Chapter 564

Sparrow is dead, and Xia De wants to respect his last wish, letting the story of "Gray-headed hawk" end like this at No. 6 St. Deran Square without anyone knowing. So, he will not do that task, even if it means 2000 pounds, which is a huge sum of money that 99% of the people in this world will never earn in their lifetime.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was nothing else on Thursday, after eating lunch with the cat at noon, Xia De first took his formal wear to the clothing store on Silver Cross Avenue to entrust it for cleaning, and agreed to pick it up tomorrow morning.

Then he didn't go home directly, but went to the Association of Prophets, also on Silver Cross Avenue. Not having seen Luweiya for half a week, Xia De wanted to invite her to go out for dinner tonight, and if there was time, he could also go to see an opera.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the "1853 Dacheng Player Luo Luo De Pai Tournament," and the entire Association of Prophets has been redecorated. Banners were pulled up, the interior of the association was re-cleaned, and brand-new oil paintings and promotional boards were piled up in the lobby on the first floor, ready to be placed.

Everyone here was very busy, and even for tomorrow's opening ceremony, the association only opened Luo De card appraisal business today, and other businesses were temporarily suspended.

Since the association was not conducting divination today, Xia De could not see Luweiya on the grounds of "wanting to divine for the cat." But because he came too many times, and every time he specified that he wanted Luweiya Anate to divine, people also knew that this legendary "Duchess's lover" appeared frequently in the association for the person, not for the cat.

The receptionists on the first floor found Luweiya for Xia De with a smile, but when Xia De stated his invitation, the purple-eyed girl shook her head regretfully:

"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, today I even plan to live in the association, there are still many things that haven't been finished. The Tobesk branch finally won the hosting rights for this year, President Stan and Vice President Mark decided that this year's competition must be held well, so I don't have time to go out to dinner with you tonight."

"That's really a pity."

Xia De could also understand.

"However, perhaps we can go out together tomorrow night."

She said with a smile again, looking at Xia De:

"I haven't thought about those headache-inducing things this week, and I myself have noticed that my emotions were abnormal some time ago. Let's have dinner together tomorrow night and then watch an opera. However, I want to call Yiluna, she will be very happy."

Although going out together as three was not in Xia De's plan, this was also good:

"Of course, then I'll go book the tickets first, I hope it's still in time."

Luweiya and Yiluna's busyness made Xia De appear a bit idle. And to prove that he was also working hard, after leaving the association, he went to the apartment where Ms. Black lived in the south of the city.

Among the four tasks left by Detective Sparrow, only "helping Miss White find her missing sister, Miss Black" was not completed. Xia De visited this girl who was actually just running away from home last week, but the other party went to the countryside for vacation to escape the heat and would only return this week.

And when Xia De visited for the second time, he learned from the neighbor that Miss Black had indeed returned from the countryside. But very unluckily, she left with her luggage on Tuesday and went to the city of Midhillburg, known as the "City of Mountains" in the southeast of the kingdom.

This is a city built on the northern foothills of the West Carl Mountains, leaning against the mountains. It is the most important entrance to the mountain pass through the Rommel Mountain Range that spans the middle and east of the Old Continent, and it is also the most important transportation hub city in the entire southeast of Delarion.

And "Midhillburg" was originally a military castle on the border between Karsenrik and Delarion, and it only became the city it is today after three centuries of changes.

Not only is it a transportation hub, but its tourism and mining industries are also very developed. Relying on trade between the two countries and the rich mineral and forest resources in the area, it has developed a very prosperous steam industry.

In short, Miss Black went to Midhillburg for tourism and will probably not be back for half a month.

But this visit of Xia De was not a waste of time. Miss Black's "disappearance" was actually because she was having a tantrum with her sister. In order not to let her sister worry, she left a letter for the detective who came to find her, explaining her whereabouts. In the letter, Miss Black hoped that Xia De could write to Miss White to inform her of her going to Midhillburg. She even left a one-pound banknote in the envelope for this.

The two sisters seem to be very rich.

"However, judging from the detective's records, Detective Sparrow had never met the client Miss White either. It was the other party who sent a letter to entrust him. At that time, Detective Sparrow was still curious about Miss White's identity and therefore speculated that the other party was a noblewoman with a very noble status."

Xia De thought in his heart, thanked the old gentleman who was preparing to go out to walk the dog, and then looked up at Miss Black's apartment:

"Sisters, but why is one surnamed Black and the other surnamed White? Reorganized family? Or some other reason?"

He thought in his heart and put his hand on the door handle downstairs of the apartment. He originally wanted to confirm whether the door was locked, but he didn't expect that as soon as his hand touched the cold metal door handle, he heard a voice in his ear:

【Outlander, you have touched a whisper.】

"What?"

He looked at this door in surprise and took a step back, as if worried that some monster would suddenly break through the door:

"There is a relic here? I finally encountered a relic?"

Every time he encountered a relic before, it was because of other people's reasons, and Xia De had never encountered a relic alone.

【No, the whisper element is very faint, even fainter than the derivatives of relics, and fainter than any whisper element you have touched. There is even reason to believe that except for you, no one can perceive such slight traces of elements.】

"Oh, that is to say, a relic once appeared near here a long time ago."

Xia De felt relieved now, today was indeed still a peaceful day.

He packed up the letter and planned to write to the client Miss White after returning home to inform her of Miss Black's whereabouts:

"I hope Miss Black, who is traveling, can return safely and let me end this commission. Otherwise, the four commissions of the detective would really only have finding Little Mia as a truly normal commission."

Time finally came to Friday, and the "Dacheng Player Luo Luo De Pai" tournament, which Xia De had known about since he first stepped into the Association of Prophets, finally started.

The full name of this tournament should be "1853 Tobesk Dacheng Player Luo Luo De Pai Tournament," and the player who wins the final victory can obtain the title of "1853 Luo Luo De Pai King (KingofRodeCardin1853)" after the competition.

This is a title officially recognized by the Association of Prophets, the issuer of Luo De cards, and is recognized by Luo De card players all over the world. And when playing cards with others, saying that you are the champion of a certain Dacheng Player is more face-saving and honorable than boasting about how many opponents your cards have defeated.

Even the outlander, who has always claimed that he does not have too much desire, is full of interest in this title.

After finishing breakfast on Friday morning, Xia De first went to Silver Cross Avenue to pick up the formal wear he entrusted for cleaning, and agreed to pick it up tomorrow morning.

Then he didn't go home directly, but went to the Association of Prophets, also on Silver Cross Avenue.

As soon as he turned into Silver Cross Avenue, he noticed that this street was very lively today.

The carriages parked at the entrance of the Association of Prophets almost filled half the street. Gentlemen speaking various languages and using various accents gathered from all over the New Continent and the Old Continent, and at the entrance of the association, flowers and red carpets had long been arranged to welcome the arrival of the challengers.

If Queen Diana's birthday banquet not long ago was a feast for nobles, then today is a festival for players all over the world.

The opening ceremony was held in the large conference hall on the third floor of the Association of Prophets, and only those who received invitations were qualified to come. The opening ceremony started at ten o'clock in the morning and ended around eleven o'clock, so the main content was to announce the rules of this year's "Dacheng Player."

Xia De also walked into the Association of Prophets with a smile and with the people. As soon as he entered the lobby on the first floor, he saw Vice President Mark walking over in a hurry:

"Oh, Mr. Hamilton, finally saw you. When they sent you the invitation, they actually forgot to put this in the envelope!"

Vice President Mark had an expression of being unable to catch his breath, greeted him, and handed Xia De a Luo De card:

"This is for you."

The Luo De card he handed over was not a special rule card, but a card with only a special card face.

The suit is Sun Three, the same as Xia De's 【Founding·Silver Moon】. And the special card face is the silhouette of the Tobesk branch of the Association of Prophets located on Silver Cross Avenue. On the left side of the card face, "Dacheng Player 1853" is written in vertical style, and on the right side, "0003" is also written in vertical style.

"What is this?"

Xia De was very curious. This was the first special card face card he obtained. Although it did not contain rules, he still liked this card very much.

"This is the 【Dacheng Player】 series card, and it is also the qualification for the competition."

"Qualification?"

"Yes, after paying the one-pound registration fee, you can get this special card for free. You are a specially invited player, so the number is at the front. This represents both the qualification for the competition and a card that can be used on the table."

Vice President Mark introduced with a smile:

"Mr. Hamilton, I know your 【Founding·Silver Moon】 is Sun Three, but you can't take out that card in all card games. So, I specially chose Sun Three for you, so that you can replace each other."

"Will the 【Dacheng Player】 series cards be sold publicly?"

Xia De asked another question.

"Of course not, you can only get it after signing up."

"This is really not bad."

Xia De flicked the card, took out his deck, and inserted it. He could only sigh that these diviners really had a business mind.

He admired such a business mind very much. Although the one-pound competition registration fee was high, the unique special card face Luo De card could also offset this kind of cost.

Players who really want to participate in the competition must be satisfied with being able to participate in the competition and getting "free" cards, and the Association of Prophets only needs to pay design costs and printing costs.

This is a real win-win.

The number of contestants in each "Dacheng Player" is probably around one or two thousand. Although it sounds like a lot, relative to Luo De card players all over the world, it is already very few.

Not only the high registration fee blocked the enthusiasm of bottom-level players to sign up. Moreover, the entire competition process lasts for two weeks, which has little impact on locals, but not any out-of-towners can spend two weeks in another city just to play cards.

Therefore, "Dacheng Player" refers not only to the scale but also to the competition being held in large cities as much as possible to attract more players. And in each competition, the number of local players can account for at least one-third, which can also provide convenience for the association where the host city is located.

And the Luo De card players screened out in this way are the true masters of Luo De cards who have strength or money. The players who gather will compete in several rounds of competition through preliminary rounds, semi-finals, and finals within two weeks to compete for the final winner, and the winner will receive rewards of honor, 【Dacheng Player】 special rule cards, and money at the same time.

"Dacheng Player Luo Luo De Pai Tournament" is a competition supported by the kingdom's official, because each competition can enhance the popularity of a city, and the Association of Prophets has spent decades making people accept this kind of gambling behavior, as long as both sides are dressed brightly, then it is a very high-end game.

Therefore, when Xia De and Vice President Mark came to the third floor, which is usually not open to the association, they found that today's opening ceremony not only had Mr. Rick, the Vice President of the association who came from afar from the capital of the Lagerson Principality, the headquarters of the Association of Prophets, but even the Mayor of Tobesk, Mr. Johnson Watt, appeared.

This is a kind man with a big belly wearing a silk formal suit, looking like a businessman rather than an official. During the wait before the opening, he even took the initiative to find Xia De and chatted with him about a few boring weather topics.

Xia De didn't know much about the Mayor. After all, although he is the Mayor of Tobesk, this is the capital of Delarion. And the current King of the Kingdom, Fire-Leaping Larus III, happens to be a person who cares more about power. Therefore, the Mayor of Tobesk is actually a leisurely position in a sense.

"Good morning, Xia De!"

Xia De's friend, Baron Lavender, and Baron Lu Anda, who was very incompatible with him, arrived together. The three greeted each other and gathered together, talking about the upcoming competition amidst the noise.

The bustling crowd filled the auditorium, and the Luo De card hanging paintings on the walls were collectibles that people wanted to get. The men in formal suits were not discussing political topics here, all they cared about were those cards.