"Be your apprentice?"
Xia De looked at the other party in surprise:
“But I’m not a woman.”
"But you can use the power of a witch, and you are also proficient in space and mathematics. Miss Carina also praised your excellent ability and said that she is very relieved by your work. I can't think of anyone who is more suitable to be my apprentice than you."
Miss Sylvia enumerated Shad's merits one by one.
What she said was indeed reasonable, but Shad felt that being a correspondence student at St. Byron's was enough for him at the moment, and he was still thinking about the position of college librarian. Not to mention, if he really dared to agree to Miss Sylvia, he didn't dare to think about what Miss Carina would do:
"I am honored to be chosen by you, but I am sorry, I have no intention of becoming a witch's apprentice."
Miss Sylvia was not disappointed either:
"You can think about it for a while. The Speaker said that I am not mature enough and my talents have yet to be explored. Therefore, he asked me not to recruit apprentices before the eleventh ring. I can give you time to think about it... The Speaker said that I have the talent to touch the thirteenth level."
Miss Sylvia said, not looking like she was joking, she was really considering taking Shade as her apprentice.
"If I am not mistaken, that Princess Margaret is looking forward to becoming your apprentice."
Xia De pointed this out, and the witch shook her head slightly while holding the teacup:
"I said last night that the girl has no talent. I don't mean that she is stupid. She has a good talent as a ring wizard and works hard. But... she is not suitable to be my apprentice. The girls of the Anjou family are very ambitious, but they are really bad at academics. Besides, she is completely unable to touch the mysteries of space. This world only gives special talents to a small number of people, such as you and me."
The lady is very proud of her talent.
Xia De fully understood what she meant:
"Have you ever told her that?"
"Yes, I told her clearly, but she refused to give up. In fact, even if she didn't become my apprentice, I would be willing to guide her to go further on the path of a ring sorcerer, but no talent means no talent, and this cannot be changed."
"Does this have anything to do with our meeting here, rather than at the Rothschild estate where the Princess is staying?"
"Yes, it's better not to let too many people see you. I have very few followers, and some of them can see you, but Margaret is not one of them. I don't think Miss Carina would let all her followers know about your existence."
This also meant that Shad could not rely on the witch's relationship and approach the princess as Shad Hamilton. He still had to figure out the matter of "Guiding Moon" and "Grey-headed Eagle" on his own.
“Also, take this.”
The witch took an invitation from the side and handed it to Shade:
"Tomorrow night, Rothschild Manor will hold a farewell party. All the nobles in Huntington City will be invited to attend. I hope you can come too."
"Are you inviting me to participate in any special mission?"
"No mission. Yesterday I handed over the poison ivy Maggies of the Pantanal Voodoo Society to the church, but we still don't know why they attacked a count. I don't think they have the guts to attack the princess of the kingdom, but after all, we have to be safe, so if you can come, I will be less stressed. But don't take it too seriously. The church in this diocese will also send people to the banquet tomorrow night, and I will of course be there. You just need to show up at the party and pay attention to whether there are any strange things happening."
Xia De accepted the invitation:
"Sure, Saturday night? ... OK, I'll postpone it."
Then he asked again:
"Excuse me, what do you think of the legend of the 'Lady of the Lake' around the city of Huntington?"
Miss Sylvia thought about it and shook her head slightly:
"I have only heard of this legend, but I don't know the details. My followers are mainly active in Willendel. My teacher did not have long-term activities in the Huntington area during his lifetime."
Although it was a bit regrettable, Xia De also knew that it was impossible for everyone to provide information:
"I will consider the apprenticeship, but don't have too high expectations. Also, my local friend, yes, that vampire Mr. Bernhardt, also mentioned the power of the Pantanal Voodoo Society. I don't think that kind of loosely structured organization would dare to attack the earl of the kingdom. Is there any other possibility? For example, are they hired?"
"Before handing over the guy with a high bounty, I did interrogate him, but he was very determined and said nothing. The potion didn't work on him. However, judging from the current situation, the principalities around the Pantanal region seem to be a little dishonest, but we can't be completely sure that they are the ones. After all, once it is discovered that a secular regime has hired an illegal group of ring sorcerers..."
Miss Sylvia put down her teacup:
"The Inquisition of the Orthodox Church is no place to joke. Especially in the modern times when the epic poem is taking place, even if the mist of steam shrouds our civilization, the Inquisition is still the most terrifying institution."
"I hope this isn't the beginning of some big conspiracy."
Shade sighed and looked out the window with a frown. The shadow of war left the Old World decades ago, and only in the peaceful era could the prosperity of the steam revolution be born. In the summer, there was a rebellion within the Cavendish family, and Queen Diana was inexplicably assassinated in the street. Now, the death of the Earl of Carsenrick is related to the strange ring wizard organization. It seems that some people are unwilling to live in a peaceful era, and whether the smoke of war will ignite the Old World again is something that even outsiders cannot figure out.
Shade stayed in the Owl Library all Friday morning to chat with Miss Sylvia. This young witch with short black hair has made great achievements in contemporary mathematics research and has even published many papers as the first author. She also has a high reputation in the academic world of ordinary people, which is why she was hired by the royal family as a tutor for the princesses.
When it comes to the topic of space magic, Miss Sylvia also has brilliant insights and opinions beyond Shade's horizons. She has a very high level of attainment in space magic, and a simple conversation can point out many of Shade's confusions in the use of space power.
Of course, she couldn't figure out why Shade's "Ragrai Leap" lasted longer than that of an ordinary ring magician, but she immediately pointed out the key to the magic of "Space Stabilization Aura":
"Rather than thaumaturgy, this is more like some kind of strange divine magic. I suspect it comes from the ancient gods. Perhaps after looking up the information, we can find its source."
Although Shade rejected the proposal to become Miss Sylvia's apprentice, he was also happy to communicate more with this great witch. She was happy to share knowledge with Shade and even promised that when they arrived in Tobesk, she could temporarily serve as Shade's teacher and teach him some knowledge related to witch power.
Compared to Miss Carina and Miss Aurora, Miss Sylvia is indeed more like a scholar. She is extremely capable in her words and deeds. Her admiration for Shade does not come from his uniqueness, but because she thinks that Shade's logical thinking is just like that of a scholar and mechanical engineer who has undergone rigorous training:
"If you had not become a ring wizard, but had lived your life as an ordinary person, you would definitely be able to contribute to the scientific development of this era."
This is a very high evaluation.
Near noon, Miss Sylvia invited Shade to have lunch at the Owl Library Club, and then the two of them said goodbye. In the morning, Shade was convinced that the great witch had no hostility towards him, and even had a high degree of favorability, so he felt relieved.
After leaving the Owl Club, Shad officially began to explore the legend of the "Lady of the Lake".
According to the information provided by Mr. Edmund of the Priory and Mr. Bernhardt, the "Lady of the Lake" was not seen near a specific lake, but randomly appeared around many lakes between Huntington City and the Pantanal Swamp area.
Because of its proximity to the Pantanal region, the western part of Huntington City is home to many lakes, which is in stark contrast to the low hills and plains covered with vineyards in the east. The city could not expand into the swampy areas in the west, which resulted in the ancient western part of Huntington City not being able to catch up with the steam age, but it also retained the urban style of the old times.
Steam pipes run through here, but the ancient buildings also show the glory of Huntington in the old times. Tobesk is a real metropolis in the steam age, Coldwater Harbor is a paradise for adventurers, Midhill Castle is a mountain city, and Huntington is a city standing at the dividing line of the times, with vineyards, swamps, and steam mixed together.
The first stop for Shade was not to rush directly to the lake outside the city to try his luck. Mr. Bernhardt contacted a local folklore professor who studied the legend of the "Lady of the Lake" and claimed that he had really encountered the so-called "Lady of the Lake".
In fact, Bernhardt contacted more than one witness, but only this one was fluent in Delarion. Shad had no other choice. His Carsenric was not enough for him to have a long and professional conversation with the locals. You know, Miss Sylvia had been using Delarion just now.
“It seems like every time I arrive in a new city, my first stop is always to find the folklore professors.”
Shad thought in the carriage.
Professor Kansas Drake, whom Mr. Bernhard introduced to Shade, was an old professor who had retired from a local university. He had never married and therefore lived alone in a single-family house in the old town west of Huntington. It was not a street-front apartment that was common in this era, but a courtyard-style building with a courtyard, garden and independent warehouse, located in a special residential block. Although the total ground area was not as large as the land at No. 6 St. Teresa's Square, it was enough for an elderly person living alone.
Unlike those old but still energetic folklore professors that Shad had met before, Professor Kansas Drake, who used to work at Huntington College, had his legs disabled due to an accident and could only move around in a wheelchair.
So when Shad found the door of No. 21 on Green Algae Street in the west district of Huntington with his business card and rang the bell outside the gate, a fat maid in an apron opened the door for Shad.
Inside the fence are bushes trimmed into squares, and behind the bushes is a flat lawn. Although Professor Drake has crippled legs, he still seems to be living a comfortable and enjoyable life.