Chapter 102: Steam Bird Daily

When they arrived at Pig Tail Alley in the north of the city, it was already noon. Although it is called an alley, the width is enough for a carriage to pass through. On both sides of the alley are towering old buildings, vines crawling all over the outer walls, almost integrated with the steam pipes. This is the unique style of the city in summer, coupled with the birds chirping and the fireworks smell of cooking that can be vaguely smelled in the alley, this kind of place with a heavy atmosphere of life really suits Xia De's appetite.

Of course, he would absolutely not move out of St. Theresa Square.

Due to the sunshine, the interior of the apartment is damp and dark. The smell of the corridor is already a bit unpleasant, and in the space lacking ventilation methods without windows, the smell of sweat, food, and un-dried clothes mixed together, making people very uncomfortable.

When walking up the stairs while chatting with Captain Lades about the customs of the southern part of the kingdom, he saw an adult cat that was snow-white all over but dark near its right eye jumping down from the stairs. It looked a bit thin, but its limbs were very slender, and it was not afraid of strangers.

After looking at the captain and Xia De, it bypassed them and continued to walk down.

This cat looked not as clean as Little Mia; probably its owner did not clean it often.

"This is the cat raised by old Mrs. Cullen downstairs. It is usually very fierce to ordinary people. Why is it so obedient this time? Detective, it seems the cat likes you very much."

The captain said curiously, and then continued to lead Xia De upstairs. Captain Lades lives on the second floor, sharing a washroom with five other residents.

The wooden floor of the second-floor corridor has warped due to dampness, making a creaking sound when stepped on. When Xia De was looking at the environment here, the captain had already opened the door of Room 3 on the second floor. Following him in, Xia De saw at a glance the empty wine bottles piled up on the desk.

The middle-aged captain laughed awkwardly.

The room is very small, functioning as a bedroom, study, dining room, reception room, etc., at the same time. The furnishings are very similar to the room of Peter the Dwarf Mouse.

A single officer, of course, cannot clean the room often, so it looks a bit sloppy. But at least there is not too much odor; he often opens the window for ventilation.

Captain Lades greeted Xia De to find a place to sit at will, while he went to rummage through the piles of miscellaneous paper boxes in the corner. With a cautious attitude, Xia De used 【Echo of Blood】 to observe the room. Although there were indeed bloodstains, they were all from a long time ago and had nothing to do with the current tenant.

【Are you too cautious?】

A voice came from his ear.

"I can encounter an evil god even by participating in an ordinary banquet. Now I am worried about everything I do."

He answered this way.

His eyes looked casually at the dining table with unwashed bowls and newspapers, and he even found his own business card in the corner of the dining table. After getting permission, Xia De picked up the newspaper to check.

This is the "Steam Bird Daily." Detective Sparrow had not subscribed to this kind of newspaper, so Xia De was not very familiar with it. The date is today's. What is flipped on the top is the advertising section, with information circled in pencil. Captain Lades was probably looking for a job.

"If I hadn't chosen to stay back then, but left immediately after the former detective died, now if I were lucky, I would probably be living in this kind of narrow apartment, looking through newspapers for a job."

Xia De thought.

The sunlight shone obliquely into the narrow apartment from the window. The warm summer sunlight was very comfortable when shining on the skin.

The front page of the Steam Bird Daily reported that Queen Diana, who was about to return to the country, would take a ship along the west coast of the Old Continent, return from the Karsinrick Kingdom to Cold Water Port City, stay in Cold Water Port for a week, and then return to Tobesk.

Xia De was not interested in this. Flipping to the second page, it was actually an academic article published by Tobesk University, pointing out the abnormality of the stars recently. Flipping further back, it was a debate about the renovation of steam pipes in the old city of Tobesk. The commentator who published the editorial believed that the current plan was "a money-cheating plan of the municipal bureaucracy, a shameful conspiracy under the joint efforts of academic bureaucrats and political bureaucrats." Flipping again, it was still news and articles of the academic report type.

Only then did he understand that the "Steam Bird Daily" should be aimed at students and intellectuals in the Tobesk university district, or middle-class people with some learning.

"Hmm, this kind of newspaper is suitable for publishing my advertisements."

Xia De thought in his heart, and also noticed the notice of the academic report to be held by the Tobesk University Association. The notice stated that the report meeting welcomed social figures to participate.

He was actually very interested in the academic research of the university in the steam age, a real university, not the academic research of St. Byrons. He really wanted to understand the development of materialist science and technology in this era.

After all, Xia De was a student at a university in his hometown. If it weren't for the existence of mystery and extraordinary in this era, and the existence of power that made him yearn, Xia De would likely have spent the rest of his life in this world on steam machinery and basic physics and chemistry.

He could also be considered an intellectual. If he could find time in his busy Ring Mage studies, he would also be happy to participate in the scientific development of ordinary people's society. Especially, the steam machinery unique to this place was really fascinating.

"Professor Xia De Hamilton... a good title."

A slight smile appeared on his face, so he took out his notebook and recorded the specific date of the academic report, planning to go and see it when he had time.

Because he originally did not hold much hope of being able to find that accessory, when Captain Lades said regretfully that he might not be able to find it today, Xia De was not disappointed either.

Of course, since "the other me" could know which item was a Relic, he asked in his heart whether she could search for accessories from this narrow room, and then got this reply:

【You at least need to see that thing before I can perceive whether there are elements.】

But if Xia De could see that accessory, he wouldn't need to look for it at all.

Captain Lades and Xia De got along very well. Since he couldn't find the pendant for the time being, the captain wanted to invite Xia De to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, which could be considered a formal apology for his recklessness in Lake View Manor.

Xia De had received favors from the captain, and even survived the Heart Collector because of that Gun of Kindness, so he did not want the captain to spend money. He opened his mouth to say that he would treat, after all, that antique revolver was much more valuable than his formal suit.

When the two poor men were being polite to each other, they suddenly heard noise coming from Pig Tail Alley downstairs. A rough man's voice used very dirty vocabulary to say sentences that Xia De had no desire to translate at all.

Afterwards, gunshots rang out.

Xia De subconsciously wanted to hide, but the middle-aged military officer waved his hand indifferently, looking like he was used to it:

"It's okay, it's okay. This kind of thing often happens nearby, but it's rare in broad daylight. We'll find a place to eat in a while; this group of people will probably leave soon."

Living in the remote lower city, life is completely different from St. Theresa Square. ===== CHAPTER 103 =====