Miss Bei Ya Si arrived at almost eight o'clock. As she followed Xia De upstairs, Xia De noticed that her hair was still wet. After sitting down, she complained to Xia De and Miss Annette:
“This afternoon, our team received a temporary mission and was dispatched to the sewers in the north of the city to catch some daring guys selling contraband. Do you know the smell inside the Tobesk underground pipes?”
She made a very indescribable expression:
“You'd better never know. After the mission ended, I went home and washed for a full hour before I felt the smell fade.”
“I don't smell anything strange now.”
Miss Annette said, while Xia De went to the kitchen to get her some bread. Miss Bei Ya Si had rushed over on an empty stomach, and her hair wasn't even dry yet.
“That's because I used perfume, very expensive perfume.”
She tried to use her hand to gesture the shape of the perfume bottle:
“It's an import from Carson Rick, a small bottle costs a full 3 pounds. It was a gift I gave myself for my birthday last year. To be honest, it doesn't feel worth that price.”
She took the bread Xia De handed her, thanked him softly, and then dangled the bread in front of Mia, who was crouching on the back of the sofa. But the orange cat's cat food was much more refined than the cheap bread Xia De bought, so it wasn't attracted by such temptation at all.
“Did you catch the people in the end?”
Xia De asked as he sat down.
“We caught them. Everyone was very angry at the time, and when we caught them, we accidentally used heavy hands… just pretend you didn't hear that.”
She waved her hand awkwardly, and Xia De couldn't help but smile.
“What kind of contraband were they selling?”
Miss Annette asked again.
“I don't know either. The captain refused to say, telling us with a straight face that it was classified. But when we caught them, we searched them and found red salt in small bottles. That's probably what they were going to sell. If you encounter it recently, remember to report it to me. I'll share the reward with you.”
While Miss Bei Ya Si was eating bread, Xia De and Miss Annette confirmed their respective preparations for tomorrow night's event.
Xia De learned the crucial Miracle 【Laleg's Leap】, bought 【Bordeaux Candle】 from Old John for 43 pounds, and borrowed a genuine sage-level relic, the 【Ancient Magic Witches' Golden Necklace】.
Miss Annette had recovered from the weakness after paying the price for divination on Sunday. She borrowed a compass for direction from the association, borrowed a Poet Grade relic that could see through illusions from her friend, which looked like a monocle, and then acquired several steam bombs through black market channels.
Steam bombs were completely useless against High-Ring Sorcerers, but they might have some effect on a weakened Silver-Eyed One.
“But, how could your friend directly lend out a sage-level relic?”
Looking at the jewelry box Xia De placed on the coffee table, Miss Bei Ya Si and Miss Annette were both very surprised. Although Sage-level (Level 2) and Secret Keeper Level (Level 3) were only one level apart, the preciousness of the former was self-evident:
“Even for a High-Ring Sorcerer, this relic has considerable appeal. The other party actually lent it directly to you? Why don't I have such friends?”
“Of course, it wasn't without a price.”
Xia De explained about having to attend a charity banquet first tomorrow night.
Miss Annette and Miss Bei Ya Si did not object; instead, they hoped that Xia De could stay at the banquet the whole time. Compared to breaking into the ruins with them, a banquet where the Orthodox Church ensured safety was where he should be.
They were worried about Xia De's safety, but Xia De was determined to obtain the gift left to him by the god of the fifth epoch.
Miss Annette took out her notebook:
“I've investigated that ruin again these past few days and made new discoveries. Since you have other arrangements, the plan needs to be readjusted. Let me see now, the originally scheduled action plan… At the same time, we need to calibrate our pocket watches, Xia De, you do this. Oh, there's just too much to do, we'll be busy tonight.”
She shook her head in annoyance, while Xia De looked at the stormy night outside the window and hesitated before suggesting:
“Why don't you two stay here tonight? My house is very big. The weather outside is so bad, I don't think it's necessary to go back late at night…”
After speaking, he emphasized again:
“I'm not saying this for any other reason.”
“It's fine, your Ring術士 level is lower than ours, so even if it were to do something bad, it wouldn't be your turn.”
Miss Annette waved her hand jokingly, and Miss Bei Ya Si also smiled and nodded:
“That's right, this is indeed a good idea. But in a while, we'll have to go home to get a change of clothes, that way, we can ensure we stay together until the action tomorrow night.”
However, although the house in Saint Delan Square was very large, there were only two beds. The bed in Xia De's second bedroom was the larger one, and he could change the bedding to let the two girls squeeze in, while he would have to sleep in Sparrow Detective's small bed.
【I thought you'd have some psychological trauma regarding that bed.】
“There are three Ring術士 here tonight, so if there's a haunting, Sparrow will definitely be the unlucky one.”
The girls got up to go home and get a change of clothes and toiletries. Xia De also stood up and thought of something else:
“Oh, speaking of which, may I ask your weight?”
When he suggested staying overnight, they weren't particularly alarmed, but this question made the two brown-haired girls become wary:
“That's impolite, Xia De.”
Miss Bei Ya Si said reproachfully.
“No, no, no, it's about the candle. I got a very good candle.”
That night, they talked until early morning before going to rest. Xia De's candle could help all three of them become invisible, and the others also obtained good relics, which could help them make targeted adjustments to the plan.
Besides discussing the plan and arrangements for tomorrow night, Miss Bei Ya Si also returned the 【witch's copy paper】 that had already imprinted the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer's Miracle 【Sunlight Greatsword】 to Xia De.
According to the characteristics of this relic, Xia De burned the copy paper, mixed the remaining ashes with water, stirred it constantly, and finally pinched his nose and drank every last drop.
After drinking it, he received a slight hint from the voice in his head. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then extended his right index finger. A slender Silver Moonlight, like a short blade, leaped from his fingertip. After a brief experiment, the blade emerging from his fingertip had excellent cutting performance. Without the enhancement of the 【Ancient Magic Witches' Golden Necklace】, its defense-breaking ability also surpassed 【Silver Moon Slash】.
This Miracle should be a close-combat ability and can be paired with 【Chaotic Time Blade】. Moreover, Xia De could feel that the witch's copy paper was still being digested, and the current gain was only the rudimentary form of the Miracle.
It requires a process of “digestion” for him to fully master the Miracle. It's not digestion by the stomach, but by the soul to digest that power. Miss Bei Ya Si had investigated the information on the 【witch's copy paper】. According to the records, since it can possess such power from the beginning, his gain should not be so simple; it is very likely to be a powerful Miracle extremely close to 【Sunlight Greatsword】.
What he ultimately obtains is related to Xia De's own Ling Rune type and his strongest desires, and he is full of anticipation for this.
“Tomorrow night's operation will definitely not have any problems.”
This was Xia De's thought as he lay in the master bedroom of the second-floor Room 1, preparing to go to sleep.
The cat lying on the pillow had just run over. Mia had seen Xia De go to the washroom to wash up and knew he was preparing to rest, so she darted into his room. But after a while, she saw a woman enter instead of Xia De, so she rushed out of the bedroom door and found Xia De in the adjacent room.
It seemed that the cat had probably mistakenly thought that Miss Bei Ya Si and Miss Annette had killed Xia De and occupied the house.
Fortunately, Mia wasn't picky about beds, and she fell asleep even faster than Xia De. Xia De, with things on his mind, lay with his eyes closed for a long time before falling asleep.
And at this time, the rain outside was still falling.
(Mia running…)
It felt as if opening and closing his eyes were only a matter of two or three seconds. The sound of rain hitting the window was still in his ears, and listening carefully, the cat's faint and even breathing could also be detected.
Xia De opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. The Miracle told him that the current time was five o'clock on Thursday morning. He had only slept for less than four hours, but now that he was awake, he wasn't sleepy at all.
“Is it still raining? I hope it doesn't affect tonight's events.”
Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, after a long while, he tiptoed out of bed. The highly alert cat was, of course, startled awake, but after standing up and looking around to confirm there was no danger, it flopped back down by the pillow.
This was Sparrow Hamilton's bedroom. After the Detective's death, Xia De only occasionally came here to clean the room or to look for information left by the former Detective.
This was the first time Xia De had seen this room in the morning. Sitting by the bed, he wondered curiously if Sparrow Detective felt the same way he did now when he woke up each morning and saw the room before him.
Because there were other people in the house, Xia De tried to be as quiet as possible when he left the room. It was still early, and it was still raining outside, so the unlit living room seemed a bit dim.
Standing at the bedroom door, he glanced around. The doors to the girls' rooms were still closed, so they were probably still sleeping.
Having woken up a bit too early, Xia De didn't know what to do. He stood in the living room and looked around again, then noticed that the front door was slightly ajar:
“Did someone go out?”
He padded in slippers to the second-floor corridor. There was no light downstairs, but the door to Room 2 on the second floor next door was also open.
Xia De pushed the door open and entered. The room, without gas lamps or furniture, was empty and somewhat cold. The sound of rain here seemed even louder than in the next room.
He immediately saw Miss Bei Ya Si standing by the window.
The brown-haired girl stood by the window, one hand holding a teacup, the other supporting the elbow of her other arm. She was looking out at the rain in Saint Delan Square in the darkness, wearing the nightgown she had brought from her rented apartment last night.
Xia De, standing at the doorway, could only see her profile. For some reason, Xia De thought this profile looked so forlorn.