Thunder, as a derivative element of the power of the "sun", is a common spiritual rune like light, earth, wind, water, fire, etc. In addition, in the supernatural system of the past era, manipulating elements has always been an important part of mysticism, so there are quite a lot of thunder magic. In fact, Shade saw a list of 50 magic items at once in the Black Raven Library with a maximum price of 200 pounds.
But in the end, Shade didn't buy anything. He planned to compare it with the magic in the college library. Although the Thunder Spirit Rune was not particularly compatible with his current ring warlock system, given the powerful attack ability of Thunder Magic, Shade was willing to let this spirit rune be associated with several more magics. His energy was limited, so he had to carefully consider what to choose.
After leaving the Black Raven Library, it was finally time for lunch. When Xia De returned home, he saw Yin Luna, who had changed into a blue dress, holding her handbag in front of her, waiting for him anxiously at the bottom of the steps of No. 6 St. Teresa's Square.
After having lunch with Mia and Yin Luna, the 17-year-old girl continued her mission in a good mood to visit other victims of theft in the university area. Xia De returned home and sent a letter to the address given to him by Miss Sylvia at the end of the Lake View Manor party, making an appointment to meet the witch to discuss his thesis.
Because he wanted the letter to be delivered today, Xia De went to the post office to send an expedited letter. When he walked out of the post office, he stood at the door of the post office and looked at the street view, thinking about where he would go in a while:
"Go home and look through Professor Manning's letters? Or go to Old John's Pawn Shop nearby and take a look?"
Looking at the two different roads on the left and right, Xia De chose to try his luck at the pawn shop.
On this sleepy afternoon, there were no customers at Old John's Pawn Shop. The owner of the shop was reading a book, and when he saw Shade coming, he first raised his eyebrows, then indicated that he had something to tell Shade.
"I'm not a rich man. I won't buy those relics that look fancy but are actually useless."
Xia De said immediately after he walked in. The old man looked unhappy:
"Detective, look at what you said. Am I that kind of profiteer? That's another matter. I have a commission here. Do you want to take it?"
"Commission? You also had something stolen here?"
"What's stolen? Who dares to steal from me?"
The old man with glasses shook his head, glanced at the door of the store, and made sure that no one was pushing the door, then he lowered his voice:
"It's not my personal commission, it's a commission from the monastery. Do you want to take it? The reward is very good."
He tapped the counter top with his fingers, causing the brass-framed magnifying glass next to it to tremble.
"What do you need me to do? Father John, you probably know many local ring sorcerers who are stronger than me, right?"
Xia De also became interested. He knew that Father John would occasionally seek help from familiar guests, but he didn't expect that it would be his turn this time.
"There are indeed many people who are better than you, but it's best to find a reliable person to do this."
The old man lowered his voice slightly:
“Do you know the Apna Library?”
Xia De raised his eyebrows:
"Of course I know. A small ring wizard organization has a bad relationship with the three major colleges."
And he is suspected to be in possession of one third of the stone tablet that "records the knowledge of enhanced time".
"The Priory has purchased a batch of... materials from the Apner Library. The delivery will be on Saturday night. Detective, I would like to ask you to help pick up the goods."
"Don't the Priory have a lot of people here?"
Xia De asked in surprise, but Old John shook his head:
"Don't think we are a large organization. I thought you knew that we are actually a special academic group. Other people in Tobesk have things to do or are not mature enough. Besides, we don't trust the Apner Library, just like that group of people don't trust us. For this matter, I want to find a strong, trustworthy, and capable person to do it. I think you are a good fit."
Xia De smiled and shook his head:
"Dad, what is the truth?"
"The Central Ring Warlocks of the Priory are busy. You are the only one who knows our true identity. And Schneider praised you for your ability to do things, so he wants you to go."
"Is that all?"
Xia De asked again, and the old man coughed awkwardly:
"Because you happened to come when I was looking for someone. And, from what I know about you, you are very obsessed with the house in St. Teresa's Square. I don't believe you would run away just for a box of information."
Old John said, without waiting for Xia De to refuse, he directly offered a price:
"It's 25 pounds. You just need to pick it up and deliver it to me. If there are other unexpected situations along the way, I can add more money."
As he said this, he took out a handful of change from the biscuit box under the counter, counted it, put back the three pence, and handed the rest to Shad:
"Give you the full amount directly."
"Are you so generous this time?"
Xia De swept the change in front of him and counted it carefully. It was exactly 25 pounds, not a penny more.
"Because this time the monastery paid for it, it can be reimbursed."
The old man said with a smile, knowing that Shade had agreed.
"Then why did you give me change? Was that also out of caution?"
Shad asked, looking up.
"No, I just have too much change and I'm too lazy to change it into whole bills."
The smile on his face made his wrinkles somewhat obvious. Among all the old gentlemen that Shade had met in this era, Father John had the youngest mentality.
With the arrival of Princess Margaret, the early winter of Tobesk City has become turbulent again. Father John obviously knows what happened at Lakeview Manor on Tuesday night, but he is unwilling to talk to Shade. He is clearly aware of the news that the Truth Society and the cultists they hired have come to the city, but probably because he does not want to mention the "chosen one", the old man is unwilling to talk to Shade on this topic.
As for the box of materials that Shade was asked to pick up on Saturday night, Shade asked about the contents indirectly, but Father John shook his head solemnly, signaling Shade not to ask. His attitude gave Shade reason to suspect that after sharing the fragments of the poem with the Truth Society, the Apna Library sold the materials to the Guiding Light Hermitage.
But he didn't think of reporting it this time. At least he wanted to see the information before making a decision.
"I feel I have reason to doubt whether the money the Order has provided for this task is exactly twenty-five pounds."
Xia De put the change into his wallet. He usually didn't use a wallet and kept the change in his pocket. His wallet kept his gun license and large bills, but the change given by Old John was too much.
"Are you looking down on me? How could I embezzle such funds?"
The old man snorted, then asked suspiciously:
"But I heard that you have been hooking up with a foreign princess recently. Why would you care about a few pounds?"
"Who told you this rumor?"
"That's what the newspapers say, and that's what the downtrodden nobles who often come to me to pawn their family antiques say."
"No, no, that's not the truth. I have nothing to do with Princess Margaret."
Old John smiled and didn't continue talking. Shade didn't know whether he was joking with him or really believed the rumor.
As the two were talking, Dr. Schneider unexpectedly came to the pawn shop to pick up the tinderbox-shaped alchemical item that he had ordered from Old John.
The doctor was somewhat surprised to see Shade here. He greeted him and, while Father John went to the second floor to pick up the goods, the doctor asked the young detective:
"Shad, would you like to come with me to see a patient later? He's an interesting patient, maybe you can help him."
"What mental illness is this time... bulimia again?"
Xia De was shocked.
"Oh, detective, don't scare me, of course not. This time it's paranoia, of course, with some other atypical symptoms."
The doctor shrugged his shoulders, and because he was worried that Shade didn't know the symptom, he explained:
"The so-called paranoia is the constant fear that someone wants to murder you. This patient is from another place. I have been treating him for three weeks. So far... there is some effect, but it is not very effective. I am afraid that continued treatment will not be able to play a big role, so I would like to ask you to help me look at it from a detective's perspective. Maybe you can find something else."
Xia De thought about it:
“Will it take a long time?”
He also planned to go back and look through Professor Manning's letters.
"Just an hour or two."
The doctor took out his pocket watch and took a look:
"But not in my clinic. The treatment location is at the Three Cats Inn in the north of the city. The patient believes that the place where he lives is the safest. Some time ago, I tried to persuade him to go to the tavern opposite the Redwich Field to chat, but he refused."
"No problem, but are you sure this is just an ordinary patient?"
Xia De asked doubtfully, and the doctor nodded immediately:
"Of course, I've been in treatment for three weeks and nothing has happened."
Xia De didn't ask any more questions. Although Dr. Schneider's luck was bad, not every patient would be involved in the occult or relics. If it only took an hour or two to help the doctor, Xia De would certainly not refuse.
Since he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he decided to go see the doctor.
After saying goodbye to Old John, Shade and Dr. Schneider took a carriage to the Three Cats Inn. When they got off the carriage at the Anthem Square, the doctor took the initiative to pay the fare. The patient with "paranoia" paid a very generous fee for the treatment, and it was the doctor who invited Shade to help this time.
As the largest civic square in the North City slums, the Anthem Square was still so lively on Friday afternoon. When Shade and the doctor walked a few dozen meters towards the Three Cats Inn, people came over to ask, "Do you need to exchange gold pounds for Carsonrick crowns? The exchange rate is favorable," "Are you interested in playing Rhodes at night?" and "Do you have time to learn about the newly opened Pink Club?" But they were all driven away by Doctor Schneider.
Dr. Schneider's patient, Mr. James, lived on the third floor of the Three Cats Inn. He was reluctant to leave his room, but recently, probably because the treatment had some effect, he agreed to meet on the second floor of the Three Cats Inn.