Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1716 - 1715: Rosicrucian Society

Miss Danester nodded, feeling Shard’s arrangements were very reasonable:

"Be careful with your actions around Green Lake recently. The appearance of the followers of the Evil God suggests that this matter involves much more. It’s impossible to say that a Thirteen-Ring Diviner, who has been lurking for over two hundred years, doesn’t have any preparations."

Shard even knew that at least one Evil Spirit Demon was aiding the ancestor of that Edwards, but he had yet to find a proper time to reveal it. Besides, he didn’t want to say, as this was prey reserved by Dr. Schneider.

"When you head to Green Lake, be sure to take the red-covered book I gave you. This way, even though the power of the book might not ensure your complete safety, at least I’ll know where you encounter danger."

She paused for a moment, looking at Shard’s projection:

"As I said before, I’ve already lost my teacher, and I don’t want to lose my student while looking for the teacher. Safety first, Shard. As long as you’re alive, no matter where you encounter danger, I can find you."

Miss Danester’s words were quite heavy, but her concern was justified.

Shard nodded to show his understanding, and the librarian lady continued:

"Also, you should know from Luviya Annette that next Wednesday, the last day of the month, is the Night of the Eclipse. Be extra careful that night; it’s best to stay home and avoid going out. The eclipse has a more significant impact on sorcerers who are skilled with moon power, especially low and middle-rank sorcerers, and your investigation won’t suffer from missing one night."

"Understood. I was thinking of studying the [Black Moon Insignia] that night."

Shard said with a smile, then summoned his Ring of Fate:

"I’ve recently acquired another Spirit Rune. This means I’m more than halfway through the Six Rings now."

"Even if you suddenly told me you’ve already reached the Seventh Ring, I wouldn’t be surprised."

Miss Danester laughed, looking at Shard’s Ring, always feeling it was a bit different from other students’ Rings of Fate. Other than being slightly larger, indicating his exceptional soul strength, there was no other anomaly:

"The Church and the Prophet’s Society have already initiated actions at Green Lake. You should keep away from them during your investigation. Besides concealing your identity, it’s also to avoid being mistaken as the Chosen of Space. As for the Three Major Academies, it’ll take roughly ten days before someone leads a team to the area. Right now, everyone is guarding against us, yet we don’t even know what they’re guarding against."

She leaned back slightly on the sofa, showing a rare look of fatigue:

"Shard, what do you think the God Summoner is doing now? Is he exploring new Chosen ones’ clues, or has he found new enemies? On Monday, he allegedly used the power of the Evil God. If not for the oracle from the True God - Sun and Earth God after the Randall Valley battle, stating that believers need not concern themselves about the God Summoner, the Church might have considered him a dangerous individual."

This was indeed a difficult question to answer, so Shard thought for a moment:

"It’s getting late; I guess the God Summoner is at home or in a hotel, probably preparing to drink some hot milk before resting."

Miss Danester chuckled:

"Enough of that. How’s your studies going lately? Next month, I plan to collaborate with the Astronomy College to offer a new elective course, exploring the correlation between astrology and moon magic. Do you have time?"

Afterward, they discussed Shard’s study plans for the second half of the spring term.

When Shard got up from the chair used for the projection ritual, it was already half-past nine that night. He stretched, glanced at the cat lying on the sofa pretending to sleep, and then headed towards the stairs going to the third floor:

"Luviya, I want you to divine something for me with coins."

"Are you done talking with Miss Danester? Is it a new clue? What do you want to divine? Now there are only two Wraith Iron Coins left, so I suppose it has to be something important, right?"

Luviya, bending over to check the starry sky through a telescope, asked without turning her head.

"I’m not sure if it’s important, but it’s definitely not wasting it. I want to know how to find, most conveniently, a believer of the God of Love."

"The God of Love?"

This time Luviya finally turned around, her purple eyes curiously looking at Shard:

"If I remember correctly, this Great One governs faithful love and protects marriages worthy of blessing."

She teasingly asked Shard:

"Aren’t you afraid of searching for the believers of this deity?"

"Uh..."

Seeing Shard at a loss for words, the smile on Luviya’s face grew even brighter:

"Alright, alright, I’m just teasing you. But I need to rest a bit before divining. After working all day and drawing star maps, this life is quite tiring."

When she said "rest a bit," it meant having a cup of tea with Shard on the second floor. Before taking out the [Wraith Iron Coin], she also asked if Shard had specific requirements. Shard, cuddling the soft cat, thought for a moment:

"To find the one closest to me, who is the friendliest towards me, and who has a lot of religious knowledge, just enough to answer my questions; preferabbly a Circle Sorcerer, knowledgeable about ancient matters, who can instantly answer all my questions, maybe even know what I want to ask the moment they see me."

"I need to remind you: I can only perform divination; I can’t grant wishes."

Luviya warned.

"Then it will be most convenient for me to find, find one person, and then it will be very convenient to find another."

"Alright, that’s simple."

Luviya closed her eyes and tossed the coin, which began to fall after reaching its highest point and disintegrated into ash in the air.

This indicated a successful divination.

She opened her eyes:

"It’s really unexpected. Strictly speaking, the believers of the God of Love have not disappeared. They’ve just integrated into other Circle Sorcerer groups."

Shard understood:

"Isn’t that a common occurrence? The Cult of the Forgotten in Ciris also integrated into the Grand Witch followers of the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe, didn’t they? So, which Circle Sorcerer group are the God of Love’s believers in now?"

He asked curiously.

"You must have heard of it — the Rosicrucian Society."

Luviya replied, and Shard thought for a moment before nodding in understanding.

The Rosicrucian Society is currently an active large Circle Sorcerer group in the Velindale region of Carsonrick Kingdom. Of course, this "large" isn’t particularly large, only relative to other smaller groups.

Shard’s friend, the Vampire Kind, Mr. Benhart, is a member of the Rosicrucian Society, though he is only affiliated there. According to Mr. Benhart, there are many members of the Vampire Kind in the Rosicrucian Society, which is why he joined.

Of course, the Rosicrucian Society is not a simple group of the Vampire Kind, nor is it a church group gathered for worshiping a common Old God. Their predecessor was the Rosicrucian Knights of the old era, and the ideologies of the old and new eras are quite similar, seeking to break the limitations of the Whisper Element through Alchemy and artificially create objects containing the Whisper Element.

This is certainly challenging, even more so as it challenges one of the foundational theories of the Circle Sorcerer System, the Four Elements theory. Thus, the artificial creation of objects containing the Whisper Element is merely the ultimate goal of the Rosicrucian Society. As a Circle Sorcerer group in Velindale City of the Royal Capital, they demonstrate more enthusiasm for the research of alchemy, healing, astrology, and such magic, and are eager to explore the influence of "emotions" on supernatural abilities.

Therefore, the Rosicrucian Society also has a certain influence among the individuals aware of the supernatural within the higher echelons of Velindale City. It’s worth mentioning that while the Rosicrucian Society is keen on research into "emotions" and "desires," they impose a strict "temperance of desires" requirement on core members.

If you see flyers promoting low desires and bodily care in public places in the Velindale region, they are mostly distributed by the Rosicrucian Society.

"If I remember correctly, this organization also belongs to a scholar group. Although they are not a recognized Circle Sorcerer organization, the church has never pursued them specifically. They maintain a delicate balance with the church — maintained unilaterally by the church."

Shard recalled, then added:

"Margaret and Miss Sylvia seem to have mentioned that the Rosicrucian Society could operate in the Velindale region due to the involvement of the Anjou Royal Family. The Royal Family did not support them but only provided some convenience."

"That is normal. While the Royal Family knows the True God Church is powerful, they surely make their little moves, as long as they do not go overboard, the church turns a blind eye. Speaking of which, our Draleon’s Cavendish Royal Family appears very ’obedient,’ but in reality, they also have a Grand Witch. This makes it clear the Cavendish Family is more outrageous than the Anjou Family."

Luviya said with a smile.

Shard nodded:

"Then I should try to go to Velindale, no, first let Margaret help me gather some information. Or not, I wonder if she will attend the negotiation in the Green Lake region. If she attends, she might have already set off."

In the last letter, Margaret mentioned her father had not yet decided. Since the Anjou Royal Family has few descendants, at least one member of the Royal Family would definitely be sent to Green Lake.

Luviya stopped the eager Shard:

"Hold on a moment, you don’t need to go to Velindale. There are members of the Rosicrucian Society in the Green Lake region, and they are relatively core members. They’re easy to find, or rather, you actually know them. Think carefully, Shard, among the sorcerers you know, who are relatively strong but whose exact background you’re unaware of?"

Shard suddenly realized, and he asked Luviya in surprise:

"Wait, you’re talking about the Furen Brothers?"

The girl with purple eyes smiled and nodded: 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yes, them. It seems that your past adventures have connected once more with the present times."

Saying this, she looked at the last Wraith Iron Coin in her hand:

"Shard, while we have time now, do you want to perform another divination? For example, on how to enter another island, or that Human Alchemy matter you mentioned?"

Shard shook his head:

"Let’s wait until Megan and I make our third trip to the island before deciding. This time, with that Thirteen Rings Diviner’s layout of over two hundred years, we must do everything cautiously. Keeping the last one might come in handy when it’s crucial."

Though he believed that even if the opponent had lived for over two hundred years, they would not surpass the long-haired Luviya, but unfortunately, the long-haired Luviya could not take the initiative now.