Although Miss Bei Ya Si was young, her intuition was truly exceptionally sharp; this could probably be considered a kind of talent.
Before leaving Saint Delan Square Six, Miss Bei Ya Si felt that since she had enjoyed Xia De’s hospitality today, she should offer some compensation. Xia De initially thought she was joking, but he didn't expect her to be serious:
“This is for you.”
The Sorceress, with long brown hair, took a small, pure gold sun-patterned brooch from her brown plaid handbag. On the brooch was the holy emblem of the Orthodox Church’s Lantern Old Man.
Xia De originally thought it was some kind of decorative item, but upon touching it, he immediately received a prompt:
“You have touched a ‘Miracle’.”
“Oh?”
“Detective, you can actually sense that this isn't an ordinary item? That's quite remarkable...”
Because their work was finished, Miss Bei Ya Si was sitting on the sofa talking to Xia De, and she introduced the item with a hint of pride in her voice:
“This is an alchemical item I made myself. Hold the holy emblem and praise our Lord, the Lantern Old Man. It doesn't require spiritual energy and can be used once to cast the Sunlight Gun that I used last time. It’s absolutely no problem for dealing with any Ring術士 below Four Ring; take this for self-defense.”
Miss Bei Ya Si was very modest, trying hard to suppress the pride in her tone and the smile on her face.
“A one-time Sunlight Gun? For me?”
Xia De looked at the girl sitting opposite him, surprised, then held the brooch, examining it up and down. Without needing to think, he knew it was the most powerful alchemical item he had seen in this world.
From what he understood, such an alchemical item could definitely not be made by an ordinary Ring術士; this was probably also the power of The Chosen of Balance. If Xia De had such a skill, he wouldn't have to work so hard as a Detective.
Miss Bei Ya Si said with a smile:
“Of course it’s for you, but don't use it casually. If the Church discovers a non-believer using the Sunlight Gun, you might be in big trouble.”
Although Silver Moon Slash was powerful, limited by Xia De being only One Ring, its power still couldn't compare to Sunlight Gun. So, if this was truly given to Xia De, without burning divinity and with the enemy not recklessly moving the gun of kindness, this would be his most powerful move currently.
“Is it really for me?”
He asked Miss Bei Ya Si again. Although he really wanted this item, he didn't think what he had done was worth such an item as a reward from Miss Bei Ya Si.
“Of course it’s for you, Detective, you are still too weak.”
She shook her head slightly:
“The Tobesk Diocese is also so dangerous. Even if you have your friends helping you, I still worry about you. Detective, I truly consider you my friend.”
Xia De's lips moved, but he didn't know what to say.
“You have great talent, a good personality, and you passed the examination of my four questions. Last night, you also weren't greedy and didn't take relics that didn't belong to you, which all shows you are very good... Speaking of which, I have many secrets.”
The young girl leaned back against the sofa, her head slightly raised as she looked at the ceiling:
“They say I am someone chosen by fate, some kind of The Chosen, but they refuse to explain in detail what that means. But I understand that I will definitely experience many, many things in the future, so I need friends, I need the help of someone trustworthy like you. Detective, just take this; consider it an advance payment for your future help.”
She pushed the brooch, which Xia De had placed on the coffee table, towards Xia De’s direction:
“Although it's very expensive and troublesome to make, I think you need it.”
Xia De sat there, watching the seventeen-year-old girl opposite him smile.
While happy inside, he felt more apprehension. He now only wanted to immediately find Miss Annette and have her reveal their identities to Miss Bei Ya Si. Otherwise, once Miss Bei Ya Si knew that Xia De had “ulterior motives” during this time, he could hardly imagine how he would be treated...
“But it won't be as bad as getting hit by a Sunlight Gun.”
He whispered to himself, then heard her chuckle beside him.
After Miss Bei Ya Si left, nothing else happened that day. Xia De was thinking about the Black-haired maid knocking on the door downstairs, bringing the white stone crystal and that relic, and telling him what he needed to do, but no one came to the door until he went to bed that night.
On Wednesday morning, when Xia De went downstairs to get the newspaper and goat's milk, he received a letter mailed by Priest Augustus. The letter mentioned that the Priest had prepared the potion “Price of Growth” and its preparatory materials that he needed, and asked Xia De to meet him at the Dawn Church before ten o'clock that morning.
“Before ten o'clock... I also have to investigate that lawyer today, so I should go see the Priest early.”
The Dawn Church was also near the city center, not too far from Saint Delan Square. When Xia De arrived near Dawn Square at seven-thirty in the morning, many people were already entering and exiting the church.
Today was the tenth day of the thunder moon, and the Holy Prayer Festival of the Dawn Church was getting closer. In the square, festive decorations were already being set up, and people were cleaning the walls and wiping windows on ladders outside the church.
The faith in the God of Light and Shadow, also known as the Orthodox Church’s Mr. Dawn, held a significant advantage among the Five Gods Church. According to information Xia De learned from the Old Priest, nearly 1.5% of the total population in the Tobesk Diocese believed in this Orthodox God.
This was not a small number, as not everyone believed in the Orthodox God. Apart from Cultists, the Old God who had disappeared still had their devout followers in this era.
It was a bit foggy again this morning, but the gray fog wasn't particularly dense.
The Priest wrote to Xia De to go directly to the church to find him, but Xia De had just arrived at the church entrance, not even having stepped onto the grand stone steps, when he saw Priest Augustus, dressed in a Priest's white robe, standing in front of the church talking to an old man with gray hair who looked even older than Priest Augustus.
The somewhat unfamiliar old man was wearing a robe slightly different from Priest Augustus’s, with a brass holy emblem hanging on his chest. The emblem's design was a circle with an opening at the top. His physique was slightly fatter than Priest Augustus’s, and his height was similar to Xia De’s.
This was probably an important figure of the Dawn Church, because every believer would respectfully nod as they passed by him.
“This shouldn't be a Priest. What rank of clergy would he be?”
Xia De walked over while thinking. He originally didn't want to interrupt their conversation, but unexpectedly, Priest Augustus actively called him over and introduced him:
“Detective, this is Bishop Carnas Owen of the Dawn Church in the Tobesk Diocese. Carnas, this is the very good young man I mentioned to you.”
Priest Augustus directly called the old man by his first name, indicating a very good relationship between the two.
Xia De hadn't expected that he would so easily meet such an important person at the church entrance this morning, so he politely greeted him and wished him good morning.
The Orthodox Church stipulates that bishops can only be held by ordinary people, so Bishop Owen was not a Ring術士, and Xia De did not have to worry too much when dealing with him.