Chapter 3275: Reunited Old Friends

Grand Duke Lagson was exactly fifty years old this year, which was considered an advanced age in the current era. He was a wealthy old gentleman with a big belly, wearing a black silk top hat, leaning on a golden metal cane, and having two very interesting white mustaches.

He spoke a few words as the host of the banquet before the banquet started, but didn't mention anything about "peace and development," just saying that he hoped everyone liked the scenery of Lagson Principality and that it was very fortunate to be able to gather together in the current tense situation.

Grand Duke Lagson still had some level. Through his speech, Xia De found that this old gentleman seemed to really want to mediate the conflict between the two countries to reduce the possibility of war. Although the probability of his success wasn't high, this didn't prevent Xia De from having respect for him.

And Prince Samuel, the brother of Margaret, also appeared here as expected. Xia De saw him from afar but didn't walk close. The prince of Delarion, whose name Xia De didn't remember, looked very low-key, probably also knowing that this island trip wouldn't have any results.

Xia De, as the male companion of Miss Reinhardt, gave the witch plenty of face, which instead made Miss Reinhardt a bit embarrassed. After all, she took the initiative to invite Xia De, but instead, it was Xia De who helped her.

So she planned to dance a few dances well with Xia De during the dancing session at the end of the banquet, but the Marchioness of Cholmondeley invited her and several other noblewomen who graduated from the same school to talk about some whispers in the middle of the banquet. This was the reunion of the "Sisterhood" from back then. So Xia De very sensibly took his wine glass and temporarily moved away from them, which made the witch feel even more embarrassed.

"Claire, your eyes are about to stick to the back of that Mr. Watson."

The Marchioness joked, and then lowered her voice and asked with a smile:

"Tell me the truth, where did you find such a young, handsome, and capable man? I see he is absolutely not a writer who travels everywhere after being financially free. He has undergone a full set of noble etiquette training, and when he looks at everyone here, he has a subconscious sense of contempt. If I'm not mistaken, this is a descendant of which great noble family in Delarion, right?

Maybe there is no inheritance right, but that temperament cannot be concealed."

The witch then took back her gaze:

"I didn't expect him to be like this either... I mean, we just happened to meet, and he helped me a lot... luck."

"Luck? A destined encounter? When we were studying, we liked to read this kind of book very much."

【Do you want to play cards?】

The voice of "Her" suddenly appeared in the ear of Xia De, who had turned his back and left the two ladies. Xia De originally planned to do so, of course. He liked to see the decks of local card players every time he went to a place. This was the principality where the headquarters of the Prophet Association was located, and he had always wanted to find someone to play cards.

But since "She" asked so, the stubborn Outsider naturally didn't want to admit it:

"Of course not. I'm going to stand on the terrace and breathe some fresh air."

Saying this, he took a glass of champagne from the champagne tower on the side, and then really walked toward the terrace. "She" laughed lightly, which made Xia De feel even more that he had better not go to play cards immediately.

It was now the middle of the Month of First Moon. After pushing open the glass door, the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor could be clearly felt. There weren't many people on the terrace, so Xia De stood in the corner, looked up at the snowy mountain under the stars:

"In this drama that has already opened its prelude, does this snowy mountain really just act as the stage?"

He drank the champagne in his hand... drank a small sip, and put the wine glass on the railing of the terrace. At this moment, his eyes glanced to the side, and then he blinked in surprise.

He turned his head and looked carefully at the middle-aged man standing not far from him, who was also holding a wine glass and drinking. The latter was originally enjoying the night view, and at this time noticed Xia De's gaze, and also turned slightly to look at Xia De:

"Sir, may I ask if you have anything... hmm? You are..."

He seemed to have recognized Xia De at this time, but because of the slight difference in appearance, he didn't dare to confirm it completely. Xia De knew there were many ring mages here tonight, so he only used the witch's eyeshadow. The effect of this strange alchemical item on acquaintances was very low.

"It's me."

Xia De said with a smile:

"Major Lades, why are you here?"

The "Eight-Gun Captain," who finally confirmed Xia De's identity at this moment, also showed a surprised expression. He hurriedly put down his wine glass:

"I also want to ask this question! Long time no see. Originally, I was going to visit you during the Year-End Festival, but the fleet I was in received an order to go from near the Kingdom of Islands to the coast of the Kingdom to escort the negotiation delegation here. This was still a secret at the time, so I didn't write it in the letter."

The two shook hands warmly with a smile. At the end of the Green Lake incident, Major Lades actively triggered the conflict between the two countries through Xia De's introduction and cooperation with the Military Intelligence Service's actions, creating a bloody conflict that caused the negotiations to fail. People on both sides of Green Lake thus had a reason to evacuate, allowing the church to prepare for the final great battle.

After that, Major Lades relied on Miss Jia Lin Na's promotion to transfer from the Army to the Navy, and even went from "Captain" to "Major." For a civilian officer of his age without family background support, this was a huge breakthrough.

Because of this, Xia De hadn't seen Major Lades for half a year. Meeting a friend at the foot of the snowy mountain so far away from Tobesk at this moment was a great surprise for both of them.

Xia De first met him because of the "Gun of Kindness" in the Tobesk Lake View Manor. After meeting again at the Red Water Camp in Mibao, he helped him survive the battle of the undead in Midehillburg, and then helped the then-Captain seize the opportunity in the Green Lake negotiations, until they met again at this moment.

From the summer of 1853 to now, the Month of First Moon of 1855, Major Lades could also be considered one of the few ordinary friends of Xia De besides Professor Manning.

The Major told Xia De about his various experiences in the past half year, and then said with a smile that Navy life was very different from Army life. Finally, he talked about the fleet now stationed in Falling Star Bay, and he probably also had to stay in Lagson Principality with the fleet until the talks between the two countries ended.

Strictly speaking, "Major" wasn't a very big officer, but he had already entered the ranks of senior officers. Now Major Lades was responsible for managing the ship "White Pearl" in the fleet. This ship was famous because a sailor once caught a large pearl from the sea.

Coupled with the fact that Major Lades was now also helping the Military Intelligence Service, he could now be said to have a bright future in middle age.

He knew Xia De's supernatural identity. Thinking of the undead in Midehillburg and the strange legends of Green Lake, the middle-aged officer finally looked left and right, lowered his voice and asked Xia De:

"Your appearance here, is it..."

Xia De nodded cautiously:

"There are indeed some things locally. So if it's not very necessary, don't get close to the snowy mountain range, and don't get close to any strange things related to 'snakes' at will. However, the matter is only just beginning to show signs, so don't be particularly nervous."

But Major Lades immediately thought of another thing:

"The fleet arrived in the Falling Star Bay sea area this morning. Our sailors said they saw mermaids from afar... this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Xia De shook his head:

"No problem, I have also seen mermaids nearby."

He breathed a sigh of relief:

"I have heard quite a few legends about mermaids from sailors in the Navy... Also, after arriving locally, a brand new steam engine on our ship suddenly stopped moving completely, and the mechanic checked it repeatedly but didn't find out why... No, no, this shouldn't be a rare situation."

He said jokingly:

"Now steam technology is becoming more and more complex. For ordinary people who haven't learned professional knowledge, new small-sized compression steam engines are no different from magic. The mechanic on our ship said that in the future, people might have to pray before every repair, hoping that those complex machines won't have problems."

Two friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time had many topics to talk about. Xia De was curious about how the situation near the Kingdom of Islands was, and Major Lades was worried about what attitude Yodel Palace had toward the war between the two countries.

He was involved in border conflicts before 1853 in the "peaceful era." In order not to be captured, he tried to commit suicide, which led to the name "Eight-Gun Captain," so he understood what war was better than most soldiers. The Major even said that he had continuous nightmares two days before the ship was about to reach Falling Star Bay, and dreamed of the 【Gun of Kindness】 again.

It was just that this time, the gun successfully killed him in the dream. However, this should be considered his own anxiety-induced nightmare, because he often came into contact with relic bullets recently. The 【Gun of Kindness】 had always been carried by Xia De, and he could guarantee that the gun was still in a contained state and nothing had happened.

Chatting happily with Major Lades, Xia De gave up the idea of finding locals to play cards. However, after the two chatted about the blizzard weather that covered most of the Old Continent before the Year-End Festival, they naturally talked about the topic of Luo De cards—men gathered together couldn't help but talk about this.

Sailors and seamen didn't have much entertainment on the high seas, so playing cards was naturally the best leisure choice. In the past half year, Major Lades had also honed his card skills on the ship.

His deck had added several special cards because of this, all contributed by his colleagues. And even though he was far at sea, he actually heard that Xia De's deck had added several "Founding" series cards.

The two exchanged decks to appreciate each other. Xia De only felt that he was really lucky tonight.

Since everyone took out their decks, Xia De proposed to find a place to play cards while continuing to chat. Major Lades happened to have this idea. He participated in this banquet only because the senior officers on the ship were invited. He actually didn't have much to do:

"But don't you have things to handle by attending the banquet?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3276 =====