Dorothy returned to Feather Pen Street to pack her clothes, which wouldn't take too long, as Leia had already stored their daily clothing at Saint Delan Square.
No. 6 Saint Delan Square didn't have many other advantages, but it was spacious and had plenty of room.
Xia De left Mia at home, but he didn't return to the Three Cats Inn.
Instead, he took a carriage to Lunqin Avenue in the Tobesk East District and met with Psychologist Schneider, who had just seen his last patient of the afternoon and was about to go for dinner.
"Demon?"
In the study on the third floor of the psychology clinic, the Psychologist, after listening to Xia De's story about the "victor box and the demon," repeated in disbelief:
"Here? In Tobesk City?"
He pointed to the floor:
"Something like this exists?"
"Yes, a demon."
Xia De nodded and told the Psychologist not to bother preparing tea; he wouldn't be staying long.
"I'm quite certain it's indeed an Evil Spirit demon from the third epoch, but it doesn't seem particularly powerful..."
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been forced away so easily.
Compared to the Flame Demon sealed in Sicar Mountain, this demon was truly weak.
"Of course, it's also possible that it's simply not skilled in combat."
Psychologist Schneider stroked his chin in thought, unable to believe such a thing.
Xia De took out the bench's cloth toy from his pocket, restored it to its original shape, and placed it on the side of the sofa.
"Look~"
He took out the holy water bottle again and placed it on the bench.
Seeing the holy water in the bottle almost instantly boil, Psychologist Schneider frowned deeply.
"What number holy water is this?"
"No. 4."
"Did you buy it from Priest Augustus? I also bought a batch recently.
The Old Priest doesn't know where he got the supply channel from."
The Psychologist mumbled, telling Xia De to wait.
He left the room and soon returned with a small pepper shaker and a large salt shaker.
The pepper shaker was small, as pepper was quite an expensive spice.
The Psychologist twisted the lid and then gently tapped it twice against the bench, pouring out some black powder from the fine holes on the lid's surface.
The salt shaker was large.
The Psychologist scooped out a spoonful with a small steel spoon and then evenly spread it over the surface of the bench with the bottom of the spoon.
Xia De and the Psychologist, who was kneeling on one knee, watched the salt.
In just a few tens of seconds, the fine white salt began to turn black.
As a strange foul smell emanated, Xia De held his breath, but Psychologist Schneider carefully leaned his head forward and waved his right palm in front of his nose, allowing the scent to drift into his nostrils.
"It is indeed the stench of a demon.
While I can't be 100% certain, I have a rough idea of who it is."
He straightened up and, with Xia De's permission, flicked out black Flame Demon flames from his hand, directly burning the entire chair.
There was no smoke; only some pitted black crystals remained on the ground after the burning, which the Psychologist collected.
Any item retaining the power of an Evil Spirit demon is extremely dangerous, even more so than a relic, and therefore must be destroyed promptly.
"The Proliferating Demon - Fanny.
It grows stronger by spreading desire, signing non-binding contracts with mortals, and using these contracts to ferment desire, thereby becoming increasingly powerful itself."
Psychologist Schneider explained, his expression not relaxed:
"Although its combat power cannot compare to the Arsonist - Sophiex that we once encountered, this type of Evil Spirit that survives on human hearts and desire is even more difficult to deal with.
It is the same type of Evil Spirit as the former Human Pus; of course, Human Pus is much older and stronger than it."
"So, does the Proliferating Demon have any well-known stories from previous epochs?"
Xia De asked.
Psychologist Schneider shook his head:
"It's not keen on causing destruction, but rather disguises itself as a humanoid creature, active in cities and the countryside.
By spreading and proliferating desire, it corrupts souls that were originally pure.
In its last appearance, which was in the mid-fifth epoch, it even corrupted an entire human City-state, creating tens of thousands of demon servants.
Xia De, don't think it's weak.
Evil Spirits capable of spreading desire and using it as their source of power are often the most powerful demons."
"Can it be dealt with?"
Xia De asked again.
Psychologist Schneider snorted and nodded with confidence:
"Dealing with it is certainly not a problem.
From your description, Fanny should have only broken free from its seal in the last hundred years, and its power is still somewhat weak.
High-grade demons wouldn't use methods like replicating coins; it's too inefficient.
Powerful demons either choose so-called 'heroes' to corrupt or plot conspiracies that can plunder at least tens of thousands of souls at once.
Since it's doing this, it means its power has weakened to a certain limit."
The Psychologist paced a few steps in the room with his hands behind his back:
"Since you came to me at dinner time instead of later tonight, it means you have other things to do tonight.
I'll go to room 413 of the Three Cats Inn by myself later to investigate the situation.
Don't worry about me; if Fanny really hasn't left, it's actually a good thing."
On the matter of confronting demons, this middle-aged Psychologist appeared particularly confident:
"If the items left behind by the demon aren't absolutely safe, I won't give them to you.
I'll destroy most items, leaving just a few for tracking is enough.
As long as it hasn't left Tobesk, I'll be able to find it within a week.
If we're lucky, we'll go demon hunting this weekend; we absolutely cannot let it escape."
"Psychologist, besides me, two other girls have been targeted by that demon.
Do you have any means of protection against demons here?
Short-term effectiveness is fine, and Fanny is somewhat injured, so its situation should be even worse now."
Dorothy and Leia's safety were both assured; the main concern was Princess Margaret.
"Fanny is injured?"
Psychologist Schneider asked curiously, wanting to know how Xia De had managed it.
So Xia De unhooked the badge hanging around his neck.
As soon as half of the badge appeared from his collar, the Psychologist, who had just reseated himself on the sofa, stood up and deftly flipped behind the sofa.
"Alright, alright, no need to take it out.
Just seeing that badge gives me the feeling of being exposed to the scorching sun at midday in summer."
The Psychologist said with lingering fear:
"Is this a Five Gods Church divine artifact?"
He was very surprised:
"I've only heard of divine artifacts of this level.
Even a regional bishop might not have one, and divine artifacts enshrined in the Papacy year-round might not be stronger than this.
If Fanny was foolish enough to directly touch you, it could indeed be severely injured by this thing.
Actually, this itself can protect against demons."
The Psychologist reminded him, but now the bone badge made by Priest Augustus had merged with the "Witch Detector" badge.
If Xia De were to give this to Princess Margaret, the moment Silvia appeared, the princess would first be scalded, and then she would immediately suspect that the dishonest Detective had a problem.
"Are there any other methods?"
Xia De asked.
The Psychologist thought for a moment:
"I can give you an alchemical item I made myself.
Its effect against powerful Evil Spirit demons like Human Pus or the Arsonist isn't strong, but against this Proliferating Demon, it should have some effect."
The so-called "alchemical item" was a dark black cloth strip, seemingly made of linen.
Although it was pitch black, upon closer inspection, some dark runic traces could be seen within the black.
This was an alchemical item Psychologist Schneider made himself using dyeing techniques.
As a correspondence student of the Mechanical College, he had to master Knowledge of forging, chemistry, dyeing, metal cutting, heraldry, and so on.
In addition to the cloth strip in the box, the Psychologist also gave Xia De a wooden key.
"time key?"
Xia De asked in surprise.
"Someone gave it to me to settle a debt during a black market transaction a few days ago, so I'll give this to you.
Only you in our group can use this, consider it payment for the demon intelligence you brought.
Once we find that demon, we'll discuss the spoils."
Xia De thought for a moment and put the key into his pocket:
"I should be at home these days, Psychologist.
Tell me immediately when you find that demon; don't delay this matter."
"Don't worry, I'm more anxious than you are."
The Psychologist said with a smile.
He and Xia De parted ways at the intersection of Lunqin Avenue, taking different carriages to their respective destinations.
Although Psychologist Schneider's luck wasn't particularly good, Xia De trusted his ability to capture demons.
When Xia De rushed home from the east of the City, the Golden-haired girl had already returned with her clothes.
When Xia De arrived on the second floor, she was humming a cheerful tune while cooking in the kitchen.
Hearing Xia De's footsteps, the cat, who was squatting on the dining table watching Dorothy cook, ran towards the door, but quickly returned to the kitchen.
Leia's carriage would soon pick up Xia De, so the two had dinner together at home.
At the dinner table, Xia De informed Dorothy that the demon problem should be resolved soon, and he was very confident about it.
The Golden-haired girl didn't seem to care much about it; instead, she asked about the time key in Xia De's hand, wondering what era it corresponded to this time.
"This must be a fifth epoch key.
The person who sold the key said it corresponds to the early fifth epoch, roughly around 1000 CE.
I'm not interested in knowing the more precise time, after all, I'll know everything once I use it."
He poked Mia's back with the key, and after the key touched the cat, Xia De even twisted it, causing the cat to meow twice in dissatisfaction, probably complaining that Xia De was bothering it again during dinner.
Winter nights always arrived early.
When the gas streetlights in Saint Delan Square lit up, the snow had already stopped.
Dorothy personally tidied Xia De's clothes and then told him to leave as early as possible so as not to keep Leia waiting too long.
This urging made the Outsider very strange, but he still set off around 6:30 PM, waiting for the carriage sent by Leia at the alley entrance of Hunter Street.
The carriage took him directly to the side entrance of the Queen Maria Opera House.
A servant, who had already been waiting, led Xia De directly into the box that only royal family members could use, via a hidden side staircase.
When Xia De arrived, although tea, snacks, and fruits had already been prepared in the box, Leia had not yet arrived.
