“Hmm.”
Inside the restaurant, Miss Louisa had already put down her knife and fork. She noticed Xia De’s hesitation and knew he couldn’t possibly have it, so she smiled and said, “Xia De, don’t tell me Mia ate the leaves.”
“Meow~”
The cat, eating, heard someone mention her. Her small, pointed ears twitched, and she looked up, glancing around.
“Alright then.”
Miss Louisa was concerned about him, and Xia De understood this: “I only have one leaf left.”
The Golden-haired girl asked in surprise, “Is the Descent of God truly related to you? I heard rumors that The Masked Man Under the Silver Moon is the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer, Summoner. I was originally planning to check on your situation to confirm whether the Church had made another mistake, but I didn’t expect you to come to my house so energetically, carrying a cat. From your appearance, you don’t seem to have experienced a Descent of God.”
She put on a listening-to-a-story expression, so Xia De ate while explaining how he and his unidentifiable companion had attacked the Silver-Eyed One. Regarding what happened after the Evil God descended, Xia De used the same explanation he had given Luvia and Iluna. Miss Louisa just listened intently, without interrupting:
“It’s good that you know what you’re doing.”
She sighed only after Xia De finished speaking.
Stirring the thick soup in front of her with a spoon, she then raised her eyes, her emerald green gaze sweeping across Xia De’s face:
“Xia De, don’t die easily. Otherwise, I’ll be very sad.”
After lunch, the two went to Old John's Pawnshop together. Miss Louisa wanted to commission Old John to make some alchemical items, while Xia De wanted to appraise the small Mercury bottle.
Old John acted quickly. After carefully examining the item Xia De presented, he went upstairs to his living quarters in the pawnshop to look through some documents. He soon found the relic’s name and grade corresponding to the small bottle.
Of course, he first charged Xia De two pounds for the appraisal fee before he would disclose the information:
“Poet Grade relic: The Endless Mercury Bottle.”
“Poet Grade?”
Xia De asked in surprise, reaching for the banknotes he had placed on the counter, but Old John was faster, sweeping them into his hand. In the struggle for these two pounds in cash, even though Xia De had advanced to the Second Ring and his body had been purified by divinity, he couldn’t compete with the old man in front of him:
“Don’t rush, don’t rush, I knew you’d think that, but Poet Grade isn’t worthless.”
The old man took off the brass mechanical magnifying glass he wore on his left eye and carefully placed it in a box:
“Listen to me describe its properties. This bottle can infinitely produce mercury, yes, infinitely.”
He took out a bottle containing red liquid from under the counter, carefully poured it into the small Mercury bottle, then picked up the bottle and shook it:
“To get the mercury out of this small bottle, you need to slowly inject a small amount of blood and a Ring術士’s spirit, then shake it gently.”
As he spoke, he shook it, then tilted the bottle’s opening downwards. The liquid metal, which Xia De could never get out, immediately poured forth, while the liquid level inside the bottle remained unchanged.
The cat, standing on the counter and surveying its surroundings, immediately became interested in the silver liquid. But before it could poke its head in, Miss Louisa picked up the cat, signaling Xia De not to worry.
“Meow~”
Her tail swished back and forth, as if slapping Miss Louisa’s arm. The orange cat didn’t like being held by her.
“The negative property is that this bottle tempts its owner to pour the liquid into their mouth. This, of course, has little effect on a Ring術士, but few ordinary people can resist the mental inducement of a relic. Speaking of which, I remember this thing should be in the hands of a PentaCircle sorcerer from Mercury Blood? Where did you get it?”
“It’s not important. Is this valuable?”
Xia De asked, glancing sideways at the wall behind the counter, where a framed specimen of a small yellow flower had been added. Old John’s place always had all sorts of strange things.
The old man looked up at Xia De, with an expression as if he didn’t know its worth:
“For a Ring術士 organization like Mercury Blood, which heavily relies on mercury as a spellcasting material, this thing is simply a priceless treasure. Moreover, if a madman dares to bury the relic inside their body, it means they can almost cast mercury curses and Miracles without consumption. The Ring術士s of Mercury Blood have done this, and it has proven feasible. Do you think this is valuable?”
“Valuable. What is the ratio of blood to mercury produced?”
Xia De asked again. Old John looked at him curiously, a smile on his aged face:
“What did you think of? Tell me.”
Miss Louisa also looked at Xia De curiously. The Outsider organized his thoughts:
“The emergence of steam engines has propelled our civilization to rapid development. The level of development in the past 100 years far exceeds that of the past 1000 years. And according to my understanding, in steam factories and mechanical industries, the value of mercury is undeniable. Extracting non-ferrous metals, mirrors, reflectors, barometers, and even explosives…”
Xia De paused, and Old John nodded with satisfaction. The old man looked at the bottle with a slightly intoxicated expression, then suddenly shook it, completing Xia De’s words:
“This relic can produce high-purity mercury, and the method of extraction is harmless, with no extra waste gas or pollutants. The Detective means that if the ratio of blood to mercury produced is appropriate, this small bottle is enough to change the industrial structure of a region. Yes, yes, Detective, I praised you last time, and you truly are the most intelligent young man I know.”
The old man said with great relief.
“So, is it feasible?”
Xia De asked again.
“Of course not feasible.”
Old John said mercilessly, placing the small bottle on the table:
“One jier of any creature’s blood, with a small amount of spirit added, can produce one gallon of mercury. But this is a relic after all. Do you think the mercury it produces is normal mercury?”
Old John shook his head:
“This mercury also has a whisper element. Even if the Ring術士’s influence can be basically ignored, it is absolutely dangerous for ordinary people. Remember, young man, do not try to utilize any relic. For relics, besides personal use, all others must be strictly contained. The Church and the Academy have contained so many powerful relics, why have they never thought of using such extraordinary items to change the world? Is it possible that everyone’s brains are not as sharp as yours and mine?”
Miss Louisa provided the answer:
“Because the whisper element represented by relics is an enemy of civilization. Using relics to change the world is much like using a steam bomb for heating.”
She happily stroked Mia, who was in her arms, but the cat still found an opportunity to dart out, standing on the pawnshop counter and “roaring” at the Golden-haired girl.
“Xia De, do you understand?”
Miss Louisa asked.
“I understand.”
Xia De nodded with some regret, and Old John seized the opportunity to say, “You two don’t have much use for this thing anyway, why not sell it to me? I can offer a good price.”
“No, I don’t plan to sell it for now.”
Xia De shook his head.
“You’re not short on money anymore?”
“I’ve had a large income recently. I met a wealthy and influential noblewoman, and she is very generous.”
“Noblewoman?”
Old John showed an ambiguous smile, first glancing at Miss Louisa, then lowering his head to tidy up the pile of items on the counter used for appraising relics:
“Ah, young man, that is indeed a shortcut, but be careful with your body. However, even if you’re not short on money, you can still inquire about the rumored Thirteen Ring Sorcerer recently. You two should know about this, right? Any information can be sold to me, I have a need.”
“Is it Jialinna?”
After leaving Old John’s Pawnshop, Miss Louisa finally couldn’t resist asking. The two walked shoulder to shoulder down the street, surrounded by many pedestrians. Because a curfew was to be enforced for the entire upcoming week, people had to quicken their daytime schedules.
Ahead, rusty gas pipes were piled against the wall. This street was undergoing urban infrastructure renovation recently, and Old John had just complained about rude people walking past his shop door every noon. Unfortunately, due to the martial law and curfew, the project would likely be delayed for a long time.
Even though there was still little sunlight today, Miss Louisa wore a white wide-brimmed lady’s hat. A pink flower was pinned to the hat, which looked very well-matched with her hair.
In the aesthetic of this era, a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl was the standard of beauty.
“Yes, my relationship with the Duchess is quite good. She bought some gains from the ruins from me at a high price.”
Xia De spoke truthfully.
“Oh? I wanted to ask last time, are you and Jialinna very familiar? Is that right?”
The Golden-haired girl squinted at Xia De, her mind wondering what she was thinking.
Xia De, however, noticed that she never used any honorifics when referring to Duchess Galina Cavendish. This, of course, did not indicate intimacy, but rather seemed like there was a conflict between them.
Dorothy Louisa was just an ordinary citizen of Tobesk and should have no connection with the Duchess, who was often not in Tobesk. Therefore, Xia De guessed that her good friend Princess Leia had a conflict with Miss Jialinna.
The princess, whom Xia De had not yet met, and Galina Cavendish, although differing in age by five or six years, were actually three generations apart. If they truly had conflicts, it would probably be like those told in court romance novels, all unimaginable secrets to ordinary citizens.
“Why isn’t it a court political novel?”
“Because I haven’t read any court political novels from this world. You know I read Mr. Sparrow’s ‘The Queen and Her Lovers’ with you.”
Of course, reading that book was mainly to find the so-called “spy codebook.”
Along the crowded street, Xia De chatted with the woman in his mind about the content of the colored novel, while walking side by side with Miss Louisa into the distance. With the demise of Mercury Blood and the departure of the Evil God, Xia De could temporarily enjoy a period of leisure before Luvia divined the second Chosen.