Chapter 396

"Did you agree to her request?"

The afternoon tea included black tea served in a silver teapot, carefully baked sandwich cookies on a porcelain plate, and small shrimp pancakes sprinkled with white powdered sugar. Noble ladies are very particular about the contents of afternoon tea, and top-tier nobles like Lei Qianya certainly have such habits.

The small pancakes with powdered sugar are a local specialty of Lengshuigang. When Xia De tasted them, he thought Little Mia would like them.

"Agree? Of course I can't agree right away. I also have to consider what the Afuluola family is actually trying to do and whether it will be detrimental to the kingdom."

The princess, holding her teacup, said, glanced at Xia De who was studying the snacks, and added in a low voice:

"Besides, the price she offered isn't high enough. I wanted thirty percent of her shares in the Lengshuigang shipyard, and she actually laughed and called me a greedy woman."

"Ahem..."

Xia De, who was eating, choked a little. Lei Qianya complained about how careless he was and asked the maid to help pat his back. Xia De waved his hand to tell the maid not to come over, picked up his teacup and took a big gulp, which made the princess cover her mouth and giggle.

He thought that for that witch to be able to say that with a smile, it was already considered very polite.

"Look at this."

Lei Qianya handed something from her side to Xia De. They were two invitations, their surfaces shiny as if sprinkled with gold powder.

"Baroness Xiwei Afuluola even specially gave me this; it's an invitation to tonight's banquet. Xia De, are you really not going with me? I know you don't want people to know you're here, but actually, wearing a mask would be fine."

"No, that's not the problem; I really don't want to go."

Xia De shook his head firmly; he completely refused to meet with the witch. The princess felt a little regretful but didn't insist further, turning instead to ask:

"I wanted to ask just now, what is that thing you're carrying on your back wrapped in a canvas bag? A new type of rifle?"

Tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, she changed the subject, and so Xia De then spoke about the Sea Sending-Back Ritual and the curse.

The appearance of the red ocean would be today or tomorrow, and although it is said that the church has made full preparations, Xia De cannot afford to take it lightly.

He told Lei Qianya the information he had gathered, then took out the fishing rod and tied the fishing line to her wrist:

"This will do. The trigger requirement for this fishing rod's characteristic is that the prey must be caught by fishing, so this won't affect you. Lei Qianya, keep this fishing rod with you for now; have your servant carry it for you, and once a problem arises, immediately tie your wrist with the fishing line..."

He thought for a moment:

"Oh, and one more thing, someone must be holding the fishing rod for it to act as a suppression for the curse."

"Can't you stay at the Sophia Mansion tonight? Xia De, you are more reliable than the servants."

Lei Qianya stared at her wrist and asked.

This was indeed a good idea. Xia De thought about it; people might visit him at any time in Tobesk, and apart from the three commissions Yiluna brought from the Black Stone Security Company, he hadn't had any business for over a week. But to ensure Lei Qianya wouldn't be in danger, missing a few potential clients was worth it:

"I don't want Mia to come to Lengshuigang at such a dangerous time; Dorothy might need to take care of her for the whole night."

Hearing Xia De's meaning, the princess knew he had agreed, so she chuckled and said:

"It's okay, I will convince her. For my safety, I think although she might be a little angry, she will definitely nod in the end."

The way the princess's eyes squinted was very beautiful.

Since such an arrangement was made, Xia De returned to Tobesk City in the afternoon. Dorothy already knew about this, and although she looked unhappy, she still agreed to take care of Mia tonight and tomorrow, and earnestly urged Xia De to be careful.

Besides that, Xia De also made a trip to the Seer Society to tell Luweiya the news that he would be staying in Lengshuigang for a day.

The female diviner was a bit surprised that Xia De insisted on getting involved in the major event in Lengshuigang, but he insisted that this would be of great help in finding Dac Nisi.

And the reason he couldn't reveal was that Xia De was still unsure what the so-called "power of the evil god" actually was.

The purple-eyed diviner didn't urge anything else, just wished Xia De good luck and told him to be careful. Not careful about the Sea Sending-Back Ritual, but careful about the people from the 【Ringed Shushi】. The other party had failed to curse Xia De using the 【Puppeteer Script】, and even if they were now being hunted by the church in Lengshuigang, they would definitely not give up on taking revenge on Xia De.

In addition to these preparations, Xia De also asked Dorothy for the document-level relic 【Scales of the Drowned Merman】. This was recovered by Xia De together with Dorothy, and they originally intended to sell it after the incident of the evil god watching Tobesk subsided, so the scales had always been kept by Dorothy.

After getting ready, Xia De reluctantly said goodbye to the cat Mia. The very smart cat probably sensed that Xia De wouldn't be back tonight, and her little claws clung to his arm and wouldn't let go.

By the time he finally managed to make the cat let go of her claws, and Dorothy was standing in the basement holding Mia watching Xia De enter the hidden wall, the cat kept meowing, and Xia De also looked back with every step he took.

"Are you going or not?"

In the end, the blonde girl really couldn't stand it anymore and finally chased Xia De away.

The rain had been falling all day without stopping. Lei Qianya had to attend a banquet, so she didn't have dinner with Xia De. After Xia De finished dinner at the Sophia Mansion, he went to Saint Byrons again through a ritual to attend Professor Garcia's "Locked Space" course.

Yesterday was mainly a theoretical course, while today was a practical one. Professor Garcia demonstrated his miracle Misuo - 【Desolate Wilderness】 to the Ringed Shushi who had signed up for the course.

This miracle is rare and can only be learned by corresponding to three spiritual runes. The corresponding runes are in order: 【Wilderness】, 【Lock】, and 【Free Soul】.

When the professor unfolded the Misuo in the classroom, even with intentional control, Xia De's projection ritual was almost interrupted. And inside the Misuo, it presented the appearance of a large area of brown desolate wilderness.

"Students, pay attention here!"

The professor waved his hand toward the distance, making a whistling sound, and before long, one could see a large number of animals running toward this side on the horizon of the desolate wilderness.

The functionality of the Misuo - 【Desolate Wilderness】 lies in the fact that Professor Garcia can call upon those low-intelligence wild animals he has seen before.

As long as he has seen them, he can call them out within the Misuo to serve as his combat partners. And the more he understands those animals, the lower the cost of calling them out, and the more powerful the animals' strength will be.

You must know that this world is not just about ordinary beasts; in places inaccessible to the civilized world, the combat power of various low-intelligence magical creatures is no worse than that of human legions mechanized by steam.