After lunch, Shad did not leave Middlesbrough immediately, but sat and chatted with Grace and Helen again.
When Mia is full, she becomes soft and warm. At this moment, she is taking a nap on Shad's legs. The cat's life is as comfortable as ever.
"I have found it."
Xia De took out the silver flute with delicate butterfly patterns on its surface:
"The Butterfly Summoning Flute. I got it early Tuesday morning. Luckily, the Great Witch of Randall Valley helped me."
Helen and Grace examined the flute separately and were amazed by it. In the Sixth Era, there were not many creatures created by the gods.
"Does this flute enhance your strength? Will it have any effect on your injuries and the recovery of your whispering power?"
Xia De asked his question. The two girls looked at each other. Helen, who was wearing a black dress, shook her head slightly.
"Sir, this is not a relic. The Miracle Element will only help us further suppress the revival of the Whispering Element. Therefore, far from affecting us, it will suppress the return of the power of the relic."
"That's good. I'll keep this flute in your hands for now."
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Grace and Helen would soon become complete relics again. The Red Butterfly girls needed this flute more than he did.
"But sir..."
"I'm just lending it to you. If I need it, I'll take it back."
Xia De interrupted Grace and said when she was about to say something:
"I have seen the Butterfly God for the second time..."
They understand what this sentence means.
"The first time was to offer songs, and the second time was to offer poems. The next time will be my last visit to that time point, but I don't know what the butterfly god will ask us to offer as our final offering."
Helen hesitated and grabbed the edge of her skirt, while Grace whispered:
“Maybe it’s a story.”
Shade had told many stories to the gods, so he was not surprised by this kind of thing:
"Telling stories about the earth and butterflies? That's interesting."
He nodded, and expressed Grace and Helen's thoughts as they looked more and more hesitant:
"So, it was me who told your story to the butterfly god, which led to the old god finding you and helping you later? Then, you told me about the past at this point in time, allowing me to confirm that I had indeed told your story."
Grace looked around anxiously, as if she was worried that something terrible would suddenly jump out of thin air and take them away:
"Sir... it would be best not to... disrupt the continuity of time."
"I didn't spoil anything, I just said what was going to happen."
Xia De said as he stroked the cat:
"I know that although Tree Father has left, he has left behind the power to maintain the stability of time. But don't worry about that. As long as I don't go too far in my time adventures, Tree Father won't punish me."
The two young girls nodded, but still looked a little uneasy. They had probably seen with their own eyes what kind of punishment those who played with time would receive.
"So, next time I just need to offer a poem to the gods and tell them your story?"
"Perhaps she will make another request of you separately."
When it comes to gods, even the Red Butterfly Twins are very cautious:
"Since this is a party, we must do what is proper for a party... The three mortals will offer songs, poems, and stories, but that is a requirement for them. For you... Perhaps in the end, the old gods will offer other tests."
This possibility cannot be ruled out, but we will have to wait until Sunday to find out what will happen.
Xia De had already made a final guess about this slightly easier time key, so he didn't bother with it any more. He thought for a moment and suddenly asked:
"Speaking of which, since you have investigated my past, have I ever been to the Karas Mountain area? Especially in the past three years, have I been to that area?"
The topic changed too quickly. Grace thought for a moment before answering:
"Probably not."
Xia De nodded:
"So, did I ever have anything to do with the Truth Society? Oh, I mean, back when I was still having problems with my brain."
After all, the collapse of the tower on Mount Karas in the spring was directly related to the truth.
"No, you had no connection with the extraordinary and the mysterious before this."
Grace said with certainty, and Shade lowered his eyes and subconsciously looked at her pair of white long cotton socks. Therefore, his body had really big problems in the past. If even the humanoid angel-level (level 1) relics from the heyday can't see the problem, then it's really a big problem.
Grace and Helen saw that Shad was thinking, so they didn't interrupt him, but Grace blushed a little. But as the elder sister, Grace was always bolder than Helen... at least on the outside, so she relaxed her leg muscles a little to let Shad "see" more.
Helen noticed her little action and was wondering if she should try on white clothes too. At this time, Shade asked again:
"Speaking of which, is there an accurate way to determine an individual's ancestry or race? At least, to determine whether or not it is a purebred human."
"Of course there are. Because of the interbreeding of various races during the chaotic Fourth Epoch, since the Fifth Epoch, there have been individuals among ordinary humans who carry the blood of rare alien creatures. Therefore, in order to detect whether an individual is a purebred human, the witches of the Fifth Epoch have developed many methods."
Helen said, probably guessing what Shade was going to do:
"You suspect that your body is not that of a normal human? Yes, there is this possibility... The ritual takes too long to prepare, and the judgment of thaumaturgy or alchemical items is prone to fallacies. Then let's use the relics. My sister and I are more familiar with this."
"A clerical-level (level 4) relic, a sad nurse statue. This has the highest accuracy rate."
Grace said, and asked Helen:
"This statue should still be in the ruins, right?"
"Yes, it was there at least four hundred years ago."
Helen nodded and said to Shade:
"Let Zina send someone to pick it up. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be delivered over the weekend. Sir, you can come back on Sunday."
"Xina" is the name of Cassandra's mother-in-law, and only Grace and Helen can call the old witch that.
"Okay, I'll come over again this weekend."
Xia De said with some worry, stroking the cat and sighing:
"Do you know the power of the earth through the magic of the ancient goddess Mother Earth?"
Grace thought for a moment:
"Yes, I have heard of it before. But in this era, we don't know who has this power. There are not many ancient gods' magic passed down. Maybe the Church of the Sun and the Earth still has it."
Shade was originally worried that the Butterfly Twins also had the power of the earth, but it seemed that he had thought too much. Grace and Helen had already suffered enough, and he didn't want to involve them in the epic of the Chosen Ones for any reason.
Shade did not stay in Midhill Castle for too long. After leaving the lazy Mia at home for a nap, he took advantage of the afternoon to go to Randall Valley City again, intending to return the found ring to Mr. Stone Osenfurt. Of course, he wanted to confirm what kind of problem this stranger had.
The Oxenfurt family is a wealthy merchant family that has risen in recent years, so the family manor is not in the city like the Earl of Granger, but on the northern outskirts of Randall Valley.
Although there was a path through, the journey was still a bit far, so Shade went to Wilde Opera House to borrow a horse from Miss Bernardine. Unfortunately, Miss Bernardine had gone to see Margaret, but the deputy head of the group, Miss Lathers, was there.
The young lady had a good impression of Xia De, and when she heard that he wanted to borrow a horse, she agreed immediately and even asked Xia De if he wanted to borrow a carriage directly.
"No need for the carriage. I just want to visit Mr. Oxenfurt outside the city."
"Stone Oxenfurt?"
Miss Lathers asked in surprise, raising her eyebrows and showing a somewhat unhappy expression. Of course, this expression was not directed at Shade.
"Yes, Miss Benanis has no impression of this family. Do you know them?"
"Vanessa is not a local after all, but I am. About three hundred years ago, the Oxenfort family was a small local noble family with the title of baron. It is said that they were distant relatives of a great noble in Willendale. About a hundred years ago, the title was lost, and the family fell into decline. Family members left the local area one after another. The father of the current Stone Oxenfort was a sailor on the ships traveling on the Carsenrick River. Mr. Stone Oxenfort returned to the local area about five years ago and engaged in... some undignified work, probably as a gangster. Later, he made a fortune in business somehow, not only married his childhood sweetheart, but also bought back the family's former manor, which is where you are going."
“It’s really an inspiring story.”
Shade made a simple comment, and Miss Lathers shook her head:
"Mr. Hamilton, you'd better not have too much contact with him. His business is illegal. It's not just smuggling. He has some forbidden transactions with bigwigs in the capital. And even though he has become a wealthy businessman, he still controls some of his former thugs."
She was not worried that a group of ordinary people would hurt Shade, but she was worried that Shade would "learn bad things." Although Shade's body was already in his twenties, he was still two years younger than Miss Lathers, and much younger than Miss Benanis:
"Because I'm in charge of the Golden Dawn's external affairs, I know more. Even though Stone Oxenfurt and Prince William of Anjou didn't seem to know each other at yesterday's banquet, in fact, most of Oxenfurt's smuggling and illegal goods transshipment transactions are related to this prince. There is even reason to believe that William of Anjou's visit to the Randall Valley this time is also related to Oxenfurt, but I don't know what they plan to do."