“Xia De, you were right to keep it a secret, because besides me, who can guarantee not to lose control, I can’t say what the problem is with Dorothy, the Doctor, and the Priest. My thought is, you only need to tell me about this. Before we figure out what kind of danger they are truly in, don’t tell them about this. After all, the Academy’s intention isn’t to pry into secrets, but to protect them.”
“I understand.”
Xia De nodded. He definitely couldn't tell Schneider, the Doctor, because he most likely truly hid a demon in his heart, which was no laughing matter. The Priest’s situation was unclear, so it wasn't convenient to take further action at the moment. As for Miss Louisa, his plan was to wait until Princess Leticia Cavendish returned to Tobesk and they met, and after confirming up close that the Princess also had no problems, then consider informing her of this matter.
“However, Miss Jialinna is considered Princess Leia’s elder; would she know about this Princess’s affairs… Miss Jialinna is the King’s aunt, and the Princess is the King’s daughter. How should their relationship be calculated?”
He calculated this complex family relationship in his mind, while on the surface, he calmly agreed with Miss Annette’s words.
Miss Annette seemed a little worried about Schneider, the Doctor. In her impression, the Doctor had never shown any problems:
“If there’s still some leeway after the cost divination for Miss Bei Ya Si, I’ll check on the Doctor’s situation.”
She said with a sigh, and Xia De hesitated:
“Actually… I do know a bit about the Doctor’s matter.”
He then explained the smell of sulfur when he personally witnessed the Sublimation Words at Lakeview Manor, and the words he heard when using the Miracle, Echoes of the Past, in the Doctor’s bedroom.
“Conservatively estimated, it’s most likely a demon.”
He also borrowed Miss Annette’s phrasing, which made Miss Annette even more uneasy. Whether in the culture of Outsiders or in this world where the extraordinary and the mysterious truly exist, demons have always been synonymous with extreme danger and evil.
“Having known him for so long, I really haven’t noticed any clues at all.”
Miss Annette leaned back on the sofa and sighed. Xia De, holding the constantly squirming cat, said:
“Even the Academy isn’t sure what the Doctor has in his heart, so it’s normal for us not to see it. But tomorrow, Miss Daniste, the Library administrator, is meeting me. If I remember correctly, this lady should be a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer of the Academy? I remember being called the Red Moon Witch? Will she discover the Doctor’s problem?”
Miss Annette shook her head:
“Xia De, I need to supplement your common knowledge. Generally speaking, there’s no step of meeting the Library administrator to view the codex of sublime.”
“Hmm?”
Xia De stopped stroking the cat in surprise.
“Even if you applied to view it in advance, logically, there’s no need for a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer to specially meet with you, because it’s a small matter. There must be other problems involved, and you need to be prepared. Miss Daniste is most likely not coming to see you, but rather you are going to see her.”
These two statements had a fundamental difference.
“I’m going to see her?”
Xia De was a little uneasy, and then he thought of the secret of the Witch he had just learned not long ago, so he asked:
“Since Miss Daniste is called the ‘Red Moon Witch,’ is she a member of the Witch Council?”
Miss Annette couldn’t help but laugh:
“Xia De, why would you think that? Miss Daniste is certainly not a member of the Witch Council. The word ‘Witch’ has been passed down from the previous era, referring to powerful ladies. Although all members of the Witch Council have the title of Witch, having this title doesn’t necessarily mean one is a Witch.”
Xia De nodded and then said:
“I had this thought because some things happened not long ago… Do you remember when I mentioned what happened that night at Lakeview Manor, I overheard someone near the stables saying that a Great Witch from the Witch Council had arrived in Tobesk? In fact, I’ve seen that woman once; she’s very strange.”
“The Great Witches of the Witch Council all dislike men, Xia De. You’d best stay far away from them; this is for your own good.”
Miss Annette said as she stood up and put the cubic box back into the paper bag:
“Once I divine the special ritual for Bei Ya Si to become The Chosen, I’ll meet you separately. So, let’s meet at the Doctor’s tomorrow afternoon. You don’t need to worry too much; I heard that Miss Daniste is a very good person. Cheer up, you’ll probably become a Second-Circle Arcanist very soon.”
Becoming a Second-Circle Arcanist requires Ling Runes of different elements. During promotion, the detailed information of the Ling Runes needs to be reported to the Academy so that the Academy can adjust the curriculum for the next grade.
For Xia De, gluttony and Echo could be told to the Academy, but if the little match girl was known by a third person, he might encounter trouble.
To protect his secret and avoid any accidents, on Saturday morning, Xia De once again visited Miss Louisa to seek help.
The blonde Writer had long thought of this and made arrangements for Xia De:
“The language used by Ling Runes is extremely ancient, and even the Academy may not be able to decipher it. And for complex runes like the little match girl, grammar and person need to be considered, making it even more difficult to understand. So, you don’t have to worry about being seen through at a glance. As for reporting it, you can tell the Academy that the meaning of this rune is ‘Girl Holding Matches,’ and that you obtained it with my help.”
The meanings of the two runes were similar, but their significance to a Ring術士 was completely different.
Miss Louisa’s arrangement was very good and solved a big problem for Xia De.
While Xia De was thanking her, she tilted her head to look at the grandfather clock in the corner of her apartment, then invited Xia De to have lunch together. In the afternoon, they were to go to the Doctor’s, and in the evening, it would be the first lesson.
The two would likely be together all day this Saturday. Miss Louisa had already prepared the content for the first “lesson.”
After lunch, Xia De and Miss Louisa took a carriage together to Schneider, the Doctor’s psychological clinic. When they arrived, the Doctor was surprisingly not there; he had gone out for a house call, but Priest Augustus was there.
The Priest was busy with Holy Prayer Festival work, but still attended the study session on time, looking a bit tired. As soon as he saw Xia De, he said regretfully:
“I’m very sorry, Detective.”
“What’s wrong?”
Xia De’s expression changed, thinking something had happened.
“That ancient symbol you asked me to help find, I searched the entire Library and found no clues.”
“Oh, that matter, it’s alright, Priest… You really scared me. That symbol isn’t important, you don’t need to worry about it.”
He patted his chest while sitting down. The three of them waited for the Doctor to return. During this time, Priest Augustus told Miss Louisa about Xia De’s baptism and conversion to the church yesterday.
The Writer believed Xia De had made the right choice:
“Who knows when the Church might be able to help you. Since you live in a civilized world, you can always avoid dealing with the Church.”
Schneider, the Doctor, rushed back to the clinic at two in the afternoon, constantly apologizing for his lateness. Miss Annette arrived even later, at half past two.
The Doctor was delayed because of a house call, but Miss Annette didn’t mention the reason for her lateness. Xia De guessed it was probably related to Miss Bei Ya Si.
After all five were present, Xia De recounted his magical experience from Wednesday again. Although the Doctor was present at the time, he was the last to know the full story.
Xia De didn’t say that the voice in his head used the dice of destiny, only claiming to have used the power of a relic. The Doctor expressed concern about this:
“Don’t use relics lightly.”
His tone was exactly the same as Professor Rontgen’s warning last Saturday not to use the power of the Sublimation Words lightly.
Everyone had different experiences over the week, but besides Xia De, only Schneider, the Doctor’s, story was worth mentioning. Miss Louisa claimed to have been buried in study all week, Priest Augustus was busy with the religious festival at the end of the month, and Miss Annette was definitely involved with Miss Bei Ya Si, but this matter couldn’t be mentioned, so she claimed her week was quite boring, then mentioned that the president of the Prophet Association’s Tobesk branch had returned to the city, and then said nothing more.
Schneider, the Doctor’s, experience was far less exciting than Xia De’s. On Monday night in the rain, he obtained further clues about the forged philosopher's stone. So, every night this week, he went out, first finding others closely related to Mercury Blood based on clues from the killer, then from those closely related people, finding even more closely related people, and then finding even more closely related people.
If the Mercury Blood organization was a large net hidden beneath the surging currents of Tobesk, then what the Doctor did this week was to constantly search upwards for the highest point of the net.
From Tuesday night to Friday night, he visited the dreams of 23 people, including even a First-Ring Arcanist, covering the area of Tobesk and its surrounding towns.
This was also why the Doctor looked even more tired than Priest Augustus.
“Although the Doctor’s frontal combat ability isn’t strong, if he were an agent, probably no secret could be hidden.”
Xia De couldn’t help but think to himself.
“The good news is, I finally found where the forged philosopher's stone is hidden.”
The Doctor finally announced this after recounting his intricate and difficult search journey. Priest Augustus clapped his right palm against the back of his left hand a few times in celebration, Miss Louisa waited with expectant eyes for the answer, Miss Annette congratulated him with a smile, and Xia De sighed that it truly wasn’t easy.
From the first time he met the Doctor three weeks ago until now, this relic had finally been found.
“But what’s the bad news?”
Xia De asked, and Schneider, the Doctor, shrugged:
“The forged philosopher's stone is one of the important items for synthesizing Mercury Blood, so it was hidden by the Silver-Eyed One in a very clever way. The First-Ring Arcanist I mentioned was responsible for this, and he owns a plaster statue workshop. I learned from his dream that he poured the liquid forged philosopher's stone into red glass, then made it into the eyes of plaster statues, which were mixed with the workshop’s products and sold to ordinary people. There are five suspicious statues in total, and besides the Silver-Eyed One, no one knows which one it’s actually hidden in.”
