The end of the exam week brought relaxation to everyone, even Priest Augustus, who had been busy with the Holy Prayer Festival, decided to invite Doctor Schneider for a drink at the pub.
They had originally intended to invite Xia De as well, but Miss Louisa directly declined on his behalf:
“I’m currently helping Xia De with an in-depth study of 'Kiss of the Tree,' and we have lessons tonight, so drinking alcohol is absolutely out of the question.”
The Doctor expressed regret, but since there was important work to be done, he didn't say much more. However, before leaving Saint Delan Square with the Priest, he took out 200 pounds and distributed them among the four individuals according to a 2.5:2.5:2:1.5:1.5 ratio, with Xia De receiving 40 pounds in cash.
After the Lakeview Manor incident, the academy had given the team a 1000 pounds internal bonus. The Doctor, through some miraculous operation, managed to extract that non-cashable money, at the cost of a tenth of its value, receiving the pounds in full over four installments.
As agreed, it was the end of the thunder moon, and they received the first payment. Everyone was happy when the Doctor distributed the money, but Xia De mentioned that if he could obtain academic credits next week, he would probably have to pay the tuition for the second year. Therefore, he asked the Doctor not to cash out the remaining money for now, as that sum could be directly used for tuition.
If the deducted portion exceeded Xia De's rightful share, he could compensate the others at a ratio of 1 to 0.95.
“Of course, but do you have that much money? The first-year tuition is lower, as it's meant to accommodate Ring術士 new to the mysterious world. Second-year tuition is based on the training program and is at least a three-digit sum.”
The Doctor asked with some concern, knowing that Xia De had only been a Detective for a month and likely didn't have much savings.
“I still have about 800 pounds, which is enough,” Xia De said, stroking Mia.
“Where did you get so much gold? Oh, Xia De, if you're short on money, we can lend it to you. Please don't ever touch rhode cards.”
The Old Priest was very surprised. Xia De's mind immediately brought up the image of Miss Jialinna; most of his major income came from the Duchess. Although it was a fair trade between them, Xia De felt that if he spoke out, it would inevitably make him seem like he was relying on a woman for financial support:
“The Detective profession gave me the opportunity to get rich. I met a few rather generous clients. Priest, please rest assured, it's absolutely legal.”
The Old Priest then relaxed.
Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus left together to celebrate the end of the busy exam week at the pub. Luvia had other matters at the Prophet Association and also bid a hasty farewell. Since they were going to the Opera House together in the evening, Xia De invited Miss Louisa to dinner. The Golden-haired girl, of course, accepted, excitedly discussing which restaurants Mia would approve of.
After dinner, they sent Mia back to Saint Delan Square to guard the house, as pets certainly couldn't be brought into the Opera House. He had initially wondered if this would neglect Mia, but seeing her lying on the sofa, not wanting to move at all, Xia De realized that taking her out would be a punishment for Mia.
The Queen Maria Opera House is on Swift Street in the north of the city. After a week of high-pressure atmosphere within the city, people's desire to go out had actually increased. Almost all tickets for this evening were sold out. Miss Louisa's tickets were for the third row on the second floor of the theater, which was a decent location.
However, the truly good seats were actually the private boxes higher up. But since the two were attending the opera today purely for “teaching” purposes, there was no need to waste pounds on such expensive tickets; their income level wasn't that high yet.
The Queen Maria Opera House is private property of the royal family and was decorated lavishly, reflecting the aesthetic characteristics of the Cavendish Family. Such high-class public venues naturally had dress code requirements. Most of the gentlemen, like Xia De, wore black formal attire, but a few strange outfits could also be seen.
What impressed Xia De the most was seeing a man dressed in women's clothing with white stockings for the first time in this world. Xia De wasn't sure if this sight would give him nightmares tonight; even though he was made up as a woman, the makeup on his face was simply too thick. Xia De could smell the pungent scent of powder from three people away when he entered.
“That's the Writer, Mr. Plossey Newman!”
Xia De turned to look at Miss Louisa's attire, wanting to quickly forget the sight he had just witnessed. The Writer tonight was in a blue dress, very similar to the one she wore at the Lakeview Manor banquet.
Miss Louisa, however, excitedly said to Xia De:
“Look, that's a true great Writer. He has not only written scripts for operas and plays but also has excellent accomplishments in long poems, novels, and essay collections.”
“Why does the Writer dress like that?”
They walked inside with the crowd. Fortunately, the Writer and his companion were not going to the second floor but continued up the stairs. If Xia De had to sit with him for a few hours, Xia De thought he would definitely have nightmares tonight. He didn't discriminate against others' aesthetics; he just couldn't stand it.
“That's an aesthetic trend. Leia said that in high-society salons, artists often dress like that.”
She smiled, and as she walked with Xia De down the aisle between the seats, she covered her mouth and whispered in his ear, her golden hair brushing against Xia De's face:
“Writers' artistic inspiration is probably not as intense as Painters'. Painters' attire should be even more out of line with your aesthetic. Have you ever heard of someone painting clothes on themselves with watercolors and then appearing at a salon?”
“Of course not. Male or female?” The Outsider asked curiously. The Golden-haired girl patted him, scolding him slightly:
“Of course, it's male. What are you thinking? Leia was also at the salon at the time and had someone throw him directly onto the street. Even she couldn't stand that kind of avant-garde aesthetic.”
“Oh, let's not talk about such things. Although we've seen more disgusting things, we're out to see an opera now, so let's not bother ourselves.”
Xia De promptly stopped Miss Louisa from continuing, and she wasn't angry; instead, she laughed.
The gas lamps on the walls were very bright, and the ceiling chandelier hanging directly above the audience provided continuous light and heat. Dorothy Louisa really liked this evening.
Opera, as an art form, also existed in the Outsider's homeland, but Xia De had never seen one live. Sitting in an Opera House with a pretty girl in a strange world, he suddenly had the illusion that coming to this world wasn't so bad after all.
The noisy sounds before the opening came from the audience seats on the first and second floors; the bustling atmosphere was very lively. But as the music began, the light from the surrounding gas lamps gradually dimmed, and people's voices also gradually quieted down.
The lights on the stage below brightened, and a girl in a coarse cloth dress holding a broom appeared. A cheerful song was the opening of this act.
“Hmm, so far?” Xia De whispered to Miss Louisa. From their position, the girl singing on stage looked even smaller than Mia, who was currently at home alone.
“Of course, do you want to go on stage to see it?” Miss Louisa replied softly, then handed him a cold metal object in the dark. Xia De looked down and found that it was actually a pair of binoculars:
“I knew you wouldn't bring them. Is this your first time at an Opera House?”
Saying that, Miss Louisa picked up the binoculars and looked towards the stage, just like most of the people around them.
“They actually all brought them.”
“Otherwise, would they just come to listen to the performance? Mine are just ordinary binoculars; don't dislike them. I heard that to show off wealth, some people bring gold…”
Her voice lowered, unwilling to disturb the people around them listening to the opera.
Actually, from this position, the performance on stage could barely be seen without binoculars, but Xia De still picked up the binoculars and put them to his eyes, wanting to try what it felt like to watch an opera with them.
“It's really uncomfortable.”
So he still watched with his eyes. It was still just the opening, and the girl on stage was narrating the background story through song.
【Outsider, you possess a level of natural and human sciences far exceeding the people of this era, so why is your artistic appreciation so poor?】
She probably also thought Xia De didn't know how to appreciate opera.
“The art I appreciate isn't like this,” he replied in his mind. Conversing with the woman in his ear in a completely dark environment truly felt like she was right beside him.
【Then what kind of art do you appreciate?】
“Literary art, or more realistic visual art. Of course, if the opera has a strong storyline, I would appreciate that too.”
【You appreciate the story itself?】
“You could say that.”
She chuckled softly in his ear, then said nothing more. Xia De amused himself by thinking that although they only paid for two tickets, it was actually equivalent to four people watching the opera.
“It should be three people. Miss Louisa's 'other self' should be normal.”
He thought to himself, relaxing his body and leaning back in the chair, squinting his eyes at the luminous stage.
Although not much happened this week, the exam during the day today was truly tiring. Sitting in the dark now, not having to think about other things, was truly relaxing.
He cleared his mind, deciding to enjoy this peaceful night. Although he was a bit sleepy, he held back.
The play they came to see was called 'Higgins' Tragic Life,' mainly telling the story of a young Boy who loved to write, and his ups and downs over twenty years until he reached the end of his destiny.
Each scene of the story would use exaggerated operatic performance to recreate the fairy tales the protagonist Higgins was reading, on one hand, to advance the story, and on the other hand, to describe the protagonist's situation and mood from the side.
The story of 'Kiss of the Tree' was in the third act, used to illustrate the sadness and pain of the young Writer Higgins after love faded. The soaring female vocals at the climax of the story almost shattered all the glass here, but at the same time, they earned rounds of applause.
