It was already late, and after leaving the riverbank, Shad did not stay in Huntington for long. He rode directly back to the White River Valley Vineyard and then returned home.
Because I wasted some time in the riverside cave, it was a little late when I got home. The lights of St. Teresa's Square were just turned on, and the warm yellow light of the gas lamps shone into the room through the curtains on the first floor.
Luvia, who had an appointment with Shade to have dinner, had already finished get off work. When Shade went up the stairs, she was playing with the cat in the living room. Shade had told the maid at the Carina Manor that the cat would be sent to the Prophet's Association in the evening, so he didn't have to go out of town to waste time.
Hearing the sound of Shade coming upstairs, the man and the cat went to the second floor door to greet Shade. Luvia saw Shade appearing at the corner of the stairs with a box in his hand:
"Shad, did everything go well in Huntington today?"
"It went smoothly. I found some things. It wasn't a waste of time."
He raised the box in his hand:
"Luvia, wait for me, I'll go change my clothes and then we'll go out for dinner. Oh, it's so late, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
He put the box in his hand on the cabinet at the door, then went into the bedroom to pick out clothes for going out.
"I'm not worried, but I'm afraid your cat is almost overwhelmed. I fed it some cat food, but it only ate a few grains."
Luvia said with a smile, and Mia followed Shad into the bedroom, wagging her tail. She happily jumped onto the bed to play with the "fish training ring" that Shad threw to her. Shad had rinsed the ring in the vineyard to ensure that there was no mouse smell.
Luvia originally wanted to follow him into the bedroom, but thinking that the night was still long and there was no need to rush, she casually opened the wooden box that Xiade had placed on the cabinet.
"Little Mia knew I was going out for dinner tonight, so she was waiting for a feast..."
"Oh~"
The wooden box was opened, and the purple-eyed girl felt that her eyes were immediately illuminated by the box of jewels. She sighed softly, inserted her slender fingers into the jewels and carefully examined them, confirming that the box was full of jewels, not just a shallow layer:
"Detective, did you go to Huntington this afternoon and rob an unfortunate jewelry store? Or did you rob the estate of some cruel nobleman?"
She looked at the carved wooden box:
"Or did you win this playing Rhodes?"
"Of course not. I found the base of a ring warlock who died more than ten years ago. This is his property."
Shad said vaguely, and Luvia heard him throw his clothes on the bed.
So, the purple-eyed girl held the wooden box and walked into the bedroom. The gas lamp in the master bedroom was bright, the curtains were closed, and Shade stood in front of the wardrobe next to the desk. The double doors of the wardrobe were open. He took out the white shirt held up by the hanger with his upper body naked, while Mia squatted on the bed. Or rather, the cat squatted on the clothes that Shade took off, looking at him with bright eyes, with an expression of expectation.
“Nice figure.”
Luvia looked at Shade's profile and praised him with a smile, then placed the box on the bedroom desk.
"Before we leave, check the coins inside. One of them is a relic, but I can't recognize it. It should only be a poet-level relic. I think its original owner didn't even know what it was."
Shad turned around and said, he put on his shirt and was about to button the first button of his collar when Luvia walked in front of him, held Shad's raised right hand with her left hand to stop him from buttoning the shirt, and placed her own fair right hand on his chest.
"Xia De, you really never have time to rest."
Luvia said, and Shade looked at her. The purple-eyed girl, who was close at hand, pulled her right hand down slightly, but her palm did not touch Shade's skin. She just rubbed it with the tip of her index finger, moved three or four centimeters and stopped at his stomach.
"Um... ... "
Xia De hesitated to speak:
"Are you going out for dinner tonight?"
"Of course, or your cat will be mad at me."
"It's not that smart... Well, it is."
Mia, who was squatting on the bed, had a sullen face and looked a little impatient.
"Let me help you button it."
Luvia said, leaving Shade's skin with her right hand, and working with her left hand to help Shade button his shirt. Shade opened his arms to make it easier for Luvia to move:
"I traveled a lot this afternoon and encountered a rat that swore. Although I did find a clue, I don't know if this clue can lead to the truth."
"Having clues means no time is wasted."
Luvia said, buttoning up the bottom button and taking another look at Shade's closet:
"Have you put away your summer clothes yet?"
"Yes, the maids that Miss Carina sends to help me clean the house every Saturday put the summer clothes in the cloakroom of the master bedroom and left me a note to explain the location. I have to admit that moving to this bedroom is indeed more convenient than the previous bedroom."
Luvia picked out a black warm vest and a thick coat from the closet and helped Shade put them on:
"We can talk about your adventure this afternoon at the dinner table later, or when we get back... Didn't you say you wanted to show me something that glows at night?"
She asked with a smile, pulling Shade's sleeve. Shade felt that Luvia still didn't understand what he meant, but explaining now was definitely not the right move, so he could only respond in silence.
The purple-eyed girl asked calmly:
"I said this morning that I bought new pajamas. Do you prefer purple or white?"
I like them all.
"She" knew exactly what Shad was thinking, but what Shad actually said was:
"It may be cliché, but I like you more, and it has nothing to do with pajamas."
Luvia hit Shade:
"Hurry up and get dressed, detective. Didn't the princess teach you these words?"
The smile on her lips was definitely not fake.
After changing his clothes, Shad carried the hungry cat and went with Luvia to the restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue where they had reserved a seat. While eating, Luvia listened to Shad's story about his afternoon experience while playing with the coin he found.
For her "special divination", Luvia specially collected and searched for the storage data of currency relics. Although Shade couldn't recognize what it was, she easily knew what it was after comparing and confirming it:
"Poet-level relic cat and dog coin."
She placed the gold coin upright on the table with one hand, twisted her fingers gently, and the coin began to spin. The coin was about the same size as a one-pound coin. Shade believed that the front side was a portrait of a strange woman, and the back side was the abbreviated symbol of the number "one", which is the basis of modern mathematical symbols.
The side of the coin is engraved with a circle of words:
Cats and dogs, you and me.
"Give this coin to any cat or dog. It can be a mixed breed, but the cat bloodline or dog bloodline must be more than 50%. If the other party is willing to accept this coin, it is equivalent to signing a contract. The creature that accepts the coin voluntarily becomes the pet of the creature that handed over the coin. It is absolutely loyal, absolutely reliable, dares to sacrifice, and will never betray. This relationship cannot be dissolved in any way before the 'master' dies. You can think of it as 'life money' for cats and dogs. It's interesting, isn't it?"
Luvia held down the coin that was about to fall. Shade, who was cutting a steak in red wine sauce with a knife and fork, glanced at Mia who was eating beside him.
"This coin can be used to enslave another soul?"
“You can understand it that way.”
Luvia nodded and glanced at Shade's cat.
"Is this a coin minted by the devil?"
"Yes, you guessed it right."
Luvia held the coin in her hand and raised it slightly. The light from the crystal chandelier above her head made it seem to glow:
"The negative characteristic is that once the coins are given, after both parties die, some kind of terrifying existence, probably the demon that minted these coins, will appear and take away the soul of one party, allowing the other party to continue on."
"Whose soul do you want to take?"
Shade asked with great interest, wondering if Dr. Schneider would be interested in this coin.
"It's up to the pet to decide. Yes, the pet decides whether to sacrifice its soul to protect its beloved master, or let the damned master's soul be taken away by the devil."
Luvia said softly, pushing the coin back to Shade. Shade thought of the stories about the Third Age demons told by his friend, demonologist Sean Asmon:
"They are really full of evil spirits. Miss Filianna is right. Cherish your soul and stay away from demons."
After dinner, Shad did not take Luvia home immediately. Instead, he went to the Dawn Church with her and donated fifty percent of the banknotes and coins he found in Huntington this afternoon to the church.
Now that winter has arrived, the church is collecting donations for the poor as usual, and the money will be used to buy relief food and post-snow relief supplies. The reason why Shade donated part of the cash was that it was not his money in the first place, and he decided to keep the box of beautiful jewelry, so he felt at ease to donate this unexpected income.
That night, Shad found an opportunity to show Luvia the flying stone tablet he had obtained, but Luvia didn't care at all and just vaguely said that it might be a key or something.
The girl was not interested in Shad's slate, but in her new pajamas. Luvia was obviously well prepared, so Shad, who wanted to read the books she found in Huntington at night, did not have the opportunity to go to the study to get the books until she turned off the lights and went to bed at two in the morning.
"Shade, Shade! How could you be so decadent and lazy? Have you forgotten the review plan for the year-end exam that you made earlier?"
So when Shad woke up early Tuesday morning, the first thing he did was complain about himself.