Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 457 - Old God [Earth-shaking Worm]

By Wednesday, the renovation of No. 6, Saint Delan Square was still underway. Shard had dropped by the third floor that morning and, according to the current progress, most of the work should be completed by the end of the week.

Even after the repairs were finished, they would have to wait for the cement to dry, for the gas and steam piping to be tested, and for an inspection from City Hall's Housing Repair Center before the third floor could be completely available for use. However, the joy of this long-awaited accomplishment was enough to leave Shard in a very good mood.

Today, he was heading to Coldwater Port for a short trip with the Witch. Therefore, after breakfast, Shard went to Dorothy's to ask if she could temporarily take care of his cat.

However, quite unfortunately, Dorothy had gone out early that day. Her "Hamilton Detective Stories" had been serialized for two weeks and had gained an unexpectedly huge following. The landlady said Dorothy had gone to the offices of the "Steam Bird Daily" to discuss the next steps for the serialization and likely wouldn't be back before noon.

Beyond Dorothy, Shard had other options. He gave it some thought but ultimately decided not to ask for help from his other friends.

Mia was not very approachable with strangers, and it had taken a long time for her to get used to Dorothy. So, rather than having the cat inconvenienced by another person for the day, Shard thought it would be better to take Mia with him to Coldwater Port and entrust the cat to Miss Aphrola's Maid when it was time for adventure.

And so, Shard showed up on time at Aphrola Manor at eight-thirty that morning, took a quick bath, and was immediately whisked onto a carriage by Miss Aphrola, which sped directly to Coldwater Port Train Station.

Of course, Miss Aphrola's travels wouldn't consist of her carrying her own luggage. She had purchased tickets for a private compartment, a luxury coach. In addition to Shard, there were three personal Maids and a dozen other servants responsible for carrying the luggage following her.

All three Maids were Circle Sorcerers, uniformly at the Five Rings level. They didn't seem much older than Shard—even just two or three years older than his physical age.

"Why do Witches always have so many young but high-level Female Sorcerers by their side? Even the True God Church would find it difficult to find so many young Inner Ring Sorcerers."

In his leisure time on the journey, Shard inquired from Miss Aphrola.

The train wheels rolled over the tracks, issuing a rhythmic clack-clack sound. Because of the mechanical shock absorbers installed in the first-class carriage, the train ride was quite comfortable.

The Witch sat in front of the desk in the compartment, holding a book, while Shard sat on the sofa. This entire carriage was one compartment, designed like a living room complete with decorative fireplace, rather than the multi-space configuration of compartments that Shard had imagined.

In this era, the quality of life of the wealthy far surpassed the imagination of Outlanders.

"It's simple; they all possess the power of a Witch."

The Witch, with her curly brown hair, said, calling over a shoulder-length haired girl who was leaning over to pour tea:

"This is Jess. I found her in an orphanage when she was nine."

It is worth mentioning that although Miss Aphrola was wearing a flounced long dress, her current posture was rather unladylike. She was sitting with her leg cocked up, holding the book on top of her right knee.

She gestured for the Miss Maid to lean down, then caressed her face with her hand.

"Initially, I thought of training her to handle clerical work as my secretary when I came of age, but unexpectedly, she awakened her Talent at seventeen. Jess is twenty-four this year, and it took her seven years to reach the Five Rings with the help of Witch Power. Although this is fast compared to a normal sorcerer, compared to you, it's already slow."

As she spoke, her right hand caressed the Maid's cheek, sliding down to her chin. Then the Witch's slender fingers hooked under the Miss Maid's chin, prompting the latter's slightly blushed face to slowly lean closer to her own.

Shard conscientiously covered Mia's eyes with his hand as she crouched on the sofa cushion.

Miss Aphrola, however, did not make any more excessive moves; she just gently kissed her personal Maid and let the Miss Maid go back to work. Seeing Shard's embarrassed demeanor, she chuckled and said:

"Don't act so inexperienced, Shard. By the way, you haven't had an intimate encounter with any girl, have you?"

Seeing that Shard was reluctant to answer, she continued laughingly:

"Could it be that the aesthetic sense of the girls in the Northern Pearl is different from that of the girls on the coast? That's interesting, or maybe Galina has been intercepting those suitors for you."

"I don't think that's it, in fact, I rarely make public appearances."

"Rejed's Hamilton Knight told me that he is a very low-key person."

The Witch shook her head with a smile:

"Just wait and see, Shard, sooner or later, the love letters you receive will fill your mailbox. But I am quite curious, how exactly does Galina view her relationship with you?"

"Business partners."

"Do you really think so?"

Miss Hevy Aurora raised her teacup and gestured a toast to Shard:

"Then I wish you good luck, Mr. Detective."

Klein City, located to the east of Coldwater Port, was like most cities on the Old Continent, progressing with the rise of the Steam Age, but unable to tap into this era's benefits as much as Tobesk and Coldwater Port.

Hercules Town was a small town in the southern part of Klein City, mostly mountainous terrain, but since it was the last stop before entering the rugged basin in the middle of the West Coast of the Old Continent from the open plains of the north, even a town such as this had a train station.

It was also considered an important traffic route for the eastern part of Coldwater Port, but most of those stopping here were scattered tourists, and the north-south transfer of goods mostly used sea transportation, so this aspect of the town's identity did not bring more trading opportunities.

The history of Hercules Town was now completely beyond tracing, but it was a town that allowed one to glimpse both past and present. As Shard followed Miss Aphrola out of the train station, he first lamented the decline of the rural town, and then realized that compared to most of Draleon Kingdom's small towns, this place was quite prosperous.

The whole town was made up of eight streets, three vertical and five horizontal, with the town center not being the centrally-located Hercules Town Security Office but the town train station to the west of the city. Surrounding the train station, inns, shops, restaurants, and taverns were lined up in order, and within the two streets around the train station, one could still feel a bit of the Big City's atmosphere.

Miss Aphrola brought Shard here, not for tourism, of course. She had booked rooms at the largest inn in town, the "Honest Man Inn," well in advance. After a brief rest, a maid and other servants responsible for transporting luggage stayed at the inn to guard the luggage and prepare to receive them, while Shard took the cat, accompanied by two other maids and Miss Aphrola, and set out.

Since they had a specially provided lunch in the first-class carriage of the train, there was no need to concern themselves with the town's food. The Witch was thoroughly prepared, with all the action plans already in place. The first step was to visit Old Mrs. Ilal, a resident of Hercules Town.

The solitary old lady lived in a house on the edge of town. Unlike the detached apartments commonly found in cities, Mrs. Ilal's house seemed like a relic from before the Steam Age, standing on one side of the street.

The rugged dirt road extended in front of the house, with a crooked wooden fence marking the boundaries of the house. The old woman had created two vegetable plots in the front yard. Outlanders could not tell what the lush green crops were, but the cat on his shoulder was very interested in those plants.

Apparently, city cats haven't only never seen the ocean; they probably have never seen a vegetable plot either.

Steam and gas pipelines were not buried underground but instead ran directly on the ground into the house. After pushing open the seemingly flimsy fence gate that looked as though it could be kicked down and avoiding the chickens running around in the yard, the four of them came to the front door.

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Now Mia was even more active; it was not afraid of creatures slightly larger than itself, so it seemed quite ready to jump off the shoulder and measure up to those chickens.

Shard held the cat and looked at the chicken coops and the vegetable plot while the maid knocked on the door.

"How do you find this place?"

The Witch asked Shard with interest:

"I heard from Galina about your background; you probably don't have memories of places like this."

"Yes, this place... although it's interesting at first glance, I still prefer living in the city," Shard replied honestly.

Someone came to open the door very soon. It seemed there was an appointment, so when the bent-over old woman, wrapped in a headscarf and leaning on a cane, saw the four people and a cat, she did not seem surprised.

Mrs. Ilal was the oldest person Shard had ever seen in this world, at least in terms of appearance. She had some trouble walking, but she seemed to be in good spirits.

What surprised Shard the most was that she was a Circle Sorcerer. However, her level was very low; according to the whispers in his ear, she was either a First Ring or Second Ring, not possibly higher level than Shard.

The interior of the house was filled with that peculiar odor unique to solitary elderly, as if everything in here was on the brink of decay. The décor was dated, and the wallpaper used to cover the cracks in the walls had yellowed. As for the old furniture, it looked like only Old John's Pawnshop or a junkyard would consider taking it. When Shard sat down on the sofa, he even heard a creaking sound that was rather alarming.

Considering his weight was standard, this could only mean the sofa, like Old Mrs. Ilal, was nearing the end of its life.

Once everyone was seated, the maids went to prepare some tea in the kitchen, and the Witch finally introduced to Shard the identity of the old lady before them:

"She is a Believer of the Old God 'Earth-shaking Worm,' and is the current High Priest of the Order."

"Don't talk about High Priest; currently, I'm the only member of the Order," the old woman waved her hand modestly, her eyes bright, and when she smiled, she looked very kind and gentle.