In fact, Shade was more cautious than most people. He also knew that the next landing on the island tomorrow, Wednesday, would most likely not be smooth, so before leaving on Wednesday morning, he carefully prepared the items he would bring with him - which naturally included important props such as angel feathers.
After kissing Luvia, who was holding little Mia, goodbye at the basement door, he walked towards the hidden wall.
Because he was worried that he would not be able to finish the things on the island before the evening, Shade set out quite early. It was drizzling in Tobesk City today, and it was also raining in Green Lake City.
The rain wasn't heavy, at least not as heavy as last week, but that didn't seem to be a good sign either.
Little John, who was in the trash can in the back alley of the hotel, had not "gone out" yet in the morning. Shade did not disturb him and the puppy to rest, but left some food and left. When he went around to the main entrance of the hotel, he saw that the carriage of Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals had not appeared, so he knew that Megan had not come yet.
He pushed the door and walked into the hotel, and greeted Mr. Soren Green behind the counter. A few minutes later, the hotel owner himself came to sit next to Shade in his familiar seat, carrying a tray and a newspaper.
After placing morning tea and newspapers in front of him, Mr. Green did not leave, but pulled up a chair and sat at the side of the table.
Xia De was not surprised. He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then unfolded the newspaper to check the news.
Mr. Soren Green hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Aunt Megan won't be here for about twenty minutes."
Shad's eyes moved away from the photo of Miss Carina on the front page. The Duchess looked outside the photo with a serious expression, then glanced at him sideways:
"Have you finally admitted that you and Ms. Helena Green are descendants of Maria Edwards, the youngest daughter of four generations?"
The man in the apron shook his head helplessly:
"Haven't you figured it out? And I believe you've also figured out that we've figured out that you've figured it out."
This is a long sentence, but the logic is simple:
"Yes, I was planning to wait for Megan to tell me."
His eyes turned to the newspaper again. The front-page headline reported that the second group of the Kingdom's negotiation delegation, led by Miss Carina, would arrive tonight. The news also stated the location of the train yesterday evening, so if nothing unexpected happened, they would definitely arrive tonight. In this way, Shade would be able to see Carina, Tifa, and Ajelina tomorrow morning.
"Auntie does intend to take the initiative to explain everything to you, but..."
He carefully glanced back at the entrance of the inn to make sure the brown-haired elder would not rush in immediately:
"But my sister and I have discussed it and decided to tell you something in advance in case you might not be able to accept it. Megan and Aunt Audrey..."
"I know everything."
Xia De interrupted him, without looking at the expression on his face, and continued reading the newspaper:
"Two souls in one body, or something like that. I know everything. Since she said she wants to tell me herself, let her tell me. I won't be surprised. I've seen similar situations before."
"is that so?"
Mr. Soren Green was somewhat puzzled, but as an ordinary person, he could not accept too much knowledge about ring sorcerers and mysticism, so he really had no common sense in this area:
"Now that you know... there is one more thing. My aunt is actually..."
"Witch Council."
Shade said softly, ignoring Mr. Soren Green's shocked expression:
"Why are you so surprised? Did I say something weird?"
He turned to the next page of the newspaper:
"I even know that she has two souls in one body, so what does it matter if I know her origin? Don't worry, I don't mind that she was once wanted by the Orthodox Church, nor do I mind that she did some wrong things when she was crazy. I believe Megan and Audrey are both good girls."
"No, my sister and I are worried that you will mind the witch..."
"Why would you mind? A lady with extraordinary charm can only approach me, a man. Why would you mind such a thing?"
Shade glanced at him curiously. Mr. Soren Green opened his mouth slightly, but didn't know what to say.
"But since you want to talk to me, I do have something I'm curious about."
"Excuse me."
Mr. Green nodded immediately. This conversation planned by him and his sister was completely unexpected.
"How did Megan and Audrey find you? Also, is there any special reason why you run the hotel here?"
Mr. Green sighed slightly:
"This is related to my grandmother. In fact, my grandmother, Maria Edwards, never left the Green Lake area. Yes, her three brothers left separately, but my grandmother chose to stay. The island was no longer viable, so my grandmother stayed in Green Lake City, got married, had children, and lived an ordinary life. Probably because she was the youngest, my grandmother had the best relationship with my great-uncle Alphonse Edwards, and they never lost contact, so my aunts have known us for a long time."
Shade suddenly realized, and Mr. Green lowered his voice and added:
"In fact, when my sister and I were born, our young aunts held us in their arms."
This immediately reveals Megan and Audrey's age, but Shad is not stupid enough to point it out:
"So, that's why you have such a good relationship with Megan?"
"Yes, as for running the hotel, it is actually the legacy left by my grandmother. This hotel has existed since my grandmother's generation. There is no special reason for running this business, but my grandmother hopes that future generations will not give up this industry. The Green Lake Hotel is actually very good. Although it is a bit busy, the income is also very high."
"Did your grandmother ever tell you that there was any special reason for not giving up this inheritance?"
Mr. Green nodded slightly:
"My grandmother said that she hoped that if one day in the future, the descendants of one of the four siblings returned to the family's hometown, there would at least be a house and a home here that could welcome them back and allow the whole family to sit at the table and have a meal in peace."
Even strangers without relatives were somewhat moved at this moment, and Mr. Green raised his head and said:
"Mr. Watson, my sister and I hope you can be nicer to Aunt Megan and Audrey. She has suffered enough over the years. We know she is very capable, but in fact, she has always been very lonely."
"Are you worried that I'm a bad guy?"
Xia De asked in surprise, and Mr. Green shook his head slightly:
"My sister and I are just ordinary people. We don't know much, and there's not much we can do for our aunt..."
"I know what you mean, look at this."
As he spoke, he took out his business card from his pocket, which was the business card of Hamilton Detective Agency and handed it to him:
"I was planning on telling them who I am someday, but this week. You should recognize the name."
Mr. Green took the name and looked at it, then looked at Shade with surprise:
"Hamilton's Detective Stories?"
"Do you play Rhodes? If you do, you should know my deck."
Shade handed him his Rhodes deck for inspection, and continued as the innkeeper looked more and more surprised:
"I'm the detective. By the way, I'm glad you know me because of the novel and not because of Rhodes or gossip or anything like that."
"But how could you possibly be..."
He held the deck of cards, a look of deep confusion on his face.
Xia De lowered his voice:
"If Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals can do it, why can't I? This is not surprising. I'm just a second-rate detective with no business."
He put the newspaper down:
"Don't tell them yet. I want to keep some mystery."
In fact, it was to cooperate with Miss Karina. The Red-haired Witch had been looking forward to revealing their identities for a long time.
The door of the hotel was pushed open, and the lady with brown shoulder-length hair walked in. Mr. Green hurriedly stuffed the business card into his pocket, returned the deck of cards to Shad, and stood up with Shad.
"Good morning, gentlemen, what are you talking about?"
Megan asked curiously.
"I am a writer traveling in the Old World, talking about Rhodes cards and detective stories."
The first half of the sentence is true, the second half is false.
“Are you really a writer?”
Megan said in surprise. Mr. Soren Green held the tray and said nothing. Shade thought for a moment.
"At least for now, I am still John Watson the writer."
Since Megan had already arrived, the two immediately set out to prepare to land on the island. This time they still took a boat, but no longer departed from the Duin River. Instead, they first took a carriage to the village of Pukhov on the north shore of Green Lake, and then set off on the prepared boat.
Because we set out very early, we arrived at Pukhov Village at only 8 o'clock in the morning. The rainy weather made the usually bustling Pukhov Village a lot quieter, but it was obvious that the tavern was very lively.
After disguising themselves, Shad and Megan held umbrellas and walked through the village. When they arrived at the dock, they saw a magnificent steam and sail hybrid ship heading towards the center of the lake:
"The Peace Church's boats have been patrolling and monitoring the lake nearby these days."
Megan said, then motioned for Shad to follow her.
It can be seen that Megan's strength has recovered well after last week's "treatment". Although she has not fully recovered to the eleventh level, she can already use more of the power of a high-level warlock. Therefore, considering the blockade of the church and the complicated situation on the island, this time she did not let her followers follow her, but took Shade to find a small boat parked in the reeds, and only she and Shade took the boat to the central lake.
The boat this time is not a steam-powered boat, but the most traditional paddle-wheeled wooden boat. The reason for choosing this boat is that this primitive wooden boat is more suitable for transformation.
During the long week of waiting to land on the island, Megan gathered her followers to transform the ship. Various ritual arrays were condensed and engraved on the bottom of the ship, and even the oars were transformed and processed, making the ship itself a complete alchemical item.