Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Standing around for photographs is actually rather dull, and as Shard maintained his smile, his eyes swept through the crowd.

Thus, he once again saw Miss Beyas in the brightly lit banquet hall. This time it was definitely not an illusion. The female sorcerer with brown hair wore a formal gown. Seeing Shard notice her, she immediately made a shushing gesture, then turned her head and dived into the crowd as if she didn't want Shard to know what she was doing.

"At least this time she didn't dress up as a maid."

Shard muttered quietly to himself.

For a long time afterward, Shard didn't see Miss Beyas again. After the entire knighting ceremony was completed, Shard stood with a few dukes under the arrangement of the attendant officer, waiting for the king to award medals to others who had received honors.

He carried the antique knight longsword in his hand, his fingers continually caressing the rubies on the scabbard. It was just an ordinary item which, despite being well preserved, was rendered practically useless by the ravages of time.

During the dull wait, Shard thought about hanging the sword in the living room of Room No. 1 on the second floor, so that every client who came to him for a commission would see it.

There were only two people who received honorary medals, and they were awarded separately. Afterwards, about a dozen people who were specially commended did not have the honor of being awarded by the king. They went up to the stage together and were collectively given the "Tobesk Special Contribution Medal."

As for those like Captain Lades who didn't receive a medal, their names were simply read aloud, thanking them for their contributions to the king. But this was enough for the captain, as such honors were enough to cleanse him of his "Captain Eight-Guns" name. After tonight, Captain Lades could pack his bags and wait for the notice.

By the time this whole procedure was finished, it was already half past eight from seven.

The busy king would not stay here any longer but went directly back to the city, while the other dukes had their own plans.

Probably because Miss Galina had specifically chatted with Shard for a few words, the other dukes also spoke to him briefly, to get acquainted. Because of the curse borne by the Witch, Miss Galina seldom appeared in public. Her attitude this time undoubtedly indicated that Shard was someone she had taken an interest in.

After the award ceremony and the king's departure, the banquet officially began.

The dukes returned to the third floor together, and immediately a group of people surrounded Shard wanting to talk to him, and reporters followed with notebooks. In just ten minutes, Shard received more business cards than he had distributed that day.

Priest Augustus had advised that public interviews were necessary, so Shard had no choice but to answer everyone's questions in turn.

Even when someone asked about his thoughts when he stopped that bullet, Shard, who was already dizzy with questions, blurted out:

"Everything meets its Ultimate Death, and all people will face death..."

His mind snapped back to clarity, discarding the notion of searching for a heavy mountain in this world:

"Perhaps a person's value is limited, but when they contribute beyond their own value, character and spirit can be sublimated at that moment."

Shard didn't even know what he was saying, but seeing the people around him nodding, he knew he hadn't said anything wrong. Of course, he didn't forget to praise the importance of the Royal Family to Draleon afterward, to commend Mr. Dawn, the True God, and to promote Holy Prayer Day for the church as well.

Anyway, Shard really wasn't accustomed to these social situations.

It took a full forty minutes to get rid of the reporters, and just as he was finally able to get away, before the men who wanted to chat with "Miss Galina's close confidant" could approach, Shard was surrounded by a group of young ladies.

Shard exchanged pleasantries with the ladies for a moment before someone wanted to "talk alone in the garden" with him, or wanted to hear some "detective stories" in private.

Shard wasn't naive, of course he understood what this meant, but he was very uncomfortable with the enthusiasm of the ladies, and could only excuse himself saying he had other matters to attend to. Even so, his hands were still filled with handkerchiefs, upon which addresses had been written with lipstick or face powder.

"You need to get used to this, Mr. Hamilton, no, Lord Hamilton of Rejed."

Baron Lavende, who came over to play cards with him, approached with a smile.

"Are young ladies always this enthusiastic?"

He held the handkerchiefs, unsure of what to do with them.

"It's not enthusiasm for you, but for your status, and your association with Miss Galina. Now, the Duchess of Saradiel has almost declared you as her man, oh, you lucky fellow. Could it be that Miss Galina has taken a liking to you?"

He smiled suggestively, joking while patting Shard's shoulder, then, carrying the sword, he led Shard towards his friends.

Having moved from the first floor to the second of the banquet hall, Miss Beyas, who was seen half an hour ago, was nowhere to be found again.

Although Shard was worried, nothing had happened during their meeting last weekend, and with Miss Galina present on the third floor, there seemed to be no need to worry about any sudden incidents, so he accepted the invitation to join Baron Lavende and his friends for a game of Roder Cards.

The gentlemen had claimed the best spot in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the banquet hall, occupying sofas and a coffee table. From here, one could see the night view of Tobesk City and the stars of the summer night.

But what people were more interested in were the Roder Cards, and when Shard walked over with Baron Lavende, weaving through the crowd at the party, they still took turns to congratulate him. Although most of the people present were of higher status with noble titles, surpassing Shard's mere "Knight" title, the Duchess's regard made his status far from simple.

After the pleasantries, they urged Shard to take out and showcase the new special cards.

Under the gaslight, each gentleman was excited as Shard took the cards out of his pocket. He avoided touching the familiar "Ancient Fairy Tale: Matchstick Girl" that Baron Lavende knew well and took out three other special cards instead:

"Take a look."

He produced "Northern City: Coldwater Port City," "Eastern Old Continent Scenery: Tis Lake," and "Primal Steam Engine: Mark Nine," and people passed them around, recounting the histories they knew of these three cards' past appearances. Experience new stories with My Virtual Library Empire

Among them were some who, having attended Duke Lucas's Roder Card match the previous Sunday evening, were already aware of Shard's possession of "Genesis: Silver Moon." Now with Shard presenting these three cards, those who had heard about the deck but did not know who it belonged to began to suspect that the young detective was the owner of the fabled Genesis Series cards.

Baron Lux belonged to those who connected the dots only after seeing the three cards, while Baron Lavende, oblivious, simply excitedly shared with the others his experience of seeing "Northern City: Coldwater Port City" at an auction ten years earlier.

Upon hearing that Shard had gotten the cards from an old professor, people speculated about the buyer who, due to financial issues, had sold the cards and remarked on Shard's exceptional luck. Although not particularly expensive, these cards with special rules were desirable yet not always available for purchase.

As the main character of the evening, Shard was of course allowed to choose his opponent for the game. After asking around, he did not pick someone he knew, but instead chose to play against the relatively younger Baron Cobol from the group.

Baron Cobol, who was about thirty years old, had just inherited his title from his forebears, as introduced by Baron Lavende. This Baron belonged to the wealthier class of nobility, with a passion for antique collecting and Roder Cards, holding as many as five special cards, and this was why Shard wanted to see for himself.

So the players took their seats opposite each other, while others sat on sofas or stood behind the card players, arms folded across their chests, ready to watch the game.

Suddenly, this corner of the second-floor banquet hall bustled with energy, with spectators occasionally joining the crowd. According to the "common knowledge" imparted by Baron Lavende to Shard, at any moderately distinguished banquet, there would be people playing Roder Cards in a corner — a cultural pastime of the era.

The Roder Cards, originally issued by the Prophet's Society to make money, had become an important part of the Sixth Era's civilization.

For an Outlander, an Otherworld without entertainment activities would undoubtedly be very dull. While the pursuit of mysticism and the advancement of Circle Sorcerer abilities were interesting, occasional engagement in other forms of leisure was also necessary.

Shard's attitude toward Roder Cards had thus subtly changed; at least for this evening, he was enjoying the game in front of the window, with the night view as his backdrop.

With a deck of 54 cards, Shard, of course, didn't include "Genesis: Silver Moon" in his deck. Therefore, his deck consisted of four special cards, while Baron Cobol's had five. Though they didn't gamble, just enjoying the fun of the cards, the spectators had bets among themselves on who would draw the first special card.

Shard drew first; "Ancient Fairy Tale: Matchstick Girl" appeared, and although it didn't trigger its special rule, its points alone helped him win that round. The Baron's special card, Moon 13 "Pirate King: Skeleton Captain Viktor," only showed up in the fifth round.

The special rule of this card was quite straightforward: toss a 20-sided die, and if the points are ten or lower, this card's number turns to 22; if points are higher than ten, then you can adjust the number between 13 and 1.

It's not that the card is useless, but the occasions to employ it are quite rare.

The Baron, having played Roder Cards since his teens, was a true master, while Shard was relying purely on luck. Thus, although Shard won more rounds, the overall outcome of their matches was fairly evenly matched.

Intrigued by the tense game, Baron Cobol even suggested they bet their special cards against each other, but Shard politely declined:

"I rarely gamble."

While speaking, he looked up and saw Miss Beyas at the stairway leading to the first floor, seemingly being forcibly held by the hand, dragged unwillingly towards the first floor.

"Hm?"

He stood up, his eyes widened, and he tidied the cards in his hands:

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I have something to take care of. I'll be back in a moment."

He said, gesturing upstairs, while the others nodded in understanding, assuming he was going to meet with some VIPs. Baron Lavende, who had been waiting, took Shard's place at the table.

The expensive antique Knight Longsword he couldn't use was left there as Shard walked towards the staircase. He glanced back and saw that the people by the window were so engrossed in the match that none of them looked his way, so he quickly descended the stairs.

No matter what situation Miss Beyas found herself in, he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen it.