Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 645: Chapter 645 of the Poem Fragments

Chapter 645: Chapter 645 of the Poem Fragments

Dorothy was in such bad shape that Shard couldn’t let her go back to her apartment on Feather Quill Street so late, so she ended up staying the night at Shard’s, while Shard slept on the sofa.

Because the sofa was too small for Mia to lie down next to the pillow, she settled on the soft back of the sofa… and then “accidentally” rolled up at 6:30 a.m., landing right on Shard’s chest.

Shard couldn’t remember what he had dreamt about, but when he opened his eyes and sat up, he still remembered that his dream had ended with No. 6, Saint Delan Square collapsing and trapping him beneath it.

“Mia, how did you fall down? Are you so careless?”

With sleepy eyes, Shard threw off the blankets, originally thinking Mia had fallen accidentally, but after waking up, realizing the subtle timing of “half-past six,” he suspiciously looked at the cat:

“Are you hungry again?”

The orange cat rubbed Shard’s hand and meowed, then trotted toward the stairway. Although it hadn’t been able to sleep on the bed, the cat seemed to be in quite a good mood.

Dorothy didn’t stay for breakfast with Shard and went back, having officially been promoted as a Five-Ring Sorcerer, she had a lot to do during this period. Also, she had to check on the situation at Lecia’s, and thus, except for the “Hamilton Detective Stories,” Dorothy had a lot of tasks to keep her busy for some time.

So, on this morning, Shard was still eating alone with his cat. But the first piece of news he saw after unfolding the newspaper at the breakfast table made him frown:

“An earthquake in the Sicarl Mountain Region?”

He put down the spoon in his hand, unable to believe what he was seeing, and unfolded the newspaper with both hands:

“Yesterday evening? Oh, what happened there?”

He certainly didn’t think it was just an earthquake.

So, after finishing breakfast, instead of heading straight for Midshire Fort, he timed it to ensure that the Prophet’s Society was open and went to find Luviya there.

Luviya was set to continue her stargazing at Shard’s place starting today, but Shard wanted to discuss something else with her:

“Did you see the news?”

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Holding the cat, Shard sat down in the Divination room on the second floor of the society and handed the newspaper to Luviya. It seemed that Luviya hadn’t seen the newspaper yet that morning, so after reading the news, she immediately frowned and then looked up at Shard:

“Shard, what were you doing in Midshire Fort last evening?”

“Hmm? What does that have to do with me? Yesterday I was busy helping Dorothy with her promotion ceremony, I didn’t go to Midshire Fort. Oh, and Dorothy has become a Five-Ring Sorcerer now.”

Shard hurriedly clarified his involvement:

“It has nothing to do with me? That’s fresh. But these kinds of earthquakes happening at such times don’t seem like normal occurrences.”

Luviya remained silent for a while, put down the newspaper, and then took the crystal ball from a nearby cabinet, and looked at it for quite some time before saying:

“There must be a problem in the Interstice of Life and Death, although it’s not to say that the disaster has already begun, something unexpected must have occurred.”

“I’ll go to Midshire Fort later to check the situation, waiting until…”

“No, don’t go today.”

Luviya stopped Shard:

“I’ll write to Iluna, asking her to inquire about the situation through the church’s channels first. The church has already proactively discussed the issue of Midshire Fort with her, giving her ample reason to ask about the earthquake. Shard, you have other matters to take care of in Tobesk.”

Shard perked up:

“Is there a task for me? Any clues about the new coin?”

“I and Iluna will address the issue with the coins. Actually, I’ve discovered a small fragment of ‘Whispering Verses’…”

“Meow!”

Because Shard gripped the cat too tightly, Mia immediately cried out.

“A Fragment of the Whispering Verses?”

“Yes, is that so strange?”

The girl with purple eyes slightly frowned:

“It’s known that the existing fragments of ‘Whispering Verses’ number in the hundreds, so why can’t I find one?”

“How did you find it?”

Shard was very curious, but Luviya shook her head and did not tell him the answer:

“Anyway, there is a fragment of the ‘Whispering Verses’ in Tobesk now, and besides me, no one else has probably noticed. Specifically, the fragment is on the base of a stone figurine unearthed in an archaeological find. That figurine is actually a handcrafted artifact made by the Witch Empresses of the Fifth Era.”

She looked around and lowered her voice:

“Roughly about the size of this crystal ball of mine.”

Luviya described more specifically:

“The figurine is in the hands of a local collector.”

As she spoke, she handed Shard a business card, which bore the name and address of Simir Pasolo, listed as a writer.

“I need to find the collector and buy that antique?”

“No, no, no, he’s already dead.”

The girl with purple eyes shook her head again:

“This gentleman lived alone, and his family just arrived in Tobesk, so the contents of the house should still be undisturbed. What you need to do is sneak into this address.”

She pointed to the business card:

“Find the stone figurine and record the information on its base. We just want to know what is written there, there’s no need to actually take it.”

Shard nodded and glanced at the address:

“No problem, I’ll drop Mia off at home and then head out, trying to get back to you by this evening. Luviya, sneaking into someone’s house is my specialty.”

He said confidently, especially since his new Arcane Technique “Silent Moonlight” was more suitable for tasks like sneaking.

“I can hardly imagine what you usually do.”

Luviya shook her head:

“Let’s meet at your house in the evening, I’ll have Iluna come over too, and we can discuss the current progress of the third Chosen One. It’s been almost two weeks since you rescued Priest Augustus, and our investigation has barely progressed.”

“No problem, see you tonight then.”

And so, Shard set off once again.

Interestingly enough, the now-deceased antique collector Mr. Simir Pasolo, lived on the same street as Miss White’s sister, Miss Black, who had gone on a trip to Midshire Fort City.

The apartments along the street stood towering, with old-style architecture and walls, but the steam pipes clinging to them and the street vendors gave them a touch of the new era. As Shard once again stood on this street, he could not help but marvel at the changes brought about by time. But before he decided whether to use Lagre’s Leap to slip unnoticed through a second-story window or find the back door of the apartment building, a familiar four-wheeled carriage stopped beside him.

Shard thought someone was getting off at the street corner and that he was in the way, so he started walking towards the mailbox across the street. But just as he took a step, he saw the carriage window open, and Tifa’s smiling face appeared at the window:

“Good morning, Shard.”