It was almost five o'clock when Shade finally opened the door and walked into the warm Bountiful Land Hotel in the city center in the evening. Today was Monday, and Shade had to meet Emilia, the elf girl from St. Byrons, so he didn't go directly to the Wilde Opera House.
Luvia hadn't finished get off work yet. Shade braved the snow and entered the first floor of the hotel. He hurried to the counter to ask for a cup of hot tea. Because he didn't have lunch, he also ordered a vegetable soup and a grilled steak. Then he sat against the wall and listened to the bard's singing, and really relaxed.
There was still about an hour before dinner time, so there weren't many people on the first floor of the hotel. When Luvia entered the hotel, the snowy streets were already crowded with people, and the Fertility Land Hotel was also bustling with people.
The purple-eyed girl immediately spotted Xia De who was reading a newspaper. She was curious about what he was reading when she sat opposite him with her ladies' handbag.
"The Randall Evening News, page 5 of the gossip."
He handed the newspaper to Luvia, who smiled as she looked at the photo on that page. The profile was of Miss Bernardine and the disguised Shad, who were in the corridor of the Wilde Opera House, holding hands, as if they were having a tryst, and they looked very intimate:
"I didn't expect it to be published in the newspaper. That lady is really boring."
She didn't comment on this matter. She put down her teacup and looked at Xia De:
"How did you harvest today? The trip to Watson Manor should not be a waste of time, right?"
"Of course not. I was lucky and gained a lot. I even met the real body of the demon, and it wanted to entrust me with a task."
He told Luvia not to be surprised, and thought about the information he had learned from Long-haired Luvia yesterday, which was Sunday night. He was unable to tell Luvia the news this morning, but now he could tell her part of it through the devil's mouth:
"It is basically certain that the guy's arrangement on Ossenfurt is not only to influence Carsenrick, but also related to the Chosen One."
"The devil is connected to the chosen one?"
Luvia said, looking around to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, but she wasn't really surprised. After all, this wasn't the first time the devil had interfered with the affairs of the Chosen Ones:
"What exactly does it plan?"
Luvia lowered her voice slightly, and Shade shook his head:
"It's not clear yet, but there is something seriously wrong with Stone Oxenfurt."
Otherwise, the long-haired Luvia of the Sixth Era of the Past would not have said "in order to prevent Oxenfurt from getting there first."
"The first choice is the guardian who is still confused about the situation, and the third choice is Miss Lathers. Do you think he is the second choice?"
Luvia asked suspiciously:
"But he's not a ring wizard... I see. Although he's not a ring wizard, according to what you said, he can also use supernatural powers. So that makes sense."
"I'll make a plan this week. If possible, I'll let you see him from a distance, but you must not..."
"You can't approach him directly. You've said that many times."
Luvia said with a smile.
Xia De shook his head without comment. After the waiter brought hot tea to the two of them, he continued:
"Also, the day after tomorrow, which is Thursday, can you take a leave? The two ladies from the opera house are going to go out of town with me to look for something in the Dark Night Temple. I hope you can help me."
"Of course, otherwise there would be no point in me staying in this city."
Luvia immediately agreed to Shade's request, so Shade told her about his encounter with the ring magicians of the Orthodox Church after he left Watson Manor. She thought Shade handled it correctly, and based on this, she determined that Yin Luna should receive an order to go on a business trip to Randall Valley within this week:
"Although the intensity of the confrontation in the matter of the Chosen Ones of the Earth is far less than that in the Pantanal, it is more dangerous this time. Even if the evil in the Pantanal gets out of control, it will only affect a small area. If this matter is not handled well, the entire material world..."
The purple-eyed girl didn't say anything else, but looked at Shade. Shade nodded:
"The materials needed for the banquet ceremony, leaves, flowers, and fruits in spring, flowers, stones, and souls in autumn, will be collected by the witches of the Council. Once I learn the details of the third ceremony from the Worm Cult, I will immediately set off to Huntington to find the Lady of the Lake and seek enlightenment of wisdom."
"The chosen ones have their own destinies. Our special preparations may not be important. Your focus should still be on the demon. Maybe in the end, you will have to stop the demon alone so that the chosen ones can perform the ceremony."
After all the things that happened last year, Luvia has come to understand the power of Shade.
"That would be the best. Yin Luna can go and assist the chosen one. Of course, the premise is that the truth about the chosen one is exactly the same as my current guess... This way!"
He suddenly waved towards the door of the inn, and the elf girl, whose pointed ears were disguised but still had a pretty face, had already arrived.
"Good evening, both of you."
Miss Emilia Sienord always showed great excitement every time she was able to leave the academy and come to Randall River Valley. It was not because she liked this city more than the academy, but simply because she felt excited when she sneaked out without anyone noticing her.
"Good evening."
Shade and Luvia also greeted him, and Shade called the waiter to order food for the three of them. Because he had long known from Miss Orlanod that it was a complete rumor that elves did not eat meat and only ate vegetables, he ordered a sumptuous dinner for the elf lady who had crossed the river valley.
In fact, they could go to a better place in the city to eat, but Miss Elf specifically asked them not to go to such trouble.
"How's it going in Randall Valley lately, anything new here?"
The blonde elf asked the two curiously, and Luvia handed over the newspaper. Emilia took a look and said in surprise:
"I didn't expect that Miss Vanessa Benanis would finally have a scandal. Come to think of it, when I first saw you, it seemed to be her..."
The young elf pursed his lips as he looked at the newspaper, then looked at Luvia, who was sitting with Shad and obviously had a special relationship with him, and then he stopped talking.
"Ms. Benanis is also our friend, a very good friend."
Luvia said, and Shade looked at her in surprise, then nodded.
"We will go to her place to borrow a horse later. I will take you out of the city."
"Oh, no, no, I can just leave the city by myself."
Miss Elf immediately shook her head, but Shade was firm:
"Something big happened in the city. It's not as safe as it used to be. I'll take you out of the city in a while. Don't refuse me."
The blonde elf girl wanted to say something, but when she saw Shade's expression, she just muttered a few words about being treated as a child again, and did not object:
"So, what happened in town last week?"
After dinner was served, Shad and Luvia recounted the incident at Lake Eldron last week from a third-person perspective. Shad also talked about what happened to him at Watson Manor during the day.
Of course, for the sake of everyone's appetite, he did not describe in detail what the Watson family's dinner looked like:
"Big things are going to happen in the Randall Valley, and I think the college is also planning to send professors here."
Xia De summarized the story at the end, and the elf girl, who was fascinated by the story, nodded belatedly:
"It's amazing that there are such stories around the ring sorcerers outside the academy... Oh, I heard that Miss Danister led a team to Randall Valley City this time."
"Wait, why is it Miss Danister again... I mean, I heard last year that she was on a business trip at the end of winter. Why is she going on a business trip again now?"
Shad then remembered that he shouldn't know about the Pantanal.
The elf girl picked up the fish with a fork and said to the two of them in a mysterious tone:
"I heard that the Sukses Higher Medical School also sent the Dean of the Thirteenth Ring here. I also heard that the three major colleges sent people to the Randall Valley to look for the founder of Saint Byrons, the legendary Miss Mana Felena."
It seems that students are well-informed, but not well-informed enough.
“But isn’t Miss Feliana from the previous era?”
Luvia asked, holding a spoon.
"Yes, yes. I don't know the details, but my classmates in the academy have heard some gossip. I heard that the lady somehow came to our time and is looking for her thirteen disciples... What kind of interesting story will happen to such a noble, beautiful, intellectual, elegant and gentle lady in our time?"
The elf girl spoke in a daze, perhaps imagining something that was impossible to happen.
This week Emilia is still helping Shade search for the statue of the Ancient God of Space in the academy. Unfortunately, Saint Byrons is too big, and even though she can enter and explore the place normally, she has not been able to complete the inspection so far.
But at least Emilia brought the news that Miss Danister was coming here, and she had confirmed that she would leave school on Wednesday afternoon:
"I went to the library yesterday to return a book, and saw a notice on the bulletin board at the entrance of the library recruiting student administrator assistants. Normally, only three student administrators are needed, but now three more assistants are being recruited temporarily, and starting from Wednesday afternoon. The salary is not bad. It must be because Miss Danister is not here at the moment."
The elf girl said familiarly:
"Ms. Danister has very high requirements for students working in the library, but the salary is also the highest. I submitted my application this afternoon and I hope it will be approved."
After dinner, Shade gave Emilia a new collection of poems written in ancient Elvish. Emilia looked very embarrassed because she felt that she had not been of much help so far.
Therefore, when Xia De proposed to buy some "elven water purification" materials from her, the elf girl agreed immediately:
"No problem. When feeding unicorns, you need to mix some of the elves' purified water into their dinner. I'll withhold some, and no one will notice."
It didn't seem like the first time she had done this, and Shade hoped the little beasts didn't mind.
"Then, can we still send it here next Monday night?"
The elf girl asked again, but Shade shook his head this time. His time key was activated on Monday morning. It was already the middle of the starless month, and there was only more than half a month left before spring officially arrived. He had to complete the task of the time key as soon as possible. The Night Spirit Rune was of great help to him:
"How about the day after tomorrow? That's Wednesday. I'll go outside the city to get it, so you don't have to go into the city. And we need the materials urgently..."
Emilia thought for a moment:
"Of course, but I can only come after the sun sets. Then it will be Wednesday night, in the same river valley woods where we first met."
"No problem, I've been a great help this time."
Xia De said with a smile, wondering in his heart whether the fact that one can only come here at night is related to the opening hours of the secret passage.
Shad did not stay in the Randall Valley for too long that night. After sending the elf girl out of the city, he went to the Wilde Opera House and talked with Luvia, Miss Benanis and Miss Lasser for a while. He gave the "Conservation" and "Memory" Holy Grails, whose functions he could not understand, to the witch and asked her to help identify them. Then he returned home from the Forgotten Church.
Of course, he did not take the old photo of the Watson family back home, but left it in the Forgotten Church and pressed it with a stone next to the stone statue of Mr. Lathers.
Because Dorothy had agreed to stay at home overnight, the writer was already in St. Teresa's Square. When Shad heard his voice and happily came downstairs, Mia went upstairs. Dorothy put down her pen at the desk in the study, rubbed her wrist and came to the living room to greet Shad:
"You're back, right? You have guests visiting you this afternoon."
"Hmm? Who's coming to see me?"
"Client. I received the lady and wrote down the information."
She handed Shade a piece of paper:
"It's not a big deal, just looking for a lost cat. I happened to have nothing to do in the afternoon, so I took Xiaomia out to check, and then we really found the cat."
He also praised Xiaomia:
"Little Mia is really smart. I saw the lost cat on the corner of the street, but the cat was licking its paws and basking in the sun on the roof. I was thinking about how to get it down, but when Little Mia called, the cat was so scared that it fell off the roof into the snow below."
Dorothy smiled and gave Shad a hug:
"It seems that Mr. Detective's cat is really amazing."
"So good."
Xia De also smiled and stroked the cat's head. Xiaomia looked very pleased:
"I actually came back this afternoon and sent a letter to Father Augustus to meet him in the evening."
"The priest is coming here soon?"
Dorothy was a little surprised, and then she said quickly:
"I'll go to the bedroom in a moment and close the door. Don't tell anyone that I'm here. Oh, I'll go downstairs first and hide my shoes and coat. There are also manuscripts and notebooks in the study. Really, Shade, why didn't you tell me earlier?"