Chapter 2062: A Letter from the Plague District

Although she was unhappy in her heart, in the end Ajielina obediently picked up Xiao Xiao Miya and went downstairs. As for the cat not complaining, of course it was because it knew that if it didn't go downstairs, it would probably have to sleep in the wardrobe.

Sometimes Xia De would also wonder whether Saint Delan Square No. 6 was like a bigger wardrobe for Xiao Xiao Miya. But cats don't like real wardrobes, yet they like "home" wardrobes — that really is very strange.

At the breakfast table on Wednesday morning, he expressed his puzzlement to the two princesses. The radiant-looking Princess Lei Lei Qianya said casually:

"Home has more space, so Xiao Xiao Miya can run and jump around, and she can sunbathe. Of course home is better."

Ajielina, holding her milk and looking like she didn't really want to drink it, said:

"The wardrobe is a forced choice, home is a choice Xiao Xiao Miya made herself. People always like the things they choose themselves, even if in fact there's not much difference from a choice made under compulsion."

After speaking, she keenly noticed that Xia De and Lei Lei Qianya, and even the cat that had been lapping up sheep's milk at Xia De's hand, were all looking at her. She blinked:

"Mm... what is it?"

"Ajielina, I just didn't expect you to say something like that. Sometimes I feel like I've been underestimating you all along, or that you've been pretending to be innocent in front of everyone."

Lei Lei Qianya said while spreading jam on her bread. Ajielina then pouted, seeming a little unhappy, so Lei Lei Qianya added offhandedly:

"But it doesn't matter either way, you're still my little sister. Sometimes it's good that you're a bit more mature — you'll have to face this world on your own sooner or later. Whether it's Mother or me, we can't be by your side forever."

Ajielina's expression, which had looked angry, immediately vanished. She ate her breakfast with her head lowered, seeming a little sad. Because of that, she didn't see Lei Lei Qianya turn her head and wink at Xia De, looking very pleased with herself.

Xia De suspected Lei Lei Qianya was using a very novel "spiritual control method" on her own sister. Faced with Xia De's suspicion, the red-haired princess "viciously" threatened him:

"Don't go guessing randomly, I'm very good to Ajielina. Xia De, if you keep saying things like that... you don't want Jia Lin Na to find out that you praised my collarbones in bed as being prettier than hers and... more delicious, do you?"

After breakfast, the two princesses couldn't linger at Saint Delan Square No. 6 for long. Lei Lei Qianya kissed Xia De goodbye in the downstairs foyer, and egged Xia De on to kiss Ajielina's forehead as farewell. Xia De once again felt that Lei Lei Qianya was using a very special method to discipline her own sister.

The next time they met should be this Saturday. Last week Dorothea had performed a very vivid "moonlit mermaid at play" lesson for Xia De in the lake on Green Isle; this week it was Lei Lei Qianya's turn, and Xia De didn't know what she would do.

After seeing the princesses off, Xia De, while reminding himself not to think too much about "mermaids," was closing the door when he saw the young postman in charge of deliveries to Saint Delan Square hurrying over:

"Mr. Hamilton, lucky you're home, there's a letter for you!"

Panting, he handed Xia De the letter from Miss Gao De.

"Thank you, you didn't have to run so urgently... why is it being delivered at this time?"

As he spoke, he turned and took some change from the biscuit tin on the shoe cabinet where he kept his keys to give as a tip. The young postman, whose nose looked like a strawberry, declined, but in the end accepted under Xia De's insistence.

Saint Delan Square and the Silver Cross Avenue area are priority delivery zones in the city, so the postman's delivery time should be around six-thirty to seven, but now it was already eight in the morning.

"This letter was sent from the plague-stricken area on the East Coast. You know what's going on over there. Recently the Kingdom's Health Department and the Tobesk City Hall issued new regulations — all parcels and mail sent from plague areas have to undergo extra inspection and disinfection before delivery, so it's a bit late."

He patted the green satchel slung across his body, which still held quite a few letters:

"Mr. Hamilton, if you have any more letters coming from around there recently, they should be delayed too. I won't keep you, I still have other letters to deliver. Have a good day."

"You too, have a good day's work. Oh, are there any requirements for letters sent from Tobesk to the plague area?"

"There aren't, actually."

The young postman waved goodbye to Xia De as he spoke, then hurried off toward the other end of Saint Delan Square.

"Meow~"

A soft, gentle meow came from behind his feet. Turning his head, he saw Xiao Xiao Miya poking her head out from behind the doorframe, looking up at him with her big amber eyes clearly asking why Xia De still hadn't closed the door and come inside.

"Xiao Miya, your owner Miss Gao De still doesn't know what's going on, it's really worrying."

He bent down and picked up the cat, who probably didn't know anything, and watched the morning Saint Delan Square gradually coming to life below the steps while thinking of the lady he had never met.

Today was the second day of the Thunder Moon, and Miss Gao De's letter as usual included 10 gold pounds. Whether it was because the family town was facing a huge crisis, this time the letter was only one page — noticeably much shorter than before.

After the usual opening greetings, Miss Gao De frankly stated that the town's situation was quite bad. The spread of the plague involved a fairly large area of the East Coast centered on Astra, the "City of Sunrise." To prevent the already initially contained plague from spreading again within the town, entry and exit to the town remained under control.

In her previous letter, she had linked the plague to the family's old pleasure garden, but it had now been confirmed that the two had nothing to do with each other. However, that garden also hid secrets. Over the past month she had dispatched multiple teams of hired adventurers, helping priests from the town, and townsfolk willing to travel to explore it, and reportedly they had discovered some clues and traces related to the rumored "vampires."

At the end of the letter, Miss Gao De also admitted that her family must be hiding some enormous secret. The strange ancient ruins outside the town, the bay covered in glowing coral, the bandit-infested wilderness, the hidden beast lair in the ancient sewers, plus the garden currently being explored, and the farmstead not yet undergoing large-scale renovation — every place gave off an eerie air.

She urged Xia De not to bring Xiao Xiao Miya to visit this summer, her wording showing considerable concern for Xia De and Xiao Xiao Miya's safety.

After reading the letter, Xia De stood with his hands behind his back by the study window for a long while before writing his reply to Miss Gao De. All over the world, all kinds of things were happening these days — truly no one could escape it.

After writing his reply to Miss Gao De, Xia De also didn't forget to use the poetry manuscript pages to apply to the Academy to purchase the ritual materials needed for "Adele's Principle of Regression." The Academy directly informed him of the price for the materials. 98 pounds and 7 pence wasn't cheap, but considering the high grade of the ritual, the price was acceptable for the Outlander at present:

"The materials can be delivered tonight, that's really fast. I thought I'd have to gather them myself."

Apart from the two letters, before leaving home that morning, Xia De also didn't forget about the 【Disaster Tarot Card: Sand Worm】 he had newly obtained yesterday. This card could of course convert "Professor Deleike" out again, with the price still being the acceleration of the End Times' arrival.

And if he used the method taught by Sister Sister Daifulin — suppressing the disaster's power with the Primal Fire and only invoking part of the card's ability — he could use this card to cast "Earth-Walking Curse."

The effect of this curse allowed the user to travel through dirt and sand as if swimming. When using the key yesterday, the "first-stage" Professor Deleike had already demonstrated it for him. But the casting required land thick enough to contain one's own body, so places like floors definitely wouldn't work.

"But it doesn't seem very useful... 【Lagrae's Leap】 and 【Red Butterfly Incarnation】 are both more convenient than this... but if combined with 【Enhanced Spatial Perception】, it could produce decent results."

Because he had to deal with all these matters, by the time Xia De arrived at the Belindel Estate in Moon Bay City with 【Source of Chaos】 and "Moonlight Water," it was already half past nine in the morning. Whether it was the Countess or Miss Matilda, someone had been arranged in advance to greet him at the estate gate, and then Xia De saw the blonde maid waiting for him at the entrance of the mansion.

"Please follow me, Miss has woken up, but she's still in the bedroom."

Miss Matilda led Xia De upstairs, and while climbing the stairs she described Miss Belindel's current condition.

Xia De's treatment last night had gone well. The witch had gotten up in the middle of the night to eat a snack and washed up, then fallen back into a deep sleep. When she woke this morning she had a slight fever, but the problem wasn't serious.

The potion formula Xia De had left before departing last night had already been prepared into a Ban Cheng Pin, and now only needed a small amount of "Moonlight Water" added to be usable. So before entering the witch's bedroom, the maid in charge of potion preparation took away the materials Xia De had brought, and when Miss Matilda led Xia De into the bedroom, Miss Belindel was sitting on the bed reading a book.

The curtains around the four-poster bed hid her appearance. After receiving permission, the maid drew back the curtain on the side facing the door, revealing the witch in her sleepwear.

"Good morning."

She greeted Xia De sleepily, her hair loose and unbound, but she no longer seemed to have the shyness from last night when she had been leaning alone against the headboard.

"Good morning, Miss Belindel, let me check you first."

Xia De sat down and extended his hand to her. The witch turned sideways with her back to Xia De and voluntarily slipped off part of her clothing to reveal her snow-white shoulders. During this time, Miss Matilda had someone push a dining cart in with the things needed for the "surgery," then left the room, leaving it to Xia De and her mistress.

Although the surgical procedure was as simple as "implanting the relic into the body," it still took a whole morning. Xia De of course had no experience with surgery; the main time spent was to prevent the relic from affecting the body, and the safety measures carried out in conjunction with the potion and ritual.

Miss Adele Isabella said this treatment method came from the "Truth Society," and the fusion of relics with the human body was a project they had once carried out. Xia De didn't know whether the Fate Grand Witch had had contact with the Truth Society. Throughout the entire "surgery" she remained conscious, but didn't talk much with Xia De, only responding softly when Xia De asked her to drink the potion or to bite down on Mao Jin and endure the pain.

Although the process was relatively complex, fortunately this "treatment" was quite successful. Thanks to the witch's special constitution and the effect of the restorative potion, not even a trace was left on Miss Belindel's skin. When the final step of the "surgery" was completed, the smooth, fair shoulders still looked alluring — if one didn't reach out and touch them, even Xia De himself couldn't feel the yellow jewel beneath the skin:

"The Truth Society's research was cruel, but it wasn't without its merits... what am I thinking?"

Seeing Xia De staring blankly at her shoulder, the witch who had bared it showed no reaction. When Xia De came back to himself from his thoughts about this "surgery," he found himself meeting those golden eyes.

In that instant, those eyes that seemed to carry an electric current made the Outlander, who had been busy all morning, feel only his scalp tingling and his heart pounding wildly.