On the surface, Priest Augustus and Dorothy had a casual friendship, so the Old Priest greeted her normally:
"Good afternoon, Miss Louisa. Are you here to see the Detective? What a coincidence, he just got home."
He pointed behind him, then told the coachman not to leave and helped him move the stone box onto the carriage. Only after getting into the carriage did the Priest wave goodbye to Xia De and Dorothy.
The Golden-haired girl stood in the glow of the setting sun, its afterglow adorning her makeup. After confirming that the carriage carrying Priest Augustus had left, she greeted Xia De:
"Xia De, do you have any other plans tonight? Shall we have dinner together?"
She shook the notebook in her hand, then greeted the cat peeking from behind Xia De's feet:
"Good evening, Mia."
"Meow~"
The cat, very familiar with Dorothy, meowed once but still dared not cross Xia De and run directly out of the house.
Completing the Lake Goddess's third trial was a significant task accomplished for Xia De. To celebrate, he accepted Dorothy's invitation, changed his clothes, and took the cat and the Writer Miss to the "Golden October Restaurant" on Silver Cross Avenue.
This was a relatively expensive restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue, but fortunately, Xia De had earned a lot in Huntington in the past few days.
During the meal, Xia De and Dorothy talked about his experiences that afternoon:
"I defeated an angel. Although the other party deliberately suppressed his power, and I also used the power of a Sage-level relic, it's still worth celebrating."
People in high society who dined in upscale restaurants liked to bring their own wine, and Xia De was no exception. He uncharacteristically brought a bottle of wine and raised his glass to clink with Dorothy. Dorothy, who had changed into a blue dress, raised her glass, not looking very surprised:
"If you suddenly told me one day that you had already been promoted to Thirteenth Ring, I wouldn't be surprised either."
"That will probably take a long time."
Xia De put down the goblet and used his hand to shoo away the cat, which was poking its head out, trying to sniff the wine glass.
The restaurant's ambiance was excellent. The gas lamps here were extremely dim, but the candles on the candelabras, arranged at varying heights on the tables, were lit. The lighting was just right, not affecting vision and enhancing the atmosphere, which somewhat justified the restaurant's high price.
Xia De did not specifically mention the details of his battle with the angel, nor could he discuss the specific origin of the ancient angel for Dorothy's mental health. But he did mention the 【Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow】; that arrow and the water pouch were now stored in his basement:
"If a talented person is scratched, they can become a talent, but the awakening is not very stable. I think it's better for me to keep this weapon. If it really falls into the hands of the Pantanal Voodoo Society, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause."
"Directly become a talent?"
The Golden-haired girl blinked, and Xia De knew she was thinking of little Princess Angelina.
"No, no, Leia would not let Angelina become a Ring術士 now, and you also said that if that arrow is used for awakening, it will make the Ring術士 more prone to losing control."
Dorothy refuted herself, so Xia De didn't say much either; Leia had her own arrangements for Angelina's matter. However, he expressed his regret at not being able to shoot that arrow:
"I was just one shot away from touching the fourth Ling Rune of the Four Ring, but that lady in white robes conceded."
The waiter pushed the dining cart, bringing the "Tobesk Oil-Soaked Duck Meat." After the waiter left, Xia De continued to complain:
"That feeling was as uncomfortable as thousands of Mia crawling all over me."
【Didn't you say hundreds this afternoon?】
Xia De exaggerated slightly, and Dorothy fully understood his meaning, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and chuckling softly:
"The arrow is in your hand, and you have obtained those special waters. There will always be another chance to use that arrow."
"Yes, there will be opportunities in the future, but this afternoon... even though I have over ten thousand pounds in cash, I still don't have the confidence to buy a satisfactory bow."
He changed the subject himself to prevent that "thousand-cat scratching heart" feeling from becoming stronger.
"There are many famous relic bows in Saint Byron's. Since Miss Blainey Oranode, the Moon Witch you mentioned, is a half-elf, she should also be good at using bows and arrows, right?"
Dorothy asked while looking down at her food, and Xia De nodded.
However, elves being good at using bows and arrows, just like elves never eating meat, are all stereotypes. Xia De had never seen Miss Olanorde, who was skilled in "yellow moon" power, use bow-and-arrow type weapons.
"Since you feel so uncomfortable..."
The lady across the table winked at Xia De. Subsequently, Xia De felt something rubbing his leg under the table, which was covered by a white tablecloth. The texture should have been ladies' stockings. The tablecloth was long, and the restaurant lighting was dim, otherwise Dorothy would never have done such a thing.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her right hand, while her left hand held a fork, picking up food from her plate. She looked at Xia De in the candlelight:
"I'm feeling a bit unwell today. I'll go back to Feather Pen Street later to record Professor Drake's story. Even if it can't be published, it's excellent material. Perhaps you could go find Luvia."
Her flushed cheeks lowered as she ate the duck meat on her plate. Xia De blinked and used the Blood Echo to confirm some things. To prevent himself from being mistaken, he also said in his mind:
"Help me calculate."
【It's today.】
He turned to look at the cat, which was lying on the high stool, waiting to be fed. The cat stared at him with wide eyes. When he had brought Mia back earlier, Luvia had said she was going to the city's black market tonight to pick up goods and prepare the potions needed for her course assignment. So, tonight, it would probably just be him and Mia at home.
On a night alone at home, Xia De also had many things to do. Since the 【Power】 Ling Rune was already in his possession, he planned to learn a new Miracle.
He already possessed the spell 【Red Dragon Power】, which he obtained during his adventure in Gaddis Library when he used the 【sleeping princess】 to awaken the big-tailed Red Dragon Witch. This spell was greatly related to 【Power】, but Xia De didn't know how to turn it into a Miracle. However, the 【Heaton Seal】 that Mr. Racon Mathis, a Twelve-Circle Arcanist of the Sun Church in the Mi Fort parish, gave him as a reward for helping guard the church before he swung his sword to open the Death Door during the Mi Fort battle, could now be learned.
Xia De had already collected all the ritual materials needed to learn the 【Heaton Seal】, a very famous defensive Miracle of the Sun Church. Iluna had also helped him acquire the more difficult-to-obtain materials, "Golden Wheat" and "Fragment of Underworld Lava Tortoise Shell," so he planned to hold the ritual to learn the Miracle tonight.
After dinner, Xia De and Dorothy agreed that when he attended Leia's reading salon tomorrow night, Dorothy would come to Saint Delan Square to temporarily look after Mia for him. After escorting the Golden-haired girl to Feather Pen Street, Xia De made a detour to 21 Ikem Street, also in the University District, to bring home the ancient documents on "Cannibal Aken Language" that he had arranged with the Apner Library.
Since the learning ritual for the 【Heaton Seal】 required it to be performed underground, Xia De cleaned up the basement upon returning home and chose an empty space in the basement as the ritual site.
He let Mia run around and play in the house, while he drew the ritual array on the basement floor and calculated the time to place the ritual symbols. The potion that needed to be drunk before the ritual was relatively simple to prepare; only the settling process was a bit time-consuming.
And at seven o'clock that evening, while Xia De was still busy making the final preparations, there was a knock on his door. Before the knock, the badge hanging on Xia De's chest had already emitted an alarming heat, indicating that a Witch was visiting.
It was not Miss Jialinna, but Miss Silvia. The young Great Witch seemed to be in a good mood. She came alone again, and after Xia De opened the door, the young lady with black bobbed hair stood on the steps, holding her handbag, with the misty night square behind her:
"Good evening, Xia De. Is anyone home? Is it convenient for me to visit? I still have some details from the last paper I'd like to discuss with you."
She asked with a smile, and Xia De gestured for her to enter:
"Please come in, but I'm currently preparing a ritual to learn a Miracle. If you want to discuss the paper, please wait half an hour. Brewing the Golden Sun Potion is really time-consuming. I've been watching it in the basement for an hour, and the potion still hasn't boiled. Maybe I should use a different pot next time."
"Do you need help?"
Miss Silvia stepped through the door and took a deep breath:
"It seems you put too little white chrysanthemum essence. If it's the Golden Sun Potion for ritual assistance, I recommend replacing the white chrysanthemum essence in the standard preparation process with locust tree root juice."
Although Miss Silvia's age was even younger than the Outsider's current body, a Great Witch was indeed a Great Witch. With her enthusiastic help, Xia De quite smoothly completed the brewing of the potion and performed the ritual after consuming the potion, successfully learning the Miracle that, according to Church records, only Ring術士 above Hexacle could learn.
Casting the 【Heaton Seal】 did not require casting materials, but it needed a sword as a casting medium, whether a physical sword or a spiritual weapon.
After learning the Miracle, Xia De naturally wanted to try the effect of his first defensive Miracle. After clearing some clutter from the basement, Xia De invited Miss Silvia to be his sparring partner.
Miss Silvia and the cat, who was watching curiously, stood at the edge of the basement, while Xia De stood in the center of the basement's open space.
He summoned the Moonlight Greatsword and plunged it into the ground with one hand. At the same time, his left hand formed the mudra gesture with his thumb and middle finger touching, little finger bent, and ring finger and index finger crossed:
"Heaton Seal!"
As spirit flowed within him, the whisper element influenced reality. In an instant, a dazzling, circular golden shield appeared around Xia De's body.
This was not a perfect sphere, but a sphere missing its bottom third. The golden shield had a sun-like luster, completely overpowering the gas lamp in the basement, bathing both the Witch and the cat in gold.
There were no runes on the surface of the golden shield, but the luster on its surface flowed in sections, appearing quite mystical. This sphere completely illuminated the entire basement, even making Xia De, inside the shield, feel that the temperature was rising in the basement, which had no steam pipe heating.
It seems using this Miracle at night requires considerable caution; it's much brighter than a gas street lamp. However, among commonly used talismans, there are also talismans that obscure light in a certain area. Although talismans are not enough to affect Xia De's "Light Spell," obscuring the light of other Miracles should be no problem.
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