“You look a little sad.”
At ten o'clock in the morning, at Miss Jialinna's manor in the south of the City, Xia De sat on the sofa with a teacup, his back to the window, when the Red-haired Witch tilted her head and suddenly spoke.
“Nothing, just thinking about some friends.”
Xia De shook his head.
“Then, why have you brought this box to me?”
The Duchess raised an eyebrow. On the tea table between them, the god's gift box was prominently displayed. Since she had seen Xia De use this box during the Darkness Domain incident, she wasn't surprised by its reappearance.
“The box's characteristic is that a child can take one gift from it each week. I've tried for over two months, but only last week, with two of my female friends observing, did I manage to retrieve a relic. I remember it was the 【omnipotent key】.”
Xia De said with a smile, then bent down and pulled out the orange cat curled inside. Mia looked very displeased, meowing at Xia De.
“You are a child?”
Miss Jialinna asked in surprise:
“Can a man like you, who has been to bed with a girl, still be considered a child?”
This question made Tifa, who was leading the maids to bring tea and refreshments, smile.
“In any case, that deity seems to think I count.”
Xia De said, then insisted that Tifa stand beside him before reaching into the box, whose lid had already slid open.
“Xia De, that's really a strange superstition.”
Although Miss Jialinna said this, she still maintained a strong curiosity about the upcoming “gift.”
So, under everyone's gaze, Xia De reached into the box and then touched a medium-sized metal object:
“Oh, an ordinary item, it looks like a small box.”
Slightly disappointed, Xia De took the box out. Both Xia De and Mia blinked. The “inexperienced” person and cat couldn't immediately identify what the finely crafted box with a small key inserted into its keyhole was.
It looked like a makeup box, but the weight was a bit off. Although it felt like metal, the lid and part of the body were enamel, looking very delicate. This should be a handmade item.
“What is this?”
Xia De placed it on the tea table.
“How nostalgic. When I was twelve or thirteen, I loved collecting these things.”
The Red-haired Witch nodded to Tifa, who was standing beside Xia De. The maid hesitated for a moment, lifted her skirt with both hands, revealing a part of her black buttoned leather shoes and white long socks under the skirt. She carefully knelt down, and while Xia De and Miss Jialinna's gazes were drawn elsewhere, she turned the key in the box on the table three times.
After letting go, she gently opened the lid. The sound of gears turning regularly rang out, followed by crisp music, and then metal white swans and a ballet dancer popped out of the box, rotating and dancing to the music.
The music was very pleasant to the ear, and even an Outsider knew it was a famous folk song from northern Delarion.
“A music box, it looks very nice.”
Miss Jialinna said. Tifa stood up, but Xia De still looked at her:
“Then give it to Tifa. It's useless for me to keep it.”
The black-haired girl did not refuse; instead, she curtsied with a smile, holding the hem of her skirt:
“Then I thank you for your generosity.”
Miss Jialinna raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The task accompanying this gift was still not difficult; this week, Xia De needed to take at least two baths. Perhaps The Innocent Creator believed this was a good habit children must develop from a young age.
Of course, Xia De did not go strolling in Mi Fort today, but rather visited Miss Jialinna, and not just to bring the box for a gift.
He also brought the sword he had taken from Mi Fort last night, wrapped in a bedsheet. After unwrapping the bedsheet layer by layer, the longsword with bright yellow runes appeared in the manor's study.
“Miss Jialinna, I'd like to ask for your help in identifying what this is.”
“Oh, this sword looks really good.”
Tifa picked up the sword, then walked around the tea table and handed it to her mistress. Miss Jialinna lightly flicked the blade, then stood up and skillfully executed a sword flourish with the longsword. Royal family members all underwent training in cold weapons and equestrian archery; noble ladies of high society were not delicate and useless. And Jialinna Cavendish, as a Duchess with a fief, even had a dedicated training ground and equestrian archery range in her own castle:
“relic-level longswords are truly rare, Xia De. Where did you get this? Also, you actually brought something like this wrapped in a bedsheet?”
“I don't have a scabbard. As for its origin, please look at this.”
Xia De then moved the briefcase at his feet onto the tea table, clicked open the latch, flipped open the box, and deftly rotated it one hundred and eighty degrees so that Miss Jialinna could see the black stone in the bottle lying inside:
“A severely damaged heart of a Flame Demon. Because it just died not long ago, it still has some warmth.”
“Flame Demon…”
The Witch slightly opened her mouth, staring at the black stone in the bottle that emitted an imperceptible warmth, hesitating for a long while before looking at Xia De:
“Xia De, if I'm not mistaken, you're trying to say that you killed a Flame Demon?”
“No, no, no.”
Xia De hurriedly shook his head:
“It was my friend who did it, and I just got the spoils.”
Because he had to keep Doctor Schneider's secret, Xia De didn't explain too clearly, only describing the location of the mountain cave, the past image contained in the longsword, and the suspected traces left by a fifth epoch Great Witch that he saw on the other side of the stone platform:
“I suspect there's a ruin left by a Witch on the other side of that broken bridge. And since that location is so secret, perhaps the mountain cave corresponding to it in the Between Life and Death is the mountain passage sealed by the Witch Emperors. As for these two items, I hope you can help me appraise the longsword and find a buyer willing to purchase the Flame Demon's heart.”
“I'm still curious who actually killed a Flame Demon. Even if it was sealed for hundreds of years as you said, it's not something human Ring術士 can easily contend with.”
Miss Jialinna muttered, but seeing that Xia De was unwilling to speak, she didn't press further. She brushed a strand of hair from her ear, and Xia De's gaze lingered on the amethyst hair ornament on her head.
“Today is Monday. Noon is the time for the council meeting. Because matters in Mi Fort need to be confirmed, all the Great Witches of the council will participate. I'll help you inquire about a buyer for the Flame Demon's heart. As for this sword, you can go to Grandma Cassandra for appraisal; she is the Witch among us most skilled at relic appraisal.”
So Xia De and Mia stayed at the manor for lunch together. The Witches' meeting was long, so after lunch, Xia De had nothing to do, and Tifa took Xia De to learn how to ride a horse in the manor's courtyard. As for Mia, she didn't run around but stayed in the study, napping on the back of the sofa where she could bask in the sun.
It wasn't until three o'clock that Xia De, who had barely mastered the techniques of mounting a horse and shaking the reins, finally waited for Miss Jialinna's return.
She brought good news: someone wanted to buy the severely damaged Flame Demon's heart, but it wasn't a Witch from the council, but rather Grandma Cassandra purchasing it on behalf of Sister Devlin of the Spiritual Cultivation Order.
To prevent the other Great Witches from suspecting the heart's origin, she had already given the Flame Demon's heart to Grandma Cassandra, and Xia De could go to Mi Fort to collect the payment. At the same time, she also conveyed Xia De's discovery of the mountain cave to the council. The Witches attached great importance to it; even if it wasn't a seal leading to true death, it was still valuable to them because, after all, it was a trace left by the Witches of the fifth epoch.
“Also, Xi Wei will arrive in Mi Fort tomorrow.”
“That fast?”
“It's already very slow, who knows what she's doing.”
Miss Jialinna snorted, then glanced at Xia De:
“However, what exactly have you been doing in Mi Fort recently? I thought you'd be entangled with the Chosen One matter, but how did you encounter a Flame Demon? Also, on Wednesday of this week, little Leia recovered the kingdom's lost important secret documents; that wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?”
“If you're referring to those mechanical data, yes, it does concern me.”
“Your methods of charming girls are truly impressive.”
The Witch teased, and seeing Xia De about to retort, she gestured for him not to explain:
“Leia is not an easy person to get along with either. She has great ambition, more desire and means than her brothers and sisters. I'm quite curious how far she can go with your help.”
As she spoke, she had Tifa bring red wine glasses, signaling Xia De to have a drink with her:
“The matters in Mi Fort are coming to an end. The ritual led by the Natural Church is about to begin. Since there are rumors that the Chosen One of death is the key to solving the Between Life and Death, then I think he must be about to appear.”
Clinking glasses with Xia De from a distance, the Witch raised her pale neck and drank the wine in one gulp:
“Even if Xi Wei arrives in Mi Fort, you still need to be careful. I just heard Grandma Cassandra say that people from the Truth Society have appeared in that City, so it seems they have also realized the matter of the third Chosen One. And with the Truth Society, various Ring術士 organizations will appear.”
Compared to the time of the Dark Chosen One, this time the organizations outside the Orthodox Church and the Miracle Academy were much slower in getting the news.
“The Blood Spirit School isn't going to appear again, are they?”
Xia De asked hesitantly.
“I don't think so. Weeping Blood Hermons was seriously injured in Tobesk by the 'Sunlight Greatsword' who has decided to be permanently stationed in this diocese. Even if it's rumored they found the Creation Birthing Chamber, it's impossible for them to heal themselves so quickly. Also, the Vampire clans that originally supported them, due to the twelve-ring Vampire being captured in Millwood Forest, are said to have had disagreements with the Blood Spirit School.”
The Witch smiled:
“At least this time, it's impossible for you to encounter the Blood Spirit School in Mi Fort.”
“Vampires…”
Xia De remembered the local Vampires in Mi Fort, and Bernhardt and his nephew, who had appeared there for unknown reasons:
“The local Vampires in Mi Fort also seem to be making big moves.”
“That's something Xi Wei and Grandma Cassandra need to worry about, it has nothing to do with me.”
The Duchess placed the wine glass in her hand back on the tea table. Xia De then noticed that he had only taken a sip, so he also tilted his head and drank the wine. The alcohol content of this red wine far exceeded the apple cider he had drunk in Mi Fort, and he choked and coughed.
Miss Jialinna laughed, signaling Tifa to gently pat Xia De's back:
“Xia De, do you have anything else to do this afternoon? Stay for dinner, we can continue to talk about what you saw with the time key you got from Grandma Cassandra. I've already bought most of the things you need to purchase.”
Xia De was going to the doctor's place tonight to deal with exchanging the 【corpse mirror】 for the 【traveler's travel door】, so he didn't plan to go to Mi Fort today.
So, he stayed at the manor and spent a peaceful, uneventful autumn afternoon with Miss Jialinna, who was holding a teacup, and Tifa, who stood behind the Duchess the entire time.
The withered fallen leaves almost covered the manor's courtyard. Looking out from the study's reddish-brown square lattice window, servants were diligently sweeping with brooms, or working while chatting and carrying sundries. Outside the manor was the already colored autumn grassland, further in the distance were Woods, rice fields, and then, the City of Tobesk, the Steam City, standing in the northwest of the Old Continent.
Compared to adventure, Xia De preferred this peaceful time.
The time was the seventh day of the withered leaf month (October), and late autumn was approaching. From coming to this world in midsummer until now, the Outsider had gained many things he was unwilling to give up.
PS: Recommending a book for a friend, it's the new book by the author of 'All People Are Witches 1994'.
