Chapter 318: Sea Cliff Lighthouse

Playing cards with a guy who cheated was a relatively novel experience for Xia De. After resting for a while with Miss Princess, the two left the tavern and headed to their next destination.

The Seven Brooms Tavern was a relatively large gathering place for Ringed Shushi in the area, and next, Miss Princess wanted to introduce Xia De to several relatively small black markets for Ringed Shushi.

Still in the bustling and chaotic dock area, after leaving the tavern, the two took off their masks and walked normally along the street toward the harbor. Miss Princess led the way, and Xia De followed behind. Originally, he was thinking about whether to find some topics, but he didn't expect the female sorceress wearing ruby earrings to take the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.

Miss Princess seemed to have been to many places and talked to Xia De about the customs and political systems of various places in the Old Continent. Whether it was the unique parliamentary system of Karsinrik, the special hobbies of the Grand Duchess of a small principality in southern Dalarion, the peculiar customs of small tribes along the eastern coast of the kingdom, or the environmental protection regulations of the primeval forests in the south of the Old Continent, she could actually say a few words about all of them.

From the great ice sheet in the north of the Old Continent to the primeval forests in the south, from Coldwater Port on the west coast of the continent to the Broken Islands on the east coast, Miss Princess had an understanding of almost all of them. Even, if it weren't for her identity as a correspondence Ringed Shushi, she would have wanted to go to the New Continent to take a look and witness those peculiar natural landscapes and magnificent ancient ruins.

"I went to Karsinrik not long ago; of course, it was just a short trip."

Miss Princess stood with Xia De at the intersection waiting for a row of carriages to pass; this was the local art gallery transporting goods.

She observed Xia De's expression while talking, but most of Xia De's attention was currently focused on the dock post office on the other side of the intersection.

The number of post offices in Coldwater Port was even higher than in Tobesk. Although the permanent population here might not be as large as the Pearl of the North, the number of outsiders passing through every day was absolutely unmatched. Because Miss Louisa said not to bring fish as a souvenir this time, Xia De was thinking about whether to go to the post office to buy some beautiful postcards.

"How is Karsinrik?"

Xia De asked casually.

"It's very nice, especially the vineyards in the south; the scenery there is simply stunning."

Miss Princess said. Young girls in the north in this era seemed to like the vineyards in the south very much.

She originally thought Xia De would follow the topic of vineyards, but he looked at the souvenir shop next to the dock post office again.

Colorful masks and various styles of wooden ship models were displayed in the shop window. Xia De was considering whether he should buy some models to take back as gifts for Miss Louisa.

"What do you think about giving these things to friends? It was hard to come to Coldwater Port, so I plan to buy some gifts for friends in the same group."

Miss Princess looked in the direction his finger was pointing, and the two walked together through the bustling dock street. It was Monday afternoon, but the docks were still noisy.

"Giving them to female friends?"

She asked.

"Yes."

"She definitely won't like them."

The female sorceress gave a very decisive answer without even thinking.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like... generally speaking, women won't like things that feel in the way when placed on a cabinet and have no use at all."

"Then what should I give?"

Xia De sought her help.

"You want me to help you choose?"

The blonde girl pointed at herself with an expression of wanting to laugh but also wanting to be angry.

"Yes... is it very troublesome? Sorry, just wanted to hear your opinion."

Xia De asked hesitantly, thinking that he was just paying the other party to be a tour guide, and the other party had no reason to help him pick gifts.

Seeing Xia De say this, the female sorceress took a deep breath:

"You really know how to find shortcuts... The souvenir shop probably has those cheap small accessories, like brooches made of seashells, or bracelets made of beautiful pebbles. These kinds of things are small and exquisite; although they aren't worth much, putting them at home won't feel like anything is wrong. Look, the ruby earring in the window, although the gemstone is definitely fake, the mermaid-style design is quite nice."

"Oh! Good idea! Please wait!"

Saying this, Xia De walked quickly toward the souvenir shop next to the post office. Only Miss Princess was left standing by the mailbox, watching Xia De's back as he walked away:

"Does he really not know anything, or is he making fun of me?"

The female sorceress muttered in a low voice.

Leaving the intersection, they did not enter the harbor area but walked north along the street until the surrounding buildings became increasingly sparse. After half an hour, they left the bustling docks and climbed the cliffs on the outskirts of the dock area. Xia De saw the small lighthouse standing on the cliff from afar; that was their target.

From the city to the lighthouse on the sea cliff, there was only one winding path. Although no one maintained it, the ruts on the ground barely kept this road from being swallowed by nature.

After climbing the cliff, the fishy smell of the sea became more intense, the sound of seagulls in the sea breeze traveled far, and the sound of waves crashing was also refreshing. Miss Princess led the way, introducing the situation here to Xia De while walking. However, she probably didn't come here often either and needed to walk and stop to find the most convenient route.

Once they approached the lighthouse, Xia De saw wooden boards and metal pipes piled up under the old lighthouse.

"Is there maintenance going on here?"

Xia De asked hesitantly.

"There is maintenance here every summer; the lighthouse in the harbor is crucial. Not only because it guides ships on long voyages, but the 12 lighthouses on the outskirts of Coldwater Port also serve to guard the coastline."

Miss Princess and Xia De stopped together, looking at the old lighthouse standing on the sea cliff:

"Mr. Watson, do you know the history of Coldwater Port? Although this city rose because of the discovery of the New Continent, before that, it had always been one of the most important harbor cities on the west coast of the continent. The history of the founding of Coldwater Port is completely untraceable, but in the early Sixth Era, a shocking event occurred here. After that, the Church of the True Gods united with the Academy of Sorcery to build 12 lighthouses on the outskirts of Coldwater Port as a base array for a large-scale ritual to protect this city."

"What is the function of the ritual?"

"I don't know; this is a secret of the Church and the Academy. I only saw some information in the history books of the Zalas Academy of Sorcery when I was writing a course paper. Of course, that was already a thousand years ago. Now, the so-called ritual to protect the city has more symbolic significance than actual significance. After all, now is different from the chaotic era at the beginning of the era; the Church of the True Gods can completely protect this place, so whether this large-scale ritual relying on the twelve lighthouses can still take effect, we have no way of knowing."

This old lighthouse on the sea cliff currently only housed an elderly lighthouse keeper, Mr. Edmond, who was the person the two were visiting this time. The sign of the decline of these old lighthouses was that such an important ritual node was guarded by a secret Ringed Shushi.

This old gentleman did not belong to the Church, and Miss Princess did not know which organization he belonged to either. Because they couldn't fully trust him, both wore masks before knocking on the door, but after knocking, no one opened the door inside the lighthouse for a long time.

Just as they were about to leave, footsteps came from the direction they had come.

Turning to look, an old gentleman wearing a hat and a light gray cloth jacket full of pockets walked up from the winding path under the cliff, carrying a fishing rod on his back, a bucket in his left hand, and a metal folding chair in his right hand.

That folding chair looked like it was pieced together from the pipes piled up under the lighthouse.

He looked to be about fifty years old, full of energy, with a ruddy complexion and a very steady gait. Seeing the strangers wearing masks standing under the lighthouse, he asked:

"Who introduced you?"

The Coldwater Port accent was very heavy; the pronunciation on the west coast was very different from that in the interior.

"I bought a magic conch from you here two years ago. At that time, you asked for 300 pounds, I gave you 310 pounds, and told you that I might come back a long time later."

Miss Princess said.

"Oh?"

Mr. Edmond nodded, looking like he remembered the generous lady:

"I remember this matter. At that time, you said that the person who introduced you was my friend Old Jo..."

He saw the gesture Miss Princess made and didn't finish the name, instead signaling the two to wait a moment:

"Alright then, I'll put things down first before we talk about business. Today's harvest is really not small."

He should have gone fishing just now. When he passed by Xia De, Xia De curiously looked into the tin bucket, but there was only a fish fry less than three of Xia De's fingers wide inside.

"Fishing, you know, there will always be times when you're out of luck. Today's tide is very strange; I bet there's something strange approaching the near shore, and when I was baiting the nest..."

Seeing Xia De notice, old Mr. Edmond explained with a red face. The old man didn't let them enter the lighthouse but, after putting down the things in his hands, stood with the two on the edge of the sea cliff, talking about business while looking out at the sea.

It was at least 50 feet (about 15.2m) from the sea surface under their feet, and the tide constantly crashed against the reefs below the sea cliff. The rumbling sound of the water forced them to speak with greater effort. But standing here blowing the sea breeze, the feeling of bathing in water vapor was very good, and the scenery of the sky and sea meeting in the distance also made Xia De very satisfied.

The old man living alone here kept a dog and two cats in the lighthouse. These three animals looked at the three people looking at the sea in the distance while eating the food given by Mr. Edmond under the lighthouse with quite a bit of humanity.

The dog was a common local watchdog in the countryside, and the two cats were also mixed breeds, but they were quite close to Xia De just now. If it weren't for the master's reprimand, they would have even wanted to pounce at Xia De's feet and roll around. It seems that Xia De's trait of being close to cats was not only useful for cats in Tobesk, but also for cats from other places. ===== CHAPTER 319 =====