Seeing Xia De look at her maid, Miss Jialinna put down her teacup and said, “However, if you have any other questions, I can tell you.”
“Yes, Miss Jialinna, I do have some questions about my Ring術士 studies. It’s like this: in the past few months, I’ve been learning the Ling Rune of 【Light】 through ‘crazy light chaser,’ but my progress has been a bit slow, so I wanted to ask for your opinion.”
Fighting the demons in the Darkness Domain required the 【Light】 Ling Rune. Xia De felt he was just a step away, which was why he sought advice from the Witch.
“【Light】? I’m not good at that, but Xi Wei is very good at it.”
Behind Miss Aurora’s seat in the Witch Council was the rune representing “Light.” At the same time, the light Miracle she used when fighting Darkness in the Merman Temple also left a deep impression on Xia De.
“I’ll arrange it for you. At the latest by Thursday, you can meet Xi Wei at the Council. I think she’ll be very happy to help you,” Miss Jialinna said, then leaned back lazily on the sofa, looking at Xia De.
“But what exactly are you planning to do? This isn’t just about wanting to learn, is it?”
Her eyes held a smile: “Although Tifa wouldn’t say what happened at that ophthalmologist’s office, when I later had someone check on the doctor’s condition, I took a look nearby. There seemed to be traces of demons there, and the Servants of Secrets from the Darkness Domain just happen to need the 【Light】 Ling Rune to fight them. Xia De, what exactly are you planning to do? Why are you suddenly interested in that place?”
She stroked her chin, and seeing Xia De about to speak, she stopped him: “No, don’t lie to me. It’s better to say nothing than to give me a lie. I won’t force you to reveal your secrets, but you must pay attention to your own safety.”
She said softly, “Ring術士s inevitably undertake various adventures, which I can understand. But Xia De, if you die, I will be very sad.”
Xia De was at a loss for words. He looked up again at the Black-haired maid standing behind Miss Jialinna, who shook her head, signaling him not to say anything.
Temporarily putting aside the search for the blue-gray short-haired cat, Xia De took time on Monday afternoon to find Luvia and Iluna. The three met at Saint Delan Square, and Xia De informed them that Darkness had already appeared in the areas around Tobesk.
Although they had long expected him to arrive in the City by the end of Flourishing Flower Month, when he actually did, the three of them suddenly became tense.
Miss Jialinna wanted to kill Darkness herself, but Luvia only wanted to ensure that Darkness would not become the second Chosen One, or to ensure he died after becoming the Chosen One. Therefore, Iluna, who would certainly be assigned to the team fighting Darkness by the Church, would be responsible for relaying information about Darkness.
Once the Church failed to prevent Darkness from entering the Darkness Domain, allowing him the opportunity to perform the Selected One Ritual, the full details of which were still unknown, then Xia De and the two women would personally enter the area covered by the out-of-control angel-level relic, and the three of them would kill Darkness.
Xia De still hoped that the Church or the Witch would succeed, as that would save him a lot of trouble.
“Xia De, are you also attending Queen Diana’s birthday banquet on Wednesday?” Luvia asked after they finished discussing Darkness. Xia De nodded: “Are you attending too?”
“Yes, Marquis Graselli, Marquis Lacan Jacques, and Marquis Heinrich Oken are organizing a rhode cards game at the banquet, so they sent a letter to the Prophet Association, hoping the Association would send staff to the event for rhode cards authentication, dealing, and other tasks.”
She smiled, somewhat relaxed: “This is a good assignment. Although it’s for work that I can attend the banquet, such banquets aren’t something you can just walk into. The Association argued for quite a while over the spots, and I was lucky enough to have my name on the list. Xia De, we can dance a waltz at the banquet then.”
Iluna remained silent beside them. She had been very busy with work recently, so even if she had an invitation, she certainly wouldn’t have time to attend the royal banquet.
“Dancing? No problem,” Xia De was smiling, but then he suddenly thought of a new problem: “Dorothy is definitely attending the banquet; Leia gave her an invitation. Priest Augustus will most likely also attend the banquet; as the most respected clergyman of the Dawn Church in this diocese, Bishop Owen has no reason not to bring him to the banquet. So, besides the doctor, all four members of the group will be at the banquet on Wednesday evening. I wonder if Doctor Schneider will also go.”
Considering what happened last time when all five members of the group gathered at Lakeview Manor for a banquet, Xia De suddenly frowned. Although it was impossible for a divine descent accident to happen again in Tobesk, for safety, he still needed to ask the doctor about his schedule for Wednesday evening.
Given the doctor’s luck, if he really was going to attend the banquet, then Xia De would have to consider bringing all his relics and casting materials before going to Yodel Palace for the banquet.
After discussing their respective plans with Luvia and Iluna, Xia De also took time that evening to visit Coldwater Port and retrieve all the doctor’s materials that he had entrusted the Seven Broomsticks Tavern to acquire.
With this reason, he wrote a letter to the doctor on Tuesday morning, stating that he would visit in the afternoon with the materials. Then, for the first time in a while, he took the lazy Mia out, preparing to search for the blue-gray short-haired kitten.
Xia De believed that it wasn't good for Mia to always stay at home; occasionally going out with him to stroll around the City and breathe fresh air would be more beneficial for her physical and mental health.
Tobesk was still shrouded in mist today, and the weather was also a bit bad, as if it was going to rain. Therefore, even though it was already nine in the morning after mailing the letter, the daylight remained dim.
The client, old Mrs. Midella, lived in the West District of Tobesk, and the location where the cat was lost was near the Golden Fleece Textile Factory.
The evening before last, the old woman was carrying her cat to the factory for some business. On her way home, a street away from the textile factory, she stopped to order a new censer at a brassware shop. When she reached out to push open the shop door, the cat escaped her embrace, darted into an alley, and was never seen again.
“Will Mia also run away like this one day?” Xia De suddenly thought as he boarded the carriage, preparing to depart. But looking down at the lazy cat, who was clearly not fond of going out, he decided his worries were completely unnecessary.
So, the carriage first carried Xia De across the Terraril River, which bisected the City, and dropped him off on the east side of the street where the “Minkwell Street” sign was located.
Xia De entered “Johnson Brassware Shop” with the cat. First, his attention was drawn to the exquisite copperplate print depicting the streetscape of Silver Cross Avenue hanging inside the brassware shop. Out of curiosity, he inquired about the price and ended up buying it for 4 pounds 16 shillings, asking the shopkeeper to send it to Saint Delan Square. Xia De wanted to hang it at the staircase landing as decoration.
Afterward, he inquired with the shopkeeper about areas where stray cats gathered nearby. Because Xia De was generous, the elderly shopkeeper enthusiastically directed Xia De to inquire at the “Good Luck Bookstore” diagonally across from the brassware shop, as the shopkeeper there enjoyed feeding cats in the nearby alleys.
So Xia De went to the bookstore. The slightly plump middle-aged female shopkeeper, upon hearing that Xia De was helping someone find a cat, immediately stated that old Mrs. Midella had already searched all the nearby stray cat gathering spots the day before yesterday.
But Xia De thought it was still necessary to go and look again. The female shopkeeper also enthusiastically told Xia De three locations: the end of the alley next to where the steam pipes were piled, the garbage station a street away from Minkwell Street, and the backyard grass patch of the shipping company at the end of this street, which was currently undergoing renovations.
Xia De went to see the rusty steam pipes first, based on their proximity. These pipes had a very large diameter, large enough for any size of cat to crawl into. They were probably originally intended for the City’s main steam pipeline, but for some reason, they were left here.
After Xia De walked around the garbage pile and approached the pipes, Mia on his shoulder suddenly twitched her nose and then let out a sharp, threatening meow. While startling Xia De, three stray cats that were hidden in the pipes suddenly darted out and ran far away along the alley.
None of them were the blue-gray short-haired kitten.
“Mia!”
“Meow~”
Xia De looked sternly at Mia on his shoulder, who also looked at him with wide eyes.
“Don’t make noise. I’m working. If you scare the target away, I’ll have to expand the search area to the entire City.”
He somewhat regretted bringing Mia out. This cat seemed to dislike Xia De approaching other cats.
Next, he arrived at the shipping company. This place was originally an office for a grain station and was sold to the shipping company a few weeks ago, so it was currently undergoing renovation. The old gatekeeper initially disagreed with Xia De entering freely, but seeing him carelessly drop a shilling silver coin from his wallet onto the ground, he let him in.
There was indeed a group of stray cats in the backyard grass. This time, Mia didn’t cry out, but she was clearly unhappy when Xia De rummaged through the grass looking for the cat.
But unfortunately, the cat lost by old Mrs. Midella was not here either.
Finally, he went to the garbage disposal station, which was the furthest from where the cat was lost. This was a rather large public department set up by the City Hall. Although it was a garbage disposal station, it was only responsible for recycling metal waste from nearby blocks. After sorting, some metal materials could be reused.
However, this was not because people of this era already had the concept of “sustainable development.” Xia De had heard Priest Augustus say that this was a new government department set up by civil servants in the City Hall to expand their department’s influence, and it had no great use other than consuming tax money.
Because it was a leisurely job, the people working here were very keen on feeding the stray cats in the nearby blocks. Coupled with the large yard of the metal waste disposal station, it became a gathering place for stray cats.
