It was 9:10 when we arrived at the station. After we saw at least three trains leave the platform, a steam locomotive with a body painted in a rare black color drove in from the south.
The front of this steam train is obviously different from the previous ones. Even an uninformed person can tell that this is a special train.
Xia De recalled the train schedule he had just seen. This train should be a special train carrying merchants from the southern foot of the Rommel Mountains, traveling between the two countries. On the one hand, it is to save time, and on the other hand, it is also helpful for businessmen to come in groups, so it is supported by both countries.
"Could it be this?"
He thought to himself, standing still under the platform pillars with wanted posters and advertisements. The train slowly stopped, and with the sound of gas gushing, streams of scorching white steam sprayed from the bottom of the carriage toward the platform.
The people who were waiting for the train came up, and within a few dozen minutes, almost all the passengers in the carriage had gotten off.
Xia De still didn't move, and then he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black hat and dressed in ordinary clothes walking down from the front carriage No. 1.
He looked around and soon saw Shad leaning against the platform pillar holding a newspaper. He approached and carefully looked at his clothes, nodded to him, and said in Carsenric:
"Sir, do you like men?"
"Um?"
Xia De was stunned, and then thought of the password mentioned by Professor Higgins:
"no."
He also used the Kasenrik language.
"So what age do you like in pretty girls?"
The man asked again.
“All ages.”
Xia De said this while suppressing his shame, and he really wanted to punch the person who came up with this password.
"So, are you interested in going with me to see some pretty girls?"
"interested in."
He said the last sentence of the secret code, and it was obvious that the middle-aged man was relieved:
"Nice to meet you."
He spoke in Draerion, and held out his hand to Shad, who shook it:
"I hope the password will be more normal next time."
"We cannot interfere with the decisions of our superiors."
After shaking hands, Xia De handed over the suitcase in his hand, but the man shook his head:
"It's better for you to hand over this kind of commercial secret in person."
He pointed to carriage number one, which had its door open.
This special train will stop here for about an hour, and after changing the locomotive, loading goods and boarding passengers, it will return to Carsenrick through the mountain entrance. So, the person who came to pick up the suitcase this time might be a big shot in Carsenrick on the other side of the mountain.
"OK."
Xia De hesitated for a moment, then followed the man towards carriage number one.
Carriage No. 1 of the special train was prepared for special guests. The entire carriage was completely connected and arranged like a reception room. And when the door behind him closed, all the noisy sounds in the Midhill Castle Railway Station were blocked out.
The carriage was filled with the smell of spices, and girls in maid costumes seemed to be preparing breakfast for the owner.
A translucent screen separated the sofa set from the desk. Xia De could only see a lady sitting next to the desk, but he didn't know who she was.
When Xia De noticed the shadow, he actually felt the badge on his chest getting slightly hot. The degree of heat was very slight, which meant that the woman behind the screen should be a follower of a great witch. The witch's power was extremely weak, so Xia De didn't even have to worry about being discovered by the other party about his specialness.
"Wait, is this Miss Carina or Miss Aurora playing a joke on me?"
At this moment, even if Miss Carina suddenly walked in from outside the carriage, Shade would not be surprised. But it was obvious that the other party was indeed here to pick up the goods. The woman behind the screen was a follower of the Great Witch whom Shade did not know.
"Why do I always meet strange witches?"
He muttered in his heart:
"Are there any other ring sorcerers? Which ring?"
Behind the screen was a fourth-ring or fifth-ring ringmaster. In addition to her, there was another first-ring or second-ring ringmaster further away in this carriage.
"clear."
Xia De did not sit on the sofa. Instead, he raised the suitcase with his right hand and supported the bottom of the suitcase with his left hand:
"That's it."
He was not very clear about the current situation, so he tried to speak as little as possible, using the Kasenric language. Such simple sentences were no problem for him.
"Who are you? Where's Professor Higgins?"
The voice behind the screen spoke. Judging from the sound, she should be young, and she also spoke in Carsenric language.
"Dead."
Shad wanted to explain that the cause of death was a "financial dispute with the locals", but his foreign language skills were not good enough, and it would be awkward to speak Delarion in this situation, so he could only give a simple answer.
"Who are you, then?"
The voice behind the screen asked the question again:
"Are you one of ours?"
"We" should refer to Gray Gloves.
"Of course."
Even if Professor Higgins died, he would never tell a stranger a secret that could lead to the annihilation of the entire army.
"So, what's your code name? Are there any 'our people' like you in the Fort Midhill area?"
"I'm good at pretending."
"Disguise" is one of the more complex words in Kasenric Common Language that Shade has mastered so far:
"I am on a secret mission and cannot reveal my identity."
He paused in the middle not to pretend to be cold, but because he was stuck on the word. The word "secret" was a bit difficult to pronounce, and he had to think it through before he could say it.
"You mean, you are one of our people who is carrying out a secret mission? You happened to meet Professor Higgins who was on the verge of death, and after gaining his trust, you took over his mission?"
said the voice behind the screen.
"Yes."
Xia De answered simply and put the box at his feet. But the door of the carriage remained closed, and the owner of the carriage did not want him to leave.
"Sir, I doubt your identity. Tell me your code name. My clearance is very high, and I know most of 'our people'."
"You definitely don't know me."
Shade said in a deep voice.
"Really? The number of people I don't know is no more than ten, so you say you are one of them?"
"Yes."
"Hmph~"
The voice behind the screen laughed:
"Do you think I would trust your words?"
"I brought what you wanted."
Shad kicked the box.
"But how do I know that this box is what I want?"
The woman asked, and Shade hesitated:
"I can tell you my code name, but you will have to bear the cost of hearing my identity. My interference in this mission is against the rules, and revealing my code name is absolutely not allowed. Ma'am, if you are sure that your identity is sufficient, then I will continue."
"Please go ahead. I'm sure I can hear any news."
"Well, I am..."
Shade sighed in his heart and whispered an apology to Detective Sparrow Hamilton, who was buried in Tobesk Public Cemetery:
"I am a gray eagle."
He had to say this for Leicia's arrangement. The Gray Gloves probably didn't know that the real "Gray Eagle" was dead, otherwise they wouldn't trust the information in the pen that was passed on.
There was a strange silence in the carriage for a moment, and then the woman behind the screen laughed again, a very arrogant laugh:
"This joke is even funnier than the previous one."
"Ma'am, I don't know if you are qualified. Let me prove my identity."
Seeing how confident he was, the woman hesitated:
"You guys leave first."
So the only people left in the carriage were this lady, Shade, and another low-level sorcerer, a maid who seemed to have some witch power.
"I received the information from Virgil Cameron of the Principality of Set."
He was very straightforward, and this was a long sentence that he had prepared in advance while everyone was away. Since he had decided to disguise himself as the ace agent for the sake of Lecia, he would not reveal any flaws.
"No, no, if you were an MI6 agent, you might also know this. In fact, who Gray Eagle is, his age, appearance, and even gender, no one in the entire Gray Glove knows it all. Those who know his identity only know a small part of the truth, and together they can piece together the general characteristics of this gentleman."
The woman paused:
"But you are lucky. I once talked to him through a wall when the current king met him..."
Xia De's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea about this matter.
"Oops!"
"Mr. Gray Eagle is very cautious and almost never reveals anything. But he was probably relaxing in the palace, so I still discovered one of his hobbies. Please tell me, sir, Gray Eagle is a person who is very fond of pocket watches. Even if the pocket watch is not commensurate with his disguised identity, he will definitely carry an expensive pocket watch. Fortunately, he can use other excuses to explain the origin of the pocket watch. So, what kind of pocket watch is his?"
Shade breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the style of Mr. Sparrow's pocket watch, but just as he was about to open his mouth, he immediately realized something was wrong:
"Mr. Sparrow's pocket watch is not expensive! Is this a trap?"
Eyes narrowed slightly:
"Since we were talking across the wall, how did this woman know the style of Sparrow's real pocket watch? No, she was lying to me... But she should know Detective Sparrow's little hobby, an insignificant little hobby..."
"I don't like pocket watches."
After figuring out the trap, Xia De smiled:
“I love black tea.”
After a pause:
"Yorkshire tea."
In order to commemorate the detective, he went to the city to find the same tea. Because the price was so amazing, Shade would never forget that tea. After all, even the picky Miss Carina and Lecia had praised that black tea:
"Do you need me to tell you more about the origin?"
After 3 minutes and 23 seconds of silence:
"I think it's no longer necessary."
The woman behind the screen whispered:
"But... why are you here?"
There was disbelief in his tone, and Shad breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the lie had gone through the motions.
Just when he was about to say that he was here for a top-secret mission, the door of carriage No. 2 connecting here was knocked.
Then a maid came in hurriedly and whispered a few words in the ear of the woman behind the screen.