"I have not met any residents of this city. The information given to me by my teacher and Miss Feliana shows that only those buildings with signs are relatively safe. My teacher and Miss Feliana prepared a lot of weapons and materials for me, allowing me to enter these shops to gradually unveil the curtain and meet the God of Night. But now my backpack is also lost, and only a small part of my luggage is still in this cafe..."
Her head was lowered, and the tip of her tail was drooping and sweeping back and forth slightly, so that Xia De could tell her mood without looking at her expression. However, Xia De now knew what the small package under her feet in the cafe menu illustration meant.
“Can all these shops be used for trading?”
Shade asked, pointing to the menu on the table, but Fiona shook her head cautiously:
"There are so many secrets here. I can only say that most of the shops can do business."
She reached into the large pocket of her maid's skirt and pulled out a brass-colored round object that looked like the base of some kind of instrument:
"This is the compass base prepared by Miss Feliana. Teacher and Miss Feliana have checked many things about this city. I originally needed to find and enter three designated stores, trade and obtain all the parts of the compass, and then I could find the way to the center of the city. But when I came to Evernight City, I found that the dangers here are more than I imagined..."
The Red Dragon girl looked particularly depressed at this moment, with her hands folded together on her legs under the table:
"This is the first shop. Before I entered here, I lost most of my luggage due to some accidents, and I was also eroded by the power of the night. In order to maintain my identity and not be assimilated by the night, I was forced to make a deal with the cafe, and then somehow, I was controlled by this place."
Shade understood this and felt that the task that Miss Feliana and Miss Orlanod had given to the girl in front of them was a little too dangerous.
"Are you the only one on this mission?"
"Yes, it's too dangerous here, and Miss Orlanod and Miss Felina have become very urgent in recent years. Each of us has taken on a lot of tasks. I know I haven't worked hard enough, but they trust me a lot... This is something that no one else can give me."
She looked down at her reflection in the tea:
"If you hadn't come, I would have to stay here for a long time before the teacher or Miss Feliana could come to save me."
She never thought that she would stay here forever. Like the Red Dragon Girl and Shade, they both trusted the two great witches very much.
"That feeling was really terrible. I was still conscious, but I just couldn't control my body. Xia De, when I saw you rushing in, I really felt like I was dreaming..."
As he spoke, his eyes actually became moist. Fiona was relatively young, and not as strong as the other witches Shade had met.
"Now that I'm here, it's all right. I'll go to the three shops to find trading materials and exchange for the way to the throne, right? This doesn't sound any harder than collecting texts from the First Age for the Old Gods in the Gadis Library."
Xia De said, and then pushed the menu to her:
"What are we going to get in this cafe first?"
Fiona quickly flipped through the pages on the menu. The menu looked thin, with only ten pages, but in fact, the last page that Shad had just turned to was numbered 108.
"I didn't see this until I got here, but unfortunately we definitely can't buy it."
She turned to the corresponding page. Since they were sitting next to each other, Xia De could see the content clearly at a glance:
The map of Eternal Night City marks important locations and hidden roads in the city.
The map that the monarch left behind when he was a guest last time and enjoyed snacks.
The picture on the left is a rolled-up parchment with an emblem printed in blue ink on the back. If Shade guessed correctly, this should be the holy emblem of the God of Night.
A special destiny is required.
When it comes to fate, one can never be too cautious, so this is indeed not a product they can afford.
Fiona continued to flip back, but before she turned to the corresponding page, Shade suddenly asked her to stop because he saw a very familiar name:
The Great One - The pepper pot of the Lord of the Blood Feast, a relic, can make any food delicious when sprinkled on it. Frequent and large doses will cause severe gluttony until the Lord of the Blood Feast looks at or comes.
A delicious bait for the master of the blood feast.
The picture on the left is a metal can with densely packed small holes on the top.
A unique delicacy to be paid for.
"Shad, you want this?"
The Red Dragon girl asked curiously, and Xia De immediately shook his head:
"No, no, I just saw a familiar name, and the 'unique delicacy' that the gods consider is not something we can make. Besides, even if I get it, I can't take it away. Speaking of which, this god and I have a pretty good connection."
He actually thought that if the cultists in Tobesk had this last summer, they wouldn't have to spend so much time preparing for the complicated descent ceremony. As for why there was a pepper shaker in the coffee shop, Shade knew it very well. Pepper was not abundant in this world in any era. As a very precious spice, some people did think that sprinkling pepper on desserts or even coffee was a very high-class dining style.
The menu was turned back until Fiona found her target. On the left side of the page was a golden teaspoon with a dense pattern on the surface, and on the right side was written the information of the product:
The precious teaspoon, a creation of the Evernight City, possesses the aura of the Evernight City.
Expensive and meaningless, but beautiful.
Need to pay light.
"Payment Light again?"
Xia De was a little surprised, and Fiona explained embarrassedly:
"In this cafe, all the items that are not valuable or not distinctive enough are paid for with brilliance... I'm not saying that I..."
"I understand. It's because of different standards. Maybe in the eyes of God, we are all ordinary mortals without any characteristics. But to Miss Filianna, Miss Orlanod, and me, you are unique."
The young girl smiled faintly, and Shade said:
"Then let's buy this."
As he spoke, he glanced behind him and saw that the black jar that the dragon maid Fiona had placed under the counter suddenly appeared on the counter again.
"I'll do it."
The Red Dragon girl stood up first, but was grabbed by Xia De's sleeve:
"No, no, no, I'll do it. I've recovered a little after eating this food. I'll do it."
"You have already consumed too much energy to save me just now. I think I can just buy a teaspoon this time."
"Please listen to me."
Shade also stood up. He was slightly taller than Fiona, who was wearing high-soled black buckled leather shoes:
"First of all, I'm very spiritual right now, aren't you?"
The red dragon girl turned her eyes slightly away from him, the tip of her tail touching the ground.
"Secondly, you know that I will be able to leave soon, and I will have plenty of ways to restore my spirit by then. But you are different. You will have to stay here and face this strange city and the long night alone. No matter what the reason is, I cannot let you come this time."
He pointed at himself:
"Besides, I am quite confident in the Light Technique."
Fiona couldn't argue with him, so she could only watch him conjure up a bunch of holy water, drink it, and then move the black jar back.
They couldn't estimate how much light the teaspoon would cost, so before Shade was ready to take action, Fiona asked Shade to guarantee:
"If you can't hold on any longer, and can't hold on any longer, take your arms back and let me do it. Shade, I'm also an apprentice officially recognized by the teacher, and I'm much stronger than you."
When I said the last sentence, I felt a little lacking in confidence.
The lid of the black jar was opened again. As the light intensity in the cafe continued to decrease, the night outside seemed to seep in through the crack in the door. Xia De did not immediately put his arm into the black jar, but honestly let the light of the silver moon appear in his palm again.
If it wasn't necessary, he wouldn't take the initiative to use the power of the divine afterglow. Fortunately, it was really unnecessary this time. The value of that "precious teaspoon" seemed much lower than that of Miss Fiona Drago. Shade's spirit was just exhausted again, and the black tank stopped absorbing it on its own initiative.
The darkness in the jar dissipated automatically, revealing a thin silver teaspoon lying at the bottom of the container. Shade picked it up, and Fiona helped Shade, who was sweating on his forehead, sit down again, and then handed the sugar cookie to his mouth:
"You don't have to feed me..."
Seeing her expression, Shade knew that he had better not refuse, so he obediently finished eating the sugar cake, and then watched the Red Dragon Girl pour the remaining holy water into Shade's cup, mix it with the coffee, and then handed it to Shade.
His current situation was much better than before, so he still had time to ask curiously:
"You stirred the coffee like a pro just now. Did becoming a maid in this shop give you the knowledge and experience?"
"No. When we were with the teacher, we apprentices did all these chores. It was an apprentice's duty."
She looked at the table full of desserts and added softly:
"Actually, I'm also good at cooking this kind of dessert."
The spoon is not working yet. They need to find two other items and combine them with the compass chassis to make it work. The next target is the silver shop in Evernight City, which means they have to leave this warm and comfortable cafe.
At this moment, the night outside was thick, and there was no light in sight. It was obviously impossible to leave the store by "walking". If he wanted to wait for the night to disperse and the lights to come on, he didn't know how long he would have to wait, and by then Xia De would probably have left.