The rain in Tobesk was much gentler than the rain in the port City.
The day-long rain greatly reduced the polluting mist that enveloped the City, and also made the City's air fresh.
Summer was originally a stuffy and hot season, but traveling in the Summer rain, you would not feel any heat, nor the excessively high humidity like in the rain of Coldwater Port City.
When Xia De, holding a paper bag and an umbrella, knocked on the door downstairs of the apartment building where Louisa rented, the rainwater streamed down from the eaves like a huge umbrella, and the landlady who opened the door looked a bit displeased.
It wasn't that she didn't welcome her tenant's guest, but rather she was scolding Xia De for disturbing her a second time today.
Only ladies lived here, and the landlady did not welcome men to visit frequently; this was also a requirement in the rental contract.
Louisa was even more surprised when she saw Xia De; the dress she wore was still the same one from their morning meeting, and it seemed she hadn't gone out today due to the weather:
"Xia De, haven't you left yet? Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
"No, no, I haven't not left, I've already returned.
Look, I brought you a souvenir."
Upon reaching the living room on the third floor, he handed over the freshly dead fish wrapped in a paper bag; the fishy smell was strong.
"Meow~"
With a meow, the cat, which had been standing on the windowsill, suddenly pounced over.
But Mia wasn't trying to pounce on the unlucky fish; it jumped from the windowsill to the chair, from the chair to the table, and then, using the height of the table, it clung to Xia De's arm and refused to let go of its claws.
It meowed several times in a seemingly wronged voice, as if afraid Xia De would abandon it again.
"It almost lay on the windowsill all afternoon, constantly looking at the street outside the window."
Louisa said with a smile, then looked at the fish with disdain:
"Xia De, why would you think I've mastered the skill of preparing fish? I never bother with such troublesome things.
But this fish looks very good; did you catch it yourself?"
After asking, she eyed the fish suspiciously again:
"But... it's very fresh, and it seems to be a sea fish.
Where exactly did you go?"
"Um... that's a very long story, please allow me to keep it a secret for now."
Actually, he didn't want to reveal the secret of his house for the time being:
"I'm really too tired today; I came to pick up Mia, and I still need to eat when I get back.
Louisa, thank you very much for helping me take care of this cat; I hope it didn't cause you any trouble."
"This cat is very well-behaved, but haven't you eaten yet?"
The Golden-haired girl asked with concern, standing up from the sofa:
"Since you brought a big fish, why don't we eat fish together? It just so happens that your cat and I haven't eaten either."
"You don't know how to prepare fish, do you? Oh, I don't either."
"So we'll go out to eat.
I know a very good restaurant that allows customers to bring their own ingredients.
And, I think your cat will also like to eat fish, but be careful not to let it choke on the bones."
"Meow~"
Mia probably didn't hear what the Golden-haired girl said; it was held in Xia De's arms, its eyes narrowed, diligently rubbing its face against Xia De's clothes.
"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask this morning, why did you suddenly decide to go on a long trip?"
Louisa went into the bedroom to change into her going-out clothes, while Xia De remained seated on the sofa.
The two conversed through a closed door, but this was entirely different from conversing with Jialinna through a door.
Conversing with the Golden-haired Writer like this only made Xia De feel warm and trusting, whereas at that time, conversing with the Great Witch, whom he was not yet familiar with, only brought tension.
"The reason for going out..."
Xia De thought for a moment and decided not to mention the matter of venturing deep into the ruins and confronting the Silver-Eyed One.
This matter was very dangerous, and there was no need to involve Louisa.
He held a teacup in one hand and stroked the cat with the other, saying to the closed door:
"It was just a sudden whim.
You know, Ring術士 sometimes get very wonderful inspirations.
I recently had the inspiration to go on a long trip."
"It's certainly good to have inspiration, but you also need to be careful of the traps that inspiration can bring.
Ring術士..."
She paused, and Xia De's overly sensitive hearing allowed him to hear the sound of the wardrobe door being pulled open.
"A Ring術士's inspiration sometimes doesn't come from what they themselves thought of, but from something making them think of something."
Louisa continued to impart her experience through the closed door, her tone somewhat languid:
"So, you must think clearly before doing anything, but you also shouldn't be overly timid because of it."
He heard the hangers in the wardrobe clanking against each other, heard footsteps, heard clothes being tossed onto the bed, and then heard the sound of a dress's tie being undone...
Images flooded his mind, and Xia De's face instantly flushed:
"Oh, Louisa, I'll borrow the washroom for a moment.
Mia's paws need a wash; she's already left two marks on my clothes."
"You can... I thought her paws were quite clean?"
Xia De didn't answer, but instead hurried towards the washroom.
The washroom was quite far from Louisa's bedroom, so Xia De couldn't hear the sounds he shouldn't have been hearing anymore.
The Writer's rented apartment's washroom was smaller than Xia De's washroom.
The steam pipes were not embedded in the walls but directly passed through them, clinging to the walls, making the interior space of the washroom appear even smaller.
There was a strong scent of spices in the washroom; this wasn't because perfume had been spilled here, as Xia De's washroom actually had a similar smell.
The drainage system of this era was not yet very complete, so to prevent strange smells from appearing in the washroom and spreading throughout the entire house, poor families used orange peels, while those with a bit of money would use some inferior spices, placed at the washroom door or at the drain pipe connection to cover the smell.
He reached out and turned on the gas lamp, not looking around, and walked straight to the sink.
In the middle of the metal mirror frame was a bright mirror, and the faucet below the mirror was brass-colored, with a series of numbers engraved on its side.
He then creakily turned on the faucet; clear water first gurgled out in a few spurts before flowing normally from the faucet:
"When did my hearing get so good?"
He was still a bit red-faced, holding the cat with one hand and looking in the mirror, while the other hand moved back and forth under the faucet, creating the sound of actual water use.
"【This should be an unimportant characteristic of the Miracle - Echoes of the Past, which slightly improved your hearing level.
Otherwise, how could you always catch footsteps in a bustling City?】
Although there was no one behind him in the mirror, this voice still made Xia De believe that the woman was leaning behind him, whispering softly into his ear.
He looked in the mirror and carefully touched his shoulder with a wet hand, but whether in the mirror or outside, he touched nothing.
The woman chuckled softly in Xia De's ear, as if mocking his actions at that moment:
"【However, why did you blush just now?】"
"Why do you think I blushed?"
He retorted, looking at his distinctly Western-looking reflection in the mirror, and waved his hand at the mirror.
Watching his reflection, he was amused by his own foolish actions.
"Meow~"
Mia noticed Xia De's movements, wiggled to stand up in his elbow, and then also waved her paws at the small orange cat in the mirror.
Seeing the cat in the mirror also wave its paws, Mia let out a threatening sound at "it."
The Outsider was not good at cooking, so most of the time he would find cheap restaurants around Saint Delan Square to eat.
The restaurant Louisa took Xia De to this time looked like a so-called high-end restaurant; fortunately, it wasn't extremely high-end, otherwise, they would have had to change clothes to enter.
The restaurant allowed guests to bring their own ingredients, and the chef, being very knowledgeable, recognized that the fish Xia De brought was a common West Coast sea fish called 'Olyric fish'.
Although it was already dead, it didn't seem to have been dead for too long.
"Don't worry, we won't waste your fish, esteemed guest."
Xia De still remembered the terrible dining standards in Delarion, so he was actually worried that he would see terrifying dishes like "fish head pizza" due to the chef's confidence.
Unexpectedly, in the end, he, Louisa, and Mia enjoyed a very nice fish soup and pan-fried fish with butter.
They sat at a table by the wall, where oil paintings of lavender fields and windmills hung.
Louisa noticed that Xia De had something on his mind and tried to find out what he was doing during the meal, but Xia De always deflected her questions.
So, in the end, she only hinted that he could ask her for help if he had anything, but Xia De truly didn't want to involve Louisa in that trouble.
But overall, the dinner was quite pleasant.
Louisa was in high spirits discussing the menu here, while Xia De talked about his interesting experience of attending an academic lecture last Friday and coincidentally meeting Professor Manning.
As for Mia, for the sake of the cat's health, Xia De did not share the fish soup with it, but the restaurant's chef specially separated a piece of boneless meat from the large fish.
Mia probably wouldn't have time to bother Xia De until it finished its own meal.
Bringing your own ingredients still required payment, but when they left, Xia De only placed a tip under the plate and paid nothing else, because Louisa said that this meal, like before, would be charged to an account.
And when they stood under umbrellas at the rainy restaurant entrance, and Xia De was about to escort the Golden-haired girl back to Feather Pen Street, Louisa then said that this meal wasn't paid for by her either:
"Leia is such a regular customer; she often sneaks out to eat here, so just charge it to her account."
The two walked together down the rainy street, with the cat nestled on Xia De's shoulder.
The gas streetlights in the rain were dim, and the three full moons were also obscured behind the dark clouds.
From Louisa's nonchalant tone, it seemed she hadn't done this for the first time.
Her relationship with Princess Leticia Cavendish, whom Xia De had not yet met, seemed truly good.