Chapter 917: Old John's Commission

【Thunder】, as a derivative element of the power of "Sun," is, like Light, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and others, a relatively common spirit rune. Furthermore, in the supernatural systems of past epochs, manipulating elements was always an important component of mysticism, so there are quite a lot of 【Thunder】 miracles—so much so that Xia De, at the Black Raven Library, with a maximum price limit of 200 pounds, actually saw a list of miracles as long as 50 items all at once.

But in the end Xia De didn't buy anything; he planned to compare them with the miracles in the college library. Although the 【Thunder】 spirit rune doesn't particularly match his current ring warlock system, given the powerful offensive capabilities of 【Thunder】 miracles, Xia De is very willing to let this spirit rune be associated with a few more miracles. His energy is limited, so he must carefully consider exactly what to choose.

After leaving the Black Raven Library, it was finally time for lunch. When Xia De returned home, he indeed saw Yi Lu Na, who had changed into a blue dress, holding her clutch purse with both hands hanging in front of her, waiting for him somewhat nervously below the steps of Number 6 Saint Delan Square.

After having lunch with Xiao Mi Ya and Yi Lu Na, the seventeen-year-old Miss, in a good mood, continued her task of visiting other burglary victims in the university district. Xia De returned home and sent a letter to the address Miss Sylvia had given him at the end of the Lakeview Manor banquet, arranging to meet the Great Witch to discuss his thesis.

Because he wanted the letter to arrive today, Xia De specifically went to the post office to send an express letter. Walking out of the post office, he stood at the entrance looking at the street scene, wondering where to go next:

"Go home and look through Professor Manning's letters? Or go take a look at Old John's Pawnshop nearby?"

Looking at the two different paths to the left and right, Xia De chose to go to the pawnshop to try his luck.

In the drowsy afternoon, Old John's Pawnshop had no customers either. The shop's owner was originally reading a book; upon seeing Xia De arrive, he first raised an eyebrow, then gestured that he had something to discuss with Xia De.

"I'm not a rich man; I won't buy that kind of relic that looks fancy but is actually useless."

Xia De said immediately upon walking in, and the old man looked unhappy:

"Detective, listen to what you're saying. Am I that kind of unscrupulous merchant? It's something else—I have a commission here, do you want to take it?"

"A commission? Did you get robbed here too?"

"What robbery? Who would dare to steal from me?"

The bespectacled old man shook his head, glanced at the shop entrance to make sure no one was pushing the door open, then lowered his voice:

"It's not my personal commission, it's a commission from the Hermetic Order, want to take it? The pay is quite good."

He tapped the counter surface with a bent finger, making the brass-framed magnifying glass beside it tremble slightly.

"What do you need me to do? Old John, the local ring warlocks you know should be far more numerous than me, right?"

Xia De also became interested; he knew Old John occasionally sought help from familiar customers, but he didn't expect it to be his turn this time.

"There are indeed many stronger than you, but this matter is best handled by a reliable person."

The old man lowered his voice slightly:

"Do you know the Apuna Library?"

Xia De raised an eyebrow:

"Of course I know, a small ring warlock organization, with very poor relations with the three great academies."

And suspected of holding one-third of the slate "recording the knowledge of enhancing time."

"The Hermetic Order bought a batch of... materials from the Apuna Library, picking up the goods Saturday night. Detective, I want to commission you to help pick up the goods."

"The Hermetic Order isn't short on hands locally, is it?"

Xia De asked in surprise, but Old John shook his head:

"Don't think we're some huge organization; I thought you knew, we're actually more of a special academic group. The others in Tobesk all have things to do, or aren't mature enough. Besides, we don't trust the Apuna Library, just as those people don't trust us. For this matter, I want to find someone powerful, trustworthy, and who handles things properly to do it, and I think you're very suitable."

Xia De smiled and shook his head:

"Old man, then what's the real story?"

"The few mid-ring warlocks of the Hermetic Order are all busy, the only person locally who knows our true identity is you, and Doctor Schneider praised you for being very capable in handling things, so they want you to go."

"That's all?"

Xia De asked again, and the old man coughed awkwardly:

"Also because you happened to come just when I was looking for someone. And, based on my understanding of you, you're quite obsessed with that house at Saint Delan Square, so I don't believe you'd run off for a box of materials."

Old John said, and without waiting for Xia De to refuse, he directly offered a price:

"25 pounds, you just need to go pick up the goods, then deliver them to me. If any other unexpected situations arise midway, I can add more money."

Saying so, he pulled out a handful of change from the biscuit tin under the counter, counted it, then pushed 3 pence back, and handed the rest to Xia De:

"Full payment upfront."

"Being so generous this time?"

Xia De swept that handful of change in front of himself, counted it carefully, and it was exactly 25 pounds, not a single penny more.

"Because this time it's the Hermetic Order paying, it's reimbursable."

The old man said with a smile, knowing Xia De had already agreed.

"Then why give me change? Is this also out of caution?"

Xia De looked up and asked.

"No, I just accumulated too much change, I'm too lazy to go exchange it for whole notes."

The smile on his face made his wrinkles somewhat pronounced; among all the old gentlemen Xia De had met in this era, Old John was the one with the youngest mentality.

With the arrival of Princess Margaret, the early winter city of Tobesk once again became turbulent and treacherous. Old John clearly also knew about what happened on Tuesday night at Lakeview Manor, but he was unwilling to discuss it much with Xia De. He did clearly know the news that the Truth Society and the cultists they had hired had come to the city, but probably not wanting to say "the Chosen One," the old man was also unwilling to discuss this topic much with Xia De.

As for the box of materials Xia De was commissioned to pick up Saturday night, Xia De obliquely inquired about their contents, but Old John shook his head with a solemn expression, gesturing for Xia De not to ask. This attitude of his actually gave Xia De reason to suspect that 【Apuna Library】, after sharing the chapter fragments with 【Truth Society】, had also sold those materials to 【Light-Guiding Hermetic Order】. Bi Qu Ge

But this time he wasn't thinking of reporting it—at the very least, he wanted to see those materials before deciding.

"I think I have reason to suspect whether the funds the Hermetic Order provided for this mission are really 25 pounds."

Xia De swept that handful of change into his wallet; he generally doesn't use a wallet, keeping his change in his pocket, with the wallet holding his firearm license and large bills, but Old John gave too much change.

"Are you looking down on me too much? How could I embezzle funds like this?"

The old man snorted, then asked suspiciously:

"I heard that you've recently latched onto a foreign princess. Why would you still care about a few pounds of small change?"

"Who did you hear this kind of rumor from?"

"The newspapers said so, and the fallen nobles who often come here to pawn family antiques also say so."

"No no, this isn't the real situation, I have nothing to do with Princess Margaret."

Old John smiled and didn't continue the conversation; Xia De also didn't know whether he was teasing him or actually believed this kind of rumor.

While the two were talking, Doctor Shi Nai De actually also came to the pawnshop; he came to pick up the alchemical item in the lighter-case style he had custom-ordered from Old John.

The doctor was somewhat surprised to see Xia De here, exchanged greetings, and while Old John went upstairs to get the goods, the doctor asked the young detective:

"Xia De, do you want to come with me to see a patient in a bit? A very interesting patient — you might be able to help."

"What kind of mental illness is it this time... binge eating again?"

Xia De started.

"Oh, detective, don't scare me — of course not. This time it's persecution mania, though with some other atypical symptoms as well."

The doctor shrugged, and, worried Xia De might not know the condition, explained further:

"Persecution mania means constantly worrying that someone wants to harm you. This patient came from out of town; I've been treating him for three weeks now. Currently... there's some effect, but not much. Continued treatment probably won't achieve much more, so I'd like you to take a look from a detective's angle — you might notice something different."

Xia De thought for a moment:

"Will it take long?"

He was still planning to go back and look through Professor Manning's letters.

"An hour or two, that's all."

The doctor pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it:

"But it's not at my clinic — the session is at the Three Cats Inn in the north of the city. That patient believes the only safe place is where he lives. Earlier I tried to persuade him to chat at the tavern opposite Reedwich Field, but he wouldn't agree."

"No problem, but are you sure this really is just an ordinary patient?"

Xia De asked suspiciously, and the doctor immediately nodded:

"Of course. I've been treating him for three weeks and nothing has happened."

Xia De didn't press further. Although Doctor Shi Nai De had terrible luck, not every patient involved the occult or relics. If he could help the doctor in just an hour or two, Xia De certainly wouldn't refuse.

He had nothing to do in the afternoon anyway, so he decided to go with the doctor.

After bidding farewell to old John, Xia De and Doctor Shi Nai De took a carriage together to the Three Cats Inn. When they alighted at Hymn Square, the doctor paid the fare himself. The "persecution mania" patient paid an extremely generous fee for treatment, and besides, it was the doctor who had invited Xia De to help this time.

Hymn Square, the largest civic square in the Beicheng slums, was still so lively on a Friday afternoon. In the short few dozen meters between them and the Three Cats Inn, people came up to Xia De and the doctor one after another — asking "Do you need to exchange pounds for Carsonrick kronor? I can give you a good rate," "Are you interested in tonight's Luo De Pai," "Do you have time to learn about the newly opened Pink Club" — but they were all shooed away by Doctor Shi Nai De.

Doctor Shi Nai De's patient, Mr. Jims, lived on the third floor of the Three Cats Inn. He had originally been unwilling to leave his room, but recently, probably because the treatment had shown some slight effect, he had agreed to meet on the second floor of the Three Cats Inn this time.