After the doctor entered the dream, he altered Mr. James's memory, making him believe that he had fainted from drinking too much. Therefore, when he woke up in his room at 4:30 PM, Mr. James had no idea what had happened that afternoon.
However, when he apologized for his gaffe, he suddenly paused, then showed a look of pleasant surprise:
"Doctor Schneider, that fatal sense of crisis, like a long snake coiling around my body, is gone!"
Perhaps because he was too excited, his language even became flowery.
Mr. James strode to the window and pushed open the narrow room's window. The choking smell of smog poured in from outside. Xia De and Doctor Schneider quickly retreated, but Mr. James, instead, took a deep breath, then coughed violently:
"Cough, cough, I mean, cough, cough, oh, this is truly invigorating. Doctor, I feel completely well, yes, now I don't even feel danger standing at the window."
"For God's sake, close the window quickly."
Doctor Schneider said urgently.
"Doctor, how did you do it?"
Mr. James closed the window and asked with great surprise. Doctor Schneider thought for a moment:
"Before you went to sleep, you challenged your courage with Hamilton Detective's pistol. After falling asleep with my assisted hypnosis, you must have recalled that near-death feeling again in your dream because of this incident."
"You might not remember what happened in the dream, but people in dreams subconsciously drop their psychological defenses, making you closer to death than in reality. This is also why some people are scared to death in dreams."
Xia De said solemnly, and Doctor Schneider nodded:
"Yes, this is my unique hypnotic therapy. Although the dream experience has been forgotten, your subconscious still remembers that you once died and have passed through the crisis of life and death. So when you wake up, you feel completely normal."
"Then will this completely make me lose my sense of crisis?"
Mr. James asked with some concern again. So Doctor Schneider looked at Xia De, who deftly drew his gun, holding it with both hands and aiming at Mr. James. The latter immediately raised his hands in surrender:
"Oh, my God. Detective, please put the gun away."
"How do you feel now?"
Doctor Schneider took out his notebook with great interest, ready to record.
"I am very sure that my perception of danger is still normal. Doctor, I promise I will pay you the full consultation fee, so please tell Detective to put the gun down. You two are a really good team."
In short, the adventure with Doctor Schneider that afternoon, although it encountered some unexpected events, was not very dangerous overall. Besides receiving 20 pounds each from Princess Margaret, Mr. James also agreed to let them admire his "family heirloom."
Just as Xia De had guessed, it was an ancient holy emblem. The holy emblem was roughly tree-shaped, about half the size of a palm, and was carefully placed by Mr. James in his travel suitcase.
The holy emblem was made of half-metal and half-wood, and after thousands of years, only faint, imperceptible scratches appeared on its surface.
After receiving permission, Xia De reached out and touched the holy emblem, confirming that it was indeed a divine artifact. Unfortunately, the gods had departed a thousand years ago, and without divine magic to maintain it, this item was about to completely degrade into a mundane object. Although it was still a very valuable antique, without the protection of Miracle elements, the holy emblem would once again be worn down by time, and it would probably not retain its current appearance for more than a few hundred years.
Neither Xia De nor Doctor Schneider had any thoughts about Mr. James's family heirloom, so after settling the consultation fees, they bid farewell and left. Doctor Schneider believed that Xia De also contributed to healing this patient, so before parting ways, he gave Xia De 5 pounds from the generous treatment fee paid by Mr. James.
Because of the large income that afternoon, Xia De even took Mia to an outside restaurant for dinner that evening and instructed Mia during the meal to thank Doctor Bill Schneider for the sumptuous dinner.
"Meow~"
The cat, eager to eat, completely ignored Xia De.
At 8 PM, the second-floor study of Saint Delan Square Six was lit. Xia De, who had a fulfilling day, was engrossed in his thesis in the study. At the intersection of Saint Delan Square, illuminated by streetlights, a royal carriage procession slowly approached, and the most luxurious carriage stopped under the streetlight.
The carriage door opened, and Miss Great Witch Sylvia stepped out:
"Your Highness, I'll get off here. You should go back and rest quickly. You still have to visit the Tobesk Art Museum tomorrow morning."
She said to her student, and Princess Margaret hesitated and nodded:
"Teacher, is this where your student in Tobesk, whom you mentioned, lives?"
"In this block, but I won't tell you the exact address. She wrote to me this afternoon, inviting me to check her thesis tonight."
Miss Sylvia said, the golden chain of her handbag wrapped around her hand:
"Go back quickly. Remember to contact Cerces to hand over the relic. We will try to complete the Four Ring to PentaCircle sublimation ritual before you leave Tobesk."
She waved her hand. Princess Margaret actually wanted to visit the "lucky girl" favored by Miss Sylvia, but seeing her teacher's attitude, she knew she wouldn't have that luck today.
"Teacher, will you be back tonight? I'll have the servants prepare supper for you in advance."
"Perhaps not. We have a lot to talk about."
Miss Sylvia thought for a moment and replied. Besides the mathematics thesis, Xia De also wanted to ask her about increasing the range of Raglai's Leap.
Princess Margaret showed an unwilling expression. Staying overnight at a student's home meant that the other party was truly treated as a Witch's apprentice. She nodded somewhat reluctantly. As the carriage slowly drove away, the Princess remembered Xia De Hamilton, whom she had met that afternoon, who seemed to live in a house next to this square.
Margaret Anjou, with light makeup on her face, saw the blurred door of Saint Delan Square Six through the misty window of the carriage. Seeing the gas lamp on the second floor emitting an ambiguous light in the night fog, she knew the Detective was home. The warm yellow halo showed peculiar optical effects in the fog, and the rings of light made one want to yawn.
She imagined what Xia De, living alone, might be doing. It wasn't that she suspected Xia De was Miss Sylvia's student—that was absolutely impossible—but rather she was pondering whether her knowledge that Xia De was a very powerful Ring術士 had any special significance for her upcoming journey in Tobesk.
"Speaking of which, the intelligence I've received indicates that Mr. Gray Headed Eagle is also hidden in a house near Silver Cross Avenue, a house from which a corner of Yodel Palace can be seen. I wonder where he will be. What a coincidence, Hamilton of Leijiede, the teacher's apprentice, and Mr. Gray Headed Eagle all live nearby. Will there be even more incredible residents living nearby?"
The carriage carried the melancholic young girl away, and her gaze thus left the entrance of Saint Delan Square Six. Miss Sylvia, after the dust raised by the carriage, quietly walked up the steps in front of Saint Delan Square Six, took off her wide-brimmed lady's hat covered with a thin veil, and looked up at the full view of the house in the dark night.
The exterior walls of the house looked a bit old, but there were also slight traces of renovation. Rusty gas pipes and steam pipes climbed the walls, and the rain eaves of the high roof were blurred in the night, seemingly with bats hanging on them, but on closer inspection, they were just peculiar shadows. All the windows had curtains drawn, and there were a few potted flowers on the windowsill of the second-floor living room, casting dark shadows on the curtains under the gas lamp's illumination, which looked very lively.
"So, this is where Xia De lives. Visiting the home of a single man is truly an interesting experience. What will the famous haunted house from Tobesk's urban legends actually be like?"
She was about to knock, but at this moment, Xia De, feeling the badge on his chest grow hot, had already walked down the stairs.
"Good evening, Miss Sylvia."
Xia De opened the door and stepped aside, allowing the Witch to enter the house. The young Witch in a red dress smiled and nodded:
"Good evening, Xia De, oh, good evening, lovely Mia. This place looks very interesting. Do you mind if I stay late?"
The door closed behind them, and darkness once again enveloped the entrance of Saint Delan Square Six. The dim yellow light of the gas lamp could not penetrate the smog to illuminate the metal house number on the door.
The light from the crack in the door went out, which meant the light in the hallway was extinguished. Then, footsteps climbing the stairs were heard from inside—thump, thump, thump~. Their figures appeared at the second-floor living room window, and then the two figures disappeared.
Great Witch Emma Sylvia officially began her first visit to the Detective's home.
