Chapter 3184: Narrow Encounter

"Meow!"

The silver wolf running through the thicket of tombstones failed to return to the stone hut. Xia De had left in his transformed state, so naturally, he remained in the form of a silver wolf when he burst out of the bedroom door in Room 2.

Little Mia immediately came trotting over with a meow, but before it could pounce on the silver wolf, the maid, who had been waiting there for three seconds, had already smilingly scooped up the beautiful silver wolf.

Xia De transformed back into human form in her embrace, and thus it became Tifa affectionately wrapping her arms around his neck.

The maid's smiling eyes met Xia De's for a moment before she lightly kissed his cheek—this was an effective way to prevent leaving too heavy a scent of perfume.

"Welcome back, Xia De."

"Meow-woo!"

The cat only wanted to know when it would be fed.

Breakfast began soon after, though there was one more person at the dining table than expected: Sylvia, who had come to collect her "toll." She had said yesterday she would come early, but he hadn't expected her to appear just past seven.

However, the maids always prepared extra portions when cooking breakfast, so there was enough for Sylvia. Xia De took the opportunity during breakfast to briefly describe what he had seen in the 【Tombstone Wasteland】.

Now that every witch and Luvia was at a high rank/high ring, and no god had officially appeared in the story yet, he didn't need to avoid any details.

They had all heard Xia De speak of Theresa before; this was the third time he had encountered her in the past, so the ladies were not surprised. As for the god of the dead known as the "Bone King," the ladies had naturally heard of him, but this was the first time any of them had heard of a kingdom of tombs.

As for Xia De's question about the "Corpse Tree," all three shook their heads:

"That relic has already been destroyed. Who would bother studying it? It's meaningless."

This was also the reason why, even though Xia De had seen that tree, he hadn't conducted any follow-up investigations and still knew little about it—he hadn't expected to encounter the same relic again a year and a half later.

"But if that god is truly in his own kingdom, what do you plan to do, Xia De?"

Luvia asked while stirring her oatmeal, looking quite worried. Her concern was justified; the Tree Father did not want Xia De burning divinity in the past, as it would cause significant problems.

So, if that god truly appeared, Xia De would likely be unable to manifest as a god. But he didn't yet know that god's attitude toward their group, so his current plan was simply to find an exit and leave as soon as possible.

He hadn't seen Dannister last night, so Xia De had to visit Saint Byron's first before heading to the snow mountain. Sylvia was naturally happy to wait for Xia De, and Galina asked him with a smile at the table:

"Don't forget about that nun. Xia De, are you going to tell Sister Devlin that you met a nun from the Fifth Era?"

Luvia also began to laugh:

"I remember last time, when he obtained the ancient nun's flame secret art, the 【Indestructible Fire Seal】, from another fire-holding nun in the Fifth Era, Sister Devlin didn't seem very happy—Flora said so. What about this time? Xia De has encountered another nun directly."

"I must clarify, I did not accept anyone's power this time," Xia De said immediately, then spoke up for Sister Devlin:

"And you shouldn't think of Sister Devlin as that... petty."

Luvia, Galina, and Sylvia all laughed. Sister Devlin certainly didn't care how many girls were around Xia De, but she definitely cared how many nuns were around him.

Fire-holding nuns often took several generations to find a single "Fire-Bearer" to share the pain of being burned by the flame. Sharing the flame meant sharing the soul that contained the flame. Although Xia De hadn't fully realized this yet, Luvia understood it very well.

During breakfast, another incident occurred. Because Xia De had been dragged off for morning exercise by Galina and Luvia, it was the maids who went to fetch the goat milk, letters, and newspapers today. Among the letters delivered to the house, one was actually from the New Continent:

"Sent to the wrong address? I don't have any friends in the New Continent... It was forwarded from Moon Bay. This address... Mr. Albert forwarded it to me."

Upon opening the letter and seeing the signature "John Flynn," Xia De realized where it came from.

John Flynn was the wielder of the 【Sword of the Wind King】. He had first met him during a mission to escort a relic last spring, and later, during the Moon Bay incident, he had appeared as a candidate leading his own squad, using that holy sword to play a brilliant role in the battle against the evil god.

John Flynn and his teammates belonged to the 【New Continent Mutual Aid Society】, a ring-wielder organization rooted in the New Continent. This letter was a holiday greeting sent out before the Year-End Festival.

Because they didn't know the true identity of the "God-Caller," the letter was first sent to the vampire coroner in Moon Bay, then forwarded to Xia De by Mr. Albert. Judging by the postmark, the letter had already reached Moon Bay after the Year-End Festival, which was why Xia De received it so late:

"What kind of postal service did they choose? This letter was sent on the 8th day of the Month of Slumber. I remember the average delivery time between the Old Continent's west coast and the New Continent's east coast is supposed to be 10 to 14 days."

Galina explained to him while spreading jam on her bread:

"The navies of the two countries have been in a standoff near the Archipelago Kingdom recently. That area is the essential shipping lane for the shortest route between the New Continent and the Old Continent. I suspect that's what affected your letter."

She brought up another matter:

"When we were at the hot springs during the Year-End Festival, didn't I mention that Grand Duke Lagerson intended to mediate the conflict between the two countries? The war between the Principality of Sete and the Principality of Milson in the Pantanal region has reached a stalemate, so the two major kingdoms are thinking of having the two sides make contact as soon as possible to gauge each other's attitudes, to facilitate military actions after spring."

"Are you being sent to the Principality of Lagerson? You're so lucky, you'll be able to be with Xia De again?"

Sylvia asked Galina in surprise, but the red-haired witch shook her head:

"A meeting and negotiation destined to have no results certainly wouldn't involve me, let alone involve Leixia.

On the Dralion side, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military will attend, and one of Leixia's brothers will accompany them as a royal representative. Even if a full-scale war breaks out on the Old Continent after spring, both sides still need to maintain channels for communication and exchange.

My nephew has mobilized a fleet from the Archipelago Kingdom to escort them from Cold Water Port, sailing counter-clockwise around the Old Continent, and entering the Principality of Lagerson from the Star Fall Bay, so they won't need to pass through the territory of the United Kingdom of Karsenrik. Although it hasn't been reported in the newspapers yet, they are expected to arrive in the Principality next week."

"Will the meeting between the representatives of the two countries be in the Principality's capital, Lomari, or in Fatumunster?"

Luvia asked with concern. Galina shook her head:

"It hasn't been decided yet. I hope it doesn't affect Xia De. After all, the Principality of Lagerson is too far from Tobesk, and I haven't heard of anyone going there recently."

After breakfast, Xia De set off immediately for the Academy. He had been worried that Dannister wouldn't be there, but fortunately, when he arrived at the center of the library this time, the administrator was leisurely drinking her morning tea:

"I had evening classes and laboratory classes last night, and then I went to the observatory after class. It was already midnight when I saw your note."

She stood up and hugged Xia De lightly, then took his hand and had him sit down. She sniffed, and not smelling any other perfume made her very happy. A kiss tasting of black tea was given to Xia De, expressing her apology for the previous night: