After agreeing to the transaction price and seeing Xia De's expression was off, Old John said, "This price actually doesn't take much advantage of you. I can even give you a new cane for free, and then we'll be even."
He pointed to a cane hanging on the shop wall behind Xia De as decoration, its top shaped like a lion's head. The dust on it made it look very much like an antique.
"I can guarantee that even if you inquire about prices elsewhere, you won't find anything better... Come back and patronize my business next time, and I can give you a discount."
Xia De stared at him with wide eyes. Old John Jones smiled and took out ten one-pound banknotes from a biscuit tin under the counter.
"You can consider it carefully."
After several arguments, Xia De finally left with twelve pounds and five shillings, a new cane, and a "membership" to Old John's Pawnshop.
With enough money to pay off this month's debts, Xia De had basically resolved all the problems he had encountered since coming to this world. A new life was beckoning him, and he was full of hope for the future. So when he returned home at noon, he packed some food from a restaurant and shared the meal with Mia, the cat fostered in his home.
Of course, he only fed the cat what it could eat.
Xia De found that being a Detective might be considered a home-based profession. He didn't go out on Thursday or Friday, simply staying home to read, yet he didn't feel his career development was restricted at all. This made Xia De very satisfied with his career choice.
Two days of study were also quite effective. Xia De had gained a basic understanding of all 19 compulsory courses. As for the study of Miracles and spells, 【Perceive Time】 could not be performed due to insufficient materials, and 【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】 could not be continued due to the cloudy nights these past few days.
However, Xia De had mastered the Moonlight Illusion Miracle. Nights with obscured Moonlight were a good opportunity to learn this Miracle. He followed the instructions, lying flat on the floor of the dark living room with his head facing the window.
He covered his face with the silk cloth given by the academy, which was embroidered with the sacred emblem of an unknown Old God, and then induced Mia to jump over his face. After the cat jumped over his face, he kept his lower body still and sat up with his upper body. The silk cloth naturally oxidized and corroded, and Xia De also learned this Miracle.
The Silver Moon in mysticism also carries the meaning of "cat's protector." Fortunately, there was a cat fostered by a client at home, otherwise Xia De would have had to find a cat himself.
Although the above steps were strange, the Moonlight Illusion was mastered by Xia De in this way. Unlike the unconditional casting of 【Silver Moon Slash】, the illusion must be cast at night, but it does not require casting materials.
"Let's try it."
He turned on the gas lamp, summoned his Destiny Ring with anticipation, and cast the illusion to its maximum extent.
But as the spiritual light of the core rune flickered, all he could do was create a thin silvery mist indoors, slightly obscuring his vision. This would at most confuse low-wisdom creatures like Mia, but it would probably be difficult to affect humans.
He still needed more practice and to deepen his understanding of the Silver Moon. The orange cat, Mia, however, was quite frightened by the strange sight after being confused for a while by the hazy silver mist. After the silver mist dissipated, she immediately pounced at Xia De's feet. Xia De held and comforted the cat for a long time before she calmed down.
This was a rather timid kitten, but Xia De liked her very much. If her original owner, Miss Gaode, had no news, then Xia De would be willing to adopt this cat.
"It's not bad to have a cat at home, at least I don't have to fear mice anymore."
This was his thought before bed.
But on Saturday morning, an unexpected letter announced that Xia De's idea of "taking the cat" was impossible.
It was a reply from Miss Mia Gold, the original owner of the orange cat Mia. She had received the information from Hamilton Detective, learned that the orange cat had been found, and also learned that Sparrow Hamilton had died and that Xia De Hamilton was now managing the office.
However, this rather wealthy lady informed Xia De in her letter that she could not cross half the kingdom to Tobesk City to pick up Mia in the near future. She also felt uneasy about transporting the cat by mail.
Therefore, Miss Mia Gold entrusted the young successor Detective again to continue housing and looking after Mia. She would find time to go to Tobesk City as soon as possible, but that would definitely be in about half a year.
Miss Gaode's family had experienced some changes, and she needed to deal with troublesome family matters.
In addition to the letter, Miss Gaode also sent Xia De 10 pounds in cash via a post office account by remittance. She hoped that the young Detective would not be harsh on the mischievous orange cat and would treat her as kindly as possible.
"Miss Gaode really trusts me? Did that elderly neighbor lady send her a letter describing my reliability? Also, why does everyone think you're mischievous?"
Xia De sat on the sofa, holding "A Detailed Explanation of Herbaceous Plants in the Northern Pan-Continental Region" in one hand, while stroking the orange cat lying beside him with the other. The cat narrowed her eyes, twitched her whiskers, and gently "meowed" to express her contentment. This should be considered the most obedient cat Xia De had ever encountered.
"Did I pick up the wrong cat?"
He thought with some surprise, but this cat really was Mia.
The 10 pounds from the cane and the 10 pounds from Miss Gaode suddenly made Xia De, who was previously a bit short on cash, quite wealthy. However, Xia De did not intend to use these ten pounds for himself, but rather to save them specifically for Mia. He was a very principled person; as long as his own life did not urgently require money, this considerable remittance should be used for the cat, not for a person.
This behavior brought Xia De a strange sense of self-satisfaction, so much so that when he received his second letter of the day, which was the gas, steam, and water bills for this apartment, his mood was not greatly affected.
It was already late June, and these fees were due. But no matter which Hamilton it was, they were very frugal, so the three bills combined amounted to less than 7 shillings. Xia De was satisfied with this figure.
Because the study gathering at Doctor Schneider's clinic was scheduled for that afternoon, Xia De ate lunch early and fed the cat, wanting to set off as soon as possible, as the Doctor's clinic was quite far.
But before he could leave, a visitor arrived.
It was a woman in her thirties, almost as tall as Xia De, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, who arrived directly at the door of Saint Delan Square No. 6 by carriage.
She stomped up the steps to the door in high heels with an imposing demeanor, but when she saw a young man open the door, she looked very surprised.
"Are you looking for Sparrow Hamilton Detective?"
Xia De asked, equally surprised.
"Yes."
The Noblewoman said, sizing up the young man who opened the door.
"Uncle Sparrow has passed away. All his commissions are handled by me now. May I ask who you are...?"
"Mary Lawrence."
Xia De should have reacted immediately to who this was, but because he no longer intended to take on that commission, he paused for a moment before realizing that this was Mrs. Lawrence, the client who had commissioned the tracking of her husband's mistress, Mrs. Lasoya.
It was clear that Mrs. Lawrence, while regretting the death of Sparrow Hamilton, was also displeased, expressing distrust in the young Detective through her words.
Xia De didn't mind, because he, as a Detective, was indeed not trustworthy. But since the other party had already come to his door, he could only invite the client in. After they were both seated, he handed her the report that the former Detective had already compiled.