But no matter what secrets the Witches held, Xia De was still very happy tonight.
A specific relic was about to be obtained, and he had also secured a job with credentials; there was even a clue for the white stone crystal. Presumably, Miss Tifa Servett would explain what she needed Xia De's help with when she delivered that relic.
Miss Jialinna, having finished her business, left Duke Lucas's mansion directly with the people from the Prophet Association, but Xia De did not leave, because as soon as he exited the study, he was "caught" by the Old Duke who had been waiting for a long time.
The enthusiastic Duke led him back to the rhode cards salon held in the banquet hall, introduced him to the invited guests of the night, and carefully, with gloves on, closely admired the Origin · Silver Moon.
Perhaps because of this card, or perhaps because of Miss Jialinna, people were very enthusiastic towards him. Everyone wanted to meet the young Detective, and Xia De received more business cards in an hour than he had received since coming to this world.
Duke Lucas took great care of Xia De, even reminding the guests not to reveal the identity of the Detective holding the Origin · Silver Moon card, but they could say that the card had indeed appeared.
rhode cards enthusiasts were so excited that by the time Xia De got a chance to sit down and eat something, it was already an hour after he had left the study.
"Thank you."
After finishing his discussion about rhode cards techniques with the two gentlemen beside him, Xia De accepted the napkin handed to him by the maid. Then he realized that the maid was Miss Bei Ya Si.
The brown-haired Sorceress winked at Xia De, who understood and nodded. Soon after, he left the banquet hall and walked towards the restroom. After declining the servant's offer to lead the way, he predictably saw Miss Bei Ya Si waiting at the corner of the corridor. She was still dressed in her maid's uniform.
"Detective, you are really something."
She said softly. Xia De carefully looked around, and after confirming no one was nearby, he lowered his voice and said:
"Miss Bei Ya Si, why are you here? Aren't you hot dressed like this?"
It was almost early summer now.
"This dress is certainly hot, but there's nothing I can do. For some matters, I need your..."
She hesitated, but Xia De guessed that she wanted his help but didn't want to involve him, a "normal person," in the incident, so she was conflicted at the moment.
"You need my help?"
He said it for her. Miss Bei Ya Si nodded apologetically, looking at Xia De hesitantly. Although younger than Miss Bei Ya Si and Miss Louisa, Iluna Bayas was not short, her head reaching approximately Xia De's eyebrows:
"Yes."
"I need to hear what you want me to do first."
He said, neither readily agreeing just because he knew her, nor immediately refusing out of fear of being involved in an accident.
"This... do you remember Baron Herre?"
Miss Bei Ya Si asked.
"Of course, he wore a pair of boots that looked like they had horseshoes nailed to them, and he was responsible for checking our rhode cards just now."
Xia De recalled. Miss Bei Ya Si nodded, then explained quickly in a low voice:
"I want to know something from him, something about Mercury Blood. He's just a normal person, but he's a sponsor of Mercury Blood, and he might know the location of the Silver-Eyed One... Let me explain, Mercury Blood is an illegal organization, and the Silver-Eyed One Diak is their leader.
Having learned that Miss Bei Ya Si's requested help was merely to extract information from a normal person, Xia De felt relieved and immediately had a plan.
He nodded:
"I'll go back first and strike up a conversation with Baron Herre."
To sense at close range whether the other party was a Ring術士.
"If it goes smoothly."
If the other party wasn't a Ring術士.
"I'll invite him to the corridor to talk."
Which meant tricking him out.
"You can do whatever you want, but remember not to let him retain this memory. In other words, don't implicate me."
But Miss Bei Ya Si certainly didn't have a way to erase memories, otherwise, after using the Sunlight Gun last time, she wouldn't have been bluffed by Xia De.
"No problem, this time I've prepared a very good relic."
Seeing Xia De agree, Miss Bei Ya Si immediately smiled.
She carefully pulled out a pure black metal rod from the pocket of her heavy maid dress. The metal rod was uniform in thickness, like a part of some precise steam machinery.
Miss Bei Ya Si gripped both ends and gently pulled, and with the sound of metal friction, the thin rod in the middle was pulled out, making the metal rod now the length of two pens.
A voice in his ear indicated that this was a relic, and Miss Bei Ya Si also explained:
"A Document-level relic, the Beast Tamer's Memory Eraser, it takes effect by tapping someone on the head. I specifically stole it from the team, cough, I mean borrowed it. As long as you're careful not to get blood on it and not to tap the heads of children under six, it won't go out of control. This is the best (Note)... Detective, I won't use it on you."
Xia De had already put on a worried expression, covering his head with one hand and backing away. Although, this thing probably wouldn't work on him.
Miss Bei Ya Si put the metal rod away, saying somewhat awkwardly:
"You helped me, I won't use this against you. Besides, you've kept your promise to keep secrets these days, and we'll have many more opportunities for cooperation."
"I'm just a normal person. As long as you're holding this thing, I will absolutely not approach you easily."
He still kept his hands on his head, which made Miss Bei Ya Si even more annoyed.
So Xia De returned to the salon alone, but did not immediately approach Baron Herre. Instead, he chatted with the people who came up to him, pretending to envision the "Great City Player" rhode cards tournament in the autumn of this year. When he felt he had become familiar enough with the people around him, he found an opportunity to ask a servant for drinks and approached Baron Herre.
"Oh, Mr. Hamilton, this is a truly excellent card game!"
Without Xia De having to initiate the conversation, Baron Herre, wearing strange boots, spoke enthusiastically. The servants around him also welcomed the young Detective to join their conversation.
Xia De naturally extended his hand to Baron Herre, and the two shook hands ceremoniously. During this time, Xia De had already heard the answer from the whisper in his ear:
"Normal person, no elements on him, not holding any relics."
Although she wasn't necessarily omnipotent, Xia De believed this wouldn't be a low-probability event at this time.
He stood with Baron Herre and his friends, continuing to chat, and learned that the others present were a major factory owner in the city, a newspaper owner, and a shipowner with an entire fleet that traveled between the New and Old Continents, based in Coldwater Port City.
Xia De had ulterior motives for Baron Herre, and the others were also probing his relationship with Miss Jialinna, so the conversation atmosphere was very pleasant, with everyone complimenting each other.
The Outsider was not very accustomed to such social occasions, so when the time was right, he quietly gave the Baron a look, then told the others that he needed to go to the restroom, and walked out of the banquet hall without looking back.