Chapter 2039: Miss Illustrious

"Bella's teacher died of natural causes."

Miss Jia Lin Na sighed:

"Originally, that lady was the most senior witch in the Council, even older than Grandma Cassandra. I do not grieve for this; a natural death is the best ending for a mortal. She sensed her time was coming, summoned everyone to the Council in advance, and walked toward the end in our company. That lady was at the eleventh tier when she died, and her age seemed to be 270."

"270... Is this the normal age of death for a witch?"

"It is said that witches of the Fifth Era could live at least five hundred years once they crossed into the high tiers, but the Sixth Era has seen that shrink significantly. However, the number of witches in this era is small, and due to various reasons leading to shortened lifespans and premature deaths, it is impossible to calculate an average for normal conditions."

She leaned slightly closer to Xia De on the sofa, and Xia De felt the perfume on her smelled very pleasant.

"In the current Council, the vast majority of witches are genuine 'young people.' This is the era with the strongest average strength for the Witch Council since the beginning of the Sixth Era, and also the era with the lowest average age. And you, my dear knight, appeared quietly in such an era, and then, while we weren't paying attention, slipped right into our hearts."

Golden eyes looked at Xia De, and she smiled as she picked up a peeled orange segment from the coffee table and stuffed it into Xia De's mouth, her right hand already holding Xia De's left.

"I didn't slip in; I broke in openly and honestly."

Xia De corrected while chewing the orange in his mouth, so the Duchess thought for a moment, an increasingly charming expression appearing on her face:

"Yes, yes, then tonight, would you like to try... breaking into me again?"

The black-haired maid at the side had already walked over holding an exquisite red box; the box opened, and the 【Leaf of Eternal Youth】 was presented to its master.

(Little Mia is running...)

The arrival of Monday meant that the Moon of Sun had reached its final day, and also meant that tomorrow was the day the St. Byrons off-campus practice group would arrive in Tobesk.

And just as the brand-new week began, Number 6 St. Deran Square in Tobesk gained a blanket—not expensive, but very warm—as a gift for the week, while Xia De gained the weekly task of carefully taking care of the pet.

As for the distant West Coast city of Moon Bay, it remained exceptionally dim due to being shrouded in black clouds. Located in the southwest of the city, near the dock area, the "Moon Bay Ship Museum" opened on time at nine in the morning, and subsequently welcomed the outsider who had come to visit. The museum was not large, with only three floors in total including the ground level. The "Seagull Lane" where it was located was not a bustling area of the city, so early on Monday morning, the museum appeared very deserted.

The exhibits in the Ship Museum were, of course, all related to ships, among which the "Ancient Shipwreck Relic Area" was on the basement floor and occupied only a very small portion. Most of the museum's exhibition areas displayed the development of the Moon Bay dock area and the progress of ship improvements over the past century.

Scale models of ships made of wood and metal appeared exceptionally exquisite in glass display cabinets. In a fish tank, a model of an old-era pirate ship raiding a merchant ship was continuously demonstrated using steam-powered mechanisms. This was very attractive to Xia De, and he wanted to get a set for his home, but thinking that the hyperactive cat might fall in and be in danger, he dismissed the idea.

The oil paintings and black-and-white photos on the walls, featuring ships from different countries, regions, and eras, seemed to allow him to experience in just a few dozen minutes the wisdom and sweat humans had poured into the maritime industry, a long scroll of poetry written through generations of effort. And the leaf specimen brought back from the New Continent after the first Carcen-Rik people landed there served as the center of the museum's "Modern Exhibition Area," illuminated by a spotlight to highlight its significant importance.

The meeting time agreed upon with the witch was ten in the morning, so Xia De had plenty of time to slowly tour the place. And when he finally arrived at the location of the two deck fragments of the "Radiant Messenger," he had expected some special discovery, but what he actually saw were just two pieces of decaying wood that looked as unremarkable as the ones in the adjacent display cabinet.

If not for the label outside the display cabinet, they would be no different from rotten wood in a trash heap.

Because there was no one around, Xia De even quietly used the "Key of Doors" to open the glass display cabinet and touched the two pieces of wood with his hand, but still found nothing special.

As for the label on the display cabinet, it simply read 【Ancient Shipwreck Relics Found on the Seabed (Number 5410)】, and the perfunctory attitude was easily discernible.

"That's right, if these two boards really had a problem, the Church would have discovered it long ago."

Although there were no discoveries for the time being, Xia De still wanted to take these two boards back to study them carefully; after all, to let Miss Theresa and the others leave the Lightless Sea, he had to figure out the cause of the "Radiant Messenger's" sinking. However, he did not choose to steal, but wanted to discuss with the museum staff whether it could be purchased... if not, he would consider other means.

And just as he turned to prepare to return from the basement to the first floor, other visitors had already appeared in the museum. Although this museum didn't sound very interesting, the wealthy city of Moon Bay never lacked idlers and socialites who liked to frequent museums and art galleries.

Having arrived smoothly at the museum curator's office, after explaining his intentions, the elderly curator—who was wearing a black suit, had graying hair, and was short and stout—hesitated for a moment:

"Chen Lie number 5410, ah, that is a bit difficult to handle."

He let Xia De sit down first, then stood up and rummaged through a filing cabinet on the side of the office to find a record:

"This exhibit was donated to us many years ago. Although it is called a donation, in reality, we do not have ownership, only the right to exhibit it. The ownership of the wooden planks belongs to the descendants of the old captain who brought back these remains all those years ago."

Xia De blinked:

"So it wasn't the church after all."

After saying this, he added:

"I learned about the information on this exhibit beforehand. I know that it was salvaged by the Dawn Sect back then, and later it was said that because the ship was attached with resentment, it was exorcised in the church for many years before being donated to the museum."

The old curator adjusted his glasses:

"That is indeed the case, but that was many years ago. The original owner was indeed the local Dawn Sect, but later, for some reason, it ended up being passed around, and the ownership of the remains changed hands several times along the way. In short, although it is currently on display here, their ownership belongs to Miss Illustrious."

"Illustrious? That surname is very rare. Miss Radiant? Oh, do you have that young lady's contact information here?"

Xia De asked again, and the old curator nodded:

"You don't have to go out of your way to find her; she is at the museum today. She comes here every week. You should be able to see her in the underground exhibition area. The young lady with an anchor silver ornament decorating her hat is her."

Xia De had just come from the underground exhibition area, but he hadn't seen this person; he must have missed her.

So he returned the way he came. This time, just as he walked down the stairs, he saw a young lady standing in front of the display stand holding those two wooden planks. She was wearing a blue silk dress that accentuated her waistline and was wearing a wide-brimmed hat decorated with a silver anchor ornament tilted to one side.

She looked to be around twenty years old, more mature than Yin Luna and Ajielina, but younger than Luweiya, Princess Lei Qianya, and Duoluoqian. Her long hair was black, and her temperament was outstanding. Judging by her attire, one could tell she was definitely of noble birth.

When Xia De walked over and prepared to speak, the young lady also turned to look at him. Her deep blue eyes were as profound as the sea, and at the same time, those eyes seemed to smile on their own:

"Good day, sir."

She said to Xia De. Her pronunciation of the Kaisenrike language was exceptionally standard, only the phrasing of "Good day" sounded like ancient grammar:

"May I ask what you need?"

Her skirt, with its multiple layers of ruffles, covered her feet. This strange young lady seemed to be particularly fond of ships; besides the silver ornament on her hat, Xia De also noticed that she was wearing a silver anchor-shaped ring over her long gloves.

Xia De introduced himself:

"May I ask if you are Miss Illustrious? It is like this: I would like to purchase these wooden planks. I am John Watson, a writer traveling in the Old Continent. These two wooden planks give me very different feelings, and I would like to take them back to observe them myself; this will bring me inspiration."

The surrounding display cabinets were filled with wooden planks, anchors, cables, crew members' daily necessities, and navigation logs; there was even a rusted figurehead standing against the wall. There were only the two of them in the nearby area. The blue-eyed young lady's voice was crisp, and her smile was truly charming:

"You might be able to come here every day to find inspiration. Believe me, keeping them for yourself is not as good as appreciating them in the atmosphere of the museum. The exhibits here originally belonged to the sea, but now they have to be ashore. They should have long since merged with the sea. Since that is not possible now, it is better to stay here and, together with these equally pitiful companions around, quietly enjoy the last moments before rotting."

Although her words were very polite, the meaning was clearly that she did not want to sell, but Xia De still wanted to try to persuade her:

"Miss, why don't you listen to my offer? I know this is an antique, and I have also learned about the market price. How about 75 Jin Bang? This is definitely a high price, and if it's not enough, we can discuss it further."

The young lady with the beautiful blue eyes shook her head with a smile:

"I am truly sorry."

"Alright then... then, can you talk to me about the story of your family and these two wooden planks?"

Xia De asked again, even taking out a notebook and pretending to record:

"I want to find some writing material, for example, whether your ancestors left any records of salvaging the remains, or whether the elders have passed down any strange stories?"