It was already noon when Xia De arrived at Pig Tail Lane in the northern part of the City. Although it was called an alley, it was wide enough for a carriage to pass through. On both sides of the alley stood ancient buildings, their outer walls covered in vines, almost merging with the steam pipes. This was a unique sight in the Summer City, and coupled with the chirping of birds and the faint smell of cooking from the alley, this place, rich in the atmosphere of daily life, truly suited Xia De's taste.
Of course, he would never move out of Saint Delan Square.
Due to the lack of sunlight, the interior of the apartment was damp and dark. The smell in the corridor was already unpleasant, and with no windows, the confined space, lacking ventilation, combined the odors of sweat, food, and un-dried clothes, making it very uncomfortable.
As he ascended the stairs, chatting with Captain Rades about the customs and traditions of the southern kingdom, he saw a snow-white adult cat with a dark patch near its right eye jump down from the stairs. It looked a bit thin but had long limbs and wasn't afraid of strangers.
It observed Captain and Xia De for a moment, then walked past them and continued its descent.
This cat didn't look as clean as Mia; perhaps its owner didn't clean it often.
"That's the cat of old Mrs. Cullen downstairs. It's usually very fierce towards ordinary people. How come it's so well-behaved this time? Detective, it seems the cat really likes you."
Captain said curiously, then continued to lead Xia De upstairs. Captain Rades lived on the second floor, sharing a washroom with five other residents.
The wooden floor in the second-floor corridor was warped from dampness, creaking as they stepped on it. As Xia De surveyed the surroundings, Captain had already opened the door to Room 3 on the second floor. Following him inside, Xia De immediately saw the empty wine bottles stacked on the desk.
The middle-aged Captain chuckled awkwardly.
The room was small, serving simultaneously as a bedroom, study, dining room, and reception room. Its furnishings were quite similar to Peter the short mouse's room.
A single military officer, of course, couldn't clean his room regularly, so it appeared a bit messy. But at least there weren't too many strange odors; he often opened the window for ventilation.
Captain Rades invited Xia De to sit anywhere, while he went to rummage through the cardboard boxes of miscellaneous items piled in the corner. Being cautious, Xia De used Blood Echo to examine the room. Although there were indeed bloodstains, they were from a long time ago and unrelated to the current tenant.
"Are you being too cautious?"
A voice came from beside his ear.
"I encountered an evil god at a regular banquet, so now I worry about everything I do."
He replied.
His eyes casually scanned the dining table, cluttered with unwashed dishes and newspapers. He even found his own business card in one corner of the table. With permission, Xia De picked up the newspaper to examine it.
This was the Steam Bird Daily. Sparrow Detective had never subscribed to this newspaper, so Xia De wasn't very familiar with it. The date was today's, and the top page was the advertisement section, with various pieces of information circled in pencil. Captain Rades was probably looking for a job.
"If I hadn't chosen to stay back then, and had left immediately after the previous Detective died, if I were lucky now, I'd probably be living in a cramped apartment like this, flipping through newspapers looking for work."
Xia De thought.
Sunlight streamed diagonally into the narrow apartment from the window. The warm Summer sun felt very comfortable on his skin.
The front page of the Steam Bird Daily reported that Princess Lecia, who was about to return home, would travel by ship along the West Coast of the Old Continent, from the Carson Rick Kingdom back to Coldwater Port City, staying in Coldwater Port for a week before returning to Tobesk.
Xia De wasn't interested in this and turned to the second page, which surprisingly featured an academic article published by Tobesk University, pointing out recent astrological anomalies. Further back, there was a debate about the renovation of the steam pipelines in Tobesk Old Town, with the editorial commentator arguing that the current plan was a "City Hall bureaucracy's money-grabbing scheme, a shameful conspiracy under the joint efforts of academic and political bureaucrats." Turning further, it was still news and articles of an academic report type.
Only then did he realize that the Steam Bird Daily was likely aimed at students and intellectuals of the Tobesk University District, or educated middle-class individuals.
"Hmm, this kind of newspaper would be suitable for my advertisement."
Xia De thought to himself, then noticed a notice published by the Tobesk University Association about an upcoming academic report, stating that the report meeting welcomed public participation.
He was actually very interested in the academic research of universities in the Steam Age, real universities, not like Saint Byron's, and wanted to understand the development of materialistic science and technology in this era.
After all, Xia De was a university student in his hometown. If it weren't for the existence of mystery and the transcendent in this era, and the power he yearned for, Xia De might very well have spent the rest of his life in this world on steam machinery and basic physics and chemistry.
He was also considered an intellectual. If he could spare time from his busy Ring術士 studies, he would be happy to participate in the scientific development of ordinary society. Especially, the unique steam machinery here was truly fascinating.
"Professor Xia De Hamilton... a good title."
A slight smile appeared on his face, so he took out his notebook and jotted down the specific date of the academic report, planning to go if he had time.
Since he hadn't held much hope of finding that relic in the first place, Xia De wasn't disappointed when Captain Rades regretfully said that he might not find it today.
Of course, since "the other me" could know which item was a relic, he asked her mentally if she could search for the relic in this cramped room, and received this reply:
"You at least need to see the item before I can sense if it contains an Echo."
But if Xia De could see the relic, he wouldn't need to look for it anymore.
Captain Rades and Xia De got along very well. Since the pendant couldn't be found for now, Captain wanted to treat Xia De to lunch at a nearby restaurant, also as a formal apology for his recklessness at Lakeview Manor.
Xia De had received a favor from Captain, and even escaped death from the Heart Collector thanks to the gun of kindness, so he didn't want Captain to pay. He offered to treat, after all, that antique revolver was worth far more than his formal attire.
As the two poor men exchanged pleasantries, they suddenly heard a commotion from Pig Tail Lane downstairs. A rough male voice used very vulgar words to utter sentences that Xia De had no desire to translate.
Then, gunshots rang out.
Xia De subconsciously wanted to hide, but the middle-aged military officer waved his hand indifferently, looking accustomed to it:
"It's fine, it's fine. This kind of thing happens often around here, though it's rare in broad daylight. We'll find a place to eat later; these people will probably leave soon."
Living in the remote Lower City, life was completely different from Saint Delan Square.
