Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1715 - 1714: God of Love

Thus, this Thursday passed in quite peaceful hours. The only notable event before dusk was a visit from someone entrusting Shard to find a lost pet cat. This was a task Shard excelled at, and he resolved it while out for lunch with Mia.

This year, the commission tasks he encountered were pathetically few. In retrospect, it was probably related to Dorothy’s excessive praise of him in her novel. After all, the fees of a famous detective were quite expensive.

After Luviya finished work at the Prophet’s Society, she came over to Shard’s place to continue her stargazing, just like previous days. She was very economical with her time, so Shard brought back takeout to share with Luviya, naturally discussing his time travel experience that morning over dinner:

"I found that witches of the Fifth Era were very proactive, utterly different from those we know."

Luviya shared her thoughts and noticed Shard across the table, feeding the cat and looking at her with a peculiar expression, she chuckled and added:

"As long as you have the ability to bring them across time to here, I would absolutely not oppose having more demigod rank witches in the family, or rather, I’d love to see such a thing happen."

That’s why Shard thought Luviya definitely had some psychological issues.

The notice of Miss Danester allowing a meeting also came after dinner. After tidying up, at 8 PM, Shard appeared again at the chairs in the clearing under the astrolabe at the Saint Byrons Grand Library.

Across from him, separated by a tea table, Miss Danester and Miss Esberg sat on the comfortable sofa. After greeting the two Thirteen-Ring female sorcerers, Shard directly went to the point:

"Miss Esberg, I think I’ve obtained the key to open that sealed item."

"Then let’s have a look."

The card "Traveler under the Moon" was delivered to Saint Byrons through the poetry manuscript pages. Although this card was a divine creation, aside from being hard to damage, it was essentially a common item, otherwise, it couldn’t have been brought to the present time.

Miss Danester and Miss Esberg examined the card, and they both speculated about the contents of the card face, but neither asked Shard about the card’s origin. Just as Shard suspected, Miss Danester once again allowed her student to have her own secrets.

Regarding the treasure belonging to the Winter Choir, it was a book-shaped piece of ice. The ice wasn’t completely transparent, so as mentioned in the morning, one could hazily see a card sealed inside.

"Since you say the key is this, let’s try to open it and see."

Miss Danester displayed considerable interest, evident from her good relations with the "Winter Singer" Miss Aisha Esberg, who also did not mind her presence there.

Thus, the female sorcerer took Shard’s card and placed it on the huge ice block. As the card touched the ice surface, everyone heard the distinct sound of ice shattering. And so, the sealed item, circulated for a thousand years in the Winter Choir, was easily opened.

Miss Danester moved her fingers slightly, the shattered ancient ice flew aside and recomposed itself into its original shape; these ice pieces themselves had great research value. Meanwhile, Miss Esberg picked up both Shard’s "Traveler under the Moon" and the card sealed inside the ice.

Of course, it was not Impermanence: Space, as before the adventure of the Time Key ended, the Ancient Witch Miss Andriana had already lost ownership, so Shard was sure that she and Chloe would definitely not find it even if they searched afterward.

Therefore, with prior mental preparation, Shard was not at all disappointed at this moment, instead curious about what they had left for him:

"Hmm? It’s not a card?"

Indeed, what was sealed wasn’t a paper card, but a shiny golden metal piece. One side was completely smooth and blank, while the other side had a few lines of grammatically simple ancient script.

Miss Danester read them aloud:

"Passion, the merging of souls; Sex, the collision of bodies; Love, the connection of minds; Devotion, the promise of two becoming one."

She puzzled over the content, trying to recall but couldn’t think of what it was:

"I thought what ancient witches passed down to people nowadays would be more important information, like the secrets of the era... what’s this? Is it the content of the Book of Pink?"

"It shouldn’t be the content of the Book of Pink."

Shard said affirmatively, and seeing the two female sorcerers looking at him surprised, he added:

"I referred to it when writing a course paper."

So Miss Danester gave him an ambiguous smile.

Not only Miss Danester, Miss Esberg, and Shard could also make no sense of what this was. Shard merely guessed that Chloe would find a way to leave something for him, but the recognizability of this information was far lower than the power left by Miss Feliana in dreams, and the gifts left by Fiona on the murals.

As for the confirmation that it was left by Chloe, aside from the special way of opening, it was because on the metal surface, besides the script, a corner astonishingly had a cat engraved.

"Shard, what is this? Do you have any clues about it?"

So Miss Danester asked Shard, but Shard truly had no idea.

Subsequently, the Thirteen Rings female sorceresses conducted a more thorough examination, concluding that although the metal reacted to elements, it was only to ensure the card wouldn’t be damaged over time. The metal itself was a mithril alloy mixed with some unknown metal, so its material value wasn’t very high.

Shard thought the trail had gone cold at this point, but fortunately, the librarian indeed had extensive knowledge. After consulting a few books, she found a clue:

"It’s quite interesting. Aisha, Shard, can you guess what I discovered? This passage actually comes from a religious text of an Old God cult. However, the Old God has long gone, and their followers have disappeared without a trace, which is why I didn’t think of it immediately."

"Which Great One is it?"

Miss Esberg asked. She wielded the power of ice but, like the Ice Witch Chloe, wasn’t cold-hearted. On the contrary, it was Sister Delphine, the Guardian of Flame, who had the icy demeanor.

"The God of Love and Emotion, directly referred to as the ’God of Love’ or ’Lock of the Red Heart’ in the Fifth Era, is the guardian of loyal and sincere love and marriage. This deity departed in the Fifth Era, and there is little information about the cult of their followers. However, in the Sixth Era, when people seek love, many of the prayers and ceremonies associated relate to this Great One."

Miss Danester said but still couldn’t understand the significance of the metal piece.

Shard attempted to ask:

"Miss Danester, can none of this Great One’s followers truly be found now?"

"Regrettably, at least I haven’t heard of any. But I can try to look, since it’s related to the Ancient Witches, there might be valuable discoveries eventually?"

As for the metal piece itself, because Shard had unlocked the seal with a key, Madam Esberg, according to the order’s records, gifted it to Shard. But Shard still believed the metal piece itself wasn’t important, much like the Dream of Saint Byrons and that passage connecting the Randall Valley to Saint Byrons, what mattered was the contents or information it held.

And fortunately, Shard knew how to find the followers of the God of Love.

Having dealt with the metal piece, Miss Esberg temporarily left, leaving Shard and Miss Danester to continue their conversation.

Shard hadn’t reported the progress of the investigation in the Green Lake Region for over a week, so Miss Danester’s first question didn’t surprise him at all.

"Shard, have you heard the news of the suspected God Summoner appearing on the Green Lake’s surface on Monday night?"

"Yes, of course. I’m very well-informed. I didn’t expect there to be another island behind the normal island. I’ll find a way to reach it next."

Shard nodded, and the red-haired female sorceress gave him a meaningful glance but, as usual, didn’t delve deeper:

"So, have you found all the descendants of the Edwards family?"

"Yes, there are eight surviving descendants from the Fifth and Sixth Generations. Apart from the one-eyed twin brothers from the Mirror Association, I’ve confirmed the others. None of them recognize that sun, moon, and stars emblem. In fact, I believe there’s a high probability the one-eyed twin brothers don’t know either. The four Edwards who left Green Lake Central Island from the Fourth Generation spoke very little about the island and their family, so the Fifth and Sixth Generation Edwards basically know nothing."

"So, the investigation needs to extend to earlier Edwards?"

"Yes, the four from the Fourth Generation are likely all dead. As for the first three generations, let’s not mention the Thirteen-Ring Diviner of the First Generation for now..."

"How do you know Laplace Klein Howard is a Thirteen Rings?"

Miss Danester suddenly asked. Last time, Shard only mentioned he’d discovered the first-generation lord of the Edwards family was once a member of the Prophet’s Society.

Shard blinked:

"Miss Luviya Annette from our team mentioned it. The matter has almost become a sensation, and the Prophet’s Society is evidently determined to catch that traitor."

"Makes sense... please continue."

"Among the six from the first three generations, that Klein Edwards is definitely alive. As for the remaining five, I’ve confirmed that the eldest daughter of the Second Generation, Laster Edwards, who died young, is indeed dead."

He even saw the spirit:

"Without you at Green Lake, I surely can’t ask Klein Edwards about the emblem. So, my current investigation focuses on two matters. First, how to ascend to the other island; second, determining which of the Edwards from the first three generations are still alive."