Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

After shaking hands with the two, Miss Beyas seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said,

"Alright, you have regained my trust, but this information, it makes me even more troubled. I don't understand. Why has the Church never told me about this?"

"Because telling you would have been meaningless and would only have led you to wild speculations. Besides, even the True God Church doesn't know more about the 'Whispering Verses' than I do."

Miss Annette said with a smile that was particularly beautiful that evening, Shard thought it was due to the lovely shade of her red lipstick. Unfortunately, he could only identify it as red without being able to distinguish the exact hue, but the red truly was beautiful.

"The Church's attitude towards The Chosen One is still unclear because they too do not understand what it truly signifies. Iluna, cooperating with us wouldn't harm the Church's interests, after all, we are all..."

Miss Annette glanced at the young detective who was pouring tea, and he immediately added,

"The good guys, we are all protagonists in the story."

"I am aware of that, and I trust my own judgment of character. You are all good people, you are helping me, and I am willing to be friends with you. It's just..."

The long-haired girl leaned back on the sofa, her eyes gazing at the ceiling. This action revealed her fair neck, and Shard took a quick glance before immediately looking away to prevent any misunderstanding.

"So, it turns out the 'Whispering Verses' and being The Chosen One is all connected, that explains a lot. Heh, I sound like the 'Child of Fate' from those knightly novels... An epic of the Sixth Era... Detective, Miss Annette, do you really think I am worthy of being a person whose story is recorded in legend?"

After the initial exhilaration from learning the truth had worn off, the young girl felt lost again.

"Of course, you are meant to be one."

That was Miss Annette's firm belief.

"Regardless, we will always be by your side,"

Shard said, understanding her feelings. Knowing one's own specialness but worrying about not playing the part well was very similar to the feelings he had about knowing he was an outlander but worrying about adjusting to a new life.

With this empathy, he said even more,
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"Since we have decided to help you, we will accompany you to the very end, the ultimate end."

Their mutual candor settled the last hidden danger in their cooperation. Although the unexpected encounter and honesty almost resulted in Shard being stabbed by Miss Annette and shot by Miss Beyas with the Sunlight Gun, the entire process went more smoothly than Shard had expected.

After all, he had already gained Miss Beyas's high favor before this. From this perspective, Miss Annette's plan had actually succeeded with Shard.

After confirming the mutual trust between them, they finally spoke about the reason for their presence at the banquet.

There was no need to elaborate on why Shard came here; Miss Annette even joked about the term "Rejed's Hamilton," and Miss Beyas congratulated him softly.

As for Miss Annette and Miss Beyas, they had no invitation but managed to sneak in.

They came for a Relic that could pay for Miss Annette's precise Divination service, thereby using the Divination to obtain what was needed for Miss Beyas to perform the ritual to become a true Chosen One.

"Actually, I've always been curious about what your so-called price for Divination really is. Can the price be paid with a Relic?"

Right before Shard barged in, the two ladies were also preparing to discuss this issue, and now the conversation could continue.

"That is a special Talent of mine, to provide accurate Divinations of the future at a price. Now, I can tell you, there are three methods of paying the price: I can surrender part of my own spirit, pay with certain Relics, or..."

She shook her head and did not continue,

"See, this is the Relic."

Miss Annette produced a white paper packet covered with Spell Words. The general meaning of these words from different Eras could be interpreted as "suppressing curses," "purification," "sacred."

The packet wrapped something small, and upon opening it, it turned out to be a Gold Coin, thrice the diameter of a one-penny coin. This coin must count as an antique, its rust-spotted appearance filled with a sense of history.

As soon as the gold coin appeared, the voice in his head immediately reminded Shard that this was the item with a strong Whisper Element he had sensed. And that paper packet could actually block the perception of the Whisper Element from a distance. Shard had barged into the room right at the moment when the packet was being opened.

This was a cursed item that required gloves to be handled. So Miss Annette had worn white gloves instead of similar gloves that would pair with her gown. After obtaining permission, Shard examined the gold coin. On the obverse, there was a depiction of a skeletal hand clutching a money bag, and on the reverse, a skull with a snake hissing in the skull's left eye socket.

Along the edge of the coin's reverse, there was a half-circle of text. Only after Shard confirmed with Miss Annette that the coin's trait was not triggered by Spell Words did he decipher the text:

"The Greedy One exchanges souls for gold coins."

"This is part of the Sage Level (Level 2) Relic 'Pirate Blood Money.' To be precise, it's only a part. The records of 'Pirate Blood Money' can be traced back to the early days of the Sixth Era, when a group of pirates landed on a Nameless Island after a storm and discovered a treasure there, including a chest of coins—this is one of them.

According to the post-event Investigation by the True God Church, the total number of coins was between 1025 and 1034. The 27 pirates divided the chest of gold coins and spent them at the dockside taverns, brothels, and gambling houses after coming ashore.

All the pirates who spent this Blood Money drowned themselves in the sea on the midnight of the third day after the money was spent; their souls were absorbed by the Blood Money, and their bodies turned into Undead."

Miss Annette said, and it seemed to Shard that Miss Beyas was just as newly aware of what this was as he was:

"Is that all there is to it?"

She asked, donning gloves before taking the corroded coin from Shard's hands.

"Of course, there's more. Those who turned into Undead after drowning themselves would return to shore after death and kill the person who had traded them the Blood Money, without taking the Blood Money with them.

When the Blood Money was traded again, they would come ashore once more, joining the second person who used the coin and then drowned themselves, becoming Undead, in hunting down the second person who obtained the Blood Money through trade... In such a Cyclical Recurrence. This meant that behind each Blood Coin, there was a group of Undead waiting to hunt.

However, if an individual used multiple Blood Coins, they would only be affected by the first one; the effect from the others would activate in the hands of the next user."

Miss Annette took the coin from Miss Beyas and casually flipped it between her fingers:

"Of course, the Undead Pursuer in the sea cannot venture too far from the ocean. Hence, if the person who acquired the Blood Coin through trade lived inland, they would be led to the sea under the influence of the Power of the Relic. There are even theories suggesting that those who possess the Blood Coin are directed towards the ocean by the power of Fate."

"Is this the power of a Sage Level (Level 2) Relic?"

Shard couldn't help but marvel. Over a thousand coins represented more than a thousand troops of Undead, and this was the first real Sage Level Relic he had encountered.

"The Sage Level represents the danger level for all the Blood Coins combined—if it's just one coin, it would be more akin to Keeper of Secrets Level (Level 3),"

Miss Annette explained.

"What about containment? If the coins are contained by the Church, wouldn't those Undead in the sea become meaningless?"

Miss Beyas asked.

"It's not that easy, otherwise it wouldn't be classified as Sage Level."

Miss Annette shook her head:

"'Pirate's Blood Money' is inherently deceptive. Although you can now see that both sides of this coin are different—unlike common coins—it's because of its activated state. I used it, and that's why it changed. Once I go to the seashore and die an unnatural death, the appearance of the Blood Coin would become that of an ordinary Old Pound.

In its unactivated state, it has almost no Whisper Element, and even if a Circle Sorcerer knew of this Relic's Trait, it would be hard to notice it among other coins in their wallet. Over the 15 centuries since it was first discovered, the Church has..."

"You used it?"

Shard interrupted Miss Annette rather impolitely:

"Miss Annette, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Miss Beyas also expressed her concern:

"This was the cause of our argument tonight. I know Miss Annette has her secrets, and I understand that exact Divination has its price, but I've never heard that Relics could be used as the price."

"There is no need to worry. I activated this Blood Coin two days ago, and before that, it had been with me for three months. I traded with myself, so my role is that of the tradee, not the trader. As such, I won't necessarily die in three days. Instead, I'll wait to go to the seashore and be killed by the Undead army.

Only by activating it can I use it as a price for Divination, consuming the power of the Relic in the process."

Shard also thought this practice was incredibly dangerous:

"Is a Relic like the Blood Coin necessary to pay for your precise Divinations?"

"'Paying with a Relic' is just one of the three methods. Any coin-type Relic can be used. Coins themselves are one of the most complex Symbols in Mysticism; they can even represent civilization along with text. What I need is not the coins themselves, but the harmonious mix of 'Whisper' and 'Enlightenment' elements within such special items.

Such power exists only in coins and even more special types of Relics."

As she fiddled with the coin in her hand, Shard pondered over this concept. Miss Beyas, who came from the Church, looked seriously at Miss Annette:

"Miss Annette, are you aware that this practice is very strange? I've heard of people who can absorb Relics, making them a part of themselves, but undoubtedly, all of them lost control. What you are doing is as dangerous as throwing a bomb into a fire."

"I'm not absorbing them, I'm paying with them,"

Miss Annette confidently stated:

"This isn't my first time doing this. Three years ago, I obtained six Blood Coins and activated them separately when I needed to divine. I had to consume the first five in an accident before (Note), and this is the last one I have."