind, temporarily leaving the fourth floor and going downstairs again.
When he returned to the first floor, it was still as lively. As evening approached, more people came to the Three Cats Inn through the snow.
Dorothy and Princess Margaret were still sitting by the wall, listening to a Bard sing. The Bard wasn't there when Xia De went upstairs; the middle-aged man playing the lute and wearing a red silk vest over a white shirt had probably just arrived.
The story he was singing was a local Tobesk folk song, "The Butterfly and the Flower-Selling Girl." This folk song was not very famous, probably a warm-up song for his performance today to clear his throat and tune his instrument.
Everything seemed normal when he saw Dorothy and Princess Margaret from the second-floor atrium, but when Xia De actually came down from the second floor to the first, a pale-skinned man had appeared by their table.
He had messy short blonde hair, and his eye bags sagged as if from chronic sleep deprivation. He was wearing a common black winter coat and a pair of leather boots decorated with thin brass chains.
Dorothy and Princess Margaret didn't like sharing tables with strangers, but the pale-faced man stubbornly sat there, looking somewhat tired as he said something to the ladies.
