Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"The black-haired maid is Monica, and she has the longest legs among the Royal Maids Group... She is also the best at divination. I remember she holds a peculiar relic—the Strange Painting Tarot Card. ’Strange Painting’ means an unusual card face; the relic itself is a divination card with an emblem pattern of the Ancient God: Mr. Ring. Once this card is added to the divination card set, the number of cards remains at 108, but during divination, there’s a chance to draw a card face that does not belong to the regular tarot series, thus revealing a clearer fate."

Miss Teresa explained to Shard nearby, but Shard was also not unfamiliar with this relic. Because in the Sixth Era of 1854, the owner of the Strange Painting Tarot Card was precisely Miss Bella Belindel, the Great Witch of Destiny.

"Huh? What card face is this?"

The Phantom Miss Maxim was puzzled as her friend, the owner of the tarot cards, Maid Monica, laughed and asked:

"Isn’t this the card you drew yourself? This is your fate, you should try to interpret it yourself. Vaine, what do you think this means?"

Looking at the picture of the dragon coiling around the ship, the Phantom Miss Maxim pursed her lips. Then she turned to look at Shard and Miss Teresa, the latter understanding:

"In the real past, Vaine did not interpret the meaning of this tarot card. After the ship disaster, she realized maybe the card had warned her of this journey’s calamity from the start, which is why she feels regret now, regret for not realizing the danger at that time."

"Yes, at the same time, this is also a clue for us. How interesting, because of my timeline issues, I assumed the sinking of the Radiant Messenger from the Fifth Era was related to dragons, but I couldn’t find any evidence. Now it seems the disaster was indeed dragon-involved, but the clues you mentioned earlier did not mention dragons at all."

Shard glanced at the deity, who still smiled and looked at them in child-like form.

"Could it be that on the night of the ship disaster, what was stolen from the first-class cabin had to do with dragons?"

Miss Teresa used her imagination:

"For instance, it was a dragon egg; the dragon whose egg was stolen destroyed the Radiant Messenger in anger... But neither we nor Professor Ivins heard the dragon roar."

The child-like deity’s smile grew even brighter:

"Here’s a small hint; this speculation is partially correct."

"What?"

Miss Teresa was surprised, looking up at the deity before suddenly covering her eyes in pain and bowing her head. Shard took a breath and reached out to touch little Mia’s head, already having his suspicions.

Of course, let’s first solve the fishing issue:

"The meaning of that Strange Painting Tarot Card is: A ship intertwined with dragons will encounter disaster."

"Isn’t it ’the cause of the ship damage is because of dragons’?"

Miss Teresa asked with tears in her eyes, and Shard shook his head:

"You see, the ship coiled by the dragon in the card’s image has no rifts. It’s less like the dragon destroyed the ship, more like the dragon and the ship were entangled with each other..."

Frowning slightly, he turned to look at Miss Malone, who was "sleeping" with her head down beside the campfire at the center of the float. He thought of how Miss Eles he met was black-haired and blue-eyed, and the "sweetheart" she described was golden-haired and blue-eyed, plus herself...

Then Shard turned to the deity, thought carefully, then asked softly:

"Are you also a guardian deity of children?"

"Of course, aren’t mortals associating me with the Creator of Innocence and the Fairy Tale Poet?"

Shard completely understood now, although this issue seems unresolved at this time; it would have to wait for the third time.

On the other side, the Phantom Miss Maxim received the answer, nodded satisfied:

"Yes, that’s definitely it, dragon and ship entangled... So where will that dragon appear on the ship? I wonder whether it’s a Dragonborn Witch or a Pureblood Great Dragon that can transform into a human."

She then encouraged:

"Try again; you’re just missing the last bit of luck."

"Do you understand?"

Her phantom disappeared, and Shard turned to Miss Teresa again, whose eyes had returned to normal. Hearing the question, she blinked bewilderedly:

"What? Oh, she meant our fishing is about to have a result."

"No, that’s not what I meant. But it’s okay, don’t worry, let’s continue."

The hook was cast into the water for the fourth time, and the force feedback from the water seconds later almost pulled Shard into the water.

When fishing for the same person, the resistance force in the water increases with each attempt, and this time, the force on the other end of the line was clearly greater than ever before.

Even though Shard activated the "Power of the Red Dragon," he nearly stumbled and fell into the water due to the slippery metal pontoon. Fortunately, beside him was Miss Teresa, the young witch who embraced him from behind, grabbing his hands to fight against the force on the other end of the fishing line.

Although it’s a bit inappropriate to mention this now, Shard did feel the presence at his back... Angelina always lamented that her figure wasn’t as good as her sister’s and aunt’s. If she became a witch apprentice, she might still have room to grow.

Mia, feeling uncomfortable on Shard’s chest as he strained his arms, meowed as if cheering for Shard while struggling against the forces at both ends of the fishing rod. Amid the cat’s meows, Shard and Miss Teresa gradually gained the upper hand and finally achieved victory.

As the fishing line was gradually pulled back, what was dragged to the side of the pontoon this time was the body of the drenched black-haired Miss Maid. Her face was pale, but there were still signs of breathing in her chest; her body was cold, but death hadn’t claimed her.

Shard clearly felt the girl behind him exhale in relief. No matter what the situation with others, the fact that Miss Vaine Maxim’s body was "fished" up at least proved that her memory hadn’t been altered, and that Miss Maid was indeed a living person.

So, the two of them together pulled the maid out of the water, with Shard instructing Miss Teresa to carry her back to the campfire while he requested the ring from Professor Ivins’s divine hand again:

"There isn’t much time left this time."

He said:

"Next time will be my last visit here, and I can’t leave too many tasks for the last visit. I’ll try to complete Professor Ivins’s fishing before leaving, and consoling Miss Maxim is up to you. You certainly can handle it; even if I leave, I’ll say goodbye to you."

The young golden-haired girl, hearing the trust in his words, nodded solemnly, overcoming the fear in her heart, and half-kneeling, half-crawling, returned to the center campfire with Miss Maid.

Shard then stroked the furry little cat head on his chest and tucked it back into his clothes. He picked up the hook, intending to thread the ring through it and tie it up, and the deity spoke again:

"Judging by your expression just now, you seem to have some ideas?"

"Yes, but, like before, I have no evidence. I plan to leave Miss Malone for last. I’ve mostly figured out her identity, and her memories might reveal something unusual about this ship’s sinking."

The deity in child form looked at him:

"So, do you understand what the so-called wish truly is?"

"To make up for past, present, and future regrets. A greedy wish will bring calamity upon oneself, while a cautious and humble wish will be blessed. Although I haven’t learned your specific teachings, this should be the general idea."

Shard said, tugging at the ring to ensure it was securely tied, preparing to cast the rod:

"Of course, I suppose your presence isn’t just to teach me the meaning of wishes."

"Then what is it for?"

The deity in child form asked with a smile, sitting at the edge of the pontoon, strikingly visible in the dark. Shard suddenly realized that this peculiar pontoon and the fire didn’t possess any power themselves, and the reason the party could survive here was merely because of the deity’s presence.

At this moment, the hook was already cast far into the undulating black sea, and the force feedback had appeared:

"Though without evidence, it’s to save a child, isn’t it? She didn’t want to die, she got your response, so you brought me here."

As the deity smiled, the hook with the ring caught the first object.

This time, it wasn’t something strange like a severed hand, nor a thesis fitting of Professor Ivins, but rather a quite beautiful colorful feather pierced by the hook.

"This child’s childhood dreams are quite interesting."

The deity remarked, with a gentle wave, as a glimmer appeared, a short girl with a ponytail appeared before Shard. The ten-year-old Professor Ivins looked nothing like her current face. At this moment, her phantom also held a colorful feather, looking upwards.

In fact, ever since Shard arrived here, he had been resisting glancing at the sky, as the pitch-black, lightless sky induced fear with just a stare. But this time, he had to look up, and saw a phantom bird with colorful feathers flying above the pontoon.

"Is this... a juvenile rainbow bird?"

Shard’s eyes widened. This rare creature, an extremely rare bird, in the Sixth Era was far rarer than dragons or unicorns. Compared to rainbow birds, vampire kinds and other exotic species were as common as stones. Rainbow birds, named for their colors, were indeed born within a rainbow.

After a long maturity period of about 130 years, an adult rainbow bird is truly enormous, but when it spreads its wings, clear skies and rainbows appear, bringing luck to those who see it. Hence, the iridescent bird’s feathers are the best materials for making "blessing" or "luck" charms. Shard had studied them closely when looking for items that bring luck.