"It's not as exaggerated as you say, but I really don't have a date on Tuesday."
Shade said, and the sorceress took out a test tube filled with black liquid and rolled it across the table towards Shade:
"Do me a favor and touch it."
Xia De raised his eyebrows:
"Why?"
Seeing that he did not extend his hand, the pharmacist sighed;
"I don't want to harm you, I just want to test this potion. You saved me on the island, so I will never hurt you. We've been through adventures together, you should still have this little bit of trust, right?"
Xia De then reached out and touched the test tube, but nothing happened:
"May I ask what this means?"
The pharmacist looked at the test tube, then at Xia De's face:
"If this potion works, it means that your body is healthy and not possessed by demons, evil spirits or the like. Yes, this is a potion to check for such negative traits. That's all, thank you."
She must be lying, but the stranger, who had seen her behavior before, showed no other expression on his face. He nodded:
"If everything is fine, I'll leave first. I went fishing by the lake yesterday and happened to run into a team from the Peace Church returning from the island. It seems that the situation on the island has been settled."
"I'm also keeping an eye on the local churches. We shouldn't run into them. But even so, we still have to be careful when we take action on Tuesday."
With that, the two of them said a simple goodbye, and then Xia De got up and left.
The pharmacist sat there without moving and took another sip of tea. Mr. Soren Green, who was checking the information of the guests when Shade came in, came over with a tray. At the pharmacist's signal, he picked up the test tube on the table. Almost at the moment his hand touched the test tube, the black liquid turned into a milky white liquid while boiling.
"interesting."
The pharmacist said, looking towards the door of the hotel with a thoughtful expression on her face:
"Is it a man or a woman? It can't be someone else in the council, is he kidding me?"
"This is no joke. It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, that pharmacist lady must be Audrey Edwards!"
Carina Cavendish said with certainty.
It was still Sunday morning. After Shad returned home from Green Lake, he met the Red-haired Witch who came to visit him with Tifa because of the "Cat in the Bottle".
Xia De told her what happened to him in the Green Lake Hotel. Miss Carina's beautiful eyebrows frowned and she almost immediately made a judgment:
"I knew that they were all pretending to be young. Ha, at such an old age, they still pretended to be girls in their twenties. Audrey Edwards is such a lunatic, she is really shameless."
Even when she was expressing her dissatisfaction, her words were still very elegant.
"Maybe there are other possibilities. Although your judgment is 90% correct, maybe..."
Shade asked, and the witch took the cup of tea handed to her by Tifa:
"Isn't what she did today the same as the test I gave you when I first met you? Oh, Xia De, don't tell me that you didn't guess what that test tube is used for."
"Of course I guessed it, but I still don't understand why I still can't sense the power of the witch. I'm not referring to the badge, I'm referring to my own perception."
"Since Audrey Edwards is the great witch of knowledge and wisdom, she naturally has a way to hide herself very well. And the reason why she went crazy in the past is also very suspicious now."
The Duchess said:
"When we first met, even though she was very cold to you, she still took the initiative to take you to the island. She must have wanted to confirm what you were like up close. Last time, she confirmed that you didn't have any illusions to disguise your gender, so this time she used potions to further confirm your gender. Aren't her methods the same as mine?"
Xia De did not comment on this:
"So should I expose her? Then you can talk to her in the parliament, just like you communicated with Miss Benannis at the beginning of the year."
"No, no, no, just pretend you know nothing. Since she likes playing role-playing games so much, let her play slowly."
Miss Carina raised her lips:
"Anyway, I'll be going to Green Lake in a few weeks. You should develop a good relationship with her so that she won't go to the parliament and say something. Then I'll expose her myself. I'm really looking forward to seeing what her expression will be then."
Tifa, who was standing beside the sofa, smiled. Seeing that Shad noticed her, she winked at Shad, indicating that nothing was wrong.
"Then I will treat her as an ordinary ring sorcerer for now. Her strength is less than eleven rings, so she is also a problem."
Xia De nodded, and Miss Carina also talked about the main purpose of this visit:
"I told Edwards about the potion 'Cat in the Bottle' in the parliament. She was reluctant to help at first, saying that she was busy with other things recently. Later, I promised to raise the price and she reluctantly agreed. The potion will probably be in my hands tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so you don't have to look for other channels."
"I think it shouldn't take that long to collect the materials for the key. If she was delayed because of the 'cat in the bottle', then that makes sense."
Shade suddenly realized what was going on. The witch snorted again, obviously dissatisfied with her colleagues in the parliament:
"From the current situation, the Edwards family or their secrets are most likely related to the chosen one of the space, otherwise how could such a coincidence happen? I don't know whether Audrey didn't realize it or she realized it but deliberately didn't say it. But if I hadn't heard about it from you, even I wouldn't know that the witch of the parliament was so deeply involved in the story of the Green Lake area. You should be careful when you act with her, because I'm worried that she will suddenly go crazy again."
"I think that lady is quite normal."
"Yeah, yeah, you know her pretty well now."
She said this deliberately, looking at Shade with her beautiful eyes, and Shade kissed the Duchess on the lips:
"I still know you better."
"Leave the sweet talk to Leicia. Isn't she going on a date with you?"
Although she said this, judging from the expression on her face, she was very satisfied with Xia De's answer.
I don't know if it was out of guilt for not seeing Shad much in recent weeks, or if it was to compensate Shad for the Green Lake investigation mission, the date that Lecia arranged for this Sunday was indeed beyond Shad's expectations.
He thought it would be a trip to the suburbs, then back to the city for dinner, and to the opera in the evening. But when he saw the girl in a white blouse, a red slim-fitting coat and a black long skirt in the afternoon, and she smiled and took off her hat to greet Shade, Shade almost didn't recognize that the girl with a single ponytail was Leicia.
Every time he saw Leicia, even if she was not dressed up, she was at least dressed quite formally. But today, Her Royal Highness the Princess was dressed like a common girl, and there were no servants around her, not even Ajelina.
"From your shocked look, I know that I took great pains to choose this outfit."
Leicia said, but she didn't tell Shad that it was actually Dorothy who chose the dress in the end.
She put one hand on the door frame:
"Detective, don't you recognize me?"
"It's rare to see you wearing this style of clothes, but you're still very beautiful. No, very beautiful."
"You see, you are gradually learning how to get along with girls. Let's go around the city together today. As ordinary people, I want to spend the rest of the day with you."
She pursed her lips and looked at Xia De. When she entered the hall, Xia De's appearance was reflected in her green eyes:
"I used Dorothy's body, pretended to be a common girl, and went on a date with you, but that was not the complete me after all."
She pointed to her chest:
"Such an opportunity is rare. At least today, let Resia Cavendish really have nothing to do. Let's walk with you in Tobesk, measure the size of the city, and try out the restaurants and taverns of the common people. There is no princess, only Resia."
She blinked.
"Okay?"
The stranger felt that his heart was about to be melted by this passionate emotion:
"Okay, I'll go pack and we'll leave. Mia can stay home."
After saying that, he turned around and quickly went upstairs. The girl stood in the hallway with one hand on her waist, looking at his back with a smile.
This afternoon was indeed unforgettable for Shade. Leisia used some magic to simply change her appearance, and then left the house with Shade and entered the spring Tobesk.
They walked together on the streets of this steam-age metropolis, laughing and talking about the recent weather and interesting things in the city. Because spring had arrived, they also went to Regent Park near the Nature Church in the east of the city, walking on the gravel path together and watching the trees in the park sprouting new buds.
In the evening, the two went to the Three Cats Inn in the north of the city for dinner. When the owner, Mrs. Sangmei, personally brought them food, she also laughed and teased Shade for bringing a new beautiful girl. Under the wall gas lamp, Leicia, who was holding her chin and watching the bard singing the ancient heroic legend, had a delicate profile and snow-white neck that were amazingly beautiful:
"Ma'am, I am not Mr. Detective's lover."
She responded generously to Madam Sang Mei, her snow-white skin looking even more attractive under the dim light:
"I just hired the detective to protect me for the whole day, and if he behaves well enough, maybe he can continue to protect me tonight as well."
As he spoke, he showed an ambiguous smile.
"I think Mr. Detective should have such luck."
The female shop owner smiled and said goodbye to the two. Under the table, Leisia's right foot, which was wearing a small black leather shoe, gently kicked Xia De:
"Are the girls over there pretty?"
It was already dark outside. What Lecia was talking about was the prostitutes who came into the Three Cats Inn at night and sat by the wall waiting for customers.