Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Let’s wake Dorothy up first."

Under the moonlight, the two silly-looking cats stared at each other for a moment. Then the silver cat raised its paw to knock on the glass. Shard believed that even though the sound was small, Dorothy, with her sharp senses, should hear it. Seeing Shard’s action, Mia also raised her paw to tap on the glass together.

Tap tap~ Tap tap~

"Oh, what’s going on?"

The blonde Miss Writer, who was in deep sleep, was woken by "her" voice at her ear. Confirming that no one had broken in, she complained as she smoothed her long hair and then went to the living room in her nightgown and slippers. She didn’t turn on the gas lamp, and for some reason, tonight’s moon was particularly bright. Therefore, when she sleepily looked towards the window from where the sound came, she saw, in the moonlight, two cats, one silver and one orange, one small and one large, outside the window. Their movements almost identical as they raised their paws, tapping on the window.

The moon hung behind them, and through the window glass, the two cats’ big eyes looked straight at her. Dorothy Louisa, who had been complaining in her heart, immediately woke up completely, then quickly suspected she was still dreaming.

Half an hour later, at No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

"So that’s how it was, Luviya. You can’t imagine how they acted at the time. Oh, thinking back on it, I still want to laugh, it was just so amusing."

"Actually, you are still laughing."

Luviya covered her mouth, laughing as she spoke.

Besides the living room, the gas lamps in the bedroom, study, and kitchen were all turned on. Luviya and Dorothy chatted on the sofa, with Shard Cat standing on the coffee table. Beside him, Mia constantly tried to nuzzle against him, but kept being pushed away:

"Please stop teasing me, I know this might be funny, but there’s nothing I can do. Luviya lives too far, and it’s too dangerous to walk there like this; Lecia is in Yordle Palace, and it’s not convenient to disturb her like this; are you suggesting I travel overnight, down Sicarl Mountain to find Grace and Helen? Someone, please help me think of a way to take Mia away."

On the table lay two [Feeble Healing] and two [Wrath of the Thunder God] coins. Shard had returned to Tobesk to let Luviya use divination to solve the problem.

Half an hour earlier, after Dorothy was stunned in her apartment’s living room for a while, she finally remembered to open the window to let Shard and Mia in. After Shard briefly explained the situation, she carried both cats to find Luviya. And seeing the two "fighting" cats in her arms, the sleepy Miss Diviner’s expression was no better than Dorothy’s when she saw the cats.

As they talked, Luviya reached out to hold the silver cat:

"You see, normally you don’t let us hold you, but now you can’t escape, right?"

She stroked the furry back and pinched the cat’s paw.

"In human form, you can hold me however you want. But can you help me solve this problem first?"

"What a little poor thing, seeing you like this, I almost want to wait until tomorrow to help, letting you sleep with me tonight... Kitty, kitty, would you like to sleep with sister?"

The purple-eyed girl asked with a smile.

"Oh, Luviya!"

The silver cat struggled violently in the arms of the purple-eyed girl, so Dorothy laughed and took him:

"So this is what a cat being angry looks like. Okay, okay, we were just joking. If you can’t change back, we’ll be the saddest. Luviya, Lecia just told me to tell you: make sure to turn Shard back, not an inch less."

After saying this, both the Miss Diviner and Miss Writer covered their mouths and laughed, but Shard did not understand what they were laughing about. At this time, Mia, also leaped onto Dorothy’s lap, lying down excitedly with the sulking Shard.

Luviya reached out to pick up a [Feeble Healing] coin:

"But this kind of thing is really interesting. Shard, what exactly did you do at Moon Bay? We’ll talk after you change back. I think one coin should be enough."

The coin was flicked into the air, and a crack appeared at its highest point. As the coin fell, the rust and cracks became more pronounced until, before hitting the floor, it turned into dust and vanished.

The purple eyes opened, and she didn’t seem to have consumed too much spiritual power from the divination:

"It’s quite simple."

Hearing her tone so relaxed, Shard knew there should be a solution to this:

"Can it be resolved tonight?"

He asked as he once again pushed away the approaching cat.

"Theoretically, yes. I have three methods here. Each has its pros and cons. Listen to everything I have to say before making a decision."

First, extend the first finger:

"The simplest method is to use the Philosopher’s Stone. Although your body has turned into such an adorable cat, your soul is still human. Use the Philosopher’s Stone to activate the Love God’s Sting, eliciting the power of the soul to connect with those who deeply love you, us. Then take advantage of this spellcasting opportunity with some herbal medicine and the aid of rituals, enabling you to transform back into human form in hot water. The Philosopher’s Stone must dissolve in water, and you will be reborn in the water."

She thought for a moment and added:

"This method comes from the Blood Spirit School, experts in various transformation spells and bodily changes. However, even when cultists encounter accidents, they must be remedied. Unfortunately, they don’t have the Philosopher’s Stone, so the regular ’Flesh Reconstruction’ ritual process takes a full three months. Using the Philosopher’s Stone can accelerate the ritual speed."

"Let’s talk about the next one; if there’s no necessity, it’s best not to easily use the Philosopher’s Stone."

Shard said, and Dorothy agreed with Shard’s view, stroking the silver cat’s back as she did.

Luviya, observing them, extended the second finger again:

"A slightly more complex method, to gather enough spirit for you to perform a Maze Lock. There’s no need to fully unfold the Maze Lock; only partially unfold the ’Matchstick Girl’, granting you one wish opportunity. This time, within the Maze Lock, through prayer to the Red Moon, let the moonlight melt your body, then bury you in the soil, utilizing your Arcane Technique, Active Soil, to reshape your body. This method doesn’t require the Philosopher’s Stone or many ritual materials, but the ritual process is very painful and requires the moon phase of the Red Moon Full. Simply put, although the ritual is straightforward, it’s unfortunately not able to proceed until next weekend."

After speaking, she added again:

"This ritual method derives from the research notes left by Laplace Howard, who delved into the topic of body transformation while researching Human Alchemy. Based on his research findings, together with your Arcane Technique, the entire ritual can conclude in one night. Otherwise, even waiting for the Red Moon Full moon phase, you would be buried in the soil, waiting for at least a complete moon cycle to revert."

"Next week? I can’t be like this for an entire week; I’d go crazy."

The silver cat immediately shook its head:

"I have many things to do, and if I remain a cat all week, even if I then revert, Mia will always treat me as a cat."

The girls laughed, and Dorothy again stroked Shard’s back:

"Although cats are beautiful, I bet, Luviya, neither you, I, nor Galina would tolerate a week without being close to Shard."

"Dorothy, stop touching me!"

The cat on her knee complained.

"But I’m not Dorothy, I’m Lecia~"

The Golden-haired Girl said in a light-hearted tone, even pinching Shard Cat’s waist to lift it up, then kissed its back.

"Not resting this late?"

Luviya asked concernedly, Her Highness the Princess put the cat down and laughed, shaking her head:

"I can’t miss such an interesting event. Shard always refuses to let us hold his cat form, but now he can’t refuse. Shard, what appearance of yours have we not seen? You let me and Dorothy on the bed..."

"Ahem, Luviya, what’s the third method?"

Shard Cat immediately interrupted her, the Golden-haired Girl continued to laugh, and Luviya stifled her laughter and said:

"The third method, go find Emilia from the Three Cats Inn. This method provides the least description, but there will be answers there. However, it’s uncertain how quickly her answers can assist you, possibly requiring a considerable time."

"She is of the Elven Royal Family, and elves might have some secret technique that could help Shard."

Dorothy also agreed... or Lecia, since becoming part of the Chosen of Space, although the Writer and the Princess have more defined independence, they wouldn’t consider merging into one, but their soul differences have decreased instead. Even with Shard currently lying on Dorothy’s lap, he couldn’t easily determine whose soul resided in the body at the moment.

"It’s already ten o’clock... let’s visit the Three Cats Inn to disturb Emilia. If her method also requires a long time, we’ll return to use the Philosopher’s Stone for the ritual."

No time to lose, Dorothy held two cats, Luviya went to find a carriage, locked the house door, then departed again into the night fog.

The night in Tobesk was indeed peaceful, no incidents occurred in transit, the carriage reached Three Cats Inn smoothly. Though it was late into the night, for Lower District’s Three Cats Inn, it was still the time for "nightlife." The innkeeper, Mrs. Sangmi, was not behind the counter; whether she went to rest or was temporarily absent was unknown, downstairs were two men on duty who appeared strong and powerful. As it’s the Lower District, such precaution was necessary.

Dorothy used an Illusion Technique, enabling them to bring the cat straight to the third floor. Compared to the bustle downstairs, there wasn’t anyone in the corridor upstairs. To avoid disturbing others, Luviya specifically used sorcery to block sound propagation before knocking on the door.

And after the knocking ended, they initially thought they’d wait a while for a response from the young Elf Girl, but unexpectedly, a voice came almost immediately from behind the door:

"Wh-who is it?"