Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Did you agree to her request?"

The afternoon tea included black tea in a silver teapot, delicately baked cream-filled cookies on a porcelain plate, and shrimp pancakes sprinkled with white icing sugar. The noble ladies paid great attention to the contents of the afternoon tea, and top-tier nobility like Lecia naturally had this custom.

The sugar-coated pancakes were a local delicacy of Coldwater Port. Shard thought that Mia would like them.

"Agree? Of course, I couldn't just agree outright; I have to consider what exactly the Aphrola Family is planning to do and whether it might be detrimental to the Kingdom."

The Princess, holding her teacup, said and glanced at Shard, who was examining the sweets, then added quietly:

"Moreover, her offer was not generous enough. I want thirty percent of the shares in Coldwater Port Shipyard, and she actually laughed, saying I was a greedy woman."

"Cough cough..."

Shard, who was eating, choked; Lecia complained about his carelessness and instructed the Maid to help pat his back. Shard waved his hand to indicate the Maid need not come over, picked up his teacup, and took a big gulp, causing Her Highness the Princess to cover her mouth and laugh lightly.

He thought that for the Witch to say those words with a smile was already quite polite.

"Look at this."

Lecia passed an item to Shard; it was two invitations with a shiny appearance as if sprinkled with gold dust.

"Baroness Hevy Aurora even gave me this; it's an invitation to tonight's banquet. Shard, are you sure you don't want to go with me? I know you don't want people to know you're here, but it wouldn't be a problem to wear a mask."

"No, it's not that, I really don't want to go."

Shard shook his head firmly, completely refusing to meet with the Witch. The Princess was a bit disappointed but didn't insist further. Instead, she asked:

"I've been meaning to ask, what's that thing you have wrapped up in canvas on your back? A new type of rifle?"

Brushing a strand of her red side hair, she changed the subject, and Shard began to talk about the Sea Return ceremony and the curse.

The red sea was likely to appear today or tomorrow. Although the church claimed to be fully prepared, Shard could not be careless.

He shared the information he had gathered with Lecia and then took out the fishing rod, tying the fishing line around her wrist:

"This should do. The trait of this fishing rod activates when prey is caught through the act of fishing, so it won't affect you. Lecia, keep this fishing rod with you for now, have your servant carry it with you at all times, and in case of any trouble, immediately wrap the fishing line around your wrist..."

He paused to think:

"Oh, and someone must be holding the fishing rod at all times for it to suppress the curse effectively."

"Can't you stay at Sophia's Mansion tonight? Shard, you're more reliable than a servant."

Lecia asked, staring at her own wrist.

It was indeed a good idea, thought Shard. There could always be visitors at any time in Tobesk. Apart from the three commissions Iluna from Blackstone Security Company had brought, he hadn't had any business for over a week. However, missing a few potential clients was worth it to ensure Lecia remained out of danger:

"I don't want Mia to come to Coldwater Port at such a dangerous time; Dorothy might need to take care of her all night."

Hearing Shard's meaning, the Princess knew he had agreed, so she said with a light laugh,

"Don't worry, I'll persuade her. For my safety, I think she will be a bit angry, but she will definitely nod in the end."

The Princess looked very charming with her eyes narrowed into smiles.

With such arrangements in place, Shard returned to Tobesk City in the afternoon. Dorothy was already aware of this matter and, although she seemed unhappy, she still agreed to take care of Mia tonight and tomorrow, seriously instructing Shard to be careful. Continue your journey at My Virtual Library Empire

Besides that, Shard also visited the Prophet's Society to inform Luviya that he would be staying in Coldwater Port for a day.

The female Diviner was somewhat surprised that Shard was determined to get involved in the major events of Coldwater Port, but he insisted that it would be of great help in finding Daknis.

The reason he could not disclose was that Shard was still uncertain about what exactly "the power of the Evil God" was.

The purple-eyed Diviner didn't give further advice but simply wished Shard good luck and urged him to be careful—not about the Sea Return ceremony, but the people from the Blood Spirit School. They had attempted to curse Shard with a Puppeteer's Script without success, and even though they were now being pursued by the church in Coldwater Port, they would definitely not give up on retaliating against Shard.

Apart from these preparations, Shard also asked Dorothy for the Scribe Level Relic, "Scales of the Drowned Fisherman." It was something Shard and Dorothy had recovered together, originally planning to sell it after the Evil God's watch over Tobesk had settled, thus the scales had always been in Dorothy's custody.

After getting ready, Shard bid farewell to Mia Cat with some reluctance. The intelligent cat seemed to sense that Shard would not return tonight and clung to his arm, refusing to let go.

It took quite an effort for Shard to get the cat to release its paws. As Dorothy held Mia in the basement, watching Shard enter the hidden wall, the cat kept meowing incessantly, and Shard kept looking back with every step he took.

"Are you leaving or not?"

In the end, it was the blonde girl who could not bear to watch any longer, and finally, she drove Shard away.

The rain had poured down all day without a break. Lecia was going to a banquet and thus did not dine with Shard. After eating dinner at Sophia's Mansion, Shard continued to Saint Byrons through a ritual, to attend Professor Garcia's lecture on "Sealed Space."

Yesterday was mainly theoretical instruction, and today it was a practical lesson. Professor Garcia showed the Circle Sorcerers enrolled in the course his Magic Maze Lock—"Barren Wilderness."

This Arcane Technique was rare, a technique that could only be learned if it corresponded to three Spirit Runes. The corresponding runes were, successively, "Wilderness," "Lock," and "Free Spirit."

When the Professor unfolded the Maze Lock in the classroom, even though he controlled it intentionally, Shard's projection ritual was nearly interrupted. Inside the Maze Lock, a vast brown Barren Wilderness was revealed.

"Class, pay attention over here!"

The Professor waved his hand towards the distance, producing a whistling sound, and soon, a large group of animals could be seen running towards them from the horizon of the Barren Wilderness.

The function of the Maze Lock—"Barren Wilderness"—enabled Professor Garcia to call forth the low-intelligence wild animals he had previously encountered.

As long as he had encountered them, he could summon them within the Maze Lock to serve as his combat allies. Furthermore, the better his understanding of those animals, the smaller the cost of summoning them, and thus the stronger the power of the animals.

You should know that this world doesn't just have ordinary beasts; in places unreachable by civilization, the combat abilities of various low-intelligence magical creatures are not inferior to the Steam Mechanized Human Legion.