Professor Manning and Miss Louisa started talking very familiarly. From the content of their conversation, he seemed to know Miss Louisa’s father:
“That pen, yes, I remember it. I bought it from an old Writer who lived two streets away, introduced by a friend. That Writer was in very poor health at the time, with dark circles under his eyes, Spirit Disorganization, like severe myasthenia gravis.”
The Professor sat in the chair behind the desk, his hands clasped together as he spoke. Behind him was an entire wall of bookshelves, but the books were not neatly arranged, and some even had notes tucked inside them, swaying in the wind from outside the window.
But Xia De really liked this decorating style.
Miss Louisa glanced at Xia De. The Professor’s description of the old Writer clearly indicated that the person had been drained by his obsession with the pen. Perhaps before he died, he resolved to sell the pen and distance himself from those temptations, but unfortunately, it was too late.
However, fortunately, Professor Manning was full of energy; he probably hadn't used that pen and simply kept it as a collectible.
“Yes, I came here this time to buy that pen from you. To be honest, the old Writer you mentioned was my friend, and he passed away two months ago.”
Miss Louisa showed a regretful expression, and Xia De also imitated her, setting down his teacup.
“That pen is probably a relic. I was also an old friend of that Writer, and I want to buy it back. You can name your price; I think as long as the price is reasonable, I can accept it.”
The Professor thought for a moment:
“If it’s a friend’s relic, of course I wouldn’t refuse to sell it. How about this, I’ll go up to the collection room to retrieve the pen first. Please wait for me a moment.”
He stood up, also instructing the maid to bring some snacks for the two guests.
So, both the maid and the Professor left the study, and the black cat followed them. Once he confirmed their footsteps had faded, Xia De said with a slight sense of relief:
“So that’s all it is. I thought it would be very troublesome.”
“See? I told you this matter was safe. Just consider it an experience.”
Miss Louisa said.
Xia De nodded and picked up his teacup again, then asked curiously:
“So what is the side effect of the Document-level relic, the dream pen of joy? Is it merely attracting people to use it, and then the user’s body gradually decays?”
He was curious about this. Although he had quite a few relics in his possession, this was the first time he had seen something so novel.
“It’s not just that. If the dream pen is used for a long time, absorbing too much spiritual power and blood, then it’s possible for things from dreams to come into reality. The terrifying things born from the dream pen can simply be considered materialized nightmares. That’s why it’s classified as Document-level.”
The Writer explained, and Xia De made a face that suggested, “This thing is amazing.”
As for why Miss Louisa wanted this pen, it wasn't because she wanted to try it out, nor was it to hand it over to the academy for a reward. As a Writer, Miss Louisa's Ring術士 system itself is centered around The Writer core rune.
She had recently encountered a bottleneck in her Miracle studies, so she wanted to find some relics with similar powers to gain inspiration, just like Xia De bought the Orb of the Silver Moon to strengthen his study of Silver Moon Miracles.
The two chatted about the history of this pen's containment, mentioning that the dream pen was much more likely to be held by men than women.
At this moment, hearing footsteps, they realized the maid was returning and quickly changed the topic to the beautiful weather that day.
The plump maid with a headscarf brought them fresh black tea and a plate of small pastries. They were some muffins with butter on the side, indicating that Professor Manning’s living standard was indeed not bad.
“I apologize, I wanted to get something for the cat to eat, but I couldn’t find anything in a hurry.”
The maid apologized to Xia De again. Xia De shook his head, about to say it was nothing, but suddenly realized a problem:
“You mean, Professor Manning doesn’t have anything for a cat to eat here?”
His hand suddenly gripped the armrest of the backrest chair, and Miss Louisa also frowned, looking at the maid.
The middle-aged woman didn't know why they had such expressions, but she still nodded hesitantly:
“The Professor doesn’t keep pets, so there isn’t…”
“Did you see it just now?”
Xia De turned to ask Miss Louisa, who replied quickly:
“Of course, I saw it, that black cat.”
Both of them stood up almost simultaneously. Xia De placed Mia on the chair instead of carrying her.
“You stay here and watch the cat for me; don’t let it run around.”
He said to the maid, while Miss Louisa patted the plump maid’s shoulder, her tone becoming extremely gentle:
“Stay in the room. Don’t leave until we return.”
The maid’s eyes immediately became unfocused, and she nodded very stiffly. Xia De had seen this move before; in the garden maze of Lakeview Manor, the Orthodox Church’s Ring術士 captain had used a similar ability, but it probably couldn’t compare to Professor Sanchez’s Charm Human.
Leaving the cat and the plump maid in the study, Miss Louisa went first, followed by Xia De, as they walked towards the third floor. As he stepped onto the stairs, Xia De didn't forget to ask in his mind:
“Why didn’t you remind me that I encountered a ‘whisper’ element?”
【Because I didn't feel it.】
“But that cat was very close to me.”
【Not the main body. Since the other party originated from a dream, the probability of it revealing its main body to you is very low. What you saw should only be a false illusion of a nightmare; it was observing you.】
“So the weakness of ‘the other me’s’ reconnaissance ability is distance.”
Xia De concluded in his mind.
Following behind Miss Louisa, they walked up the stairs, stopping on the last step leading to the third floor. The third floor still felt lived-in, with the Professor’s photos hanging in the corridor and stacks of paper boxes of unknown purpose piled against the wall.
But there was no sound on the entire floor, and all the doors were tightly closed. Miss Louisa tentatively called out Professor Manning’s name, but received no response.
She cautiously said to Xia De:
“Follow me in a moment. Although it’s a nightmare born from a relic, judging from Professor Manning’s condition, the nightmare born from the relic going out of control should only be in its nascent form. When I patted the maid’s shoulder, I checked her condition, and she’s very ordinary, which means the nightmare hasn’t even had time to act on the other people in this house.”
Miss Louisa said to Xia De, and with a gush of steam behind her, the brass-colored Destiny Ring fully appeared.
Xia De nodded, following the Golden-haired girl off the stairs and onto the third floor. Miss Louisa seemed to be testing something, pausing at each door on the third floor before moving on to the next.
Her back looked pretty. Perhaps because the weather was too hot, Miss Louisa's back was soaked, and near her swaying golden long hair, the clothes on her back seemed transparent, allowing Xia De to see...
“Hmm?”
Xia De felt a sense of alarm and stopped. The Outsider’s extensive knowledge made him involuntarily generate an ominous guess at this moment.
“Could it be that now we are in…”
He looked down at his hand with a feeling of realization. On the back of his exposed hand, the originally smooth skin cracked inch by inch, and golden light traces shone beneath those cracks. Rolling up his sleeve, the cracks extended from his hand to his entire body. In almost the blink of an eye, his whole body was covered in golden cracks, and even his clothes had cracks.
Brilliant golden light radiated outwards from inside the cracks. It was warm and gentle, yet exceptionally sacred and solemn.
This was only a visual effect; Xia De did not feel any pain. Instead, he felt a sense of fullness of power and warmth.
“This is…”
He said in disbelief. As his palm moved, golden brilliance actually flickered in the air. As his body swayed, his clothes trailed golden light traces behind him.
【You didn't think that the so-called afterglow was just words, did you?】