Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 468: Invitation to the Banquet Card Game

So on that Monday, Shard spent all the remaining time accompanying Miss Galina. Although she only requested that Shard join her for dinner and the opera, in reality, they stayed together from that afternoon until ten at night.

Discussing matters about Daknis took some time, and after dinner in the opera house's private box, Shard heard that Miss Hevy Aurora had already left Coldwater Port City.

"Oh, I should have seen her off,"

Shard felt somewhat annoyed since that lady had given him a lot of help.

"Hevy doesn't care about that, and if she still wants to see you, I can easily lead you into the Council again,"

Miss Galina said, and as Tifa closed the door of the box, she continued:

"However, we will still investigate what exactly your relationships with the witches and the Council are."

"I'm actually quite curious myself."

Shard didn't mind this; he was currently surveying the theatre's box. The space here was a bit larger than he had expected, and if it weren't for the wall on one side being cut away in the upper half, allowing guests to see the stage below, it would have looked more like a club's lounge.

The walls were lined with gold-striped wallpaper, and the style of the gas lamps bore the Cavendish Family's coat of arms. The room not only had a coffee table with tea and fruit, a long sofa, but also had a wardrobe and a dressing table that looked quite expensive.

This box at the top of the opera house was reserved for the royal use. Apart from Miss Galina, the King and Queen, and a few other important royal figures, even Lecia couldn't use it easily.

"Hevy asked me to apologize to you on her behalf,"

Miss Galina spoke again as Shard picked up the teacup, wanting to taste what kind of tea it was; meanwhile, the cat crouched on Shard's shoulder, looking around curiously. Shard planned to give it an apple later to play with.

"Why apologize?"

He asked absently, sipping the still-warm tea.

"She said, after you passed out from the Sunlight Gun in Coldwater Port, she checked your body with her hands to confirm if you were a man,"

"Ahem..."

Shard almost sprayed the tea out of his mouth.

But the liquid seemed to have gone down his windpipe, making him start coughing uncontrollably, while Miss Maid immediately started patting his back.

When he stopped coughing, Shard removed his hand from his mouth and asked in astonishment:

"What did you just say Miss Aphrola did?"

"Exactly what you're thinking, she was verifying your body's structure,"

Miss Galina made an inappropriate gesture for her status:

"She said she's not the kind of person to be sneaky, so she admits what she has done."

"Why didn't she tell me to my face?"

Shard asked again.

"Detective, do you really expect a lady of high society to admit in person that she did something like this? Even though we are witches, we still have a sense of shame,"

The Duchess asked, her gaze shifting down from Shard's face.

"Miss Galina, that kind of look isn't something a high-society lady should have either."

Shard chided, but the Duchess didn't care and laughed:

"To me, you are entirely my collection, what does it matter? Haven't I said before? If you really can win my favor, I wouldn't mind..."

letting the brunette maid go outside to find someone to change the tea-soaked sofa cushion:

"I wouldn't mind trying out what exactly you are myself."

Unlike when she first mentioned this to Shard, she must have been somewhat shy this time, otherwise she wouldn't have sent her personal maid out before speaking.

The name of the opera today was "The Prince's Revenge," and although it resembled a classic drama known in the Outlander's homeland, it was actually based on a famous knight novel from a few years ago and completely different from the homeland's story.

The opera had five acts, and since Shard was unfamiliar with the original novel, he found it quite intriguing. Meanwhile, during the opera, someone came to visit Miss Galina in the box, recognized Shard, and engaged him in a handshake and conversation.

And so, Shard had a hard time imagining what rumors might spread after this.

Of course, the visitors were not just there to see Miss Galina; Marquis Charles Glassley was there to see Shard.

The Marquis, a man in his forties wearing a bowler hat and blue formal attire, complete with a neat mustache, was a friend of the Old Duke Lucas who had once played Roder Card with Shard. After hearing that Shard had the "Genesis" series of Roder Cards, he had been eager to play a game with him.

Shard didn't mind, but the Witch who disliked men did not want others to interrupt her enjoyment of the opera, so she sent Shard and the Marquis somewhere else to play cards.

The two just played a friendly match, and although there were winners and losers, at Shard's insistence, they didn't use Gold Pounds as wagers. Of course, the result was Shard winning, and upon seeing Shard draw out Moon 9 "Demon: Soul Stealer Bishop," Marquis Grassley, after being allowed to inspect the card, excitedly asked Shard if he would attend Queen Diana's birthday party at the end of the month.

"Although I haven't received an invitation yet, I think I'll attend,"

Shard said as he gathered his cards, sure that Miss Galina would find a way for him to attend.

"That's good to hear, I and my friends have already gathered local Roder Card experts at that banquet, planning to enjoy a few matches,"

Marquis Glassley said, his eyes seemingly sparkling with excitement.

"Holding a card game at the Queen's birthday banquet... is that okay?"

Shard asked hesitantly, but the Marquis casually waved his hand:

"Listen to you, Knight, what's wrong with that? Queen Diana's birthday banquet is meant for people to have fun, especially with a Roder Card game involving Special Cards, which is a very elegant hobby. Besides, our card game is also a warm-up for next month's Big City Players."

The Marquis collected his deck of cards and grew serious, extending his hand to Shard:

"So, Hamilton Knight, we have an agreement, we must play a game on the day of the banquet. I didn't expect to meet you at the Opera House today, so I didn't bring my Special Cards, but on the Queen's birthday, we will definitely gamble with Special Cards."

Upon hearing about the Special Cards, Shard also smiled; he was planning to collect Special Cards to assemble a complete deck:

"No problem, Marquis, I will bring 'Genesis: Silver Moon' with me."

Now wasn't two months ago, Shard was no longer the unknown detective from Tobesk, nor was he powerless to protect himself; thus, even if more people knew about 'Genesis: Silver Moon,' he wasn't too worried.

"That's just wonderful."

The two men shook hands, and although there was a bit of an age and noble rank difference between them, as Roder Card Players from Tobesk, they were qualified to compete on equal terms.

Miss Galina made no comment on Shard's hobby of playing Roder Cards. For the rest of the time at the opera house, she merely discussed the content of the opera with Shard, mocked the pretentious nobles of such a big city as Tobesk, and ridiculed Shard's complete ignorance of opera.

This wasn't an unreasonable accusation; Shard indeed knew nothing about it. Comparing him to Miss Galina—who had grown up immersed in it—was one thing, but even the dark-haired Miss Maid knew much more than he did.

"Do you want me to hire some home tutors for literature, etiquette, and mathematics for you?"

Miss Galina joked, and Shard immediately shook his head. He was quite confident in his mathematics, could learn literature from Dorothy, and was able to study etiquette on his own, so there was no need for a tutor.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

After the opera ended, the carriage took Shard back to Saint Delan Square. But Shard didn't rest that evening; he took advantage of the night to visit Coldwater Port again, and left a list of materials needed by Dr. Schneider with the Seven Brooms Tavern to help procure them.

Shard wouldn't forget a promise to a friend.

Tuesday was the day Lecia returned to Tobesk, but the Royal Family's parade would greet her, and afterwards, Lecia still needed to report her trip to Carsonrick to Larus III at Yordle Palace and respond to newspaper interviews, so Shard couldn't hope to meet her alone for the next couple of days.

After having breakfast in the early morning, and leaving the cat to watch the house, Shard went to the Prophet's Society to find Luviya and showed her the 'Wishing Coin':

"Look at this! I just happened to want to do some divination."

Shard smiled as he handed over the coin to Luviya, who had applied light makeup before work and looked exceptionally spirited in the hazy morning light.

"A 'Wishing Coin,' did you get this from Coldwater Port?"

She picked up the coin to examine it.

"No, it was given by Miss Galina."

"That witch?"

The girl with purple eyes put down the coin, her gaze towards Shard filled with unease:

"Shard, what did you give in return?"

"Nothing much."

He didn't want to say that he had dined and watched an opera with Miss Galina.

Luviya showed an even more uneasy expression:

"You really have sacrificed too much for us."

"No, no, really, it's nothing."

"But witches have a bad reputation, and they're famously fond of women and despise men... Sorry, Shard, you've really given too much for us."

Shard didn't know what Luviya thought he had sacrificed, but explaining the series of events was too complicated, so he simply changed the subject:

"I would like you to use this coin for the divination."

"Divinate what? Ivan Daknis's location? Or 'The Dark' Chosen One Ceremony? But a single coin might not be enough."

Luviya flicked her hair absent-mindedly as she toyed with the coin.

"No, no, Miss Galina has already told me Daknis's whereabouts, and the Witch Council also has some very powerful diviners... don't look at me like that, I really didn't give anything much. I want you to divinate how to obtain the Relic 'Demon Hunting Seal'."

Shard recounted his second encounter with Mr. Riddle and then mentioned the magic potion and that seal:

"Currently, Daknis has three major problems, his Six Rings Warlock level, the demon that absorbs negative emotions, and 'The Dark' talent. The 'Dark' talent is suppressed by Iluna's 'Balance', the power of the Six Rings is strong but manageable. Only the demon is the most unstable factor, even though I have already acquired a rare vial of anti-demon Magic Potion, we can't be sure if we can deal with the demon."

Luviya nodded:

"The 'Weak Angel Potion' you mentioned last time, you've got it already? That was fast, but I've never heard of such a Potion nor of any Master Alchemist in Tobesk that powerful."

As she took the test tube from Shard and examined it, Luviya almost immediately sensed the rich Miracle Element and Spirit within it.

She raised an eyebrow:

"Your analysis is quite correct, so the biggest trouble now is still combating the Human Pus Demon. Okay, I can use this coin for the divination. But Shard, divination isn't omnipotent, and it is not wishing magic. You need to give me more detailed requirements, the more detailed the information you provide, the more details a single coin can divinate."