Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Clumsy diviner."

Shard was taken aback by Miss Belindel’s comment and instinctively looked around. He felt like he might have been startled by Miss Adel Isabella’s attitude. Even though Long-Haired Luvia had schemed against everyone in her own time, it was impossible for Luvia to act independently now:

"That diviner is actually quite impressive, and if there’s a chance in the future, I’ll introduce you two."

He said vaguely, and he had a gut feeling that once Luvia met Miss Belindel, she would inevitably exert a crushing pressure on her. This wasn’t a mere speculation but a conclusion drawn from his understanding of Long-Haired Luvia’s personality and her methods.

"Sure, I’m looking forward to it."

The witch had no idea what she was up against.

"Let’s not talk about that; let’s get back to the main topic. The known conditions for the Chosen One of Light can be simply summarized as possessing the power of two or more dragons."

He concluded, then added:

"Since the Dragon Feast Cult, which has mastered the other remnants, is also in Moon Bay, it can now be 100% confirmed that the Chosen One of Light will undoubtedly appear in Moon Bay."

"That’s right."

The Great Witch of Destiny didn’t continue to dwell on the matter of the diviner, as she simply found Shard’s previous expression quite amusing.

"Then what is that dragon scale?"

Shard asked again, and the witch lightly responded:

"The scale of the Ancient God: Radiant Dragon."

"Um... huh?"

Shard looked at her in surprise:

"Didn’t you just say..."

"I never said it wasn’t the scale of the Ancient God, but there’s no need to be so shocked. Though it has a great name, this scale is only slightly magical. It shouldn’t be the scale of the Ancient God’s true body, rather a scale from a Godfall manifestation. According to family records, the ancestors of the Seven Families of Moon Bay jointly encountered the dragon, and this scale might be the spoils they gained. Nowadays, its purpose has been reduced to two things."

She raised her right index finger:

"First, by attempting to integrate this scale with the human body, there’s a high probability of granting anyone the bloodline of a golden dragon, in other words, turning the user into a Dragonborn Circle Warlock. This is a power tracing back to the Primordial Dragon, which is very useful for someone who inherits the Belindel bloodline like I do, as well as those Dragonborn Circle Warlocks with golden dragon blood. The ancestors left this behind, seemingly aware of the Chosen One Ceremony... Of course, I don’t intend to use it; I’m quite satisfied with myself."

She then raised her right middle finger:

"Second, it’s the key to open the Ancient God’s space—the Holy White Hall. According to records from the council, the space left by the Ancient God of Light is associated with the ancient gods."

"The Holy White Hall?"

Since his home already had five portals: the Spatial Labyrinth, Dark Dungeon, Soul Graveyard, Hall of the Keeper of Secrets, and Heart of the Earth Furnace, and Shard also knew the entrances to the Time Corridor, Silvermoon Library, and Inquisitor’s Court, he was very interested in such special spaces.

"To open such special spaces, you need a Spirit Rune, an artifact, and the corresponding spell words. Is the artifact this ancient dragon scale this time?"

He pondered to himself, and the witch nodded:

"I’m not sure if Vanessa has mentioned it to you, but all thirteen of the legendary Ancient Gods, although they’ve departed, have left behind unique spaces. The Witch Council is one of them. Recently, there’s been a rumor that the Megan and Audrey sisters discovered the Spatial Labyrinth on Green Island, which is one of them. There’s also the Creation Chamber found by the Blood Spirit School in the New World, which is a similar space."

She then asked the Blonde Maid beside her to bring a red box containing the ancient golden dragon scale:

"You seem very interested in it? Don’t you already have the power of a Red Dragon? If you use this, you’d meet the basic condition of the Chosen One. I don’t even need a divination to guess that you’d definitely adapt well to the power of a dragon; my intuition is quite accurate."

She winked at Shard, but Shard declined:

"But why would I need to meet the condition of the Chosen One? I’m not interested in that either."

He just didn’t want to waste the power within it, considering holding onto it until the true Chosen One or their successor appeared might give them an advantage.

The witch thought for a moment:

"Even if you don’t want to meet the Chosen One’s conditions, it can still grant you new power. Why not give it a try?"

"No, no, I’m quite content with my current state."

Shard politely declined, having never thought about changing his race. Besides, he didn’t think the power of a golden dragon suited him:

"Let’s keep the scale for now. We still can’t determine if the Chosen One Ceremony is related to the dragon scale. But looking at the current situation, it’s almost certain that something big is going to happen in Moon Bay City. I wonder when Miss Benanis and Ciris will come to Moon Bay; we haven’t seen each other for almost a month."

"You miss them very much?"

The Blonde Countess asked deliberately, but didn’t give Shard a chance to respond:

"Don’t forget to attend the card game at the Senator’s Club tomorrow night. Do you need me to prepare formal wear for you? I rarely attend such social events with men; you’ll need to cooperate."

Her original intention was to inquire about Shard’s measurements to prepare an outfit for him, but Shard unexpectedly nodded:

"I have formal attire...a lot of formal attire."

He took Miss Belindel’s mention of the matter as a sign for farewell, so he stood up, ready to say goodbye:

"Then we’ll meet tomorrow night."

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I haven’t even told you about my investigation progress on the Light Worshipper Training Association yet. They dared to hurt me, I will definitely retaliate."

She made Shard sit down again, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at the man who felt awkward due to misunderstanding her intentions, thinking to herself that such a night was indeed interesting.

When Shard returned home, it was already seven thirty in the evening. As for why Miss Belindel let him go, it was naturally because the Witch Council meeting was about to start.

As Shard appeared in the first-floor living room, he immediately realized there were people at home. Upstairs, he saw Miss Maids tidying up, brewing tea, and preparing a late-night snack in the warmly lit home illuminated by gas lamps. The cat that had just greeted Shard downstairs happily jumped from his arms to the dining table, looking very expectant.

"Good evening, Tifa."

Shard said with a smile:

"When did you arrive? Where’s Miss Galina?"

"She went to attend a meeting at the Council. We arrived an hour ago; the miss intended to invite you to dine together."

The well-proportioned Head Maid said, blinking at Shard:

"The miss is a bit upset, but rest assured, it’s not with you."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Shard’s lips, while the other maids pretended not to see a thing.

Just as Tifa said, at nine thirty that evening, the Duchess, returning from the Council, embraced Shard at their first meeting and complained:

"Belindel is really too much. During the day was one thing, but how could she keep you for dinner at night?"

"How do you know I was kept by her and not that I had other matters?"

Shard asked curiously, holding the lady in his arms and kissing her forehead. The Duchess, who had just shown an angry expression, instantly smiled:

"If it were other matters, you would definitely go home first to feed the cat. How could I not understand you? Even if you don’t eat, you won’t forget about the cat."

"This time it’s my fault, haven’t you had dinner yet? Tifa and the others have already prepared it, so after we wash our hands, let’s eat together."

"Meow!"

The cat had been waiting for a long time.

"Will you accompany me to eat?"

Her golden eyes looked upon him, and Shard couldn’t help but think of Miss Belindel’s eyes from a few hours ago.

"Of course."

Although he had already had two dinners, under no circumstances could he refuse this third one.

Miss Galina’s mood immediately improved. When she sat down at the dining table, she told Shard about the meeting contents. Of course, she didn’t forget to pass along Shard’s request for help to Miss Benanis. But given the lateness of the hour, even if Ciris received the message from Miss Benanis, it would take time to think and prepare a solution, so Shard would have to wait until at least tomorrow for results.

As for the beautiful Duchess, having come here tonight, she naturally didn’t plan to return to the estate outside the city. After all, night roads are dangerous, so she could only ask the kindhearted knight to accommodate them for the night. And since the Shard Family’s house was just big enough for the maids to sleep downstairs, the Duchess couldn’t rest with the maids, so she was forced to share a bedroom with the generous and warm-hearted homeowner:

"I heard from Lecia that your cat can do backflips?"

She said with a smile, wearing a nightgown, the gap between the nightgown and slippers filled with highly textured black silk fabric.

Of course, Mia did not perform a backflip afterward, having long been taken downstairs by Tifa.

(Iluna is in prayer...)

Having prepared to use the Time Key, Shard naturally wouldn’t delay any further. However, his plan to activate the key early on Friday morning was met with resistance from the red-haired lady in his embrace.

As usual, the Duchess was completely unused to getting up at six thirty. Even with Shard only planning to get up himself and wake her up for breakfast at seven thirty, he was still pulled back under the covers by the witch:

"Let’s sleep a little longer."

She said with her eyes closed, burrowing into Shard’s arms and clutching his arm, refusing to let go. Shard wasn’t even sure if she was fully awake. Meanwhile, the early-rising maids preparing breakfast outside the door naturally heard the conversation in the room and chuckled.

Thus, when Shard exited the bedroom and walked into the study to organize the items to take to the past space-time, it was already seven in the morning. Tifa led the maids to groom and dress the Duchess in the bedroom, while Mia stood on the dining table, looking at the abundance of food and meowing at Shard to hurry up and sit down.

The house cat was very polite; no matter how impatient it was, it would never touch the food unless Shard sat down.