Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"The Spiritual Light of the 'Guiding Moon,' I've already experimented with it."

The Thirteen-Ring Sorceress shook her head slightly:

"The wordless black book that contains the secrets of the Silvermoon Library does indeed respond to the Spiritual Light, but the degree of that reaction is far less than the reaction caused by the Spiritual Light of your core Spirit Rune and mine on the black book."

Shard slightly furrowed his brow:

"Could it be because that was merely the collected Spiritual Light, not the true Spiritual Light he's releasing?"

"That is a possibility."

Miss Danester nodded:

"I've already applied to the headmaster to travel to Tobesk City, and I'll be carrying that black book. Mr. Hamilton, I need you to communicate with the 'Guiding Moon' in advance and persuade him to assist in releasing the Spiritual Light."

"This will reveal the secrets of the black book to him."

Shard pointed this out, and Miss Danester shook her head:

"Currently, there is no better way; you go find Lakin Prisia and persuade him to participate in an experiment related to the Spiritual Light. You can offer him a high price, gold pounds are not an issue. But remember, my identity is that of a Six-Ring Sorceress from Saint Byrons in Tobesk."

If Miss Danester doesn't mind exposing that book, Shard can manage:

"I know the leader of Xerxes' group in Tobesk; through the leader, I can contact Sir Prisia, and then use personal connections to ask him for help, it should be no problem."

"You are indeed very reliable."

Miss Danester showed a smile:

"Today is Wednesday, I'll handle the library management affairs after leaving Saint Byrons and then set off. I should arrive in Tobesk City by this weekend. This slate belongs to the library, and I don't have the authority to give it to you directly."

The sorceress smiled:

"But I can use my personal authority to lend it to you for a hundred years. This slate cannot be transported by poetic manuscript pages; I will bring it in person. As for its ownership after a hundred years... it depends on whether you can succeed to my position, and who you choose as your subsequent successor."

Shard showed an understanding expression; if he can indeed become a librarian, renewing the 'lease' for another hundred years wouldn't be a problem. And since Miss Danester can reach the Northern Pearl from the Far North in three to four days, she definitely isn't traveling by train.

"Alright, thank you for your help."

Now he just needs to unlock the Red Moon Spirit Rune, and he will be able to touch the deep secrets of Time Perception. And unlocking that Spirit Rune requires a higher level of power from the same source.

The Bard's trial requires finding the 'Yellow Moon'; although it is not the Red Moon, it is also a moon. Shard believes that perhaps that special item, which may or may not be a relic, might help him unlock the Red Moon.

"Therefore, I must complete the Bard's trial! Ah, the mysteries of Time, the true secrets of the Sixth Era..."

The news of Miss Danester arriving in Tobesk is indeed surprising, but that is a weekend matter. This Wednesday, Shard's most important matter is to arrange the appointments with the two ladies.

He originally had everything planned out, arranged for activities from this afternoon to tomorrow noon, and even planned to take Dorothy and Lecia for a horseback ride outside the city besides watching an opera and strolling around the city. Riding horses in the snowfields, although cold, would surely present a beautiful winter scenery.

But unfortunately, when waiting for Dorothy at noon, Dorothy brought Shard some bad news:

"Lecia has something to do today, she's been kept at Yordle Palace by His Majesty the King to organize the report for the year-end speech."

Every year-end, as per tradition, His Majesty the King delivers a speech to the nation, generally summarizing the kingdom's development over the year, depreciating Carsonrick's condition a bit, then envisioning major plans for the kingdom in the coming year, followed by a year-end honors ceremony after the speech.

"Lecia sorting out such reports? She's been assigned such an important job?"

Shard was quite surprised.

The blonde girl holding a handbag shook her head in the hallway; she was heading to the newspaper soon and didn't plan to stay long at Shard's place:

"It's just the New World development part, but it's also important. Lecia will be busy for a while; she and I discussed postponing this Red Butterfly Day."

Shard had no objections; last time, too, to meet at the wedding, the three of them postponed the Red Butterfly Day by two days.

"Postpone to which day? I can make new plans."

Shard asked.

"To the 31st day of the Slumber Moon, which is the last day of the year."

Dorothy said with slight regret, and Shard raised an eyebrow:

"If I remember correctly, today is only the 11th of the Slumber Moon."

"Yes, detective. Please calculate, if the Red Butterfly Day starts this afternoon and continues until tomorrow noon, then when is the next Red Butterfly Day?"

[The second day of 1854.]

"The second day of 1854."

"Your math is quite good."

Dorothy gave a small compliment, smiling as she said:

"But during the Year-End Festival, both Lecia and I want to see you."

She slightly raised her head, her beautiful green eyes looking at Shard:

"After all, it's the first year worth commemorating. So instead of delaying the Red Butterfly Day by a week or two, we might as well postpone it directly to the year-end. The Year-End Festival, the 31st day of the Slumber Moon, we want to spend it with you."

"Hmm..."

The emotions contained in those eyes left Shard at a loss for words:

"Of course, this is fine. Oh, Dorothy, I've already prepared your Year-End Festival gift, I've got a..."

Somewhat cold fingers touched Shard's lips:

"Detective, surprise me at the end of the year with this."

She said with a smile, waving to Shard:

"Don't forget about the exam week. I also need to prepare for my fourth-grade to fifth-grade exams. Hopefully, I'll have better luck with the exams this time. I still haven't submitted my Magic Potion class assignment yet."

She tiptoed and kissed Shard's left cheek, then pushed open the door and walked into the silver-white Saint Delan Square.

[The girls you know are all very nice.]

While Shard covered his cheek watching Dorothy's back, "she" said with a smile.

"Yes, very nice."

Shard said softly, sighing slightly:

"So, I also have to work hard to earn money. I thought I was quite wealthy, but when it comes to spending, I realize I'm still just a poor man."

He didn't close the door immediately, but instead walked out into the snow, looking up at his house:

"This one house alone isn't enough, I still need to find ways to make money."

Currently, he still had three things on his hands, which were investigating Lakin Prisia, searching for the "Yellow Moon," and helping Princess Margaret investigate the maid who should have been burned to death.

The first thing still awaited news from Dr. Schneider, the second required an attempt at resonance on a clear night using a ritual, while the third thing Shard intended to resolve today, so he could concentrate fully on confronting the epic of the fourth Chosen One.

He hoped that, regardless of who the fourth Chosen One was, they would hold the ceremony before the end of the month, otherwise it would definitely disrupt everyone's exam time.

Eight years ago, Princess Margaret had a maid fired because she hated eating purple cabbage. In actuality, the dismissed maid was an MI6 undercover agent, who also left Velindale with the excuse of "self-immolation."

That maid has appeared again, and was directly witnessed by the Princess. This is absolutely abnormal. Although Shard suspects it's another MI6 plot, he can't ask directly, so he plans to investigate first.

The lazy cat stayed at home; Shard went out alone. The last time Princess Margaret saw the maid was near Regent's Park in Tobesk Eastern District when she and Queen Diana had participated in a charity event in Regent's Park, and from the car window, saw the maid hurriedly passing through with a basket among the crowd.

Shard planned to investigate in that area in the morning. If there were no clues, he would subtly ask Miss Galina. He couldn't ask directly, otherwise, that red-haired Grand Witch would immediately guess his intentions, possibly exposing the identity of the "grey-headed eagle."

"At worst, I'll go ask Tifa. She might keep it a secret for me...probably."

This was Shard's thought.

[But with only the silhouette seen by Margaret Anjou, what clues can you possibly find?]

She asked Shard with a smile.

"Although I'm not the Chosen One of Wisdom and Knowledge, don't underestimate me."

Located near the Nature Chapel in the city's Eastern District, Regent's Park is quite close, Shard took a carriage, got off at the entrance of the Nature Chapel, and then proceeded along the snow-covered street towards Regent's Park:

"It's a simple analysis, in this kind of nasty weather, if I were to buy groceries, I would definitely choose the nearest or a bit further but cheaper market."

[Reasonable.]

"She" whispered in Shard's ear.

Shard tightened the scarf around his neck, standing by the roadside, observing the street scenery on both sides. Tobesk Eastern District is quite prosperous around Regent's Park as its center. The buildings on both sides extend towards the north, and looking up, a brown Clock Tower stands on the right, turned white in winter.

Everyone on the street was wrapped in cotton robes, walking carefully. Beggars couldn't be seen at the street corners, and newspaper boys in patched clothes leaned against the steam pipes on walls, seeking some warmth.

The weather was quite nice today, even the gray fog had cleared a bit. The not-so-warm winter morning sunshine bathed the city, making the metal pipes on the walls shimmer.

"I inherited a very accurate city map from Detective Sparrow. Although the map update was up to this late spring, I think half a year is not enough for this area to have new markets."

[Reasonable.]

"She" continued in a soft voice, Shard touched his ear, actually wanting to test if he could feel someone behind him.

"She" giggled lightly.

"As the central area of the Eastern District, which is also the affluent area, Regent's Park doesn't have many markets, it's not a slum. According to Princess Margaret, the maid was dressed as an ordinary citizen, not like a noble lady or a wealthy noblewoman."

[So...]

"Using Regent's Park as a center, find the surrounding markets. Then find the nearby residential areas and streets for common folk, compare them to find the routes through Regent's Park, then you can determine where the maid lives. Of course, the premise is still that her reappearance is not an MI6 conspiracy."

"She" lightly praised:

[Perhaps you really have the talent to be a detective.]

"That's just ordinary reasoning."

Shard smiled, not boastfully, he truly believed it wasn't something particularly hard to figure out. The smile was because "she" praised him.

In this era, markets mostly aren't open all day but open during morning and evening hours. Just as Shard said, there are no bustling markets in the Regent's Park-Nature Chapel central area.

The peripheral areas do have markets, but considering the opening hours, the location of Regent's Park, and the nearby apartment rental costs, Shard could roughly determine that if the maid wasn't passing by as arranged by MI6, but really living nearby, then her most likely residence is a twenty-minute walk from Regent's Park, further downstream on Noel Street along the Nington River.

That street isn't famous in Tobesk Eastern District, but most buildings along the street are rental apartments, which leads to many poor people living in the Eastern District preferring to reside nearby.