, whispering chapters
Stepping downstairs in slippers, I retrieved the milk and newspaper, and also brought the "god's gift box" up from the basement. This week's gift was a thick brown wool scarf, perfect for the season. As for this week's task, it was "no task."
When Xia De received this information from "her," he thought he had misheard, but then he learned why this was the case:
【The Innocent Creator believes that children sometimes need rest.】
"That Old God is truly respectable."
Xia De muttered softly, putting away the scarf, planning to wear it when it snowed. Just as he was "fighting" with the cat, who was sprawled on the scarf, for ownership of the scarf, there was a knock at the door downstairs:
"Could it be a client?"
But when Xia De opened the door, what he saw was Dorothy, her head bowed. The Golden-haired girl looked a bit haggard, as if she had only quickly washed up before coming here.
"Come in quickly, oh, Dorothy, don't you have a key? Why are you knocking?"
Xia De let Dorothy in:
"Why are you here so early? Have you had breakfast? If not, eat breakfast first before talking. I can share Mia's goat milk with you. I secretly tasted it last time, and it tasted quite good."
"Meow?"
The cat on the high stairs looked at Xia De's back.
"No, there's something I need to tell you. My place was burglarized."
Dorothy said, standing in the hallway, and Xia De was stunned:
"Burglary? Oh, it couldn't be... judging by your expression, it must be that relic, Jack the Thief, right? My Dorothy, don't be sad. Losing things is normal. Yesterday, I even heard that something was stolen from the Ring術士 squad's station of the Orthodox Church. After all, that was a sage-level relic."
He took Dorothy's hand:
"Let's go upstairs before talking. What did you lose? Is it very valuable? It wouldn't be a relic, would it?"
Xia De comforted her:
"The Church also lost a keeper-level relic. That relic is so arrogant; something will happen to it sooner or later. A certain lady's Sunlight Gun is ready to be unleashed, and God will also curse such a shameless thief."
"I didn't lose anything valuable; your things were stolen."
Dorothy, her hand pulled by Xia De, said with her head down.
"My things?"
Xia De blinked, not immediately recalling what it could be.
"The letters, the letters you got from Professor Manning. I organized their content for you yesterday and put them on the desk. When I woke up this morning, I found the study window had been opened somehow, and two of those letters were missing."
She looked up at Xia De with some concern, but saw Xia De looking relieved:
"Dorothy, you really scared me. Coming here so early, I thought it was something major. I probably understand why Doctor Schneider doesn't want to see me early in the morning. It's just a few letters, it's fine. I'll apologize to Professor Manning. The Old Professor probably won't mind too much."
The lively cat led the way, and Xia De, holding the Golden-haired girl's hand, continued up the stairs.
"Is it really okay?"
Dorothy asked softly, worried.
"It's fine. However, do you still remember the specific content of those two letters? The relic Jack the Thief wouldn't steal worthless things. Since it only took those two letters, it means the clue I'm looking for about Professor Drake of Huntington is in those two letters."
The Golden-haired girl nodded:
"I helped you summarize the content of each letter, and also recorded the points of doubt. Although I can't restore all the details of those two letters, I remember the general content."
"That's good. You've worked hard, Dorothy."
Xia De kissed the Golden-haired girl's cheek, and her mood seemed to improve slightly.
【Are you really not bothered by the theft of those two letters?】
As they entered the second-floor room, "she" asked softly.
"How could I not be bothered? It actually dared to steal from Dorothy!"
Xia De, with a smile on his face, brought the prepared breakfast to the dining table, but Dorothy told Xia De to sit down and that she would do these things.
"I'm really very angry right now ~"
Especially when saying this in his heart, the anger became even stronger. Dorothy was still preparing breakfast in the kitchen and wouldn't notice Xia De's psychological change, but the cat by Xia De's hand tilted its head and looked at him, then softly "meowed ~". This cat magically sensed Xia De's emotions; it seems household pets all have this strange ability.
【Be careful, having absorbed the divinity of the Old God 'raging storm', the divinity is also affecting your personality in the short term.】
"She" said softly,
"I understand, but this anger is definitely not just because divinity is affecting me. It actually dared to steal from Dorothy!"
The Golden-haired girl, wearing an apron, turned on the gas and lit the somewhat rusty gas stove with a match, apparently thinking that the breakfast Xia De made wouldn't be enough for two people and a cat.
Xia De looked at the Golden-haired girl's figure:
"Sometimes, appropriate anger helps to stay clear-headed and motivated. I will definitely get my revenge!"
Although two important letters were lost, Dorothy had already organized the content of all the letters and summarized them with excellent writing.
Specifically, from the letters between Professor Manning of Tobesk and Professor Drake of Huntington City, Professor Drake was a person with considerable "ambition" and initiative. His research had a strong purpose, and while he was full of reverence for the unknown and ancient history, he always wanted to know more.
Professor Manning had warned Professor Drake many times that some Knowledge was not for them to casually explore, but Professor Drake's replies were quite perfunctory.
This description was completely different from the crippled Professor Drake Xia De knew. The Professor Drake he knew was clearly a person who lived a simple life, like a plant.
Dorothy's notebook also contained the general content of the two lost letters.
Those were letters from Professor Drake to Professor Manning, inquiring about the academic visits between the two schools for the following year. This was not official school correspondence, but rather two respected professors exchanging opinions and greetings. Among Professor Manning's letters, these two initially did not attract Dorothy's attention; like Xia De, she was more concerned with the academic discussions between the two professors.
And according to the information Dorothy recorded, in both letters, Professor Drake described his health problems. But he was not sick; instead, he praised his very healthy body, even mentioning that he ran and stayed up late with the young people at the school.
From a normal perspective, this letter would have no problem, but if one presupposes that this letter has a problem, then Professor Drake's "good health" looks quite problematic.
The tone Professor Drake used in those two letters was quite enthusiastic and positive, even excessively so. He seemed to have encountered something extremely good, his tone excited as he envisioned the continuation of his research, and even planned to personally lead a team to participate in archaeological excavations in the southern forests of Carson Rick. He claimed in the letter, "I have mastered my physical potential, and I can work for another 20 years."
Considering Professor Drake's age at the time, this was a considerable feat.
Two days before the latter of the two letters reached Professor Manning, which was the third day after this letter was sent by Professor Drake, Professor Drake set out to visit the Lake Goddess and encountered an accident. Therefore, Xia De had reason to believe that some unknown phenomenon affected the Professor, making him "very healthy." But then the Professor realized that this health was not right and posed a fatal threat, which is why he set off for Lake Cherub.
The three clues obtained from Professor Drake, besides the letters, also included a diary and a book. The Professor Drake in the diary claimed to have "double vision," and the book had "Knowledge is Power" written in strange characters.
The former might be linked to Professor Drake's "good health"; the investigation into the latter led Xia De to discover that the strange characters originated in the fourth epoch, with no other clues.
"From these obscure pieces of information, it can basically be inferred that the Lake Goddess not only erased the Professor's memory but also all other traces."
While eating breakfast, Xia De said to Dorothy. The Golden-haired girl was still apologetic about losing the important letters, and hearing Xia De's words, she nodded:
"Yes, so did that Old Professor come into contact with some relic, or was he targeted by something more terrifying?"
"Both are possible."
Xia De stroked Mia, who was beside him:
"I also entrusted a friend in Huntington to investigate the events that happened in the city back then at the Church. If we can find incidents involving Professor Drake and compare them with the clues currently at hand, we should be able to know the truth of what the Professor encountered back then."
This meant that the Lake Goddess's four trials had completed the second one. But Xia De knew things wouldn't be that simple; perhaps the trouble from back then hadn't been fully resolved, and the true purpose of the Lake Goddess's trial was for Xia De to solve that matter.
After breakfast, Dorothy bid farewell to Xia De, and urged him that if he found a way to capture the relic that stole the letters, he must call her to help. The Golden-haired girl truly felt very guilty about it.
Considering the possibility of his own home being burglarized, Xia De reconfirmed that valuables at home had been moved to the basement before leaving with Mia.
Today, Steam City Tobesk was still shrouded in thick fog. After leaving, Xia De directly turned in the direction of Silver Cross Avenue. When he arrived at the Prophet Association's entrance, the Prophet Association was already open.
Xia De noticed that the association's signboard had been replaced with a new one, and the bulletin board had also been updated to a new style. This should not only be because Princess Margaret was participating in a reading salon here, but also because the Prophet Association had so many pounds they didn't know where to spend them—rhode cards were indeed a very profitable business.
As usual, using the excuse of fortune-telling for the cat, he met Luvia during her working hours.
The Prophet Association staff were already used to Xia De's approach; seeing him come with a cat, they directly went to inform Luvia, who was on the second floor.
When Luvia opened the door to the divination room, Xia De was "fighting" with Mia with his right hand, which meant playing with the cat. The purple-eyed girl smiled and sat down:
"You really can find fun anytime. Oh, I just met Vice President Mark. He heard you were here and asked me to ask if you'd like to participate in the Prophet Association's rhode cards competition at the end of this year? If so, he can help you sign up now."
By the end of the year, whether it was official institutions or steam factories, noble clubs or large organizations like the Prophet Association, they would all hold some events to commemorate the year coming to an end. It could be the Parliament's year-end summary to the King, or a factory owner's small remuneration to the workers, or gifts from high-end clubs to their members.
But for the Prophet Association, the best way to celebrate was to hold a rhode cards competition, which was also an annual tradition.
"Sign me up first. If I have time, I'll participate."
Xia De skipped the topic of rhode cards:
"There's something I'd like your help with."
He placed the remaining two coins—the coin of wisdom and the dandelion coin—on the table:
"Help me divine something."
