Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"The Church bribed the Grand Witch of the Witch Council to ascertain a more authentic source for the magical materials obtained by Saint Byrons students?"

Ignoring the so-called "reward" issue, Shard summarized the current situation:

"At least this counts as one-fifth of the ticket for The Chosen One. Doesn't the Council have any interest in gaining control over this thing?"

The Sage's Glowstone can only transfer ownership once. It cannot be seized through force, coercion, or deception.

"Currently, only the Church of the Five Gods knows that the second Radiant Stone is in your possession. I have not informed other Grand Witches that you have a Radiant Stone."

Miss Galina looked very satisfied at the expression that appeared on Shard's face:

"I won't actively involve you in matters related to The Chosen One, and even if you reveal this Radiant Stone, you probably don't want to trade with us."

She waved her hand and lowered her head to deal with the food on the plate:

"I just went to a meeting, and the Speaker mentioned wanting to buy their Fragment of Poem Chapter from the Apna Library."

"The Apna Library has sold those materials multiple times; I am aware of at least twice. If you need them, I can write down the information for you."

Shard saw those materials when helping Old John with deliveries, and the only valuable insight was that this Chosen One Ceremony needs to be carried out on water.

"We want the vessel itself because it's a relic of the Witch Empress."

Miss Galina said, gesturing for Tifa to keep pouring wine for her. With a flick of her right hand, she let the dining knife slice the food on the plate by itself, while pressing a bit on her own neck with her right hand:

"Don't worry about Wednesday's matters; aside from the Church and the Prophet's Society, no one knows you have the Sage's Glowstone. Just wait for them to name their price. However, Sylvia might have heard about this from Margaret Anjou, and I will tell her to keep this matter a secret. She greatly... appreciates you and would definitely be willing to keep this secret."

Shard nodded, and the witch continued asking:

"Have you ever considered keeping this Radiant Stone? It can enhance your wisdom and bestow extraordinary talents upon you. Even if it's not material for the Chosen One Ceremony, it's still an extremely valuable item."

"No, no, wisdom cannot be obtained through external means. 'A Sage never directly gives power, a Sage only provides guidance.'"

Shard stated confidently.

"Who said that?"

"It was spoken by a Deity of Bygone Days whom I met in the Year 5177 of the Fifth Era."

Miss Galina's hand trembled slightly while holding her wine glass. Shard looked down at the box beside him:

"Speaking of which, has the Council been able to confirm the candidate for the fourth Chosen One?"

"News came from Saint Byrons confirming this time's Chosen One is still a male. It's unbelievable that out of the four Chosen Ones, three are male... The Chosen Ones are sure to be near the locations where those 'Keepers of Secrets' appear. The Church is currently cross-referencing the guest list of the Lakeside Manor banquet with the individuals around the locations of recent unusual phenomena, including guests of Little Lecia's salon. Of course, the Church surely wouldn't suspect you."

She said with a smile, and Shard pondered for a moment:

"In fact, there's no need to suspect me, as Luviya clearly mentioned that anyone could be the Chosen One except for me."

Miss Galina glanced at Shard, recalling the girl with purple eyes:

"What are you planning this time? I'm quite interested in your actions. Your previous endeavors were so successful; it's not possible to do nothing this time, right?"

"Once we confirm who the Chosen One is, we'll devise a specific plan of action. For now, we're just waiting for news and simultaneously attempting to gather Radiant Stones."

"The Chosen One isn't so easy to find. Besides Iluna, who was discovered by the Church beforehand, Ivan Daknis was in Tobesk City but was only identified as the Chosen One upon arriving at Coldwater Port; Joey Barton was even more excessive, living under the Church's nose for years before emerging during the Battle of Midshire Fort, claiming he wanted to revive his lover, yet at first, the Church didn't even know who he was."

The witch grabbed her dining knife again:

"Perhaps this time's Chosen One will also emerge from an unexpected place, and then for some uncanny reason, you'll encounter them, and in the end, fight with them for another strange reason."

The witch's golden eyes gazed at Shard.

"Iluna didn't fight me at that time."

Shard countered, and Miss Galina laughed, raising her glass to Shard:

"But there's something I'd like to ask you: after you apprehended Thief Jack, was the thing given to you really just that box of jewels and diamonds?"

"Of course not, the box of jewels was what I got from Huntington. Thief Jack allowed me to choose one from three relics, but I asked for the letter it stole from my friend Dorothy Louisa, and also had it return the relic it stole from Iluna's team."

Shard spoke frankly, then saw the witch showing an odd smile:

"I mentioned when the Church reached me via Larus III, how come Iluna was in such a good mood. As for Luisa... if I recall correctly, Miss Luisa is that beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed writer who once, along with Lecia, was associated with you..."

"Ahem."

Tifa coughed in avoidance, stopping the Duchess from uttering any inappropriate words.

Shard separated a small piece of beef from his plate, placing it on the dish in front of Little Mia. The cat sniffed at the scent excitedly. To prevent further teasing from the witch, Shard opened the jewelry box and slid it towards Miss Galina:

"Would you like to choose one?"

"Lecia was still at Yordle Palace this morning, asking me if you had woken up. She rarely takes the initiative to talk to me, Detective, you have quite a way."

The witch said as her slender fingers picked a small silver diamond-encrusted brooch from the box."

She casually placed the brooch on the table and then showed her wine glass to Shard:

"Before leaving tomorrow, make sure to produce more red wine. After drinking your red wine, other wines almost have no taste."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Shard was a little skeptical.

"That's because you don't understand wine tasting."

The Duchess said regretfully and winked at Shard:

"Wine tasting is a necessary skill for nobles, you must not be ignorant of this. You have many things to learn from me in the future, ignorance is not good."

Shard originally thought Miss Galina would also mention the "two dangerous presences descending on Saint Delan Square," but on Friday morning, when meeting Luviya at the Prophet's Society, Shard learned that the entire content of the [Brave Game] was known only to the church.

At that time, the complete viewing of that game was only attended by the church's Circle Sorcerer and three princesses. The church imposed strict confidentiality restrictions, and even though the Prophet's Society knew Shard had the [Sage's Glowstone], they did not disclose the "dangerous presences."

Fortunately, [Thief Jack] had informed the church before leaving that the "dangerous presences" had also departed, or else Saint Delan Square would have been under surveillance for several months.

"This is it, the one you couldn't take a close look at on Wednesday night."

In the divination room on the second floor of the Prophet's Society, Shard handed the blue teardrop-shaped crystal stone to Luviya. He sat with his back to the window, outside the heavy snowfall. It was this kind of heavy snow since waking on Thursday evening, and the snow was still heavy by today's Friday.

Little Mia stood on the windowsill, her tail raised, eyes wide as she looked at the snowfall outside, a scene that amazed the cat.

"One of the five [Sage's Glowstones]."

Luviya's purple eyes looked at the stone in her hand that turned gray and petrified:

"Iluna currently holds one, and you have one, but this may not be all of the Glowstones, the church may not locate all the Keepers of Secrets."

"Yes, although we only know about two stones now, there's a chance that tomorrow, the real Chosen One will have already acquired five Glowstones and held the ceremony."

Shard nodded:

"Still no trace of the Chosen One? There's no clue from the witches either, the church's progress should be faster than ours, knowing the individual is a man, though they probably haven't identified his specific identity."

Luviya returned the Glowstone to Shard:

"The Glowstone in Iluna's possession is the first and only public Glowstone. The Chosen One ceremony has officially commenced now, the powers of the Three Major Academies have been allowed direct entry into Tobesk City, the Academy professors will likely arrive next week. Before that, we lack other means to ascertain the identity of the Chosen One."

She sighed slightly:

"The [Truth Society] certainly holds clues unknown to us, Miss Pavo's avatar disappeared after confronting Iluna's strike [Sunlight Gun] on Wednesday night. Looking back, she didn't personally attend the [Dice Story Collection] on Wednesday, instead letting the [Truth Society]'s professors participate, likely to confirm some things. I'll make an irresponsible prediction, this lady possesses wisdom beyond our expectations."

"But you've already determined that she's not the primary candidate."

"Yes, she's indeed not the primary candidate, though likely ranks lower on the list."

Saying this, Luviya smiled again:

"In any case, though the accident on Wednesday night was sudden, you and Iluna cooperated well. Two of the five Glowstones are in our hands, if the fourth Chosen One turns out to be more cooperative, they will come to us… the advantage is ours."

"That is probably the best outcome, and the church won't allow an ordinary person like me to maintain possession of this stone for long."

Shard pointed at the beautiful crystal stone and then spun in his chair to look at the cat by the window.

The snow was getting heavier, this was Tobesk City's largest snowstorm of the current winter so far, the temperature was expected to drop rapidly in the coming days.

"Soon, the church will send a representative to negotiate with you, have you truly decided not to surrender the Glowstone to the Academy? That is a Sage-Level Relic."

Sage-Level Relics do not circulate in the market, absolutely unavailable on the black market. The Sage-Level Relics Shard still held, besides the [God's Gift Box] and [Aikenora-Arrow of Knowledge], included Miss Lecia's red earring [Saint's Uncursing Stone] as the only confirmed Sage-Level item among those around him, sage-level is quite tempting for him:

"I want to use this stone for some trade, exchanging it for more valuable and safer items."

[Sage's Glowstone] can only be traded once, agreeing to the church's trade means the Glowstone still stays with Shard, and when needed, he would pass it to others. Agreeing to the church's trade does not signify losing dominance but represents Shard acquiring items typically unobtainable.

[You really want something, written plainly on your face.]

Shard touched his face, then with Luviya watched Mia at the glass window making the motion of tiny paws tapping the glass. This cat was eager to contact the external snow. Although Shard could control snowfall, the city turning silver-white in the natural environment was still fresh to Mia, roughly born in 1853's spring.

Shard and Luviya both smiled, such a leisurely morning made life seem much calmer than it appeared.