The time for the Angevin royal family representatives to arrive in Tobesk was getting closer and closer, and the residents of Tobesk could also feel the importance that the city hall and the kingdom attached to this matter. But this had nothing to do with Shade for the time being. After leaving the Prophet's Association, he said goodbye to the cat lazily basking in the sun on the windowsill at home, and went to Huntington City through the statue in the basement.
When I walked out of the wine cellar of the White River Valley Vineyard, the morning sun at the turn of autumn and winter was even a little dazzling.
He raised his hand above his eyes and happened to see Mr. Bernhardt, who was standing in the courtyard of the small manor with his servants and the driver, directing the workers to unload the goods from the flatbed truck:
"Good morning, Mr. Bernhardt."
"Good morning, Mr. Watson."
The two of them greeted each other in a familiar manner. Xia De tightened the collar buttons of his warm black coat and walked over:
"Storing food for the winter again?"
The middle-aged vampire hesitated for a moment, shook his head carefully, and stood with Shade watching the workers unloading the goods:
"No, it's tobacco."
"Tobacco... eh?"
Xia De was a little surprised and lowered his voice:
"You're still in the tobacco business?"
Whether in Delarion or Carsonrick, the tobacco business is regulated by the kingdom. Looking at the unloading situation now, it doesn't look like a regular business at all:
"Do you have any other smuggling options? To the New World or to Delarion?"
Shad was not particularly surprised, after all, Lecia was still doing arms smuggling business in Middlesbrough.
"No, no, no, I'm not that bold."
Mr. Bernhardt lowered his voice slightly:
"Didn't we meet Princess Margaret yesterday and help solve a murder case? Her Highness had a very good impression of me. Last night, she sent someone to my estate and gave me a note. This is the princess's goods, shipped from Willendel. She asked me to store them in the White River Valley Vineyard first, and wait until the steam-floating airship lands tomorrow to pull the goods over."
Xia De was stunned for a few seconds before he understood:
"Princess Margaret wants to leave..."
"How can the royal family's affairs be called smuggling?"
Mr. Bernhardt corrected:
"Besides, the airship has so much space. It's reasonable to put some valuable goods in it. I don't think your majesty would mind this, but it's best not to be discovered by others. Of course, even if it is discovered, we can say that this is a gift to Draerion."
Xia De showed an understanding expression, and then asked with great interest:
"That princess won't let you do it for nothing, will she?"
Mr. Bernhardt looked around, turned sideways and drew a number for Shadbi:
“This number.”
Xia De calculated it and raised his eyebrows:
"She is really generous."
"After all, the cost of these goods is not much after deducting the tobacco tax, but you also know the price of tobacco."
This middle-aged nobleman who drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and drank blood shook his head and sighed:
"The kingdom's tax department is more like a vampire than I am."
It seems that people from all walks of life like to complain about taxes, whether in Delarion or Carsonrick.
Mr. Bernhardt was busy helping Princess Margaret deliver goods today, so he did not go into the city with Shade. However, he had sorted out the information about the local "Lady of the Lake" rumors and handed the file bag containing the information to Shade:
"In fact, there are similar rumors every few years. I heard a lot of them when I was a child. If you want to take risks, you can call me to come with you. Winter is about to come, and I don't have anything urgent to do."
Mr. Bernhardt said.
The gentleman had intended to take Shad to Huntington in a carriage, but Shad chose a horse from the stable and wanted to ride through the countryside himself.
The sky in the countryside was not polluted by the steam plant. The weather was very good in the morning between autumn and winter. Large clouds were hanging in the blue sky like cotton. Xia De, who could barely ride a horse, walked along the country road, looking at the surrounding fields and vineyards.
Riding a horse is indeed colder than riding in a car. After dealing with the matters in Huntington City, Shad will also have to consider the heating problem of No. 6 St. Teresa's Square during the winter.
Princess Margaret, her accompanying private doctor and servants are currently living in Rothschild House in the center of Huntington, which is the royal family's local property. However, when Miss Sylvia met with Shad in Parliament last night, she did not ask him to meet at Rothschild House, but gave him the address of the local "Owl Bookstore".
The Owl Bookstore is located in the middle of Malfoy Street in Huntington City. From the outside, there is nothing special about it. The window facing the street displays popular novels such as "The Secret of Sisyphus", "The Mad Knight and the Foolish Princess" and "The Adventure Guide to the Eye of the Storm". When you push open the door of the bookstore, the first thing you see amid the sound of bells is "The Poems of Rodles" and "The Troggs Collection", which are serious literature.
It was a nice morning, and the bookstore had a drowsy atmosphere, just like a dull summer class. There were not many people here, and after entering the store, Xia De walked directly to the counter and knocked on the wooden counter top to wake up the young man who seemed to be dozing off, wearing a white shirt and a brown vest.
Shade asked softly in the unskilled Kasenric language:
"I'm looking for a book."
"What book?"
The young man behind the counter, who looked to be at least seventeen or eighteen years old, asked while yawning. There were acne marks on his face, which were as dense as freckles.
“The Theory of Large Numbers.”
"Oh, this way please."
The young man lifted the cover of the counter and then opened the door behind him that was almost integrated with the wall.
Xia De nodded, and just as he was about to go in, he asked again:
"Do you have any copies of Hamilton's Detective Stories?"
The young man hesitated for a moment and looked at Xia De suspiciously:
"Is this part of the code?"
“No, I really want to find this book.”
"Oh, I see. But I'm sorry, that foreign novel seems to be still being translated. If you want to read it, you can go to the Delarian trading company and ask. Now there is only the Delarian version."
Xia De thought he could find pirated books here.
Behind the Owl Library is a large club-like building, which is the ring warlock black market in Huntington City.
Miss Sylvia was already waiting for Shad here. When the waiter led Shad in, the lady was holding a teacup and flipping through the book in her hand. The book was the "Hamilton Detective Stories" that Shad had just mentioned.
"Good morning, Knight."
The witch, who was younger than the stranger, waved the book in her hand to Xia De. She was wearing a black dress today. Her black hair didn't match the black dress, and people in this era believed that black would bring disasters, so this style of dress was the first time Xia De had seen it.
“That’s a book my friend wrote.”
Shade said, pulling out a chair and sitting opposite the witch. The witch waved to the young girl standing beside her, who came over to pour tea for Shade. She was also her follower, but her rank was lower than Shade.
"Yes, otherwise it would be impossible to describe you in such detail. Miss Carina Cavendish has indeed found a good follower."
"No, I'm not a follower of Miss Carina."
Xia De corrected, thanking the girl who poured the tea:
“We can only be considered as…partners.”
"Yes, I understand. You are equals."
The witch said, fully understanding the meaning of Shade's words:
"But your friend said in the book that you are good at math?"
"Well enough."
Shad nodded modestly. Dorothy drew a lot from his image when creating the characters in the story. She asked Shad if he was good at art or had any unique hobbies, and Shad said he was good at mathematics.
Dorothy did not ask how good Shad was, but only said happily that mathematics did go well with the astute detective.
"Can you give an answer to this question?"
The witch pushed the notebook to Shade. Shade tilted his head and took a look. He found that she had specially used the Draerion language:
"Multivariate equations? The entrance exam for Delarion College is a bit more difficult than this now. I don't think you need to ask me this kind of question, right? Also, does this have anything to do with space power?"
Shad knew this information because he was considering going to Tobesk University and getting an honorary degree by donating money to free himself from the cultural level of "Detective Sparrow's tutor."
"Not related to space power, but I'm curious about your math skills."
Miss Sylvia smiled, turned to the next page and asked Shad to continue reading.
On the next page were some pencil sketches with densely written letters next to them:
"Solid geometry? Ma'am, I'm not very good at this, but you've already chosen the coordinate system and reference points. I think it won't be difficult to solve this."
He picked up his notebook and hastily drew a few auxiliary lines. Having been in this world for half a year, these skills were not unfamiliar to him.
"very nice."
The witch nodded again and finally turned to the last page:
"Look at this. I think this might be a little difficult."
Xia De continued to look and found that the words written in cursive letters on the notebook were very familiar:
"Moss unfolds?" (Chapter 201)
In the hometown of strangers, this is actually called Taylor expansion.
"You knew this?"
The young witch was really surprised this time. Xia De nodded:
"In the summer, I attended several academic lectures and reports held in the Tobysk University District. I didn't expect that you also understand this."
Miss Sylvia looked at him carefully:
"You are much smarter than the girls of the Anjou family. I have always believed that learning mathematics well can make the way of thinking of the ring warlock more rational, logical and organized. Moreover, basic mathematics and geometry have always been inseparable from ritual studies."
She put away her notebook:
"Mr. Hamilton, you are very good. Now I can ask this question - are you interested in becoming my apprentice?"