Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Since you mentioned the dragon, Shard, I think there might be some clues here after all."

Professor Manning said with a smile:

"I didn’t leave any written records of the relic excavation back then, but I wasn’t just busy working all the time while I was in Moon Bay. Moon Bay is an ancient city, and thanks to its geographical advantage, it has been a big city in every era. So I took some time before leaving to study the local legends and stories. If I remember correctly, an old fisherman once told me that he and his ancestors had heard dragon roars in the bay at night."

"What?"

Shard immediately sat up straight:

"That old boatman..."

"He should have already passed away. I bet you can’t get this information now. The Moon Bay Harbor has changed a lot over the decades, many past traditions have disappeared, and with them, the stories passed down through generations. Can this help you? I remember clearly that the old boatman said you might hear dragon roars during thunderstorms at the harbor. The louder the thunder, the better, and the best would be during a stormy night. But I can’t be sure if he heard thunder or dragon roars."

The professor said, seeing the ecstatic expression on Shard’s face:

"This really helps, so it needs to thunder... I wonder if human-made lightning would suffice."

Originally, visiting Professor Manning was just to find clues about the God from past relics. Shard never expected to gain more direct information from this visit. Although the professor said it’s just a local rumor, Shard instinctively felt that this was the target he had been looking for as soon as he heard it. His Sixth Sense regarding divinity has always been quite accurate, and he knows he has finally found the target.

As for creating thunder directly, it isn’t too difficult for Circle Sorcerers, the difficulty lies in how to create thunder without being captured by the church. However, Shard is inclined to wait for natural thunder, so after bidding farewell to Professor Manning, he went to the Prophet’s Society to seek Luvia’s help.

Weather prediction is basic training for Astrologers and Prophets. Even though Luvia hasn’t been to Moon Bay, it doesn’t prevent her, as a focus cultivation object of the society, from easily obtaining data from other places:

"Weather forecast, is it? Wait a moment here, I’ll go up to the third floor to apply for query permission."

About half an hour later, Luvia returned from the third floor and saw Vice-President Mark talking to Shard about the new card series in the divination room. The latter left wisely when he saw Luvia return, and Luvia brought the information that Shard wanted:

"This is the Moon Bay City prediction society’s forecast for the next week’s weather."

This information also included today’s weather forecast, showing that the society knew it would snow today a week ago. Of course, today is just snowing without thunder, but it seems that the weather within the Moon Bay City District won’t be pleasant before the end of this week.

Especially starting from noon on Sunday, a large-scale thunderstorm will appear near the Moon Bay coastal area. This will be the most extreme weather change in the Moon Bay region since the start of summer this year, and it will certainly affect the docks.

"Sunday, you say? Today is Friday, so it seems I need to prepare in advance."

"Are you going to do something dangerous again?"

The purple-eyed girl gently asked him but didn’t say much more:

"I’ll come to your house tonight. Don’t you want to experience the power of the stars shifting? I know you have an important card game to attend, and I’ll wait at your place."

Originally, Shard thought that since Luvia would come to his house tonight, he wouldn’t have to worry about feeding Mia. But unexpectedly, the cat seemingly had a strange whim today. When Shard returned home in the afternoon, the well-rested cat naturally followed him to the basement. When Shard was about to touch the Ancient God Statue, he found the cat at his feet as if it was natural.

"Meow~"

It rubbed against Shard’s trousers as if to indicate it wanted to follow him. This made Shard wonder whether something in Moon Bay was attracting this cat... or maybe it simply liked snowy weather.

The snow in Moon Bay was indeed still falling, and since there was nothing much to do, Shard didn’t want to take Mia to the morgue. So, around three in the afternoon, he went to Belindel Estate and met the Blonde Witch, who was handling meeting documents in the study. Outside, heavy snow was falling, while a fire crackled warmly in the study’s fireplace.

The current Speaker of the City Council is from the Edington Family, but the Belindel Family still holds significant influence within the council. Family affairs are managed by the Countess, although her maids and followers, though few in number, are all quite capable, ensuring that the witch doesn’t waste too much time on daily affairs.

"Good afternoon, Miss Belindel."

"Good afternoon... Oh, what a beautiful cat~"

The moment she looked up, she was captivated by the curious cat on Shard’s shoulder. Its four snow-white paws carried a body that seemed draped in a soft, orange blanket. Its amber-colored eyes were bright, and its small figure made it even more endearing:

"Is this the cat you raise? Did you bring it to Moon Bay too? I only knew you had a cat from the Dice Story Collection, but I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful."

She put down her fountain pen and walked over to Shard. Leading Shard in earlier was the blonde Miss Matilda, and apart from this Head Maid, the maids in the hallway outside also turned their gazes towards the cat on Shard’s shoulder.

"That cat is indeed beautiful, everyone who has seen it praises it."

Shard never hesitates to compliment Mia’s appearance, but he didn’t mention that this isn’t actually his cat.

Miss Belindel naturally wanted to pet it, but the agile cat avoided her. So far, Mia only likes being held by Shard and Tifa. As for wanting to pet it casually, that’s a privilege reserved for Shard alone.

Miss Belindel also seemed to want a break from her paperwork. Since Shard had arrived, she instructed the maids to prepare afternoon tea and snacks. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood and even talked about how this estate had quite a few cats, although none were as beautiful as the one Shard brought.

Worried that the witch might actually bring the other cats, which would upset Mia who detests her kind, Shard didn’t linger on the discussion about pet cat care or how to correctly identify Mia’s breed. Instead, he took out the gun from his waist, twirling it before placing it on the coffee table:

"We’ll rely on this tonight."

"’Faded Memories’? The Sage-Level Relic Vanessa got from The Megan Sisters?"

She curiously picked it up to examine it; Shard nodded:

"Yes, Miss Benanis and I still have contact information, and this was just delivered at noon."

The Blonde Witch didn’t inquire about the method used for remotely delivering the relic. Instead, she examined the chamber with great interest:

"Speaking of which, do you know what price Vanessa paid to exchange this relic from Megan and Audrey? I know Megan and Audrey are quite wealthy, and they have quite a few good items, but they wouldn’t easily give up a relic of this level, right?"

This question wasn’t easy to answer, Shard could only say vaguely:

"Miss Benanis and Miss Edwards’ relationship seems to have improved during the Green Lake incident; this relic might be a symbol of friendship."

"How good must a relationship be to give a Sage-Level Relic?"

The Blonde Witch asked nonchalantly, pressing the gun barrel against her own forehead before firing toward the wall. Immediately, a scene appeared on the wallpapered wall—a view of the snowy morning in first person.

"Could the relationship between Vanessa and those sisters be so good that they sleep in the same bed... oh, sorry, I shouldn’t make such jokes."

She noticed Shard’s expression at that moment and quickly apologized. However, Shard’s thoughts were actually on:

"That night at the Green Lake Hotel, after Angelina was taken away by Miss Galina, and the portal opened to my room, it was Miss Sylvia, Miss Benanis, and Ciris who entered... Megan and Audrey didn’t accompany Miss Benanis... Oh, what am I thinking."

The Countess didn’t seem to have plans to go out in the afternoon. She chatted leisurely with Shard about her recent investigation findings, listening to Shard analyze the link between the ’Eternal Light’ organization and the headless series of murders. She even took out divination cards to divine for the cat lying on Shard’s lap but didn’t get Shard’s consent:

"It’ll probably just be something like the Sun again."

"Why do you think so?"

"I have a friend who’s really good at divination. Yes, the one I mentioned last time who said I’m definitely not The Chosen One. She has divined for this cat before; it’s always the Sun."

"If you have the chance, please let me meet that Female Diviner."

Miss Belindel was immediately fueled with competitive spirit.

In short, everything was peaceful on this Friday afternoon. The witch, Shard, and the cat welcomed the sunset in the cozy study. Later, she invited Shard for dinner at the estate. After dinner, they strolled in the snowy courtyard, discussing the Witch Council’s preparations and countermeasures for the possible appearance of ’Light’s’ The Chosen One in Moon Bay City.

Of course, others didn’t know what the Countess and this recently emerged man were doing. The Belindel Estate’s resident Lady Belindel, the witch’s mother, called for the Head Maid to inquire about the situation when she saw her daughter walking with a man in the snow-covered courtyard:

"What is the relationship between Bella and this gentleman? Isn’t he just a customer sent by Her Highness Margaret to oversee business?"

"Madam, he is..."

The Blonde Maid found it difficult to answer the question, and from the Head Maid’s attitude, the elderly lady also realized a possible answer:

"I see... Matilda, what does Bella think of that gentleman?"

The maid also found this question difficult to answer, as she couldn’t say her mistress was already attracted to this man.