Chapter 617: Sikar Hotel

A single coin was not enough to divine the matter of the third Chosen One, even though Lu Lu Weiya had already used the time of the Great City Player to advance from the Third Ring to the Fourth Ring, it hadn't significantly reduced the demand for currency-type relics for her "Price Divination."

However, she had finally obtained the intelligence regarding "Midhillburg" that she had applied for from the headquarters of the Diviner Society, which contained a large amount of descriptions regarding the 【Boundary of Life and Death】, but it was useless to Xia De, as he would not be entering that place again.

And the only thing that surprised him was that the Diviner Society believed that the "extinct volcano" of Sikar Mountain was not a naturally formed volcano, but one formed by external forces. Moreover, Sikar Mountain still had the possibility of erupting, but what might erupt might not be magma.

"Could it be that the Society believes that once death erupts, the most likely eruption point is the summit of Sikar Mountain?"

Xia De asked in confusion, but Lu Lu Weiya didn't understand either.

After coming from his basement to the ruined tower in Sikar Mountain and practicing 100 slashes in the forest in front of the tower, he walked down the mountain and entered the city.

Cassandra Auction House could be considered the most well-known chain auction house in the entire Old Continent. And the headquarters of the auction house was right in the city center of Midhillburg.

The auction house, along with the local Nature Church, Dawn Church, and City Hall, were all located on St. Kara Avenue in the city center. Although geographically speaking, this was not the absolute center of the city, but rather to the south, this area was indeed the economic, political, and cultural center of the entire city.

The two ends of St. Kara Avenue were Oak Street and Punjab Street, respectively. Many important border institutions, such as the Kingdom's Border Administration, were located on the former, while the latter was dotted with the offices of various large and small multinational trading groups.

"Wait, Punjab Street?"

In the latter half of the Harvest Moon, the leaves on the street trees had begun to fall. When getting off the carriage at Cassandra Auction House, Xia De was suddenly startled, then turned to look at the intersection of St. Kara Avenue and Punjab Street:

"I remember, in the intelligence passed by the Gray-Headed Eagle, the Principality of Sete told the Kassenrik people that the goods they helped transport were in a warehouse on Punjab Street... wait, what does this have to do with me?"

He immediately forgot what he had suddenly remembered, feeling very certain in his heart that the loyal MI6 Major-level agent Xia De Hamilton had no connection whatsoever with the evil Kassenrik people (Note).

Coming to the Kassenrik Auction House today was mainly to see the Great Witch Granny Qi Na Cassandra and Sister Daifulin of the Ring Mage Order. Besides thanking them for their help, he also needed to explain in more detail what happened in the Boundary of Life and Death on Saturday night.

Xia De naturally wouldn't say that he and Priest Ao Gu Si had both "died" once and then returned from the world of the dead. He only said that he had encountered many strange people in the Boundary of Life and Death, and even saw a very strong vampire from afar.

"The other party was truly strong; besides that person with wings, perhaps the person who caused the crimson aurora anomaly above Sikar Mountain could also be that vampire. After all, doesn't the power of vampires often carry a blood-red color?"

Xia De said without any psychological burden.

He had saved that middle-aged vampire and his nephew, and the other party was not only of a different race but even a foreigner speaking Kassenrik; perhaps he would never see them again in this lifetime.

"Vampires? It seems there are indeed some guys who have resided here for a long time, but haven't they always been acting as ordinary citizens?"

Granny Cassandra and Sister Daifulin talked for a while, and it seemed they didn't doubt his words.

The two also told Xia De that, including Priest Ao Gu Si, a total of 17 missing persons had been found yesterday by City Hall and the soldiers of the Delarion Royal Army from the Windy Path.

Everyone had lost their memories of the 【Boundary of Life and Death】; this was not only the influence of the Level 0 relic itself, but also because the living should not possess any memories related to the world of death.

In short, Priest Priest Ao Gu Si had successfully returned to the Dawn Cathedral. After a physical examination and a simple inquiry, he would be able to return to his normal work. Compared to the other sixteen missing persons, the priest had nothing special about him, and no one remembered what he had done in the 【Death-Life Interstice】.

Granny Cassandra knew that Xia De had used special means to get from Tobesk to Midhillburg, so before Xia De got up to leave, she told him that if he had trouble in this city, he could come here to find her for help at any time. Although Sister Daifulin of the Ring Mage Order also heard all this, she didn't express curiosity about Xia De's spatial crossing.

She didn't understand why the Great Witch would be close to a man, but she also promised Xia De that he could receive help from the 【Ring Mage Order】 at any time. She still didn't tell Xia De the location of the Order, but Xia De could contact her through the 【House of the Blind】.

After expressing his thanks again, Xia De said he wanted to acquire special blood, currency-type relics, and time keys, and then left Cassandra Auction House. When he walked to the door, someone behind him called his name:

"Mr. John Watson!"

Turning his head, it was the lobby manager of the auction house who had led the way for Xia De just now. The middle-aged man with brown hair, wearing a crisp suit, hurried over and handed Xia De a brass-colored card.

Xia De originally thought it was the other party's business card, but after flipping it over, he knew it wasn't.

"Mr. Watson, this is a VIP card for Cassandra Auction House. It can be used at all auction houses and branches in the Old Continent. I forgot to give it to you just now."

He said respectfully. Xia De nodded, put the card away, and then asked him:

"If I want to contact an officer stationed at the Windy Path, what is the simplest way?"

The camps of these border troops were all in Sikar Mountain, and Xia De didn't want to walk along the Windy Path into the mountain; that was too far.

"May I ask if you know the specific unit number or camp location?"

The middle-aged manager asked. Xia De shook his head:

"Only the rank and name."

"Then I suggest you go to a tavern in the south of the city to ask. Officers like to go into the city to the tavern to relax when they are on vacation. They know each other well, and you will find the answer."

Seeing Xia De nod, he hesitated and said again:

"I don't mean to offend those respectable border officers, but they are usually... rude and rough. A gentleman like you will probably find it difficult to deal with them."

This middle-aged man didn't know Xia De's true identity, but seeing that he could gain the favor of the auction house's owner, Ms. Cassandra, he thought he was a young descendant of a noble or from a large merchant family.

"What do they like to do in the tavern?"

Xia De asked curiously.

"What else? Women, alcohol, and Rhoder cards."

"I see..."

Xia De was thoughtful; he believed he would get along well with the local officers.

Because it connected the most important train line in the central and eastern part of the continent, the density of taverns and hotels around Midhillburg Railway Station in the south of the city was astonishing. Even on a Tuesday workday, most of the taverns along the street were still open, and there were many guests.

It happened to be noon, so Xia De thought about finding a place to eat and gather intelligence. He didn't want to squeeze into a crowded small tavern, but going to a high-end restaurant was not only expensive but also impossible to gather news.

He intentionally looked for a large hotel that looked decent and did relatively formal business, like the Three Cats Hotel on Anthem Square in Tobesk. It just so happened that when he was in the carriage just now, the enthusiastic coachman recommended the "Sikar Hotel" on Birch Wood Street, which was two streets away from the railway station.

The name was quite straightforward, but it seemed to leave a deeper impression on people.

"I don't know if 'Sikar' counts as a chain brand; if so, someone will probably come to collect brand fees."

Xia De thought to himself, enjoying his own thoughts; only he understood what these meant.

Midhillburg had extremely rich timber resources, but the buildings built in the old era in the southern city area mostly used stone structures due to military and fire prevention needs. The area of Sikar Hotel was far less than the Three Cats Hotel in Tobesk, but this hotel also had four floors above ground, with the top two floors being areas for accommodation and the bottom two floors being a restaurant and tavern.

When Xia De finished his eyeshadow and pushed the door into the hotel, it was exactly 11:30 in the morning. The sunlight was quite good today, and the light shot from the gray stone window frames into the windows, leaving mottled traces of light and dark on the tables and guests.

There was a scent of wine in the hotel, and at this time, the guests eating lunch had already filled two-thirds of the tables on the first floor. The bustling restaurant was lively, with people of different identities using various languages talking to each other.

Even when Xia De entered the door, he heard someone complaining loudly in Kassenrik about the excessive humidity of autumn in Midhillburg; this was a scene that could only be seen in peacetime.

By the wall, there was a long-haired male bard wearing a red hat, sitting on a high stool playing a lute, with a silver Kassenrik whistle standing by his feet.

Seeing that there was an empty table near him, Xia De sat down, asked the waiter for a menu, and chose some food that might suit his taste based on the names. He didn't order too much food, after all, he had an appointment to meet Priest Ao Gu Si in the afternoon, and the priest still owed him a meal.

When choosing wine, Xia De unconsciously thought of the sip of wine Difa had brought him at dinner yesterday. With a straight face and no expression, he returned the menu to the waiter, then watched the poet singing by the side, waiting for his lunch to be delivered.

Bards who played in taverns to make money mostly used heroic epics and legendary stories as material, and sometimes they would cater to the needs of the kingdom's officials and sing some news about current politics when paid.

And what the poet in front of him was singing was the story of the Phoenix in local legends. The current passage had reached the end of the story, which was the part where the people in the story mourned the Phoenix who sacrificed himself for the city. ===== CHAPTER 618 =====