novelonline Chapter 4198 Garden Dinner
Chapter 4198 Garden Dinner
Chapter 4198 Garden Dinner
"No problem. Helping you find that sea will also help us continue to advance our research."
Old John nodded, but didn't mention asking for payment, which was quite unusual.
"Today is Sunday. Come to my place next Tuesday evening to pick up the documents."
Then he said with a smile:
"Speaking of which, I should congratulate you on successfully containing the [Leather Goods Guild]."
"This is all thanks to everyone."
Shad was very modest, and old John asked Shad to wait a moment. Then he rummaged through the cabinet and found a set of wine glasses. He then pulled out a dusty wooden box from under the counter, inside which was a bottle of sherry with a faded label and a thin layer of wax seal on the bottle.
"It's been almost thirty years. The fact that something as dangerous to civilization as the [Leather Goods Guild] can be contained is something to celebrate."
The amber-colored liquid was poured into two small glasses, and its aroma slowly spread, like the scent of old books and oak. Mia sniffed it, then shifted slightly; cats don't like alcohol.
Xia De picked up his wine glass and clinked it against the old man behind the counter. The twilight light outside the glass window was brilliant, and the crisp sound of the glasses clinking was quite fitting for the dim, yellow light at that moment.
Xia De took a sip of wine:
“Speaking of which, old man John, I would like to ask you to acquire a supernatural item.”
What do you want?
Old John savored the wine in his hand.
"Seeds of life".
"Cough cough~ cough cough~"
The old man choked, and he hurriedly put down his glass and patted his chest.
“If I remember correctly, this is something that only appears in myths and legends. I know that such an item actually exists, but throughout the entire Sixth Age, apart from one that was obtained by the College of Medicine of Serxus around 850, no one has ever seen such a strange item.”
Xia De's eyes lit up:
"So, was the seed from Serxus Medical College used?"
"I don't know about that."
"Thank you so much."
Shad tilted his head back and drank the glass of sherry. When he went to see Daniste tomorrow morning, he could ask her to help him contact the Serxus Medical College.
"Well then, Old Man John, see you Tuesday evening~ Don't charge me for the information on the Seed of Life. Also, this wine tastes good."
He grabbed Mia and left, leaving the old man behind the counter, swirling his wine glass and saying that the detective had no idea how to appreciate wine.
Shad's next stop was the doctor's clinic. Although he did not attend the group meeting on Saturday afternoon, Dorothy and Luvia, who were present, had informed the doctor and priest about what had happened in Arcadia City, so the doctor was already aware of the demon's appearance.
Dr. Schneider seemed to have guessed that Shad would visit that evening, so he waited for Shad at the clinic.
He stated very directly:
"Now that the demon has appeared, we can assume that 'Valeis the Withering Demon' is in the Arcadia region."
The doctor paced confidently in the reception room:
"Valecius enjoys the withering of normal life, which is why I believe it will appear in the Scholar's City where life energy is surging. The fact that he sent such a powerful demon into the [Leatherwork Guild] this time definitely has its purpose."
"A detective, if he could find out what the demon is trying to do, might be able to deduce the demon's identity."
Xia De also considered this question:
"The demon's target was clearly the guild master. Its plan was ingenious, and it might have succeeded if it hadn't encountered me. At that time, it had even subdued the guild master and was absorbing his life energy and sins through some kind of black chain."
Xia De frowned and recalled:
“The underwater environment was very complex at the time, and I couldn’t see it very clearly, but the chain seemed to have some similarities to my chain.”
"Life Energy and Sin"
The doctor pondered for a moment:
"I can't go to Arcadia City for the time being. The other side possesses the Path of No Light compass, which can track demons and also my whereabouts. However, since Valesius took such a great risk, sending his demon minions to obtain life energy and sin, he will definitely take similar actions after this failure."
Gaining life energy is probably related to its desire to strengthen itself; the more life withers, the stronger it becomes. Gaining sin, however, is somewhat surprising. While demons also possess sin, they generally don't easily taint sins that don't belong to them. After all, bearing sin is a terrifying thing, and apart from you, I haven't heard of anyone else who can so easily bear so much sin.
"So, the demon's desire to acquire sin might be related to that 'Great Demon'?"
Xia De guessed, and the doctor nodded:
"Yes, so you need to be careful about events like the [Leatherwork Guild] next. They might make another move. Also, it's not easy for a demon to raise demons. According to you, the demon that appeared this time is quite powerful. I don't think Valesius has many similar helpers around him. He might show up himself."
Shad smiled:
"I'm just waiting for it to show itself. With this [Vanity], my chains now have ten Great Sin runes. I'll see if it can break free of them."
He told the doctor the ancient story of the "guild master," and the doctor lamented that wherever there is intelligent life, there are always stories of evil. The "guild master," punished and sealed by the ancient gods, should have perished completely over time, but after being accidentally released, it continued to amplify its sins and was not worthy of any redemption.
The doctor was confident in Shad's "Chains of Sin," but he still offered Shad other assistance.
"Valecius's 'Withering' power is not dangerous to you. Your life force is as strong as the sun. If you are just hit by its attack, it will not have a big impact. But you must be careful and never expose yourself to Valecius's power too much."
The doctor handed him the prepared black umbrella:
"By opening the umbrella, one can become completely immune to Valesius's power for a certain period of time. This is an alchemical artifact that I created using the power of the 'Stone Mirror Demon' and the 'Weapon Demon'. Even if the opponent is at their peak, this umbrella can still protect them for a while."
"What if the other party, like Black Hand-Tifron, absorbed that person's blood? The blood that appears in the snow mountain all comes from that withering demon."
Shad suggested this possibility, but the doctor shook his head:
"Unless they are truly desperate, even evil spirits and demons would not dare to easily fuse with that thing's blood. Otherwise, Black Hand-Tifron would not have kept giving out his blood until the very end, only using it on himself."
Of course, if luck isn't on your side and Valecieus truly goes to that level of madness, then wield your Night's Watch and summon the sacred moonlight. In my opinion, since you can even seal the Leatherwork Guild, the ancient demons are no longer invincible opponents for you.
The doctor sighed:
"If I can successfully devour Valesius and obtain the Path of No Light this time, Detective, we've walked such a long demon-hunting path together, and I'm afraid we're really about to see the end."
Since it was already evening, the doctor originally intended to invite Shad to stay for dinner, but Shad had an appointment and declined the doctor's invitation, reminding the doctor to be ready to go to the Arcadia region to join the battle at any time.
It was already 6:30 pm on Sunday when they left the doctor's clinic. Usually, the cat would be waiting at home or the witch's house for dinner at this time, but today it just accompanied Shad to the carriage, which made the cat meow softly and complain a few times.
But then Shad fed it a delicious biscuit, and Mia then obediently invited Shad to scratch its chin.
As Shad peered out of the carriage window and saw Galina's manor in the distance, the last rays of the setting sun had already disappeared below the horizon.
He felt a little apologetic for arriving so late, while the maids of the manor were already waiting for Shad's arrival. After getting off the carriage, Tifa checked Shad's attire and then led him around the manor house, along a side path, to the garden behind the house, where dinner would be served that evening.
The gas lamps along the garden path were already lit, their warm yellow light spilling over the lush green leaves. Shad followed behind Tifa, while the maid walking ahead seemed to sense Shad's gaze, turning back to smile at him as they walked.
The candlelight dinner was set up in the center of a spacious lawn, next to a square rose garden, and a small stone fountain not far away. On summer nights, Galina would occasionally stargaze here, or on a quiet afternoon, she would invite local ladies to tea parties.
The square dining table was already set, and the warm yellow candlelight illuminated the maids who were busy preparing dinner, as well as the two witches who had already taken their seats.
They had all changed into very formal evening gowns. The red-haired Galina wore a blue dress, while the brown-haired Megan wore a black dress studded with rhinestones, making the dress resemble the night sky above.
"Shad, you've come."
They stood up together, smiling and lifting their skirts to greet Shad. Shad smiled back and thanked him for the dinner invitation with a kiss on the hand, then sat down in his assigned chair, while the high stool next to him was clearly for the cat.
The candlelight dinner under the stars officially began, and tonight no one talked about anything stressful. The Civil War and the situation in Arcadia were all left behind. Galina and Shad talked about the aristocratic ladies' outfits that were popular this spring, and Megan shared about the potions she had recently made with interesting effects.
Shad summoned starlight that twinkled around the lawn. He tried not to think that the venue was similar to the venue of Margaret's special dinner a few months ago, and instead smiled as he responded to the witches' topics, even talking about what he had seen and heard that afternoon when he accompanied Agelina to visit the Candleburg Library.