Chapter 2128: Temporary Farewell
Even in the Fifth Era, the Iridescent Bird is quite rare. To speak unreservedly, even in the private zoos of the Witch Empresses, the Iridescent Bird is undoubtedly the most precious type of pet.
"Is Professor Ivins’ family really that impressive?"
At this moment, the young girl with a phantom was holding a feather in her hand, wearing an expression of wanting to cry, as she watched the bird flying back and forth. Shard also realized that she probably accidentally let the Iridescent Bird fly out of its cage:
"Are the childhood regrets of the witches always this interesting and warm? Miss Teresa missed winning her marble game, Miss Maxim desired fairy tale books, and Professor Ivins accidentally released a little bird... how did the extravagant and wanton personalities of those Witch Empresses develop?"
In other words, this time Shard needed to catch that bird flying wildly. However, he couldn’t fly normally here and didn’t dare to leave the floating board easily. So he tried raising his hand towards the sky and threw two Moonlight Rings, but the moonlight was compressed by the dark sea area, slowing down even the flight speed significantly.
The agile bird in the air quickly dodged the rings, tweeting cheekily above Shard’s head. Even though Shard couldn’t understand bird language, he could tell he was being mocked. Then the Great Sin Chains flew into the sky as well, and this time the pitch-black chains succeeded in touching the bird, but they were immediately broken free by the Iridescent Bird.
This shows, on one hand, that the bird, despite looking small, is undoubtedly powerful, and on the other hand, that the young bird might even be said to have no sin at all.
"Now this is troublesome..."
Just now, asking the ladies about the ship’s night memories consumed too much time, and now there was less than five minutes remaining before the thirty-minute adventure ended. In a state where he couldn’t fly to high altitudes, the difficulty of catching a bird was quite high. The best solution was, of course, to use suitable bait to make it fly down on its own, and while Shard knew that the "Iridescent Bird" liked wheat exposed to the blazing sun best, the issue was that despite having many things on him, he really didn’t have that:
"Do I have to go back and prepare wheat this time?"
While pondering, the chirping of the bird alarmed another presence. The cat that was originally comfortably hiding in Shard’s chest poked its head out from between the buttons once again.
Shard was not unfamiliar with the cat’s "fierce" expression, as every time the pigeons waiting to be fed in Saint Delan Square flew to the windowsill outside the second-floor living room while Mia was sunbathing and napping, the cat would always show such a face and scare them away by patting the glass.
And this time, although there was no glass in front, the cat still seemed to regard the bird in the air as one of those pigeons, after all, except for the color, the difference wasn’t substantial—they were all small-bodied, two-winged, two-clawed flying creatures. It immediately made a threatening "meow~" towards the sky, and incredibly, the bird that had been flying about suddenly seemed frightened and fell straight down from the sky.
It seemed to have been scared unconscious, but after falling to the floating board, it struggled and squirmed a few times, then was picked up by the ten-year-old Professor Ivins and nestled in the little girl’s arms like a quail, unwilling to move.
"Sir, your cat is really amazing! It’s even better than my bird."
The little girl happily told Shard, who suspiciously looked down at the cat in his chest, and the satisfied Mia withdrew back into his embrace once more. The cat’s behavior was certainly unusual, but now was not the time to dwell on that, so Shard smiled and agreed:
"It’s always like this. From now on, make sure to keep an eye on your pets; never let them escape again."
"Yes, I know! Thank you, sir. Next, remember to cast your line in that direction; I’ll be waiting for you underwater!"
She disappeared from Shard’s sight with the bird in her arms, and Shard looked up towards the deity:
"What do you think about my cat?"
He added in his mind:
"You don’t need to remind me, I know that’s Miss Gawder’s cat."
The "she" beside him chuckled softly.
The deity, still smiling upon the child’s face:
"That is truly a cat that brings warmth; it suits you well."
"Thank you."
Originally not expecting any answers from the deity, noticing there was still some time left, Shard cast his line once more in the direction the girl had pointed. This was the second time using the "ring" to fish, so the force was even greater than before, very close to when he fished up Miss Maxim.
The slippery floating board offered no support; Miss Teresa was not by his side, so Shard had to rely on himself to exert effort against the object in the water. This time, Mia couldn’t assist since it truly was just a little kitten. With both parties at a stalemate, Shard even started sliding towards the edge of the floating board due to the slipping of his foot.
"Fishing isn’t just about strength."
The deity pointed out from the side, sprinkling some golden light upon Shard.
"Even mortals know how to leverage strength, understand how to win through skill rather than force. Try to sense the power holding against you and use their strength to counter their strength."
What the deity said was definitely not about force techniques; simple principles conveyed into Shard’s ear, he suddenly understood how to leverage with just the fishing rod in hand. Though this didn’t form any Arcane Technique, Shard felt that fishing for whales in the future wouldn’t be much of a problem either.
So at last, this rod was successfully pulled up, and this time, what was caught was an empty goblet. After being gently touched by the deity, Professor Ivins, appearing as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, emerged from the glimmer and indeed asked Shard that question:
"Do you have Black Flame Ice Wine?"
This was precisely the most difficult "wish" that Professor Ivins left in his notebook before Shard left last time. Relieved, Shard then took out the bottle of wine that Miss Danester helped prepare, poured it into the glass in the phantom girl’s hand, and she pointed out a more accurate direction before disappearing.
"Let’s continue next time, deity."
Seeing that time was indeed running out, Shard didn’t continue trying and instead returned the fishing rod to the god. The god took back the fishing rod and turned to look with Shard at the four ladies by the bonfire:
"Significant people are not just that Miss Malone. Their presence here represents their respective wishes and desires. Even if you’ve guessed the truth here, don’t focus only on the most important person. After all, every child’s dreams and wishes are treasures to me."
"I understand."
He respectfully bid farewell to the deity before walking towards the campfire. At this time, the soul of Miss Maxim, imprisoned in a false body, had already successfully returned to her real body. However, suddenly recalling that she had once died and the discomfort of readapting to a living body made her lean against Miss Teresa, her face pale and almost unable to speak.
The other two "unconscious" ladies had already awakened at this moment, and when Miss Teresa saw Shard approaching, she understood that he was leaving again.
"Miss Malone, have you remembered anything? What regrets and wishes do you have?"
He asked the "ordinary girl," who pursed her lips:
"Wishes... I... have no wishes."
"Not even to see her again?"
Shard asked. The black-haired girl looked up at Shard, then clutched her chest:
"It’s strange, I was clearly worried about her, but now I feel she is right beside me."
Miss Teresa immediately looked around, as if worried some wraith spirits might suddenly appear. Then she looked at the campfire and the floatboard beneath her, wondering if these two peculiar items had been transformed by that blue-eyed girl.
Shard, of course, did not know Miss Teresa’s strange thoughts, but he only reconfirmed his idea and had a preliminary guess about Miss Malone’s regrets and wishes.
He thought he’d have to go to Moon Bay in 1854 of the Sixth Era to find Miss Eles for final confirmation, but to his surprise, the dazed Miss Malone spoke up:
"I want to live, I want freedom, I want to know... who I truly am."
"I understand. I will fulfill your wish."
Shard breathed a slight sigh of relief, which left only the investigation into the sinking of the Radiant Messenger, the simplest task. Yet, he was almost sure that even if he did nothing, he could find the most critical clues in the memories of Professor Ivins and "Miss Malone."
White mist was already appearing around Shard, signaling the thirty-minute adventure was nearing its end. He gently tapped his chest, turning the cat curled up there into a toy, then looked at Miss Teresa, who was watching him:
"See you next time then."
"Yes, see you next time."
The golden-haired girl, sitting there supporting the maid, said, as the firelight reddened her face but couldn’t fully illuminate her heart. She looked up at Shard standing by the fire, controlling herself not to appear too upset:
"After you leave, leave things here to me. I’ll protect everyone and continue to let everyone remember those forgotten clues."
Whether it was because she had companions now or because she had grown a bit, Schultz Teresa no longer showed the panic and tension she had when Shard first appeared. Of course, Shard could still see the uneasiness in her eyes, so he hesitated for a moment, and in the last moment before leaving, he gently kissed her forehead:
"See you next time, Miss Teresa."
He then completely disappeared into the lightless ocean territory.
The seawater lapped against the floatboard, and Shard’s disappearance meant the only light source left was the campfire. The god’s figure also hid in the darkness, though He was indeed still there, holding the fishing rod. The young witch touched her forehead, her golden eyes showing considerable discontent:
"Really, I thought it would be a kiss on..."
She touched her lips, pursed her mouth thinking about how to effectively utilize the last half hour.