Sunday's Lakeview Manor dinner was the most important event of Shad's day. Yesterday, he asked Dr. Schneider about the attire for attending the open-air banquet. The doctor told Shad to just freshen up, which would allow strangers to enter.
Open-air banquets are usually quite large, so formal attire is not required.
However, if you are going to a banquet for a beautiful girl, then of course you must dress decently. Shade still remembered Miss Louisa's teasing when she said this, and she seemed to be very familiar with this set of rules.
Because Baron Lavender promised to reimburse the round trip expenses, Shade did not need to leave too early.
The morning was spent playing with the orange cat and reading, and of course, waiting for the client to come. Little Mia was the most obedient pet that Shade could imagine, and these days she had basically adapted to No. 6 Saint Teresa Square.
Life, Shade was very relieved to have it at home.
After lunch, I thought I had no luck waiting for the client, so I went out again and went to Old John's Pawn Shop.
The address provided by Miss Louisa was indeed the store not far from the Silver Parrot Milk Distribution Company. When Shade opened the door, the drowsy old man sitting in the rocking chair immediately woke up:
"Oh, he's a regular customer. I won't use that cane again..."
He stood up to welcome the detective, and Shade whispered:
"Not to mention the cane, this time I want... something interesting."
He looked at the crowded shop. The walls were covered with brass-colored wallpaper, allowing the weak gas lamp to illuminate the room as much as possible. The gas pipes climbed up the walls, and the pipes were intermittently hung with broken lanterns, only the hilt of a sword.
long sword or something like that.
Most of the store was filled with wooden shelves, and items that looked like garbage were placed on the shelves. Shade couldn't figure out what the purpose of putting ordinary Rhodes cards and empty glass bottles here was.
has no meaning.
The owner of the shop, Old John, has returned behind the counter. There is a stack of old books on the left side of the counter, and a small steam engine furnace on the right side. The left half has been wiped clean, and the right half is still covered with ashes. It was not there last time.
This thing.
Old John did not show surprise at Shade's words:
“Everything here is interesting.”
He said, and then looked at Shade quietly behind the counter.
The old man was slightly fat, but his eyes were very powerful. So Shade cleared his throat and said the "secret code" Miss Louisa told him. If you want to buy occult supplies or even relics from here, you must be introduced by an acquaintance:
"Because one plus one equals two, the sun will rise in the west. Oh my Maria, I'm going to kick your... ass hard. Don't go barefoot or the curly baboons will eat it.
Lose your cavities.”
This is the shop's contact code, indicating that Shade was introduced by a regular customer and is also a ring warlock.
But Shade doubted whether Miss Louisa was joking with her with such a code. She might have plagiarized the crazy words of the patients in Dr. Schneider's clinic.
But Old John understood and waved his hand at Shade:
"Oh, it turns out you were introduced by Dorothy Louisa. I haven't seen her for a long time. How is her new book "The Mystery Written in Scarlet" going? Last time, she said she would give me a copy after it is published.
Woolen cloth."
"Mystery in Scarlet" is a detective novel that Miss Louisa is writing recently. She plans to serialize and publish this book in a newspaper and has already contacted the newspaper. Unfortunately, the exam season interrupted her writing plan, so
That book has only been written at the beginning. At yesterday's study meeting, Shade heard a young female writer complain about this.
"If I said last time that I was introduced by Miss Louisa, would the price of the cane be higher?"
Shade asked.
"Of course not, that was the highest price. Detective, are you doubting my credibility? Old John's Pawn Shop never deceives customers... Yes, never, no need to doubt, that's it.
.....”
Facing the young detective's suspicious eyes, Old John coughed and quickly changed the topic:
"Speaking of which, detective, I didn't expect that you are also a ring magician. Well, what do you need? Because of the friendship with the cane last time, I can give you a discount on the first transaction."
Shade had given Old John his business card, so he knew Shade's occupation.
Old John Jones is of course a ring magician, but neither Miss Louisa nor Dr. Schneider knows his specific identity.
They only know that this is a channel for a large organization to recover relics and other precious items in Tobesk City. As for whether Old John belongs to the Orthodox Church, the Academy of Thaumatology, or other organizations, no one is sure.
Dr. Schneider was in a group of four, and they were not even sure whether Old John was also affiliated with St. Byrons Comprehensive College. The old man always smiled when he treated his guests and kept his identity secret, but at least he had a very good professional ethics and had a rich collection.
Unless introduced by an acquaintance, there will be no unfamiliar ring warlocks here, which is also a convenience of joining Dr. Schneider's group.
"I've been studying thaumaturgy related to [Silver Moon] recently, so I thought..."
"I understand, so what price can you pay?"
The old man asked, twirling his right index finger and thumb.
After paying off the first month's debt, Shade's savings were actually running low. His biggest income so far was the commission related to Xiao Mia.
But [Silver Moon]'s thaumaturgy is related to whether he has the power to protect himself, so coupled with the money from selling the cane here, he is still worried that it is not enough.
After much hesitation in his heart, he misappropriated ten pounds of Xiao Mia's "living expenses" without permission. Before going out, he hugged the cat to apologize and promised to pay back the money as soon as possible. Of course, the orange cat didn't understand and fell asleep in a daze.
The cat didn't react at all.
"About 15 pounds."
Shade said cautiously, and Old John nodded:
"This price..."
He took out the heavy account book from under the counter and looked through it. After a few minutes, he raised his head:
"I do have a poet-level [relic] in my hand that suits your situation, but it only costs about 15 pounds. You probably understand that it won't have any big effect, it can just help you feel the power of Silver Moon."
[Relics] are usually very expensive, Shade nodded to express his understanding.
So Old John left through the back door of the store and came back after about dozens of minutes holding a wooden jewelry box.
Putting the jewelry box on the counter and opening it, Shade saw a round bead placed on the red velvet cloth. There was a tiny golden hook on the top of the bead connected to it, and a thin thread was tied to the hook.
The beads are milky white and look like pearls in color, but they are very small. If they are not connected by wires, they may not be found if they fall to the ground.
【You have come into contact with ‘Whispers’.】
The sound came belatedly, as if to illustrate the weakness of this [relic].
"This is a poet-level relic [Orb of the Silver Moon]. The last time it was contained was by one of the three major thaumaturgy academies, Sirkessus Medical School, to record its information. However, that was at the end of the Fifth Era, so even if it is taken out
It won’t be treated as stolen goods.”
Old John pushed the jewelry box to Shade, and Shade stretched out a finger to touch the small bead. A cold feeling immediately came to his heart, and he actually saw the silver moon in front of his eyes.