"Miss Louisa, are you sure it's alright?"
Xia De asked, while using Moonlight Illusion. Silver mist surged from around them, enveloping him and Miss Louisa. The silver Moonlight on his fingertips disappeared. The merman faced the silver mist before him, letting out an angry cry, but could only stumble around blindly. Its intelligence was probably even lower than Mia's.
"Detective, if you can do it, what problem could I have? Heal me later, go save that little girl first."
The Golden-haired girl said. Xia De nodded, and while Miss Louisa intentionally walked out of the illusion's range to attract the merman, he slipped past the merman with the box and ran towards the girl in the alley.
For ordinary people, a runaway relic was almost a death sentence. Xia De had prepared for the worst, but after a brief check, he found that she was only unconscious, with a large patch of fish scales on her neck. This could be cured; such an injury currently didn't even require False Immortality.
It seemed they had arrived just in time.
He moved the girl further down the alley. When he looked at Miss Louisa again, he saw the Destiny Ring spinning behind her. This time, it was still the rune of the Frozen Man.
But then, the Miracle Ling Rune 【Ice】 also lit up.
Xia De heard Miss Louisa's voice:
"What fish scale disease fears most is not fire, but freezing!"
The Golden-haired girl extended her hands forward, and cold air diffused around her. Rustling sounds came from the misty alley. The screaming merman's movements gradually slowed until it fell to the ground.
"Detective, retreat with her!"
She called out to Xia De in the darkness.
"Where to retreat?"
"As far as possible, cover your ears and squat down."
"Huh?"
Although puzzled, he still complied. When Xia De had positioned himself, he saw Miss Louisa pull out a spherical object from her robe. She first tapped it against the wall, then shook it vigorously, and finally pulled a ring on the surface of the spherical object, throwing it towards the frozen merman on the ground. Then, she frantically ran towards the depths of the alley, which was the direction where Xia De and the unconscious little girl were.
Xia De saw that behind Miss Louisa, the palm-sized spherical object, after landing, began to spin wildly, spewing hot white steam around as it spun.
Although he had never seen such an item, the foreigner's Knowledge allowed him to instantly guess what it was. Amidst the woman's gentle laughter in his ear, he covered the unconscious little girl's ears with both hands, while he himself, clutching the box, hunched his body and closed his eyes.
Boom~
The fire and loud noise were enough to wake up the two adjacent streets. Xia De even felt the ground under his feet vibrate. After the explosion, his ears kept ringing.
Opening his eyes, he saw Miss Louisa, who had been knocked to the ground, jump up. She didn't bother to tidy her hair and turned back into the smoke and dust of the explosion. In a few seconds, she carefully pinched a black scale and ran towards Xia De, shouting as she ran:
"Haha, it really fears the cold most! He's dead, I got the relic! Detective, run! I'll carry this little girl."
"What did you just use?"
Xia De, while patting the dirt off his hair, turned and followed Miss Louisa along the riverbank into the fog. In the distance, police whistles could already be heard. They had to run faster, or they would have to jump into the river to escape.
"Military Drak II Integrated Steam Bomb! This is the most effective against fish scale disease outbreaks!"
Miss Louisa dropped the air-dried frog leg in her hand, carried the unconscious little girl on her back, grabbed Xia De's hand, and leaped onto the roof of a nearby house. The two, along with the sound, disappeared into the thick fog of the night.
No matter how chaotic the Lower City was, a steam bomb exploding in the City was no small matter. So they didn't stop, panting, in a dark alley until they had run three blocks.
The distant commotion had already begun, and teams of police could be seen rushing through the alley entrance.
First, he re-examined the little girl Miss Louisa was carrying. She was probably a poor girl living nearby; her shoes had holes showing her toes, her clothes were patched, and her face looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time.
Xia De created some "Gluttony's Feast" to suppress the spread of the fish scales, and then used 【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】, simultaneously removing the fish scales from Miss Louisa and the girl. Although this was not a mental issue, the Moonlight seemed to greatly restrain this disease.
However, Xia De was a Ring術士, and because he had used Miracles too many times this night, he already felt a bit overwhelmed.
During this time, Miss Louisa also explained the situation of the fish scale she was carefully holding in her hand.
The fish scale had a very strong fishy smell.
"Document-level relic 【Scale of the Drowned Fish Scale】, I've seen information about this in the Academy Library. In the fifth epoch 2983, fishermen on the east coast of the West Continent, while out fishing, accidentally caught a strange monster corpse in their nets. The monster had human legs and a complete fish body, and the corpse was highly decomposed."
Xia De maintained the Miracle in his hand, listening quietly. At such close proximity, Miss Louisa's scent was very noticeable.
"According to the Academy's records, the terrified fishermen pushed the corpse back into the sea. But soon after, everyone in an entire small fishing village developed symptoms of fish scale disease, meaning fish scales appeared on their bodies, and their entire bodies began to rot. By the time the Natural Church, whose influence was not as great as it is now, intervened, the situation was irreversible, and they could only seal off that sea area and region.
When they later burned the bodies of the deceased to prevent the spread of the plague, this scale was discovered. It was the only scale that wouldn't burn, and it was the culprit that caused the fish scale disease."
Miss Louisa held the black fish scale very carefully; no relic could be underestimated. In the darkness of the alley, the fish scale itself held an even deeper darkness.
Of course, more noticeable was the fishy smell.
"So, the function of this relic is to cause fish scale disease and turn people into fish? But why did it lose control?"
"If you place the fish scale on your heart and it comes into contact with water, it can transform your flesh into the form of a merman monster. However, you cannot be too severely injured in this form, otherwise, the outbreak of fish scale disease is instantaneous. It can be understood that for every second the scale is used, the Ring術士 must use their own body to fight against this fish scale."
She asked Xia De for a bottle, shook it to create water, and dropped the scale into it. The containment of this relic was very simple; it just needed to be fully submerged in water.
It took some time, before Xia De was completely exhausted, to expel the fish scales from the little girl and Miss Louisa. Ring術士 do not have a convenient way to replenish their spirit, as spirit is not just simple energy. But fortunately, Ling Runes have the ability to spontaneously convert elements into spirit, and with the Divine Radiance, Xia De recovered quickly.
Afterward, Miss Louisa woke the unconscious girl. After learning her address from her, she sent her home.
This was a little flower seller named Sophie Dace. During the day, she had hidden some money in the alley, not wanting it to be extorted by the older children nearby. Unexpectedly, when she returned to retrieve it at night, she accidentally encountered the monster.
Miss Louisa used some kind of mental suggestion to ensure little Sophie wouldn't talk about what she saw that night. This trick worked well on the groggy little girl. After confirming she was safely home, Xia De and Miss Louisa left.
It was already almost one o'clock, and Xia De needed to go back quickly. Miss Louisa, on the other hand, planned to visit Xia De's house late at night. She was currently wrapped in Xia De's robe, completely soaked, and had a strong fishy smell on her. She couldn't go home like this, so she could only borrow Xia De's house to change clothes first.
The two walked quickly. On the way, Miss Louisa admitted that although she had obtained a relic, tonight's operation could only be considered a failure:
"I think it's better to wait until the doctor recovers before acting. The doctor's Ring術士 ability is quite suitable for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering activities, something neither of us can compare to."
The Ring術士 of Mercury Blood turned into a merman, was frozen, and then blown to pieces by the bomb. Of course, the information Miss Louisa wanted could not be obtained.
The two walked and talked, most of the time Miss Louisa complained about not seizing such a good opportunity tonight. Of course, she also didn't forget to thank the Detective for his help tonight; that fish scale was their shared spoils.
Xia De certainly wouldn't refuse. Although he wouldn't use a relic with such severe side effects, he was very happy to accept selling it and splitting the money.
Turning from the street lit by gas lamps onto Saint Delan Square Avenue, Xia De was talking to the Golden-haired girl Writer while taking out his keys, when he saw a four-wheeled carriage with its cabin lit up parked in front of No. 6.
"Oh?"
Miss Louisa, wrapped in the robe, let out an exclamation with a questioning tone.
"My employer is here."
Xia De introduced, sizing up the carriage and slowing his steps. The fishy smell on him wasn't very strong; he hadn't been in close contact with the merman earlier.
"It seems your employer has a very distinguished identity."
The Golden-haired girl said. Xia De couldn't see the difference between this carriage and an ordinary one, but the still-damp-haired Writer could. She pointed out:
"Look at those all-metal, hand-twisted ironwork patterns on the edge of the carriage. Although the carriage is painted, you can still distinguish the wood. And the coachman..."
The coachman was standing nearby, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, a small red dot glowing in the dark shadows:
"I bet he's definitely ex-military. Although the carriage doesn't have a family crest, this must be a great noble—no, ordinary great nobles aren't even qualified to use this kind of carriage. Let me think, in Tobesk City right now, there are definitely no more than three women, young women, who are qualified to use this kind of carriage."
Miss Louisa spoke fluently, and Xia De again thought of what Professor Harms Sanchez, the Vice Dean of Saint Byron's, had mentioned: Miss Louisa had some inexplicable connection to the royal family of the Delarion Kingdom, and thus he suspected she was from Zaras Academy, one of the Three Great Arcane Academies.
Priest Augustus, who had lived here for most of his life and knew many important figures due to the respect of his followers, couldn't narrow down the scope so precisely. It seemed Miss Louisa's understanding of the royal family and nobles was truly remarkable.
"You know so much?"
Xia De naturally voiced his question, but the Writer replied just as casually:
"For literary creation, I know a lot of not very useful Knowledge."
Just as the two were discussing, the carriage window was pushed open a crack, and the Black-haired maid named "Tifa" glanced at Xia De, then quickly closed the window.
The entire process took only one or two seconds.
"Oh? Why is it still her?"
Miss Louisa let out such an exclamation again. Xia De looked at his friend in surprise; the Writer seemed to have recognized the maid.
She hesitated, glanced at Xia De, but said nothing:
"Detective, you go see your employer, I won't get closer. I smell too much of fish."
Miss Dorothy Louisa stopped, but judging by her expression, she would certainly have a lot to say once Miss Jialinna's personal maid left.
