After agreeing to the transaction price, seeing that Shade's expression was not right, Old John said:
"That price isn't really a big deal for you. I can even give you a new cane for free, so we're even."
He pointed to the one hanging on the wall of the shop behind Shade as a decoration. The top of the cane was shaped like a lion's head. The dust on it made it look like an antique:
"I guarantee that even if you ask for prices elsewhere, they won't be better than this... Come back and take care of my business next time, and I can give you a better discount."
Shad stared at him, and old John Jones smiled and took out ten one-pound notes from the biscuit box under the counter:
"You can consider it carefully."
After some arguments, Shad finally walked away with twelve pounds and five shillings, a new cane, and "membership" in Old John's pawn shop.
With enough money to pay this month's debt, Xia De has basically solved all the problems he has encountered since he came to this world. A new life is beckoning him, and he is full of hope for the future. So when he went home at noon, he packed a meal at the restaurant and shared the delicious food with his cat Mia who was fostered at home.
Of course, only feed your cat what it can eat.
Xia De found that being a detective could be considered a home-based job. He did not go out on Thursdays and Fridays, but just stayed at home reading books. However, he did not feel that his career development was restricted at all, which made Xia De very satisfied with his choice of career.
The two days of study were quite effective, as Shade had a basic understanding of all 19 required courses. As for the study of magic and spells, he could not continue to study time perception due to insufficient materials, and Scindia's Silver Moon Gift could not continue due to the cloudy nights these days.
The magic of the moon shadow illusion was mastered by Shade, and the night when the moonlight was blocked was a good opportunity to learn this magic. He followed the instructions and lay flat on the floor of the dark living room, with his head facing the window.
He covered his face with the silk cloth embroidered with an unknown old sacred emblem given by the academy, and then induced Mia to jump over his face. After the cat jumped over his face, he kept his lower body still and sat up with his upper body, and the silk cloth was naturally oxidized and corroded, and Shade also learned this magic.
The silver moon in mysticism also means "the protector of cats." Fortunately, there is a cat at home that has been fostered by the client, otherwise Shade would have to find a cat himself.
Although the above steps are strange, Shade has mastered the illusion of Moon Shadow. Unlike the unconditional casting of Silver Moon Slash, the illusion must be cast at night, but it does not require casting materials.
"Give it a try."
He turned on the gas lamp, summoned the Life Ring with anticipation, and performed the illusion to the maximum extent possible.
But as the core rune's aura flickered, all he could do was create a thin silver mist in the room, slightly limiting his vision. This could at most confuse a low-intelligence creature like Mia, but it would be difficult to work on a human.
He still needs more practice and to increase his understanding of the silver moon. However, the orange cat Mia was confused by the hazy silver mist for a while, and was frightened by this strange scene. After the silver mist dissipated, she immediately fell at Shade's feet. Shade hugged the cat and comforted it for a long time before it stopped being manic.
This is a kitten that is not very courageous, but Shad likes it very much. If there is no news about its original owner, Miss Gold, Shad is willing to adopt this cat.
"It's not bad to have a cat at home. At least we don't have to worry about mice."
This was his thought before going to bed.
But an unexpected letter early Saturday morning announced that Shad's idea of "taking the cat" was impossible.
It was a reply from Miss Mia Gold, the original owner of the orange cat Mia. She had received the message from Detective Hamilton. When she learned that the orange cat had been found, she also learned that Sparrow Hamilton had died and that Shad Hamilton was now running the office.
But this wealthy lady told Shade in a letter that she could not travel across half the kingdom to Tobysk to take Mia away in the near future. She was also not confident about sending the cat by post.
Therefore, Miss Mia Gold once again commissioned the young successor detective to continue to take in and look after Mia. She would find time to go to Tobesk as soon as possible, but that would definitely be half a year later.
Some changes happened in Miss Gold's family and she needed to deal with some troublesome household affairs.
In addition to the letter, Miss Gold also sent 10 pounds in cash to Shad through the post office account. She hoped that the young detective would not be harsh on the naughty orange cat and treat it as well as possible.
"Miss Goddard really trusts me? Could it be that the old lady next door sent her a letter describing how reliable I am? Also, why do people think you are naughty?"
Xia De sat on the sofa, holding the book "Detailed Explanation of Herbs in the Northern Region of Pangaea" in one hand, and touching the orange cat lying beside him with the other hand. The cat squinted its eyes, trembled its whiskers and meowed softly to express its comfort. This should be the most obedient cat Xia De has ever come into contact with.
"Did I pick up the wrong cat?"
He thought with some surprise, but this cat was really Mia.
The 10 pounds from the cane and the 10 pounds from Miss Gold made Shad, who was originally a little tight on money, rich all of a sudden. However, Shad did not intend to use the 10 pounds, but saved it to spend on Mia. He was a man of principle, and when he did not urgently need money in his life, this considerable remittance should be used on cats rather than people.
This behavior brought Shad an inexplicable sense of self-satisfaction, so much so that when he received the second letter of the day, which was the gas bill, steam bill and water bill for the apartment, his mood was not greatly affected.
It was now the end of June, and the fees were due, but Hamilton was a man of economy, and the three bills together came to less than seven shillings, a sum that pleased Shad.
Because that afternoon was the study meeting time at Dr. Schneider's clinic, Shad had lunch and fed the cat early, wanting to leave as soon as possible, as the doctor's clinic was far away.
But before he could go out, a guest came to visit.
She was a woman in her thirties, almost as tall as Chateaubriand, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, who came directly to the door of No. 6 Saint Teresa Square in a carriage.
She climbed the steps to the door in her high heels with a fierce look on her face, but when she saw that it was a young man who opened the door, she was very surprised.
"You're looking for Detective Sparrow Hamilton?"
Shade asked in equal surprise.
"Yes."
The lady said, looking up and down at the young man who opened the door.
"Uncle Sparrow has passed away, and I am now responsible for all his commissions. May I ask who you are..."
"Mary Laurence."
He should have realized who this was immediately, but because he had no intention of doing that commission, Shad was stunned for a moment before realizing that this was Mrs. Lawrence, the client who had commissioned him to track her husband's mistress, "Mrs. Lazoya."
It can be seen that although Mrs. Lawrence felt sorry for Sparrow Hamilton's death, she was also dissatisfied, and her words expressed her distrust of the young detective.
Xia De didn't mind, because he was indeed not trustworthy as a detective. But since the other party had taken the initiative to come to the door, he could only let the client in first, and after both parties sat down, he handed her the report that the previous detective had compiled.