Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Please trust me, absolutely do not drink too quickly,"

Shard advised kindly as Miss Galina took the cup. The Duchess looked at him with a puzzled expression, then held the cup and sipped twice. With the action of swallowing, her fair throat moved slightly.

She heeded Shard's advice and only drank three sips before closing her eyes. A full half-minute later, she placed the cup on the coffee table:

"It has some effect."

Without any further comment, it seemed to have an effect, but it was not particularly noticeable.

Shard didn't bring up the matter of helping with healing again. After taking out the jewelry box with the necklace, he went back to the events that had occurred the previous night in the ruins.

He omitted crucial information about the fight, discussing only the outcome, but he still mentioned how he was grabbed by the neck and lifted by the vampire when the Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace suddenly lit up.

"There are two things that are wrong, first, I indeed had direct contact with him, but I did not have a severe allergic reaction; second, what's with the necklace glowing? Does this necklace have such a function?"

The black-haired Maid took the necklace out of the jewelry box and put it on for Miss Galina. The Duchess, however, was not surprised by this:

"This necklace endows the wearer with an amplified version of the Witch's Curse's negative traits, which are useless against a witch herself. Otherwise, a necklace meant to protect a witch's own self would actually intensify our curse, wouldn't it be ridiculous?"

"Useless against a witch herself, so I..."

Shard, surprised, thought of himself and said in his mind:

"You still claim you're not..."

[Listen further.]

"You're definitely not a witch. A witch's sensing of her own kind is even more sensitive than her reaction to men. My current guess is that your gender conceptually presents a blurry state—it can be male, it can be female, or it can be a witch. Hence, the witch's curse, gender-oriented magic potions, and this necklace all have peculiar reactions toward you,"

the Duchess said.

"No, no, I'm definitely a man,"

he supplemented in his mind "so says God," and then shook his head, not wishing to discuss the topic further:

"Then what was that golden light?" Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

"Of course, it was the Arcane Technique I left on the necklace to protect you. Why else would I insist that you not lend the necklace to anyone else? Just because I didn't want others touching my jewelry? Certainly, it's not just that. While my Arcane Technique was protecting you, it would react to anyone else who touched it, after all, I don't have the power to make it accurately identify who has touched the necklace."

Miss Galina said, and seeing that Shard wanted to express gratitude, she stopped him before he could speak:

"I've provided you with so much assistance because your action this time is of value. So, have you brought what I asked for?"

"Of course, I've brought it."

In front of the two ladies, Shard, using a handkerchief, restored the corpses of the Silver-Eyed One and Vampire Kind tied to his waist, and identified them:

"The one without a head is the Silver-Eyed One, whose head was vaporized. This one, whose original appearance is unclear, is a vampire identified by the Blood of Mercury people as Mr. Medis from the Blood Spirit School. Although the corpse is incomplete..."

Miss Galina sat up straight with a flush of excitement on her face:

"A vampire? Medis? Oh, I think I know who that is. It's useful, very useful."

She didn't mind Shard dropping the corpses on the floor of the study and took the gloves that Maid handed her, bending down to examine the bodies:

"You say he was originally active around Tobesk? Hence, with this corpse, the two members of the Blood Spirit School who had come to our city from the New World, though they disembarked at Coldwater Port, will probably not continue with their plans. With this body, I can also settle with the Council, which is very good, Detective, very good. This vampire was an important member of the Blood Spirit School; that's very valuable."

For the first time that day, she showed a smile. Then, she took from Shard the letters on the vampire's body. She couldn't decipher the cryptic text for the time being, but the Witch Council had ways to understand the content of the letters:

"The harvest is more than I expected. It seems lending you this necklace was the right decision. With this, we might get information on the 'Creation Chamber' directly from this vampire's body, which is really good. Detective, you are very good, of course, my judgment is also excellent."

She then heard about the relics Shard had obtained from the enemy—a blood-stained pair of scissors and a small mercury-filled bottle, both unknown to her. But she recognized the pointed tooth in the vampire's mouth:

"A Scribe Level Relic, the 'Vampire Fang,' is one of the legacy tokens of the Vampire Race. If implanted in the body, it can be used to enhance the race's Racial Talent. For other creatures, it allows the user to gain some of the Vampire Race's abilities. The fang is said to be related to an Old God; implanting it in the body will not only cause symptoms like fear of sunlight and a craving for blood, but there's also the possibility of being influenced by the power the Old God has left in the world. Detective, sell me this fang. The Silver-Eyed One's corpse was what I initially agreed to receive, but the Vampire Kind's corpse is an extra you provided. For the fang, the letters, and the body, I'll give you..."

She glanced at Shard's clothing. He didn't have many outfits, and it seemed that every time he met Miss Galina, he wore the same suit... the suit that Miss Galina had given him when playing cards with the Duke.

"1,200 pounds? That should be enough."

"Oh, yes, that's enough. You are very generous."

"You're worth that value."

The 'Vampire Fang,' like other relics that needed to be implanted in the body, was unusable by Shard and the two ladies, so selling it to Miss Galina was the most appropriate. He knew that the price of 1,200 pounds was actually high because the corpses, relics, and letters were of significant importance to the Witch Council, so the Duchess was so generous in her offer... or perhaps she had always been generous.

"I won't ask about other matters in the ruins, whether it's the 'Genesis: Balance' you're talking about, or the relics of the Cult of Bygone Days you're planning to hand over to the church, you'll handle those yourself. I'm very satisfied with you, Detective, very satisfied..."

Suddenly, she coughed violently, and Miss Maid worriedly patted her back. After a while, the Duchess raised her head, brushed her red hair covering her eyes, and continued:

"Although your action this time was dangerous, it was indeed very valuable. If I had known in advance about this vampire being in the ruins, I would have sent Tifa with you. Cough, cough, I didn't expect such a surprise when I called you here this time. What I really wanted to talk to you about is the Transmutation Ring."

She pointed to the red velvet ring box on the coffee table, which snapped open automatically. The familiar pebble ring lay inside the box, which was the beginning of Shard's transcendence.

"Detective, look closely."

Before Shard's eyes, the Duchess picked up the ring and slowly moved it toward her right index finger. None of the three spoke, but they all saw that as the ring neared the witch's finger, cracks actually appeared on the surface of the pebble. When the ring was almost on her finger, the pebble on the ring nearly split in two.

She sighed, removed the ring, and the cracks on the pebble slowly healed.

"Look, I can't use this relic; it would rather destroy itself than sit on my hand. Detective, I promised you that if you brought me the 'Transmutation Ring', I could tell you all the secrets of the Council. But the arrival of this ring is the result of my planning, and you carrying out that plan; thus, I can only tell you one secret about the Council for now."

"Please speak."

Shard looked curiously at the ring and then curiously at her.

"The thirteen Grand Witches of the Council indeed possess both the Witch System from the Fifth Era and the Circle Sorcerer's supernatural system from the Sixth Era. We are witches living in the Sixth Era, and although different from those of the Fifth Era, we are indeed still witches. The purpose of the Council's existence isn't just so witches can band together to survive; the Council has two shared goals."

She paused, signaling Shard to listen carefully. Although she was only going to reveal one secret, the Duchess was determined to give Shard her utmost trust, because he had shown his worth:

"First, to find 'The Chosen One' predicted by the 'Whispering Verses', which I will discuss with you later. The other goal is to find a way to use the power of this Era to break the curse on us without our own powers diminishing. Like the 'Creation Chamber', like this ring..."

The Duchess glanced at the 'Transmutation Ring':

"This was just a small experiment, and as expected, it was not so easy."

Suddenly, she laughed again, her complexion looking healthier, and her dark gold eyes met Shard's, her tone becoming extremely soothing:

"Detective, would you like to try this ring? You doubted you were a witch just now, now isn't it a chance to prove it?"

Shard raised an eyebrow, picked up the ring, and brought it close to his finger, but there was no reaction:

"See, I am indeed male."

Relieved, Shard placed the ring back into the ring box on the coffee table; Miss Galina raised an eyebrow:

"What I mean is, put on the ring and recite the incantation 'The change from positive to negative is the beginning of a new life', and see what happens. I am quite curious if a man like you, one who does not trigger a witch's curse, can use a similar relic."

"No, sorry, I can't use it."

Shard shook his head in refusal; it was a matter of principle. He definitely did not want to become a woman.

"Try it, and I'll give you a reward. Like... a kiss?"

She tilted her head jokingly.

"No, no reward will do."

Shard continued to shake his head, not only because of the ring's negative traits but also because the ring's last two owners had met untimely deaths and because he had a psychological aversion, absolutely unwilling to become a woman.

Thinking Miss Galina would offer more tempting conditions or force him to wear the ring, he was surprised she let the matter go.

The Duchess said with regret:

"I see... well, alright then. But the ring is of no use to me, and even though Tifa is not yet a true witch, I don't want her to become a man. The 'Transmutation Ring' is yours, Detective, as a reward for showing your concern for me."

This strategic retreat was very effective; although Shard would not use the 'Transmutation Ring', he did not refuse to keep it temporarily. Strictly speaking, the ring was stolen property; not to mention selling it locally, even selling it at Coldwater Port City could likely lead the determined True God Church to apprehend all cultists. And selling it to the Academy, which exchanged information with the Church, would require explaining the origin of the ring, which would then lead back to the witches.

Miss Galina probably figured that the longer the ring stayed in Shard's hands, the more likely he was to use it.

The witch didn't try to hide her thoughts and waited rather curiously for Shard's decision. He pursed his lips in contemplation, his fingers on his knee trembled slightly, his expression twisted, but in the end, he leaned over and took the ring box from the coffee table into his hands.

After all, the ring was indeed valuable.

"Thank you for your generosity, I'll accept the ring... but I won't use it. After half a year, when things have calmed down, I'll sell it."

Shard emphasized again, and even the dark-haired maid standing behind Miss Galina couldn't help but smile at his demeanor.

"Detective, I never said you would use it."

The Duchess said jokingly, the maid's smile growing more pronounced:

"But remember, if you happen to use it by accident, let me know whether it works for you. Regardless of the result, I'll give you a sum... as an experimental fee. I like that term."

"No, I won't use it."

Shard emphasized again, then securely placed the ring box in his pocket.

"I believe you."

The Duchess was in a good mood now.

"I believe you too."

The whispering voice by his ear also carried a hint of mirth.