Chapter 846: Invitation

"Be your apprentice?"

Xia De looked at the other party in surprise:

"But I am not a woman."

"But you can use witch power, are proficient in space and mathematics, and Miss Galina also praised your outstanding ability and work that makes her feel very at ease. I can't think of anyone more suitable than you to be my apprentice."

Miss Sylvia counted Xia De's advantages one by one.

What she said was indeed very reasonable, but Xia De felt that being a correspondence student at St. Byron's was enough for now. He was still thinking about the position of the academy librarian. Not to mention, if he really dared to agree to Miss Sylvia, he didn't dare to imagine what Miss Galina would do:

"I am honored to be favored by you, but sorry, I have no intention of becoming a witch's apprentice."

Miss Sylvia was not disappointed either:

"You can consider it a little. The Speaker said I am not mature enough, and my own talent still needs to be excavated, so she told me not to recruit apprentices before the Eleventh Ring. I can give you time to consider... The Speaker said I have the talent to touch the Thirteenth Tier."

Miss Sylvia said, not looking like she was joking. She was really considering letting Xia De be her apprentice.

"If I didn't see it wrong, that Princess Margaret is looking forward to becoming your apprentice."

Xia De pointed this out. The witch held the teacup and shook her head slightly:

"I said last night that the girl has no talent. I don't mean she is very stupid; her Ringed Ringed Ringed Shushi talent is quite good, and she is also very hardworking. But... she is not suitable to be my apprentice. The girls of the Anjou family have great ambition, but their academic work is really poor. Moreover, the mysteries of space are completely inaccessible to her. This world only gives special talent to a small number of people, such as you and me."

This lady was very proud of her talent.

Xia De fully understood what she meant:

"Have you ever told her this?"

"Yes, I clearly told her, but she refused to give up. Actually, even if she doesn't become my apprentice, I am very willing to guide her to go further on the path of a Ringed Ringed Ringed Shushi, but no talent is no talent, which cannot be changed."

"Does this have anything to do with us meeting here instead of at the Rothschild Mansion where the Princess is staying?"

"Yes, you should try not to let too many people see your existence. My followers are few, and some can see you, but that doesn't include Margaret. I think Miss Galina doesn't let all her followers know of your existence either."

This meant that Xia De couldn't rely on the witch's relationship to approach that Princess with the identity of Xia De Hamilton. The matters of "Finger of the Moon" and "Grey-headed Eagle" still had to be figured out by himself.

"Also, take this."

The witch took an invitation from the side and handed it to Xia De:

"Tomorrow night, the Rothschild Mansion will hold a farewell party. The great nobles of Huntington City will all be invited to attend, and I hope you can come too."

"Inviting me to attend, is there any special task?"

"No task. Yesterday I handed over Poison Ivy Majisi of the Pantanal Voodoo Society to the Church, but I don't know why the other party took action against an Earl. I don't think they have the courage to take action against the Kingdom's Princess, but after all, it's safer to be insured, so if you can come, my pressure will be less. But don't take it too much to heart. The Church of this diocese will also send people to attend tomorrow night's banquet, and of course, I will be there too. You just need to appear at the banquet and pay attention to whether any strange things happen."

Xia De took the invitation:

"No problem, Saturday night... okay, I will postpone the original matter."

Subsequently, he asked for advice again:

"Excuse me, what do you think of the 'Lady of the Lake' legend around Huntington City?"

Miss Sylvia thought for a while and shook her head slightly:

"I have only heard of this legend, but I don't know the specific situation. My follower forces are mainly active in Willondale. My teacher, before she passed away, was not active in the Huntington City area for a long time."

Although somewhat regretful, Xia De also knew that it was impossible for everyone to provide information:

"I understand. I will consider the apprentice matter, but don't hold too high expectations. Also, my friend locally, yes, that vampire Mr. Bernhardt, also mentioned the power of the Pantanal Voodoo Society. I don't think that kind of loosely structured organization dares to attack the Kingdom's Earl. Is there any other possibility for this matter? For example, were they hired?"

"Before handing over that guy with a high bounty, I did interrogate him, but the other party was very firm and said nothing. Magic potions didn't work on him either. However, judging from the current situation, the duchies around the Pantanal area seem to be somewhat dishonest, but it cannot be completely determined that it is them. After all, once it is discovered that the secular regime hired an illegal Ringed Ringed Ringed Shushi group..."

Miss Sylvia put down the teacup:

"The Religious Inquisition of the Mainstream Churches is not a place for jokes. Especially in the modern era when the epic of the poem is happening, even if the steam fog covers our civilization, the Religious Inquisition is still the most terrifying institution."

"I hope this is not the prelude to any big conspiracy."

Xia De sighed and looked out the window with a frown. The clouds of war left the Old Continent decades ago, and the peaceful era could catalyze the prosperity of the steam revolution. In the summer, rebellion appeared within the Cavendish family, and Queen Diana was inexplicably assassinated on the street. And now, the death of the Earl of Kassenrik was linked to a strange Ringed Ringed Ringed Shushi organization. It seems that some people are unwilling to live in a peaceful era, and whether the smoke of war will ignite the Old Continent again, even the outsider cannot figure it out.

For the whole Friday morning, Xia De stayed in the Owl Library and chatted with Miss Sylvia. This young witch with short black hair had quite a lot of achievements in contemporary mathematics research and even published many papers as the first author, which also had a high reputation in the academic world of ordinary people. This was the reason why she could be hired by the royal family as a tutor for the princesses.

And when talking about the topic of space sorcery, Miss Sylvia also had high insights and understanding that exceeded Xia De's vision. Her attainments in space sorcery were quite high, and a simple chat could point out many puzzles in Xia De's application of space power.

Of course, she couldn't understand why Xia De's 【Lagley's Jump】 had a longer effect than ordinary Ringed Sorcerers, and for the sorcery 【Space Stability Halo】, she pointed out the key:

"Compared to sorcery, this is actually more like some kind of wonderful divine art. I suspect it comes from an Ancient God. Perhaps after checking the data, we can find its source."

Although Xia De refused the proposal to become Miss Sylvia's apprentice, he was also very happy to communicate more with this Great Witch. The other party was happy to share knowledge with Xia De and even promised that when they arrived in Tobesk, she could temporarily act as Xia De's teacher and teach Xia De some knowledge related to witch power.

Compared to Miss Galina and Miss Aurora, Miss Sylvia was indeed more like a scholar. She was extremely capable in speaking and doing things, and her appreciation for Xia De didn't come from his specialness, but because she thought Xia De's logical thinking was simply like a scholar and mechanical engineer who had undergone strict training:

"If you didn't become a Ringed Ringed Ringed Shushi, but spent your life as an ordinary person, you would definitely be able to contribute to the scientific development of this era."

This was a very high evaluation.

Near noon, Miss Sylvia invited Xia De to lunch at the club of the Owl Library, and then the two formally bid farewell. And the morning time also made Xia De sure that this Great Witch had no malice toward him, and her favorability was quite high, so he felt relieved.

After leaving the Owl Club, Xia De formally began the exploration of the "Lady of the Lake" legend.

According to the information provided by Mr. Edmund of the Occult Society and the vampire Mr. Bernhardt, the sighting records of the "Lady of the Lake" did not appear beside a specific lake, but randomly appeared around many lakes between Huntington City and the Pantanal swamp area.

Because it was adjacent to the Pantanal area, there were many lakes of various sizes in the west of Huntington City, which was the exact opposite of the low hills and plain terrain full of vineyards in the east. It was impossible for the city to expand to the swamp area in the west, which caused the old Huntington City West District to fail to catch the steam era's ride, but it also preserved the city style of the old era.

Steam pipes passed through here, but ancient buildings also showed the glory of Huntington City in the old era. Tobesk was a true steam era metropolis, Coldwater Port was a paradise for adventurers, Midhillburg was a mountain city, while Huntington was a city standing on the boundary line of the era, mixed with vineyards, swamps, and steam.

Xia De's first stop was not to rush directly to the lakes outside the city to try his luck. Mr. Bernhardt contacted the local folklore professor who studied the "Lady of the Lake" legend. At the same time, the other party claimed to have really met the so-called "Lady of the Lake".

Actually, there was more than one witness contacted by Bernhardt, but only this one was proficient in Delarion language. Xia De had no other choice. His Kassenrik language was not enough for him to have a very long and professional conversation with the locals. You know, Miss Sylvia had been using Delarion language just now.

"It seems that every time I arrive in a brand new city, my first stop is always to find folklore professors."

Xia De in the carriage thought.

Professor Kansas Drake, introduced to Xia De by Mr. Bernhardt, was an old professor who had retired from the local university. Because he was unmarried for life, he lived alone in a detached house in the old city area in the west of Huntington City. That was not a common street-facing apartment in this era, but a courtyard-style building with a courtyard, garden, and independent warehouse, located in a specialized residential block. Although the total ground area was not as large as the land of No. 6 St. Theresa Square, it was enough for an elderly person living alone.

Unlike the folklore old professors Xia De had seen before who were clearly old but still full of vitality, Professor Kansas Drake, who had worked at Huntington Vocational School, was disabled in both legs due to an accident and could only move in a wheelchair now.

Therefore, when Xia De took the business card, found the door of No. 21 Green Algae Street in the West District of Huntington City, and rang the bell outside the fence door, the one who opened the door for Xia De was a fat maid wearing an apron.

Inside the fence were shrubs trimmed like squares, and behind the shrubs was a flat lawn. Although Professor Drake was disabled in his legs, it seemed his life was still comfortable and pleasant. ===== CHAPTER 847 =====