Complaining about his own sloth, Xia De carefully let go of Luvia, whom he was holding, but his movement to get up still woke the purple-eyed girl.
Luvia, Dorothy, and Leia all knew that Xia De had a habit of getting up on time, so they weren't surprised that he was awake now.
“Luvia, you pick a few.”
Xia De sat up and conveniently took the wooden box from the nightstand.
He opened it and handed it to Luvia, who was still sleepy and didn't leave the warm covers.
She told Xia De to put the wooden box on the pillow:
“Really, getting up with a girl and immediately giving her pretty jewelry and ornaments, Detective, where did you learn such a bad habit?”
Despite saying this, she still lay on her side and took a purple gem; its color was very similar to her eyes.
Xia De didn't respond to Luvia's teasing.
He looked left and right and surprisingly didn't see Mia.
He didn't remember where the cat was last night, only that Luvia's new pajamas were pretty.
“Mia?”
He got dressed and walked out of the bedroom, only then seeing the cat looking at him pitifully in the air.
The reason it was in the air was that Xia De hadn't put away the palm-sized stone slab with silver corner guards last night, and now the cat was lying on the slab, which was floating horizontally in the air.
Luvia staying overnight at Saint Delan Square was not a first, so she stored some of her clothes in the astrology room specially reserved for her on the third floor.
She didn't need to rush home to change clothes this morning, so she had breakfast with Xia De and then went to work on Silver Cross Avenue.
In fact, because Saint Delan Square was closer to Silver Cross Avenue, she had even less need to rush.
During breakfast, Xia De mentioned that the Lake Goddess had promised him that for every one of the first three trials he completed, he would receive a gift or be able to bring a friend to see her.
The first time Xia De brought Sister Devlin, and now Xia De had two chances left.
Priest Augustus was unwilling to meet another angel, the doctor could be asked again, and while Dorothy and Leia were also special, they couldn't use the magician's escape box that only High-Ring Sorcerers could use.
Although Luvia's level was lower than that of the two princesses, Xia De believed she would find a way to use that relic.
Therefore, during breakfast today, he asked Luvia for her preference.
But, to his great surprise, Luvia refused without even thinking:
“I have no questions to ask, nor any wishes that only others can fulfill for me.
I will not actively go to meet anyone who might be related to a higher-dimensional existence.
Yes, Xia De, thank you for your kindness, but I think you can give this opportunity to someone else.”
Her words were so resolute that Xia De, who had originally wanted to ask for the reason, found it difficult to speak.
But on second thought, this should be related to the Time Curse on Luvia.
She was abandoned by time, and thus was not affected by the inconceivable-grade relic, 【Time of Retrospection】.
Although Xia De still didn't know what Luvia had done to be so special, he thought she must have destroyed something important.
Xia De was still busy today, but he still didn't dare to leave the precious Mia at home.
He had intended to send it to Miss Jialinna's manor for “refuge,” but Luvia took the initiative to take responsibility for looking after the cat for the day:
“I'll take it to the Prophet Association; the association doesn't forbid bringing cats to work.
Besides, isn't it very consistent with people's stereotypes for Fortune Tellers to have a cat?”
The purple-eyed girl said, and so Mia was reluctantly carried away by her.
When completing Old John's delivery task on Saturday night, Xia De helped the Ring術士 from Apner Library escape the Church's pursuit and unexpectedly discovered that Sir Sharpley, the Guiding Moon, was suspected of being an academic spy.
When delivering the fellow wounded by the Church's Ring術士 to 21 Ikem Street in Tobesk University District, Xia De proposed a transaction, and Tuesday morning was the agreed meeting time for both parties.
The reason for agreeing to meet in the morning was that only by appearing in black robes in that neighborhood in the morning would it be possible not to be noticed.
When Xia De knocked on the door of No. 21 in the morning mist, the door was opened almost immediately.
He slipped into the room and then quietly complained to the man who opened the door:
“Oh, damn it, didn't you pay for the City heating?”
The temperature inside the house was even colder than outside.
The person who opened the door for Xia De was a Ring術士 he had never seen before.
When shaking hands, Xia De confirmed that his level was Hexacle, like Doctor Schneider.
He was taciturn, introduced himself as “Mr. Leiberte,” and led Xia De directly to the study on the first floor.
Aside from the door and window positions, the four walls of the study were entirely covered with bookshelves.
Desks and sofa sets were placed on the floor, and tea sets were already laid out on the wooden coffee table, but Xia De certainly wouldn't drink the tea here.
The two did not waste time with pleasantries, and the conversation went straight to the point:
“The news from Saturday night was indeed leaked by us, leading to your team being ambushed by the Peace Church.
As compensation, I have already negotiated terms with the gentleman from the Hermit Order to try and fulfill the transaction you proposed.
Sir, what do you need?”
Xia De wore a robe and a mask, and his voice behind the mask was very hoarse:
“I need a stone slab.
After the collapse of the Old God Grey-Robed Sage's cult, some people joined you.
At that time, they not only brought you an astonishing number of books but also some special items.
Among them should be a stone slab, roughly square, with corner guards on all four sides.
There's a probability of gaining Ling Rune or Miracle Knowledge upon contact.”
Xia De described it according to the stone slab he already possessed.
The Grey-Robed Sage had no reason to make the three stone slabs look very different.
Since one had already been confirmed to be rectangular, the other two wouldn't be round or triangular.
The man hosting Xia De was silent for a moment:
“I will confirm whether the item you described is still in our possession.”
He got up and left, and Xia De sat alone in the empty room, flipping through today's newspaper on the coffee table.
Mr. Leiberte returned about half an hour later, presumably after contacting the headquarters of the Apner Library:
“Yes, that stone slab is indeed in our possession.
We believe it is a book, but so far no one has been able to discover its secret.
Its size is consistent with your description, with no letters on either side, and the four corner guards are made of a material similar to red jade.”
The corner guards of the stone slab in Xia De's hand were made of silver metal.
Since the one in Apner Library's possession was red jade, then the last stone slab, presumably in Saint Byron's, would most likely have yellow corner guards, though it's uncertain if they'd be brass or gold, but it could also be yellow gemstone:
“Oh, it's good that it's in your hands, please state your price.”
Mr. Leiberte nodded:
“We never use money to judge the value of a book; we prefer bartering.
Although we don't know what this stone slab is exactly, it must be an item from the previous epoch, and its value...”
“No need to emphasize its value; I believe I know more than you do.
Please just tell me what I need to pay.”
Xia De interrupted him.
“Books, valuable books.”
“The gentleman from the Hermit Order should have secured some convenience for me, so please tell me which books.”
Mr. Leiberte was silent for a moment:
“I have to admit, the old gentleman from the Hermit Order is very good at bargaining, but the value of that stone slab won't be like cabbage at a market because of it.
You only need to provide a few handwritten books that contain Ling Rune Knowledge, and then you can make up the difference with a large sum of pounds.”
Xia De felt that this was very likely Old John bargaining personally, because although everyone liked pounds, sometimes the items Ring術士 pursued were truly priceless treasures, and Apner Library generally did not accept cash transactions:
“If you need a book, would this one work?”
Xia De reached into his pocket and took out the book he had found in the river cave yesterday, “The Creepers in the Dark,” which could grant the 【Serpent】 Ling Rune.
A Ling Rune related to animals did not fit Xia De's Ring術士 system at all.
He himself had no intention of controlling snakes, turning into snakes, or becoming a bald person without nostrils or eyebrows.
The other people around him were also not suitable for this Ling Rune.
Xia De had originally planned to sell it to Mr. Edmund in Coldwater Port this weekend, but now he took it out to try his luck, and unexpectedly, the man he was talking to immediately recognized the book's origin:
“A book from the Pantanal region.”
Mr. Leiberte muttered something and quickly flipped through it:
“It should be the 1795 translation, and the word errors on pages nine and eleven are the most important features of this edition.
Your copy should be one of that batch of translated manuscripts.”
Then he sniffed it:
“The ink smells fine; the ink is mixed with the unique Shelan flower from the Pantanal Great Swamp region.
Of this edition, in 1853, there are no more than 27 handwritten copies in existence.
A dozen years ago, we obtained a very poorly preserved copy of ‘The Creepers in the Dark,’ missing a quarter of its pages.
I never expected to see such a well-preserved one today.”
Xia De noticed that as he quickly flipped through the book in his hand, his eyes emitted a faint blue light.
This was not a magic eye, because Xia De did not feel the whisper element; this should be a unique Miracle mastered by the Apner Library, used to inspect books.
“This counts as stolen goods.”
Xia De emphasized, and the man nodded:
“Whether it's stolen goods or not doesn't matter; we have very professional aging and disguise techniques.”
Mr. Leiberte placed the book on the coffee table between them:
“This is a good collection, but you should know that this book is far less valuable than the ancient artifact from the previous epoch that you want to obtain.”
He twirled his fingers at Xia De, who snorted:
“Of course, as long as an ancient artifact doesn't belong to the sixth epoch, its price increases exponentially.
Tell me, how much more do I need to add to the price?
A few thousand pounds? Tens of thousands of pounds? Or, do you want me to do something else for you?”
---Extraneous Remarks---
ps: There's a recommendation on the 26th; I'll add more updates then, at least 10,000 words.
The comments for this chapter have been a bit fewer in recent days, but the read-through data hasn't changed much, so it seems there are fewer things to complain about.
7017k
