Xia De, upon exiting, didn't care if Baron Herre immediately followed him. He walked along the corridor and, at the corner, found Miss Bei Ya Si, who had been waiting for a long time. The young woman with brown hair asked expectantly, "How was it?"
"No problem. Hurry and hide, he's coming soon."
Xia De said, then complained, "Conversations between nobles and merchants are truly troublesome; when they speak, every word seems to imply three meanings."
"You've worked hard, Detective. What reason did you use to lure Baron Herre out?"
Miss Bei Ya Si asked curiously, as if learning.
"No reason, I just gave him a look. For someone like him, I don't believe he wouldn't be curious about the meaning of that look. He certainly wouldn't expect to be attacked in the Duke's mansion, so he's bound to follow out of curiosity—it's human nature."
Xia De explained simply, then silently counted three numbers... actually, he counted three twice, and sure enough, they heard faint footsteps from the other side of the corridor.
Miss Bei Ya Si looked at the young Detective with respect.
What happened next was simple. Xia De witnessed the "interrogation techniques" of an era where steam and Miracle coexisted for the first time.
First, when Baron Herre curiously turned the corner, Miss Bei Ya Si punched him in the face.
Then, the two furtively worked together to drag the unconscious Baron Herre into the broom closet on the third floor, which Miss Bei Ya Si had scouted out beforehand.
Finally, Miss Bei Ya Si used the ropes there to tie up the Baron, stuffed a rag in his mouth, put him in the broom cabinet, and handed him a pen and paper. After confirming that the broom closet had no light and wouldn't reveal her appearance, she woke him up using very rough methods.
The pretty young woman in a maid's uniform with brown hair held a sharp dinner knife, stolen from the salon, against the Baron's neck:
"I ask, you write the answer. If you don't cooperate, you die."
She pretended to say fiercely.
The Baron's eyes widened. He struggled, found himself bound, and then started kicking his legs. But feeling the cold threat at his neck, he had no choice but to settle down. Since his mouth was gagged, he could only make muffled sounds.
There was no light in the broom closet, and the Baron vaguely saw that besides the woman speaking, there was another person there.
But before he could call for help, the other person spoke:
"MI6. You know the consequences of not cooperating."
Xia De said in a deliberately hoarse voice, very low and deep.
Baron Herre's heart sank instantly; he knew how ruthless those people were. Then, he felt the knife at his neck tremble, almost cutting him. So he immediately nodded, not daring to hesitate at all.
Actually, the knife trembled only because Miss Bei Ya Si was amused by Xia De's "lie"; she hadn't expected the young Detective to be so bold.
And if it weren't an interrogation, Xia De would really want to explain that, at least this time, he truly hadn't lied at all.
Even a Ring術士 organization cannot conjure pounds out of thin air. Although Miracles and mystics are different from ordinary people, in this era where steam and Miracle coexist, they still need to earn money to support themselves, after all, everyone is mortal.
Therefore, Xia De works as a Detective, Doctor Schneider won't give up his clinic, Priest Augustus receives church subsidies, Miss Annette works at the Prophet Association, and Miss Louisa racks her brains to write manuscripts.
Organizations of mystics need relatively legitimate sources of funding to support their operations. Not to mention, an organization where most formal members are Ring術士 needs even more funds to meet the needs of Ring術士.
The Orthodox Church, supported by a vast number of believers, has no worries about funding; the Three Great Arcane Academies have open and hidden related industries around the world; not to mention the Prophet Association, they not only monopolize the legitimate divination industry but also control the publishing rights of rhode cards, which Doctor Schneider considers an industry that "directly prints pounds."
Even a secretive organization like the Witch Council, whose members themselves seem to be wealthy or noble, doesn't need to worry about funding.
And clearly, an organization like Mercury Blood, which targets a specific "relic," cannot earn money on its own.
Most cults and illegal organizations have vast sources of funding behind them. Among these, obtaining funds from nobles or big merchants is the most common way.
Miss Bei Ya Si, who comes from the Orthodox Church, popularized this common knowledge to Xia De. After all, rich people dare not easily touch the Miracle, but they covet the power that Miracle brings, so Ring術士 organizations can always find their sponsors.
Baron Herre had been one of Mercury Blood's sponsors since thirteen years ago. Mercury Blood obtained pounds from him, while the Baron regularly received some "potions" that even ordinary people could use from Mercury Blood, thereby gaining health, longer life, and... stronger male abilities.
Although Miss Bei Ya Si said nothing when she saw this information on paper, her snort indicated that those so-called "potions" definitely had problems.
Baron Herre was not a strong-willed person who disregarded threats to his life; he was just an ordinary wealthy noble, so he easily confessed everything Miss Bei Ya Si wanted to know.
This took a long time. During this time, Xia De, to avoid suspicion, left the broom closet early and returned to the salon. Baron Herre returned half an hour later; he looked dazed, as if he had just woken up, so it seemed that the memory-erasing relic was really useful.
But since his identity had already been revealed to Miss Bei Ya Si, he might be taken by a Sorceress of the Sun Church for merit at any time. Letting him go now was merely to avoid alarming Mercury Blood.
For the rest of the evening in the salon, Xia De didn't see Miss Bei Ya Si again. He didn't particularly enjoy such social events, so when he saw it was getting late, he proactively found the Old Duke to bid farewell.
Duke Lucas expressed regret and invited Xia De to play rhode cards together again when he had time:
"Remember to bring Origin · Silver Moon; I will defeat it one day."
This good attitude towards Xia De was certainly due to the rhode cards, but Miss Jialinna's reason should also be very important. Therefore, this once again made Xia De understand how important it was to have a high-status noble as a backer in this world.
He arrived by carriage, but he would certainly have to return by himself. Having gained so much tonight, he didn't plan to save money on a taxi. So he walked along the street towards the intersection, where four-wheeled taxis often parked.
The area where Duke Lucas's residence was located had relatively dense gas streetlights. Xia De walked under patches of light, silently contemplating the gains and losses of the night. He was very happy that on this weekend night, where he was invited to play cards, he didn't encounter any accidents.
Then, a pair of hands reached out from an alley beside him, directly covering Xia De's mouth and pulling him into the alley where the streetlights couldn't reach:
"Oh oh~"
He made a strange sound, and the Moonlight in his hand appeared but immediately extinguished:
"Oh, Miss Bei Ya Si, what do you want to do?"
The hands released him, and when he turned around, he indeed saw the young Sorceress of the Sun Church.
The young woman was still wearing a heavy maid's dress, with her hands clasped in front of her, a very standard maid's posture.
Iluna Bayas stood in the shadows, smiling at Xia De:
"Detective, good evening. I just ran back to put the 'Beast Tamer's Memory Eraser' back where it belongs. I'm here to give you your reward. You helped me again tonight, and I won't treat my friends badly."
"Actually, you could find me tomorrow. Also, why haven't you changed clothes? This outfit is very eye-catching outside."
Xia De pointed this out, standing with Miss Bei Ya Si in the shadows of the alley.
"I don't like to owe friends. As for the clothes, when I paid to take over the original maid's shift, I bought the clothes too; she seemed to want to make a profit off me... I can only change out of this outfit when I get back to where I live. Detective, thank you for your help tonight. How much do you want for this reward?"
As she spoke, she took out her wallet. This uniform had pockets, as maids usually carried many things.
"We can talk about the reward later. What I'm curious about is, what did you find out?"
Xia De wasn't present during the latter half of the "interrogation," and that information might help Doctor Schneider find the forged philosopher's stone.
"I can't say that. Those messages are related to Ring術士, and I can't easily involve you, Detective. Curiosity kills curious cats and people."
Miss Bei Ya Si kindly refused Xia De's inquiry, then shook her wallet:
"Detective, how much money do you want? Although I'm not very rich, I still have some money... not very rich, either."
Xia De was very familiar with the tone of that last supplementary sentence; he often spoke like that in this world.
She spoke, holding her wallet and looking at Xia De. Xia De blinked; he understood that she truly considered him a friend:
"Should I tell her I am..."
He suddenly became alert, and Miss Bei Ya Si, almost immediately after Xia De, also turned to look at the alley entrance. A man stood under the streetlight at the alley entrance at some unknown time. The gas lamp was originally warm, but as he stood there, the light grew cold and gradually dimmed, like a tombstone standing under the lamp.
"Detective, step back."
Miss Bei Ya Si immediately pulled Xia De behind her and took a few steps forward with a serious expression.
The man under the streetlight raised his head, his pale face reminding Xia De of a corpse.
"Ring術士 or humanoid relic?"
He asked in his mind, and the whisper in his ear immediately sounded:
【Ring術士, sensed whisper element. He is using the power of a relic.】