Sparrow is dead, and Shad wants to respect his last wish, so that the story of "Grey Eagle" will end at No. 6 Place Saint Teresa without anyone knowing. Therefore, he will not do that task, even if it means 2,000 pounds, which is a huge sum of money that 99% of the people in this world will never earn in their lifetime.
Taking advantage of the absence of other things on Thursday, after lunch with the cat at noon, Xia De first took his formal suit to the clothing store on Silver Cross Avenue for cleaning, and agreed to come and pick it up tomorrow morning.
After that, he didn't go home directly, but went to the Prophet Association, which was also on Silver Cross Avenue. I haven't seen Luvia for half a week, and Xia De wants to invite her to go out for dinner tonight. If I have time, I can also go to the opera.
Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the "1853 Great City Players Rhodes Card Competition", and the entire Prophet Association has been redecorated. The banners were raised, the interior of the association was cleaned up, and brand-new oil paintings and publicity boards were piled up in the lobby on the first floor for placement.
Everyone here is very busy. Even for tomorrow's opening ceremony, the association only opens the Rhodes brand appraisal business today, and other businesses are temporarily suspended.
Since the association does not conduct divination today, Xia De cannot meet Luvia with the excuse of "wanting to divination for cats". But because he came too many times, and each time he specified Luvia Anat for divination, people also knew that this rumored "duchess' lover" was for people, not for cats, but for cats. Frequently appear in associations.
The receptionists on the first floor smiled and found Luvia for Xia De, but when Xia De announced his invitation, the purple-eyed girl shook her head regretfully:
"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony. Today I even plan to live in the association. There are still many things to be done. The Tobesk branch finally won the right to host this year. President Stan and Vice President Mark decided to We have to run this year's game well, so I don't have time to go out to dinner with you tonight."
"That's really a pity."
Shad also understands.
"Maybe we can hang out together tomorrow night, though."
She smiled again and looked at Xia De:
"I didn't think about those headaches this week. I also noticed that I was emotionally abnormal some time ago. Let's have dinner together tomorrow night and then watch the opera. However, I think Iluna will be very happy. "
Although it's not in Xia De's plan for the three of them to have fun together, it's not bad:
"Of course, I'll go book tickets first, I hope it's still too late."
The busyness of Luvia and Iluna made Xia De seem a little idle. And in order to prove that he was also working hard, after leaving the association, he went to the apartment where Ms. Black lived in the south of the city.
Among the four tasks left by Detective Sparrow, only "help Miss White find her missing sister, Miss Black" has not been completed yet. Shard had come to visit the girl last week, who had actually just run away from home, and she had gone on vacation in the country to cool off, and would not be back until this week.
But when Shade visited for the second time, he learned from the neighbor that Miss Black had indeed returned from the country. But very unfortunately, she set off with her luggage on Tuesday and headed for Fort Midhill, known as the "City of Mountains" in the southeastern part of the kingdom.
This is a city built on the northern foot of Mount Xical and built on the mountain. It is the most important entrance to the Rommel Mountains across the east-central part of the old continent, and it is also the most important transportation hub in the southeast of De La Rion. city of.
"Fort Midhill" was originally a military castle on the border between Carson Rik and De La Rion, and it took three centuries of changes to become the city it is today.
Not only is it a transportation hub, but the tourism and mining industries here are also very developed. Relying on the trade between the two countries and the rich local mineral and forest resources, a very prosperous steam industry has been developed.
In short, Miss Black went on a trip to Fort Midhill, and it will take about half a month before she comes back.
But Xia De's visit this time was not a waste of time. Miss Black's "disappearance" was actually a quarrel with her sister. In order not to worry her sister, she left a letter explaining her whereabouts to the detectives who came looking for her. In the letter, Miss Black hoped that Shad would send a letter to Miss White about her going to Fort Midhill, and she even left a one-pound note in the envelope for this purpose.
The two sisters appear to be very wealthy.
"However, judging from the detective records, Detective Sparrow has never met the client, Ms. White. The other party sent a letter to entrust. At that time, Detective Sparrow was still a little curious about Miss White's identity, so he guessed that the other party was A noble woman with a high status."
Xia De thought in his heart, thanked the old gentleman who was about to go out for a walk with the dog, and then raised his head to look at Miss Black's apartment:
"The quarrel between the two sisters has made me a fortune. But why are they obviously sisters, one named Black and the other named White? Reorganization of the family? Or other reasons?"
Thinking to himself, he took the doorknob downstairs of the apartment. originally
I wanted to confirm whether the door was locked, but I didn't expect that just as my hand touched the cold metal doorknob, I heard a voice next to my ear:
[Outlander, you have come into contact with whispers. 】
"What?"
He looked at the door in front of him in surprise, and took a step back, as if he was worried that some monster would break through the door suddenly:
"Is there a relic here? Can I finally meet the relic too?"
Every time he came across a relic before, it was because of someone else. Xia De himself had never come across a relic by himself.
[No, the whisper element is very weak, lighter than the derivative of the relic, and lighter than any whisper element you have come into contact with. There is even reason to believe that no one but you can detect such slight traces of the elements. 】
"Oh, that is to say, a long time ago, there were relics that appeared near here."
Now Xia De feels more at ease, and today is indeed a peaceful day.
He packed up the letter and planned to write a letter to his client, Miss White, to inform Miss Black of her whereabouts when he got home:
"I hope that Miss Black, who was traveling, can return safely, so let me end this commission. Otherwise, among the detective's four commissions, the only one that is really normal is to find Miya."
The time finally came to Friday, and the "Great City Player Rhodes Card" competition that the outsiders had learned about since they set foot in the Prophet Association for the first time was finally about to start.
This is the issuer of the Rhodes card, the title officially recognized by the Prophet Association, and recognized by players all over the world. And when playing poker with others, it is more face and honor to say that you are a big city player champion in a certain session than bragging how many opponents you have defeated with poker.
Even foreigners who have always claimed that they don't have much desire are full of interest in this title.
After breakfast on Friday morning, Xia De went to Silver Cross Avenue first, and picked up the formal clothes that were entrusted to be cleaned. After I got home and packed up, I went out at half past nine and headed to the Prophet Association.
Just turning into Silver Cross Avenue, I noticed that this street is very lively today.
The carriages parked at the entrance of the Prophet Association almost filled half the street. Gentlemen speaking various languages and using various accents gathered from all over the New World and the Old World with smiles on their faces. The entrance of the association has already been arranged. Alright flowers and red carpet, welcome to the challengers.
If Queen Diana's birthday party not long ago was a feast for nobles, then today is a holiday for players all over the world.
The opening ceremony was held in the large conference hall on the third floor of the Prophet Association, and only those who had received the invitation letter were eligible to come. The opening ceremony started at ten o'clock in the morning and ended around eleven o'clock. The players were looking forward to playing cards, not listening to lengthy speeches, so the main content was to announce the rules of this year's "Big City Players".
Xia De also walked into the Prophet Association with a smile. As soon as I entered the lobby on the first floor, I saw Vice President Mark coming in a hurry:
"Oh, Mr. Hamilton, I saw you. They forgot to put this in the envelope when they sent you the invitation!"
Vice President Mark greeted with an expression of being out of breath, and handed Shad a Rhodes card:
"this is for you."
The Rhodes card he handed over was not a card with special rules, but a card with only a special face.
The sun of three colors is the same as Xia De's [Founding·Silver Moon]. And the special card face is the silhouette of the Tobesk branch of the Prophet Association located on Silver Cross Avenue. "Dacheng Player 1853" is written vertically on the left side of the card, and "0003" is also written vertically on the right side.
"What's this?"
Shad was very curious. This was the first special card he got. Although there were no rules, he still liked this card very much.
"This is the [Great City Player] series of cards, and it is also a qualification for the competition."
"qualifications?"
"Yes, after paying the registration fee of one pound, you can get this special card for free. You are a specially invited player, so the number is first. This not only represents the qualification for the competition, but also a card that can be used on the table. "
Vice President Mark introduced with a smile:
"Mr. Hamilton, I know that your [Founding Silver Moon] is the Sun Three, but you can't play that card in every game. So, I specially chose the Sun Three for you so that you can replace each other. "
"Will the [Great City Player] series of cards be sold publicly?"
Shad asked again.
"Of course not, it can only be obtained after registration."
"It's really nice."
Shad flicked his cards and took out his own
The group inserts it. He can only sigh, these fortune tellers are really business-minded.
He admired this kind of business acumen very much. Although the registration fee of one pound for the competition was high, it was offset by the unique and special Rhodes card.
Players who really wanted to play would be happy with being able to play and get "free" cards, and the only thing the Prophet Society had to pay was the design and printing costs.
It's a real win-win.
There are about one or two thousand contestants in each "Great City Players". Although it sounds like a lot, compared to the Rhodes players in the entire world, it is already very little.
It is not only the high registration fee that hinders the enthusiasm of low-level players to register. Moreover, the entire competition process lasts for two weeks, which does not have a great impact on the locals, but not any out-of-towner can spend two weeks in the out-of-town just to play cards.
Therefore, "big city players" not only refers to the scale, but also means that the game should be held in a big city as much as possible to attract more players. And in each competition, the number of local players can account for at least one-third, which can also provide convenience for the association where the host city is located.
And the Rhodes players selected in this way are the Rhodes masters who are truly powerful or rich. The gathered players will compete for the final winner through several rounds of preliminary rounds, semi-finals and finals within two weeks. Monetary rewards.
The "Big City Players Rhodes Card Competition" is a competition officially supported by the kingdom, because each competition can increase the popularity of a city, and the Prophet Association has spent decades to make people accept this gambling behavior. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com As long as both parties are well-dressed, then it is a very classy game.
Therefore, when Xia De and Vice President Mark came to the third floor where the association is usually open, they discovered that today's opening ceremony not only had the vice president of the association who came all the way from the capital of the Duchy of Lagson, the headquarters of the Prophet Association. Mr. Rick, even the mayor of Tobesk City Hall, Mr. Johnson Waters, showed up.
This is an amiable man in a silk formal suit with a pot belly who looks like a businessman rather than an official. He even took the initiative to find Xia De during the waiting period before the opening and chatted with him about a few boring weather topics.
Shad doesn't know much about Mr. Mayor. After all, although the other party is the mayor of Tobesk, this is the capital of De La Rion. And the current king of the kingdom, Larus III the Flame Jumper, is unfortunately a person who cares more about power. Therefore, the mayor of Tobesk is, in a sense, an idler.
"Good morning, Shad!"
Shad's friend, Baron Lavender, and the Baron of Rwanda, with whom he was not on good terms, arrived. The three greeted each other and gathered together, amidst the noise, talking about the upcoming competition.
The bustling crowd filled the auditorium, and the Rhodes plate hanging on the wall was a collectible that people wanted to get. The men in formal suits are not here to discuss political issues, all they care about are the cards.
In short, on the first Friday of the Autumn Harvest Moon in 1853 in the universal calendar, players with enough status to be invited gathered on the Silver Cross Avenue in the center of Tobesk City, the capital of King Delarion, to speak in the prophecy. The third floor of the Home Association to celebrate the official start of the "1853 Great City Players".