Wednesday arrived, and the renovations at Saint Delan Square Six were still underway. Xia De checked the third floor in the morning, and at the current pace, most of the work should be completed this week.
Although after the repairs, he would still have to wait for the cement to dry, for the gas and steam pipes to be tested, and for the City Hall’s housing inspection center to verify everything before the third floor could be fully used, the joy of this long-awaited completion made Xia De feel very good.
Today, he was going to Coldwater Port for a short trip with the Witches. So, after breakfast, Xia De went to Dorothy’s place, hoping she could temporarily look after the cat.
However, it was quite unfortunate that Dorothy had already left early today. Her “hamilton detective story collection” had been serialized for two weeks and had received unexpected widespread attention. The landlady said that Dorothy had gone to the Steam Bird Daily newspaper office to discuss the next serialization plan with her editor and probably wouldn't be back before noon.
Besides Dorothy, Xia De had other options. He thought carefully and ultimately decided not to ask for help from other friends.
Mia was difficult to get close to strangers, and it took a long time for her to get used to Dorothy. Therefore, rather than letting the cat feel wronged staying with others for a day, Xia De thought it would be better to take the cat with him to Coldwater Port and then entrust the cat to Miss Aurora’s maid when it was time for adventure.
Thus, Xia De arrived punctually at Aurora Manor at 8:30 AM that day. After a quick shower, he was immediately pulled into a carriage by Miss Aurora, and the carriage headed straight for Coldwater Port train station.
Miss Aurora’s travels, of course, were not simply her carrying a suitcase and leaving. She had bought tickets for a VIP carriage in advance, which was a private compartment. Besides Xia De, there were three personal maids and a dozen ordinary servants responsible for carrying luggage accompanying her.
All three maids were Ring術士, and their levels were uniformly PentaCircle. They didn't look very old, only about two or three years older than Xia De’s physical age.
“Why do Witches always have so many young but not low-level Sorceress around them? Even the Orthodox Church would find it difficult to find so many young Middle-Ring術士.”
During the free time of the journey, Xia De asked Miss Aurora for guidance.
The train wheels rolled over the tracks, making a rhythmic clatter. Thanks to the mechanical shock absorption installed in the first-class carriage, the train journey was quite comfortable.
The Witch sat at the desk in the compartment, holding a book, while Xia De sat on the sofa. This entire carriage was a single compartment, arranged like a living room, even with a decorative fireplace, not divided into five or six spaces as Xia De had imagined.
In this era, the quality of life for the wealthy far exceeded the imagination of Outsider.
“It’s simple, they all have the power of the Witches within them.”
The Witch with long brown curly hair said, calling the short-haired girl who was bending over to pour tea in front of her:
“This is Jisi. I found her in an orphanage when she was nine.”
It's worth noting that although Miss Aurora was wearing a long ruffled dress, her current posture was quite unladylike, with her legs crossed and one hand resting a book on her right knee.
She gestured for the maid to lower her head, then caressed her face with her hand.
“Originally, I wanted to train her to be a secretary to help me with paperwork after I came of age, but I didn’t expect her to awaken her talent when she was seventeen. Jisi is 24 this year. In seven years, with the help of the Witches’ power, she only became a PentaCircle. Although this speed is relatively fast compared to normal Ring術士, compared to you, it’s already very slow.”
As she spoke, her right hand moved from the side of the maid’s face, caressing her cheek, and slid down to her chin. Then, the Witch’s slender fingers hooked the maid’s chin, slowly bringing the latter’s flushed face closer to her own.
Xia De instinctively covered Mia’s eyes, who was squatting on the sofa cushion.
Miss Aurora didn’t make any more excessive gestures, only gently kissed her personal maid, then let the maid continue her work. Seeing Xia De looking embarrassed, she chuckled lightly:
“Don’t look so inexperienced, Xia De. Speaking of which, you haven’t had any intimate contact with any girl, have you?”
Seeing Xia De unwilling to answer, she continued to laugh;
“Could it be that the aesthetic standards of the girls living in Northern Pearl are different from those in the coastal areas? That’s interesting, or perhaps, Jialinna has been fending off those suitors for you.”
“I don’t think so. In fact, I rarely appear in public.”
“Hamilton of Leijiede told me he is a very low-key person.”
The Witch smiled and shook her head:
“Just wait and see, Xia De, sooner or later, the love letters you receive will fill your mailbox. But I am curious, how will Jialinna view your relationship with her?”
“Partners.”
“Is that what you think?”
Miss Hivi Aurora raised her teacup and made a toasting gesture to Xia De:
“Then good luck, Detective.”
Klein City is located east of Coldwater Port. Like most Cities on the Old Continent, this City progressed with the rise of the steam era, but it couldn't fully benefit from the era's dividends like Tobesk and Coldwater Port.
Herkils Town is a small Town south of Klein City. The Town is mostly mountainous, but because it is the last pass before entering the rugged basin in the central West Coast of the Old Continent from the northern open plains, it even has a train station despite being just a Town.
This place is also considered a transportation hub in eastern Coldwater Port, but most of the people who stop here are scattered tourists, and the north-south transshipment of goods mostly uses sea transport, so the status of a transportation hub has not brought more trade opportunities to the Town.
The history of Herkils Town is completely untraceable, but it is a small Town where one can glimpse both past and present styles. When Xia De walked out of the station with Miss Aurora, he first sighed at the desolation of the rural Town, and then realized that compared to most Towns in the Delarion Kingdom, this place was already quite prosperous.
The entire Town is composed of eight streets, three vertical and five horizontal. The City center is not the Herkils Town Public Security Office in the middle, but the small Town train station in the western part of the City. Around the train station, hotels, shops, restaurants, and taverns are arranged in order. At least within the two streets around the train station, one can still feel a bit of the big City atmosphere.
Miss Aurora brought Xia De here, of course, not for tourism. She had booked a room early at the largest hotel in the Town, “Honest Man Hotel.” After a short rest, one personal maid and other servants responsible for carrying luggage stayed at the hotel to guard the luggage and prepare for reception. Xia De, with the cat, set off with the other two maids and Miss Aurora.
Because they had eaten the specially provided lunch in the first-class train carriage, there was no need to worry about the Town’s food. The Witch’s preparations were quite thorough, and all action plans had already been formulated. The first step was to visit old Mrs. Ilal, who lived in Herkils Town.
The elderly woman, living alone, resided in a house on the edge of the Town. There were no single-family apartments common in Cities in the small Town. Mrs. Ilal’s house, as if a relic from before the steam era, stood on one side of the street.
A rugged dirt road extended in front of the house, with crooked wooden fences enclosing the property. The old woman had cultivated two vegetable patches in the yard in front of the house. The Outsider couldn’t distinguish what those green vegetables were, but the cat, whom he had placed on his shoulder, was very interested in those plants.
Perhaps City cats had never seen the sea, nor had they seen vegetable patches.
The steam and gas pipes were not buried underground but ran directly along the ground into the house. Pushing open the fence gate outside the yard, which felt like it could be kicked down with one foot, and avoiding the chickens running around the yard, the four people arrived at the front door.
Mia became even more active now. She was never afraid of creatures slightly larger than herself, so she had a strong urge to jump off his shoulder and compete with those chickens.
Xia De held down the cat, and while he was looking at the chicken coop and vegetable patches in the yard, the maid had already started knocking on the door.
“How do you feel about this place?”
The Witch asked Xia De with great interest:
“I’ve heard Jialinna talk about your background. You probably don’t have any memories of places like this.”
“Yes, I feel that although it looks interesting at first, I still prefer living in the City.”
Xia De’s answer was quite honest.
Soon, someone came to open the door. Perhaps it was pre-arranged, as the stooped, headscarf-wearing, cane-wielding old woman was not surprised to see the four people and one cat outside the door.
Mrs. Ilal was the oldest person Xia De had met in this world, at least in appearance. She walked with some difficulty, but her spirits seemed good.
What surprised Xia De the most was that she was actually a Ring術士. But her level was very low; according to the whispering voice in his ear, she was either a First Circle or Second Circle, and could not be higher level than Xia De.
A peculiar smell, characteristic of an elderly person living alone, permeated the interior of the house, as if everything here was destined to decay. The decor was old-fashioned, and the wallpaper used to conceal cracks in the walls had long since yellowed. As for the old furniture, perhaps only Old John's Pawnshop or a junkyard would be willing to recycle it. When Xia De sat down on the sofa, he even distinctly heard a terrible creaking sound from it.
Considering his weight was standard, this could only mean that the sofa, like Mrs. Ilal, was nearing the end of its life.
Both parties sat down, the maids went to the kitchen to prepare some tea, and only then did the Witch finally introduce the identity of the old woman in front of Xia De:
“This is a follower of the Old God 【Earthshaking Worm】, and the current High Priest of the sect.”
“Don’t mention High Priest, the sect currently only has me as a member.”
The old woman waved her hand shyly. Her eyes were bright, and when she smiled, she looked very kind and benevolent.
