The end of exam week made everyone relaxed, even Father Augustus, who was busy with the Holy Prayer Festival, decided to invite Dr. Schneider to the tavern for a drink.
In fact, they originally wanted to invite Xia De to go with them, but Miss Louisa directly helped Xia De refuse:
"I've been helping Shade study The Kiss of the Tree recently. We have classes in the evening, so we absolutely cannot drink."
The doctor expressed regret, but since he had something important to do, he didn't say much. However, before leaving St. Teresa's Square with the priest, he took out 200 pounds and divided it among the four people, according to the ratio of 2.5:2.5:2:1.5:1.5, and Shade got 40 pounds in cash (note).
After the Lake View Manor incident, the college gave the team a 1,000-pound on-campus bonus. The doctor used a magical operation to get the non-cashable money out, losing one-tenth of it and getting all the pounds in four installments.
As agreed, it was the end of the month of Thunder, and they received the first payment. Everyone was very happy when the doctor divided the money, but Shade mentioned that if he could get credits next week, he would have to pay for the second-year tuition. Therefore, he asked the doctor not to withdraw the remaining money for the time being, and that money could be used directly to pay the tuition.
If the crossed-out portion exceeds what Xia De deserves, he can compensate the other people at a ratio of 1 to 0.95.
"Of course, but do you have that much money? The tuition for the first year is relatively low, to cater to the ring sorcerers who are new to the mysterious world. The tuition for the second year is based on the training plan, and it is at least three figures."
The doctor asked with some concern, he knew that Shade had only been a detective for a month and might not have much savings.
"I still have about 800 pounds, which is enough."
Shade said as he petted the cat.
"Where did you get so much gold? Oh, Shad, if you need money we can lend it to you, but you must not touch the Rhodes cards."
The old priest was very surprised. Miss Carina suddenly appeared in Shade's mind. Most of his major income came from the Duchess. Although both parties were in a fair transaction, Shade thought that if he said it out loud, it would inevitably make him look like a gigolo:
"It was detective work that gave me the opportunity to make a fortune. I met several generous clients. Don't worry, priest, it's absolutely legal."
The old priest was relieved.
Doctor Schneider and Father Augustus left together to celebrate the end of the busy exam week at the tavern. Luvia had other things to do at the Prophet's Association, so she also hurriedly said goodbye. Because they were going to watch the opera together in the evening, Shade invited Miss Louisa to dinner. Of course, the blonde girl agreed and excitedly talked about what restaurant would satisfy even Mia the Cat.
After dinner, Mia was sent back to Saint Teresa's Square to look after the house. Pets were definitely not allowed into the opera house. He was wondering if this was neglecting the cat, but seeing it lying on the sofa and not wanting to move, Shade realized that taking it out would be a punishment for the cat.
The Queen Maria Opera House is located on Swift Street in the north of the city. After a week of high pressure in the city, people's desire to travel has increased. Tonight's tickets are almost all sold out. Miss Louisa's ticket is for the third row on the second floor of the theater, which is a good seat.
But the really good seats were actually those higher up private boxes. It was just that the two of them came to watch the opera today purely for "teaching", so there was no need to waste pounds to buy such expensive tickets, as their income level was not that high.
Queen Maria Opera House is a private property of the royal family. It is decorated magnificently in accordance with the aesthetic characteristics of the Cavendish family. Such a high-end public place naturally has dress requirements. Most of the gentlemen are wearing black formal suits like Shade, but there are also some strange clothes.
What impressed Xia De the most was that it was the first time that he saw a man dressed in women's clothes with white stockings in this world. Xia De was not sure whether this scene would give him nightmares at night. Even if he was dressed as a woman, the makeup on the other person's face was too thick. When he entered the scene, Xia De could smell the pungent smell of powder through three people.
"That's Mr. Prossie Newman, the playwright!"
Xia De turned to look at Miss Louisa's outfit, hoping to forget the scene he had just seen as soon as possible. Tonight, Miss Writer was wearing a blue dress, which was very similar to the one she wore at the Lake View Manor dinner.
Miss Louisa said to Xia De very excitedly:
"Look, that guy is a real great writer. He not only wrote opera and drama scripts, but also has very good achievements in long poems, novels and prose collections."
“Why would a writer dress like that?”
They followed the crowd inside. Fortunately, the playwright and his companion did not go to the second floor, but continued up the stairs. If Xia De sat with him for a few hours, Xia De thought he would have a nightmare tonight. He did not discriminate against other people's aesthetics, he just couldn't stand it.
"That's an aesthetic trend, Lecia said. Artists can often be seen dressed like this in salons of the upper class."
She smiled, and walked with Xia De along the aisle between the seats, while covering her mouth and whispering in his ear. Her long golden hair touched Xia De's face a little:
"The artistic inspiration of writers is probably not as strong as that of painters. The way painters dress should be even less in line with your aesthetic standards. Have you ever heard of someone painting clothes on himself with watercolors and then appearing in a salon?"
"Of course not... Male or female?"
The stranger curiously inquired about it, and the blonde girl patted him and said in a somewhat reproachful tone:
"Of course it's a man. What are you thinking? Leicia was in the salon at the time, and she had him thrown out onto the street. She couldn't stand this advanced aesthetic."
"Oh, don't talk about such things. Although we have seen worse things, we are going out to the opera now, so don't bother yourself."
Xia De stopped Miss Louisa from continuing speaking in time. She was not angry, but laughed instead.
The gas lamps on the wall were very bright, and the chandelier hanging above the auditorium continued to provide light and heat. Dorothy Louisa enjoyed this night very much.
Opera is an art form that also exists in the hometown of strangers, but Xia De has never seen it live. Sitting in the opera house with a beautiful girl in a strange world, he suddenly had the illusion that coming to this world is not bad.
Before the show started, noisy sounds came from the auditorium on the first and second floors, and it was very lively and bustling. But as the music sounded, the light from the surrounding gas lamps gradually became dimmer, and people's voices gradually became smaller.
The lights on the stage below came on, and a girl in a coarse skirt and holding a broom appeared. The cheerful singing marked the beginning of this scene.
"Hmm... so far?"
Shade asked quietly in Miss Louisa's ear. From their position, the girl singing on the stage looked even younger than Mia the cat who was looking after the house alone at the moment.
"Of course. Do you still want to go on stage and watch?"
Miss Louisa answered quietly, and then handed him a cold metal object in the dark. Shade looked down and found that it was actually a pair of binoculars:
"I knew you wouldn't bring it. Is this your first time at the opera house?"
As she spoke, Miss Louisa picked up the telescope and looked at the stage, just like most people around her.
“They actually all brought…”
"Are you here just to listen to the concert? This is just an ordinary telescope. Please don't despise it. I heard that some people would bring gold to show off their wealth..."
She lowered her voice, not wanting to disturb the people around her from listening to the opera.
In fact, from this position, you can barely see the performance on the stage clearly without a telescope, but Xia De still picked up the telescope and put it in front of his eyes, wanting to try what it feels like to watch the opera with it.
"It's really uncomfortable."
So he still used his eyes to see. It was only the beginning and the girl on the stage was telling the background story through her singing.
Stranger, you have surpassed the people of this era in both natural science and humanities, so why is your ability to appreciate art so poor
She probably also thought that Shade didn't know how to appreciate opera.
“That’s not the kind of art I appreciate.”
He answered in his heart, talking to the woman in the complete darkness, and it really felt like she was right beside him.
So what kind of art do you appreciate
“Literary art, or more realistic visual art. Of course, if the opera has a strong story, I will appreciate it.”
Do you appreciate the story itself
"You could say that."
She chuckled in his ear and then said nothing. Xia De amused himself by thinking that although they only paid for two tickets, it was actually equivalent to four people watching the opera.
"It should be considered three people. Miss Louisa's 'other self' should be normal."
He thought to himself, leaning back in his chair with a relaxed body, squinting his eyes at the glowing stage.
Although I didn’t experience a lot this week, the exam today was really tiring. Sitting in the dark now without having to think about other things is really relaxing.
He cleared his mind and decided to enjoy this quiet night. Although he felt a little sleepy, he still held it in.
The play they came to see was called "The Tragic Life of Higgins", which mainly tells the story of a little boy who loves writing and his ups and downs over the past twenty years until he reaches the end of his destiny.
Each scene of the story uses an exaggerated opera performance to restore the fairy tale that the protagonist Higgins is reading. On the one hand, it promotes the development of the story, and on the other hand, it indirectly describes the protagonist's situation and mood.
The story of "Tree Kiss" is in the third act, which uses this story to illustrate the sadness and pain of the young writer Higgins after the disappearance of love. The high-pitched female singing at the climax of the story almost shattered all the glass here, but also won rounds of applause.