Because of his eye problem, Xia De didn't leave his house all Monday. But as luck would have it, a client actually came to Saint Delan Square Six that afternoon.
Xia De didn't want to turn away a client who had gone to such trouble to come to Saint Delan Square Six, so he found a pair of plain glasses in Sparrow Detective's bedroom to slightly cover his eyes.
Sparrow Detective's eyesight was normal, so these glasses were probably also a disguise.
The visitor was Mrs. Morse, who lived in western Tobesk City. She had recently encountered one good thing and one bad thing.
The good news was that her uncle had unfortunately passed away, leaving her several local Tobesk City shops, worth approximately four figures in pounds. The bad news was that before she could tell her husband, Mr. Morse, about this, she discovered that Mr. Morse had a mistress.
To prevent her inheritance from being taken by her husband to support his mistress after she inherited it, Mrs. Morse wanted to commission Hamilton Detective, who advertised in the Steam Bird Daily, to investigate whether the mistress existed, and if so, who she was.
This type of investigation concerning infidelity and mistresses was Sparrow Hamilton's specialty, and Xia De finally encountered one.
"Hmm, excuse me, do you need to worry about the operation of those shops? If they are not sold, are they enough to support you living alone in Tobesk City?"
After understanding the basic situation, Xia De asked this question to assess how much he should charge for this commission.
"The shops don't require me to worry; I just need to check the accounts occasionally. As for the income, oh, Detective, supporting a woman living alone and allowing her to live a decent life is absolutely no problem."
The documents Mrs. Morse brought were spread on the table between them. She spoke with some sadness, still caught in the grief of her husband's infidelity.
But after answering this question, the middle-aged woman, who had suddenly become wealthy, paused, and a look of sudden realization appeared on her not-so-delicately made-up face:
"That's right, since this inheritance is enough for me to live on, what do I need him for?"
"Hmm?"
Xia De looked up at her in surprise, the pen in his hand, writing in his notebook, stopped.
"Yes, Detective, you are absolutely right!"
An irrepressible smile appeared on the middle-aged woman's face, and she suddenly became happy.
"Sorry, what did I say?"
"Detective, you're right. Since I have this inheritance, why do I need that unfaithful man?"
"Did I say that?"
Xia De fell into doubt about his memory, then looked at the cat lying beside him.
【No, you didn't say that.】
Although Mia couldn't speak, thankfully there was "her."
"Yes, perhaps I should find a Lawyer specializing in inheritance and divorce cases, not a Detective."
The woman gathered the scattered documents on the table, then took out a few banknotes from her purse and placed them on the coffee table:
"Detective, thank you so much! I was really foolish; why didn't I think of doing this before? I have my inheritance, he has his mistress, this is truly a situation where everyone can be happy!"
The banknotes on the coffee table were probably around three or four pounds. Even for a normal mistress investigation, Xia De probably wouldn't have charged that much.
"You—"
He wanted to say that he didn't want to break up other people's marriages, but looking at Mrs. Morse, it was clear that she had come to this conclusion herself.
This situation truly left Xia De speechless, so he could only give the business card of Lawyer Laurel, whom he had met a month ago while handling Lemeir's inheritance case, to this woman who seemed to be heading towards a new life.
"Although it might be wrong to think this way, if every commission were this simple, that would be wonderful."
This was Xia De's thought as he saw off the generous client downstairs.
By Tuesday, Xia De's eye problem still hadn't been resolved; the starry speckles of light in his eyes showed no signs of fading. So, he could only use the eyeshadow Tifa had brought, and then, because he had no idea how to use such cosmetics, he wasted ten minutes of the maid's time teaching him how to apply it.
Tifa almost pressed her face against his, applying the eyeshadow for him from the front. Although there was no physical contact between them, seeing Tifa's face at such close range still made Xia De blush a little.
In the afternoon, when he went to Tobesk Railway Station to see off Priest Augustus, Xia De went out with his eyes made up. As a result, not only did ordinary people not notice anything unusual, but even Priest Augustus, who was proficient in potionology, didn't see any problem with his eyes.
This way, Xia De could finally rest assured that he could participate in the Great City Player's semi-finals normally tomorrow.
"Priest, how long will it take you to reach Middlesburg?"
Still on the platform of Tobesk Railway Station, Xia De bid his final farewell to the Priest. There were also two local Old Priests who were leaving with Priest Augustus, so the Church organized a special farewell party, which was why the other three members of the group didn't come, letting Xia De represent them.
"We are taking a steam locomotive specially arranged by the Kingdom for the Church, directly from Tobesk City to Middlesburg. It might stop along the way to change locomotives, add some fuel, and replace drinking water and food inside the train. It will take about six or seven days to reach Middlesburg."
The Priest thought for a moment before giving his answer.
In fact, besides the reasons for stopping given by the Priest, long-distance steam train travel also had to consider "train sickness." This was a mental illness that passengers developed after long periods of train travel, caused by the mental torment and pain of constant shaking and noise.
As steam trains and railways spread from the core cities of the Old Continent outwards, people had already noticed this strange illness. After the Church confirmed that it was unrelated to mysticism, the intervention of Psychologists provided effective help in explaining "train sickness."
The straight-line distance between Middlesburg and Tobesk City is about 1100 miles (approximately 1770 kilometers), and the maximum speed of contemporary steam trains is 70 km/h. Considering stopping times, and also considering that tracks cannot be laid along the shortest distance. Therefore, traveling from Tobesk City, located in the northwest of the Old Continent, to Middlesburg, located in the central-eastern part of the Old Continent, even by direct steam train, taking about a week is considered normal.
"Then I wish you a smooth journey. Don't forget to send us a letter once you arrive."
Xia De waved goodbye to Priest Augustus, then lowered his voice:
"If you have time, don't forget my sword."
The Priest smiled and winked:
"Of course, but don't you forget to help me clean."
Priest Augustus probably wouldn't be back for most of the autumn, so his potion workshop needed someone to look after it. Among the four members of the group, Xia De seemed the most free, and as a senior believer of the Dawn Church, he also had reason to frequently be near Dawn Square, so the Priest gave him the spare key.
"No problem. I wish you safety."
"I'm with the rest of the Church; of course I'll be safe. Besides, I also have friends there whom I haven't seen in many years."
The Priest said, then chatted with his colleagues from the Dawn Church who had come to see him off.
Xia De stood there with the nuns and Priests of the Dawn Church, watching the Priest carry his luggage onto the train. Then, just like the day they saw off Captain Rades, amidst the gushing steam and whistling, the train carried Priest Augustus away.
"By the time the Priest returns from Middlesburg, it will probably be almost the snowing season."
Xia De thought to himself, hands in his pockets, walking towards the station exit with the people from the Church.
Somehow, he also recalled that two weeks ago, when Professor Viyya Mirall of the Astronomical Academy performed divinations for the five members of the group, the results for the others were normal, while Priest Augustus's was "death."
"It should be fine..."
He thought to himself, looking back at the empty platform after the farewell party had left:
"Why did I suddenly think of that?"
He really couldn't figure it out.
