Xia De also spoke a few words about the immigration issue, but he was actually rubbing the small box containing the relic, the dice of destiny, in his pocket.
His ears listened to the conversation about the feasibility of immigration, but his eyes unconsciously wandered around, and then he actually saw Mr. Lawrence.
His photo was in the report left by Sparrow Detective, and Xia De had also seen him at the club entrance not long ago.
“Hmm? Why is he here? Have all my acquaintances come? Lawrence is a big factory owner, so it’s certainly no problem for him to be invited to such a banquet.”
Xia De thought to himself, shifting his gaze, wanting to see if there was still some of that delicious goat milk pudding on the table, thinking of bringing some back for the orange cat fostered at his home.
But suddenly, the young Detective thought of another question:
“Since Mr. Lawrence is attending the Lakeview Manor banquet in such formal attire, there’s no reason for him not to have a female companion.
Did Mrs. Lasoya come too?”
He carefully glanced again out of the corner of his eye and saw that standing beside Mr. Lawrence was none other than Mrs. Lasoya, dressed in a red floor-length gown with a ruffled neckline, making the “woman,” who still wore that pebble ring, look exceptionally stunning that night.
“Oh, something big is indeed about to happen.
The helper Mrs. Lawrence found, she wouldn’t be planning to clash with Lasoya here, would she?”
He withdrew his gaze, wondering whether to leave.
But suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, which startled Xia De, thinking that Mrs. Lasoya had found him.
But when he turned around, he found it was Baron Lavende, his employer for the night, followed by several gentlemen of his age.
“Oh, my Mr. Dawn!
It really is Hamilton, we haven’t seen each other in a long time!”
The middle-aged man, who loved rhode cards, said in a very exaggerated tone, winking at Xia De while shaking his hand.
“Yes, long time no see, Mr. Lavende.”
Xia De immediately understood his meaning:
“It’s been three years since I last saw you and played rhode cards with you, hasn’t it?”
To show his Pay attention to for the commission, Xia De also spoke with an exaggeratedly enthusiastic tone:
“What a coincidence, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Yes, what a coincidence, this must be the arrangement of the gods.
Speaking of which, these are my friends, and I’m going to play rhode cards with them over there.
Do you want to come along?
If you have other things…”
As he spoke, Mr. Lavende shook the hand he was holding with Xia De.
Xia De believed that if he didn’t agree, he would never be easily released.
“Of course I can go along, oh, gentlemen, let’s use rhode cards to pass this boring night.
The banquet is certainly interesting, and Lakeview Manor is also very nice, but rhode cards are still the best.
This is my business card…”
As he handed out business cards to Mr. Lavende’s upper-class friends, Xia De saw the Baron secretly give him a “well done” gesture.
While warmly greeting Baron Lavende’s friends, Xia De caught sight of Mr. Lawrence and Mrs. Lasoya walking towards the Lakeview Manor mansion out of the corner of his eye, and only then did he feel relieved and walked with Baron Lavende and his party towards the back of the manor, where the exciting rhode cards competition was about to begin.
Along the way, the group also exchanged their respective rhode cards anecdotes, discussed news of special cards appearing on the market, and speculated on the release quantity and theme of the special rhode cards that the Prophet Association would launch this Summer.
Xia De also participated to better complete the commission.
“I even heard rumors that a Founding series rhode cards appeared in Tobesk City.”
He said to everyone in an exaggerated tone, and although it was hard to say if some people believed such a thing, they still showed surprised expressions.
The group were all rhode cards enthusiasts, and it was impossible for them not to know about the “Founding series” cards.
“Not long ago, when I went to the Prophet Association to do something, I heard Vice President Mark discussing this matter with someone on the third floor.
But the authenticity is hard to say, after all, those are cards from hundreds of years ago.
However, if a Founding series card really appears, I would very much like to see it.”
Xia De shared his anecdotes, and because he showed his love for rhode cards and his extensive network, he quickly went from being a stranger to a welcomed friend.
By the time the group arrived at the stone table under the grape arbor, no one was wondering why Xia De was joining in the fun anymore.
Baron Lavende was very satisfied with the young Detective he had hired.
Baron Lavende’s rhode cards opponent, Baron Rwanda, was a middle-aged gentleman of similar age but very short in stature.
Xia De didn’t want to use words like “dwarf” to describe others, but that word was actually quite fitting.
Although he had some height issues, Baron Rwanda, whose features seemed to be all bunched up on his face, looked like an exceptionally shrewd person.
Like Baron Lavende, he also brought a group of friends who loved rhode cards to participate in the card game.
When the group met under the grape arbor, nothing unpleasant happened.
The two Barons exchanged pleasantries, introduced their friends to each other, and talked about the Lakeview Manor dinner and the weather that day before sitting separately on either side of the stone table.
The men they brought immediately surrounded the stone table, instead of just standing behind them.
Everyone’s face was filled with excitement and anticipation, as if the atmosphere had changed at that moment.
This was not like gamblers simply seeking thrills, but more like anticipating an exciting story serialization, or an interesting opera performance.
Due to Baron Lavende’s special arrangement, Xia De stood closest to the stone table.
He saw the two Barons each take out their stakes.
Baron Lavende’s was his only rhode cards with special rules, the 【Flower 13】 from the “Northern City” series of cards, which was the card that allowed for a redraw if a 20 was rolled on the dice.
The card face was a silhouette of Atek City, the City of Art.
Baron Rwanda’s stake was of course also a rhode cards with special rules.
He very deliberately placed both of his two special rule cards on the table, and only after the surrounding gentlemen had seen them did he pick one out and set it aside as his stake.
That was the 【Star 6】 card from the “Ancient Fairy Tale” series, and the card face was exactly the “match girl” that Baron Lavende had mentioned last time.
However, the usage conditions for the special rule of the 【Ancient Fairy Tale · match girl】 were even stricter than Baron Lavende’s 【Northern City · Atek City】; one had to roll a 10 or 20 twice in a row on the 20-sided dice to adjust the card number within 6 or 7.
Although rhode cards have special rule cards, most of their usage conditions are strict.
This ensures that rhode cards competition can be full of fun while maintaining relative fairness.
Cards like Xia De’s 【Founding · Silver Moon】, which can be used directly with their special rules upon drawing, are very rare.