Chapter 3884

Although Xia De had already heard some local situations from Vigo when chatting with the witch this afternoon, he still wanted to see the information of the local black market.

The merchant wearing a black silk top hat accepted the paper money and invited Xia De to a separate guest room on the side.

The room was not big, only wooden tables and chairs were placed, and there was a hanging kerosene lamp on the desktop.

"We are still peaceful here. Although there are troops stationed outside the city, after intercepting those refugees from out of town, there is not much change in the city compared to before the war started. The biggest thing recently is that Mr. Gerald Delong, a thirteen-ring warlock who was originally stationed in the Willendale diocese, returned to the Holy See of the Church of Creation from the Willendale diocese."

The black market merchant can know this kind of information because the information of the thirteen rings is used to deter enemies. At present, there are three thirteen-ring warlocks in the local area. Besides the "Master of Constructs", there are also Mr. Miguel Conti, the "Scarlet Sage", and Mother Sophia Lopez, the "Sorrowful Nun", who also belong to the Church of Creation.

The black market merchant can know this kind of information because the information of the thirteen rings is used to deter enemies. At present, there are three thirteen-ring warlocks in the local area. Besides the "Master of Constructs", there are also Mr. Miguel Conti, the "Scarlet Sage", and Mother Sophia Lopez, the "Sorrowful Nun", who also belong to the Church of Creation.

The Holy See of the Church of Creation originally had thirteen-ring warlocks stationed in the capitals of the northern and southern countries, which can also reflect the influence of the 【Church of Creation】 on this world in the era of steam revolution.

And the three thirteen-ring warlocks are currently gathered in the Holy See, which is clearly not a normal situation:

"What happened here? If I remember correctly, the Holy See of the Five Gods Church usually only leaves one thirteen-ring warlock stationed."

Xia De asked, and the black market merchant lowered his voice and said:

"I can't give an exact answer, but there are three sayings circulating now. The first saying is that the Church of Creation has a twelve-ring warlock about to break through to the thirteen rings, so someone needs to guide; the second saying is that the church has found an ancient Unknown-level relic and is trying to contain it; the third saying is that the church has created a very remarkable creation, and that thing is likely to cause trouble."

Coincidentally, Xia De thinks that all three possibilities exist. After the battle of fate, Professor Alvis Holm, the "Elixir Craftsman" of the Sexes Higher Medical College, has successfully broken through to the thirteen rings, so others certainly have this possibility.

And speaking of ancient Unknown-level relics, and related to "creation", the 【Emerald Tablet】 mentioned by the witch is clearly very consistent with the conditions.

As for the very remarkable creation, the name "Difference Engine" jumped into Xia De's head. Although it is the 【Truth Society】 that is studying this thing, maybe the 【Church of Creation】 has also made breakthrough progress in this regard.

Xia De felt more and more that something big was going to happen in this city. Even if it had nothing to do with the Chosen One, I am afraid it would not be simple.

Besides the unreasonable personnel transfer, other information shared by the black market merchant didn't sound very important. Relic out of control, cultists suspected to appear, disasters appearing in the corners of the city, these are all things that will happen in big cities of this era.

And besides the ring warlock's business, the black market merchant also shared an extra piece of news that was not very elegant with Xia De:

"According to statistics, in the last three years, the birth rate of newborns in Arcadia City is far higher than other cities in Karsenrik, and also far higher than the original records of Arcadia City."

Generally, ring warlocks rarely pay attention to such news, at least not particularly before 1853. But now it is different from before 1853. In the case of no change in industry and technology, the increase in the number of local infants is not normal in any way.

"Are the children normal?"

"Of course, otherwise it would have attracted attention long ago. The local 【Snake Heart Hospital】 discovered the situation of increasing birth population a long time ago, but so far the investigation into this matter has no results... Maybe in a few years, noble families lacking offspring in the whole Old Continent will run here—this is very conducive to promoting local housing prices."

The black market merchant said, and a smile appeared on Xia De's face behind the mask.

Although the local area looks a bit unusual, at least in this early spring season, the city is still peaceful on the surface.

"Are there any active illegal organizations locally?"

Xia De asked again. He actually already got the answer from the witch, just wanted to verify it again.

The black market merchant shook his head:

"The Holy See of the Church of Creation is on the side, how can any illegal organization take root here? Look, are there any long-term illegal organizations in Tobesk City and Willendale City? No one will beat drums in front of the sleeping dragon, even those lunatics understand this. The only thing to pay attention to recently is the believers of the God of Poison Fog and Poison, 【Mother of Poison】. There are rumors that they appeared locally, but so far no one in the black market has obtained definitive evidence."

This is consistent with the information provided by Vigo, but the witch believes that those cultists are not people who cooperate with the 【Jade Alchemy Association】, because the cultists do not have such a high technical level.

"Besides the suspected cultists, have any other dangerous people appeared here recently?"

Xia De asked at the end. The black market merchant thought about it and shook his head very cautiously:

"Sir, we have always been a very peaceful place here..."

Xia De felt that he had heard this sentence more than once.

"Although it has not been peaceful in the Old Continent since the summer of 1853, I think at least this city located next to the Holy See of the 【Church of Creation】 will not be so unlucky."

Xia De pursed his lips and frowned. The ominous premonition had reached its peak at this moment.

He originally wanted to turn around in other areas of the City of Scholars, but he spent too much time in the Candle Keep Library, so after leaving the library and seeing that the sun had set, Xia De found an alley in the upper city, and after confirming that no one was paying attention, he threw the crystal shoes and returned home.

He couldn't wait to tell others about the series of things that happened today, but after returning home, except for seeing Little Mia standing on the dining table staring at Winnie preparing dinner in the kitchen, there was no one else at home.

"Master, you are back."

The crystal-clear maid lady wearing an apron and holding a spoon turned to look at Xia De who walked into the restaurant with a smile:

"Luweiya left a letter at noon, she is working overtime at the association tonight, so she won't come over. Dorothy and Miss Miss Jia Lin Na didn't show up, but it's already dusk now, and they shouldn't come today either.

However, Miss Miss Jia Lin Na sent a maid to send Miss Sylvia's letter in the afternoon. The letter is in the southeast corner of the dining table."

She now only calls the Great Witches by their surnames, and others are called directly by their names. As for Miss Jia Lin Na, she is a member of the royal family. From the time Xia De met her, her formal title was "Miss Miss Jia Lin Na".

"Are they not coming today?"

Xia De thought to himself, instructed Winnie to stay and eat with him after finishing the meal, and then went to change clothes. The cat naturally followed Xia De's feet happily.

As for Sylvia's letter, it was actually written by Margaret. She had received Xia De's request to investigate the "Gray Glove" strongholds in the "City of Scholars" and surrounding areas, but after all, she did not directly manage the intelligence agency in the southern country, so the investigation results would be given to Xia De in a few days.

"So, how is the exploration of the strange city?"

Winnie asked Xia De with a smile when she put dinner on the dining table. In fact, since the battle of fate, she was the girl who appeared most often in this house, but Xia De and the cat didn't realize this most of the time.

"You might not believe it if I say it, I bumped into the local witch immediately, it's the Great Witch of Chaos, and the other party is very... to me."

He originally wanted to use "active", but when the words reached his lips, they changed to "friendly".

"Is it that sick witch? In order to treat her, the Council also asked me for help, but unfortunately I am not good at treatment."

Winnie used a spoon to divide the fish soup from the big bowl into Xia De's small bowl. Little Mia paced to the side of the big bowl and sniffed, then turned and left immediately, but Winnie of course also prepared the food it liked.

"The feeling today is very strange. Don't look at the fact that I have a good relationship with so many witches, but in fact, at the beginning, everyone kept a skeptical attitude towards me. The Great Witch of Chaos really surprised me."

Xia De said, and the maid lady smiled understandingly:

"That's because you are strong enough. The past you was also strong, but it couldn't be shown externally. Now your normal state is ten rings. Even based on respect for power, strange witches will not easily show suspicion towards you. And I think it is normal for witches to be friendly to you. After all, even Her Majesty Chloe..."

Since other girls didn't come tonight, Xia De told Winnie about his experience today. The ice maid sat opposite Xia De and listened to Xia De tell the story with the cat eating with its ears pricked up.

Xia De finally didn't have the nerve to say that Vigo Astley confessed to him after meeting, but he told everything else.

Although Winnie didn't have to eat like a human, she still ate some things with Xia De. After Xia De finished speaking, she nodded gently:

"So it's 【Emerald Tablet】. If it's a congenital problem caused by this kind of relic, it's indeed tricky."

"Do you know this relic?"

"Yes, although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I have heard of it. This jade slab indeed condensed 13 ultimate secrets of alchemy. It comes from the ancient god of creation, 【Dusk Creator】.

The Great Witch of Creation of the same generation as Her Majesty Chloe once came into contact with it. Her Majesty told me that if this Unknown-level relic can exert its full power, it is even possible to imitate the ancient God of Creation, allowing mortals to have the ability to create life out of thin air... create life in ways other than reproduction."