Chapter 1312: Rumors at the Academy

By the time Xia De finally pushed open the door and stepped into the warm Abundant Earth Inn in the city center that evening, it was already nearly five o'clock. Today was Monday, and he had a meeting with Emilia, the elf girl from Saint Byrons, in a little while, which was why Xia De hadn't gone directly to the Wang Erde Opera House.

Luvia hadn't finished work yet. Xia De, having braved the snow to enter the inn's ground floor, hurried to the counter to order a cup of hot tea. Because he hadn't eaten lunch, he also ordered a bowl of vegetable cream soup and a grilled steak, only then sitting down at a table against the wall, listening to the bard's singing, and truly relaxing.

It was about an hour until dinner time, so there weren't many people on the ground floor of the inn. By the time Luvia entered the inn, the snowy streets were already bustling with pedestrians, and the Abundant Earth Inn was also filled with the din of voices.

The purple-eyed girl spotted Xia De reading a newspaper at a glance. When she sat down opposite him with her small lady's handbag, she was quite curious about what he was reading.

"The *Randall Flower Evening News*, page five gossip."

As he spoke, he handed the newspaper to Luvia. Luvia smiled as she looked at the photo on that page. The profile showed Miss Bernice and a disguised Xia De; the location was suspected to be the corridor of the Wang Erde Opera House. The two were holding hands, looking as if they were on a secret date, appearing very intimate:

"I didn't expect it to actually make the papers. That lady really is bored."

She didn't express an opinion on this matter. After putting down her teacup, she looked at Xia De:

"How was the harvest today? The trip to the Watson Manor shouldn't have been a waste of time, right?"

"Of course not. My luck was quite good, and my harvest was abundant. I even encountered the demon's true form; it wanted to commission me to complete a task."

He told Luvia not to be surprised yet, while inwardly pondering the information he had gleaned from the long-haired Luvia of the past—that is, Sunday night. Since he hadn't been able to tell Luvia those things this morning, he could now use the demon's mouth to recount a portion of it:

"It can basically be confirmed that that guy's arrangements regarding Osenfort were not just to influence Karsenrik; they are also related to the Chosen One."

"The demon and the Chosen One are linked?"

Luvia said, her eyes scanning the surroundings to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, but in reality, she wasn't very surprised. After all, this wasn't the first time a demon had interfered in the affairs of the Chosen One:

"What exactly did it plan?"

Luvia lowered her voice slightly, and Xia De shook his head:

"I don't know for now, but there is a major problem with Stone Osenfort himself."

Otherwise, the long-haired Luvia of the Past Era—the Sixth Era—wouldn't have said, "In order not to let Osenfort get there first."

"The first in line is the Guardian whose situation is currently unclear; the third in line is Miss Lassus. Do you think the second in line is him?"

Luvia asked suspiciously:

"But he isn't a Ringed Shushi... I understand. Although he isn't a Ringed Shushi, according to what you said, he can also use supernatural power, so that matches up."

"I'll plan it out this week. If possible, I'll let you see him from afar, but you absolutely must not..."

"Must not make direct contact with him; you've already said that many times."

Luvia said with a smile.

Xia De shook his head noncommittally. After the waiter brought hot tea for the two of them, he continued:

"Also, the day after tomorrow, which is Thursday, can you take a leave of absence? The two ladies from the Opera House are going to leave the city with me to find some things in that Night Temple again. I hope you can help me."

"Of course, otherwise there would be no meaning in me staying in this city."

Luvia immediately agreed to Xia De, so Xia De then talked about encountering the Ringed Shushi of the Zhengshen Sect after he left the Watson Manor. She thought Xia De had handled it correctly and used this to determine that Iluna should receive orders to go on a business trip to Randall Valley within this week:

"The matter of the Earth Chosen One, although the intensity of the confrontation seems far less than the Pantanal Xiewu matter now, this time it is even more dangerous. Even if the Pantanal Xiewu went out of control, it would only affect one area. If this matter is not handled well this time,"

"the entire material world..."

The purple-eyed girl didn't continue, but looked at Xia De. Xia De nodded:

"The materials needed for the banquet ritual—spring leaves, flowers, fruits; autumn flowers, stones, souls—the Council's witches will help me collect them. Once I learn the details of the third ritual from the Ruchong Sect, I will set off immediately to Huntington to find the Lady of the Lake and seek the enlightenment of wisdom."

"The Chosen Ones have their own destinies. Our special preparations might not be important. Your focus should still be on the demon. Perhaps in the end, you will have to stop the demon alone, allowing the Chosen One to perform the ritual."

After so many things last year, Luvia had also understood Xia De's power.

"If that's the case, that's for the best; Iluna can go assist the Chosen One. Of course, that's on the premise that the truth of the Chosen One is exactly the same as my current guess... Over here!"

He suddenly waved to the entrance of the inn. Even though her pointed ears were disguised, the elf girl, whose face was still beautiful, had already arrived.

"Good evening, you two."

Miss Emilia Sianode showed great excitement every time she could leave the Academy and come to Randall Valley. This wasn't because she liked this city more than the Academy, but purely because of the thrill of sneaking out without anyone discovering her.

"Good evening."

Xia De and Luvia also greeted her. Xia De called the waiter to order food for the three of them. Because he had long known from Miss Olanode that the rumor that elves didn't eat meat and only ate vegetables was a complete fabrication, he ordered a sumptuous dinner for the elf lady who had crossed the valley streams.

Actually, they could have gone to a better place in the city to eat, but the elf lady had specifically instructed not to go to such trouble.

"How has it been in Randall Valley recently? Is there any fresh news here?"

The blonde elf asked the two curiously. Luvia then handed over the newspaper. Emilia took a look and said in surprise:

"I didn't expect that Miss Vanessa Bernice finally had a scandal. Speaking of which, the first time I saw you, it seemed to be her..."

The young elf pursed her lips, looked at the newspaper, and then looked at Luvia, who was sitting with Xia De and clearly had an unusual relationship with him, so she stopped talking.

"Miss Bernice is also our friend, a very good friend."

Luvia said. Xia De looked at her with some surprise, and then nodded.

"In a while, we are going to borrow a horse from her. I'll send you out of the city."

"Oh, no, no, I can just leave the city by myself."

The elf lady immediately shook her head, but Xia De's attitude was very firm:

"Some major events have happened in the city, and it's no longer as safe as it used to be. I'll send you out of the city in a while; don't refuse me."

The blonde elf girl wanted to say something else, but seeing Xia De's expression, she only muttered a few words about being treated like a child again and didn't object further:

"So, what happened in the city last week?"

After dinner was served, Xia De and Luvia recounted the accident at Eldron Lake last week from a third-person perspective. Xia De also talked about his encounter at Watson Manor during the day.

Of course, for the sake of everyone's appetite, he didn't explain in detail what the Watson family's dinner was like:

"Major events are about to happen in Randall Valley. I think the Academy should also be planning to send professors here."

Xia De concluded at the end of the story, and the elf girl, who was engrossed in the story, nodded belatedly:

"It's truly amazing that there are such stories around the Ringed Shushi outside the Academy... Oh, I heard that Miss Dannister is leading the team to Randall Valley City this time."

"Wait, why is it Miss Dannister again... I mean, I heard last year that she was on a business trip at the end of winter, why is she going on a business trip again now?"

Xia De only then remembered that he shouldn't know about the Pantanal matter.

The elf girl used a fork to spear some fish and said to the two of them, pretending to be mysterious:

"I heard that the Schluch Lake Higher"

"Medical Academy has also sent a 13-Ring Dean here. Ling also heard that all three major academies have sent people to Randall Valley to find the founder of Saint Byrons, the legendary Miss Mana Feilianna."

It seemed the students were well-informed, but not well-informed enough.

"But isn't Miss Feilianna a person from the previous era?"

Luvia asked, holding a spoon.

"Yes, yes, I don't know the specific situation either, it's just gossip among the students in the Academy. I heard that that lady somehow came to our era and is looking for her thirteen disciples... What kind of interesting stories will such a noble, beautiful, intellectual, elegant, and gentle lady have in our era?"

The elf girl said in a daze, probably imagining some impossible things.

This week, Emilia was still helping Xia De look for the statue of the Ancient God of Space in the Academy. Unfortunately, Saint Byrons was simply too big, and even the places she could normally enter and investigate hadn't been fully checked yet.

However, at least Emilia brought the news that Miss Dannister was coming here, and it was confirmed that she would leave the school on Wednesday afternoon:

"I went to the library to return books yesterday and saw a new notice for recruiting student administrator assistants on the bulletin board at the library entrance. Under normal circumstances, only three student administrators are needed, but now three temporary assistants are being recruited, and it starts from Wednesday afternoon. The treatment is quite good; it must be because Miss Dannister is away for the time being."

The elf girl said familiarly:

"Miss Dannister has very high requirements for student positions in the library, but the treatment is also the highest. I submitted my application this afternoon, hoping to pass."

After dinner, Xia De gave her a brand-new collection of poems written in Ancient Elvish. Emilia looked very embarrassed because she felt she hadn't been of much help all along.

Therefore, when Xia De proposed this time that he wanted to buy some "Elf Purified Water" materials from her, the elf girl agreed immediately:

"No problem. When feeding the unicorns, some Elf Purified Water needs to be mixed into their dinner. I'll skim some off; no one will notice."

She didn't seem to be doing this for the first time. Xia De hoped those little beasts wouldn't mind.

"Then, next Monday night, is it okay to send it here again?"

The elf girl asked again, but Xia De shook his head this time. His Time Key opening time was Wednesday morning. It was now the middle of the Star-Sparse Month, and it was only a little over half a month until spring officially arrived. He had to complete the Time Key task as soon as possible; the 【Night】 Spirit Rune was of great help to him:

"Is the day after tomorrow okay? That is, Wednesday. I'll go outside the city to get it, so you don't have to enter the city, and the materials are needed urgently..."

Emilia thought for a moment:

"Of course it's okay, but I can only come after the sun sets. Then Wednesday night, the same valley woodland where we first met."

"No problem, this is a huge help."

Xia De said with a smile, while inwardly pondering whether the fact that she could only come at night was related to the opening time of that secret passage.

Xia De didn't stay in Randall Valley for too long that night. After sending the elf girl out of the city, he went to the Wang Erde Opera House and talked with Luvia, Miss Bernice, and Miss Lassus for a while. He handed the "Conservation" and "Memory" Holy Grail, whose functions he couldn't figure out, to the witch and asked her to help identify them, only then returning home from the Forgotten Church.

Of course, he didn't bring that old photo of the Watson family back home, but left it at the Forgotten Church, pressing it with a stone next to Mr. Lassus's stone statue.

Because he had agreed with Dorothy in the morning to stay overnight at home, the writer lady was already at St. Theresa Square. When Xia De carried Mia, who had happily come downstairs upon hearing his voice, upstairs, Dorothy put down the fountain pen in her hand at the desk in the study, rubbed her wrists, and also came to the living room to welcome Xia De:

"You're back, right? A guest visited you this afternoon."

"Hmm? Who came to see me?"

"A client. I received that lady and wrote down the information."

She handed Xia De a piece of paper:

"It's not a big deal, just finding a lost cat. It just so happened that I had nothing to do in the afternoon, so I took Little Mia out to take a look, and then we really found that cat."

As she spoke, she also praised Little Mia:

"Little Mia is really smart. I saw that lost cat at the street corner, but that cat was licking its paws and sunbathing on the roof. I was originally thinking about how to get it down, but as a result, as soon as Little Mia meowed, the cat was so scared that it fell from the roof into the snow pile below."

Dorothy smiled and gave Xia De a hug:

"It seems that the detective's cat is really amazing."

"So well-behaved."

Xia De also smiled and stroked the cat's head. Little Mia had an expression of great enjoyment:

"I actually came back once this afternoon to send a letter to Priest Ao Gu Si, inviting him to meet tonight."

"The priest is coming here in a while?"

Dorothy was a bit surprised, and then immediately said:

"I'll go into the bedroom in a while and close the door. You must not say that I am here... Oh, I'll go downstairs first and hide my shoes and coat. And the manuscripts and notebooks in the study, really, Xia De, why didn't you say so earlier."