Old John concluded his remarks:
"So, although the relic Arrow of Lost Enemy sounds interesting, it can only be used as a toy. The origin of this relic is very clear. An alchemist in the Fourth Age made it as an alchemical tool for his partner, and it later became a relic... The appraisal fee is 1 pound. This is a clerical-level relic, so don't bargain with me."
"How much is this relic worth?"
Shade asked as he fished out his wallet.
"About 100 pounds."
"Huh? Didn't you say it was useless?"
Xia De paused in taking out his wallet, and the old man explained:
"It's useless against a mid-level sorcerer, but it's still very useful against a low-level sorcerer. Bullets are still very deadly to a sorcerer who has just started learning the occult, and this bracelet is like an extra chance. Since you don't like it, do you want to keep it here and sell it to me?"
Xia De thought about it, shook his head and refused. This bracelet was useless to him, and he was afraid that he would become unlucky if he carried it with him. But he was not afraid of taking up space in the hidden space in the basement, and he thought someone would need this bracelet.
At Old John's place, he put up a list of materials for the Black Moon Talisman learning ritual, then he carried the cat and prepared to return home. Since he had nothing to do today, he did not take a carriage, but instead watched the spring scenery of the city with Mia.
I thought I would spend the afternoon in my study after returning home, but just as I entered St. Teresa's Square and listened to two men on the side of the road talking about the Green Lake negotiations, I saw a tall man in a black windbreaker standing at the door of my house. He had obviously knocked on the door to confirm that no one was home, so he was looking around anxiously at the door, and immediately recognized Shade, who was wearing a black coat and a hat, over the bustling pedestrians in the square:
"Detective Hamilton!"
He greeted me eagerly:
"Detective Hamilton, you are finally back. I have an important matter for you to investigate."
"Don't worry, let's go in and talk."
Xia De said as he took out the key and opened the door. The man followed him into the house. When Xia De closed the door and turned around, the muzzle of the gun was already pointed at his forehead:
"Shad Hamilton, surrender your weapons and put your hands up. Do not resist, this is not a joke."
Xia De opened his mouth slightly to express his surprise. The man who had just looked so kind said viciously:
"Back off now. I know you're very good at fighting. If you make any unusual moves, I'll shoot you straight away."
Xia De didn't quite understand what had happened to him, but his good mood was completely ruined.
Although he wouldn't die even if he was shot, he still took a step back and comforted the cat in his arms. The cat was now purring in its throat. If it hadn't been held by Shade, it would have pounced on the malicious man in front of it:
"what you up to?"
Xia De asked calmly:
"Robbery? Or something else?"
"I want you to write a letter to Carina Cavendish and ask her to come to your house this evening to see you."
The man said, and took out his pocket watch with his left hand that was not holding the gun and took a nervous look at it:
"I don't want to hurt anyone, not even the Duchess. I just want to express my demands, do you understand? Don't move, I have a pen and paper here. Write the letter as I say, without making a single mistake, and then wait here with me for the whole afternoon. When I meet Carina Cavendish, I will let you go."
"I want to know what you want to express?"
Xia De asked, not wanting to take the pen handed to him by the man, and the man threatened again:
"This has nothing to do with you, go and write. I know you're great, but can you be faster than a bullet?"
"That's impossible. I mean, I can't write any letter."
He shook his head and refused:
"How could I possibly harm Miss Carina? Since you know the relationship between me and her, you should understand that even though we are not married, she is still my lover... It is really a bit shameful to say this. Love is more important than life."
He said to the man calmly:
"Either tell me what you want, or just shoot me. Or you can surrender to me. I have acquaintances in MI6 who can find someone to treat you better."
"It's me who's threatening you now, not you who's threatening me!"
"It's really hard to say who is threatening whom... I mean, if you have the guts to kidnap me at gunpoint in St. Teresa's Square, don't you have the guts to tell me what you want to do?"
Xia De asked, holding the cat in one hand, and took the pen from him. He did not use any spells or magic, but just used his powerful mental power to interfere with the other party, making the other party feel that he was trustworthy:
"Tell me what you want to do and I'll write. You have control over me now, what else is there to worry about?"
The man's mouth trembled a few times because of the huge ups and downs of his mood:
"Well, I'm Francois, now do you understand?"
Now Shade understood.
The concept of "Francois" does not actually exist, because the Principality of Francois, located in the glacier zone in the northeast of the Old World, was annexed by the Kingdom of Delarion twenty years ago, in 1834. The Principality is very small, roughly the same size as the entire Green Lake area. It is now a logistics supply point for the ice harvesting corps in the north of the kingdom. It is famous among the nobles of the Pearl of the North for producing ice blocks and transporting them to Tobesk every year. The annexation did not cause much conflict at the time, and it was an evolution of a combination of a palace coup and foreign interference.
But even so, there are still Francois who are unwilling to become part of De La Rioun. This "Francois Fuccism" has spawned large and small terrorist incidents in the northeast of the kingdom over the past 20 years - this is the official characterization of the kingdom.
Outsiders didn't know much about this, they just heard a few words from Leicia. After all, compared with the problems the kingdom was facing now, such as the development of the new world, the continuous fiscal deficit, the relationship with the Five Gods Church, and the deteriorating air environment, this was not a big deal.
“I actually admire you guys.”
Xia De said, and took the letter from the man again. He was obviously well prepared, the letter was quite high-end, not only was the texture very good, but it was also branded with gold thread, and there was a faint orchid branding pattern in the lower right corner.
Although this is indeed the kind of stationery that only wealthy nobles use, the problem is that men don't know that when Shade writes to girls, he usually tears a piece of paper from a notebook. Even if he uses special stationery, it is the cheap stuff he buys from the post office.
"The Duchy of Francois has been annexed for so long, and you still miss your homeland. I really admire you."
"Don't say these nice things. How can someone like you understand us? I'll tell you and you write. Don't play tricks on me and don't write any extra letters."
The man warned, and Shade nodded:
"One last question, I'll write it down after you ask it: Did you choose this time to come to me? Is it related to the negotiations in the Green Lake area?"
He still used his little trick of mind interference on this ordinary person, and the man gave the answer, not realizing that he had said too much:
"Duke Carina Cavendish is the representative of the negotiations. If she can speak for us at this time, or at least take pictures of the meeting and let the newspaper know that we have met her, it will be very important to us Francois. The newspapers in Carsenrick will not reject such news. Listen, Hamilton, I don't want to hurt anyone, but you have to listen to me."
Xia De nodded, put the cat on the shoe cabinet, stroked its back hair a few times, and then sighed softly:
"I didn't lie just now. I do admire people like you. It's right to do it for the sake of the motherland. But you shouldn't attack me."
He reached out and grabbed the man's hand holding the gun. Before the man could react, he felt his right hand as if it was squeezed by a vise. Then, in his astonishment, he saw Shad's left fist getting closer and closer.
Peng!
The unconscious man fell in the hallway of Shade's house. Shade unloaded his pistol and threw it on the shoe cabinet, then looked at the closed door.
"He must have a companion, otherwise there would be no one to deliver the letter. He was very careful about the time just now, which means that if the door didn't open when the time came, his companion would know that something happened to him. In this case, his companion couldn't be too far away."
Xia De approached the door and closed his eyes. There were three sources of heartbeats in the room, including Mia's, and he also caught the clear heartbeats on the street outside the door. He didn't need to judge other people's moods by the frequency of their heartbeats, he just needed to find the heartbeat that had always been nearby and had not left.
This is fairly easy:
"Only one companion? Are you worried that too many people will cause problems, or are you short on manpower?"
Half an hour later, after seeing off the police from Redwich Field and saying goodbye to Deputy Chief Michaelson Scott, whom he had met during the City Equestrian Competition, Shad closed the door and returned to the second floor holding Little Mia.
The Duchess, who was standing by the wall and looking up at the honorary degree certificate, retracted her gaze and looked at Shade with an apologetic look:
"Do I need to apologize to you? After all, it was because of me that you encountered this incident."
Miss Carina walked toward him.
"No need, but this is the first time someone wants to threaten you through me, right?"
"It means people trust both of us and have a very close relationship."
The witch approached Shade and hugged him gently:
"I don't think this will be the last time. Have you ever considered moving to my estate?"
"Carina, we've already discussed this."
Xia De said, sniffing the witch's hair and looking at his home:
"I'm not leaving this house. Never, no matter what happens."