Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1726 - 1725: Farewell and Afterglow

"He’s using the bones? Then what should I do?"

Priest Augustus thought for a moment:

"The gift I gave you, which is now integrated into your badge, can suppress the power of the ’Death Angel’ bones other than mine at close range. But this may not be enough... How about this, you investigate further. If you can determine the location of the bones, I can make a trip to the Green Lake Region."

Seeing that Shard wanted to object, the priest reminded him:

"I have completed the ritual for ascending to the Three Rings, so don’t underestimate me. Besides, I haven’t used my vacation from the church this year, so taking a leave of one or two weeks is very simple. The Green Lake City is not very close to us, but don’t we have the steam train? This era is really good."

Shard was actually more worried about the priest and the doctor running into each other:

"Well... all right, then you prepare yourself. I will continue the investigation, maybe I can bring back the bones on my own... Oh, if I accidentally get sent into True Death again..."

"The possibility is not high, but if you’re really unlucky, even if your nun friend can’t find you, I can still pull you back."

Since Sister Delphine was mentioned, Shard thought of another thing:

"Priest, do you have time tomorrow morning? I have arranged with Sister Delphine to meet at the Three Cats Inn, to see the spirit of Laster Edwards. Inside the spirit of that little girl, there might be secrets of Edwards hidden, which is currently one of the few ways to access Edwards’ secrets from the outside world, apart from that island."

The priest nodded:

"No problem, see you tomorrow morning then."

Informing Sister Delphine about the meeting, Shard had already arranged for Miss Galina at last night’s banquet. Thus, after leaving the Dawn Chapel, he hurried home to change clothes, as he still had very important things to do later.

"There’s really a lot to do today."

The negotiations over the Pantanal Border and trade routes have fermented to the point that they have become the most important diplomatic event in the eyes of the public since the peace between the Two Southern and Northern Countries. Shard anticipated that today’s train station would be bustling, but he was still surprised when the carriage was blocked two streets away from the Tobesk Train Station located in the northern area.

Mia was not brought out from home, and Dorothy had left earlier with Lecia to meet Shard at the train station, so Shard was the only one in the carriage. The coachman seeing no way forward could only let Shard walk the rest of the way, but even so, it wasn’t easy to move forward through the crowded and shouting crowd.

Shard even felt that half the city’s people had gathered in this neighborhood today. Since coming to this world, apart from the Year-End Festival, he had never seen so many people on the street.

Initially, he thought of finding a deserted place to transform into a cat and approach the train station along the rooftops, but finding a deserted place nearby was even harder than moving forward. People were loudly shouting phrases like "Long live Draleon," "Sacred territory is inviolable," "The great House of Cavendish will lead us to defeat the Southerners," crowded as they moved forward, and the police and officers specially dispatched to maintain order could only barely ensure that trampling did not occur.

Though Shard arrived somewhat late, he was fortunate. As the central lane reserved for royal carriages came by, a carriage guarded by royal guards arrived. The three princesses, younger than Angelina, recognized Shard in the crowd and had the attendant officer bring him over.

"Thank you very much, Your Highness Alice, Your Highness Eilina, Your Highness Anastasia."

The three little princesses giggled, letting Shard sit in the carriage and discussing Angelina, who was about to depart with Miss Galina, and also mentioning how it seemed that Shard was familiar with Lecia, showing quite an interest in him.

In short, although it required some effort, Shard still managed to enter the cordoned-off Tobesk Train Station around five o’clock.

He first reunited with Lecia and Dorothy along with the princesses, exchanged brief pleasantries, and was then called away by Miss Maid led by Tifa.

The red-haired Duchess had already taken her seat in her carriage. The luxurious decor made it resemble a finely decorated manor living room, only smaller.

She still needed to deliver a speech with His Majesty the King to the people and was currently being interviewed by a very pretty young female journalist.

Seeing Shard arrive, the witch raised her hand to indicate that the interview could be paused. The journalist got up with her notebook and pen and left, giving Shard an interested look as she brushed past him.

"Train journeys are going to be very dull."

All the maids except Tifa left the carriage, and the witch gave Shard a hug, holding him as they sat on the sofa:

"If it weren’t for the fact that I have to go to Green Lake in my public capacity, it would actually be more convenient to have Sylvia open a portal."

She complained, her tone somewhat like a playful pout.

"About how many days will it take?"

Shard asked, and Tifa answered the question:

"Because it’s a special train for the delegation, the train runs at reduced speed for safety reasons, and will temporarily stop at two major cities for Miss to give speeches. If everything goes well, we should arrive in Green Lake City by Wednesday night or Thursday morning next week."

"So it’s around the day of the lunar eclipse at the end of the month?"

"Yes, yes, about four days of a boring train journey, it really is quite tough."

The witch leaned her head against Shard’s neck, taking a deep breath:

"If it weren’t for the thought that upon arriving in Green Lake City, I could have some fun teasing Audrey, I might be even less spirited."

"Hmm..."

"I know you don’t want her to be too embarrassed, don’t worry, I know my limits."

She said with a playful smile, but the more she said it, the more worried Shard became.

"Don’t think about Audrey. I can probably rest for another half an hour, and in half an hour, I have to go out and give a speech. Before that, Shard, shouldn’t you do something to see me off?"

She winked at Shard, her golden eyes quite beautiful:

"Maybe you’ve noticed, but you haven’t come to see me at all over the past week."

Saying this, she waved her hand, so Tifa also exited the carriage. Shard heard the sound of the door locking—he also realized for the first time that the door of this carriage could be locked from the outside. Subsequently, he had to face the passionate witch:

"Only half an hour, think of it as enjoying dessert. When I arrive in Green Lake City, you better come find me."

Shard was busy all morning and afternoon on this day, and he wasn’t idle in the evening either. After bidding farewell to the beautiful witch for half an hour, as the Duchess went to join His Majesty the King to deliver speeches to reporters and "citizen representatives," Shard thought he could finally rest. But as he sat on a slightly messy sofa, buttoning his shirt, he lifted his head and saw the black-haired head maid silently enter the carriage.

With a playful twinkle in her eyes, she winked and locked the door from the inside this time:

"Knight, are you here to say goodbye?"

The tender farewell was memorable, but it was just a private goodbye. Before the train left, Shard, along with his companion Dorothy, formally bid farewell to Miss Galina and Angelina.

Queen Diana was right beside Shard, and she hugged Angelina with concern, urging Miss Galina to take good care of her. Angelina’s brothers and sisters showed no particular reaction to this scene, evidently, the Queen’s slight favoritism towards Angelina was not being displayed for the first time.

"With that, today’s things are finally done."

That was Shard’s thought as the train gradually started, after a whole busy day, while people waved goodbye to the train.

But then, Dorothy gently whispered in Shard’s ear:

"Last night, we met at ten past seven after the banquet started, with more than an hour left until the end of the Day of the Red Butterfly. Knight, later Lecia said, see you at home, she has already sent dinner home in advance."

Overall, this was probably the busiest Saturday the Outlander had experienced since coming to this world, but it was quite fulfilling.

And since it was Saturday night, it was customarily teaching time for Dorothy and Lecia. Therefore, five minutes before the official end of the Day of the Red Butterfly, Shard, while cuddling with Lecia and Dorothy, brought up tonight’s study plan.

This surprised the two young women quite a bit:

"At a time like this, you’re still thinking about studying... Shard, we indeed underestimated you."

"Underestimated in what way?"

"Don’t mind it, there’s still five minutes. Time flies, if it weren’t for sending off Galina and Angelina, there could have been more time."

A little past seven, after kissing Lecia goodbye in the foyer, Shard returned to the second floor to continue his studies with Dorothy.

Because at the end of the Seven-day Trip, he received a hint about "Duality" from the God of the Journey, Shard was very attentive to learning about the "Lovers of the Bell Tower." In addition to the lessons, he and Dorothy speculated on what kind of results could be achieved if two different individuals were to merge.

"I can understand powers stacking, but what would the appearance be like?"

Shard asked the question and immediately thought of that "Twin Lovers" card.

"Don’t think of it so frighteningly, aren’t the Red Butterfly Sisters, Grace and Helen, the best example?"

Miss Writer reminded him, then smiled and said:

"I’m quite curious though, if Lecia and I became one person, would you feel something new when staying overnight with us?"

"You..."

"I know, I’m just joking. The lessons we learned last time were more than enough, I wouldn’t want to be... punished by you again."

She gently kissed Shard:

"Never again."