"Yes, come to think of it, the last time I went to the academy library to meet Miss Danister, the Red Moon Witch, I didn't feel that the academy was particularly cold."
Shad agreed.
But thinking of this, he reminded himself that when he saw Leisia next week, he could ask her about the location of the Zarath Academy of Arts. When the princess was in the lower grades, she was a formal student who directly studied in the academy. And the location of the Zarath Academy of Arts, like the other two thaumaturgy academies, would be beyond Shade's expectations.
"Oh, speaking of which, Shad, there is one more thing."
The doctor patted his head and said calmly:
"Today you sell those books..."
"Doctor, please don't mention this again."
Xia De shook his head quickly:
"If I were to explain this from the beginning, such as where they came from, why I was wandering around with them, and why I wanted to sell them, it would be very complicated. Please don't get me wrong, I don't have any special hobbies."
"Oh well."
The doctor nodded, but Shad wasn't sure whether the doctor was convinced by his story.
It was almost four in the afternoon when he got home. None of Iluna's three commissions had anything to do with relics. Although this Friday was not over yet, Shade didn't want to look for new events.
After all, he was not really the chosen one, and he didn't have the luck to encounter relics as soon as he went out.
I finished writing today's investigation report at home, and then wrote a letter to Professor Manning. Taking the opportunity of taking my well-behaved cat out for dinner, I sent the report to Iluna and the letter to the professor.
According to Luvia's divination, the professor should be able to find the members of the Guiding Light Hermitage soon.
Although it was a busy day, it was a very peaceful day indeed.
Saturday came, and when Xia De went out to get the newspaper and milk and goat milk in the morning, he actually saw several letters addressed to him.
This was something new, after all, he didn't know many people.
The first two letters were bills from the steam company and the gas company, and then there was a tax receipt from the Tobesk City Hall. Turning to the back, the letters turned out to be from a small country town on the shore of Lake Tees in the southeast of the kingdom.
At first, Shad thought that it was a letter sent to Detective Sparrow by a former client, but later he remembered that it was the address of the real owner of the orange cat Mia, Miss Mia San Gold.
"Mia, look, there's a letter from your master."
Xia De opened the envelope and walked up the stairs. The small cat followed behind his slippers. Hearing the sound, he looked up and saw Xia De shaking something. Then he supported his body with his hind paws and jumped up. But seeing that Xia De did not give it any intention, it ignored Xia De with disdain and quickly ran up the stairs. I guess it was waiting for him at the dining table.
Although Mia has always been with Shad, Miss Gold is the real owner of the orange cat Mia. She just couldn't take the cat away because she was dealing with things in her hometown in the countryside. In the letter sent by this lady last month, she said that she would send a letter once a month to inquire about the situation. In this letter, as expected, there was another 10-pound note in the last letter as Mia's maintenance fee.
Miss Gold once again expressed her gratitude to Detective Hamilton in the letter, and told Shad with great regret that she not only had to deal with family affairs now, but also had some minor health problems. She was afraid that she would not be able to go to Tobesk to pick up Mia within this year.
In addition, she asked Shade to take a photo of the cat in the letter, with the background of this month's newspaper and the date visible. I think the generous lady who paid the fee was also worried that Shade would be harsh on the cat, and even threw it away a long time ago.
"It seems that I must give you a bath in the next few days, and then go take pictures, so that Miss Goder can take a good look at you."
Shad patted the well-behaved cat, which squinted its eyes, not realizing what Shad wanted to do.
In fact, the stranger had already made up his mind to obtain the ownership of the cat. It was immoral to take the client's things for oneself, even if he paid for it, so Xia De wanted to test Miss Gode's attitude in the letter.
He had to do it step by step and couldn't just state his idea right away. On the one hand, he was worried that Miss Goddard would be rejected directly by the unprepared Miss Goddard, and on the other hand, because Miss Goddard was facing a lot of trouble in her hometown, Xia De wanted to formally make the request when the client was in a good mood.
So at least, the reply letter with the photo sent a few days later could only be a preliminary test.
"Our family has fallen into decline," Miss Gold mentioned several times in her letter. She came from a famous ancient family in the town by Lake Tees, but she moved away from the town with her parents when she was very young. It was not until the family needed an heir that she received a letter to return to the town and live with her parents who had returned a few years ago.
Outsiders didn't quite understand what was going on with the big families in the country towns of this era. But he sincerely hoped that Miss Gold could resolve her troubles as soon as possible. This generous lady should have a good life.
After preparing breakfast for himself and the cat, Shad continued to read the last letter. The last letter was from Professor Manning, but Shad had just sent his letter last night. Even if the professor saw the letter, he would not have time to reply. In other words, the professor had sent it last night.
"The professor found a doomsday academic organization!"
Professor Manning spoke directly. After the initial politeness, he directly stated the results of the investigation. In the letter, the professor told Shade that after investigation, he confirmed that the largest doomsday academic organization in the Old World was called the Guiding Light Club. This was not an organization rooted in a certain area or a certain school, but a loose academic organization composed of professors from colleges and universities across the Old World, with the intention of preserving the achievements of human civilization and passing on civilization when the end of the world comes.
Therefore, this academic organization composed of ordinary people was named "Guiding Light Club", which means to pass on the light of civilization.
"Just from the name, you can tell that this club is definitely supported by the Guiding Light Monastery."
While reading the letter, Xia De muttered softly, "There was tea on Professor Manning's letter, and I don't know how the letter paper was stored."
He didn't expect the other party to be so bold as to use the name of his own organization as the name of the ordinary people's organization they supported. Presumably, the "Guiding Light Monastery" was really in decline, so confident that even the Orthodox Church couldn't see their clues.
However, supporting ordinary people's organizations in this way can not only publicize the ideas of their own organization and recruit more talents, but also provide appropriate channels for obtaining funds and covering up the traces of the activities of the ring warlocks. It is indeed a good approach.
The academic community composed of intellectuals certainly has members in big cities like Tobesk, the capital of Delarion. Professor Manning has already contacted one person and asked Shade to meet him at his home at ten o'clock this morning.
He knew that Xia De was looking for him anxiously, so he made such hasty arrangements.
"Ten o'clock..."
Xia De thought about the time and was in a very good mood. The two main goals of this week, 15 credits and the Guiding Light Order, were actually possible to complete. He admired his efficiency, but still hoped that his future life would not always be so stressful.
Since they were going to Professor Manning's house, Shade couldn't bring Mia with him. He calculated the time and arrived at Cat Tail Lane at 9:50 in the morning.
After knocking on the door, the familiar fat maid opened the door for him, and the guest that Xia De wanted to meet had arrived.
Professor McCain Heinke worked at the same university as Professor Manning, but he was in the philosophy department, so he and Professor Manning were just nodding acquaintances.
When Shade entered the study room with the help of the servant, the two professors were discussing the salary issue of the school. Professor Manning had reached retirement age and was being rehired to continue working, while Professor Heinke, who was wearing a brown checkered suit and had a white beard, had two years before retirement and was quite dissatisfied with his pension.
Seeing that Xia De had arrived, the two old professors stopped talking. Professor Manning briefly introduced the two parties, and Xia De also exchanged business cards with Professor Heinke.
Professor Heinke had heard of "Hamilton of Ryder" and knew in advance that he was a detective in St. Teresa's Square, so he was not surprised by the address on the business card. And Shade took the opportunity of handing over the business card and shaking hands to confirm that the other party was just an ordinary person.
Professor Manning left after his introduction and it was time for a private conversation.
"Good morning, Professor."
After the pleasantries, Xia De got straight to the point:
"I ran into some trouble when carrying out the commission, so I need the help of an academic like you who studies doomsday theory."
"No problem. So, Mr. Hamilton, what do you want to know?"
Professor Heinke asked enthusiastically.
Shade actually wanted to ask the other party directly whether he knew about the ring wizard, but he didn't know the specific relationship between the "Guiding Light Club" and the "Guiding Light Monastery" yet, so he couldn't speak rashly. So on the way here, he had already thought about how to talk.
"No, no, it's not about doomsday theory. My client is an antique dealer who is not willing to reveal his identity. He recently got a batch of antiques. In order to determine the value and specific age of the antiques, he investigated the symbols that frequently appear on the surface of the antiques. However, it is almost impossible to find the source of those symbols. It was only by chance that he found out that they were related to the doomsday group, so he commissioned me to do further investigation."
As Xia De said this, he took out his notebook and drew a logo on the page with a pen: "The main body is an equilateral triangle, the three corners of the triangle are connected to a small circle, and inside the triangle is a person with wings."
When handing it to Professor Heinke, Shade stared at his expression. Although the old professor controlled himself well, Shade still saw that his eyes widened unnaturally when he saw the symbol.