Complaining about his laziness in his heart, Shad carefully let go of Luvia, but the action of getting up still woke up the purple-eyed girl. Luvia, Dorothy and Leicia all knew that Shad had the habit of getting up on time, so they were not surprised that he woke up now.
"Luvia, you come and pick a few."
Sitting up, Shade took the wooden box from the bedside table, opened it and handed it to Luvia. Luvia was sleepy but did not leave the warm quilt. She asked Shade to put the wooden box on the pillow:
"Really, waking up with girls and immediately giving them beautiful jewelry and ornaments, where did you learn this bad habit, detective?"
Despite saying this, she still lay on her side and took out a purple gem, the color of which was very similar to her eyes.
Shad did not respond to Luvia's teasing. He looked around and didn't see Mia. He didn't remember where the cat was last night, but he remembered that Luvia's new pajamas were very beautiful.
"Mia?"
After he got dressed and walked out of the bedroom, he saw the cat in the air, looking at him pitifully. The reason why it was in the air was because Shade had not put away the palm-sized stone slab with silver corners last night. Now the cat was lying on the stone slab floating in the air.
It was not the first time that Luvia stayed overnight at Saint Teresa Square, so she stored some of her clothes in the astrology room reserved for her on the third floor. She did not need to rush home to change clothes this morning, so she had breakfast with Shade and then went to work at Silver Cross Avenue.
In fact, because St. Teresa's Square was closer to Silver Cross Avenue, she didn't have to worry.
During breakfast, Shad mentioned that the "Lady of the Lake" promised him that he could get a gift or bring a friend to see her after completing each of the first three trials. The first time Shad brought Sister Defulin, Shad now had two chances left.
Father Augustus is unwilling to see another angel, so the doctor can be asked again. Although Dorothy and Lesia are also very special, they cannot use the magician's escape box that only high-level sorcerers can use.
Although Luvia was lower in rank than the two princesses, Shade believed that she had a way to use the relic, so he asked Luvia about her wishes during breakfast. But to his surprise, Luvia refused without even thinking:
"I don't have any questions to ask, nor do I have any wishes that only others can help me fulfill. I will not take the initiative to meet anyone who may be related to higher-dimensional beings. Yes, Shade, thank you for your kindness, but I think you can give this opportunity to others."
She said it with such a firmness that Shade, who wanted to ask the reason, couldn't speak. But thinking about it carefully, this should be related to the time curse on Luvia. She was rejected by time and was not affected by the time when the unknowable relic was retraced. Although Shade still didn't know what Luvia had done to be so special, he thought she must have destroyed something important.
Today, Shade was still busy, but he still didn't dare to leave his precious Mia at home. He wanted to send her to Miss Carina's manor for "refuge", but Luvia took the initiative to take care of the cat for a day:
"I took it to the Prophet's Association. The Association does not forbid bringing cats to work. Besides, doesn't it fit the stereotype that fortune tellers own a cat?"
The girl with purple eyes said, and Mia was unwillingly carried away by her.
While completing Old John's delivery mission on Saturday night, Shad helped the ring wizard of the Apner Library escape the pursuit of the church, and accidentally discovered Sir Sharpley, the "Moon of Guidance", who was suspected to be an academic spy.
When sending the guy who was injured by the church ring warlock to 21 Ikem Street in the University District of Tobesk, Shad proposed a deal, and Tuesday morning was the time the two parties agreed to meet.
The reason why they agreed to meet in the morning was that only by wearing a black robe in the morning could one avoid being discovered in such a neighborhood. When Shade knocked on the door of No. 21 in the morning fog, the door was opened almost immediately.
He walked into the room in a flash, and then complained quietly to the man who opened the door:
"Oh damn, you guys don't pay for city heating?"
The temperature inside the house is actually colder than outside.
The person who opened the door for Shade was a ring wizard he had never seen before. When shaking hands, Shade confirmed that his level was six rings, the same as Dr. Schneider. He was taciturn, called himself "Mr. Lebert", and led Shade directly to the study on the first floor.
Except for the space for the door and the window, the study room had bookcases on all four walls. A desk and a sofa set were placed on the floor, and tea sets were already placed on the wooden coffee table, but Xia De certainly would not drink the tea here.
The two didn't waste time exchanging pleasantries, and the conversation went straight to the point:
"The news on Saturday night was indeed leaked by us, which led to your capture by the Peace Church team. As compensation, I have already negotiated the terms with the gentleman from the Priory and will try my best to complete the deal you proposed. Sir, what do you need?"
Xia De was wearing a robe and a mask, and the voice behind the mask was very hoarse:
"I need a stone tablet. After the collapse of the Grey Sage's cult, some of them joined you. At that time, they not only brought you an astonishing number of books, but also some special items. Among them should be a stone tablet, which is roughly square, with bumps on the four corners. After touching it, there is a chance of obtaining spiritual runes or thaumaturgical knowledge."
According to the description of the stone tablets he had already obtained, Xia De said that there was no reason for the Gray Robe Sage to make the appearances of the three stone tablets very different. After confirming that one was a rectangle, the other two would not be round or triangular.
The man who entertained Xia De was silent for a moment:
"I'll go and confirm whether the item you described is still in our possession."
He got up and left. Shade sat alone in the empty room and opened today's newspaper on the coffee table. Mr. Lebert came back about half an hour later. I think he contacted the headquarters of the Apner Library:
"Yes, the slate is in our hands. We believe it is a book, but so far no one has been able to discover its secret. It is the same size as you described, there are no letters on either side, and the four corners are made of a material similar to ruby."
The corners of the slate in Shad's hand are made of metal silver. Since the one in the Apna Library is ruby, the corners of the last slate suspected to be in St. Byron's are most likely yellow. It is not certain whether it is brass or gold, but it may also be yellow sapphire:
"Oh, it's fine in your hands. Please name your price."
Mr. Lebert nodded:
"We never use money to judge the value of a book. We prefer to exchange things for things. Although we don't know what this stone tablet is, it must be an item from the last century. Its value..."
"Don't emphasize its value. I believe I know more than you. Please tell me directly what I have to pay."
Shad interrupted him.
"Books, valuable books."
"The gentleman from the Priory should have secured some convenience for me, so please tell me what book it is."
Mr. Lebert was silent for a moment:
"I have to admit that the old man from the monastery is really good at bargaining, but the value of the stone slab is not the same as cabbage in the market. You only need to pay a few manuscript books that record the knowledge of spiritual runes, and then you can make up for it with a large sum of gold pounds."
Shade thought it was very likely that Old John had bargained for the price himself. After all, although everyone liked gold pounds, sometimes the items that the ring wizards pursued were truly priceless treasures. The Apna Library generally did not accept cash transactions:
"If you need a book, is this okay?"
Shade reached into his pocket and took out the book "The Creeper in the Dark" which he found in the river cave yesterday and which could obtain the Snake Rune.
The spirit runes related to animals were totally incompatible with Shade's ring magician system. He himself had no intention of controlling snakes, turning into a snake, or turning into a bald man without nostrils or eyebrows. Other people around him were not suitable for this kind of spirit runes. Shade originally wanted to sell it to Mr. Edmund of Coldwater Harbor at the weekend, and now he took it out to try his luck. Unexpectedly, the man who was talking to Shade immediately recognized the origin of the book:
“Books about the Pantanal.”
Mr. Leibert muttered something and quickly flipped through the pages:
"It should be the 1795 translation. The word errors on pages 9 and 11 are the most important features of this version. Your book should be one of those translated manuscripts."
Then he sniffed again:
"The ink smells good. It is mixed with orchids that are unique to the Pantanal Swamp. As of 1853, there are no more than 27 manuscripts of this edition of the book. More than a decade ago, we got a copy of The Creeper in the Dark that was in very poor condition and missing a quarter of a page. We didn't expect to see a copy so well preserved today."
Shade noticed that as he quickly flipped through the book in his hand, his eyes emitted a faint blue light. This was not a magic eye, because Shade did not feel the whispering element. This should be a unique magic mastered by the Apna Library to check books.
“It’s considered stolen goods.”
Xia De emphasized it, and the man nodded:
"It doesn't matter whether it's stolen goods or not. We have professional skills in distressing and camouflaging."
Mr. Lebert placed the book on the coffee table between them:
"This is a good collection, but you have to know that this book is far inferior to the antiquities from the last century that you want to obtain."
He twisted his fingers at Xia De, who snorted:
"Of course, as long as the antiques are not from the Sixth Epoch, the price will increase exponentially. Tell me, how much should I increase the price? A few thousand pounds? Tens of thousands of pounds? Or, do you want me to help you do something else?"