Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

As they talked, Shard thought of the first deity he encountered, and the young man in the toy store wearing a jester’s hat:

"He once created the Eternal Flame and an endlessly flowing spring for the beautiful Witch Princess. But when the Witch Princess asked Him for immortality, the deity left her."

With a smile, Shard responded to Mr. Anderson’s joke, which wasn’t all that funny and was mixed with slang, and he summarized his actions:

"Immature children always have various wishes. For those warm and sincere wishes, of course, we should try to fulfill them. For those wishes that might have issues, we should correct and remind them. As for how to distinguish between the children’s wishes and how to handle the thoughts of immature young people, this is what a qualified adult should do. The responsibility of an adult towards children is probably just that."

"She" became even gentler in Shard’s ear, and in Shard’s pocket, the anchor silver accessory emitted a warm temperature. The anchor accepted this method of handling tasks, and Miss Eles’s second task officially ended here.

The meeting with Porter Anderson also hinted at Shard’s intention to get in touch with the "Eternal Light." Unfortunately, Mr. Anderson never revealed how to contact other members of the "Eternal Light."

But at least he told Shard about the internal structure of the "Eternal Light," information even the police might not know clearly:

"The highest leader is called the ’Archbishop’. I haven’t met him, but people praise him as a devout ascetic."

"Devout? Faith in whom?"

"Not a deity, but the Light itself. He, along with two Cardinals in Red, forms a committee to manage the Eternal Light. Of course, this is just what I’ve heard. Below the leader and the Cardinals in Red, there are Great Sacrificial Rites that oversee different area gathering places, and then there’s the ordinary priest in charge of specific gathering places. Each gathering place has its own management, including those who distribute leaflets to the outside, those who manage newcomers, and so on."

"That’s quite a large organization. But as far as I know, due to the constant tracking by the police in recent years, hasn’t the Eternal Light already gone underground, so there are very few members?"

The porter also answered Shard’s question:

"That’s why people like us are not formal members. Formal members usually wear robes. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them; every time they appear, they talk about how nobles and merchants are bad. However, their whereabouts are strictly confidential. Even if you find the gathering place through someone like me, you probably won’t see them. Formal members only appear before familiar faces who have attended gatherings for at least six months."

Although he couldn’t directly connect with the "Eternal Light," the information provided by Mr. Anderson was still quite useful. After having lunch that afternoon, Shard maintained contact with the porter and his son. Who knows, he might need their help in the future.

It was already one in the afternoon, standing on the pier watching the snowflakes fall upon the sail-covered harbor. The scene was more romantic than imagined, yet also harsh for the farmers.

The well-fed cat wanted to nap, so Shard first took it home. Upon returning from throwing the Crystal Shoes, he found a letter on the coffee table in the living room:

"Miss Galina’s handwriting, oh, Miss Benanis has responded. Ciris sent the items needed for memory restoration to Green Island through Miss Sylvia."

The cat, adept at climbing, settled onto the windowsill, basked in the sun, and squinted its eyes. Its little ears perked as Shard headed downstairs to the basement, returning ten minutes later.

Shard now had a wooden box in his hand, which contained, besides Ciris’s letter, an Old God’s Holy Emblem of [The Forgotten Old Man] exuding rich Miracle Elements, and a petite pocket-sized lady’s pistol, which was the Sage-Level Relic [Faded Memories] left by Laplace Howard.

[Faded Memories] has a revolver shape, and by adjusting the cylinder, it can be divided into three modes: extracting and projecting memories, extracting terrifying memories to give bullets strong lethality, and extracting creature memories and projecting a physical entity.

That Diviner, who transcended the Thirteen Rings, used this pistol to extract the memory of the three generations of the firstborn to confirm the truth he glimpsed in the river of time. That is to say, "memory extraction" is the primary function of this gun.

If Ciris herself came to Moon Bay City, just using this gun, she could retrieve the memories Shard wanted. But the Golden-haired Girl couldn’t leave Velindale for the moment, so to assist Shard, she temporarily lent him her Holy Emblem.

The Holy Emblem is a sacred relic passed down through the generations of Bishops of the [Cult of the Forgotten], the strongest divine item inherited by the now declining Order. With this sacred relic, even if Shard doesn’t understand memory Arcane Techniques, he can easily cooperate with the relic to obtain memories. Willingness to lend this Holy Emblem itself is a testament to the girl’s feelings.

Ciris’s letter explained how Shard should use these two items, with her greetings being quite concise. Nevertheless, Shard read the letter several times. Having understood his feelings and desires recently, Shard no longer agonized over such matters, yet still felt a pang of guilt.

He therefore thought that next time he saw Ciris, he would plan a date, and considering the current situation in Moon Bay City, the Golden Dawn Opera Group would inevitably arrive there.

Leaving the cat to nap at home, Shard didn’t immediately return to Moon Bay, but took a carriage to Cat Tail Alley in the Tobesk University District to visit Professor Manning.

The retired professor now at leisure, although he often went fishing, visited friends in the city, and occasionally participated in lectures and scholarly presentations, was usually found at home by Shard.

Today was no exception. After knocking on the door, the servant, seeing it was Shard visiting, invited him in directly. At that moment, the professor had other friends over, and Shard immediately saw Laster Edwards floating about, and then Durut Giles sitting on the sofa talking with the professor.

After the events at Green Lake concluded, the returning Durut Giles stayed in Tobesk, living on as a history lecturer at the school, while Laster Edwards, who returned from death, naturally stayed by his side.

Shard visited them twice last month, and unexpectedly ran into them again at Professor Manning’s place this day.

"Ah, it’s you, it’s you! Are you spying on us?"

The girl was still as lively and spirited as ever.

"Mr. Hamilton, nice to see you again."

Durut Giles stood up and greeted respectfully.

"Shard, good afternoon."

Professor Manning greeted with a smile. It seemed the young history lecturer was here to discuss an upcoming paper with the professor. Seeing Shard arrive, he exchanged a few pleasantries with him, then departed with the girl, who was filled with joy.

While the servant was preparing tea for Shard, the old professor said rather contentedly:

"Giles is a very talented person. He couldn’t settle down to study before, but ever since he met you and traveled out to Green Lake, his mind has noticeably become more grounded. If only the young people at the school were like him."

"What he experienced at Green Lake, others probably wouldn’t want to encounter in a lifetime."

Shard smiled and shook his head:

"I came here to consult you about something. It’s related to your past experiences... Well, over ten years ago, you went to Moon Bay, right? The Moon Bay City on the West Coast."

Professor Manning nodded while holding his teacup, looking quite surprised:

"Yes, why, did you run into trouble at Moon Bay this time?"

"A gift for you."

After the servant left, Shard took out a jar of honey he bought from the Duke’s Bee Store earlier today before leaving Moon Bay City. Seeing the Casenric label on the jar, Professor Manning nodded knowingly:

"I only went to Moon Bay once. It was summer, the weather was much better than this year; I vividly remember the scene of watching the seagulls at the dock. At that time, I and two colleagues went to participate in a non-public ancient ruins excavation related to Draleon and Casenric’s academic exchange activities. You know, related to mysticism."

The old professor reminisced with his teacup in hand:

"The location of the ruins was very remote; I fear I wouldn’t be able to find it now, even if I went again. But I remember the writing on the stele excavated from the ruins was very peculiar, unlike any language I know. Staring at it for too long would even induce feelings of anxiety and fear. But this wasn’t the first time I encountered such strange things; I witnessed more bizarre things when I was younger."

"Then did you privately keep any photos or fragments of the excavated stele back then?"

Shard asked expectantly, and Professor Manning shook his head decisively:

"Of course not, that would have been a violation. These Church-led excavations strictly prohibit privately concealing any items and leaving any unapproved records. Detective, I’ve traveled all over the Old Continent, participated in archaeological excavation activities all over, and still remain healthy to sit here chatting with you at this age because of this caution."

Shard was slightly disappointed but wholeheartedly agreed with Professor Manning’s approach:

"You did the right thing, so I’ll look for clues elsewhere. This matter is connected to the legendary dragon, yes, the one from the stories. I wonder what will happen this time."

"A dragon? Now that you mention it, those strange patterns I saw back then must have referred to a dragon~ I thought it was a big lizard, and it felt odd at the time; the Moon Bay Region doesn’t have any ancient legends worshipping lizards."

Professor Manning suddenly realized, then thought of another matter.