Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Bella’s mentor died a natural death."

Galina sighed:

"Originally, that lady was the oldest witch in the council, even older than Granny Cassandra. I am not saddened by this; a natural death is the best ending for a mortal. She foresaw her own death, gathered everyone at the council in advance, and with our companionship, she faced the end. The lady was at the Eleventh Rank when she died, and she seemed to be 270 years old."

"270... Is this the normal age of death for a witch?"

"It is said that witches of the Fifth Era, once they reach a high rank, can live at least five hundred years, but in the Sixth Era, this lifespan has significantly reduced. However, the number of witches in this era is small, and due to various reasons, their lives have been shortened, meaning early deaths, so there is no accurate average for normal circumstances."

She moved slightly closer to Shard on the sofa, and Shard found the scent of her perfume quite pleasant.

"In the current council, the vast majority of the witches are truly ’young people.’ It’s the era since the beginning of the Sixth Era where the Witch Council has been the strongest, with the lowest average age. And you, my dear Knight, have quietly appeared in such an era, sneaking into our hearts when we weren’t paying attention."

With golden eyes watching Shard, she smiled and picked up a segment of the peeled orange from the tea table, placing it in Shard’s mouth, her right hand already holding Shard’s left hand.

"I didn’t sneak in; I marched in openly and grandly."

Shard corrected, chewing the orange in his mouth, prompting the Duchess to think for a moment, a more charming expression appearing on her face:

"Yes, yes, so tonight, do you want to try... breaking into me again?"

The dark-haired maid on the side had already come over with an exquisite red box, which was opened to present the Ever-Youth Leaf to her master.

(Mia is running...)

The arrival of Monday also meant that the last day of the Sunlight Moon had come, and it also meant that tomorrow was the day when Saint Byrons’ off-campus practice group would arrive in Tobesk.

As the new week began, No. 6, Saint Delan Square in Tobesk received a new, warm but not expensive blanket as this week’s gift, and Shard gained a weekly task of carefully taking care of a pet.

As for the distant West Coast city of Moon Bay, it remained particularly dark and gloomy under the shroud of dark clouds. The "Moon Bay City Ship Museum," located in the southwest of the city near the Dock Area, opened promptly at nine in the morning, welcoming visitors from afar. The museum wasn’t large, with just three floors combined. Being in "Seagull Lane," which isn’t a bustling area of the city, the museum was quite deserted early Monday morning.

The exhibits in the Ship Museum were, of course, all related to ships, with the "Ancient Shipwreck Relic Section" on the basement level, occupying only a small portion. Most of the museum’s exhibits showcase the development of the Dock Area in Moon Bay City and the improvements made to ships over the past century.

Ships miniaturized to scale with wood and metal models were especially exquisite within the glass display cabinets. Meanwhile, a model of a pirate ship ambushing a merchant ship from an old era was demonstrated in a fish tank using steam power. This attracted Shard, making him want to set up a similar display at home, but the thought of an overly active cat accidentally falling in made him dismiss the idea.

The walls were adorned with oil paintings and black-and-white photographs that depicted ships from various countries and periods, allowing him, in just a few tens of minutes, to capture the wisdom and sweat humanity has poured into maritime endeavors, writing an epic poem across generations. The tree leaf specimen brought back by the Carsonrickians when they first landed on the New World was showcased under a spotlight in the "Modern Section," emphasizing its importance.

The meeting with the witch was scheduled for ten in the morning, giving Shard plenty of time to browse. And when he finally approached the remains of two deck boards from the Radiant Messenger, expecting some special discovery, he saw nothing more than two rotting planks of wood that looked as mundane as the ones in the neighboring display cabinets.

If not for the label outside the display cabinet, these would look no different from rotting timber found in a garbage pile.

Since there was no one around, Shard quietly used the "Key of the Door" to open the glass case and touch the two pieces of wood but still found nothing special.

The label on the display cabinet simply stated, "Ancient Shipwreck Remnants Discovered at Sea Bottom (No. 5410)," which easily showed a perfunctory attitude.

"Besides, if these two boards really had issues, the Church would have noticed long ago."

Although there were no findings yet, Shard still wanted to take these two planks back for thorough examination. After all, to allow Miss Teresa and her group to leave the Sea of Darkness, the reason for the sinking of the Radiant Messenger had to be clarified. However, he chose not to resort to theft and decided to negotiate with the museum about potential purchase... considering other means if it wasn’t possible.

Meanwhile, as he turned to head from the basement back to the first floor, other visitors had also begun to appear in the museum. Even though the museum might not sound very interesting, the wealthy Moon Bay City never lacked idle people and social figures who enjoyed visiting museums and art events.

Successfully arriving at the curator’s office, and explaining his purpose, the elderly curator in a black suit, whose hair was graying, and of short and stout stature, hesitated:

"The exhibit No. 5410, well, that’s a bit tricky."

He gestured for Shard to sit down first, then got up and went to a file cabinet on the office side to look for a record:

"This exhibit was donated to us many years ago. Although it’s called a donation, we actually only have exhibition rights, not ownership rights. The ownership of the wooden planks belongs to the descendants of the old captain who brought back these remnants."

Shard blinked:

"So, it’s not the church."

After speaking, he added:

"I had learned about this exhibit in advance and knew it was salvaged by the Dawn Church back in the day. It was later donated to the museum, supposedly because the ship was haunted by resentment and underwent exorcism at the church for many years."

The old curator adjusted his glasses:

"Indeed, that’s the case, but it was many years ago. The original owner was indeed the local Dawn Church. Later, somehow, it ended up elsewhere, and the ownership of the remnants changed hands several times. In any case, although they’re being exhibited here now, their ownership belongs to Miss Angie Illustrious."

"Illustrious? That’s a rare surname. Miss Radiance? Oh, do you have that lady’s contact information?"

Shard asked again, and the old curator nodded:

"You don’t need to seek her out intentionally; she is in the museum today. She comes here every week, and you should be able to meet her in the underground exhibition area, the girl with a hat decorated with a silver anchor."

Shard had just come from the underground exhibition area but didn’t see this person; he probably missed her.

So he retraced his steps, and as soon as he descended the stairs, he saw before the exhibition platform displaying the two wooden planks a young woman wearing a long blue silk dress, with prominent waistlines, and a wide-brimmed hat decorated with a silver anchor tilted on her head.

She looked to be in her twenties, more mature than Iluna and Angelina, yet younger than Luviya, Lecia, and Dorothy. Her long hair was black, and her aura was exceptionally remarkable. Judging by her attire, she was undoubtedly of noble descent.

As Shard approached, intending to speak, the young woman turned to look at him. Her deep blue eyes were as profound as the ocean, and those eyes seemed like they could smile:

"Good day, sir."

She said to Shard, her Carsonrickian pronunciation remarkably standard, though her greeting seemed like ancient grammar:

"May I ask what you need?"

The dress with layered fringes concealed her feet. This unfamiliar young lady seemed particularly fond of ships; besides the silver decorations on her hat, Shard also noticed she wore a silver anchor-shaped ring outside her long gloves.

Shard introduced himself:

"May I ask if you are Miss Illustrious? Here’s the thing, I would like to purchase this wooden plank. I am John Watson, a writer traveling the Old Continent. These two wooden planks give me a very different feeling; I want to take them back to contemplate them myself. They will inspire me."

Surrounding them were display cabinets exhibiting wooden planks, anchors, ropes, sailors’ daily items, and a rusty figurehead standing against the wall. In the nearby area where only the two of them were present, the blue-eyed girl’s voice was clear, and her smile was genuinely captivating:

"You might consider finding inspiration by coming here every day. Trust me, possessing them is not as enriching as appreciating them in the museum’s atmosphere. The original sea-bound exhibits must now come ashore. They should have united with the sea long ago. Since it can’t be done now, let them remain here, quietly enjoying their last moments before decay alongside their similarly pitiful companions."

Although her words were very polite, the meaning was clear: she didn’t want to sell, but Shard still wanted to give it a shot:

"Miss, perhaps you could listen to my offer? I know they’re antiques, I’ve also researched the market value, how about 75 Krone? That’s definitely a high price, and if not agreeable, we can further negotiate."

The girl with beautiful blue eyes shook her head with a charming smile:

"I’m really sorry."

"Alright then... Could you perhaps share the story of your family and these two wooden planks?"

Shard asked again, even taking out a notebook and pretending to want to record:

"I’m looking for writing material, such as whether your ancestors left any records when salvaging the remnants, or whether elders have passed down any peculiar tales?"