According to the contract signed between Mr. Mandis and the late Sparrow Detective, when Mr. Mandis voluntarily announced the termination of the commission, in addition to the deposit, he needed to pay an additional fee not exceeding one-third of the total amount, depending on the progress of the investigation.
Xia De originally didn't want the other party's money, nor would he refund the deposit, but Mr. Mandis insisted on paying. So in the end, Xia De received a commission fee of 13 shillings and left Mr. Mandis's residence with the Black-haired maid.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and there was no sign of dusk at the end of summer.
“This money, I think, should only be enough to cover our carriage fare for today.”
On the carriage returning to Saint Delan Square, the Black-haired maid said to Xia De.
A pair of cotton stockings costs around 5 shillings, a good quality women's work suit is 1 pound, boots cost 11 shillings, and the cost of a rented carriage is generally within a 4-mile radius centered on Yodel Palace, with a charge of 1 shilling for distances under 2 miles, and 5 pence for each additional mile.
Therefore, Tifa made such a sigh based on the prices she knew.
“Yes, if you add the preliminary investigation work done by Sparrow Detective, this commission is undoubtedly a loss. But for me, didn't I make a huge profit this time?”
Xia De shook the black iron ring on his finger, and the Black-haired maid also smiled:
“It seems that the Detective profession is indeed suitable for Ring術士.”
“No, no, it's just a coincidence that this matter got involved with a relic. Generally speaking, the commissions I receive are just ordinary things like playing cards or finding people.”
Xia De said, taking out the parchment scroll:
“I happen to know these ancient characters, Tifa. Let's have dinner together, and you can leave after I've deciphered these words. Don't rush to refuse, you helped me a lot today, and treating you to dinner is my way of expressing my gratitude.”
The black-haired girl thought for a moment:
“Okay, but I can't go back too late, otherwise Miss Vitter will have something to say.”
The two first returned to Saint Delan Square, then went out with Mia and found a good restaurant in a nearby neighborhood. Xia De rarely cooked at home, so he knew very well where the good food was nearby, and the nearby restaurants were already very familiar with the young Detective who brought a cat.
After dinner, they walked home together, and when they returned to Saint Delan Square, they actually saw a slightly 胖 man wearing a wig and a red coat, standing anxiously at the entrance of No. 6.
Xia De was very curious who this was, and the other party immediately greeted them after seeing the two approaching. They met on the circular street at the edge of Saint Delan Square:
“May I ask if you are Hamilton of Leijiede? Oh, it's Miss Servite, good afternoon.”
The Tobesk accent was unusually standard, and the voice was even a bit sharp.
He bowed slightly to the girl next to Xia De, and from his expression, he was very surprised to see her there.
And Tifa also introduced the other party's identity to Xia De:
“Mr. Hamilton, this is Mr. Mirar Formans, the herald from Yodel Palace.”
“Good evening, Mr. Formans, is there anything I can help you with?”
Xia De was also very surprised until he saw the invitation card handed to him by the other party.
“Hamilton of Leijiede, Queen Diana formally invites you to attend the birthday banquet held at Yodel Palace next Wednesday, on the thirtieth day of Flourishing Flower Month.”
The herald handed the invitation card to Xia De. Although it was the Queen's birthday banquet, the style of the invitation card was very ordinary, probably to show the King's family's frugality.
“Knight, may I ask if you will attend?”
“Oh, of course, I will definitely go.”
Xia De said, so Mr. Formans nodded, respectfully bid farewell to Xia De, and then turned and left, not even giving Xia De a chance to invite him upstairs for tea.
Xia De opened the door, and the cat on his shoulder was the first to dart in, with the Black-haired maid following behind.
“Why is Mr. Formans' voice so sharp?”
He asked as he dropped the key into the biscuit tin.
“Did you notice that his chin is smooth and he has no beard?”
The Black-haired maid asked.
“Hmm?”
Xia De thought for a moment, slowed down his pace, and asked in surprise:
“Eunuch?”
“Yes, although this is not popular in modern courts, and people consider it very inhumane, most of the trusted attendants around the King are eunuchs. So there are rumors in the court that if you want to gain the King's trust, you have to be ruthless and yourself...”
She didn't continue, and Xia De nodded to show that he understood.
Larus III was a truly strong-willed King, with outstanding personal abilities, and as the ruler of the kingdom, he happened to coincide with the wave of the Steam Age. The appearance of such a King was extremely fortunate for Delarion.
However, a strong personality and the immense power bestowed by the King himself can also lead to certain character flaws. The tradition of court eunuchs disappeared from civilization centuries ago, and these current eunuchs voluntarily gave up their physical structure for power. Larus III's tacit approval for power promoted this trend, which is one of the few points for which he is criticized.
Of course, the King had nothing to do with Xia De, so he didn't care if the other party had mental problems.
After returning home, Xia De used the excuse of needing to consult some documents and entered the study to translate the contents of the parchment scroll alone. He originally thought it only introduced the effects of the red potion and the demon hunting seal, but he didn't expect it to contain a story about an ancient inheritance and the whereabouts of another extremely powerful relic.
“Dr. Alfred's ancestor found the relic of a Demon Hunter who died in the third epoch in the ruins. In addition to the seal and the potion, there was also a longsword that had already become a relic. It turns out that the demon hunting seal, in addition to being more likely to appear in demon-infested areas, will also actively attract those powerful enough transcendent beings. And that longsword, he hid it in Sicar Mountain...”
Sicar Mountain is located in the east-central part of the Old Continent and is one of the national borders between Delarion and Carson Rick. That place is too far from Tobesk, and even if the parchment described the hidden location of the relic, Xia De still couldn't go looking for it at this time.
He was still waiting for Darkness.
After deliberation, Xia De chose to hide part of the content on the parchment and only told Tifa the information related to the potion.
“These things were indeed left by a Ring術士! Dr. Alfred's ancestor was a powerful Ring術士. According to the self-description on the parchment, he lived about 800 years ago and was a Nine Ring Arcanist before his death.”
Nine Ring is already a high ring, a strong person in any era.
“So how did that gentleman die?”
The Black-haired maid sitting on the sofa asked.
“I don't know. He said on the parchment that he was going to challenge a powerful enemy and fight an eleven-ring Arcanist with his friends. Because he was worried that he wouldn't return, he left the two unused items in the basement of the old house. He wrote in ancient characters, hoping that ordinary people who found these two items in the future would not mess with them, and if they were Ring術士, they could use them.”
Here, Xia De omitted the matter of the sword.
“He obviously didn't expect that his descendants would continue to live in that small town and still use the surname Alfred for 800 years.”
The Nine Ring Arcanist's signature also had the surname Alfred, so Xia De knew that this was the ophthalmologist's ancestor.
“The ring is a Secret Keeper Level relic. Although I've seen information about it before, I don't know its more specific effects yet, but I do know the effect of the potion.”
Xia De placed the bottle of red potion on the coffee table. Because Dr. Alfred had used some of it, only about three-quarters remained:
“This is not a magic potion, but a derivative product of a relic obtained by an 800-year-old Ring術士 from an accident. The specific relic is not mentioned in the parchment, but the effect of the potion is clearly written.”
He and the Black-haired maid looked at the bottle together:
“Directly dripping the potion into the eyes can cause eye-related curses and Miracles to undergo further evolution and enhancement. Preserving magic eyes in this potion can effectively suppress some of the negative effects of magic eyes when they leave the body.”
“Evolve Miracles and curses? This is a very rare thing.”
Tifa covered her mouth and sighed. Xia De nodded, but unfortunately, Time Perception had no connection with the eyes, otherwise he would have known the truth.
Xia De then pointed to the other half bottle of bright yellow potion:
“The potions processed by Dr. Alfred probably can't be used. But with the remaining three-quarters of the red potion, I want to try evolving my Blood Echo. Tifa, could I ask you to help me? I need someone to control the drops entering my eyes and stop dripping when I say stop.”
“No problem, but what kind of evolution direction can the ability to observe bloodstains have?”
“Probably seeing more clearly.”
Xia De said, then lay down on the sofa.
The cat, which had been doing something unknown in the bedroom, immediately jumped up and landed on Xia De's chest, looking down at him. The cat was not heavy at all, but to prevent it from disturbing things later, Xia De stretched out both hands and pressed it against his clothes.
“Okay.”
He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, while Tifa uncorked the potion bottle and controlled the liquid to spray out in a stream.
The first drop of liquid entered his eye, and Xia De felt nothing, followed by the second and third drops.
He gradually felt his eyes warming up, but not intensely hot. As the falling drops exceeded ten, the temperature around his eyes seemed to drop again, but it was not particularly cold either.
The Ling in the special potion gradually permeated the entire eye and interacted with the soul controlling this body.
With the sound of steam whistles and bells, the Destiny Ring automatically appeared above Xia De. Xia De continued to let the liquid enter his eyes while watching his own Destiny Ring slowly rotate.
The seven Ling Runes flickered with four colors of strong spiritual light, and among them, the most dazzling was undoubtedly the Miracle Ling Rune Echo, which had been washed by a drop of divinity.
“Blood Echo Echo.”
An idea formed in his mind, and as the idea formed, the rune with the dazzling golden spiritual light immediately burst forth with an even stronger glow.
“Tifa, drip a drop of your blood into my eyes!”
He suddenly said.
The black-haired girl didn't ask why. She cut her finger with a small knife and squeezed a drop of blood above Xia De's eye. The light from above shone on Xia De's eyes, reflecting the light from his eyeballs, and the red liquid and bright red blood fell.
And at this very moment, the bell tower in the distant City chimed. The lingering sound echoed, and a wonderful realization made Xia De's scalp tingle.
“Her” voice finally appeared in his ear:
“Blood and time, the red Echo. Devour that blood, stain that light, you have met blood many times, and the power of blood will eventually Echo in your blood vessels and soul, along with time and space.”
The power of the curse - Blood Echo, was subtly linked to the Miracle Ling Rune. It did not disappear; it gained new power.
“Outsider, you have gained the Miracle - Blood Echo.”
Above the rotating Destiny Ring, the light of the Echo Ling Rune shone like the sun on Xia De below, making it impossible for Tifa to even look directly at the scene before her.
The golden light shone on her, even allowing this Six-Ring Arcanist and candidate witch to vaguely hear illusory, grand, soul-shaking bell chimes. But finally, the Destiny Ring slowly disappeared into the steam mist, and Xia De told Tifa to stop dripping the liquid, then slowly sat up, leaning on the sofa.
“How is it? Did it succeed?”
She probably hadn't seen a curse evolve before, and the scene just now was indeed astonishing.
“The effect is very good.”
Xia De closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again. A bloody halo gradually converged into his eyes, and the moment the blood color disappeared, a golden arc of light also flashed in his eyes:
“It's even better than I thought. The curse actually became a Miracle.”
