When Shad got off the carriage and walked in, the usually deserted pawnshop was empty. Even Old John was not there. Only the bronze incense burner on the counter was emitting vapor with a strange fragrance.
The pawn shop was still the same, it looked like a garbage dump with mountains of garbage, but if you looked carefully, you would find that every item in the shop was valuable. The east wall was covered with all kinds of clocks, and in the window were metal harmonicas and dancing music boxes in boxes.
The old steam engine that Shade had seen when he first came here was still in the corner. However, he was very interested in the brass mechanical bird that was transformed by the gear mechanism on the shelf. He remembered that there was something similar in Miss Carina's study.
After he rang the bell on the counter, an old man in an apron came in from the back door:
"Oh, I thought it was a guest, but it turned out to be you. Detective, wait for me, I'm processing the potion materials in the back. You know, if the six-leaf coral grass produced in the Pontar River Basin is not processed, the smell will make people on the whole street unable to eat lunch."
"Am I not considered a guest?"
Shade muttered quietly, but still waited a moment.
"Here is the frame you requested."
Ten minutes later, when the old man came back from the back door, he carried a picture frame and placed it on the counter. The painting on the frame was a painting that Hella Osenfurt had painted for Shade, a portrait of the young detective standing in the barren back garden in the snow.
When Xia De was strolling with Luvia last night, he asked the old man to help assemble the watch and asked him to use special methods to treat it so that the oil painting could be preserved for a longer time. He didn't expect that he would finish it so quickly.
"This painting is very well done. I bet it was not drawn by a human. The emotions and soul power contained in it are enough for it to exist for another thousand years. Detective, you really found a good painter."
Father John, who was very knowledgeable, said, and Shade nodded:
"I will pay the balance later. The gold and jewelry I entrusted you to sell..."
That was the money he and Yin Luna found from the sewers of the Randall River Valley. It was the military funds raised by the rebels from the citizens before the unification of the United Kingdom of Carsenrick.
"It's sold. This kind of thing is easy to sell. You don't have to pay me the balance for the frame. As for your treasure, according to custom, I will deduct 5% as a middleman fee. This amount is too much."
The old man said that Shade would not mind. However, when he was ready to leave with the bearer bill and the framed picture, Old John stopped Shade again.
"Why, you want to give me some merchandise after you've done this big deal? I see that gas lamp holder on the shelf over there is very nice, can you give it to me?"
"Oh, detective, I bought it for five shillings. It's a second-hand item from decades ago. I want to ask, have you heard about the incident in Randall Valley?"
Xia De paused as he put away his wallet, turned around and glanced at the door before nodding:
"Of course. How could I not know about such a major event? By the way, does the Hermitage have any information to share?"
Old John raised his eyebrows:
"Of course, we have people there. From the current situation, the church and the Godcaller have prevented the disaster from sweeping the entire world. But the observation of the monastery is not optimistic. The doomsday that is bound to come has not disappeared. Even if the filth of the earth is cleared, the earth will become unstable. In recent years, all kinds of strange natural disasters have occurred frequently."
This was the same thing Shad had heard from the guardian. He had never expected that the hermitage would even know such a thing.
"But what we who live in this era can do is to try our best to change the tragedies that are bound to happen. Even if we can't succeed, at least we have to do something."
Shad said:
"This time, everyone in Randall Valley has done well enough."
Old John smiled and nodded:
"You really are a good match for us. But why do you sound like you're also involved in the Randall Valley incident?"
"I wish I had participated, like an audience at the opera house, watching the tragedy unfold step by step on the stage, unable to change it and only able to face the final outcome. That would be terrible."
Xia De sighed, this was also his true thought.
"But no one can be an audience. We are born into this world and are destined to be buried in this world. The web of fate has been intertwined with our souls since we uttered our first cry. We are all people on the stage."
Old John sighed, and then promised Shad that if the monastery had any first-hand information about doomsday and disaster, he could tell him.
When Shad returned to St. Teresa's Square with the picture frame in the carriage, he unexpectedly found Miss Carina's carriage parked in front of his house.
However, the person in the carriage was not the red-haired duchess, but the black-haired maid.
"Please come in. I'm so sorry. I thought you would come back later. Oh, Tifa, don't you have the key to my house? What are you waiting for outside?"
Xia De invited her in. The maid asked the carriage to wait at the street corner, and then followed him with a smile:
"That key was left to us for cleaning. We are not allowed to enter and leave the master's room at will unless it is cleaning time. This is the rule of the maids."
"Actually, you don't have to be so rigid. Besides, I trust you very much."
After a pause, he added:
"The relationship between us is not..."
The white hand covered Xia De's mouth. Xia De looked back and saw a complicated expression in the pair of black eyes at the bottom of the stairs:
"You can't talk about that now, at least not today."
Shade nodded slowly. Although he didn't understand why, he still took Tifa upstairs, put the picture frame down, and prepared some tea.
"Ms. Carina, what exactly do you want me to do? Isn't she here?"
He also sat down and hugged Mia.
"The young lady didn't come, but it is indeed an important matter."
The maid sat on the sofa very seriously, with a smile in her eyes, but her expression was a little serious:
"Detective Shad Suren Hamilton of the Hamilton Detective Agency. I am sending you a commission invitation on behalf of Duke Carina Cavendish."
"Commission?"
Although he didn't know what the witch wanted to do, Shade nodded as if he was receiving a client:
"It's an honor. Speaking of which, I haven't received any serious commissions since the incident in Randall Valley. So, Miss Maid, what commission did the Duke ask you to bring?"
Tifa said:
"The Duke has ordered, detective, that you must find five legendary treasures by any means before sunset today and deliver them to the Duke."
"So what are the five legendary treasures?"
The beautiful black eyes blinked:
"Your Majesty's crown, a spring that gushes out endless wine, the red Philosopher's Stone that symbolizes priceless treasures, the Holy Grail used to worship the ancient gods in distant eras, and your heart."
"Um... ... "
Shade tilted his head and thought about it, and he couldn't understand what the witch wanted to do. But fortunately, the task was not difficult. Except for the doctor, no one knew what Shade got from the devil:
"What does Miss Carina need these things for?"
He chose to ask directly, but Tifa shook her head:
"This is the Duchess' commission, and also the test she gave you. Detective, just tell me whether you want to accept it or not."
"Since it's a commission, what's the reward?"
Shade asked again. Tifa was already prepared, or rather, Miss Carina was already prepared:
"The reward is treasures you cannot refuse. If you can bring these things to the manor before sunset, the Duchess of Saradir will definitely not break her promise."
Xia De thought about it:
"Then I'll take it. For Duke Carina, the protector of Saradir, I will do my best to bring back those treasures... But I wonder if this beautiful maid in front of me can give me some tips? After all, these treasures are too difficult to obtain."
He asked tentatively.
"You want me to betray the Duke?"
The loyal maid asked suspiciously, and Shade took her hand and kissed the back of her white hand:
"This is not a betrayal, but it is to allow me to prepare those treasures for the Duke."
Tifa let him hold her hand and laughed:
"Well, but the tip is not for nothing. Sweet words alone cannot impress me. I'll give you the tip. When you come to the manor in the evening, you must pay me."
"That's no problem."
"Among the five treasures, the easiest one is actually the Holy Grail. Miss knows that you no longer have the Holy Grail, but you can go find the chosen one in the Randall River Valley. He can detect the area where the Crazy Land appears and let you make another Holy Grail."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Shade nodded slowly.
Tifa continued:
"You need to work hard to obtain other treasures. But the truly difficult ones are only the 'inexhaustible fountain of fine wine' and the legendary philosopher's stone that only exist in fairy tales."
Xia De nodded again:
“These two are indeed almost impossible to obtain.”
"As for the king's crown, although it is difficult to steal it, His Majesty the King will not wear it all day. Perhaps you can find out from Princess Leicia how often and when the king wears the crown, and find the right opportunity to 'borrow' it. You are a sixth-ring sorcerer, you have your own abilities."
Tifa said with a smile, but her expression was serious in the last sentence:
"As for 'your heart', Shade, that's something you need to figure out on your own."
"I see."
Although Xia De didn't really understand what this commission was all about, he still nodded:
"One day is indeed a bit tight, but miracles always happen. I will take on this task, and I hope His Royal Highness the Duke will be satisfied."