Chapter 1509: Angel-Grade Humanoid Relic

Using the morning to handle the registration matters, at noon Xia De brought Mia home for lunch, then went to the Prophets' Association to find Luweiya, and asked for a portion of the "Eris Wool" taken out of the gift box last week.

He brought the wool, sealed in a silver box to prevent the misfortune property from affecting himself, and went to find Old John at the pawnshop. After explaining to the old man that he wanted to mix this wool with normal silk thread to make a lady's handkerchief, Old John looked at Xia De with suspicion:

"I say, detective, you're not planning to use off-field tricks to win next week's competition, are you?"

"What's so strange about that? Which year's competition doesn't have off-field stories?"

Xia De asked with a smile:

"5 pounds for the handwork fee, I want it before Sunday night."

"I won't charge you for the handwork fee, I want information."

The old man lowered his voice, leaning forward slightly behind the counter:

"A Ring-wielder like you, if you wanted to use tricks to win, no one could stop you. Tell me, what place do you want?"

Xia De didn't answer, but asked another question:

"What are my odds right now?"

Old John laughed:

"Registration has only just begun, your odds are fluctuating a lot. But your reputation is very well-known, and Miss Lu Yi Sha's novels boast that your cold weapon combat skills and horsemanship are both superb. I think the final odds should stabilize around 1 to 1.7."

"I thought people thought I was sure to win."

"Detective, detective, don't be too careless. Tobesk has plenty of experts. So, what place do you actually want to get? Play it safe and settle for second or third to avoid having your identity suspected, or are you young and hot-blooded and determined to take first place?"

Xia De extended his right index finger:

"Since I've entered the competition, naturally I have to win."

The old man nodded knowingly:

"I see... but I'm warning you, the Wushen Sect will definitely be invited to send representatives to observe the competition."

"I won't rely on a Ring-wielder's abilities, I'm genuinely skilled at horsemanship and swordsmanship."

Xia De emphasized, and the old man accepted Xia De's wool:

"So you think you're definitely going to win, do you? No problem, come pick up your handkerchief on Sunday. This wool needs to be processed before it can be used, I don't want to bring trouble upon myself. If one day I see it in the corner of an accident report photo in the newspaper, I definitely won't recognize it."

"I'm not trying to kill anyone, I just want to teach an ill-mannered fellow a lesson."

Xia De shook his head, just about to take his leave, when unexpectedly Old John suddenly said:

"I don't know if you've heard, humanoid relics have recently appeared in the city."

"Oh?"

Xia De stopped his steps and turned to look at him:

"Last autumn, when Princess Margaret of Carson-Rik visited Tobesk, didn't humanoid relics also appear frequently in the city?"

He was referring to the "Secret Keepers" who provided trials.

"Not the same, this time they're very dangerous. It seems Doctor Shi Nai De hasn't told you yet—there are two in total, both angel-grade."

Speaking of this, the old gentleman from the 【Light-Guiding Hermitage】 also grew serious.

"What? Angel-grade? Two? In Tobesk city? Right now? Oh, what's happening here now?"

Xia De turned to look at the pawnshop's display window, worried that if he turned his head he'd see something strange on the street looking at him. But unfortunately he wasn't a Chosen One, and wouldn't suddenly fall into strange entanglements of fate—the street outside was currently empty.

"You be careful yourself. Of those two angel-grade humanoid relics, one is related to fate—I don't even know what it is, but it's extremely dangerous, and might not even be merely angel-grade.

The other was born in the Fifth Epoch, called 【Faceless Man】—a man in his twenties who claims his younger brother has gone missing and is searching for him. His true form has no facial features, but he can transform into the appearance of anyone he has touched. This thing's property is simple: he frequently changes into other people's appearances, then uses their identity, adopting methods befitting that identity, to search for his younger brother—by means not limited to placing newspaper advertisements, posting missing person notices, or asking passersby on the street. Once you come into contact with information about his search for his younger brother but fail to provide an answer—even if you just saw the newspaper news—you'll be affected by the relic's property and die within three hours. What he spreads isn't a simple curse; the information he spreads is itself a malicious force."

The old man looked at Xia De, understanding that he also knew how troublesome this kind of relic was:

"【Faceless Man】's concealment property is extremely strong, there's almost no method to quickly distinguish him when he's hidden. The Church has already begun controlling the news and advertisement content in newspapers distributed in the Tobesk area, and is strictly inspecting bards in taverns, to prevent a large-scale outbreak of disaster."

Because the method of searching for his younger brother is "befitting the replaced person's identity," there's no need to worry about the relic suddenly running into the street and loudly asking everyone. Fortunately, this era doesn't yet have those convenient and fast information transmission methods from the Outlander's memories, otherwise this relic's destructiveness would definitely be far worse than it is now.

"Besides the near-curse-like property, is the opponent's combat power strong?"

Xia De asked again.

"Yes."

The old man nodded:

"The method to deal with him is to wait. Every time he appears, as time passes, because he can't find his younger brother, he punishes himself—that is, gnaws on his own body, until he eats himself, thereby forming self-containment, and is reborn within 10 to 200 years. You can't easily pierce through his hidden identity, otherwise if this thing goes crazy it can eat anything—physical entities, energy, souls, even concepts it can briefly devour. He's nothing like those Secret Keepers from last year; contact with him is itself an extremely dangerous act."

"I've noted it."

Xia De nodded, saying with some worry:

"Tobesk has been peaceful for an entire winter, is something going to happen again?"

"Don't worry too much. Even in previous eras, every dozen or so years a major event like this would always appear."

Old John shook his head:

"You know about the Chosen Ones. Although the Chosen One of Balance, the Chosen One of Darkness, and the Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom have all had traces of activity in this city, that's because Tobesk is the most prosperous city and transportation hub in the northern Old Continent. I don't think the appearance of these two humanoid relics this time is a sign of some major event. Detective, let's be optimistic."

Xia De couldn't be optimistic at all.

Bidding farewell to Old John, Xia De took a carriage to Miss Jia Lin Na's estate to inquire about the information on the horse prepared for him. As for armor, although Miss Miss Difa said that morning that he could use any armor in Miss Jia Lin's collection room, and the Duchess could even introduce him to the city's armorer to temporarily buy a set, Xia De declined their kindness:

"I have a set of armor myself, I'll just use that."

What he planned to use was the set of golden armor that Miss Gao De had mailed him at the beginning of the Wind-Rising Month, which could be assembled into a lion shape.

That armor's design was quite exaggerated, but if you removed accessories like chains and head ornaments, besides the golden color, it actually looked alright. Xia De had tried it on at home, and that set of armor fit quite well, as if it were tailor-made for him, so there was no need to use other armor. The witch even joked, letting Xia De go to St. Byrons to borrow a unicorn for the competition, using illusion magic to conceal the horn, but was refused by Xia De:

"That would be too unfair. Participating in the competition with my physical fitness is already quite inappropriate. Now the armor should be ordinary, and the horse should be ordinary."

The above was the conversation at the breakfast table in the morning. When Xia De arrived at Miss Jia Lin Na's estate in the afternoon, neither the Duchess nor Miss Miss Difa was there, so he didn't linger, and returned home directly.

Thus this somewhat boring Friday was spent, and Saturday arrived again at the time for the study group.

Last week because Xia De had just recovered from a serious illness, the meeting location was changed to his home. But this time his illness was already cured, so the meeting location was still Doctor Shi Nai De's clinic.

Because he had received the doctor's reminder on Friday night that the professors conducting the background investigation from the academy would also appear this afternoon, Xia De put on formal attire in advance before taking Mia out.

He had thought he was the earliest to arrive, but unexpectedly when he saw the doctor at one o'clock, Father Augustus, Luweiya, and Dorothy had all arrived as well.

Everyone was dressed very formally, and this time the doctor did not ask them again whether they were ready.

The group that came to conduct the correspondence occultist background investigation and inquiry work consisted of three people in total. The doctor had obtained the list in advance: Professor Andor of the College of Chemistry, Associate Professor Kosparia of the College of Theology, and Mr. Luen, secretary of the Student Affairs Office.

The group of professors arrived punctually at half past one that afternoon at the door of Doctor Shi Nai De's psychological clinic. They had made appointments in advance under the identity of patients, so the young doctor at the clinic led them directly up to the second-floor reception room.

Professor Andor was an old gentleman who looked to be in his fifties, rather short in stature, wearing a black top hat. When Xia De shook his hand, he judged him to be Ring Eleven or Ring Twelve. Associate Professor Kosparia and the recording secretary, Mr. Luen, looked comparatively younger, and even the secretary from the Student Affairs Office was already at the rank of Ring Five.

Doctor Shi Nai De had already drawn up the order in which each person would be interviewed individually, with the inquiries to be conducted in sequence according to enrollment time. Xia De had the shortest tenure in the group, so he was scheduled for last.

Each person's interview was planned for thirty minutes, but aside from Luvia, everyone else finished their individual inquiry in just over twenty minutes. Luvia's inquiry, however, lasted a full fifty minutes; when she came out, her expression was somewhat grave, and yet of all the people, she should have been the one with the fewest questions.

When Xia De's turn came, it was already close to four in the afternoon.