Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"We’ve only met twice, and you’re already assigning me a task, asking me to complete it in exchange for information. It’s like..."

"Like the person who gives the hero their quest in a fairy tale?"

The blue-eyed girl smiled, the wind gently stirring the black hair hanging by her ears. She reached out to tuck the stray strands behind her ear:

"I’ve lived in this city for a very, very long time. You’ll unexpectedly encounter me in many places afterward. How about this, I’ll add some rewards for you."

She tilted her head slightly to the left:

"Every time you see me in the city, I can tell you something about this city that you don’t know. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course it is, that’s even a bit too generous for me... Miss, have you met me before?"

Shard asked suspiciously, while the girl with lace gloves squinted with a smile, covering her mouth:

"You’re really interesting, Mr. Watson. Is this your technique for chatting with strangers? This wordplay hasn’t been popular for fifty years. There are a total of five tasks, so let’s complete my first task. The task location is right on this Herring Street. A little girl living an unfortunate life resides here, find a way to help her."

"Specifically, who are you referring to? There should be more than one unfortunate girl living on this street."

"The anchor will guide you."

She continued with a cheerful smile:

"Once you’ve completed the task, I won’t actively seek you out; you’ll need to find me. But you’re forbidden from inquiring about my residence from Mr. Watson, don’t cheat, okay?"

Shard took out a silver anchor ornament he thought was just a regular item, and Miss Eles reached out to lightly touch it. The anchor instantly emitted a sea-blue glow.

"[Outlander, you have encountered ’Miracle.’]"

"Miracle?"

"Well, since you have discovered me in Moon Bay for the first time, let me tell you some interesting things about this city."

The black-haired girl contemplated:

"Dragons once rested here, and divine beings descended upon this land."

Shard had seen related records in the books on Green Island, but none specified which deity had visited this place, only mentioning it was an Evil God.

"Yes, Godfall. It was the deity who devoured dragons to gain dragon strength, the one who hated dragons and thus invented a ritual that allowed mortals to seize dragon strength."

Shard’s face changed dramatically:

"Dragon Feast Ceremony! Dragon Feast Cult, Evil God—[Dragon Devourer]?!"

This cult is astonishingly ancient, tracing back to the era of the Third Era when dragons established a prosperous Dragon Kingdom. The origins of the deity remain unknown, but the ’Dragon Feast Ceremony’ bestowed upon mortals directly led to the collapse of the Dragon Kingdom at its peak. In that sense, the ’Dragon Feast Cult’ could be considered the most powerful Sect of the Evil God in the Material World at that time.

Hunting dragons does not inherently threaten humans or other races, but the bloodthirsty and cruel dragon feast ritual transforms mortals who seize dragon strength into blood-hungry maniacs. It’s even rumored that the rampaging Evil Spirit Demons in the Third Era Material World were related to them... The doctor confirmed this was not true. In short, the ’Dragon Feast Cult’ became an enemy to most intelligent races, but the cultists who devoured dragons and underwent mutations, possessing dragon power themselves were exceptionally strong and terrifying in that era, already threatened by Evil Spirit Demons.

"Yes, it was The Great One. He once descended upon this land, recorded in the annals of the True God Church, though only sparse details are mentioned. What do you think, is this news useful to you?"

She continued smiling as she asked, and Shard immediately nodded:

"Very useful, Miss Eles... Miss Radiance."

Upon hearing the name, the blue-eyed girl revealed a radiant smile, brighter than Moon Bay City’s habitually gloomy weather:

"Then, before we say goodbye this time, let me provide you with an additional piece of information. There’s a rumor that The Great One was a dragon himself. Of course, this rumor lacks evidence, but the few records that mention his descent all state that the Saint of the Old God—Dragon Devourer always chose a dragon as the vessel."

Theoretically, deities can come to the Material World through any vessel, but different deities have different preferences. For example, the legendary Ancient God—Sage of Silvermoon, in ancient eras, only descended upon females; the Evil God—Stone Heart Demon, who once confronted Shard, preferred perfect stone sculptures; the Vampire God, as expected, the Protector of the Vampire Kind only chooses vampires; whereas the ’Lord of the Blood Feast’ lacks any preference, simply needing any living being with flesh.

That the dragon-devouring deity ’Dragon Devourer’ chose to descend upon dragons is indeed quite intriguing.

While Shard pondered, Miss Eles had already smiled and bid him farewell:

"Looking forward to our next unexpected meeting, Mr. Watson. May the sea bless you, and may all your wishes come true."

She waved backward at Shard, then a large group of people passed between them. When the crowd dispersed, Miss Eles was already gone.

"What a peculiar person."

Shard softly spoke to himself, lowering his gaze to the silver anchor ornament in his hand:

"Miracle Element... Who exactly is she?"

No matter who Miss Eles is, it’s already almost four in the afternoon, and Shard must complete his investigation task on Herring Street first.

Since he already knows the address, there’s no need to gather information. When Shard crossed Herring Street and knocked on the dirty door of number 11, explaining to the door-opening landlady-looking person whom he was looking for, that middle-aged fat woman with a wig squinted at Shard and then spoke in a tone that must be described as "disdain":

"A skinny chicken from the Northern Country, wants to sleep with Moon Bay women? She’s not home. Get lost."

With that, she slammed the door in Shard’s face.

Shard looked down at himself:

"Is there discrimination against Draleon people? Also, am I very skinny?"

[Certainly not skinny.]

"She" spoke gently in Shard’s ear.

"Yes, you are definitely not skinny."

During dinner that evening, after hearing about Shard’s afternoon activities, Luviya laughed and consoled him:

"I’ve seen you without a shirt, and I can assure you, my dear Shard, your physique is quite normal; there’s no need to be anxious about that."

Dinner was delivered to the house by a restaurant, the gas lamps were extinguished, candles were lit, and a romantic candlelight dinner unfolded at home that night. Mia perched on a high stool, watching the candle flame with an energetic demeanor, and Miss Diviner with violet eyes smiled with interest concerning Shard’s experiences:

"I’m actually more curious about the Eleventh Rank Great Witch of Destiny, named Bella Belindel, right? She seems to look down on the Prophet’s Society; I’d really like to talk to her or perhaps have a contest."

"There should be opportunities in the future. In my view, Miss Belindel is indeed very skilled, but being too reliant on divination is definitely not a good habit."

He skillfully sliced a medium-rare steak with sauce, placing a portion in front of the cat. Mia did not immediately lower her head to eat but instead meowed softly, rubbing her head against Shard’s hand. Shard patted her little head, and the obedient cat made the dinner atmosphere even better.

"Relying on divination..."

Luviya’s interest seemed to deepen:

"I’m going to fetch something."

She said, standing up, and walked away in high heels prepared specially for the dinner, but quickly returned from the living room, carrying her divination cards:

"I’d like to divine the recent fortune for that witch."

She smiled while sitting back across from Shard, who asked in surprise:

"But she’s not even in front of you, and you’ve never even seen her, only heard my description of some of her traits. Can you still divine for her?"

"Of course, but the accuracy will significantly decrease. However, we’ve met such an interesting diviner; how can I not try divining? She surely possesses anti-divination items similar to your [The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny], but that’s irrelevant; it’s just an attempt."

She pushed her dinner plate forward, and then skillfully cut and shuffled the cards, murmuring words while stacking the divination cards onto the table. She didn’t use any relics to aid her, merely conducted the most basic cartomancy.

Once the cards were stacked into five piles and placed on the table, she closed her eyes, preparing to draw from the cards.

But as soon as Luviya closed her eyes, Shard, across from her, was surprised to see the transparent Long-Haired Luviya’s figure appearing behind her. Compared to when Shard first observed the Long-Haired Luviya last year, her figure was now much more solid.

The long-haired girl smiled and raised a finger, signaling Shard to stay quiet, then her arm overlapped with Luviya’s, as the two of them reached for the cards together.

Surprised, Shard leaned back slightly, turning his head to meet the bright-eyed gaze of Mia. For a moment, Shard wondered if this cat could also see the Long-Haired Luviya, but he quickly realized the cat had simply finished its food and was eagerly expecting another feeding.

"In the Bygone Era, Long-Haired Luviya must have met Miss Belindel. The Luviya back then, unlike the ’gentle’ Luviya of today, surely had some story with the witch who looked down on the Prophet’s Society."

"Alright, we have the result."

Luviya opened her eyes, and the phantom behind had already vanished. She showed Shard three cards:

"Future fortune——

Negative: A potentially deadly crisis will arise; Neutral: Unexpected changes may occur within the family; Positive: A strong romantic fortune, will meet an appealing person soon."

"This..."

"This is not teasing you; look, the divination cards show these outcomes."

She smiled and displayed the card, featuring "a little angel with wings lifting a heart," which is the ’Love’ card in the divination set, to Shard.