Since Dorothy was in such a bad state, Xia De certainly couldn’t let her return to her apartment on Feather Pen Street so late. So in the end, she stayed overnight at Xia De’s place, while Xia De slept on the sofa for the night.
Because the sofa wasn't big enough for Mia to lie next to the pillow, it lay on the soft back of the sofa and then 'accidentally' rolled off at 6:30 AM, landing directly on Xia De's chest.
Xia De no longer remembered what he had dreamt, but when he opened his eyes and sat up, he still remembered that his dream had ended with Saint Delan Square No. 6 collapsing and crushing him.
“Mia, how did you fall? So careless?”
Xia De, still half-asleep, threw off the quilt covering him. He had originally thought Mia had fallen accidentally, but after waking up and realizing the subtle time of “6:30 AM,” he looked suspiciously at the cat:
“Are you hungry again?”
The orange cat rubbed against Xia De's hand and meowed, then trotted towards the staircase. Although it didn't get to sleep on the bed, the cat seemed to be in a very good mood.
Dorothy returned without having breakfast with Xia De. After officially advancing to PentaCircle, she still had a lot to do during this period. Moreover, she needed to confirm Leia's current situation. In short, for a while, besides the "hamilton detective story collection," Dorothy had more things to keep her busy.
So, Xia De still ate alone with the cat this morning… But the first news he saw when he sat at the dining table and unfolded the newspaper made him frown:
“A major earthquake occurred in the Sicar Mountain area?”
He put down his spoon and, somewhat disbelievingly, unfolded the newspaper with both hands:
“Yesterday evening? Oh, what happened there?”
He wouldn't think this was a simple earthquake.
So, after breakfast, he didn't immediately go to Middlesburg. Instead, he waited until the Prophet Association was open and went to the association to find Luvia.
Luvia was going to continue stargazing at Xia De's home starting today, but Xia De didn't want to talk about that with her:
“Did you see the news?”
Sitting down in the divination room on the second floor of the association with the cat in his arms, Xia De handed the newspaper to Luvia. Luvia apparently hadn't read the newspaper this morning, so she immediately frowned upon seeing the news, then looked up and asked Xia De:
“Xia De, what did you do in Middlesburg yesterday evening?”
“Hmm? What does that have to do with me? I was busy helping Dorothy with her promotion ceremony yesterday, I didn't go to Middlesburg. Oh, Dorothy has already become a Five-Ring Sorcerer.”
Xia De hastily cleared himself:
“Nothing to do with you? That's new. However, an earthquake happening at this time doesn't look normal at all.”
Luvia silently put down the newspaper, took the crystal ball from a nearby cabinet, and after a long look, said:
“There must be a problem with the Between Life and Death. While it doesn't mean the disaster has begun, an unexpected change must have occurred.”
“I'll go to Middlesburg to check the situation in a bit, and wait until…”
“No, don't go today.”
Luvia stopped Xia De:
“I'll write to Iluna and have her inquire about the news there through the Church's channels. The Church has already proactively discussed the matter of Middlesburg with her, so there's ample reason to inquire about this earthquake. Xia De, you have other things to do in Tobesk.”
Xia De immediately perked up:
“Are you giving me a mission? Any clues about new coins?”
“Iluna and I will handle the coin matter. It's like this, I found a small fragment of the "whispering chapters"…”
“Meow!”
Because Xia De was stroking the cat too hard, Mia immediately cried out.
“A chapter fragment?”
“Yes, is that strange?”
The purple-eyed girl slightly frowned:
“It is known that there are at least over three hundred existing fragments of the "whispering chapters," so why couldn't I find one?”
“Then how did you find it?”
Xia De was very curious, but Luvia shook her head and didn't tell him the answer:
“In short, there is a fragment of the "whispering chapters" currently in Tobesk, and besides me, no one else should have noticed it yet. To be precise, that fragment is on the base of a stone human figurine discovered in an archaeological find. That figurine is actually a handicraft made by the Witch Emperors of the fifth epoch.”
She looked around and lowered her voice:
“Its exact size is about the same as my crystal ball.”
Luvia described it more specifically:
“The figurine is in the hands of a local collector.”
Saying that, she handed Xia De a business card with Simier Pasolo's name and address on it, and his profession listed as Writer.
“I need to find the collector and buy that antique?”
“No, no, no, he’s already dead.”
The purple-eyed girl shook her head again:
“This old gentleman lived alone, and his family has just arrived in Tobesk, so the things in the house should be untouched. What you need to do is infiltrate this address.”
She pointed at the business card:
“Find the stone figurine and record the information on its base. We only want to know what's written on it; there's no need to actually take it.”
Xia De nodded and glanced at the address:
“No problem, I'll drop Mia off at home and then leave. I'll try to get back to you with news before evening today. Luvia, I’m a professional when it comes to infiltrating other people’s homes.”
He said confidently, especially with the new Miracle, Silent Moonlight, which was even more suitable for infiltration missions.
“I find it hard to imagine what you usually do.”
Luvia shook her head:
“Let's meet at your place in the evening. I'll have Iluna come over too, and we can discuss the progress of the third Chosen One. It's been almost two weeks since you rescued Priest Augustus, but our investigation progress has been almost nonexistent.”
“No problem, then I'll see you tonight.”
So Xia De set off again.
Coincidentally, the late antique collector, Mr. Simier Pasolo, lived on the same street as Miss Black, the sister of Miss White, whom Xia De was looking for, and who had already traveled to Middlesburg.
The apartment buildings facing the street stood majestically, with an old architectural style and walls, but the attached steam pipes and street vendors gave them a new-era feel. When Xia De stood on this street once again, he couldn't help but marvel at the changes of the times. But before he could decide whether to use Raglai's Leap to slip in through a second-story window unnoticed, or to find the back door of the apartment building and sneak in, a very familiar four-wheeled carriage stopped beside Xia De.
Xia De initially thought someone wanted to get off at the street corner and he was blocking the way, so he walked towards the mailbox across the street. But as soon as he took a step, he saw the carriage window open, and Tifa's smiling face appeared in the window:
“Good morning, Xia De.”
