"Did you agree to her request?"
Afternoon tea includes black tea in a silver teapot, small sandwich cookies patiently baked in a porcelain plate, and shrimp pancakes sprinkled with white icing. Noble ladies are very concerned about the content of afternoon tea, and top nobles like Leicia certainly have this habit.
Small pancakes sprinkled with icing sugar are a local specialty of Coldwater Harbor. When Xia De tasted them, he thought that Mia would like them.
"Agree? Of course I can't agree right away. I also have to consider what the Aurora family wants to do and whether it will be detrimental to the kingdom."
The princess holding the teacup said, looking at Xia De who was studying the snacks, and added in a low voice:
"Besides, the price she offered was not high enough. I wanted her 30% stake in the Coldwater Harbor Shipyard, but she actually smiled and called me a greedy woman."
"Ahem..."
Shade choked while eating. Leicia complained about how careless he was and asked the maid to pat his back. Shade waved his hand to tell the maid not to come over, picked up the teacup and took a big sip, causing the princess to cover her mouth and chuckle.
He thought that the witch was very polite for saying this with a smile.
"Look at this."
Lecia handed the thing at hand to Xia De. It was two invitation cards, which were shiny and looked like they were sprinkled with gold powder.
"Lady Xiwei Afrona also gave me this. This is the invitation to tonight's banquet. Shade, are you really not going with me? I know you don't want people to know you are here. In fact, it's okay to wear a mask."
"No, it's not that question. I really don't want to go."
Xia De shook his head firmly. He completely refused to meet the witch. The princess felt a little regretful, but she did not insist and asked:
"I was just about to ask, what is that thing wrapped in canvas on your back? Is it a new rifle?"
She lifted her red hair that hung down from her ear and changed the subject, so Shade talked about the Sea Return Ceremony and the curse.
The red ocean will appear today or tomorrow. Although the church is said to be fully prepared, Shade cannot take it lightly.
He told Leicia the information he had gathered, then took out the fishing rod and tied the fishing line around her wrist:
"That's all. The characteristic of this fishing rod is triggered only when you catch prey, so it won't affect you. Leicia, this fishing rod will stay with you for now. Ask your servant to carry it with you. If there is any problem, tie your wrist with the fishing line immediately..."
He thought about it:
"Oh, and someone has to hold the fishing rod so that it can suppress the curse."
"Can't you stay at Sophia's mansion tonight? Shad, you are more reliable than a servant."
Leicia asked, staring at her wrist.
This is indeed a good idea. Shade thought about it. Someone from Tobesk might visit him at any time. Apart from the three commissions brought by Iluna from Blackstone Security Company, he has not had any business for more than a week. But in order to keep Lecia from being in danger, it is worth missing a few possible clients:
"I don't want Mia to come to Coldwater Harbor at this dangerous time, and maybe have to ask Dorothy to take care of it all night."
Hearing what Xia De said, the princess knew that he agreed, so she smiled and said:
"It's okay, I will convince her. For my safety, I think she will be a little angry, but she will definitely nod in the end."
The princess looks very beautiful when she narrows her eyes.
With this arrangement in mind, Shad returned to Tobesk in the afternoon. Dorothy already knew about this and looked unhappy, but she agreed to take care of Mia tonight and tomorrow, and earnestly told Shad to be careful.
In addition, Shad also went to the Prophet's Association and told Luvia that he would stay in Coldwater Port for another day.
The female fortune teller was a little surprised that Shade insisted on getting involved in the big events in Coldwater Port, but he insisted that it would be of great help in finding Darkness.
The reason why this cannot be revealed is that Shade is still unsure of what the power of the so-called "evil god" is.
The purple-eyed fortune teller didn't ask for anything else, but wished Shade good luck and told him to be careful. Not to be careful of the Sea Returning Ceremony, but to be careful of the Blood Spirit School. They had used the Puppet Master's Notes to curse Shade but failed, and even if he was being hunted by the Church of Coldwater Harbor, they would definitely not give up on Shade.
In addition to these preparations, Shade also asked Dorothy for the scales of the drowned fishman, a clerical-level relic. Shade and Dorothy had recovered this together, and had originally planned to sell it after the incident of the evil god watching Tobesk had subsided, so the scales had been kept by Dorothy.
After getting ready, Shade reluctantly said goodbye to Mia the cat. The smart cat probably sensed that Shade would not come back tonight, so she clung to his arm with her little paws and refused to let go.
After finally getting the cat to let go of its claws, Dorothy stood in the basement holding Mia and watched Shad enter the hidden wall. The cat kept meowing and Shad looked back every time he took a step.
"Are you going to leave or not?"
In the end, the blonde girl couldn't stand it anymore and finally drove Shad away.
The rain had been falling all day, and Leicia had to attend a banquet, so she didn't have dinner with Shad. After Shad had dinner at Sophia's house, he went through the ceremony and continued to St. Byrons to listen to Professor Garcia's "Closed Space" course.
Yesterday was mainly a theoretical course, while today is a practical course. Professor Garcia demonstrated his magic lock, the Desolate Field, to the ring sorcerers who signed up for the course.
This magic is rare and can only be learned by matching three spirit runes. The corresponding runes are Wilderness Lock and Free Mind.
When the professor unfolded the maze in the classroom, even with the intention of controlling it, Shade's projection ritual was almost interrupted. The inside of the maze was a large brown wasteland.
"Students, pay attention here!"
The professor waved his hand towards the distance, making a whistling sound. Soon, he could see a large number of animals running towards this side on the horizon of the desolate wilderness.
The functionality of the Maze-Desolate Wilderness is that it allows Professor Garcia to call upon the low-intelligence wild animals he has seen before.
As long as he had seen an animal before, he could call it out from the maze as his fighting partner. And the more he knew about the animal, the lower the cost of calling it out, and the stronger the animal would be.
You have to know that this world is not just populated by ordinary wild beasts. In places out of reach of the civilized world, the combat effectiveness of various low-intelligence magical creatures is no worse than that of the steam-mechanized human legions.