"The ghostwriter? This is what I wrote."
Hearing Xia De's request, Priest Augustus pointed to himself and asked in confusion, "Is there a problem with the speech?"
"No, no problem, it's just... Priest, are you good at writing this kind of thing?"
Xia De asked again, and Priest Augustus nodded with some self-satisfaction.
"I entered the church when I was in my twenties, and for most of that time, I was responsible for similar Document-level work. I've basically spent my life writing speeches and public documents."
Xia De looked at the old man in front of him with great admiration. Compared to Dorothy, who often polished reports, Priest Augustus was truly a talent in every sense of the word.
With the speech concluded, Xia De's work at the church was largely finished. Bishop Owen took time out of his busy schedule to meet with him, not only giving him 20 pounds for the speech but also encouraging him to visit the church often. It seemed the Bishop believed the Outsider had the potential to become a devout, seasoned believer.
Hamilton of Thunder Jeed, along with Bishop Owen, was interviewed by the Tobesk Morning Post in the Bishop's office. The magnesium flash of the old camera was bright, but the questions asked were already prepared. Xia De stood there smiling, with Bishop Owen doing most of the talking. He only needed to praise the church's arrangements for the day.
This money was truly easy to earn.
After the interview, Priest Augustus also brought Xia De the church donation receipt he planned to submit for reimbursement in August.
By then, it was already evening. After a busy afternoon, Xia De finally had time to take Mia to the celebration square.
All afternoon, a well-fed Mia had obediently stayed by Xia De's side. When Xia De participated in activities, she would quietly lie on his lap, either feigning sleep or staring at her own tail. When Xia De gave his speech, she lay beside the water cup on Xia De's right, so much so that once, when he reached for the cup, Xia De almost picked up the cat.
The cat, who had been timid in the unfamiliar celebration environment at noon, had almost completely adapted to it. So after bidding farewell to Bishop Owen, Xia De thought of taking Mia out to see the sights.
However, just as he and Priest Augustus were leaving the Bishop's office, a tall, middle-aged Priest hurried over:
"Mr. Hamilton! Someone is looking for you."
"Don't run in the church."
Priest Augustus said sternly to the Priest, who apologized softly and said that the person looking for Xia De outside was Duchess Galina Cavendish's attendant.
"You have something else to do?"
The Priest asked Xia De with interest. Xia De also didn't know why the other party was looking for him. But based on past experience, Miss Jialinna always had something important to discuss whenever she sought him out.
"Then I'll go first, Priest. Please say goodbye to Bishop Owen for me."
"I'll see you off."
With that, the two bid farewell to the Priest and walked out along the corridor. After turning a corner, the Priest looked back, and seeing no one behind them, he whispered to Xia De:
"I remember you're still 15 credits short. If you're free the day after tomorrow, Thursday, come with me to a place. There's a fifty percent chance it's an evil spirit, and a fifty percent chance it's a relic out of control."
"Oh? Priest, besides us, will anyone else be coming along?"
Xia De also asked in a low voice.
He would certainly go. Although he hoped that Iluna, who would soon return to Tobesk, would bring him new matters, there was only a probability of discovering trouble there. If the Priest also had problems that needed handling, Xia De certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity.
"Just the two of us. Two Second-Circle Arcanists are enough, and we both understand exorcism."
Priest Augustus said. Just then, two young Priests carrying documents passed by. Priest Augustus stopped to greet them and inquired about the distribution of the promotional leaflets.
"Priest, I need to pick someone up at the train station on Thursday morning."
This referred to Iluna, returning from the Sun Church Papacy, who had been gone for over a week.
"How about we meet at the church entrance at ten o'clock?"
"No, not at the church. I'll come to your house at ten o'clock on Thursday morning."
The Priest said, then patted Xia De's shoulder.
"If it really is a relic out of control, all the credit for this will be yours. I calculated that the small mercury bottle you mentioned is probably worth about 4 or 5 credits. If this matter truly involves a relic out of control, and you submit a report and the dangerous out-of-control relic, even if it's just a Document-level relic, it's worth at least 9 credits, which should be enough."
The Doctor only got five credits for the Secret Keeper Level relic, the forged philosopher's stone, because the academy provided a lot of clues, and besides the credits, there were also private rewards from the professor who issued the task. More importantly, the Doctor only submitted the relic, while Xia De might be able to provide a containment report that could be referenced by others in the future.
"Priest, how should I thank you?"
Xia De felt a little embarrassed.
"No need to thank me, it's just a small matter, and it's not necessarily a relic. If the Doctor and the others had the chance, they would help you like this too. Remember Thursday, we'll meet promptly at Saint Delan Square at ten in the morning. Also, the Holy Prayer Festival souvenir you wanted and the potion you asked me to appraise, I'll bring them to you on Thursday."
"No problem, Priest."
After leaving the church and bidding farewell to the Priest, Xia De stood on the high steps and immediately saw Miss Jialinna's carriage parked at the edge of the square.
Hugging Mia, he quickly walked through the vendors in the square, glancing at a seminary student wearing a hat and giving a loud speech from a stool. When passing a stall selling shiny souvenirs, the cat in his arms meowed, wanting to look, but Xia De didn't stop.
As he approached the carriage, a policeman immediately came to stop him, but the coachman on the carriage said something, and Xia De was allowed to approach the carriage.
The door on one side of the carriage opened, and he lowered his head and stepped inside. He had expected Miss Tifa Servett, the maid, but unexpectedly, both the maid and Miss Jialinna were present.
After more than a week apart, the Duchess, who had been injured in the Divine Descent incident, seemed to have fully recovered. She held a teacup, smiled, and greeted Xia De, then asked him to sit down to talk.
The carriage slowly started, leaving Dawn Square, with a bustling crowd outside the carriage. Although only believers came to the church area to participate in the celebration, the festivities could not affect the entire City, but this was already the liveliest scene Xia De had witnessed in this world.
"Good afternoon, Detective."
The perfume, known as "the scent of Witches," was very strong in the carriage.
"Good afternoon, Miss Jialinna."
Xia De replied, then asked in confusion, "Where are we going?"
"Taking you home."
"Hmm?"
"It just so happened that I went to Yodel Palace today, and as I was preparing to return, I remembered some things I wanted to tell you. I knew you would be coming to the Holy Prayer Festival, so I came directly here to find you. Did I interrupt your enjoyment of the festival?"
She asked with a smile, while the maid quietly poured tea for Xia De.
"No interruption, I was planning to go home a bit later anyway, as I have things to do tonight."
"That's good. This time I'm not giving you a task, but there are two important things I want to tell you."
She looked at the black-haired maid, who carefully took a triangular iron object from her pocket and dropped it on the floor. It was likely something similar to a "silencing charm."
"First, it has been confirmed that the whispering chapters is completely correct. After the first Chosen One appeared, the other Witches of the Council have become active recently. These people used to prefer to stay in one place... So, Detective, you'd best not leave Tobesk casually. Not every Witch is as friendly as I am."
Miss Jialinna warned.
"Yes, I understand."
Xia De nodded.
"And the second thing?"
"There's news about the second Chosen One."
"Hmm?"
Xia De's surprise at that moment was like suddenly discovering Mia catching a mouse. Although it was normal, it was also not normal.
"The Orthodox Church, the Miracle Academy, and Ring術士, including the Council and other organizations, clashed fiercely in a newly excavated fifth epoch ruin in the New World, vying for a brand new stone tablet inscribed with the content of the whispering chapters. I don't know who ultimately obtained the stone tablet, but its contents are now known to almost everyone. It will likely spread throughout the world within a few days."
Although she brought up such an important topic, the red-haired Duchess's tone remained very relaxed.
"Don't worry, this time it has nothing to do with us. That stone tablet didn't directly reveal the identity of The Chosen One, but rather delineated a range."
"What exactly did it say?"
Xia De eagerly pressed, which made Miss Jialinna a little confused.
"Are you very interested in The Chosen One? Oh, young sir, being so impatient will not win the favor of ladies."
She teased, and the maid also smiled.
"The stone tablet says that before darkness descends, The Chosen One will encounter danger at sea. That is the direction of the setting sun, that is the harbor of the Old Continent, and they will escape from pirates on the ocean."
The pronoun "ta" (they/them) used here is neutral, meaning the gender is not specified.
Xia De's face tensed, and his mouth unconsciously tightened, as he thought of something:
"Hmm..."
"This is a very clear indication, roughly meaning that before The Chosen One truly awakens, they will encounter danger on the West Coast of the Old Continent. The danger is related to pirates, but since it's worth being written about in the whispering chapters, then the so-called pirates cannot be ordinary pirates."
"Hmm..."
Miss Jialinna summarized:
"Counting from six months before the first Chosen One appeared until now, among the escapees from pirate-related incidents involving the mysterious on the West Coast of the Old Continent, one of them must be the second Chosen One."
She nodded as she spoke, and the maid said:
"The Witch Emperors' prophecies are truly precise. They can give such accurate prophecies for events thousands of years in the future."
Only Xia De remained silent. He held Mia, his mouth closed, and no one knew what he was thinking.
There were more than a dozen Ring術士 on the cruise ship yesterday, and most of them were still alive when they jumped ship to escape.
Now he finally understood why the cruise ship so coincidentally encountered a Sage-level relic. If he wasn't mistaken, the ship the Witch mentioned very likely referred to them. They encountered the relic because there was an unawakened Chosen One on the cruise ship.
However, upon closer thought, the West Coast of the Old Continent is so long from south to north. There certainly wouldn't have been only one pirate-related incident; perhaps Xia De's guess was not the truth.
"You should know that ancient organizations have more or less mastered fragments of the whispering chapters. Now with such important information, combined with their respective clues, the Church and the Academy have begun a comprehensive search, and the Council is also acting in secret. I think it won't take many days to discover which incident The Chosen One survived. The Witches of the Council will rush there to investigate, just as I came to Tobesk."
Miss Jialinna said again, and Xia De, holding Mia, finally spoke:
"Just a few days? Isn't that going to require a very large-scale search? I thought it would take several months."
The Witch chuckled:
"Xia De, although the world is dangerous, at least the civilized world is somewhat safer. The deep ocean is a hotbed for various strange incidents, but areas near the coastline are still very peaceful, otherwise the kingdom's coastal fisheries would have collapsed long ago. Counting from six months ago, how many things do you think could happen in the nearshore? No, actually not many. Moreover, the time span shouldn't even be counted from six months ago, but from a few months ago, after all, the whispering chapters points to the period 'just before awakening.'"
"Although the time span isn't long, the West Coast of the Old Continent is very extensive."
Xia De said softly. Miss Jialinna shook her head again and said in a teaching tone:
"Regarding pirate-related matters, you can imagine that it's definitely not just a stationary object. The relic level of such incidents is mostly above Secret Keeper Level. Think carefully, Xia De, how high is the probability of Secret Keeper Level and above incidents occurring? And think again, most of these incidents happen in the deep sea far from the coast, how many can happen on the coastline?"
