Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The lawyer probably thought that Shard was too young and didn't want him getting involved in gambling. Shard just smiled confidently and said,

"Look at this old deck of mine, do I look like a rookie at Roder Card? The most I can lose in a game is less than two shillings, and I don't think my luck is always that bad... Sir, on this boring morning, we should find something to do."

He purposely spoke with a heavy Tobesk accent. The lawyer just shrugged and gestured that they could begin,

"I do appreciate confident people."

The crowd around them was also excited. Although no one had seen this young man before, as long as the card game continued, giving them something to do, they didn't care if Shard was from MI6.

Shard still held onto the idea of not gambling, but now, sitting at the table, he aimed to gather information by winning money. Thus, this wasn't considered gambling.

The card game in this tavern didn't have very formal rules. Both sides kept drawing cards until they stopped and counted points. The lawyer might have been skilled and experienced, but facing Shard, who was lucky thanks to "Genesis: Silver Moon," he still lost more than he won.

When Shard sat down, he had already prepared for both winning and losing. However, after easily winning four of the first five games, he knew there was nothing to worry about.

By half-past ten in the morning, Shard's side was piled with small coins and a few banknotes, while the lawyer only had an empty cup left. He sweated and held his last card, his bloodshot eyes slightly trembling as he looked at the slowly revealing card:

"Oh, a nine of moons, I have twenty points this time!"

He slowly exhaled, and a relieved smile appeared on his sweaty face. The three men standing behind him discussed how many more rounds the lawyer could endure if he won this time.

Shard also received his last card. He too pressed it down with his palm and bent to look with the two people behind him:

"Oh, the King."

Shard said casually and then shrugged,

"Lawyer, it looks like I win again."

"No more, no more."

The middle-aged lawyer was stunned for a moment, disheartenedly throwing down his last card,

"Perhaps all my luck was used up before you appeared. It's not that my skills are lacking, it's the conservation of luck."

He didn't forget to justify himself in front of the familiar faces around him but didn't suspect Shard of cheating, as there was a crowd surrounding them.

"No more, is it? 20 pence."

Shard tapped on the table, the pile of pennies and the rare few shillings beside him added up to about half a pound, of which about three shillings were the lawyer's money, the rest was what the lawyer had won from others that morning.

"Really, I was thinking of visiting Laura tonight, now it looks like I'll only be taking a bath at home."

The middle-aged lawyer complained as he reached into his pocket while the others jeered and laughed at him,

"I've only got two pence left, but I won't dodge paying someone else's money, come to my house with me, I live on this street."

The lawyer stood up, dejected, and Shard also got up, having collected his cards. This was his purpose for coming here to play, knowing that these types often wouldn't leave the tavern until they had lost all their money.

He had planned to claim to be out of money and take the lawyer to a nearby friend to borrow some if he lost more than two shillings himself, pulling out a one-pound note mid-way for the lawyer to make change. But now, that plan was unnecessary:

"Alright, it seems I am quite lucky today, would you like me to buy you a drink?"

Shard suggested.

"No need, I have work this afternoon. If it were the evening, I definitely would've let you buy me the priciest drink."

The spectators who had been enjoying the card game, of course, hoped they would continue playing, but Lawyer Laurel firmly left, not one to owe debts over a game; a lawyer knows the limits of gambling.

Thus, they came together to the apartment where Shard had knocked on the door a few hours before, the middle-aged lawyer unlocked the door, initially intending for Shard to wait downstairs. But seeing him follow right in, he said nothing and invited Shard to come up with him.

Locke Laurel lived on the second floor of this small apartment, having rented the entire floor's three rooms.

In this era, being a lawyer was a middle-class profession. Although not in a very nice place, Locke's income was decent, judging by the furniture and the shoes at the entrance. He probably just preferred the living environment here,

Just like Detective Sparrow's study, the middle-aged lawyer's home was also filled with stacks of paper files and archival bags. While the lawyer rummaged through the shoe cabinet for small coins, Shard stood at the door, deliberately expressing his admiration:

"They said you were a lawyer, and I didn't believe it at first, but now I do," she said.

"Can't a lawyer go to a bar to play Roder Card? That's a prejudice," he replied.

Having said that, he passed the found money to Shard. After Shard had carefully counted it, he left immediately, which bewildered the lawyer who had thought he had ulterior motives.

Once on the street, Shard felt considerably lighter. From what people had said and what he had observed at the lawyer's house, he was fairly certain there was nothing untoward about the inheritance. Although he hadn't seen the will or the estate itself, he was going to sign it with Mrs. Lemer, so he could help check on it then.

Thus, after going home and writing a report, the first half of this commission was essentially finished—this money was easily earned.

As for the few half-pounds of change he had won in his pocket, Shard didn't plan on keeping for himself. He disliked gambling, and even if he kept the winnings, they wouldn't significantly benefit his life.

So, he thought of donating it directly to Dawn Chapel later, which would not only dispose of this money rightfully but also grant him immense psychological satisfaction, and it could be seen as a thank you to Priest Augustus for not charging a labor fee for preparing the Magic Potion.

As for returning the money to the lawyer, Shard had never considered it. He just hated gambling; he wasn't trying to be a saint. Even if Lawyer Laurel recognized him when he went to see the lawyer with Mrs. Lemer, there was no reason to claim back that money.

"However, the Roder card certainly is useful, and I've also slightly enjoyed the thrill of playing cards," he thought.

With this in mind, he walked along Queen Mary's Street toward Dawn Square.

At the next intersection on Queen Mary's Street, there was a candy store, and as Shard passed by, he saw a familiar middle-aged woman anxiously engaging passersby in conversation.

This was the woman he had seen scolding a child this morning when he knocked on the lawyer's apartment door downstairs, but her child wasn't with her now.

Since Shard's path was going to take him past her, the middle-aged woman with slightly disheveled hair approached him:

"My child, Little Ron, is missing. Sir, have you seen a boy about this tall, wearing a black hat around here?"

Her eyes were dull, and her haggard expression immediately dampened Shard's previously good mood.

"Your child is missing? When did this happen?" he asked, surprised, looking around.

"Ten minutes ago, I was buying something here with him, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. I don't know if he went to play nearby or... was taken away."

The woman's eyes were red, and her look was hard to describe. It wasn't tearful, urgent, or frantic; it was a kind of despair so intense that Shard never imagined it could emanate so strongly just from someone's eyes:

"Why not go to the police... never mind," he said.

Shard took a deep breath. In this era, even with the frequent cases of child kidnapping in this city, thinking the police would solve the problem was less reliable than hoping he could find some clues on the spot himself.

The Outlander had found his footing in this world, but he was well aware that this era was far from being considered civilized and orderly. He had thought about the various things that might happen out of his sight, but he hadn't expected to encounter such an event so soon.

After making some inquiries, he learned the middle-aged woman's name was Marian Cook, a single mother living nearby, with no relatives. As for where her husband had gone, Shard neither asked nor was told.

Sighing, since he was involved, Shard decided to mix into this troubling matter:

"I'll ask some passersby around here, and you could go check the shops next to the candy store," he suggested.

Even though this incident had nothing to do with him financially, since he had stumbled upon it, trying to help was not an issue. After all, he had no other plans for today.

If it were something like a lost wallet, he probably would have inquired and then left. But with a missing child, helping out seemed the right thing to do.

Mrs. Cook turned and went to the clothing store next to the candy shop to ask about her child, but Shard did not do what he said he would. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes;

"Echo of the Past."

His ears itched, followed by the noisy sounds of the street entering his ears. This "Arcane Technique" related to "Space-Time" could randomly let him hear voices from the past 24 hours, although it did incline toward human voices, this preference didn't increase the chances of hearing relevant information in the bustling streets or in stores.

Under "Divine Afterglow," any Arcane Technique or Sorcery would be enhanced. However, the enhancement "Echo of the Past" received was not an increase in odds but an extension from 24 hours to 36 hours, something he had found out while experimenting at home when he was idle.

After several attempts, none of the voices he heard were related to the lost child. The longer the delay, the lower the chances of finding the child, and as he turned to look at the distraught woman holding her hands together and inquiring inside the store at the corner, Shard sighed helplessly.

He reached into his pocket and asked the voice in his head:

"The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny..."

"[Are you going to rely on luck for a stranger? Good idea, but I must remind you, you only have one chance per day. And even if you roll a lucky number, it may not relate to your Arcane Technique.]"