Xia De wanted to be extra careful with the appraisal of such a rare and precious special card, so he naturally went to ask for help from Mr. Cynthia Mark, the vice president whom he was very familiar with.
Mr. Mark had been extremely busy organizing next month's Great City Player rhode cards Tournament, but upon hearing that Xia De was looking for him, he still made time to meet with Xia De:
"Wait, Mr. Hamilton, you haven't gotten a new rhode cards, have you?"
After exchanging pleasantries, the man leading Xia De upstairs suddenly paused, then skillfully grabbed the stair railing:
"Alright, you can tell me."
His eyes were full of anticipation.
"Yes, a new rhode cards, you actually guessed it."
Xia De nodded.
"The very old kind?"
Mr. Mark cautiously probed again.
"Yes, I want to get it appraised."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia De saw Mr. Mark clutching his heart, looking as if he was about to have a heart attack.
"What are you... Oh, no, no, it's not the Founding series, not that one. It's this one, this one."
Xia De hurriedly explained, then took out the demon series card.
The middle-aged man in a black suit took a deep breath and looked at the card face. Only after realizing it wasn't 【Founding】 did his expression gradually return to normal:
"demon series? This is truly a rare card."
"Yes, although it's not Founding, it's still an old enough rhode cards, and I hope to have the association's appraisers take a look at it."
Xia De stated his request.
"No problem, but it will take a few hours."
Mr. Mark's breathing became steady, and his expression was very serious. Although it wasn't the Founding series, this card was still valuable if it was real:
"The Tobesk branch has never appraised a demon series card before, but for the Great City Player, the old appraisers who came from the headquarters should be able to appraise it."
"Then I'll leave the card here, and I'll pick it up tonight or tomorrow."
"No, that's not according to the rules. The holder must be present during the appraisal."
Mr. Mark immediately emphasized, this was to protect both the cardholder and the association.
"It's fine, I trust the association, and aren't we friends?"
Xia De shook his head indifferently, actually not having much hope for this card.
After leaving Silver Cross Avenue, Xia De returned home and greeted Dorothy and Mia, who had a ring on her tail. Under the curious gaze of the woman and the cat, he entered the basement again and returned to Coldwater Port.
"He's really busy today."
The Golden-haired girl said with a smile, holding the cat.
When they landed on the beach, the rain that had lasted all morning finally stopped. Xia De, soaked to the bone, found a cheap inn in the Wharf Area to shower, then changed into clean clothes before returning to the street.
Perhaps it was simply more crowded in the afternoon, or perhaps people had come out after the weather cleared, but the Wharf Area was indeed much livelier than in the morning.
Xia De had never personally reported anyone before. Writing a letter or even putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into the sea was actually the simplest method. But since it concerned The Chosen, Xia De didn't want that letter to take any risks, so he decided to deliver the letter to the church himself.
Of course, to ensure the church believed the contents of the letter, Xia De not only recounted everything about Darkness in detail but also signed the letter with "Summoner" at the end.
The inexplicable snowflakes when the Fishbone Pirate Ship left, and the Moonlight above the ancient alley occupied by mermen last week, had already made the Orthodox Church suspect that the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer, who was severely injured by summoning a god, was also in Coldwater Port. Therefore, there was no problem with Xia De writing it this way.
He was unwilling to walk into the church and then secretly drop the letter when no one was around. Instead, he wrote the letter and wandered around the Natural Church in the Wharf Area, hoping to encounter a priest who occasionally went out.
The Lord of All Things, also known as the God of Nature and Malice, has divine authority related to the ocean, thus enjoying a very flourishing faith in coastal areas. The church was located on the busiest street in the Wharf Area. After the rain, the sky cleared, and a rainbow even appeared in the sky. Many more believers came to the church to pray or confess, and Xia De, blending into the crowd, was completely inconspicuous.
He stood on the street corner with a newspaper, watching people enter and exit the church entrance on Monday afternoon. After a long while, he finally saw a priest in a white robe with a holy emblem on his chest, walking quickly from the other side of the street. He was about the same age as Doctor Schneider, and his hurried pace wasn't because he was in a hurry to do something, but because he wanted to avoid the next wave of people entering the church.
Xia De's eyes lit up, and he immediately went to meet him, stopping the priest before he reached the church:
"Oh, child, is there something you need?"
Stopped by Xia De, the priest wasn't angry; instead, he kindly stopped and asked. These clergy members were skilled at communicating with people.
"Father, I want to confess."
Xia De lowered his head on the street, taking out the prepared excuse, while the clergyman in front of him showed an understanding expression:
"No problem, that's good. Why don't you come into the church with me? We can go to the confessional, which will protect your privacy."
"Oh, no, Father, my sin is too great. I don't want my defiled soul to pass before God."
Xia De said again, trying to make his tone as sincere as possible.
The priest's face showed a worried expression:
"Then what you want to say is..."
He was probably worried that Xia De was a murderer or someone similar.
"I fell in love with many girls at the same time."
This was the sin Xia De found that was light enough, but not too light. Although this was self-defamation and damaged his image, since it was for a noble reason, to have the Orthodox Church arrest Darkness, Xia De didn't care about this point.
The worried expression on the middle-aged man's face disappeared. He nodded sympathetically:
"This is indeed a sin, but since you already know it's wrong, it means you're still a good person. Sincerely repent, and then choose the girl you truly want to spend your life with, and you will find happiness."
"Oh, thank you, Father."
Xia De lowered his head, spoke in a hoarse voice, then sniffled and shrugged his shoulders, pretending to cry:
"You are truly a good person. You are right, I think I know what I should do. I'm going to see her now, and I'll tell her my thoughts."
Saying that, he took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to the priest in front of him:
"Father, please donate this money to the church on my behalf. Don't let a sinner like me face the holy emblem and the idol. If I can truly marry her, Father, I will come back to thank you."
Xia De tried to make himself as heartfelt as possible.
"Then I wish you happiness, young man. Perhaps you were once enveloped by dark thoughts, but God will guide you in the direction of Moonlight. Be sure to truly understand what you want before making a decision."
The priest took the envelope, revealing a kind smile. Standing on the crowded street, surrounded by brass gas pipes shining in the sunlight after the rain, coupled with the rainbow after the rain, this scene had a rather sacred feel.
But Xia De never looked up, and after bidding farewell to the priest, he turned and left.
The middle-aged priest walked towards the church with the envelope. He couldn't open a believer's donation on the street, and the church's donations would definitely be checked for the amount later. Therefore, the envelope would certainly be opened in the church, and the letter inside, in addition to Xia De's 1 shilling banknote and dozens of papers marked "1 shilling," would certainly be discovered.
"It's like spending 1 shilling to have someone deliver a letter."
Thinking of this, Xia De was quite satisfied with his actions just now.
Of course, to prevent the church from immediately taking out the letter and chasing after him, Xia De didn't linger there either. But before he could even leave the street, he saw a carriage coming around the corner.
There was nothing wrong with a carriage appearing on such a bustling street, but the problem was that it wasn't a public four-wheeled taxi carriage.
Xia De only needed to glance over the crowd to determine that the handcrafted ironwork of the carriage frame was definitely worth a fortune, and the strong and capable appearance of the hat-wearing coachman was also different from that of an ordinary coachman.
"A noble's private carriage?"
He stood there for a moment, and in that brief time, the carriage got closer and closer, and Xia De also saw the family crest on the side of the carriage.
"Is this the Aurora Family crest? Oh, it's Hivi Aurora! It's that Great Witch."
Thinking of this, Xia De turned and walked quickly towards the alley entrance on the street. Just then, the carriage window was pushed open a crack, and the woman looking out from inside curiously observed Xia De's retreating back, but quickly lost interest.
Because he ran fast enough, the second Great Witch of the Witch Council to appear before Xia De temporarily did not notice anything unusual about the man.
The accidental encounter with Hivi Aurora gave Xia De a huge sense of crisis. Although Miss Jialinna seemed relatively normal, he actually accepted the notion that most people in the Witch Council were mentally unstable.
To make himself safer, the production of the alchemical tools he saw in Miss Felianna's notebook absolutely could not be delayed.
So, after leaving the vicinity of the Natural Church, Xia De directly returned to the Seven Broomsticks Tavern, paid the high price of 69 pounds, and obtained the alchemical materials he had purchased. After confirming that he only lacked the most important core material, which was the Great Witch's hair, Xia De did not stay in the city for long at all. He got into a carriage and headed towards Sophia Manor in the north of the city.
Princess Leia had also just returned from the city. Seeing Xia De holding a paper bag and looking startled, she asked him what he had done today.
"I first went to the tavern to buy things, then went to a small inn to play rhode cards, and before I came back, I also went to the church to donate."
He thought for a moment and briefly described his day.
"Oh?"
The princess walked beside Xia De in the corridor, turned to look at him, her pretty eyebrows slightly furrowed:
"Xia De, it sounds like after you entered the city, you entrusted the tavern to procure things, then spent a day playing cards. On your way back, you passed by the church and donated some money to soothe your anxiety about wasting time."