"Good evening, why don't you see that cute cat from last time?"
The elf girl seemed to be in a good mood. After sitting down, she asked the waiter for a glass of butter beer in a very familiar manner. Strictly speaking, this drink is not alcoholic because it does not contain alcohol at all:
"You know what? The pub in St. Byrons has refused to sell me this drink."
"Why?"
Luvia asked, and the elf girl said half annoyed:
"That dwarf bartender said that the academy doesn't allow him to sell alcohol to underage elves, even though I'm... years old. I once wanted to go to the shop of the greedy goblin across the Wand Street to buy alcohol, but that damn goblin would rather sell me an ether-attenuating alchemical bomb than alcohol."
She deliberately left out her exact age.
Both Shade and Luvia smiled, and the latter said:
"Actually, it's not appropriate for minors to drink. Yes, I know butterbeer doesn't have alcohol."
"According to previous standards, Miss Emilia is actually an adult. It was after the establishment of Saint Byron that the standard of adulthood was redefined for the elves."
Shad pointed out.
"Yes! That's right! According to the customs of the ancient era, I am actually an adult!"
The elf girl agreed with Shade's opinion. Of course, she did not forget the main reason for coming here:
"Mr. Hamilton, this is the information you requested. The academy doesn't actually have many investigative reports on the Randall Valley..."
At this point, I was a little worried that Xia De might not be satisfied with his findings:
"But last week when I was looking up information in the library, I found that Miss Danister had had all the information about the Randall Valley gathered together. It seems that the academy has a special operation targeting this place. I heard from the forest fairy senior in the dormitory next door that the Astronomy College is preparing to send a professor to this city."
"No, no, your information is very valuable. And the time key you gave me last time was a great help."
Shade immediately said, and exchanged glances with Luvia. They both understood that the matter of "The Chosen One of the Earth" in Randall Valley City was completely exposed. The church chose to arrest those cultists who might have clues last weekend, most likely for this reason.
“Here’s the poem for this week.”
Xia De handed her the notebook he had copied in advance. It was not appropriate to use magic in public:
"Also, please try not to appear in the city unless necessary recently."
Xia De kindly warned:
"The last time we met, your little beast sensed evil. Later I investigated and it was most likely a demon."
"demon?"
Luvia raised her eyebrows. Shade hadn't had time to tell her about this. The elf lady was startled, then her face flushed, as if she was very excited:
"Is it the dangerous demon in the legend? Oh, I've only seen it in books. Legend has it that just seeing them will bring bad luck!"
"The evil spirit from the Third Age is quite ancient and powerful. That evil spirit has been here for at least a hundred years. It's hard to imagine how powerful it is. You must be careful."
Shade warned, worried that the elf lady, who had never experienced danger, would accidentally encounter a demon. But fortunately, the education at St. Byrons was very comprehensive. Although Emilia looked excited, she also knew what this meant:
"Then besides coming to see you every week, I won't be hanging around here lately... I'm giving this to you. I was originally going to sell it on the black market, but I think you need it more."
She handed Shade and Luvia an amulet woven with white hair, with an elven rune representing "protection" on it:
"This is an 'Amulet of Protection from Evil' made from unicorn hair, broken horn fragments, and unicorn blood. Don't worry, my job is to raise them. These materials are collected daily, and the academy won't care about the loss."
The elf girl said this with pride, so Shade and Luvia did not refuse. Although Shade had a demon hunting seal, a special accessory for dealing with demons, the doctor said that the demon hunter's equipment should not be exposed before finding the demon's body, so it was appropriate to carry this amulet.
The two unicorn amulets were very valuable, but the elf girl did not take the money from Shade and Luvia. The three of them talked about the recent news in the city, and then the elf girl got up and prepared to return to the academy.
Xia De and Luvia saw her off to the carriage at the door of the inn, and then watched the carriage go away.
"After dinner at the witch's place, don't rush home. Tell me about the devil first."
Luvia turned and looked at Shade:
"Have you known about this for a long time? Is it related to that strange Stone Oxenfurt?"
"I haven't investigated this matter clearly yet. I'll talk to you in detail when I have some clues. This is very dangerous... But it's okay if you don't rush home."
The girl with purple eyes nodded reservedly:
"You can talk to me about what books you and they read last night."
(Little Mia is running...)
Since the letter about the appointment had been delivered to Oxenfurt Manor the day before, Shad set out from the city of Randall Valley early on Tuesday morning and rode to Oxenfurt ancestral home far outside the city.
He has already learned the magic of seeing provided by the doctor. This time, in addition to returning the medal and investigating the statue, Shade is determined to determine who the ancient evil demon hiding in the city is.
We set out on horseback from Wilde Opera House at 8:30 in the morning, and it was almost ten o'clock when we arrived at the old manor outside the city.
After crossing the bridge and passing through the forest, they saw the manor, which seemed to have less light than other places. Crows flew over Shade's head, cackled, and flew into the manor, but soon flew away in panic and disappeared in the distance of the gloomy sky.
When Xia De dismounted at the gate of the manor, the old butler was already waiting for him.
He opened the gate and helped Shade hold the horse, then told Shade:
"My apologies, Mr. Watson. My master received a letter from the city half an hour ago, and has gone into the city, but he said he would be back at noon."
"It's okay, I can wait."
Xia De didn't care about this, but followed the old housekeeper into the slightly gloomy manor. The manor was on the delicate edge of "abandoned" and "in use", with weeds everywhere along the wall, but also trimmed flower beds and a pavilion that seemed to have just been repaired.
The doctor warned that although the magic of sight is safe, it is possible to be discovered, so it is best not to use it frequently. Shade planned to use it after seeing Oxenfurt himself, so he did nothing along the way, but waited until the old butler sent the horse to the stable in the backyard before following him into the mansion.
Just like last time, there was no sign of any human activity. The cold interior of the building was dust-free and clean, with many portraits hanging on the wall. However, the dim light made the wallpaper a muddy yellow, making it look particularly eerie.
After waiting in the lounge for a while, Xia De unexpectedly discovered that it was snowing outside the window. This reminded him of the last time when snowflakes started falling from the sky not long after he arrived here.
But before Shade could have any other thoughts about the falling snow in late winter, Hela Osenfurt, wearing a black veil, walked in with her strange maid.
Xia De stood up from the sofa and greeted with a smile:
"Long time no see, Mrs. Oxenfurt."
"Good day, Mr. Watson."
The woman's voice was still so indifferent. She told the maid who lowered her head to prepare tea. Then the host and the guest sat down on the sofa respectively.
"Vision Demon!"
The only abnormality caused by the use of magic was that the eyes felt a slight chill. Then the vision became like a strange fish-eye lens, with the edges of the vision becoming blurry and the center becoming unusually clear.
The normal world had changed, and snowflakes were floating around Hela Oxenfurt. Considering that the Vision Magic was a special scouting magic for demons, this explained the first clue:
"The devil has something to do with the snow."
"Mr. Watson, there you are again."
The woman whispered, writing in the air with her fingers one last time, warning Shad not to come again.
"By sheer coincidence, I found another of Mr. Oxenfurt's things."
Shade said, and before the woman asked:
"Your husband won't let me tell you about it, so I can't say what it is."
The woman was silent for a moment:
"I didn't tell him about the wedding ring last time. You were the one who sent it back."
Xia De just smiled:
"I'm just doing a good deed. I just hope it doesn't ruin your relationship. Mr. Oxenfurt is a busy man."
"He and Prince William of Anjou discovered gold in the mountains."
The woman spoke in an indifferent voice about the recent rumors that had been circling the city. Of course, Xia De already knew that the gold mine was fake and was intended to cover up the silver mine in the outer sea.
"That's really amazing, ma'am. People in the city all praise your husband as a great man."
At this time, the maid came back pushing the creaking dining cart, but Shade did not stop talking:
"He started from scratch to restore the family's glory, and now his business is growing bigger and bigger. In the era of the booming steam industry, such things were not uncommon, but I have been traveling in the Old World for so long, and it is indeed rare to see such a powerful person as your husband."
The black veil was thin, but Shade did not notice the woman smiling at her compliment. She just said:
"He always wins, at everything."
Stone Oxenfurt decided to entrust Shad to find three items because Shad had beaten him three times at "Rhodes Cards", "Horse Racing" and "Dice Betting".
"Luck is also part of strength, and I envy this kind of luck."
He said, took the teacup handed to him by the maid, and blinked again:
"Vision Demon."
Just as Shade expected, the maid also had abnormalities. Her skin was actually a blue stone color under the effect of the magic.