Chapter 4142: The Scent of Spring

Desire had once personally admitted to Xia De that the 【Skin-Object Hall】 had used this divine artifact to fight her in ancient times, but now, these scissors clearly no longer possessed such formidable power.

Aside from their use in rituals and the crafting of skin-objects, according to Xia De's rudimentary assessment, these scissors possessed an absolute destructive capability against any flesh-and-blood life form that possessed "skin." In other words, whether it was "Stone Skin" or "Metallic Skin" type sorcery, they were equivalent to having no defensive effect when facing these scissors.

As long as they could touch the surface of a living being, no amount of defense could block a light snip from these scissors. Although this effect could only breach skin-level protection and had no significant impact on the deeper flesh, this type of rule-based destructive capability was still, in Xia De's view, of great significance.

This did not mean that when Xia De fought enemies, he had to get close to stab them with the scissors; he felt he could utilize these scissors to cast spells, treating this divine artifact as a spellcasting medium similar to the ritual sword 【Nightwatcher】 or the scepter 【King of Promises】.

Although he had not yet tried "Moonlight Slash" with the scissors, given his current mastery of that sorcery, let alone the scissors, even if he just flicked a leaf, it could be imbued with the slashing effect.

Although these scissors originated from the 【Skin-Object Hall】, no one felt any aversion to them because of it; instead, they took turns examining them and offering their own conjectures. Although the divine artifact's power had waned, its status was still not something ordinary items could compare to.

Xia De believed it should possess other abilities, but that would require Xia De to explore them himself.

"So, that mermaid..."

Xilisi hesitated to continue, and Xia De nodded.

"Yes, it took back its own skin-object. I saw it appear in the form of a mermaid at the bottom of the lake. Its appearance was very similar to that oil painting in my home; it was very beautiful... extremely beautiful."

Xiwei thought of the malice that mermaid had shown her during the Battle of the Snowy Mountains.

"It has reclaimed its power; what will it do next?"

"I don't know either."

Xia De knew the witches were all worried; after all, that was an Unknowable-level relic.

"But at least until the story in Arcadia City ends, it won't take any major actions locally... Once Vigo grants me the blessing, I will go to meet it. There are some things I will make clear to it."

The witches were all worried, only Luweiya's expression remained normal.

"If that mermaid can cooperate with you every time like this, we can actually treat it as a cooperative partner that requires vigilance. Unknowable-level relics also possess intelligence, and with intelligence come their own goals and ambitions; Desire itself also has desires.

If the Chaos blessing can make you completely immune to its bizarre mental influence, I think we have a foundation to continue cooperating with it."

Xia De did not oppose Luweiya's opinion. Although the Love Lake incident had pushed his vigilance toward the mermaid to its peak, when the Outlander first met "Desire," that sentence the other party said was very correct—

【When the final moment arrives, the power of sin is also power.】

There was still some time before dinner, but Xia De did not go to do anything else. He stayed in the study, chatting with the girls who had successively changed their clothes. Everyone talked about the park scenery of the day, laughing and teasing Xia De and that exquisite doll, and then they talked about Vigo and that jar of ointment-like potion.

Since it was something left behind by Miss Feilian, the Great Witches of the Witch Council naturally trusted it very much. When Xia De spoke to Vigo about this before dinner, Vigo looked at the black, sticky stuff in the jar, and a very obvious expression of reluctance appeared on her face.

"Do I really have to eat this kind of thing?"

"You can treat it as sesame paste with a unique flavor."

Xia De persuaded her. Xiwei, who was on the side, pursed her lips and smiled. Seeing Vigo look at her, the witch with beautiful long wavy hair pretended to be talking to Miss Yilaise again.

Claire also persuaded her.

"Vigo, this was something Miss Feilian went to great lengths to send from the Fifth Era. If it weren't to prepare treatment medicine for you, those ancient demigod witches could actually have sent Xia De more powerful relics or alchemical equipment.

Vigo, you cannot let down the painstaking efforts of the demigods. Besides, you are not a child anymore; it's just taking medicine, there's no need for this. Don't many of the spellcasting materials we use also contain disgusting things? Slug mucus is more disgusting than this; this is just a placenta."

"Claire, you don't need to remind me again what the raw materials are. Also, I can accept touching slug mucus, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to eat them."

Although she said so, Vigo still picked up the small ceramic jar, sniffed it, and then handed it to Miss Luolin, asking Miss Luolin to divide it into small portions to ensure that the amount she ate each time was of equal weight.

"I hope I won't have to suck your blood frequently in the future."

She said in a low voice, using such a reason to persuade herself.

Miss Jia Lin Na, Yiluna, Silveiya, and Megan also arrived at the mansion one after another before dinner started. When the sun set, the Fragrant Residence could even be said to be a bit crowded—this was an exaggeration.

Before dinner, Xia De also returned to his room to change clothes. Wennie wanted to help him, but was instructed by Xia De to contact Dannister to see if she and Aili could also make it in the evening.

And while Xia De was changing clothes, a figure opened the door and quickly slipped in.

"Xia De!"

After Ajielina closed the door again, she lowered her voice, waved at Xia De, and handed a cloth bag to him.

"This is the book I promised you. We agreed, you cannot tell my sister."

Xia De lifted the cloth bag and took a look; inside were indeed the two forbidden books related to the Dragon-kin maid that Ajielina had mentioned this morning. Since the little princess had already risked bringing them over, Xia De did not say he didn't want them.

He put the books under his pillow, glanced at the door, and asked:

"Ajielina, how do you feel staying here with Vigo recently?"

As he spoke, he continued to tidy his shirt and coat in front of the floor-length mirror, while Ajielina sat very ladylike on the chair by the desk, watching Xia De.

"It feels very good. Teacher Asteli, Miss Luolin, and Miss Macdonald all take good care of me, and the scenery in Arcadia City is also quite nice. Miss Macdonald even said she could take me to visit the Candlekeep Library tomorrow."

She said with a smile.

"I originally thought I would be very lonely coming here, but look, it's even livelier here than at the Yodel Palace, and I couldn't see you every day when I was at home."

"Meow~"

The cat lying on the desk meowed, signaling Ajielina not to put her hand on its back.

The little princess looked at Xia De against the backdrop of the sunset outside the window.

"Although I will miss my mother and father, I know that no one can always be by their family's side, and going out to study is very necessary."

"Your sister told me that she was worried you wouldn't adapt to the food and climate of the Southern Kingdom. Remember to tell her you like it here very much."

Xia De reminded her, and Ajielina nodded immediately.

"I know, and I have also learned very useful knowledge! The pharmacopoeias and ancient texts recommended to me by Teacher Asteli are all very interesting. Those are all books she personally treasures. If I had just stayed in Tobesk City, I would never have learned such knowledge.

I will also grow up quickly, and I will be able to help you too. Even if I can't reach the level of Amelia and Yiluna, at least I should be like..."

She originally wanted to say Xilisi, but that current Archbishop of the 【Order of the Forgotten】 was not someone the little princess could compare to. Then she thought of Tifa and Matilda and the others, but these experienced witch apprentices could provide help to Xia De in life and battle, which the little princess naturally could not compare to.

"At least I should be like Miss Macdonald!"

"Why would you think of her?"

Xia De asked curiously, and Ajielina laughed, lowering her voice and saying:

"Although she didn't say it herself, I could see it; Miss Macdonald also secretly has a good..."

"Xia De!"

After a polite knock on the door, the sharp-eared little elf pushed the door and broke in, followed by Yiluna and Aili. Although Amelia was not allowed to participate in the operation today, she still followed Aili to attend the dinner.

Amelia originally wanted to give Xia De a surprise, but after entering the room, she saw that Xia De seemed to have just finished changing clothes, while the red-haired little princess looked like she had been there for a long time. Amelia was stunned for a moment, while Yiluna poked her head out from behind her.

"Ajielina, good evening. What are you doing here?"

The little princess naturally couldn't say she was here to deliver books.

"I wanted to talk to Xia De about my life here recently."

"Isn't your sister here too? You should talk to her instead."

Yiluna and Amelia then pulled Ajielina away from the room. Xia De noticed that Aili stood still, and he was very curious.

"Aili, do you have anything else? Why didn't you go downstairs and wait for dinner?"

"For you!"

The white-haired unicorn girl didn't know where she pulled out an apple from, held it with both hands, and handed it to Xia De. After Xia De took it, the unicorn girl shyly ran out of the room immediately.

"What does this mean?"

The apple had probably been hidden on Aili's person the whole time, and it was still carrying a hint of warmth. Xia De thought suspiciously, took a bite of the apple, and then confirmed that this apple was just a very ordinary fruit, but the sweet and sour taste indeed felt very much like the greenness of spring.

【That is also the taste of the girls' complex moods. Spring has come.】

"She" said with a smile in Xia De's ear.

And before dinner started, Dannister finally rushed back. She brought first-hand intelligence for Xia De:

"Among the seven people who entered the hall with you, the sorcerers from the 【Truth Society】 and the 【Magic Eye Club】 have also confirmed that they have left the hall. But the Church and we were unable to investigate the trail of the seventh person. That is the only person whose true identity you do not know." ===== CHAPTER 4143 =====