Chapter 2818: Return to 1821

Hearing Xia De's reminder, Emilia finally noticed she was still maintaining her sword-drawing posture. With a *clang*, the 【Flute of Time】 fell to the ground. Emilia apologized to Luweiya incessantly, leaving even Luweiya quite bewildered.

But regardless, the duel was successfully completed. Since neither of them had yet used their qualifications, this did not count as the "Second Battle of Time," and the patterns on the backs of their hands remained unchanged after the duel.

"The formal procedure requires both parties to use their qualifications for it to count as a formal Battle of Time. I will adjust the sequence now, swapping the order of 'using qualifications' and 'conducting the duel'."

The blonde elf invited everyone into the treehouse on the second floor. The small room was decorated quite warmly, though little Liana couldn't fit inside; however, it was having a great time playing with the chocobo chicks outside who were very fond of it.

"My ritual allows one person to use their qualification, which will be enough to determine that both sides meet the conditions for the Battle of Time.

Now, one of you needs to use your qualification, but given that Miss Xiangnuode's qualification cannot be used lightly, Luweiya will do it. However, this isn't a true usage; I've used a shortcut to have Luweiya sign a contract with a figure who seemingly doesn't belong to this point in time, thereby muddling through without consuming that power."

As the elf explained, the red-haired girl pointed at Xia De:

"Xia De, right? He said his timestamp is different from ordinary people."

The elf nodded, then said to Emilia in a lecturing tone:

"That is why we must adjust the order of 'using qualifications' and 'conducting the duel.' Luweiya can deliberately show weakness and lose to you, but I don't think you could win against the combined strength of Luweiya and Xia De regardless."

Emilia nodded rapidly; she would absolutely never raise a hand against Xia De. As for having Luweiya sign a contract with Xia De, that was easy, but it required Xia De to temporarily leave the current point in time and spend some time in the past first.

"After Xia De destroyed the coffin used by the Death Apostle, we now have four tree holes in our possession: the cabinet connecting three points in time, the door connecting to 1821, the book *Opening the Forest Gate: Our Animal Friends* connecting to 1802, and the trapdoor connecting to 1546.

Xia De, choose one yourself; any of them will do. Although these doors only have one chance left, don't you still have the 【Ye Zi of Youth】 obtained after destroying the coffin door?"

If Xia De were truly left to choose, he would naturally want to choose 1821, and this wasn't because Miss Helena Carter was there...

【Is it really not because of that?】

"She" asked with a smile, but with Miss Dannister right beside him, Xia De couldn't possibly say "1821" no matter what. Someone kicked him under the table; Xia De guessed it was Luweiya reminding him:

"The cabinet, the door, and the trapdoor are at the hotel and on the ship, and you only have that book here, so I will use that book to go to 1802."

"You don't need to consider my attitude; besides, returning to the hotel from here isn't very far for you."

The red-haired girl said from the side. Luweiya suppressed a smile and decided not to join the conversation, while Emilia tried hard to pretend she didn't understand what they were talking about.

Xia De met those rose-colored eyes:

"Actually, I have nothing to do regardless of which point in time I go to now, so I might as well make a choice close by. I also don't want to disturb Miss Helena Carter too much; time shouldn't be utilized this way."

The red-haired girl clearly made a pouting gesture:

"Go to 1821. See if the teacher has any insights regarding the monsters corresponding to earth, wind, water, and fire in the forest. Don't think of me as that kind of petty person; I have never said I opposed you meeting the teacher."

Xia De sat by the table without moving, so Miss Dannister looked at Luweiya. Luweiya, suppressing a smile, finally spoke:

"Xia De, don't waste time here; just go to 1821. Miss Carter's investigation from over thirty years ago is very likely to uncover clues different from today's; we need her help."

Before Xia De left, the forest elf used a red thread prepared in advance to tie Xia De and Luweiya's wrists together. After cutting the thin thread and taking it off, she wrapped them in two leaves, one of which Xia De took to the past.

In this way, Xia De would not need to do anything in the past; it would suffice for the group of people in the treehouse in 1854 to perform the ritual. Xia De only needed to wait for the time to end and return. By then, it would be equivalent to Luvia having already been defeated by Amelia, and the qualification would have already been transferred.

Thus, Xia De made the long journey back to the city from the treehouse in the forest. Flora, who had remained at the hotel, came to "see off" Xia De:

"I didn't expect Dannister would actually allow you to go to 1821 again; you should still remember how angry she was last time... So what they said wasn't a lie; are you really a succubus targeting witches?"

Xia De was already holding the time key, ready to open the door, while Flora teased him with a smile from the side.

"Flora, you probably forgot, Miss Dannister is not a witch."

"The Red Moon Witch is also a witch. And I noticed you didn't refute the fact that you are a succubus."

The artist smiled happily:

"The relationship between you two is really interesting. Before I knew Dannister, I only knew the 'Red Moon Witch' was a ruthless figure; only after getting to know her did I realize everyone is the same. A beautiful young girl will also feel shy because of the attention of a handsome young man, and will also have all sorts of little moods."

"Don't say that; she just turned eighteen temporarily."

"Yes, yes, before she turned eighteen, I believe you two must have had a completely normal teacher-student relationship. Every time you saw her, you would respectfully call her teacher, and when she spoke to you, she absolutely wouldn't have any other thoughts in her heart."

The witch said perfunctorily, leaning against the doorframe of the cloakroom, watching Xia De stick the leaf in his hand onto the door:

"Xia De, Charlotte is with Vanessa now; there is no one else here. Tell me privately, how exactly do you view Dannister? You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

She narrowed her eyes with a smile:

"But I won't force you to confess; I am a good girl. So I'll give you two options—"

"If you are in a pure teacher-student relationship, blink at me; if you think otherwise, then come over and kiss me."

Xia De confirmed that the power on the leaf had been transferred to the door and added a qualification for reasonable use to the door, then inserted the key into the keyhole, ready to leave:

"Speaking of which, for the two leaves I gave to the Witch Council for 'time verification,' you can just calculate the corresponding value in gold pounds for me later. It's not that I mind that so many people have held those two leaves... This way, I only have this one Ye Zi of Youth left. Flora, I'll be back soon; don't worry about me."

Saying this, he walked to the door and hugged Flora, who also opened her arms. After the hug, Xia De kissed her on the cheek.

The smiling witch suddenly grabbed him as he turned to walk into the depths of the cloakroom:

"Wait a moment."

"What is it now?"

"It's here!"

She hugged Xia De's neck and offered a passionate kiss, then pushed him away with satisfaction:

"I want to see how the relationship between you two will develop; this is much more interesting than those knight novels and court romance novels."

"I don't know what you're talking about... May the World Tree protect me in infinite time."

The witch watched Xia De disappear from where he stood, then smiled and turned to look at the bedroom window. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse tonight; this might be the last good weather before midwinter.

(Ajielina is balancing a cat...)

Using a tree hole for time travel means appearing at the location of the door in the past.

Because the specific flow of time was unclear, Xia De didn't know how much time had passed since he last parted with Miss Carter in his dream at the opera house. But the good news was that when the white fog in front of him dissipated, he didn't appear in the illusion of that thirteen-ring female sorcerer, but stood in front of the tree hole—which was still a large tree and not a door—amidst the sound of pouring rain.

"What a heavy rain."

The heavy rain in midsummer didn't bring much chill, just simply increasing the humidity of the air. Xia De was soaked through the moment he appeared. He wanted to find a place to shelter from the rain, but worried that if he left, he would miss the rendezvous with Miss Carter.

So he simply sat down on the spot, used a small piece of gold to cast "Traveler's Camp," and gained a dry campsite and a warm bonfire. Because he paid enough precious metal, the camp even had the effect of sheltering from the rain.

Then he remembered that the afternoon tea obtained from the emerald last time still had two chances left, so he used 【Fiona's Housekeeping Servant】 to get tea and snacks, curling up in the tent to enjoy them alone.

"The black tea tastes very good, as good as Miss Wilde's craftsmanship."

He sat cross-legged facing the bonfire, taking a sip of black tea and feeling warmth rising throughout his body, while the swaying bonfire made his whole body feel comfortable on a psychological level. Like the meal obtained from the ruby which came with a note, the afternoon tea summoned by the emerald also came with a small note, the content of which was also written in the Dragon language—

"I hope you still like this craftsmanship."

Behind it was a sketch of a big-tailed dragon breathing fire at the sky. Although Xia De didn't quite understand what this meant, he could see that the handwriting on this note was different from the ruby's handwriting:

"If the object connected by the ruby is really Fiona, then who would the emerald be? Does Saint Byrons have a dragon maid corps..."

【You feel very sorry for the disappearance of this tradition, don't you?】

Amidst the sound of the pouring rain, "her" voice sounded in midsummer. Xia De smiled and didn't answer, instead looking at the note, guessing how Fiona hummed songs while preparing meals for him in those sunny days. ===== CHAPTER 2819 =====