“Understood.”
Iluna looked eager to try:
“Last time, I was only able to defeat Darkness with your help. This time, I must prove that I can do it myself.”
This meaningless “competition” was actually Iluna feeling that Xia De was doing too much. Similar to Luvia often self-deprecating about her uselessness, the seventeen-year-old girl also wanted to prove that among the three, she also had an irreplaceable role.
“Your safety is the most important.”
Xia De reminded her, and Iluna nodded with a smile:
“Oh, one more thing, a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer from the Three Great Arcane Academies has arrived.”
Grandma Cassandra had mentioned this:
“Who is it?”
“It’s someone from your Saint Byron's.”
“Hmm?”
Xia De was very surprised; Saint Byron's only had two Thirteenth Ring Arcanists in this era:
“Has Miss Daniste arrived? Then I’ll have to be careful.”
“No, it’s your headmaster, Professor Andre Pigman, the ‘Silver The Watcher’.”
“The Headmaster himself came?”
This was the most surprising thing so far:
“But how would the Five Gods Church allow such a thing?”
Although the Church and the Academy had a cooperative relationship, normally, the Academy's Thirteenth Ring Arcanists would not casually enter the Church's core diocese. For example, Middlesburg was the core diocese of the Natural Church.
“To deal with the Gap, the Church also needs the Academy’s help. Moreover, in the incident of the second Chosen One, Miss Mana Feilianna, the founder of Saint Byron's, actually appeared. Saint Byron's believes that since it happened once, there might be a second time.”
“Although such a deduction is not unreasonable. But it definitely won’t happen this time, I can be sure of that.”
Xia De immediately said, and Iluna smiled, twirling the cup in her hand. She was also present when Miss Felianna appeared:
“You can be sure, and I believe you, but Saint Byron's and our Church don’t know that. So Professor Pigman came… Oh, he hasn’t arrived yet. Thirteen Ring Sorcerers are all very busy people. He will arrive in Middlesburg on the day the ritual is held. Or, when we find traces of Joey Barton and take action, he will also come.”
“The Church’s preparations this time are truly thorough. First, they eliminate unstable factors, deterring other Ring術士s, and then they invite a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer from outside the Church as a helper. I think Zaras and Cerces should have also sent twelve-ring professors.”
“After all, with the precedents of Tobesk and Coldwater Port, the Church always learns its lessons.”
She shook the small silver teaspoon.
Iluna held a cup of black tea with milk, the amount of black tea being twice that of the milk, which made the tea look very smooth, and the liquid surface had a gradient of white and red. Xia De’s cup contained black tea with lemon juice. The Outsider didn't understand tea tasting and didn't have a very elegant taste; this was recommended by Iluna for Xia De to try.
“So when exactly does the ritual begin? I asked my Priest friend, he’s also attending the ritual, but he still doesn’t know the exact time.”
“Because the time hasn’t been determined yet, the Church’s astrologers are waiting for the right moment.”
Iluna lowered her voice:
“But it definitely won’t be this week, after all, the four nails haven’t been dealt with yet. It should be next week, definitely before Thursday.”
Today was already Thursday, and the story of Mi Fort finally came to its last act.
Iluna couldn’t be out for too long, so after they finished talking, she took the red rose and returned to the Sun Church. The Church hadn't figured out the cause of the strange City-wide fog, so combatants like Iluna had to be on standby, ready to depart at any time.
After bidding farewell to Iluna, Xia De walked towards the Dawn Church in the City center. Fortunately, as noon approached, the rising sun dispersed some of the thick fog, and empty carriages could finally be found on the street. Otherwise, Xia De estimated he wouldn't reach the Dawn Church before 1 PM.
Priest Augustus waited for Xia De at the intersection of Oak Street as agreed. After they met, they first went to have lunch. During lunch, Xia De told the Priest that the Witch Council had reinforced the seal on the mountainside.
Although the Priest didn't know what connection Xia De had with the Witch Council, he was very satisfied with the matter:
“So far, all actions have been very smooth. I think the matter in Middlesburg will definitely come to a perfect end.”
Although everyone hoped so, to an Outsider, saying such words before the matter ended seemed a bit inauspicious.
Xia De and Priest Augustus's task this afternoon was to determine the locations of the remaining two “nails.” Given that the Church had already begun operations in the northern part of the City, they started their search from the southern part of the City.
Priest Augustus claimed to be able to roughly sense the target's location. Xia De originally thought he just needed to stand on a high place and close his eyes to get information from the wind. But the Old Priest instead mocked Xia De for being too naive, saying that Ring術士 mysticism also had basic rules.
To find the resurrected dead, they relied on a pitch-black feather. The feather looked exactly like something the Priest had pulled from his own wings.
“No, don’t think wildly. This is my Miracle. The essence of this feather is similar to your Moonlight Greatsword.”
The Priest explained as if he knew what Xia De was thinking, then on the fog-shrouded street, he held the feather between his palms and raised it to his face.
He took a deep breath and blew, and the feather, as if caught by a strong wind, quickly flew towards the sky.
“That’s enough.”
The Priest let out a long breath and gestured for Xia De to find a carriage with him:
“Miracle 【Dead Search】, its original characteristic is to precisely detect undead creatures, but because of my talent, the Miracle effect has mutated to be able to widely search for any creature that can be defined as ‘dead’. Of course, you need to know their main characteristics.”
That pitch-black feather would hover and float over the area where the target was located. Today's weather was just right for using this Miracle without being discovered.
The Priest could sense the approximate location of the feather, so the two only needed to have the carriage go to the corresponding location. As for the rest, that was what Xia De needed to do.
Their luck was very good. After the feather floated for twenty minutes, it actually found the target in the southern part of the City. Xia De and Priest Augustus, who arrived later, found that the vicinity was a relatively prosperous core district of the southern City.
Priest Augustus roughly delineated the area on the map, and then Xia De and the Priest walked, searching in the fog. At three in the afternoon, when the two turned from the Elm Street intersection to Annabelle Street, Xia De finally felt a burning sensation on his right shoulder:
“It’s around here.”
The two quickened their pace, and when they arrived outside a large mansion belonging to a local noble in the middle of Annabelle Street, the Red Butterfly imprint on Xia De’s shoulder finally impatiently left his skin, flapping its wings in front of Xia De, as if wanting to lead him into that house:
“It’s here!”
Xia De stopped, and Priest Augustus looked at the Red Butterfly in confusion, then surveyed the noble mansion in the thick fog.
This house was surrounded by high walls, and the courtyard ground was at least half a person lower than the road. Only the upper part of the second floor of the mansion in the courtyard could be seen. From the decorations, the owner of the mansion was a declining grand noble, which was common in large Cities of this era.
The decline was due to the old decorations of the mansion, and the grand noble status was seen from the decorations at the gate. Leia also taught Xia De some common knowledge about nobles during her Saturday lessons, so Xia De understood these things.
Of course, this was not enough for Xia De and Priest Augustus to know whose house this was. But a little inquiry around revealed that this mansion belonged to Earl Darrak of Campbell.
“It’s him?”
Back at the mansion entrance, Xia De looked surprised.
“Detective, do you know him?”
“Yes, I met him at the Fire Worship Festival party. At that time, this Earl wanted to invite one of my female companions to dance, and then proposed to gamble with rhode cards with me, and then…”
He shrugged, the outcome was self-evident.
“Do you know this person?”
The Priest asked again, and Xia De nodded, recalling:
“He was dressed very showily at the time, with gaudy medals on his red formal suit, and a flower pinned in his reddish-brown hair. He wore dark red pants on his lower body, and white long socks on his legs, the socks covering the pants up to the knees. Oh, I can’t appreciate that style of dress. This Earl’s height was probably similar to mine, but he was slightly thinner than me, rumored to be recovering from a serious illness…”
At this point, Xia De realized something:
“Could it be that the so-called recovery from a serious illness was simply that he died of illness? But after being resurrected, people and the Earl himself thought he had recovered… Speaking of which, when I saw him at the Fire Worship Festival party, I felt something was off about him, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. (Chapter 693)”
“Sounds like a typical declining noble; I’ve seen many in Tobesk. As for whether he or the servants in the house are who we’re looking for, we’ll know once we go inside.”
The Priest said, and was about to pull the doorbell, but Xia De reached out to stop him:
“What reason do we have for visiting? Although I’m carrying the Night Watchman, I can’t exactly say we’re here to sell antiques, can I?”
Xia De waved the long sword wrapped in gray cloth in his hand.
He was disguised with the Witch’s eyeshadow, and Priest Augustus also had his own potion to use, so they weren’t worried about their identities being seen through, but a reason was needed for a visit.
The Old Priest, very experienced, gave the answer:
“Isn’t he a rhode cards player? You can claim to be an out-of-town rhode cards player who wants to gamble with the Earl. You should have some special cards that you didn’t use when you were a Great City Player, right?”
“Of course. Brave Saga: Bard Fletcher can be used.”
Xia De waved his hand, and the card automatically flew out of his pocket, hovering between the two of them.
This was won from a young Poet who had traveled the Old Continent, in a tavern at the Windy Path traveler's camp. Besides Mr. Sean Asmon, who called himself a “Demon Scholar,” Sister Devlin, and the Vampire Armand Bernhardt, no one knew this card was in Xia De’s hands. As for the Queen of Hearts card, 【New World Exploration History: Wind of Exploration】, also obtained in Mi Fort, it was inconvenient to bring out because it was related to Miss Aurora.
“Show this card, maybe the butler will let us in.”
“What if they don’t?”
Xia De asked, and the Priest shook his head again:
“Detective, look around.”
“Around… What about it?”
Xia De was puzzled, and the Old Priest said meaningfully:
“It’s foggy weather right now. In such weather, anything can happen.”
