Listening to the Golden-haired girl Writer, Xia De sat on his bed with the large apple, puzzled.
Louisa suddenly stood up and, with a determined look, reached out and grabbed the Outsider's hand. Xia De was sitting on the bed and didn't even have a chance to dodge.
"Xia De, if you are interested in the Enlightenment Element, I am very willing to help you advance on this path... You don't know how incredible the the little match girl Ling Rune is for a Ring術士 who gains civilization inspiration from stories."
Xia De understood the situation and squirmed uneasily on the bed. Mia, seeing Xia De being held, also "roared" at the Golden-haired girl, but her voice was too soft, making anyone unfamiliar with her suspect she was being coquettish.
Xia De suspected that Louisa had him eat breakfast on the bed precisely so he would have "nowhere to escape." Of course, her strength wasn't strong; if Xia De wanted to break free, he wouldn't even need to exert much effort:
"Louisa, please don't be so agitated. Are you saying you want to guide me in discovering the power of the Enlightenment Ling Rune?"
He tried to communicate with the somewhat emotional Louisa. The distance between them was a bit too close, and besides the scent of breakfast, he also caught a whiff of the fragrance he had smelled in Louisa's rented apartment.
"Not only that, if you need me to, I can teach you everything I know, Xia De. I am not just a Four-Ring Warlock; I have my secrets... And in exchange, you need to cooperate with me in studying the power of your Ling Rune."
She looked at Xia De eagerly, her golden hair shining in the morning light as if sparkling. Xia De was indeed startled by the lady's enthusiasm at first, but upon reflection, it was actually quite good. He just happened to lack someone who could teach him more deeply about the power of a Ring術士:
"No problem, that's great."
He nodded.
A smile appeared on Louisa's face. She released Xia De's hand and sat back down in her chair, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"That's very good. I thought you would refuse, after all, most people don't like others touching their secrets."
But compared to the Outsider's origin, this was hardly a secret.
"What would you do if I refused?"
Xia De asked curiously, continuing to stir his meat porridge with a spoon. Mia, seeing that the "danger" had passed, continued to eye Xia De's breakfast.
"I would threaten you with those pages worth 6000 pounds that you burned last night... Just kidding, we are friends, I wouldn't do such a thing, besides, you saved me. However, in a few weeks, when the owner of those pages returns to Tobesk, you'll have to come with me to apologize. There's no need for compensation; my relationship with her is very good, and your promise to let me research—I mean, let me teach you—is compensation enough."
Xia De found Louisa's attitude amusing, but he was also relieved that he didn't have to compensate for the expensive pages inscribed with mysterious Knowledge.
"Xia De, from now on, every Saturday, after you leave the doctor's, you'll come to my place, and we'll have lessons and research. Don't worry, since I've promised to teach you, you won't have to worry about the Enlightenment Ling Rune for each of your Circles from now on."
Louisa said with considerable confidence. It was then that Xia De noticed she had started calling him by his first name at some point.
"Also, thank you for your trust in sharing such a secret with me. So, to put your mind at ease, I will also tell you my secret."
Xia De looked up at her, and the Golden-haired girl looked a bit embarrassed:
"The owner of those pages of 'the little match girl' is Princess Leticia Cavendish. My relationship with her is very good, but neither of us wants to tell others about this connection."
"Why? Because you are..."
Xia De cautiously made a gesture, and Louisa's face immediately flushed red:
"Of course not, Xia De, don't let your imagination run wild. It's just that the two of us have an extraordinary connection, and I'll tell you about it when Leia returns to Tobesk. Oh, Leia is also a Ring術士, PentaCircle, and equally proficient in the Enlightenment Element. She was a student at Zaras Academy and studied there until Four Ring, then she voluntarily applied to become a correspondence student. I learned the complete Knowledge of Zaras Academy from her, and this Knowledge can help you."
From this, Xia De was completely certain that Louisa was definitely not some academic spy from Zaras Academy. He even suspected that this female Writer was an academic spy from Saint Byron's Comprehensive College sent to steal Knowledge from Zaras Academy.
But he still felt strange. Since Louisa was on good terms with Princess Leticia, even if they didn't meet, they certainly wouldn't perform anti-divination every time they communicated by letter. Logically speaking, Saint Byron's shouldn't be able to "fail to find Louisa's connection to the royal family."
"How strange."
He thought to himself, lowering his head to continue eating. Perhaps when he met the Princess who was currently visiting a foreign country, all these secrets would be revealed.
relic losing control is never a joke. What happened last night was caused by the relic holder being severely injured and subsequently corrupted by the relic. And the affected little girl was only because a One-Ring Warlock's treatment didn't completely eradicate the influence, coupled with the special nature of her soul, which attracted the attention of a wicked God.
If Xia De and Louisa hadn't gone to visit the little girl Sophie, it's highly probable that the family would have silently disappeared from the material world, leaving no clues, and no one would know what happened.
This once again told Xia De how dangerous this world truly was. But fortunately, it was only the gaze of a wicked God; even if he wasn't in a Divine Radiance state, with a bit of luck, he could have gotten through it.
Louisa was also seriously injured last night, but by Sunday morning, after Xia De regained consciousness, she had already recovered. According to her, this was the healing provided when the Mystic Lock disappeared. In the story of the "match girl," the girl found salvation in the final flame. Reflected in the Mystic Lock, when the Mystic Lock disappears, all friendly units within the Mystic Lock receive a certain amount of healing.
Last night was not without other gains. The moment of extreme danger under the gaze of the wicked God of Drowned in the Deep Sea, however, also allowed both Xia De and Louisa to gain from the blasphemy Element.
They compared their respective gains. Xia De obtained the spell Underwater Breathing, which means exactly what it says: he can breathe underwater. Because it was obtained from the gaze of a wicked God, unlike normal spellcasting which requires materials like water plants, Xia De needs nothing.
And what Louisa obtained was the spell Bubble-Head Charm, which she demonstrated on the spot.
First, she opened her mouth, and a small transparent Bubble floated out, then the Bubble grew until it enveloped her entire head.
Mia immediately bristled, blocking Xia De and meowing at the "monster." She probably wanted to protect Xia De.
"It's okay, it's okay... What's the use of this?"
Xia De hugged the small cat to comfort her, then asked Louisa. Louisa extended her finger and, with a pop, popped the Bubble:
"These Bubbles can store a large amount of the air we breathe and can isolate harmful gases in toxic environments. Theoretically, they can also help with Underwater Breathing, but the time is limited as the air in the Bubble is finite."
Given this, Xia De still thought that the "Bubble-Head Charm" was more useful, but Louisa insisted that "Underwater Breathing" was more useful. Even though they lived inland, far from the coastline, they might need to undertake underwater adventures at some point.
Only after confirming that Xia De was gradually recovering his health did Louisa leave Saint Delan Square. The two agreed to formally begin lessons and research next Saturday evening. Louisa would remind Xia De again during the group meeting on Saturday afternoon and, within this week, try to find some books that would make it easier for Xia De to obtain Enlightenment Ling Runes.
She had slept on the sofa all night last night and hadn't rested well. Now she needed to go back to rest, and in the evening, she was going to see an opera with Annette.
Before she left, Xia De also asked her about the white stone crystal and the triangular symbol at the bottom of the potion bottle, but the Writer did not know.
Louisa recommended Xia De ask Priest Augustus:
"Priest is a Ring術士 from the College of Alchemy and has some research on minerals. He comes from the Church and is proficient in heraldry. Priest might be able to give you an answer."
Xia De did not go out again that morning. His mental state was not good, and he needed to participate in a rhode cards game with the Old Duke in the evening, so he planned to rest at home during the day.
When Louisa helped fetch the goat's milk in the morning, she also brought the newspaper and letters.
The only letter was from Dawn Church. He originally thought it was from Priest Augustus, but upon opening it, he found it was from Mr. French of Dawn Church. This old gentleman had led the Church's "construction team" to help Xia De open the first floor yesterday evening.
He had originally said he would find the key to Room 2 on the second floor as soon as possible and deliver it, but he didn't expect to receive a letter in just one day.
But the letter contained bad news: Room 2 could not be opened for now.
"The Church needs to find time to perform an exorcism ritual?"
He sat at the dining table, reading the letter in his hand, and surprisingly read the key content:
"Dawn Church believes that Room 2, where a mass suicide occurred, may still have hidden dangers, so they need to find time for professional Church personnel to perform an exorcism before it can be opened... This is good news; maybe they can also exorcise Room 1, since it's free."
Although ordinary people of this era do not know the true existence of the mysterious, superstition is widespread, and the Church also seeks out genuinely mysterious content in various true and false "haunting" incidents. Therefore, the Church's advocacy of exorcism does not seem abrupt to ordinary people.
Xia De casually put the letter aside, looked towards the location of Room 2 on the second floor, and once again asked the voice in his mind:
"Are you sure you've never felt any evil spirits on the second floor?"
【Unless there's a special hidden space like the basement, I'm quite sure.】
This put Xia De much more at ease.