Xia De, who walked out of the white mist at the bedroom door, lowered his hands that were maintaining a hug and looked at Mia, who was staring at him on the bed.
The cat was undoubtedly awake, lying like a long strip beside the pillow. Its chin rested on the soft bed, and its large amber eyes curiously looked at Xia De. It was clear that before 6:30, it would absolutely not leave the soft pillow.
“It’s that simple?”
His Destiny Ring appeared behind him. Xia De turned his head to look back, and the second Ling Rune of the Third-Tier, 【yellow moon】, was indeed inscribed there. The Ling Rune shimmered with a golden luster. Although it was obtained from a Witch, the essence of this power was related to a certain deity—it was a Miracle of an unknown deity.
【You are truly generous.】
As Xia De scanned the bedroom, “She” whispered softly in his ear:
【You are willing to exchange the Miracle given by the Tree Father.】
“This is also for the smooth progress of the mission, and besides, I should have gotten a good deal from this exchange.”
【But you didn’t know that before the exchange.】
“Yes, just consider me a generous person.”
Xia De thought to himself, but then he imagined telling this to Old John, and the pawnshop owner would surely laugh loudly at him.
The acquisition of the 【yellow moon】 Ling Rune not only meant a new Ling Rune and the Miracle 【Bewilderment】, but Xia De also felt that all his Miracles related to Moonlight were enhanced because of it.
Not only that, Miss Daniste, the Red Moon Witch and librarian of the Academy, had been searching for a Ring術士 with the “yellow moon” core Ling Rune, even going to great lengths to transfer a Letter-based Ring術士 from Serex Higher Medical College who possessed the 【Guiding Moon】 core Ling Rune to the Tobesk area.
Although the 【Guiding Moon】 had not yet arrived, Xia De had already obtained the 【yellow moon】. Even if it wasn't a core Ling Rune, he thought it was worth trying to see if he could open the book in Miss Daniste's hand and help her find the location of the “Silver Moon Library”.
He had intended to immediately use a page of the poetry manuscript to inform Miss Daniste of this news, but then he remembered that he had many things to do today and could not waste too much time at Saint Byron's.
So, after much thought, he decided to contact the librarian tomorrow or the day after, as this matter was not urgent.
Before even eating breakfast, Xia De carried the very reluctant Mia and took a carriage early in the morning, heading straight for Miss Jialinna's manor. He had left home as early as six o'clock, so he arrived at the manor around seven.
The Witch lived a very regular life, and around seven o'clock was her waking time. Because she needed to wash up, she asked Xia De to wait and had Tifa lead Xia De to the dining room to wait. The black-haired maid looked like she had woken up very early, which made Xia De wonder how hard the “maid” profession truly was.
“Coming to me so early, do you wish to have breakfast with me?”
Seeing Xia De on a fine autumn morning, Miss Jialinna was in a good mood. When she sat down at the table, she even joked with Xia De.
Xia De shook his head:
“It’s about the time key, the key from the fifth epoch 3024 that Grandma Cassandra gave me.”
“Have you met Miss Felianna?”
“No, but I met her student, the first librarian of Saint Byron's, Miss Blainey Oranode.”
While eating breakfast, Xia De meticulously recounted his recent experience, or rather, his experience from an epoch ago. Miss Jialinna listened quietly, and only after Xia De finished did she shake her head:
“It’s still not enough. I still need to find Miss Felianna.”
“But Miss Olanorde is also a Thirteen-Tier Witch.”
“Thirteen-Tier and Thirteen-Tier are not the same.”
The Duchess smiled and shook her head, as if explaining a simple truth to a disobedient child. She was dressed very casually in her own manor, in a scarlet dress with ruffled cuffs and collar, which looked quite nice.
“Alright then, let’s try our luck next time, but a time key from that era shouldn’t be so easy to find.”
After speaking, Xia De took out the yellowed parchment that had traveled through time:
“Also, please help me procure these items. I’ve already translated the text into contemporary language. These are daily necessities that the Witches need. I’ll give you the pounds after you’ve purchased them.”
“These things aren’t worth much, why be so polite?”
The Duchess rested her right hand on her face, holding the parchment in her left. The morning sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the manor’s dining room, illuminating the white aprons and small black leather shoes of the maids, and also illuminating the Witch’s profile.
She was truly pretty.
“See, they don’t seem to have many demands, just some inexpensive things. However, since these are daily necessities for the Witches of the past, I’ll get you some more expensive ones... Oh, these measurements... Whose figure is this good?”
Miss Jialinna finished speaking and then looked at Tifa beside her:
“Tifa, how would clothes of these measurements fit you?”
The maid standing behind her bowed slightly, looking at the contents on the parchment:
“About right.”
“Tsk tsk, Xia De, who is this one?”
“I prefer not to discuss ladies’ privacy.”
Xia De said, while stroking the cat that was drinking goat’s milk. Perhaps because it had absorbed some divine power, the cat’s size had not changed at all since Xia De adopted it, even though Xia De provided it with very sufficient nutrition.
“Oh, satisfy my curiosity, Detective.”
The Witch spoke again, a smile on her face, so Xia De could only reply:
“It should be that young Witch with Red Dragon blood.”
“Truly impressive.”
Miss Jialinna said with a smile, then asked:
“How about you leave this parchment with me? Consider it a thank you for helping with the procurement.”
The Great Witches of the Witch Council liked to collect items from the Witches of the fifth epoch.
“Of course.”
Xia De nodded, and Miss Jialinna then brought up the matter of the 【yellow moon】 Ling Rune.
“Similar Ling Runes can usually be used for similar Miracles. Since you have a great talent for Silver Moon, you can try to use 【yellow moon】 to cast those Miracles associated with 【Silver Moon】. This is the so-called rune system architecture. Try it, Xia De, I remember you have a great talent for Light Spell.”
“Light Spell?”
Xia De nodded, put down his spoon, and looked at his palm. As he meditated on the yellow moon, a clear yellow Moonlight indeed appeared in his palm.
“See, just like that. I remember you have quite a few Silver Moon Miracles. Aside from Miracles unique to 【Silver Moon】 like 【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】, you can try to use 【yellow moon】 for other Miracles related to Moonlight.”
She patiently guided him, then changed the subject again:
“Do you have plans today? The weather is nice, would you like to accompany me to the horse farm for a visit? The horse farm in autumn is quite lovely, and I remember Tifa saying you still don’t know how to ride a horse. That won’t do, you are Hamilton of Leijiede, a Knight. I can teach you how to ride, and we can talk about your experiences in the fifth epoch.”
Xia De shook his head with some regret:
“I apologize, I still need to go to Middelsburg today. I have an appointment with a Sister there to meet a Boy who can predict death.”
“A Sister?”
Miss Jialinna narrowed her eyes slightly:
“You certainly have many friends.”
Tifa immediately winked at Xia De, and it took Xia De a moment to understand her meaning:
“After the matter in Middelsburg is finished, Miss Jialinna, how about you teach me to ride a horse? We’ll make a deal, I’ll learn to ride before winter arrives.”
At this, the red-haired Duchess finally smiled:
“Of course.”
(Dorothy is rushing her manuscript.)
To go to Middelsburg, he naturally had to return to Saint Delan Square first. Since he had left too early in the morning, the newspapers, milk, and letters only arrived when he returned.
And Xia De, surprisingly, found a remittance slip from the client “Miss White” on the doormat. This was the final payment for that commission, serving as proof that the commission was completed.
The final payment was not much, only 7 pounds, which was the amount mentioned in the letter given by the neighbor when Xia De and Tifa went to Miss White’s residence, stating it would be remitted at the beginning of this month. And the real name of Miss White written on the remittance slip was indeed Grace White. She stated in the letter that since Hamilton Detective had already found Helen Black, who went to Middelsburg, the commission was considered concluded.
“Is the commission just over like this? Apart from Mia’s matter not being completely resolved, Sparrow Detective’s other remaining tasks are completely finished.”
Of course, even now, Xia De still didn't know what exactly happened to the twin girls, but he still looked forward to seeing them again.
Leaving Mia at home, Xia De set off for the City of Mountains. As agreed, after coming out of the abandoned tower, he went directly to the House of the Blind. When he arrived at the House of the Blind, it was 8:50 AM, and Sister Devlin had already arrived.
Because she was going to visit the small Ring術士 organization called “Crow Club” today, she did not wear her iconic gray nun’s habit, but instead a simple gray long dress with a black cloth strip tied around her waist as a belt.
The silver eye patch, of course, could not be worn, but because Sister Devlin had a congenital eye condition, she chose to wear a veil and sat in a wheelchair. Coupled with her inherent cool and reticent demeanor, she truly looked like a young noblewoman with a disability.
The two would go as the Writer John Watson and the Writer’s sister, Mary Watson, to seek out the Boy who could foretell future fates. However, because servants were not allowed during the visit, Xia De had to help push the silver wheelchair. He himself didn't mind this at all.
Setting off from the House of the Blind on Lufu Lane, the carriage took the two to Pig Tail Lane.
October was the withered leaf month, and it was already nearing late autumn. When Xia De jumped off the carriage, the cold wind blowing through the alley made him sigh at the passage of time.
Seeing that Sister Devlin did not immediately get out, he remembered that she was disguised as a young woman with a disability. So, he first moved the wheelchair down, and seeing Sister Devlin extend her hand to him, he carefully took her hand and, like a true gentleman, helped her into the wheelchair.
He then straightened his clothes, went to the steps of Building 8A, and knocked on the door in a three-long, two-short pattern.
“John Watson, who made an appointment last week, and the one behind me is my sister.”
Xia De said to the man who opened the door, then took out the brass badge with a crow pattern that he had received after paying the appointment fee last time.
The man who opened the door sized up the two of them, took back the badge, and stepped aside from the doorway, motioning for them to come in. So Xia De instructed the coachman to take out a wooden board from the carriage and place it on the steps. He pushed the wheelchair up the steps and told the coachman to wait for them nearby.
“Is this your private carriage?”
The man who opened the door asked curiously.
“No, it’s rented.”
Xia De shook his head, pushing the wheelchair into the house.
8 Lufu Lane was a street-facing apartment building, three stories high not including the attic. The area of each floor was at most half the size of each floor in Saint Delan Square, and there seemed to be very few people inside the house.
Considering that the “Crow Club” itself was a small local Ring術士 organization, perhaps its scale was even smaller than Xia De had imagined.
