Chapter 320: Xia De's Guess

Besides the matters of relics, curses, and nursery rhymes, Miss Princess also wanted to buy some books from the lighthouse to pass her boring time recently, so after the conversation on the sea cliff ended, Xia De and the two were finally invited into the lighthouse.

The interior space of the brick-structured lighthouse was small, but at least it was clean and had no strange smells. The bottom floor was the living area for the lighthouse keeper, and the upper part was the work area. Mr. Edmond treated them with cheap tea, and in the end, Miss Princess spent 78 pounds to buy two books.

One was a study note of a Ringed Shushi proficient in the element of enlightenment, and the other was an old book that might grant the 【Ocean】 spiritual rune after reading.

Xia De had harvested an old book related to 【Wind】, *The Abyss of Rising Wind*, from Lemeier's safe house in the morning. While Miss Princess was picking out old books, Xia De took it out and asked Mr. Edmond to appraise it. The old man finally gave a price of 41 pounds and 4 shillings, far lower than *The Record of Sea Soul* that Miss Princess bought.

After all, *The Abyss of Rising Wind* could be considered a basic book for the spiritual runes of the elements of earth, wind, water, and fire, and the copy in his hand was already a handwritten copy after two original translations, so it was normal for the price to be lower.

Not choosing to stay, Xia De sold this book directly to Mr. Edmond. If he wanted to obtain the spiritual rune 【Wind】 in the future, he could completely go to the Saint Byron Library to borrow books to read; this wasn't any precious book. And with the relationship with the Red Moon Witch, he didn't have to worry about not being able to borrow books at all.

It was just a pity that Saint Byron recycled similar mystical books without giving practical credits, otherwise Xia De's pressure of 15 credits could be reduced a bit.

The two spent the remaining hour and a half of the afternoon in this old lighthouse. By the time they said goodbye to old Mr. Edmond, the sunset glow had already appeared in the western sky.

Not leaving immediately, they stood on the edge of the sea cliff and looked at the sea, letting out a sigh of relief; after all, it was really too stuffy inside that lighthouse.

The calm sea surface was reflected red at this moment, and the sparkling waves were even a bit dazzling. Seagulls circled in the distant sky, and the sound of whistles came slowly from further away, overlapping with the sound of the waves.

"That curse..."

Xia De hesitated to speak, while Miss Princess reached out and took off the mask she was wearing. Xia De saw her face; she was a very beautiful lady, and occasionally a look that Xia De was very familiar with would appear in her expression.

"No need to worry. Although it's a curse caused by a Sage-level relic, hasn't it already been contained now?"

She shook the golden ring on her right finger. The sea breeze blew, and the dangling hair at her temples swayed with the wind. Her emerald green eyes reflected Xia De, who was close at hand.

Xia De looked back at the lighthouse behind him and also took off his mask. He hesitated, made eye contact with Miss Princess, and then turned to look at the sea. In his past life and his new life, he had never lived in a city near the sea. And although he had been to Coldwater Port before, he had never had the opportunity to look quietly at the sea surface under the sunset like this.

Neither of them spoke. When the seagulls flew over their heads, bringing the distant calls spreading under the long sky, Xia De suddenly spoke:

"If you trust me... would you allow me to touch your forehead with my finger? I have a peculiar ability that can detect curses."

Xia De wanted to rely on close-range skin contact to probe for traces of the Whispers element. Although Miss Princess and Xia De had no relationship, since there was such a fate of meeting, and the other party had also tried her best to help him, Xia De thought about helping others.

However, not only for ordinary people but also for Ringed Shushi, being touched on the head by others is a very dangerous behavior. Many mental control and necromancy-type curses and sorcery require touching the skull as a condition.

"I certainly trust you."

Unlike what Xia De thought, Miss Princess did not politely refuse, nor did she even think about it extra, but nodded in agreement. Seeing him standing there in a daze, she even asked with a smile:

"What's wrong? Do you need to prepare anything extra?"

"No, no need."

The sun was setting, and the sea breeze was also becoming a bit urgent. Miss Princess raised her right hand to brush the stray hair in front of her forehead, then tilted her body slightly and stretched her head over.

Her skin was very good, and no obvious traces of pores or acne could be seen. Leaning close to Xia De, there was a very relaxed smile on her face, which instead made Xia De a bit hesitant:

"Is her favorability toward me a bit too high?"

But thinking of the other party's dedicated help and the fact that she was dying from the curse of a Sage-level relic, Xia De stretched out his right index finger and placed it on the other party's forehead.

The skin was warm, making Xia De feel a bit embarrassed:

"Please wait a few minutes."

He said, and then asked in his heart:

"Is this kind of contact okay?"

【Yes, the Whispers element has already been perceived; it is indeed a very strong curse.】

Xia De waited quietly for a while, maintaining the action of placing his hand on the other party's forehead. In a situation where neither side spoke, this would make the atmosphere a bit awkward. And at close range, Xia De could also smell the pleasant perfume scent on the other party.

That scent was very faint and not pungent at all. He hadn't smelled a similar scent on anyone else; even the perfume that cost three pounds a bottle that Iruna mentioned didn't seem to smell as good as this.

【It's okay.】

"What's the result?"

【The Whispers element is very strong and is entangled with her soul. The ring she bought and the ruby she wears on her ear can both contain this curse, but neither can completely cure it.】

"Is there any way I can help her?"

【Pull her soul completely out of her body, then rely on your "Soul Echo" to tear the soul apart inch by inch and irradiate it with moonlight.】

"Okay."

Xia De nodded and withdrew his hand:

"Sorry, I think I can't help you either."

"It doesn't matter. If the curse spread by a Sage-level relic were so easily dispelled, then we would have to doubt whether this relic is qualified to be rated as Sage-level."

The blonde girl said, a look of regret appearing on her face, but it wasn't because Xia De couldn't help her:

"It's already evening... Today passed really quickly."

The sunset by the sea looked exceptionally dazzling, and Miss Princess's long hair shone in the sunlight. Sighing at the sea surface under the sunset, she then turned to look at Xia De:

"Then Mr. Watson, we have one last itinerary today. After the itinerary ends, our employment relationship will end."

"Um... okay. Where to next?"

"There is a small Ringed Shushi auction in the area, and I happen to have an invitation. But attending the auction requires dressing more formally."

She looked at Xia De's attire:

"Let's go back and change into a piece of clothing, and meet at the entrance of Conch Street in the dock area in an hour, how about that?"

"An hour... I don't have formal wear in my luggage."

Xia De said a bit embarrassedly. Going back and forth to his home in an hour was simply not enough; he was very far from the beach where he landed now.

"But it will be late if it's any later."

Miss Princess stared at him.

"Oh, actually, I can find a tailor shop and buy a set of formal wear."

Xia De just didn't want to spend this extra money. The price of formal wear for formal occasions wasn't calculated based on the price of fabric and craftsmanship. A set of clothes was enough for an ordinary person's salary for several weeks.

"Actually, renting a set is also okay."

He nodded and said.

"No need to be so troublesome. I do have a set of men's formal wear there; it was prepared when I was disguised and went out for action last time."

Miss Princess said.

"But... does it fit?"

Xia De was quite embarrassed. He was much taller than Miss Princess, and the young female sorceress had a relatively petite build.

"It probably fits."

She said in a relaxed tone, but she didn't look worried at all.

So the two walked back from the remote old lighthouse sea cliff to the dock area, then took a carriage back to the apartment on Robin Hood Street in the South District of Coldwater Port.

Because the journey was a bit long, by the time they pushed the door open and entered the apartment again, the street lamps outside had already lit up.

Miss Princess pulled open her wardrobe, and then she actually took out a set of men's formal wear from the wardrobe. Jacket, shirt, trousers, leather shoes, tie, belt, and even a tie clip.

Because only the narrow washroom in the apartment was completely isolated from other spaces, Miss Princess let Xia De go to the washroom to change clothes, while she would change clothes outside.

Xia De naturally agreed, but it wasn't until he had changed into the clothes that he found that this set of clothes wasn't just suitable; it was simply skin-tight.

He stood in the washroom facing the mirror and looked at his attire after changing clothes, straightened his tie, and became increasingly puzzled about the lady changing clothes outside:

"This can no longer be explained by coincidence... Could it be that Miss Galina, whom I haven't seen for a week, is playing a joke on me..."

But the lady outside was clearly not a witch, and she didn't look like she was associated with that Grand Duchess. But Xia De thought of the content of the diary he saw in the afternoon, thought of the inexplicable familiarity of Miss Princess, and all her abnormal performances today:

"Could it be..."

Xia De frowned.

Miss Princess changed into a very nice blue dress, but the jewelry on her body hadn't changed. The two packed up before leaving the apartment and taking a carriage to the dock area.

The carriage carried them all the way to the pier position in the dock area. The two put on masks before getting off the carriage, and then walked onto the pier side by side.

The sun had completely disappeared below the horizon a few dozen minutes ago, and the night of Coldwater Port had arrived. Coming to the seaside, even though it was still summer, it still felt a bit cold in the sea breeze.

Even a small-scale auction wouldn't dare to be held boldly in the city of Coldwater Port, under the eyes of the Church of the True Gods. The specific location was on the sea, on the deck of a cruise ship, holding a masked banquet for the local noble ladies and gentlemen. Because it was masked, it wasn't hard to guess what the people attending this kind of banquet wanted to do.

And Ringed Shushi attended the cruise ship reasonably wearing masks in the name of banquet participants. After the cruise ship sailed away from the coastline, they participated in a small auction and returned to the harbor at midnight. Noble ladies and gentlemen would run out of the ship's cabins under the cover of night, kiss strangers goodbye, and leave, while Ringed Shushi could also conceal their identities.

In a free, unrestrained, and chaotic harbor city, outsiders could encounter more unimaginable things. ===== CHAPTER 321 =====