Chapter 29

Doctor Clay was a middle-aged man who was slightly older but under fifty. His figure was somewhat bloated, but well-controlled just under the limit of "obesity".

It was just that there was not a single hair on his head, so he wore a very obvious brown wig, which made one's gaze always look upward involuntarily when talking to him at close range.

"Doctor Schneider definitely won't be back today?"

Xia De, holding the cat, confirmed unwillingly. Little Mia the orange cat had probably never been to such an occasion and was now looking around with wide, excited eyes.

"Yes, when the count's butler came to invite Bill, he had already explained the time for this house call."

The doctor repeated.

"Then do you know Doctor Schneider's friend, that Miss Dorothy Louisa? Do you know where she lives?"

Xia De asked again. If he could not find the doctor, then other Ringed Shushi in the same group could also do. Regarding the evil god statue, he had to find someone who could handle this matter cautiously.

"Yes, of course I know her; she is a regular visitor to our clinic and often comes to visit because of anorexia and insomnia... but I cannot disclose patient information at will."

Doctor Clay said apologetically. Xia De also knew that his request was a bit excessive, so he could only choose to leave a message for Doctor Schneider.

An evil god statue with Old God remnants, although not an 【Artifact】, was still of considerable value.

Even if the Academy did not recommend that Ringed Shushi obtain the four elements by coming into contact with such eerie items, those professors in the St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy who were above the ninth ring and had tenure could possibly write down the stories belonging to the Old Gods using powerful language through Old God remnants.

Doing so was definitely much safer than Xia De being directly affected by the Old God remnants today, so whether it was worrying about Mrs. Lasoya's purpose or just wanting to make a contribution by reporting this matter, it was necessary to let Doctor Schneider know about this as soon as possible.

But since the doctor was not there, he could only wait patiently. Xia De could not report this matter directly to the church—it was not that he cared about the problem of the statue of that blood Old God being taken away by the church, but that he really did not know the method of anonymous reporting.

"But the doctor will be back tomorrow; waiting one more day probably won't cause any problems."

With this thought, he left the doctor's psychological clinic holding the cat. But a feeling of unease always lingered in his heart, a feeling that made Xia De almost get hit by a carriage at the intersection because he was distracted on the way back to St. Deran Square.

Xia De had left home early in the morning, but because the commission to find the orange cat was so smooth, it was only two o'clock in the afternoon when he returned home.

Both he and Little Mia had eaten lunch outside, so there was nothing to do for the time being.

Xia De put the cat in the house. Little Mia was quite adaptable to the strange environment, rolling around on the sofa or looking at every corner of the room.

Xia De, on the other hand, recorded the whole process of this cat-finding commission in detail in the ledger and record book left by the detective, writing strictly according to the format of the previous detective.

After writing it, he flipped through the detective's past records, planning to complete the remaining two simple commissions—namely, the runaway girl and the doctor-finding matter—in the next few days.

In this way, after receiving the textbooks sent by the Academy on Wednesday, he would have time to investigate the detective's past acquaintances and find the secrets that Sparrow Hamilton might have hidden.

So Xia De spent the afternoon organizing all the relics of the previous detective and valuing his own property. In the evening, he went out to eat with the cat again, and on the way back, he bought some bread sticks at a bakery near the square, which, together with tomorrow morning's milk, would serve as breakfast.

Of course, he could not forget about the high-end cat food; since he had taken the money, Xia De would take good care of that little orange cat.

Thus, having been in this world for only two days, Xia De had become a young detective living in the central square of the kingdom's capital, with a cat and a job.

"Thinking about it this way, my luck is actually not bad... it's just that I have no money."

The evening time was spent continuing to study 【Space-Time】 and 【Silver Moon】. Because he had come into contact with Old God remnants today, the accumulated 【Miracle】 elements had transformed into more spirit, making the silver light at his fingertips even more dazzling.

But it still had no attack power; it was enough for lighting, though.

Xia De also tried the ability to ignite paper; this ability was also enhanced by the acquisition of power. Although the young orange cat was frightened by the rising temperature of the paper in Xia De's hand and hid in Xia De's arms refusing to leave, Xia De felt very happy about this.

Such study was terminated at nearly nine o'clock that night. At that time, Xia De was sitting in the study reading the doctor's notes, troubled by the doctor's cursive handwriting, when he heard the bell downstairs being pulled.

The cat, which had been lying on the desktop sleeping, immediately crawled under the desk, looking as if it had been frightened.

Xia De comforted the timid Little Mia and walked out of the room in confusion, following the stairs to the first-floor foyer.

"Could the doctor have returned to the city early and seen my message?"

But it was not. After opening the door, outside the door was a somewhat nervous, short, yellow-haired middle-aged man in a black coat; this was probably a client who had come to find Detective Sparrow Hamilton.

Xia De's first formal commission had arrived.

The man's name was Laget Franklin, an accountant living in the West City of Tobesk, working at the "Hunter & Lola Textile Factory". This was not his first time coming here for a commission, and he was also an acquaintance of Detective Sparrow Hamilton, so after being invited in by Xia De and treated to black tea, he was very shocked by the death of the previous detective.

"Sudden illness, without even receiving effective treatment."

This was the previous detective's explanation for his own death. Medical care in this era was not advanced, and the doctors' methods of treating illnesses had just emerged from the conventions of "bloodletting" and "enemas", so it was not a rare thing for an acquaintance to die suddenly of a serious illness.

"I am the detective's nephew from his hometown, currently inheriting this detective agency. Before Uncle Sparrow died, he entrusted this place to me."

Xia De introduced the identity the previous detective had fabricated for him. Seeing that Mr. Franklin believed this story, he asked:

"Although Uncle Sparrow is no longer here, I can also complete the commission... complete the commission more cheaply. May I ask, what is the matter that you have come so late?"

Whether moved by Xia De's sincerity or the promise of "more cheaply", the middle-aged accountant hesitated for a moment before talking about his own matter.

Although living in the royal capital, Laget Franklin's family was just a very ordinary one in this pearl of the northern Old Continent. As the husband, Mr. Franklin made a living by working as an accountant, while Mrs. Franklin had a job as a copyist at a nearby private library.

The only child in the family, Little Franklin, was the couple's biggest headache. He could originally be considered a good child in the family, but ever since he met a group of bad friends on the street, he had been hanging out with them all day, gradually becoming addicted to gambling, hanging out in night clubs and underground casinos, and stealing money from home to squander.

Mr. Franklin had come here for a commission twice before. The first time was to have Detective Sparrow Hamilton find Little Franklin, who had not returned home for three days, and he ended up finding him in an underground casino in the slums of the North City. The second time was to have the detective bring out Little Franklin, who had been hanging out in the "Lucky Southern Cross Club" for three days.

That club's main business was alcohol, but at night it turned into an underground casino.