Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Shard, I never said that the Witch’s desired target was you, why are you reacting this way?"

Luviya threw the cards in her hand to Shard, who caught them but was immediately at a loss for words.

The smile on the face illuminated by candlelight on the opposite side of the table became even brighter:

"The feeling was quite good while drawing the cards just now, so I’ll continue with a reading for you, regarding the origins of that mysterious Miss Eles you mentioned. You said a Miracle Element appeared on the anchor-themed silver ornament, so it must be related to the Old God."

With that, she shuffled the cards again, yet the card Luviya selected was "Shipwreck." Just like Miss Belindel in the morning who performed the same divination, she couldn’t clarify which origin this card corresponded to.

After dinner, Shard didn’t rest at home but instead headed back to the Moon Bay Region. The afternoon visit wasn’t very successful, but at least the plump woman didn’t lie; Miss "Lisa" whom Shard wanted to find was indeed not at home, and no one around knew where she went.

However, she wasn’t in trouble. As someone in a special profession, her life was quite irregular, and occasionally not being able to find her was normal. So, before the romantic candlelit dinner earlier, Shard visited Princess Trading Partners, asking Miss Annie Bonnie to help find "Miss Lisa."

He was thinking if there was no news by night, he would look again tomorrow, but to his surprise, Miss Annie Bonnie’s information was so well-connected that when Shard met her at seven at night, she had already found someone:

"At night, if a client doesn’t take her to a fixed location, she usually hangs out at Goose Palm Inn or Venus Inn. I haven’t found out her real name yet; all I know is that ’Lisa’ is the alias she uses publicly. She came to Moon Bay City alone at the age of sixteen and has never left since—coincidentally, that was ten years ago."

Tonight, "Miss Lisa" was at Goose Palm Inn, which, while being a Lower District inn like the Spider Hostel next to the Morgue, is much better in condition. Professionals like "Miss Lisa" frequent there at night to solicit customers, and the inns that provide workspaces will request them not to harass regular patrons and take a cut of their earnings.

Shard was fortunate this time; when he arrived at the inn on the east side of Herring Street, east bank of Taton River, Miss Lisa was just sitting by the wall on the ground floor.

Seeing the young man from the Northern Country pointing out he was looking for her, the painted "colleagues" beside her teased and praised her charm, saying it hadn’t diminished.

However, Shard didn’t stay here. Instead, he paid money upfront and invited the woman with tawny hair for a walk by the river.

She was also wearing makeup, and although this summer night was colder than usual, her clothes were still thin. Before leaving the inn, she borrowed a coat to wear, and when they stood under the gas light by the river, gazing at the west side of Herring Street in the night fog, the woman with lipstick spoke;

"You came looking for me, not for that kind of thing, right?"

The brown coat draped over her shoulders, her arms crossed seemed like she was interrogating Shard, but Shard could tell it was a posture of self-defense.

"Why do you think I didn’t come looking for you for that kind of thing? Maybe on a long night, I’m also looking for some fun."

Shard pretended to ask flippantly, and she raised her eyebrows:

"If I squat down now, if you dare to undo your belt, I won’t ask anything."

Shard immediately stepped back, Miss Lisa’s eyes, accentuated by eyeshadow, stared at him, seemingly scrutinizing him, trying to use that look to protect herself:

"I’ve seen many men, but you’re different from them. Even if a man like you wants fun, he should appear in those bedrooms of noble ladies with skin as white as sheep or those youthful, bold, stunning young noble girls’ rooms. Although I know some people have unique tastes, you definitely don’t seem like that kind of person; you’re very... pure."

This does seem familiar to what Iluna received. If it had been a year ago when he first arrived in this world, this adjective was quite fitting for Shard. But after a year, being passed around by the surrounding ladies and learning the techniques from "Book of Pink," he certainly couldn’t bear this word anymore.

Clouds obscured the moonlight, insects endlessly collided against the gas streetlamp’s lampshade. A loud quarrel erupted in the distance, and the city soon returned to calm. Shard did not wish to linger on this meaningless topic, so he sidestepped her words:

"Alright, alright, let’s talk about serious matters. Miss Lisa, right? You visited Crowley Steam Bath at 18 Glover Street, North City last week. I want to know what happened that night and where the others who went with you are now."

Before Shard’s voice even fell, the woman with the coat stepped back, frowning:

"Sorry, I don’t know anything."

The words were so decisive, they left Shard no chance to negotiate the price:

"I’ll return the money you just gave me, don’t come looking for me, I don’t have the answers you want."

She said as she prepared to walk back. Shard hurriedly tried to stop her. And at this moment, from the originally empty street of the night, a shadow in a black coat emerged from the alley:

"How can you be so impolite to a lady?"

When Shard turned his head to look, the Seven Ring Life Ring behind the opponent had already manifested. Miss Lisa, who had obviously never seen such a scene, let out a cry of surprise, turned to try and run quickly on her high heels, but fainted directly to the ground after a "hmph" from the Seven-Ring Sorcerer.

"Is this how you treat a lady politely?"

Shard asked, blocking the woman lying on the ground, facing the strange Circle Sorcerer on the empty street:

"Also, where did you come from?"

Looking at the other’s Life Ring, the Core Spirit Runes were the same as Shard’s, both being Enlightenment - [Monster] and Enlightenment - [Scales]. As for summoning the Life Ring immediately, it only showed that the other party was a bit too cautious. The normal process should be to engage in a tentative exchange first, and if necessary, then summon the Life Ring desperately.

"Good evening, sir, whom I do not know."

The stranger took off his hat, revealing a face Shard didn’t recognize either, but the black patch on the right side of his cheek was quite noticeable. It didn’t look like a birthmark, showing a metallic sheen under the gas lamp.

"Edward’s Eye."

In a blink, the Arcane Technique activated, and the peculiar halo allowed Shard to see clearly that the mark was an unnaturally formed body tissue. It wasn’t until the other party came closer that Shard truly identified it as a part of Dragon Scales.

The jet-black Dragon Scales didn’t merge perfectly with the man’s face. A closer look inevitably induced disgust due to its grotesque form, not a mental pollution caused by Supernatural Power, but pure disgust, like seeing a dried-up sputum where an arm was rested on the table during a meal.

Although the other’s Life Ring was always displayed behind him, Shard had no intention of revealing his own Life Ring... he never had such a habit.

"I visited this woman’s home, didn’t find anything suspicious, seems like she doesn’t know anything she shouldn’t. I intended to confirm one last time with her, didn’t expect to run into you. Are you investigating this matter?"

The stranger asked Shard, who nodded:

"Of course, otherwise why would I be here so late, wouldn’t it be better to be home sleeping with the girl... are you with the Dragon Feast Cult?"

Shard chuckled:

"The problem on your face isn’t that big, but can your heart hold out? Your heart is like a small wooden boat with a state-of-the-art but half-worn high-power Steam Engine installed, and this engine has been modified. Honestly, if you don’t find a way to treat yourself, it’s surprising you can still carry out tasks, I’m really curious about your cult’s benefits."

"The effect of ’Edward’s Eye’ combined with ’Heart of Stone’ allowed Shard to clearly discern the abnormality in the other’s heart. Each beat of that heart provided the Circle Sorcerer far more spirit than a typical Seventh Ring, equivalent to giving him an additional channel for Spirit restoration.

But, as Shard said, due to the stranger’s physical strength being far no match for that bizarre heart, and the heart not suiting him, in addition to the heart itself having problems, it consequently reduced his physical fitness far below the Seventh Ring level.

The man with the scale marks on his face remained expressionless:

"I’ve long heard that Moon Bay City, such a big city, is full of eccentrics. Didn’t expect there would really be someone who could see my problem just upon meeting. Are you also proficient in Human Alchemy? Or a medical expert?"

He actually retracted his Life Ring:

"There’s no clue on this woman, you won’t find anything by investigating, maybe going home to sleep with the girl is a good idea."

"But since the investigation has started, it’s not good to give up immediately, that really isn’t my style."

"Well then, let’s try it."

He continued toward Shard under the moonlight, with his weak body, with each step, his muscles were accommodating that loose clothing:

"Since you can see my body has problems, why not we compare a punch. Afterward, I’ll pretend I never saw you tonight, and you can continue your investigation. Of course, I don’t think there’s a point in you continuing to check these things."

"You don’t even know what I’m checking, is there a possibility, I don’t know about your schemes, just want to do something for the Deceased... well, at least it sounds interesting."

The thin moonlight pierced through the dark clouds, and the gas lamps could only illuminate sparse scenes along the river street. The vessels sailing on the river, under the night, were mere faint embellishments on a dark backdrop, and the sound of boots stomping on the stone pavement as the two men walked towards each other, went unheard by anyone.