Lawyer Laurel probably saw that Xia De was young and didn't want him to get involved in gambling, but Xia De smiled and put on a confident look:
“Look at my old deck of cards, do I look like a rhode cards novice? The most I can lose in a game is less than two shillings, I don't think my luck is so bad that I always lose… Sir, this boring morning, we must find something to do.”
He deliberately spoke with a strong Tobesk accent, and Lawyer Laurel shrugged, indicating that they could start:
“I do admire confident people.”
The surrounding crowd was also excited; although no one had seen this young man, as long as the card game continued and gave them something to do, they didn't care if Xia De was from MI6.
Xia De still held the idea of not gambling, and sitting at the table now, he wanted to gain information by winning money. So, this was not gambling.
The gambling games in this kind of pub didn't have very formal rules; both sides kept drawing cards and then counted points after stopping. Lawyer Laurel might have decent skill and rich experience, but facing Xia De, who was blessed with luck by Origin · Silver Moon, he still lost more than he won.
When Xia De sat down, he had already prepared for both winning and losing. But after easily winning four out of the first five games, he knew there was nothing to worry about.
At half past ten in the morning, Xia De already had a pile of small coins and a few banknotes beside him, while Lawyer Laurel only had an empty cup. His sweating right hand covered his last card, and as his palm moved, his bloodshot eyes trembled slightly, looking at the card gradually revealed:
“Oh, Moon 9, I have twenty-one this time!”
He slowly exhaled, a relieved smile appearing on his sweating face, while the three people standing behind him discussed how many more rounds Lawyer Laurel could last after winning this one.
Xia De on the other side also received his last card, similarly pressing it down with his palm. The two people standing behind him and he looked down together:
“Oh, King.”
Xia De said easily, then shrugged:
“Lawyer, it seems I won again.”
“No more, no more.”
The middle-aged Lawyer Laurel was stunned for a moment, then dejectedly threw his last hand of cards onto the table:
“My luck must have been used up before you appeared. This isn't because my skill is poor; this is the conservation of luck.”
He didn't forget to explain himself in front of his acquaintances, but he didn't suspect Xia De of cheating, as there was a circle of people around them.
“Not playing anymore, huh? 20 pence.”
Xia De said, tapping the table. The pile of pence and a few rare shillings beside him added up to about half a pound, of which about 3 shillings were Lawyer Laurel's money, and the rest was what Lawyer Laurel had won from others earlier that morning.
“Seriously, I originally planned to find Laura tonight, but now I can only bathe at home.”
The middle-aged Lawyer Laurel complained as he reached for his pocket, while the people around him booed and laughed at him.
“Only two pence left, but I won't default on anyone's money. Come to my home to get it, I live on this street.”
Lawyer Laurel stood up and said dejectedly. Xia De packed up his cards and also stood up. This was his purpose for coming to play cards; guys who gambled in small pubs like this would most likely not leave until they lost all their money.
He had originally planned that once he lost more than two shillings, he would claim to have no money and take Lawyer Laurel to a friend's place nearby to get money, then pull out a large 1 pound bill halfway to ask for change. But now, this plan was not needed:
“Okay, it seems my luck is very good today. Do I need to buy you a drink?”
Xia De suggested.
“No need, I still have work this afternoon. If it were evening, I would definitely let you buy me the most expensive one.”
The people watching the card game certainly hoped they would continue playing, but Lawyer Laurel decisively left. He would never play cards on credit; Lawyer Laurel knew the bottom line of gambling.
So they walked together again to the apartment building where Xia De had knocked on the door a few hours earlier. After the middle-aged Lawyer Laurel opened the door with his key, he originally wanted Xia De to wait downstairs. But seeing him follow closely inside, he didn't say anything and motioned for Xia De to go upstairs with him.
Locke Laurel lived on the second floor of this small apartment, renting all three rooms on the entire floor.
In this era, being a Lawyer was already a middle-class profession. Although Lawyer Laurel's living place was not very good, judging from the furniture and the shoes placed at the door, his income was not low, and living here should just be a habit due to the living environment.
Just like Sparrow Detective's study, the middle-aged Lawyer Laurel's home was also piled high with stacks of paper documents and file bags. While Lawyer Laurel was rummaging through the shoe cabinet for small coins, Xia De stood at the door and deliberately exclaimed:
“They said you were a Lawyer, I didn't believe it at first, but now I do.”
“Can't a Lawyer go to a pub to play rhode cards? That's prejudice.”
Saying that, he handed the money he found to Xia De. After Xia De carefully counted it, he left directly, which made Lawyer Laurel, who thought he had ulterior motives, feel inexplicably puzzled.
Out on the street, Xia De felt much lighter. From the stories of the people around him and what he saw in Lawyer Laurel's home, it was basically certain that there was no trickery concerning the inheritance. Although he hadn't seen the will and the inheritance, he would go with Mrs. Lemeier to sign, and then he could help check it.
In this way, after going home and writing the report, the first half of this commission would be over, and this money was earned very easily.
As for the roughly half a pound of change he had won in his pocket, Xia De didn't plan to keep it himself. He disliked gambling, and even if he kept the money he won, it wouldn't have much positive impact on his life. So, he thought about donating it directly to Dawn Church later, which would not only reasonably dispose of the money but also give him a great sense of psychological satisfaction, and even count as thanking Priest Augustus for not charging for the potion preparation labor fee.
As for returning the money to Lawyer Laurel, Xia De didn't even consider it. He just disliked gambling, he wasn't trying to be a Saint. Even if Lawyer Laurel recognized him when he went to see him with Mrs. Lemeier, there would be no reason to demand the money back.
“However, rhode cards are indeed very useful, I've also slightly felt the joy of playing cards.”
He thought to himself, walking along Queen Mary Street in the direction of Dawn Square.
On the side of the next intersection on Queen Mary Street was a candy store. As Xia De passed by, he saw a familiar middle-aged woman anxiously talking to passersby.
This was the woman he had seen scolding a child when he knocked on the door of the apartment building where Lawyer Laurel rented earlier that morning, but now her child was not with her.
It just so happened that Xia De's direction of travel would pass by the woman. The middle-aged woman, whose hair was a bit messy, also spoke to Xia De:
“My child, little Ron, is lost, he's gone. Sir, have you seen a Boy this tall, wearing a black hat, nearby?”
Her eyes were dull, and her haggard expression immediately ruined Xia De's good mood.
“Child lost? When did this happen?”
He asked in surprise, looking around.
“Ten minutes ago, I brought him here to buy things, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. I don't know if he ran off to play nearby, or… was taken away.”
The woman's eyes were red, and the look in them was difficult to describe precisely. It wasn't about crying, it wasn't urgency, nor was it panic; it was a kind of despair suppressed to the extreme. Xia De had never imagined that an emotion could be so strongly diffused through just the eyes:
“Why didn't you go to the poli… Never mind.”
Xia De took a deep breath. In this era, even if “child abduction” cases were frequent in the current City, don't expect calling the police to solve the problem. It's better to hope to find some clues on the spot yourself.
The Outsider had found his footing in this world, but he clearly understood that this era was far from being called civilization and order. The Outsider had long thought about all sorts of things that might happen in places he couldn't see, he just didn't expect to encounter them so quickly.
After a brief inquiry about the situation, the middle-aged woman's name was Marian Cook, a single mother living in a nearby block, with no relatives. As for where her husband went, Xia De didn't ask, and she didn't say.
Sighing, since he encountered it, Xia De decided to get involved in this troublesome matter:
“I'll help you ask the nearby pedestrians, and you go to the store next door to inquire again.”
Although this matter had nothing to do with Xia De, not even a penny, since he happened to encounter it, there was no harm in trying to help. Anyway, he had nothing else to do today.
If it were something like losing a wallet, he would probably inquire about the situation and then turn and leave. But with a child lost, he would help if he could.
Mrs. Cook turned to inquire at the clothing store next to the dessert shop. Xia De did not talk to pedestrians as he said, but instead took a deep breath and closed his eyes;
“Echoes of the Past.”
His ears felt itchy, and then the noisy street sounds entered his ears. This Miracle related to 【Time-Space】 could only randomly hear sounds within 24 hours. Although it tended to hear human voices, on the street or in a shop, this tendency could not increase the probability of Xia De just happening to hear key clues.
In the “Divine Radiance” state, any Miracle and spell would be enhanced. And the enhancement of Echoes of the Past was not an increase in probability, but an increase from 24 hours to 36 hours, which he knew from experimenting at home when he had nothing to do.
He tried many more times, but none of the sounds he heard were related to the lost child. The longer the time dragged on, the lower the probability of finding the child. Turning to look at the haggard woman, who was clasping her hands together and inquiring about the situation from the shop assistant at the intersection, Xia De sighed helplessly.
He reached into his pocket and asked the female voice in his head:
“The dice of destiny…”
“You want to gamble on luck for a stranger? Good idea, but I must warn you, there's only one chance a day. And even if you roll a lucky number, it might not be related to your Miracle.”