Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The gaslight in the house was very bright, the Mia Cat under the light was very cute, and Shard in the living room was also very surprised.

So surprised that even when Mia approached to sniff at these metal plates, Shard didn't stop her.

Two of the plates were concave, and two were convex; the pattern for the one-shilling banknote was exceptionally intricate and realistic. Touching them with a finger, one couldn't even feel the roughness of the metal, evoking a sense of civilization coupled with the steam industry.

"Hmm..."

Shard felt his whole body overheated and his back itchy with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead:

"This couldn't be..."

Upon examining the sides of the metal plates, all four had the words "Draleon Kingdom Mint · Top Secret" clearly engraved at the same position, followed by the Cavendish family's crest below the letters.

"Hmm..."

Shard set down the four silver-gray metal plates and then covered his face and rubbed it vigorously:

"Draleon Kingdom Mint, these are the master printing plates for making banknotes, right?"

[God's Gift Box] provided gifts that were copies of existing items, so even if Shard's guess was right, there wouldn't be news about important items missing from the mint and criminals being nationally wanted.

Shard examined the items under the light more carefully and almost confirmed that these were indeed the standard master plates for the current 1850 edition one-shilling banknotes.

This gift was quite troublesome.

"Although I'd like to have more Gold Pounds, to directly give me the printing plates for self-printing..."

Not to mention that Shard was not so desperate to take such a risk to produce counterfeit money, even if he wanted to, he had no idea what material was used for the banknote paper.

"So, this thing is completely unsellable, what am I supposed to do, use it to prop up a table leg at home?"

With hesitation, Shard then grabbed the cat, which had somehow jumped into the [God's Gift Box] and was lying down, and pulled it out.

He looked at the four metal plates on the sofa:

"Destroy them... that would be too much of a pity, and it's impolite to rashly destroy a gift from God. So, why not give it to someone else? I can't keep this. Even if it's not discovered, thinking about it every day is unbearable... Lecia will soon return to Tobesk, giving her this as a welcoming gift from her trip should be a surprise... But are printing master plates of coins appropriate gifts for a lady?"

He deliberately didn't consider Miss Galina, who would definitely pay a great price for such things, because Shard truly worried that the witch would use these banknote printing plates to cause trouble.

Shard believed that Miss Galina was such a person.

Having thought of a way to dispose of these troublesome "gifts," Shard put the [God's Gift Box] and the four printing plates back behind the wall of the basement, and then he carried the cat upstairs in the dim staircase back to the second floor.

The Outlander quite liked the sound his shoes made on the stairs, as it reminded him that the big house under his feet was all his.

"Hmm, Lecia would probably like it."

But anyway, Shard didn't plan to tell anyone that he had gotten these things, not even Dorothy. After all, these four printing plates, in some sense, were more dangerous than Relics. If the news spread and landed in the hands of someone who really knew their usage, it could cause great trouble for the Kingdom, and Shard's peaceful life would no longer exist.

"However, the requirements for this gift are quite simple."

Last week it was doing someone's laundry, this week it was feeding stray cats outdoors twice within a week. This wasn't complicated for Shard since he had cat food at home, and a city like Tobesk never lacked stray cats.

"Still, I have to avoid Mia."

If the increasingly clever cat discovered that Shard was taking her food to feed the cats outside, it would probably be mad enough to pass out.

"Anyway, this is an especially magical Monday."

This was the last thing on Shard's mind as he turned on the gas lamp on the desk, pulled off the fountain pen cap, shifted the cat away from the paper in front of him, and began to write his Investigator's report.

(Dorothy in the midst of rushing a deadline...)

When Shard woke up on Monday morning, the sky outside was misty, and it was unclear whether the weather was nice or if it was going to rain.

The fountain pen on the desk reflected a faint glimmer in the weak morning light, while its owner was stretching and preparing to start a new week.

The report submitted to the Academy the previous night had already received a response; Professor Garcia was apparently startled by the first key, so he stayed up all night waiting for Shard's report. He processed all the paperwork for the investigation task overnight and gave feedback on the investigation report.

Since the report was written appropriately and Shard did not write about encountering God, following the normal Poet-Level key, the professor awarded Shard with five practice credits. Three credits were the basic reward for the investigation, and two were for providing information on "Horror Fortress" and Mr. Riddle's biography.

The matter of Mr. Riddle and Horror Fortress would be further investigated by the History Academy. Professor Garcia initially expected an event corresponding to the key different from the one encountered by Shard, so even though he didn't face any danger, the professor believed that this matter could not be abandoned in the spirit of filling historical gaps.

As for Shard himself, his most important task today was not to investigate Mr. Riddle's life but to buy some new furniture for himself.

After all, renovation of this house was starting this week.

Shard had already contacted the Dawn Church, and they would help connect the stairs from the second floor to the third floor during this time, as originally promised by the church. And the workers who would inspect the specific damage on the third floor and carry out construction were likely to arrive at No. 6, Saint Delan Square after 10 a.m. along with the church members.

Before they arrived, Shard planned to go out to buy some furniture for himself. He wasn't looking for any high-quality, upscale craftsmanship but, if it were not for his savings, he would have even considered getting cheap goods from Old John.

Just as Shard had changed his clothes and was contemplating whether to take the lazy cat out with him, he felt the emblem on his chest warm slightly:

"Oh? My emblem is getting warm, there must be a witch nearby."

Before he had time to search, the door downstairs was knocked upon, and outside was Miss Tifa Servet, who had arrived in a carriage.

Seeing Shard, dressed to head out, the black-haired maid hesitated before asking:

"Mr. Hamilton, have I disturbed your plans?"

"Of course not."

Shard shook his head quickly, inviting her in:

"I was just going out to buy some furniture."

As he ascended the stairs with Miss Maid, Shard briefly introduced the upcoming renovations for the house. Miss Servet nodded, indicating her understanding. As for her purpose for coming, Miss Galina wanted to learn from Shard about the events that unfolded at the Prophet's Society last Friday afternoon.

"What happened at the Prophet's Society... Oh, it's the matter of the Princess getting hurt, isn't it?"

If it weren't for the substantial reward given by Princess Angelina afterward, which was indeed impressive, Shard might have even forgotten about the incident:

"Is there a problem with that incident? I believe my investigative results are accurate."

Though perplexed, he still recounted in detail what had happened that day. During his account, the black-haired maid said nothing until he finished, then she asked softly:

"Do you know the identity of the 'culprit' 'discovered by the cat'?"

"I don't know."

"She is Prince Sax's lover."

Shard recalled the age of the girl in the blue dress from that day and couldn't help but frown. Princess Angelina was currently sixteen years old, and her friends were mostly of a similar age. Even though he knew that this world and this era were different from his hometown, Shard still could not help feeling malice in his heart toward the Prince who brought weapons into Yordle Palace:

"So, what exactly happened?"

"A naive girl was deceived by someone with intentions, committing a ludicrous crime to save her lover."

Tifa said, wanting to explain further, but Shard had already understood completely:

"In this kind of political whirlwind, those who are naive and yet get involved are the easiest to be exploited by others."

"You seem to understand quite well."

Miss Maid asked with a smile, to which Shard immediately shook his head:

"No, no, I don't understand anything, and please don't tell me anything more. I don't want to know anything."

Her smile grew even brighter:

"You really do understand... Alright, there's no need to explain, I will relay your description to Miss."

As she stood up, Shard also stood, preparing to escort her downstairs, but Miss Maid glanced around and then asked:

"Mr. Hamilton, how much furniture are you lacking? Please make a list, and it can be delivered to you this afternoon."

"No, no, how could I..."

"There are many spare pieces of furniture in the manor, just taking up space in the basement. Besides, your small house won't need much. Even if I hadn't mentioned it, Miss would have prepared furniture for you upon hearing about it. Although I shouldn't make assumptions about your relationship with Miss, it is rare for her to initiate a kiss on the forehead for a beautiful lady."

Shard was actually more curious if Miss Galina had ever kissed the beautiful maid's forehead, but he controlled his questioning well. As for the furniture, after some thought, he decided not to decline:

"Please convey my thanks to Miss Galina, and of course, to you as well. As for the furniture I lack..."

He pondered the specific quantities, while the black-haired maid suggested:

"Why don't you take me around the house, so I can see the size of the rooms and your preferred decorative style? I can prepare those pieces for you."

Sometimes, Shard truly envied Miss Galina for having such a professional maid.

The unexpected visit from the maid saved Shard the time of going to the wood market in the Lower District north of the city to look at furniture. After seeing her off and noting there was still some time before ten o'clock, Shard took the cat for a visit to Dawn Chapel to see Priest Augustus.

"The 'Angel Potion' at the Priest's end wasn't yet ready, but knowing Shard wanted the Church's construction team to help install the staircase today, he asked:

"Speaking of which, do you need a supervisor?"

"Supervisor?"

Shard did not immediately grasp the meaning of the word.