Chapter 3288: Name and Butterfly

Mr. Sargent went into the city this morning and already tried to help Xia De contact his friend Mr. Mortis, but unfortunately the other party was not at home. So the potion merchant only left him a letter, telling Xia De to wait until Mr. Mortis replies.

However, the feedback from the church was quite fast; at four in the afternoon, the Witch followers returned with the church's response. The church agreed to participate in tomorrow's operation; they did not question the operational details Xia De proposed, and even provided a list of members who would participate tomorrow.

This opponent is an Angel-grade Relic plus an Ancient Evil Spirit, and the latter likely holds other dangerous items, so that Thirteen-Ring 【Sun Emblem】 Lady would naturally join the operation. Besides her, a total of 21 professional "Demon-Slaying Squads" from the Liming Sect and the Sun Sect, transferred from the Holy See, plus three High-Ring Sorcerers familiar with local conditions and two High-Ring Diviners supported by the Diviners Association of Lomari City, totaling 27 people participating in the operation.

This team will be fully prepared to deal with the Magic Sword and the Demon. Although the "Demon-Slaying Squads" do not possess the complete heritage of Demon Hunters like doctors, they carry many weapons of ancient hunters collected by the Wushen Sect and understand part of the ancient hunters' knowledge.

Moreover, these 27 people are only the formal members of this operation; tomorrow on the island there will also be a large number of reserve teams acting as backup support forces. The church hopes to seize this opportunity to annihilate the Demon in one blow. Even if they cannot completely eliminate the Demon, they must strive to inflict heavy injuries upon it.

As for the negotiation currently taking place in the City of Time Wheels, the church believes it is temporarily unnecessary to evacuate ordinary people, after all, this Demon's identity has been confirmed, and its ability to corrupt humans is not particularly strong.

However, because the Wushen Sect needs to prepare a contingency plan in case the operation fails, they hope the operation can start in the afternoon. Amelia had no objection to this point, after all, she has classes in the third and fourth periods tomorrow morning and cannot come anyway.

"You still have classes tomorrow?"

Miss Larson, who was feeding the unicorn an apple, asked the little elf in surprise; she noticed that compared to green apples, Ellie preferred red apples. And the pointy-eared elf nodded naturally:

"Tomorrow morning's class is our Chemical College's required course 'Analytical Potionology'; even if I take leave, my regular score will be deducted."

Last year she traveled through time to so many places, yet in the end she still had to honestly participate in the year-end exams, so regarding the Demon as a "small matter," Amelia believed she could not delay her own classes.

The white-haired girl revealed a pitying expression, probably thinking Amelia was very pitiable.

But Xia De spoke up at this moment:

"Amelia, I will come to pick you up tomorrow morning. Don't worry about the classes; I will ask my teacher to arrange a schedule change, and the professor will understand."

Miss Daniste spoke, and since Amelia was indeed going to do something proper, the Chemical College would indeed not refuse, so Amelia nodded with a smile.

Miss Reinhardt glanced at Xia De:

"Is your teacher that powerful? Also, without knowing the specific operation time and location, the church actually agreed to your plan so rashly? Do they have so much confidence in you, this mysterious person?"

Xia De made no reply; the church must have guessed that the one who appeared that night might be the "Summoner," they just lacked evidence. The Wushen Sect understood very well that the "Summoner" had records of fighting demons in many places.

So the current cooperation was merely tacit understanding; of course, it was also possible they knew the general direction of the operation through the Diviners:

"Probably the church guesses I am a candidate for the Chosen One. You see, on an island where a major event is about to happen, suddenly a Ringed Ringed Shushi of high Ring who no one knows appears and is very powerful; it is normal for the church to think this."

"Although what you say makes sense, based on my understanding of the church, it is still hard to believe they would act this way... Could it be that in the Chosen One incident, the church will adopt a different method of action than before?"

After speaking, she glanced at Amelia again, then said to Xia De:

"Last night you called me Claire directly, so why did you change back today?"

But Amelia was discussing with Miss Larson why the unicorn Ellie "loved deeply" apples, paying no attention to this conversation. Actually, even if she heard it, it wouldn't matter; Xia De had been calling her by her name for a long time.

"So, Claire, may I address you this way?"

A layer of blush immediately appeared on the platinum-haired girl's face:

"You changed your address like that?"

"Should I address you as Miss Reinhardt then?"

The Witch didn't know how to answer for a moment, but thinking of the strange attitudes of Vanessa, Sylvia, and Flora, she thought it was not bad to take the initiative herself. Although she didn't know what her colleagues were planning, the little treat was right in front of her; she had no reason to hold back:

"For now, please call me Miss Reinhardt; we can change the address after we find the Demon... I still don't know your real name, which is unfair to me."

"Xia De."

Xia De said. Claire Reinhardt blinked, not reacting for a moment:

"... What?"

"I mean, my name is Xia De (Shade)."

"Shadow? This name sounds more fake than 'John'."

"No, this time it is true; my name really is Xia De. However, I will not mention my surname for now."

Xia De laughed, and Amelia immediately raised her hand:

"I testify, Xia De's real name is indeed Xia De!"

So she had actually been listening to this conversation all along; Miss Reinhardt pretended to be indifferent, turning her head to look at the unicorn instead of looking at him:

"Alright then, Xia De... After tomorrow's matter ends, you can also address my name directly like this... Xia De, Xia De... This name is very strange, and I feel like I have heard such a name somewhere... So you think you are a hidden shadow?"

It is normal for a name to be strange, after all, it is a phonetic translation of a foreigner's real name in their homeland:

"I did not intentionally hide; I have always considered myself the shadow of the moon."

That night, when returning home with the brand-new snake shed and Amelia, the little elf was startled by the appearance of the Grace and Helen sisters in the house. She probably realized her behavior was somewhat impolite, so she greeted the two sisters very politely, and as expected, did not request to stay at Xia De's house any longer, so he directly sent her back to the academy.

And by the time Xia De returned, the two sisters wearing black-and-white dresses were sitting bored on facing short sofas, manipulating the pieces on the chessboard across the air, while Mia lay beside the chessboard watching the pieces jump back and forth automatically. The fireplace fire was warm and reassuring, but it also cast the cat's shadow onto the chessboard.

"Amelia asked me to apologize to you; she said she was very rude just now."

Xia De hugged Helen, who opened her arms to him, then sat down holding that girl. The cat was originally preparing to jump over, but seeing the black-dress girl curled up in Xia De's arms, it angrily meowed "meow meow" at Helen several times.

Helen smiled apologetically at the cat, and only then did Mia lie down somewhat dissatisfied; it was sometimes very reasonable.

Across the coffee table, the petite Grace propped her cheek on her right hand resting on the sofa armrest, watching her own sister and Xia De being intimate, while the black-and-white pieces on the chessboard continued to jump:

"It's alright; that child is still very polite, so young, so naive, so lively... However, it seems she has not yet become aware of her own identity; as the Chosen One, she actually has no reason to fear us."

Xia De laughed while smelling the soap scent on Helen's hair, though this probably wasn't the scent of soap, but their own scent:

"Compared to others, she is indeed too young, so she needs our guidance. Sometimes I wonder, if it weren't for me, would Amelia have grown up faster?"

Helen shook her head in Xia De's arms:

"Mr., girls would rather have a tall wall forever protecting them to keep them innocent than face the malice and jokes of life and fate early on. Being protected by you is her luck; the word 'growth' is too cruel for most people; I have always believed this is actually a vocabulary equivalent to 'forced, suffering, crying, parting'."

Although shorter than Amelia, neither Grace nor Helen possessed that sense of innocence; compared like this, Xia De understood even better why "growth" was considered a bad thing by them:

"I am also your wall now."

He promised the girls, so Helen giggled:

"Mr., you are not just a wall; you are our cage, protecting us from all directions."

"That doesn't sound like a good thing."

Grace answered with a smile while continuing to play chess with her sister:

"But we consider this indeed to be language of praise; in this dangerous world, having such safe palms wrap us up is truly fortunate. So, Mr., when you and Amelia went upstairs just now, we heard you say there is a big plan tomorrow? Do you need Helen and me to appear?"

Xia De shook his head:

"The story of Fate has begun; I do not wish to draw you into it for now."

"Worried we might fall back into Fate's cage?"

Helen guessed Xia De's thoughts, and Xia De did not deny it:

"That is only part of the reason. The other part is that the situation on the island is unclear. Luvia and I speculate that this Selection Ritual is related to completing a play. I want to wait until we clearly know the general content of the script before letting you appear."

He stroked Helen's soft black hair:

"Of course, if we truly encounter danger, I will not forget to seek your help."

The two sisters were then satisfied. Wanting to spend more time with Xia De and play a greater role by his side was not a thought belonging solely to the Witches.

PS: This chapter's illustration is "Grace Playing Chess."

PS2: Bonus update for votes; it is month-end double points now!

(End of this chapter)